InGen Currently Recruiting for Genetic Biologist Interns

You can apply at the "Careers" section of the Masrani website, but I suggest you take a look around while you're there, too.  I just got accepted!

Hold on to your butts.

Survival or Extinction?

"Extinction is the rule.  Survival is the exception." 

Carl Sagan, The Varieties of Scientific Experience

I am ashamed to say that it's been over a year since I've posted to this blog.  That's pitiful, and I'm ready to do something about it.  For a while, I wasn't sure what that something was.  Maybe I'm still not. But Superoceras will be undergoing some changes in the next few months, and as I get some content created and lined up, I look forward to sharing it with anyone who is still out there reading this. So much is happening right now in the world of science and natural history, it'd be silly to stay out of the conversation. 

In the meantime, there are a number of great bloggers out there who have kept that conversation going, and I encourage you to check out the links to the right and see the amazing things they are doing.  I'll be back with you all shortly.

Deep Time

Another semester has started, which means back to the books for me.  But three weeks in, I'm pretty excited about the course I'm taking, the material I'll be learning, and the discussions I'll be a part of with my class and professor.  Last week we talked a little about deep time (in relation to some other topics I'm going to be covering in greater detail soon), and I realized how difficult of a concept it can be to wrap your head around, even for someone like myself who spends a great deal of time thinking about it.  I know the Earth is 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years old, but what does it mean when we all live in a timescale of years, hours, or even minutes? When most people think about time, this is probably not what comes to mind.

The GSA Geologic Time Scale, not actually to scale, from http://www.geosociety.org/science/timescale/timescl.pdf.

All those numbers and colors can be intimidating, so I find it's helpful to try and explain deep time to people in a way they can relate to.  Some use a 12 or 24 hour clock as an analogy.  Others use a calendar year.  I swear one time in ELT we used a role of receipt paper.  But my favorite analogy is one I always have on hand...

Birds Over the Bay

A nesting pair of osprey,  reunited after separating for the winter and living it up down ol' South America way.

It's no secret that I love the Chesapeake Bay. And while nothing beats getting out on the water, sometimes there are a lot of exciting things happening right above it as well. Back in March while on an Alternative Break trip with the University of Maryland, I was lucky enough to catch a brief encounter that took place over Parrish Creek in Shady Side, Maryland. The resident osprey (Pandion haliaetus) couple had returned from their winter vacation, and made their way to their regular nesting platform. Lucky for me, they weren't the only raptors around that day.

Wildlife Photography

One of the things I love to do most is get out into nature.  And since you can't (and shouldn't, really) always bring nature home with you, I love to take pictures.  Plants, critters, landscapes; they're all waiting to get captured by the lens.  And with the advent of digital photography, huge memory cards, and the ability to auto-focus, I find myself with lots of photos of wild things and wild places.  They usually get dumped in a folder on my computer, and that's about it.  But recently, I grabbed a few Recoup (like Groupon, but supporting a cause) vouchers for hardcover photo books from a company called PhotoBin, and spent a pretty fair amount of time looking for some of the better shots to print in coffee table style books.  They came out pretty well, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with guests as they drop by the house.  But now that I've gotten some of my photos sorted, I figure the Interwebs would be a pretty good place to share them as well.

A male osprey (Pandion haliaetus carolinensis) faces off against a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).  More of this story to come.

Getting rid of the lazies.

You're in your vehicle, being guided along the electric track back towards the Visitor's Center.  Things didn't go as well as they could have today, but you got to pet a Triceratops, so that's pretty cool.  All of a sudden, the vehicle stops.  You remain calm, and figure you'll be moving again in no time.  But the kid next to you can't figure out how to turn a flashlight off, and the next thing you know, you have a 6 ton Tyrannosaurus bearing down on you.  We all know how that scene plays through.

From the vault: MS Paint job, circa 2005.  I miss my Explorer.

Sometimes, you get out of the vehicle before it goes over the wall.  Sometimes, you end up going over with it.  Sometimes you get stranded in a tree, escape its branches before the vehicle falls on you, and somehow end up back in the car again (but at least you're out of the tree). We all have those days; it happens. But it's been over five months since I've posted to the blog, and I need to get the tyrannosaur off my back.

I'd love to say I've been busy with school/work/life; that I've been in a creative slump; anything really to explain my absence.  And truthfully, all of those things do come into play.  But that's not why it's been quiet on the blog-front.  It's really been because of me.  Because even though I've been busy, and not particularly inspired, I've also been a little down, and it's made me very, very lazy.   Don't get me wrong; I'm still passionate about the subject material of the blog.  And find myself doing a lot these days that reflects that.  But I'm not really reflecting anymore. And that bothers me more than a little. As much as I like "doing" in the real world, I miss taking part in the "online" conversation as well.  This blog is a way for me to not only communicate to others, but to really communicate with myself, too.  So how do you get rid of the lazies, and get back into it after so long? I'm not exactly sure, but I'm working it out.  And I hope that in the next few weeks, I can manage to produce some solid results.  Talk to you all soon.

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day!

The most adorable thing I've ever seen.

I may not like it when they eat all my birdseed, but I've always had a soft spot for squirrels.  In fact, I'm quite fond of them. And what better way to show that fondness than by observing Squirrel Appreciation Day. Celebrated annually on January 21st, it's simply a day to keep our furry friends in mind, and even give them a hand (or paw).  As squirrels don't hibernate and keep very active all winter long, I typically put out a few extra treats for them to help them get through the cold months ahead; sunflower seeds, peanuts, and dried corn seem to be favorites in my area.

New Year, New Stuff

Today was like most Mondays.  I got up, got ready for work, sat at my desk, and took care of business. But as I responded to e-mails, took calls, and finished a few projects, I realized that in three weeks, I'll be back in classes.  I'll have a lot less time on my hands to spend away from course readings, writing papers, and the day to day affairs of a home owning nine-to-fiver.  Right now, I have time, and I'd better start to take advantage of it.

So on my lunch break, I grabbed a sheet of "second life" paper, a number 2 pencil, and I drew.  Nothing fancy; just a 30 minute sketch of a stegosaur.  And it was amazing.  Not the sketch itself.  It looked like one of the lumbering beasts from the books I read as a child.  But the act, just going for it without researching, referencing, or even really thinking about it, was something I hadn't done in a long time.  Too long.  It was absolutely freeing, and exactly what I needed to get myself out of the creative slump I've been in for... well, a while.

"A Bird of Courage"

"For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America." Benjamin Franklin, 1784

An Eastern wild turkey hen, photographed at Stones River National Battlefield in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Summer in the Butterfly Garden

Back in early May, I decided to give myself a birthday present and do something beneficial for my yard and wildlife by planting a butterfly garden.  I spent a large part of the summer tweeting about the Maryland native plants that I chose to attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, but wanted to share a little more of the story here. I took what was the area I had been using as a tree nursery, and cleared a little more space for over two dozen species of native shrubs and flowers.  The plot went from this...

Happy National Fossil Day!

The 2012 National Fossil Day logo, from the National Park Service website.

The 72nd Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology starts today, and the morning has already been full of great talks. But it's also the 3rd year that National Fossil Day is being celebrated. The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences has a bunch of great events going on all day, as do many other museums, parks, and centers across the country. Be sure to check out the National Fossil Day website for events in your area, and celebrate discovery, science, and prehistoric life!

(This post will be updated with images, links, and additional goodies as soon as I can find that reliable Wi-Fi hot spot I so desperately seek. If you're at #2012SVP and you know where it is, let me know @Superoceras. Thanks!)

Another Day, Another WIP

I now have at least a dozen paleo-art related projects that I've been really excited for, started, and then left on the back burner.  This is one of the more recent that I had hoped to have done for the latest ART Evolved gallery, but alas, still just a work in progress.  Meant as a tribute to the recent series 7 episode of Doctor Who titled "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", I had hoped to surround the TARDIS with lifelike reconstructions of the ornithodirans featured in the show.  Then I realized I left out the fuzzy juvenile tyrannosaur.  Now if I could just figure out where to put it.

"Ornithodirans on a Spaceship", a work in progress.  Pencil on paper. 

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.   

Bringing the Thunder

The last two weekends in Maryland have started out with very powerful Friday evening storms. The derecho that took place last week was crazy.  Strong winds and powerful thunderstorms surged as they moved from the midwest to the Mid-Atlantic coast.  But I was inland for it.  I can only imagine what it was like here at the beach.  During a bad, long lasting storm, consistently strong winds would cause swells which, upon reaching the shore, could generate extremely high surf.  The energy generated by the wind is expended along the shoreline as the wave reaches it, so the higher the winds, the greater the damage that could occur.  But winds and weather aren't the only thing that have an impact on the coastline.  I was reminded of that the other night as I observed a beautiful full "Thunder Moon" over the Atlantic Ocean, and thought of the powerful effect it has on the Earth's tides.

Seashore Ornithology: The Brown Pelican

One of my favorite shorebirds is by far the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis).  It is small in comparison to the other members of its genus, and it is a fairly common bird in my neck of the woods.  But that makes them no less interesting.  They also have a relatively rich fossil record.  Fossil Pelecanus are known from the Early Oligocene around 30 million years ago, and by that point they were already very like modern forms.

A pair of Pelecanus occidentalis fly above the beach at North Peninsula State Park, Florida.

Brown pelicans are known for diving for their meals, which they catch in large gular pouches attached to their lower bill.  On land, they move about rather clumsily with their large bodies and webbed feet.  But in flight, they are truly magnificent.  Their long broad wings make them brilliant gliders. And when they flock together, which they do more often than not, they are a sight to see as they soar gently above the sand and waves.

Beach Blogging

Thalassa! Thalassa!

Time for a holiday! This week I'll be spending my days by the beach and bay, and am looking forward to a little relaxation, plenty of time outdoors, and a chance to share it with you all. The sea, home of our earliest ancestors, has always held a certain appeal to me.  While our more recent ancestors may have moved away from it for more terrestrial way of life, there are many plants and animals that never left.  And even more that returned to the waters and shorelines of the world secondarily.  I think I've always envied them a bit.  Combined with the endless hours I spent as a child combing the beach and watching the water, I always look forward to being able to return myself. So with that in mind, keep an eye out here and on Twitter for seaside science (among other things) this week.

Goodbye, Lonesome George.

Lonesome George in his corral at the Charles Darwin Research Center on Isla Santa Cruz.

In December 1971 , the last Pinta Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni) was discovered in the Galápagos.  This solitary male would come to be known as "Lonesome George", and he would spend the rest of his days serving as an international symbol for conservation.  As the last of his subspecies, much effort was put into trying to breed him with females of closely related subspecies, but all eggs laid were infertile.  Today, Lonesome George's life ended, and with it, another (sub)species has gone extinct.

Interweb Science of the Week #11

It's been a long time since I've done an ISW, but this video from MinutePhysics was so great, I had to bring it back.

Open Letter to the Universe, by Minute Physics, from YouTube.

Simple, entertaining videos explaining what can be rather complex ideas about science.  Love it.  This is what the Interwebs were made for.  Just throw a few cats in there, and you're covered.

And while on the subject of Interweb Science, Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. has entered the Twitterverse, "mostly for instructional purposes".  Dr. Holtz already has a fairly large web presence, so I'm a little concerned his being on Twitter might officially break the internet.  But I still recommend following him @TomHoltzPaleo. I'm sure we'll end up seeing some cats there too.  Happy Friday!