Acarology is the study of ticks and mites. During the summer, all the animal keepers become acarologists. Given the amount of time we spend outdoors we inevitably run into some of these critters. Ticks and mites are not insects but rather arachnids, the same group of animals that contains spiders. All ticks are parasites that feed on the blood of their hosts by inserting a feeding tube through a small incision in the skin. Mites have more diverse lifestyles butRead more
Posts filed in: Education
Big word of the month: adapiforms
This month’s instillation of the BWOM is inspired by the recent unveiling of a phenomenal fossil from the Eocene epoch (approximately 55 to 35 million years ago). This period in geological history is notable for the emergence of many modern forms of mammals. The fossil, dubbed Ida by its discoverers, is from the Messel Pit in Germany which has yielded many exceptional fossils. Her scientific name, Darwinius masillae, honors Charles Darwin (one of the founders of modern evolutionary biology) andRead more
Creature Feature: Banded Water Snake
This snake came to us in September of 2008, but its estimated birth date was in August of 2007. The previous owners had it for 6 months and then gave it to a pet store, which then donated the snake to us. We are not sure if the snake is male or female, and I am hesitant to speculate due to the most recent mix up with our black rat snake! However, what I am sure about is that thisRead more
Big word of the month: Neoteny
The big word of the month is neoteny. Neoteny is a term from developmental biology that refers to the retention of juvenile traits into adulthood. Humans display neoteny compared to our living primate relatives like chimpanzees. Our heads remain relatively large throughout our lives, for instance. I was inspired to write about this issue by the response to our new baby opossums living in Carolina Wildlife. I think everyone that sees them usually utters the word “cute” within 30 seconds.Read more
Box Turtle Chowdown
Around the animal department, everyone has little things that they get strange satisfaction from doing. Cassidy enjoys scrubbing really dirty walls and then rinsing them clean. Larry finds satisfaction in the battle of wills involved when picking donkey hooves. Kent enjoys feeding snakes and injecting air into dead mice so that they float for the alligators to eat. Katy always insists on being the one to scoop poop in the wolf yard, and Marilyn always likes to be the oneRead more
BWOM: Biogeochemical cycle
The Big Word of the Month is biogeochemical. You can probably figure out the meaning if you break down the root words. Scientists use the term to refer to the processes by which chemicals like nutrients move through biological (bio) and non-biological (geology and chemical) parts of the Earth’s ecosystem. One of the most important biogeochemical cycles is the Nitrogen cycle. Nitrogen is critical for animal and plant life because it is a constituent of proteins and nucleic acids (likeRead more