MY YEAR OF DARWIN (#YEAROFDARWIN)

6 Jan 2014: "The fact that we worked at chemistry somehow got known at school, and it was an unprecedented fact, I was nicknamed 'Gas'." Darwin autobiography

Although I've read his autobiography before I don't remember the fact that he enjoyed chemistry. My experience with Wilkes biology majors is that they find chemistry "OK" or they have a general dislike for the subject. I wonder how undergrads would feel about chemistry if they were handed chemicals and a manual of cool stuff to make. Of course, you might end up with this. NPR recently ran a story on the lack of enthusiasm for biology courses by primary schoolers. I suspect the growing disconnect with nature has spilled over to education and teachers that are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with living creatures no longer bring in creatures or even roadkill that would fascinate children. We must of course, balance experience with content but it seems we can removed experiential learning from the classroom. It seems a positive feedback loop. Those that never experience living organisms in the classroom may be intimidated in the woods and this would be passed on to children and future teachers. Please support outdoor learning and experiential learning whenever possible. 

MY YEAR OF DARWIN (#YEAROFDARWIN)

5 Jan 2014: ""In my simplicity I remember wondering why every gentleman did not become an ornithologist" Darwin autobiography

At 44 years old, I still wonder the same thing. Darwin was reading natural history books during his childhood and his interests were broadening to include insects, minerals, and birds. Darwin was spending time in the beautiful countryside of Wales. Being outside inspires - do it. I also spent my days wondering the woods near my home and the Pohatcong Creek was my playground. I do many programs with local schools and none of the schools take students out in the field - ever. I don't have any data on hand but I suspect there are fewer children headed into the woods both in absolute numbers and proportionally across the population. The result might be an increasing intellectual and emotional disconnect between us and nature (recently coined Nature Deficit Disorder). So hopefully, catching birds with WEBS (Women Empowered By Science) can address some of that in my little bubble.  

Just over 0 today and the bird feeders are draining quickly. Had a male Cooper's Hawk swing by the house and miss getting one of the 50-some House Sparrows. Working on a National Science Foundation proposal today. 

MY YEAR OF DARWIN (#YEAROFDARWIN)

4 Jan 2014: ""I do not believe that any one could have shown more zeal for the most holy cause than I did for shooting birds" CD autobiography

As a college student, Darwin developed a love for shooting and had his gun at Cambridge, where he was studying theology. In his college dorm, he would practice in front of a mirror and would shoot at candles with just the cap. The cap is filled with a powder that fires under compression and sends the fire to the main charge. Just firing the cap creates enough pressure to create a puff of air at the end of the barrel. Darwin used this puff of air to blow out a candle held by a friend - obviously a very good friend. This practice would serve him well as he toured the world and collected birds. 

Though collecting birds sounds like a hobby, it is the term used to describe the practice of killing and stuffing birds. In Darwin's day the product was a bird that would be put into a museum and not rot since all the tissue that easily breaks down has been removed. In fact, Darwin's birds that he collected are still in museums and can be used for study (though I don't know how easily they can be accessed). Today, birds are still collected and we store stomach contents, muscle and other tissue for DNA. A smaller number of birds are pickled or skeletonized. The number of birds collected is typically a fraction of a percent of the birds that are killed by other means (e.g., free-roaming cats). A recent paper in Nature puts collecting into perspective. 

MY YEAR OF DARWIN (#YEAROFDARWIN)

3 Jan 2014: "My father once said to me 'You care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family' " - autobiography

So far he seems like a normal kid. Struggles with schools, feels (and is) very average. Has taken to collecting and taking long solitary walks. Doesn't recall any thoughts. I did the same and I have no idea what I thought of either. 

Lots of snow on the ground but a snap to shovel. Just about half a foot of powdery snow. Bird feeders are full with lots of house sparrows, cardinals, song sparrows (all unbanded), and a few white-throated sparrows. All nervous. Hoping to catch a glimpse and maybe a picture of the Cooper's Hawk that likes to visit. Working on the natural gas - ecotoxicology paper. 

MY YEAR OF DARWIN (#YEAROFDARWIN)

2 Jan 2014: "I had a strong taste for angling and would sit for any number of hours on the bank of a river or pond" - autobiography

CD would use worms and eventually feel bad enough for putting them on the hook that he would kill them with salt water first even though he thought this would cut into his catch. 

CD's childhood is spent collecting coins, insects, shells, and many other objects and this occurred to him "innately" and it was well developed by the time he went to day school. He also referred to his naivety with other children, which often tricked him, as well as his propensity to fib. 

I changed the hashtag to #yearofdarwn. Looks like #myod refers to some drink and make your own device. I thought of #myocd: my year of Charles Darwin but that refers to my ocd. Yea.  So #yearofdarwin it is. 

My Year of Darwin

My Year of Darwin (#yearofdarwin)

In the midst of too much to do, I like to distract myself. So I devised a distraction that might be less destructive than Solitaire or watching one of the many sci-fi TV shows that I love. For 2014, I would like to post a Charles Darwin quote every day that I find interesting and insightful. I'll pull quotes from his books and a collect of letters. 

#1 "I believe I was in many ways a naughty boy" -CD, Autobiography 

Charles Darwin was born February 12, 1809 to Robert Darwin, MD and Susannah Wedgewood Darwin. Darwin describes himself as being an average boy - a bit slow and naive. His mother died when he was very young and his earliest memories were being outside. 

Yo Strat! Where ya been? 

Natural Gas
I last posted in August 2012. I was wrapping up the field work associated with the natural gas project. We were catching birds and seeing if there was an association between the density of natural gas wells and (1) levels of glutathione S-transferase, a detoxifying enzyme and (2) levels of mercury and barium in feathers. All birds were captured near stream sides in the breeding season. The model was this: if contaminants from natural gas operations were making their way into surface waters they would bioaccumulate in aquatic insects and, when these insects emerged, they would be eaten by birds. 

How did it turn out?  Find out just after winter break.  Oh, the suspense.

GMS Habitats in Pennsylvania
The past season I was working on a state-funded grant examining biodiversity and food webs in grasslands, meadows and savannas (GMS). The state owns and manages GMS habitats in game lands and state parks. Each land manager has a slightly different take on how to manage the habitat.  For example, the SGL near Francis Walter Dam is managed for pheasant and has food plots for them and other wildlife. Another SGL near Cresco, PA is essentially shrub land - bad for pheasant but great for deer. So we are surveying a large number of GMS sites and looking at the numbers of bird species and their abundance. This research is funded for another year and you can find more information here (including how to help). 

Amazonian Birds
It has been years since I've done work in the Amazon but still lots to write on. I've learned the basics of Bayesian analysis in R and enough to dig up some old data to get out. One paper was published this past March in the Journal of Field Ornithology (here). Now working on a paper comparing the habitats used by terrestrial insectivorous birds to habitats available in forest fragments. Presented this at the AOU meeting in Chicago. One of the best professional meetings I've been to!  We decided to publish a series of papers together, produce a review, and I was invited to coauthor a book chapter. Busy busy busy.

So I'll be posting more often, even if just for me, and getting my writing mojo on!