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Creature Feature: Native Freshwater Mussels
California’s freshwater streams are home to a surprising variety of shellfish. Clusters of bivalves nestle themselves among the small pebbles and overhangs of riverbeds, sometimes almost indiscernible...
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Sunday Sketch: Brown bears
Brown bears (Ursus arctos) are native to an expansive home range, including Eurasia and North America. Their diet consists of a wide variety of foods like meats, berries, and other plants. They...
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Field Frame Friday: Rural Raccoons
Have you ever seen a raccoon out in the wilderness? Or only in your backyard? Either way, any encounter with these adaptable mammals is sure to be a special one! Just like in cities, raccoons beyond...
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Sunday Sketch: River Otter
The North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) is known for being a skilled predator, consuming a variety of animals like crabs, fish, small mammals, reptiles, birds and more! They will choose to...
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Creature Feature: Vampire Bat
While famous vampires, such as Count Dracula and Mr. Sparkles himself, Edward, from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga, may be the stuff of fantasy, mammalian bloodsuckers aren’t an entirely fictional...
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Sunday Sketch: The leaf slug
The leaf slug (Costasiella kuroshimae) is an example of a kleptoplast. They are able to gather chloroplasts in their cerata (the outgrowths from the body), the chloroplasts then create more energy,...
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Sunday Sketch: Reindeer games
Reindeer (otherwise called caribou) (Rangifer tarandus) are well known as the the delightful creatures who pulled St. Nick’s sleigh through the sky on Christmas Eve. While these animals can’t actually...
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Sunday Sketch: Snowy Owl
The Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) is native to the Arctic, inhabiting North America and Northern Europe. These raptors predominately feed on small mammals called lemmings, which vary in population size...
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Sunday Sketch: American Green Tree Frog
The American green tree frog (Hyla cinerea or Dryophytes cinereus) can be found in the southeastern US in habitats with thick vegetation. This species of frog is polygynous, meaning that male frogs...
View ArticleField Frame Friday: A Temporary Grouse House
This automated two-stage pen was developed by biologist Nicole Lindenauer to release Greater Sage-Grouse families into the wild gently and successfully. Here, a hen and her brood are being released to...
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Creature Feature: Death Valley Pupfish
When my Desert Ecology class visited Death Valley, California, in the summer of 2018, I figured that this must be what it would feel like to be a loaf of bread baking in the oven. We saw yawning...
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Sunday Sketch: Giant Squid
The giant squid (Architeuthis dux) is one of the world’s largest invertebrates. Not much is known about their behavior, which may contribute to their mysterious and mythical reputation. As deep sea...
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Sunday Sketch: Polar Bears
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) give birth to their cubs in a den, where they will reside until the cubs are about 12 weeks old. Then, they will all emerge from their den, and the cubs will continue to...
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Throwback Creature Feature: Army Ants
Check out this post from 2018! A roving hoard marches across the forest floor, millions strong, crushing their prey between powerful, pincer-like mandibles. It’s a raid, and with millions of bodies to...
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Newsroom: Social sharks and what we call them
When it comes to animals and their behavior, words matter. They can shape public perception and scientific understanding, affecting support for conservation and further research. And there are few...
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Throwback Field Notes: Ryane’s first field season at Chicken Camp!
This time of year, many researchers are gearing up to embark on their spring field seasons. Today, we’re featuring a throwback to this fun Field Notes about Animal Behavior alumni Ryane’s first field...
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Sunday Sketch: The three-hearted octopus
The octopus (order Octopoda) is famous for its eight magnificent tentacles- but a lesser known fact is that they also have 3 hearts! One of these hearts, called the “systemic heart”, is in the center...
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Creature Feature: African Dwarf Crocodile
Pretend you haven’t read the title. What does this sound like to you? I would never have guessed this deep, rumbling noise came from a reptile. Aside from geckos’ high-pitched chirps, most reptiles,...
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Sunday Sketch: Nematode
Caenorhabditis elegans is a nematode. It can survive extreme cold weather at -80°C by entering a state of suspended metabolism called cryptobiosis. A similar mechanism to survive extreme cold weather...
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Creature Feature: Trapdoor Spider
It’s no secret that spiders are master architects (just look to the expert web creations of orb weavers), but did you know that there are some spiders that take their construction skills underground?...
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