Brace Yourselves: SVP is Coming

Alright boys and girls.  It's been too long.  I shame myself. And as Earth Science week begins with the 72nd SVP Annual Meeting and National Fossil Day right around the corner, I figure I'd better get on the ball.  I will be in Raleigh, and I hope to see many of you there.  But if you can't find me in the convention center, and I don't harass you to buy a raffel ticket, look for (one of) the (many) individual(s) wearing one of these snazzy buttons.  They can help you locate me, anything else you're looking for, or just lend a hand (or other homologous structure)!

During the meeting, I do plan to blog as much as possible.  And I will also be tweeting quite a bit, so look for the official #2012SVP hashtag and get in on the conversation!  See you in North Carolina!

Ornithodirans on a Spaceship

Image used with respect to the copyright holders, the BBC.  From their lovely online gallery.

I've been a horrible blogger, artist, and Whovian lately.  But all that will hopefully change soon.  In the meantime, check out what Brian Switek and Marc Vincent have to say about "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" over at Dinosaur Tracking and Love in the Time of Chasmosaurus, respectively.  And check out the Art Evolved: Life's Time Capsule "A 2nd Pop Culture Gallery" while you're at it.  The Doctor has already made one appearance there as well!

Hopefully the Art Evolved Crew are cool with me using this as well!

Fiddler on the Beach

A sand fiddler crab emerges from his burrow. Photographed at North Peninsula State Park, Florida.

In the last post (and quite some time ago) I wrote about how closely connected our world is to off-world things. The Sun, Moon, and tides are all non-living components of the natural world that interact with one another.  But they also interact with many living components as well.  In fact, there are many species that live their lives completely governed by the rise and fall of the tides.  One of my favorite is the sand fiddler crab (Uca pugilator).  I mean, who doesn't love a boy with a giant claw? Fiddler crabs live in burrows created in the mud or sand along coastal areas. And although I don't normally see them on the beach, I do see them up and down Jefferson Creek where I kayak in Delaware.  But only if I'm very quiet, and very lucky to catch a glimpse of them.  These crabs will scatter and retreat to their burrows when startled.  They also do this during high tides, only to emerge again during low tide when they spend their time feeding and trying to attract mates.  The crabs live by the tidal patterns; their behavior is triggered by the Earth’s rotation itself.  These triggers can also come in the form of changes in temperature, light, or even color.