Wednesday, December 28, 2016

SearchResearch Challenge (12/28/16): A few Natural History Challenges (ears, embryonic nutrition, and virgin births)


As I read, I take notes. 

I take so many notes that by the end of the year, I have a few hundred pages of them.  

Some of those notes are questions that I've read about, or small curiosities that have occurred to me as I read.  I try to frame those curiosities as questions, most of which I spent at least few minutes trying to answer.  (This is a great meta-reading strategy: As you read, ask questions of yourself to test your understanding.)  

To celebrate the last SearchResearch Challenge of 2016, I've pulled together a few of the questions I had written down in my notes during the year.  I was able to answer these fairly quickly, so this is more of a fun Challenge than a difficult one, but I hope you'll enjoy these Challenges (and the sometimes strikingly strange answers to these questions)... 


1. We see birds all of the time, and I know they can hear, but I can't help but wonder: Where are their ears?  What does the ear of an owl or crow look like?   
2.  As you know, mammal embryos depend on a placenta for nutrition via their mother until birth. Egg-laying animals provide a yolk for their embryos for feeding until hatching.  But I've heard about a few other ways in which some animal embryos get nutrition while still in utero that's from a surprising source.  What are three other strategies for embryos to get nutrients while still in their mother's uterus?   
3. Speaking of giving birth, I read that virgin births are fairly common in certain kinds of animals.  Can you find which vertebrates are able to give birth without having to bother with all of the process of finding and joining with a mate?  

Let us know what you find and how you found it.  (I'll caution you ahead of time that these are pretty interesting Challenges.  I spent waaaay too much time reading into the finer aspects of biology.  This is fascinating stuff!) 

As always, if you don't have time to do all three, just let us know what you found on just one.  Collectively, we'll all learn from everyone else's search process and results.  

Search on! 




14 comments:

  1. a bit more "meat"…
    meant to mention, learned the difference between 'player piano' & 'piano player' from the last challenge - sequencing can make a difference.
    used: [crow anatomy] & [owl anatomy], [owl asymmetric ears]
    ~34 seconds in - Orecchio
    Corvus - not in Antarctica
    page 510
    crow blog
    Crow w/ non-crow
    Crow w/ non-crow 2

    asymmetric ears
    SERP for [owl asymmetric ears]
    faster, broader spectrum
    diurnal owls/symmetrical ruffs v nocturnal owls/asymmetrical ruffs
    books
    Barn Owls
    owl & mouse BBC video - lunch
    just for grins, a chicken ear…
    rooster
    16 billion+
    chicken night (f)ears

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Remmij! I like your video. SearchReSearching in YouTube, [owl ears] shows 2 videos. One showing the actual ear of an Owl and one from BBC shows how owls hear. Caution: It shows how the mouse is eaten. But also mentions why each ear is in different height.

      Super interesting both of them. I always thought before today that Tufts were the ear and also didn't know they were called that.

      I'll read the other links.

      Happy 2017 everyone!

      Delete
  2. Good day, Dr. Russell and everyone.

    1. We see birds all of the time, and I know they can hear, but I can't help but wonder: Where are their ears? What does the ear of an owl or crow look like?

    [owl ear diagram] and [owl ear] in images

    Ear tufts are not ears

    [owl ear location]

    The ears are located at the sides of the head, behind the eyes, and are covered by the feathers of the facial disc. The "Ear Tufts" visible on some species are not ears at all, but simply display feathers.

    Fun Facts about Owls

    [crow ear location]

    This is what a crow's ear looks like

    Where are the ears of birds? Lots of knowledge and information. Birds ears doesn't have a Pinna.

    I didn't know about owl tufts. [define owl tufts]

    [hummingbirds ears]
    The Green Violet-ears (Colibri thalassinus) - also known as Mexican Violet-ears

    9 Adorable Facts About Hummingbirds

    [where hummingbirds have their ears]

    Do birds have ears? A. Yes, they do! They're just hidden under feathers called auriculars that cover the ear openings on the sides of their head.

    3. Speaking of giving birth, I read that virgin births are fairly common in certain kinds of animals. Can you find which vertebrates are able to give birth without having to bother with all of the process of finding and joining with a mate?

    [vertebrates pregnant without sex]

    ParthenogenesisEn Español (Partenogénesis)

    Many animals can give birth without mating

    And links to:
    'Virgin-born' sawfish are a first in the wild And yet a number of captive animals have produced virgin births. This roster of surprise arrivals includes sharks, snakes, Komodo dragons and turkeys - all species that normally use sexual reproduction.

    [vertebrates Parthenogenesis]

    Wikipedia: Vertebrate parthenogenesis

    The discovery of facultative parthenogenesis (FP)- asexual reproduction by bisexual species- in vertebrates can be traced to the late 1800s with reports of parthenogenetic development in domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus)

    Returned to Wikipedia and found: Facultative parthenogenesis is the term for when a female can produce offspring either sexually or via asexual reproduction. And, Obligate parthenogenesis is the process in which organisms exclusively reproduce through asexual means.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. While looking for more data and videos, visited Dr. Brian Hare Social Media and he posted the next article. Animals also gives gifts.

      'Mouse Kabobs' and Saliva: Why Animals Give Strange Gifts

      Delete
    2. 2. What are three other strategies for embryos to get nutrients while still in their mother's uterus?

      [animal embryos nutrition sources]

      matrotrophy ("mother-feeding")

      Animals have evolved a host of different mechanisms for carrying out the job of feeding the embryo: direct transfer with intimate cellular contact as in placental mammals, uterine "milk glands" in scorpions and some insects, nutrient secretion into fluid-filled body cavities where embryos are freely suspended, accelerated development of embryo digestive tracts that allows feeding on maternal tissues, even cannibalism of sibling eggs or embryos.

      [animals to feed embryo during gestation]

      [sources of food for embryos]

      [embryos nutrition]

      In humans: The mechanism by which embryos receive nutrition during the first 11 weeks of pregnancy has been revealed.

      [animal embryos nutrition]

      Ovoviviparity

      Delete
    3. Did you pick up the idea of "matrotrophy" from the Science Daily article? ( https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150430135001.htm )

      It's hit number 5 in my search with [ animal embryos nutrition sources ]

      Delete
    4. Yes, Dr. Russell. That word was new for me and even when article is very good and full of new knowledge for me, I thought that word/concept is something that I will remember and as we saw in previous Challenges a good term to click. I don't know how many of us already knew what "matrotrophy" means before this challenge. When I saw word, thought it was something totally different.

      Happy New Years Eve and Happy 2017

      Delete
    5. Happy New Year 2017!

      In my case it was 3rd entry.

      [matrotrophy in spanish]

      Matrotrophy and placentation in invertebrates: a new paradigm Just reading this. It is very interesting

      -how the parent cares for an egg A new word: Lecithotrophy.

      Not word in Spanish found for this term.

      I'll check Remmij's links and search for more data

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. may be off the whole procreation rails…
      image search, also miraculous…
      Dec 22, 2014 bbc*
      looks like mom's win…
      fathers - 23,523,433 views
      mothers - 29,964,156 views
      da overlord:
      Larry ✔

      *

      Delete
  4. 1.

    New Scientist to the rescue: Some owls have asymetric ears allowing them to pinpoint its source. The great grey owl ahs left ear at 7 oclock and the right at 2 oclock. The ears, the pinna, do not exist in birds belying their reptilian origins. Internally they have 1 ear bone where we have 3. The inner ear has a banana shaped organ with the sensitive hairs. And they can grow new hairs unlike us who lose them and go deaf.

    2.
    New Scientist again: Human gets womb milk in the first crucial weeks. This is secreted from the womb lining during the time the placenta is developing-11 weeks.

    Little known finding: Baby's gut bacteria originate in the mother's mouth and are passed on via the placenta

    Science Daily April 2015: Animals have evolved a host of different mechanisms for carrying out the job of feeding the embryo: direct transfer with intimate cellular contact as in placental mammals, uterine "milk glands" in scorpions and some insects, nutrient secretion into fluid-filled body cavities where embryos are freely suspended, accelerated development of embryo digestive tracts that allows feeding on maternal tissues, even cannibalism of sibling eggs or embryos.

    3.
    Vertebrates means sharks can be included in this parthenogenithic search. So, off to New Scientist where we quickly find that, 20 species of snakes do it, Komodo Dragons, domestic chickens, sawfish and these can produce fertile offspring. And lizards too. Not possible in humans.

    Jon who found lots of curious paths and so wandered off-topic in these. I included one only

    ReplyDelete