“We found that it took triple the dose of one pesticide to have the same lethal effect on fruit flies at the time of day their defenses were strongest, compared to when they were weakest,” said Louisa Hooven, a postdoctoral fellow in the OSU Department of Zoology and lead author on the study. “A different […]
Archive for the ‘Zoology’ Category
Biological clocks of insects could lead to more effective pest control
Friday, August 21st, 2009Birds not likely descended from dinosaurs
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009From Science Daily: Warm-blooded birds need about 20 times more oxygen than cold-blooded reptiles, and have evolved a unique lung structure that allows for a high rate of gas exchange and high activity level. Their unusual thigh complex is what helps support the lung and prevent its collapse. “This is fundamental to bird physiology,” said […]
FrogWatch USA
Friday, May 22nd, 2009[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHuY4BF50Jk] Andrew Blaustein, Zoology Professor and Director of the Environmental Sciences Graduate Program at OSU, says amphibians are experiencing mass extinctions: Oregon State University zoologist Andrew Blaustein says monitoring amphibians is important because they are especially sensitive to environmental changes. They have no hair or feathers and their eggs have no shells, and they also […]
Oldest example of mutualism found
Friday, May 15th, 2009OSU’s George Poinar — a researcher and international expert on life forms found in amber — has discovered the oldest example of mutualism ever found. (Mutualism is a type of symbiotic relationship in which two species help each other… in this case, termites and protozoa.) From Science Daily: The analysis of a termite entombed for […]
Where, oh Where?
Thursday, May 7th, 2009Today’s article on the Cyber Diver News Nework asks the question: Where have all the big fish gone? And gives us the answer (spoiler, sorry!): In our stomachs. “We have already eaten most of the big fish in the Caribbean according to a new study [by OSU alumnus Dr. Chris Stallings] that links the decline of […]
Happy Birthday, Darwin
Thursday, February 12th, 2009The Zoology Department had a little celebration today in honor of Charles Darwin, complete with a cake worthy of a 200th birthday:
Grazing Animals Help Spread Plant Disease
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008Researchers have discovered that grazing animals including deer and rabbits are actually helping to spread plant disease – quadrupling its prevalence in some cases – and encouraging an invasion of annual grasses that threatens more than 20 million acres of native grasslands in California. Click here to read the full article.
The National System of Marine Protected Areas
Monday, December 1st, 2008From News and Communication Services at OSU: “Marine protected areas are parts of the ocean set aside for their conservation value, much like state and national parks,” said Mark Hixon, a professor of marine biology at Oregon State University and chair of the federal advisory committee that helped produce the framework for the national system. […]
Student Success: Job One at OSU
Monday, October 13th, 2008President Ray’s quarterly report for the fall, highlighting student success, has been published online. One of the stories in the report focuses on Dan Preston, an OSU biology major who is studying anesthetics in reptiles for his Honors College senior thesis. For the snake study, funded in part by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellowship, […]
Oldest Gecko Fossil Ever Discovered!
Thursday, August 28th, 2008Approximately 100 million years old, that is: This is at least 40 million years older than the oldest known gecko fossil. Scientists from Oregon State University and the Natural History Museum in London have announced the discovery of the oldest known fossil of a gecko, with body parts that are forever preserved in life-like form […]
