Ask most anyone what butterflies use their wings for or what fish do with their fins and you will undoubtedly hear an answer like, "Wings are used for flying and fins are used for swimming!" Some body parts just seem so well-adapted to perform certain functions; this is why there is a paradigm in biology that "specialized" body parts correspond to specific ways in which animals go about their daily business. In other words, specialization in morphology corresponds to specialization in ecology. … [Read more...] about Even a mantis shrimp is what it eats
Australia
Stomatopods and DVDs
Sometimes, the study of basic biology can lead to technological advances, and a recent discovery about the vision of mantis shrimp is a perfect example, providing insight that could help us improve the technology inside DVD players. What is the connection? Circularly polarized light! You're probably familiar with linearly polarized light. Fishermen often wear polarized sunglasses to reduce the glare from the water and make it easier to see the fish. Typically a ray of light vibrates randomly in … [Read more...] about Stomatopods and DVDs
Field notes: Collecting stomatopods on the Great Barrier Reef
UCMP graduate student Maya deVries traveled to Australia's Great Barrier Reef this summer, to collect stomatopods for her research. She shares her underwater adventure in this video. [flv:http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/images/video/MayaAustralia.flv 360 264] … [Read more...] about Field notes: Collecting stomatopods on the Great Barrier Reef