Originally published as a digital essay for a university course April 22, 2020. Human society traded one brand of disease outbreaks for another. In the past, we lacked hygiene, medical infrastructure, and knowledge of what causes disease. Today, we’re better in all three categories, especially in developed countries, but we’re disturbing ecology more and more, … Continue reading Spillover in the Modern World
Originally published as a digital essay for a university course April 22, 2020. We have been slow to learn the role of virus ecology in human health. J.S. Koen, a veterinarian and inspector for the U.S. Bureau of Animal Industry in Fort Dodge, Iowa, became unpopular during the Spanish flu outbreak in 1918. He saw … Continue reading Spillover
In Nerdfighteria, a virtual land where nerds that have taken a liking to John and Hank Green's vlog community, people refer to angry, YouTube comments as angry--squids? Octopuses? Octopi? Am I remembering this right? The important factor to keep in mind is that even if I go back to earlier vlogs when John addressed trolls … Continue reading Dictionaries and Eternal Nuances of Pluralization: Octopus
One of BBC Earth's TV miniseries, Africa features the staples of intensive camera work and David Attenborough. The six-episode series released in 2013 travels between the Kalahari Desert, eastern savanna, Congo rainforest, southern Cape, Sahara, and a thematic episode focused on conservation and Africa's future. Africa is full of jungle and safari stereotypes, but this … Continue reading Film Reflection: Africa: Eye to Eye with the Unknown by BBC Earth
After reading What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam & Modernity in the Middle East by Bernard Lewis and watching Rory Stewart's The Great Game (incredible dual documentaries on imperialism and Afghan independence) on Netflix (the first is also on YouTube), I continued the theme and watched an installment on one of my favorite natural history … Continue reading Film Reflection: Wildest Middle East by Animal Planet
Keystone species: like a stone bridging the two sides of an arch, once removed the structure crumbles. One of ecologists favorite example in the last twenty years has been the grey wolf. Humans have a long history of destroying ecosystems and obliterating biodiversity. More than likely we've seen the loss of more keystone species than … Continue reading Keystone Species in a Yellowstone Shell
Poisoning ivory horns tagged with pink dye to deter poachers. When I read this old news on Facebook, at first I thought, "How does this affect survival among other wild animals?" Then I remembered that this is limited to animals living in fence reserves and human kill far more than the lions do. Then there … Continue reading Pink Rhinos and Elephants?
Science classes from middle school up to the second year of university, popular science books, and many internet sources cling to cliche examples. Don't talk to me about the bottleneck effect and use cheetahs as an example--just don't. If you're a complete nerd like me and constantly prowl for something new to learn, finding a … Continue reading Unpopular Vestigial Structure
While I've shared how the Voyage of the Turtle: in the Pursuit of the World’s Last Dinosaur took a broad-focused, holistic sweep of the world between humans and leatherbacks, it also tackled specifics of sea turtle’s physiology. Diving physiology is intricate and poorly understood. Considering that humans dwell on land and most animals that we … Continue reading Book Reflection: Voyage of the Turtle by Carl Safina (Part II: Physiology)
In 2006 my dad and I packed our black F-150 and drove a total of 6,000 miles. We took Interstate highways before and after we were in Canada and while in Canada we toured the Atlantic provinces. We barely touched on Newfoundland before we had to start heading back (funding and free time being the … Continue reading Mystery of a Newfoundland Leatherback Sea Turtle
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