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.
Reader Otto Nieminen sent some arthropods, including a very weird arachnid (third and fourth photos):
The spider is in all probability a Nephila inaurata inaurata (the red-legged golden orb-web spider) and was pictured in Zanzibar, Tanzania when I travelled there in 2007. The Nephila genus is a bit of a mess (what spider genus isn’t 😀 ) so perhaps best just to say Nephila sp. if you do decide to post it.
The hempitera is some Spilostethus sp. as far as I can tell (but Lygaeidae family seems fairly certain) that I pictured in Petra, Jordan just last year. I love archaeology and it was fantastic to visit Petra, but I did take time to picture any animals as well that I could find.
And finally, since it’s not wildlife but my pet, it might not qualify but I have a pet amblypygi in this link. The species is Damon diademaand it is found in east Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. These are some of the most fascinating arachnids I know of: they lack venom, their first pair of legs have evolved to become antennae-like feelers. They hunt by using their first pair of legs to position the prey close to their pedipalps so they can catch and hold it while having their noms. Amblypygis are usally very shy animals and prefer to hide so it was amazing to see it actually hunting. The poor cricket had about 0,01 seconds to live after this picture was taken.
Here’s a photo of one from Wikipedia:
Kiwi reader Clive Thorp sent photos of a bird endemic to New Zealand:
I told my neighbour Clive about your “Reader’s wildlife photographs” and suggested we submit his kererū (New Zealand Native Woodpigeon, Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) photos. They were taken in his garden in Kelburn in suburban Wellington New Zealand.
This news had now become public courtesy of the Guardian, so I guess I can announce it here. On the day I arrived in Oxford (Saturday), Richard suffered a minor stroke at his home, which caused some temporary paralysis on one side but left his cognitive functions and speech intact. It was mild and caught early, so he’s expected to make a full recovery. Several of us have heard from him via an audio message, and although he sounds a bit tired, you wouldn’t know from his voice that anything was amiss. He’s at home and being well taken care of by Lalla.
Needless to say, he’ll have to cancel his appearance as moderator of my Darwin Day talk tonight (my old friend Steve Jones will be filling in), as well as the other Darwin Day talk in Nottingham and his upcoming tours of Australia and New Zealand. Join me in wishing him well. If you’re going to have a stroke, this is about the mildest form you can have, and I’m delighted that the prognosis is for a full recovery.
Good morning and Happy Friday to all! Grania here again. Professor Ceiling Cat is wending his way to London for his talk later this afternoon, so I am on Hili Dialogue duty this morning. He will of course check in with us later.
It is Darwin Day today (of course) so perhaps we should start with this quote from his On the Origin of Species:
“There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”
Over in Poland today, Hili is still on her eternal vigilant watch for the turning of the seasons.
A: Where are you going?
Hili: On the roof to see whether Spring is visible yet.
In Polish:
Ja: A ty gdzie się wybierasz?
Hili: Na dach, zobaczyć, czy widać już wiosnę.
And as a little lagniappe, Taskin sent us in a lovely photo of a “catnip infused” Gus. Some of us certainly know how to enjoy life!
Today’s a quiet day in North Hinksey (Oxford), as I stay at home, work on my talk, rest, and do a few posts. For lunch my host took me to the Fishes, a local “gastropub”, which is what happens when rich locals take over the pub. The prices go up and the traditional accoutrements of the pub disappear. But they still have well-kept real ale, and the food is good.
Inside: only two real ales on tap. I went for Morland’s Old Speckled Hen, a local brew and a creditable pint, although a wee bit too cold:
A good pint is a lovely thing, with a small, creamy head, and golden as the afternoon light shines through it:
Lunch: I went for sausages again, this time venison sausages with mash, watercress (again), and, to satisfy the captious reader of yesterday, two fried onion rings.
Genteel British ladies in the gastropub. Not a pint among them—they went for wine.
Cartoonist Dave Brown of the Independent (papers are in the pub) gives a Brit’s-eye-view of Trump, and it ain’t pretty. They wouldn’t put a scatological cartoon like this in an American paper:
And there was a closet whose legend will be familiar to many:
North Hinksey is an old and lovely village, founded in the 10th century, with many attractive houses, like this one:
The local church dates back to at least the 12th century:
Can you spot the robin below? It’s not the American robin but, as my host said, a “proper robin.” The species is the European robin, (Erithacus rubecula). Its call was beautiful.
This gorgeous bird, easy to spot, is of course the blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus. Among other things, the species is famous for having learned to open milk bottles on people’s doorsteps and drink the cream, a trait that was culturally inherited. Now the behavior is of no adaptive significance since I don’t think milk is delivered to doors any longer.
And I was very excited to see my first cat in Britain, a hefty tabby in someone’s allotment. It walked like a tiger, and would not approach me. Still, the cats have been almost completely absent since I arrived here. For a while my hypothesis was that there were no cats in Britain.
My Darwin Day lecture for the British Humanists, set tomorrow for 7:30 at the Institute of Education in London, is now sold out, which pleases me greatly as it seats 1000 people. The announcement is here, but I wanted to add a last-minute note. I will have to depart for a “do” soon after the talk and Q&A, so since there will be books on sale (both FvF and WEIT), I’ve asked for the venue to be opened earlier so I can sign books if people want that. They’ve decided to open the doors of the Institute at 5 p.m., and I’ll try to show up about then to chat with people and sign books. The door to the main hall, however, will still open at 7 p.m., half an hour before the talk.
Cliven Bundy, father of Ammon Bundy, the head of the gang of thugs who occupied the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, has just been arrested in Oregon, while the four remaining occupants of Malheur say they’ll surrender today (Thursday).
You may remember that Cliven has been involved in a 23-year-long fight with the U.S. government about his refusal to pay fees for grazing his cattle on federal land. His sons Ammon and Ryan and other members of the gang remain in jail, all facing charges of conspiracy to obstruct a federal officer, a felony. One member of the gang, LaVoy Finicum, was killed in a shootout with police.
About two years ago, the government began the process of rounding up Cliven Bundy’s cattle as the payment he refused to make for grazing. Bundy then gathered a bunch of armed libertarian thugs to oppose the government, which then caved, stopped rounding up his cattle, and left. It was a victory for Bundy and all the right-wing ranchers and farmers who say they’re entitled to use government land—our land—without fee. It’s been a sore point with me that the U.S. government can’t force a few rebellious cranks to follow the law (the confiscation of cattle was ordered by the court).
That has now ended: the Washington Post (and other venues) report that Cliven was arrested while trying to visit the remaining four protestors at Malheur, and those four have said they’ll leave the refuge today. They’ll surely be arrested as well. From the Post:
The FBI in Portland would not confirm the circumstances of elder Bundy’s arrest. But the Oregonian reported that he was apprehended at Portland International Airport after disembarking from his flight from Las Vegas late Wednesday night. The newspaper said that Bundy, 74, faces the same charge as his son in relation to his standoff with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in 2014. He also faces weapons charges, it said.
Cliven Bundy’s arrest came just hours after the FBI moved to surround the spot where the lingering occupiers were camped Wednesday evening.
According to a statement issued by the FBI in Oregon, authorities made their move after one of the occupiers rode an ATV at 4:30 p.m. local time outside the enclosure where the handful of occupiers have been barricaded.
“FBI Agents attempted to approach the driver and he returned to the encampment at a high rate of speed,” the statement said.
The FBI moved to “contain” the remaining four occupiers by posting agents at the barricades in front of and behind the spot where the occupiers are camping, the statement continued.
Michele Fiore, the gun-toting member of the Nevada state legislature (remember her? see here and here) has been an advocate for the Malheur thugs, and wants to travel to the refuge to ensure their safety. But the occupiers seem to be losing it, doing pranks like making “doughnuts” in a Federal vehicle and acting erratically, and it’s doubtful that the feds will let Fiore onto the property.
“I think I want to take it on a little joy ride. You know?” [occupier David] Fry said. “Let’s start this baby up. Now you’ve got another charge on me, FBI. I am driving your vehicle.”
But in the phone conversation broadcast over YouTube, Fiore — speaking to the occupiers from Portland International Airport — repeatedly had to call for calm, as Fry yelled incoherently and other occupiers broke into shouts or tears.
“People are watching,” she assured them, asking them to recite prayers.
But the occupiers insisted that they could not trust the FBI’s promise of a peaceful resolution, and seemed certain that the standoff would end in violence.
If they really wanted it to end peacefully, they’d simply drop their weapons and exit the refuge with their hands in the air, or, better yet, come out with their hands in the air and then lie down flat with their arms forward. Remember that LaVoy Finicum was killed by Federal agents while reaching for the belt that held his gun. I’m convinced that the government doesn’t want any violence in this issue, if for no other reason than it would make martyrs of the thugs, inspiring other right-wingers to follow their actions. But the thugs don’t help matters by the way they’re talking:
“They killed LaVoy,” one man yelled. LaVoy Finicum, a spokesperson for the occupation, was fatally shot by Oregon state troopers during a highway confrontation in January when Bundy and four others were arrested.
“We’re not giving them any reason [to fire],” another person said. “But my weapon is within reach.”
The people still at the refuge have said they will not leave as long as they face charges and a possible prison term.
“I can’t even describe to you how wrong it is i feel to be giving myself into the hands of the enemy,” Sandy Anderson said. “We’re going to lose our rights.”
. . . “You’re going to hell. Kill me. Get it over with,” yelled David Fry, sounding overwrought. “We’re innocent people camping at a public facility, and you’re going to murder us.”
Well if they’re not giving them any reason to fire, then surrender is dead easy. It doesn’t help to add that “my weapon is within reach.” That guarantees that the authorities will be wary and on edge.
My prediction is that the surrender will ultimately be peaceful, for these men don’t want to die—unless, like Finicum, they prefer death to incarceration. That fate would be easy, too: all they have to do is come out with guns drawn, like Butch and Sundance. But one thing is for sure: they’re not going to get off scot-free, as Cliven Bundy did for so long. I’m glad the government has decided not to tolerate arrant lawbreaking, and is trying to resolve this situation peacefully.
Cliven Bundy, 100% American (except when it comes to obeying its laws)
There were rumors afoot yesterday that this would be announced today. And my CNN news feed just directed me to their article, which I reproduce in its entirety; the headline calls gravitational waves “the holy grail of modern physics.”
Gravitational waves are a reality, according to scientists from an institution that has been hoping to observe them.
“We have detected gravitational waves. We did it,” said David Reitze, executive director of LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.
The discovery, based on ripples in space-time detected by LIGO, supports a prediction made by Albert Einstein that’s essential to his general theory of relativity. The ripples LIGO detected are based on the merging of two black holes, Reitze said.
“What’s really exciting is what comes next,” he said. “I think we’re opening a window on the universe — a window of gravitational wave astronomy.”
LIGO is described in a statement as “two identical detectors carefully constructed to detect incredibly tiny vibrations from passing gravitational waves,” one located in Louisiana, the other in Washington State. The project was created by scientists from Caltech and MIT and funded by the National Science Foundation.
Szabolcs Marka, a physics professor at Columbia University, told CNN that “we will be able to study not just Einstein’s general relativity — we’ll be able to find objects we only imagined would exist. We should see a universe that has never been observed before.”
Marka said to think of it as a “cosmic microphone,” an incredibly precise listening device that can detect distortions in space-time, the fabric of the universe. It’s so precise it can detect changes the size of a soccer ball in the entire Milky Way galaxy.
The discovery of gravitational waves is like opening another of our senses, Marka told CNN’s Rachel Crane: hearing the universe as well as seeing it.
“And when we hear the universe, we will learn about the secret life of black holes — their birth, their death, their marriage, their feeding. We will hear when a black hole eats a neutron star,” Marka said. “Nobody has ‘seen’ that before. We will not only understand it, we will ‘see’ it. It’s the most fascinating thing I can imagine.”
Indeed, black holes are a holy grail of the gravitational wave concept. To date, we’ve been able only to see their aftereffects — black holes themselves remain a conjecture. Discovery of gravitational waves would confirm their existence.
“It’s the first time the universe has spoken to us through gravitational waves,” said Reitze. “Up to now we’ve been deaf to them.”
You can read the Wikipedia article on gravitational waves, or, better yet, the very nice piece in the Torygraph by Martin Rees explaining the significance of this detection, which he calls “one of the great discoveries of the decade”. The apparatus for detecting the waves is amazing (my emphasis):
By analysing the light reflected off mirrors at each end it’s possible to detect tiny changes in the distance between the mirrors. When a gravitational wave passes, the distance between LIGO’s mirrors alternately increases and decreases as “space” expands and contracts.
This is an immensely delicate experiment: the effect being sought is so tiny that it “shakes” the mirrors through a distance less than a millionth of the size of a single atom. This is why it’s been crucial to have two similar detectors separated by nearly 2,000 miles – one in Washington State, the other in Louisiana – and to seek events that show up in both detectors, thereby ruling out effects caused by local seismic events, passing trucks, and so forth.
The collision of the two black holes that produced these waves happened a billion years ago. That, combined with our ability to detect movements of a mirror a mere millionth the size of a single atom (through light interference) is truly a stunning thing. What other animal could not only predict such waves, but then wrest materials out of our Earth to make a device that finds them? And I’m not even mentioning that we also found out about black holes.
One of the two detectors:
The 4km-long arms of the LIGO Hanford Observatory in Washington state, USA. With its sister facility across the country in Louisiana, it is built to detect gravitational waves Photo: NASA
Rees is not 100% convinced that the discovery is genuine, but seems to accept it as pretty sound. And, if real, it’s a Nobel Prize for sure.
