From the monthly archives:

September 2009

Stalking Mushrooms for Science

September 30, 2009

In all the excitement over the ladybugs, I completely forgot to mention I spent the weekend before scouring an undisclosed location for fungi for the 2009 Rocky Mountain National Park Mycoblitz. Citizen science in action!
Our Mycoblitz was the brainchild of past Colorado Mycological Society president Rob Hallock (hi Rob!), but it is an example of an [...]

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The Ladybugs’ Block Party

September 27, 2009

This weekend I climbed to the top of Green Mountain for the first time. If you are familiar with Boulder, it is the right mountain of the two bearing flatirons visible from town. But the top didn’t just contain the usual stunning views. As I neared it, I noticed a few small swarms of lady [...]

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The Jelly(nose) Fish

September 24, 2009

Because clearly, I can’t get enough of all things jelly . . . I spotted this video at National Geographic today. It seems fairly prosaic until the guy starts . . . er. . . palpitating said jellynose.
Jellynose fish have cartilaginous bones like sharks, though they are in the same group as bony fishes (Teleosts). [...]

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When Ostracods Fly and Copepods Fire

September 22, 2009

I’ve been treating myself to the BBC’s Blue Planet: The Deep this week, and there are delights in every second of film. One that particularly caught my interest is below. Those of you who recall my post on Swima bombviridis will recognize the same strategy, if not the same artillery, at work here.

Now you have [...]

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Does This Membrane Clash With My RNA?

September 17, 2009

Until 1933, it was impossible to see a virus. Oh, we knew they were out there. But no one had the faintest clue what they looked like. 1933 marked the year transmission electron microscopy finally achieved resolutions finer than light microscopes were capable of and made it possible to finally glimpse the agents that had [...]

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Tree Time

September 15, 2009

Last time I posted a link to a slide show of beautiful jellies. But I don’t want this blog to be only about eye candy. I want to help you learn about new organisms, the often crazy or amazing ways they make their livings, and no less importantly, how they are related and classified.
Because I [...]

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Juxtaposition of Jellyfish

September 10, 2009

Here in Boulder there is a restaurant that serves the proposterously-named “Juxtaposition of Duck”. I could not resist when it came to titling this post. From the Beeb, I present to you a gorgeous eye-candy gallery of Arctic jellyfish. One of my great delights in studying the diversity of life on this planet is the [...]

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Finally, the Slimes! Some Wet Colorado Crannies in a Dry Late August, Part III

September 8, 2009

At last, two actual slime molds! As hard as I searched, the best I could find were plenty of tiny white-spored objects (fungi) erupting from the wood. I learned slime mold spores tend not to be white. : ( But local slime mold expert Mary Jane Howell’s sharp eyes picked out two (not so slimy) [...]

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Rusty Summer: Some Wet Colorado Crannies in a Dry Late August, Part II

September 5, 2009

When I was young, I used to think that leaves just naturally got spotty and brown as they aged. But after taking plant pathology, I learned those spots you seen on leaves are almost always fungi or insects infesting plants, and careful examination with a hand lens can reveal a whole new little world to [...]

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Slime: Check. Mold: Check. Slime Mold: Not So Check. Some Wet Colorado Crannies in a Dry Late August, Part I

September 2, 2009

Well, the big slime hunters (slime mold expert Mary Jane Howell and I) have returned from our foray but, alas! without many slime molds. Nonetheless it was a day well spent, full of fluttering green aspen, mossy corners, and bubbling pools. We crawled our way into the moistest, juiciest spots we could find, but unfortunately, [...]

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