Tag Archives: science

Fangirling Sloth

Oooh mah Gawd… Met my science idol for the second time ever today. The first time I met her (at a conference last year), she was surrounded by a bunch of big-wigs, so I burst into the middle of the circle, said “Hi! Big fan! Read all your papers! Come look at my poster! Bye!”

JUST LIKE THIS SLOTH! OH HAI!

ohhai

BUT IT WAS WORTH IT. She DID come look at my poster. AND… today she says “Oh yes! I remember YOU!” WINNING. Anyway, actually got to have a proper sit down meeting with her today to discuss my work, which was great. #nerdlyf

Blog Posts No comments

Case of the Mondays

I am so over today. Spent 9 1/2 hours at work with only a 15 minute lunch break. Didn’t even get home in time for Zumba! Devo sloth! Fortunately the boy has soccer bye this week so I can go Wednesday, yay! But yeah realised halfway through analysing my experiment that I had forgot a crucial step in the protocol… think I managed to salvage it but yeah felt like a bit of an idiot. eatinsides

Blog Posts 1 comment

Teaching Times

I’ve been demonstrating and helping out with the undergrad practicals this semester. It’s only two weeks in and I’m exhausted! I haven’t done any of my own work and am definitely falling behind. Tonight I sat down (at 9:30pm) to do some marking, and realised I’d left everything at work. So that was useless. Feeling a bit run down! But just thinking of the (good) money that will come to me at the end of it. Short term pain, as they say. Might as well make me earn it!

20140410-223013.jpg

 

Einsloth… By S.Watercolour.

Art Blog Posts No comments

Pygmy Sloths of Panama

nickbakerpygmy

Watch this documentary by biologist Nick Baker on finding a wild three-toed pygmy sloth in the mangroves of Panama. Whilst two-toed and three-toed sloths are fairly abundant in the wild, pygmy sloths (about 40% the size of a normal three-toed sloth) are critically endangered. Only around 100 remain in the wild.

Skip to 39 minutes in for the finding of the pygmy sloth.

Science Videos No comments

Eleven Hour Days FTW

Ugh. Totally over work at the moment. So busy! But seem to be getting nowhere! Wish I could just quit my job and go and be a sloth scientist. Then I could spend my days lazing around learning about these amazing creatures with adorable faces.

20140723-194534-71134377.jpg

Blog Posts No comments

Sad Sloth

Feeling a bit down in the dumps today. The job that I do can be pretty ruthless to people who want to actually have a career. *sigh* Pick yourself up, girl!

20140710-085935-32375181.jpg

Blog Posts No comments

Sloths & Moths

Scientists studying sloths have recognized a syndrome of mutualism between sloths, moths and algae, that could explain how the sloth overcomes its “laid-back” lifestyle.

We discovered that sloths consumed algae from their fur, which was highly digestible and lipid-rich. By descending a tree to defecate, sloths transport moths to their oviposition sites in sloth dung, which facilitates moth colonization of sloth fur. Moths are portals for nutrients, increasing nitrogen levels in sloth fur, which fuels algal growth. Sloths consume these algae-gardens, presumably to augment their limited diet. These linked mutualisms between moths, sloths and algae appear to aid the sloth in overcoming a highly constrained lifestyle.

threetoedslothandmoths

The original journal paper can be downloaded from here, or you can watch this short YouTube clip explaining it in layman’s terms!

 

Science Videos No comments