Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Once again we’re lucky to have a video sent by a reader. Dennis Hansen, a biologist at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies in Zurich, has sent us pictures and videos before from islands in the Indian Ocean. Here we have a reptile from the Aldabra Atoll, with these notes: I am slightly disturbed … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photos (and a video)
Stephen Barnard, endemic to Idaho, is now fishing in New Zealand, and he sent me this photo of a New Zealand brown trout (Salmo trutta) with the caption, Is this wildlife? Your call. I deemed it wildlife and asked if he released it or ate it. His response was that he releases every fish he catches. This … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photos
First we have an Honorary Cat™ (also known as a fox) sent by reader Graham with the note: As I’m typing this the fox is sitting in the garden, making itself at home and ignoring me. Photos taken with a Pentax K-500 with a Sigma 300 telephoto lens. Hope they’re good enough for your website … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photos
What better way to conclude Darwin Day than with some pictures of giant tortoises—not from the Galápagos, mind you, but an independently evolved case of island gigantism on Aldrabra in the Indian Ocean. The pictures come from biologist and reader Dennis Hansen from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies in Zurich. His explanation: … Continue reading Giant tortoises FTW
Mauritius is a small volcanic island of about 2000 square kilometers, located 900 km east of Madagascar. Because of its origin as an oceanic island that formed bereft of any life, it’s home to many rare and endemic species (some of which, like the dodo, are extinct). When I asked readers to send photos of … Continue reading Biology: a reader reports from Mauritius
Yesterday I presented some photographs and descriptions by biologist Dennis Hansen of his work on the isolated island of Mauritius. That only scratched the surface of the amazing biology of the endemic species on this island, and I want to finish up this brief lesson with some more show-and-tell. Dennis also sent me an reallly … Continue reading The biology of Mauritius: part 2
