Feeling Jumpy? It's Leap Day!

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound… Here are the jumpers with their maximum distance in one leap. Arboreal species distances are limb to limb.

Happy Leap Day!

Bullfrog Rana catabeinsis 6.5 feet
Cougar Puma concolor 27 feet !!!
Red Fox Vulpes vulpes 15 feet
Meadow Jumping Mouse Zapus hudsonicus 3 feet
Woodland Jumping Mouse Napaeozapus insignis 13 feet!

Oh, go take a flying leap!!!
Flying Squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus 148 feet !!!
Gray Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis 19 feet
Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus 6 feet
Snowshoe Hare Lepus amaericanus 20 feet !!!!
(they don't call them Lepus for nothin'!)

Spittlebug Philaenus spumarius 2 feet
Cat flea Ctenocephalides felis 1 foot
Grasshoppers (many spp.) 3 feet
White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus 40 feet
oh deer!

Take a leap,
The Dorr Museum of Natural History

Blueprint of Life

Did you see the movie Gattaca? Remember the double spiral staircase? Remember the credits? The letters making up the film's title: a,t, g, and c were a different color than the other letters. Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Thymine. The photo of 2 snails? They are escargot (Helix), 2 of them...a double Helix. Got it yet? Stairway to Heaven?

On Februay 28, 1953 Watson and Crick figured out the structure of DNA, a double helix. They figured it out from Rosalind Franklin's X-ray pictures of DNA molecules. Watson and Crick won the Nobel Prize in 1962, becoming household names.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1962/watson-bio.html
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1962/crick-bio.html

Franklin perished in obscurity, but you can read about her discovery and her life in 2 books: Rosalind Franklin and DNA and Rosalind Franklin, The Dark Lady of DNA. http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/Rosalind_Franklin.html

The discovery of DNA and how it works is one of the paramount discoveries in biology, along with evolution,natural selection and life based on chemosynthesis, not photosynthesis, at the deep sea vents. DNA studies have revitalized most aspects of botany, zoology and paleontology, revising taxonomic relationships (systematics), genetics, and medicine.

The Dorr Museum of Natural History

In our shadow

Last night's lunar eclipse was truly stunning! Before the eclipse, moonlight shone so brightly that it seemed like daylight. The albedo from snowclad fields made it bright enough to still see colors. Then the drama began... looking out my windows, the bright snowfields faded and an eerie darkness grew. It wasn't like the dimmed light of clouds passing over the moon. No white glow from clouded skies. Just darker and darker ground, with stars popping out overhead. Viewed from the dark skies of rural Maine, the moon turned dark orange as it entered earth's umbral shadow.

I went outside and stood on my backporch, clad in pajamas, coat and scarf. Wind whisked through pine branches and dried beech leaves rattled, still attached to saplings. The moon glowed deep umber and bright stars glittered. I hooted for Great Horned Owls, who I hope will nest in last year's crow nest in my yard, but the only answers were from my cats meowing inside. Standing there in my flip-flops, watching the remaining bright white arc of moon slowly melt away, I was reminded of roasting marshmallows 'round a campfire. White, ever so slowly turns mellow brown and then when it gets hot enough, ignites into glowing orange. It looked just like what was happening in the sky. And just like roasting marshmallows, watching an eclipse takes patience, maybe even more so, with no warming fire nor sugary reward.

But reward there was at totality! Suddenly the moon took on a 3D appearance, looking like one of those artists' conceptions of the view from another planet. When the moon is full it's so bright that it looks more like a disk than the sphere it is. But in our shadow, smoldering auburn, the moon appeared round. The "man in the moon" seemed to purse his lips in an expression of amazement. It was a spectacular sight with brilliant white Saturn just to the left of our orange orb and Regulus of Leo shimmering overhead! The moon punctuated the backwards question mark sickle of Leo the Lion's head with a giant dot, overwhelming Regulus' starpoint.

I have been asked why, during a lunar eclipse, that only the brighest stars become visible, making constellations easier to see. Whereas during a new moon, dim stars and the Milky Way blanket the sky making finding constellations a bit of a consternation. I was curious myself to see if the Milky Way would come out during this eclipse, but it did not. The answer is simply that even an eclipsed moon puts out a lot of light, obliterating dimmer stars. Guess being in our shadow isn't as eclipsing as earthlings might think.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Valentine's Day, so here's a little
♥Animal Courtship ♥ quiz for you:
1. What does the courtship call of this bird sound like?
♥ Answer ♥
This owl’s song or call is supposed to sound like the sharpening or whetting of a saw, giving the bird its name: Sawwhet Owl. Listen for their incessant calls at night next month.

2. How do female river otters let male otters know when they are ready to mate?
♥ Answer ♥
You may think the answer is just common sense, but it’s really an uncommon scent. Females ready to breed produce a special courtship perfume in their scent deposits which males can detect.

3. What is this eagle "talon" you about wooing a valentine?
♥ Answer ♥
Bald Eagles perform amazing courtship displays in which pairs lock talons in mid air and then cartwheel down toward earth, separating at the last moment.

Last week this pair near Ellsworth got carried away, lost in the moment, and hit the ground, talons still locked. The man pictured, interrupted their reverie and the eagles unlatched and took off.

Front page Ellsworth American 2/7/08

4. How can the astute tidepool voyeur tell if Whorled Whelks are mating?
♥ Answer ♥
It’s not your grandma’s Lawrence Whelk! These snails get to rockin’ and a rollin’ during mating. Males internally fertilize females who mate with several partners before laying impressive egg cases.

5. How do lobster females attract a mate?
♥ Answer ♥
They urinate! Female sex pheromones are contained in their urine.

6. Muskrat Love: What does muskrat musk smell like?

♥ Answer ♥
Strawberries! No wonder they wrote a song about muskrat love!

7. Groundhogs are sound asleep on Groundhog Day, but when they do wake up in early spring they don’t look for their shadow. What are groundhogs looking for?
♥ Answer ♥
Male groundhogs wake up first and go around hunting for females still in their burrows or just awaking from hibernation so they can mate.

8. What do these male birds have to find beforethey begin courtship?

♥ Answer ♥
A gull-friend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Guess Who's Birthday?!?

While playing with your Lincoln logs today, build a "tree of life" and remember the other great man born on the very same day in 1809!

Happy Birthday Abe and Charles Darwin!

Happy Year of the Rat!

It's the Chinese New Year of the Rat.

"Oh rats!" "You dirty rat!" Sometimes rats get a bad rap, but many folks love them, with pet rats as beloved members of the family. In honor of Year of the Rat, here are some mousings, er musings on rats:

Woodrats or packrats used to be abundant in southern New England. They are cute rodents with bushy tails and tales to tell. Packrat middens are windows into the past giving paleontologists evidence of past climates and anthropologists information on past peoples. Woodrats will collect almost anything! Nests today contain beer cans, keys and other accouterments of modern life.

The Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister) is our nearest native rat. It currently lives in 12 states, is listed as Endangered, Threatened or otherwise jeopardized in 9 of them, and has been "extirpated" from NY, CT and MA . It needs remote, rocky habitats (caves, boulder piles, outcroppings etc.) with deep hiding places. http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/lib/pgc/wildlife/notes/pdf/woodrat.pdf

Woodrats or pack rats:
~Numerous species, genus Neotoma
~Found around N. America, largely in the West (range varies w/species)
~Distinguished from Old World rats (Rattus), by furry tail and pale throat/chest.
~Build above-ground houses of natural and human debris (plant parts, manure, trash etc.), often sheltered by rocks or large plants. Houses provide shelter from temperature extremes, predators. Said to defend territory from other rats.
~Said to steal buiding materials from human dwellings, cars
~Largely herbivorous. Desert species get all water from eating succulent plants
~Nocturnal; preyed on by owls, snakes + night mammals

We have no native rats in Maine, but many stowaway rats from ships have populated the state. (and not just in Augusta) Norway and Black Rats have spread around the globe as stowaways with traveling humans. Both live in territorial colonies with internal hierarchies of dominance. Black Rats are great climbers, Norway Rats are excellent swimmers. It's the Norway Rat that is bred for pets.

Thanks to Museum Rat Pack member Sasha Ratfish Paris for providing this information!
The Dorr Museum of Natural History

Ash Wednesday

Time once again to turn our attention to the sturdiest of trees, the ashes, genus Fraxinus. Today's beautiful wet snow festooning branches (quali) made ash limbs stand out in stark contrast. Their stout twigs with opposite branching frosted with snow reminded me of that Lenten treat, hot-crossed buns. All our native ashes are in danger of going "ashes to ashes dust to dust" before their time due to an invasive beetle from Asia.

The beautifully named and duly appointed Emerald Ash Borer has devastated ash trees in Michigan.

Maine foresters and conservationists are concerned about Emerald Ash Borers who are making their way east. Maine's tribal basket makers, manufacturers of baseball bats in Wisconsin, and canoe builders in Maine, all of whom use ash wood in their crafts are likewise concerned.

Like all members of the metallic wood borer family, the Buprestid beetles, ash borers burrow through ash inner bark eating all the yummy sweet cambium. Speaking of yummy, these hammerhead larva are quite delicious and taste like cashews!

The culinary calligraphy of these beetles compete with the tree for nutrients and eventually can girdle the tree, starving it to death.

The invasive Emerald Ash Borer has not yet been spotted in Maine, but it's on its way. We have several lovely copper and emerald green native metallic wood boring beetles too. So, if you find one of these beauties don't freak out. Catch it if you can and contact the Entomology Dept. of Maine's Forest Service. The Abbe Museum is organizing a panel discussion on the Emerald Ash Borer problem which will be held at COA this May.

Happy Ash Wednesday,
The Dorr Museum of Natural History

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Live it up with pãté de foie gras –
It’s Mardi Gras! (Fat Tuesday)

We tend to think of fat as bad and to be lost. But Maine’s winter mammals would be on thin ice without fat! Just as we pile up firewood to burn for heat all winter, they are busily eating to store fat to burn in their metabolic furnaces to survive the cold.

“Regular” fat, burned for energy is white, just like what you trim off pork chops or steak. But many mammals, especially hibernators, make and store brown fat to burn exclusively for heat! Brown fat is stored between the shoulder blades, at the base of the neck, so that the brain is first to be warmed.

So, live it up. Eat something fattening and burn it off on the skating rink. But if you plan to save up some brown fat to give your brain that needed afternoon boost, sorry but that ship has sailed. Humans are born with brown fat, but we burn it off in infancy, and never produce any more.

The Dorr Museum of Natural History

Groundhog Day!

While you wait with bated breath to find out if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow in the morning, here's a groundhog quiz to keep you occupied.

Groundhog Day is February 2nd. What's the astronomical significance?
Answer
▼ Groundhog day is half way between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Winter is Half over! In fact, February 2nd is considered the beginning of spring in the Celtic Calendar. Groundhog day is one of the Great Cross-Quarter Days, some others being May Day and Halloween.

What do candles have to do with Groundhog day?
Answer
▼ The origin of Groundhog’s Day is Imbolc, a Celtic holiday celebrating the return of light, and the first stirrings of spring. The early Catholic church tried to usurp Imbolc by Creating St. Brigid’s Day on February 1st, St. Brigid being "the Bringer of light". That didn’t work. Folks still celebrated Imbolc. Candles bring light. So they came up with Candlemas Day, February 2nd, a day of purification and to bless candles.

How did groundhogs become weather prognosticators?
Answer
▼ In Europe, people noticed that Badgers and hedgehogs became active in early February. From this they deduced the animals knew that winter was over. Germans, settling in the new world, simply substituted groundhogs (there being no badgers in New England).
As for woodchucks’ weather prognostication abilities, a 1600’s proverb says:
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight,
If on Candlemas it shower and rain,
Winter is gone and not come again.
So, if a groundhog sees his shadow that means it is fair and bright (and likely cold) = 6 more weeks of winter. If the groundhog does not see his shadow that means it’s cloudy (and likely warmer) = winter will soon be over.

Are you likely to see a groundhog on February 2nd in Maine?
Answer
▼ About a snowball’s chance in hell. True, deep hibernators, groundhogs are "fast asleep", "snug" in their burrows on their special holiday. Their body temperature drops from their active level of 99F to 40F, and their heart rate slows from 80 to 5 beats per minute, and respiration drops from 16 breaths per minute to just 4. Really these guys are "slow asleep" and not very cozy and snug, their bodies just above ambient burrow temperatures.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Answer
▼ If a woodchuck could chuck wood, a woodchuck would chuck all he could!

A Woodchuck? A Groundhog? A Whistlepig?
Answer
▼ All are monikers for Marmota monax, "the muttering digger"
"Woodchuck" is a derivation of the Algonquin word for Marmota monax, "Wejack" Marmota comes from marmonner "to mutter, to mumble"
Monax means "Digger" in a tribal tongue from the Carolinas.
Whistlepig refers to their whistle alarm calls.
WoodChuck, because they live along the edge of the woods and reminded early farmers of piglets, which were called "chucks".

How did the Original Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Celebrate on February 2nd?
Answer
▼ They loved groundhogs in the culinary sense. In the early 1880’s six Punxsutawneyans in search for a cure for spring fever, set out with hoes and jugs of liquor to catch them some groundhogs! They dug up several hibernating groundhogs, whacked them on the head and fricasseed them over a campfire. Groundhog stew and generous libations put the revelers in such a good mood that they repeated the outing each year. http://www.groundhog.org/

No matter how you celebrate, have a very

Happy Groundhog Day!
Without a shadow of a doubt,
The Dorr Museum of Natural History