Three Cheers for Biomimicry!

What, pray tell, is Biomimicry? Well, it's this cool thing scientists, engineers, and even architects are doing. They study things found in nature, and try to use them to design new technologies. Here are some well-known examples straight from Science Daily:

Velcro was inspired by cockleburs, which cling tenaciously to clothing and animal fur. This poor guy probably had to have his head shaved.

Both Leonardo da Vinci and the Wright brothers studied the flight of birds when designing their flying machines.

Sonar was inspired by how whales, dolphins and bats emit high-pitched sounds and analyze the returning echoes to help them navigate.

And now, apparently, scientists are creating robots that mimic cockroaches to traverse deep sand and mud, while others mimic spider crabs and will be able to walk gingerly across loose surfaces like sand and gravel. This is the sort of research that is helping our Curiosity rover wander Mars and collect data for us. It may be the kind of research that will one day help our future vehicles travel the planet without the need for a concrete jungle to drive and park on. We could walk/ride across the miles without the need to pave it. This I like. Though, perhaps the idea of more cockroaches, even if they are robotic...not so much. Make the jump to Science Daily and watch the cool video on this project. 

San Francisco Birds Sing a Different Tune.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Who says birds aren't smart? Okay, I know. A lot of people. But, I assure you these people have no idea what they are talking about. Birds are amazingly savvy. I mean, I worked in an aviary for over ten years, and I am still constantly amazed by them. So, it didn't really surprise me to hear that birds of the same species sing different dialects, depending on the area they are from, kind of like the difference in hearing a Texan and a Bostonian speak English. It did surprise me, however, to read about a new study on the White Crowned Sparrow that shows the San Francisco singers of Sparrow have literally changed their song. It seems they have done so to be heard over their increasingly noisy surroundings.

According to a study by David Luther of Mason and Elizabeth Duberry of Tulane and Louisiana State University's Museum of Natural History, White Crowned Sparrows of the Presidio district of San Francisco have modified their song. The study compared songs from today with recorded songs in the area dating as far back as 1969. It seems that as the city streets grew louder, the birds began to rely more on their higher range notes, the ones that could be heard over the din. Eventually, they gave up singing the lower range of their song all together. I mean, really. Why bother if nobody can hear you? And with birds in matters of territory, it's important you be heard with no chance of misunderstandings, for heaven's sakes. So, the new dialect of Sparrow Speak has been officially named The San Francisco Dialect. You can read more about this over at Science Daily.

And speaking of birds, don't forget to swing by The Ravens Crossing, the young adult, sci-fi, fantasy project I write for. Tuesday is Morgan & Holly's story and some pesky birds will be making another appearance. There is still a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to Amazon. Hint: Look for the tab at the top of the page.

Tiny Frogs, Beyonce Horse Flies, and Black-Capped Petrals

Photo courtesy of Christopher Austin, Louisiana State U.

The world's smallest frog, Paedophryne amouensis, was just discovered in Papua New Guinea, measuring 7.7 mm, about the size of a house fly. These tiny little guys live in the leaf litter of the rainforest floor, and, apparently, they are very difficult to capture, as you might imagine. You have to follow your ears to locate them by call, but here's the catch. The calls are so high pitched it's difficult for human ears to hear them.

This little guy beats the world's previous record by just 0.2 mm. The last record holder, Paedocypris progenetica, hails from Southeast Asia. Anyway, all of the tiny Paedophryne species discovered thus far are from Southern Papua New Guinea. The fist species was discovered back in 2010, but was just announced to the public a few days ago.

My first thought was, "What do these little things eat?"  The answer is supremely tiny things like mites, and probably some of the same stuff flies would eat. Yum! You can find more about them over at Nat. Geo.

Photo courtesy of CSIRO Australia

And speaking of flies, I'm betting Beyonce is beyond thrilled to hear a species of Horse Fly has been named in her honor. This species, first discovered in 1981, the year Beyonce was born, has gone nameless for years. That is until Bryan Lessard decided to show "the fun side of taxonomy." He describes the fly as having a gorgeous golden abdomen that he claims "makes it the all time diva of flies." Hence the name, Scapia beyonceae. 

This particular species was discovered in Queensland, Australia, where it is not simply a pest, but also an important pollinator of plants. Anyway, my congratulations to both the diva and the fly. More at Science Daily.

Photo by J. Volques of Grupo Jaragua

And down in the Caribbean, the world's first photos of an endangered Black-capped Petral chick have been recorded by J. Volquez, Grupo Jaragua of the Dominican Republic. I can't seem to stop myself from saying, "Isn't it cute?" This species was once thought extinct back in the late 1800s until reported sightings of the birds at sea began to come in. Finally, in 1963, the first nesting grounds were discovered in the Caribbean. For many years, ornithologists have tried to find out more about this rare and illusive species.

The discovery of new nesting grounds with viable chicks has rekindled excitement. Hopes were not high for the species' survival. Few discoveries about their life cycle have been made since the 60's. You can read more from the source, if you read Spanish, at Grupo Jaragua, or you can visit The Cornell Lab of Ornithology for English.