Who's the Boss?

A mindbending video about the effect of parasites on human behavior.

Male pregnancy: The dark side

SUMMARY: New research shows evidence for cryptic mate choice in Gulf pipefish. This is supported by two observations. First, males that mate with larger ("more desirable") females raise broods that have a higher survivorship. Second, embryo success in consecutive broods is negatively correlated. These observations show that males preferentially invest their limited resources into raising broods produced by "more desirable" females. 

PS, Thanks Melissa for these links!

Eciton Army Ants- silent movie by Alex Wild

 
One of the top small critter photographers out there is Alex Wild (visit his site here). Here's a short video of Eciton army ants.

Winged Migration

Winged migration is a great documentary about the drama of migration in birds. The above video is part 1/8 (I'm sure you'll figure out how to see the rest of it!!)

Elephants respond to carcass

Elephant close encounter

Humming birds

Genetic Code for Monogamy

Plagues of Locusts

 

Swarming desert locusts have a complex life cycle marked by different morphological and behavioral phases. I'll add more info to this posting later, including some links to citations.

Termite World

Naked Mole Rat

Go to Yale and learn Game Theory

Mating Systems and Parental Care

Part of a series of lectures by Steven Stearns at Yale University.   Yale University launched a program called Open Yale- where lecturers save all their course materials (including audio and video) and publish them freely online. Take a quick course in....

1. Freshman Organic Chemistry

2. Principles of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Behavior

3. Civil War and Reconstruction Era

4. Game Theory

....and much much more.

I haven't sat down and gone through the whole EEB course yet. I'll let you know what I think in a few days. In the meantime, you've got something to learn!!

The Alcon Blue Butterfly

This is a video excerpt from "Intimate Relations" an episode of Life in the Undergrowth (BBC).
The plot thickens...  butterfly larvae in the ants' nests are susceptible to parasitoid wasps....


Reference:

A Mosaic of Chemical Coevolution in a Large Blue Butterfly

Nash et al.
Science 4 January 2008: 88-90
DOI: 10.1126/science.1149180

Bonobos

This video on the Bonobo chimp shows their high level of cognitive ability and their strong similarity to humans.

Susan Savage-Rumbaugh on apes | Video on TED.com

"Pied piper" for bees?

How does a bee colony "decide" when to swarm? Apparently a small number of individuals perform a behavior called "piping" that triggers the group to follow them.

Link to article at BBC Earth News (video)

Video of queen bee piping

Intelligence of crows

New Caledonian Crow by Vince Musi for National Geographic Magazine. ©2008 All Rights Reserved

Joshua Klein on the intelligence of crows | Video on TED.com

E.O. Wilson on saving life on Earth

"If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos."

E.O. Wilson on saving life on Earth | Video on TED.com