Geology in the TV...

"The Vinosaurio" warns us about the appearance of this reportage on Geology in the program 3,14 of 2.

tres14 - geology

In addition to a very mixed vision of the most recent advances in Geology, also we will be able to enjoy an interview our dear Francisco Anguita.
As all the programs of "television à la carte" will only be free for one week, so you are not late in seeing it... although it seems that also the ancient programs can be seen here.

Centrosaurinos, goats and soak you... solving the differences to butts

The today entry has something of special for me for two motives. First, I never thought that I was going to devote myself one day to write a serious thing of investigation realized with fossils of dinosaurs. And second, what yes that never passed to me for the imagination is that a scientific article about dinosaurs was going to quote some of my works... Nevertheless, today I break these thought lines definitely since precisely this is what it has spent.
Specifically, I am going to speak on an interesting work of interpretation of the existing bony structures in a group of well-known dinosaurs cone centrosaurinos:
Hieronymus, T.L., Witmer, L.M., Tanke, D.H., Currie, P.J. (2009) The Facial Integument of Centrosaurine Ceratopsids: Morphological and New Histological Correlates of Skin Structures. The Anatomical Record-Advances In Integrative Anatomy And Evolutiona ry Biology, 292: 1370-1396.

The first thing, perhaps, would be to tell who the centrosaurinos are... for that we are not dinomaniacos... Since it is a question of a group monofilético of dinosaurs ceratópsidos, that shape the group brother of the Triceratops and similar. The principal characteristic of the centrosaurinos is the presence of a series of nasal bony structures of big development and very varied morphology.

Between the most famous of his members Styracosaurus is, with his ruff surrounded with big thorns (to see above the reconstruction of Sergio Pérez González), Pachyrhinosaurus, with his nasal rugosity of controversial interpretation, or Centrosaurus, with his robust nasal horn.
The big structural similarity between the embellishment "corniformes" of the dinosaurs ceratopsios and it has taken those of the mammals in numerous occasions to the investigators to establish functional relations with similar implications paleobiológicas (competition intraespecífica, sexual selection, recognition of species). But in addition to the horns, some centrosaurinos present a rough surface of bone that has substituted the nasal horn, and these are precisely the most derivative filogenéticamente. For it, the study of the transition between a morphology and other one can throw light on the evolutionary bosses in game in this group. And this is the starting point of this work.
Two are the principal hypotheses raised to explain the nasal Pachyrhinosaurus rugosity. The first one infers the existence of a big horn of keratin similar to that of the current rhinos, which might serve like visual sign or like "weapon" in the competition for the females. The second one supposes the presence of a corny surface that would serve like "battering-ram" during the struggles between males, of a similar way to as they do nowadays the marine iguanas of the Galapagos Islands. Both interpretations favor the sexual or social selection as essential evolutionary factor in the development of these structures. In this work also other poibilidades appear, since there can be the appearance of hollow horns of type I chat (as those of soak you of the Asian Southeast) or of ossified dermal structures.
But in any case, since the function of these structures cannot be known straight, since these bugs became extinct his good 65 million years ago (and more), what Hyeronimus and his collaborators have attacked is an analysis of similar bony structures in current vertebrates as regards the function that they redeem (particularly, the struggles between males by means of the heads shock). That way they could have come I hope a real relation exists between the structure and his supposed function, so if it was not then the proposed adaptation would not have been imprecindible so that these structures were generated.
The descriptive part of the study is extraordinarily exhaustive and it generates a novel vision on the aspect that the heads of these animals would have, presenting a multitude of different dermal embellishment associated with the different types of bony extructuras that are in his skulls.

The interpretive part on the function of these different structures is based on studies of the relations filogenéticas of different groups of bóvidos and soak you acuales to be able to establish a statistical interrelation between structure and function. The results suggest that, certainly, there is a relation between the males' struggles and the rugosity of the cranial bony surface that receives the impacts of the rival. Therefore, the nasal Pachyrhinosaurus structures might have a similar morfofuncional in the current musky oxen (Ovibos), which have similar rough surfaces in the frontal bone. In fact, the authors even present an evolutionary stage for the transition between the long and straight horns of the basal centrosaurinos and the flat and rough structures of the most derivative. This one would do to herself across the curved horns antero-ventralmente of, for example, Einiosaurus, which, due to this curvature they would be more robust and might support the direct shocks of the heads of the male opponents (just as the horns of the current muflones). This behavior would become strong and finally there would favor the development of the rough structures (already without horns) conference in Pachyrhinosaurus. Come this point, it would suit very much to put a reconstruction of two grantes males of some of these species fighting to butts (or narizazos, rather), but I have not found any in the whole web...
Very well, to end and if someone has curiosity, only stays to mention that the article that these authors have quoted to me, (for which I am very grateful to them) is:

• Hernández Fernández, M. and Vrba, E.S. (2005) To complete estimate of the phylogenetic relationships in Ruminantia to yourself: to dated species-level supertree of the extant ruminants. Biological Reviews, 80: 269-302. (PDF)
  

which they have used like basic filogenética on that to realize the analysis of interrelation of characters in the bovine current ones (cows, buffaloes, antelopes enjaezados and related).
In Research Blogging...
Hieronymus, T., Witmer, L., Tanke, D., and Currie, P. (2009). Facial The Integument of Centrosaurine Ceratopsids: Morphological and New Histological Correlates of Skin Structures Record The Anatomical: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology, 292 (9), 1370-1396 DOI: 10.1002/ar.20985

Beginning of the Trip of the Beagle

On December 27, 1831 the second passage of the Beagle began in the Bay of Plymouth. An important difference that it had with regard to the first one is that this time was provided between his crew with a 22-year-old young man, who would change the vision that the humanity has of the nature thanks to the experiences and remarks that it could assemble in this trip of almost five years (although it had been planned for something more about two... - it seems that even in the Big British Empire there were sometimes problems of organization, jeje-). We have to be grateful to captain Robert FitzRoy and to Francis Beaufort (his mentor) having invited, across his never adapted - grateful common friend John Henslow mentions, to this young naturalist to act like accompanist of the captain and, of step, to take part like member of the expedition entrusted to realize the scientific notes.
Such a naturalist was not different that the young man Darwin, who turned out to be much rewarded from the beginning of this trip, which was allowing him to move away from his native Inglatera and put into practice his passions collectors concerning the beetles (only in his first stops in Brazil and Uruguay it captured hundreds, which he sent diligently to Cambridge).
Also it realized remarks about the amazing fauna and vegetation of the South American Southern Cone, including the fossils of gliptodontes, interesting giant relatives of the armadillos, with big cuirasses without articulating. And he did not also forget to record all his remarks on the different indigenous cultures which it met. In fact, it had a lot of time for it, because the bad weather on the coasts of Earth of Fire forced them to wait. And Darwin lacked time there was included in different expeditions ground inside that the Argentine Pampa and the Patagonia explored.
When finally they managed to cross to the coasts of the South American Pacific Ocean, Darwin took part in several visits to the skirts of the Andes, where it realized numerous remarks of big geologic interest. Further on the beagle came to the Galapagos Islands, and from what it went on already there one has spoken very much... so why to repeat.
Seguidamente crossed the Pacific Ocean, doing scale in Tahiti and his lustful vegetation, to reach the British colonies of New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania, where it marveled with his vegetation, his rocky formations and especially with his strangest fauna, particularly the platypus.
In the Indian one it realized a scale in the islands Coconut and visited several coral islands, which they inspired to him to keep on exercising his talent as Geologist. And finally it came to South Africa, although on his stop in Cape Town it is possible only to be said that it was essentially administrative and of commissariat.
And after that, they headed for the native mother... or almost... because it was necessary to happen again for Brazil (what tragedy!) for turn to do a few measurements that the captain consider that be possible be erroneous...: what a better escusa! Very well, we can be useful now to mention that the original target of the whole trip of the Beagle was not that Darwin was walked by the wild grounds of half a world but cartografiar the coasts of South America, with all the mouths of the rivers, and to draw the different mountains and hills as they were seen from the sea, with measurements of his altitudes.

A very finished revision on the incidences of this long trip can be consult in AboutDarwin, although it is always advisable to read the entertaining history of trips that constituted the book "The Voyage of the Beagle" published by Darwin in 1839, three years after his return.
References

• Darwin, C.R. (1839) The Narrative of the Voyages of H.M. Ships Adventure and Beagle. III: Journal and Remarks, 1832-1836. Henry Colburn.

We say goodbye of Darwin...

Very well, so after a year of references to the life and work of Charles Darwin, today there has come the moment to dismiss us of this personage who managed to exhibit an evolutionary theory which is still completely current 150 years later in the scientific group.
We have been already presenting throughout the whole year multiple evidences of the importance of the work of Darwin and some of the persons to whom it was related.
In what perhaps we have not we have made emphasis sufficient it is in the revolutionary aspect that it had. The theory of the Evolution for natural selection supposed a radical change in the society of the middle of the XIXth century. His book on "The Origin of the Species" and the aftermath that followed him ("The Origin of the Man" and "The Expression of the Emotions...") they constituted the first scientific contributions that by implication they were attacking to the religious class and to the omnipresent idea up to this moment of which the divine action was behind all the aspects of the nature and the life.
If the XVIIIth century had supposed the Golden Age of the discovery of our planet, with the Enlightenment as force motorboat, only it had generated an increase in the description of the natural diversity of the same one. It was the XIXth century, with his multitude of revolutionary movements, which generated a new impetus in the explanations search for all this biodiversity, which culminated with the work of Darwin (and Wallace). And from this moment, the Science in general got rid of his religious ties and supposed the big blast-off of the western society to face the big challenges of the XXth century, many of which were an enclosed product of the new technological development. Streaming Til Death S04E20 The New Neighbors free

2010: International year of the Biological diversity

So, since it could not be otherwise, the first entry of the year corresponds to the celebration of which this year was declared by the UNO like dedicated to the Biodiversity, with the intention of attracting attention on his importance and on the pressing dangers that they affect to his conservation.

Under the slogan "The Biodiversity is a Life, the Biodiversity is Our Life" one tries to emphasize the role of the human beings as it divides the same one (which, by chance it connects with the ideas thrown by Darwin and on that so much we comment last year) and our responsibility at the time of protecting it. The general idea is that the set of interactions that shape the network woven by all the species of the planet results from vital importanica not only for the conservation of numerous organisms but also (and in a very special way) for the proper survival of our species.
On having declared this year as International Year of the Biological diversity, the intention of the United Nations is to promote the reflection on our achievements to safeguard the biodiversity and to center new efforts on this task, bearing in mind the urgency of this challenge given the circumstances for which our planet happens at present.

Exceptional popularizers: Gerald Durrell

This year is the International Year of the Biological diversity and, by chance, today 85 years of the birth are fulfilled in Jamshedpur (India) one of the most popular conservationists of the balloon...
Gerald M. Durrell (1925-1995)
Since it is habitual, here we will only do a brief critique about his life and work. For a more conscientious sample about the same ones it is convenient to visit the omnipresent Wikipedia.
For those that you it do not know, we can move forward that it is a question of one of the most dear writers of the XXth century, both for the affectionate of his books and for the comical touch that managed to give to them. But beyond that, what really always characterized him was his emulation for the nature conservation.
He was resembling his years in the East of the India firmly associated his first visit to a local zoo, something that it marked to him deeply for the rest of his life. So much it was so the first word that he learned to say was "a zoo"...
When he was counting three years his family it moved to England after the death of his father. Young Gerry joined the school, although it was quite habitual that was feigning some illness not to help.
Eight years later, due to the scarcity of the life in London the whole family moved to Corfu (Greece) in 1935, where it remained until 1939, when they returned to England because of the beginning of the Second World War. These four years of his life are some of the best acquaintances for the big public due to his works on this period (the well-known one "My family and other animals", and his aftermath "Bugs and other relatives" y "garden of god"), which have been translated into more than thirty languages.
Thanks to the well-off position that was providing the pension of 'widowhood of his mother and to the favorable foreign exchange between the pound sterling and the drachma at that time, the family had abundant free time to enjoy the kindness of the Mediterranean climate. And Gerry Durrell did not allow to spend the opportunity. During these years it developed his capacities as observer and recollector of the wild fauna the length and breadth of all this Greek island.

One of the facets more insults for his family (and most envied by his readership) was precisely his attraction for the maintenance in captivity of any living bug that was crossing for his way. Something that further on would demonstrate to have a very concrete utility. Fruit of this love there proved some of the most entertaining scenes of these years, remembered tenderly by his readership.
An important figure in this period is one of his particular tutors (young English of good family could not permitrse the luxury of not suffering the classes during all this time, for his misfortune). There talked each other of Theodore Stephanides, doctor, scientist, philosopher and poet, who caused a big impression in the personality of the young naturalist, with whom it covered the island gathering numerous specimens, with the consequent uncertainty of his family, which had hired him to give him a "serious" education.
To his return to England, Gerald Durrell was employed at an aquarium, at a shop of pets and finally at Whipsnade Zoo, achieving his biggest sleep from the infancy.
In 1947, making use of a gift - heredity programmed by his father for when it was 21 years, it initiated his first expedition of apprehension of animals to nourish the English zoos. This first trip to Cameroon was continued by many different throughout the following decades, visiting so remote and interesting areas like the British Guiana, Paraguay, Patagonia, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Sierra Leone, Mexico, Isla Mauricio, Assam, Madagascar, Russia, etc...
Undoubtedly, the expeditions remembered with more fondness went directed to Bafut, in the high grounds of Cameroon, where it knew and became a friend of the local chief Achirimbi II. The adventures happened during the different expeditions that it directed for this area lead diverse books as "The bloodhounds of Bafut" or "A zoo in my baggage".
Between the problems that were destroying Gerald Durrell during these trips it was explaining porué demons these settlers blancs wanted that the native ones were delivering to them the living animals, if the logical thing is that dead persons wanted them... to eat: no? Once he was managing to convince them in this unusual fact, the problem was becoming the accommodation of the gathered specimens, which could become hundreds in some moments. Particularly complicated to resolve was this given problem the fact that they were in completely isolated areas. For it it had to resort to all kinds of packings... Finally, once lodged, the animals must be fed appropriately, which tampo was a simple area.
In any case, his methods were distant much of the habitual ones at that time between the zoos recollectors. Only it was capturing animals that were not in danger in the area and he was not also taking animals charge simply thinking about his price of sale or about his value like claim due to his beauty. That made him enter banking broken after his third expedition and even went so far as to become enemies with the superintendent of the Zoo of London. With it it achieved that no other British zoo was requesting his services.
This mishap forced him to be imaginative and decided, cheered up by his brother Lawrence (the famous author of "The quartet of Alexandria") and his wife Jacquie, to write his first book that, under the title of "The Ark sorecargada" was reporting the adventures happened during his first expedition. The book, published in 1953, was immediately successful and allowed them obener enough money for a new expedition on the following year.
To his return he wrote the bestseller "My family and other animals", about that we have already spoken above, on his stay as adolescent in Corfu. This book was published in 1956 and provided enough money to him to realize an expedition to Cameroon which target would be to generate an animals collection for its own zoo, which would be managed in a very different way to as they it were at that time. The ideas of Gerald Durrell on this matter were very clear; the zoos should not be a simple entertainment spectacle, also they should be managed like important spaces of investigation of the animal behavior and, especially, like hardware for the conservation of the biodiversity. Finally, the project took form in 1958, when they founded the Zoological garden of Jersey, which was inaugurated one year later, after completing the collection of animals with which trajerón of South America.
Since then, the efforts of Gerald Durrell went to the development and putting in practice of his new conservationist philosophy for the handling of the fauna in captivity. The Zológico of Jersey turned into an experimentation area and allowed to reach big successes with the reproduction in captivity of numerous endangered species. Even in some cases it was possible to have been sick viable populations to his origin places.
The development of new projects and the difficulties of managing an institution of these characteristics led Gerald Durrell to starting in 1963 the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust and in 1971 his international slope, Wildlife Preservation Trust International. The Durrell initiative provoked on the following year the beginning of the world conferences on baby in species captivity in danger like help his survival. Both foundations have changed his names at present, being respectively Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and Wildlife Trust.
From the first moment the zoo of Jersey and both foundations they turned into world leaders in projects of conservation of all kinds, so much ex-situ as in-situ. Between the species that have benefited of his help encuentral the gorilla of the low grounds of Cameroon, the lemurs of Madagascar, mauricio's pigeons, or the tamarinos of Brazil.
And meanwhile, Gerald Durrell kept on writing magnificent books (completing a whole of 33) that helped to extend the conservationist call all over the world and to collect funds for the diverse conservation campaigns. And he did not hesitate to take part in diverse documentaries of the BBC and Channel 4, alone or along with his friends David Attenborough or Desmond Morris. With them it managed to reach a hearing of more than 150 million spectators. We can see an example of it in this fragment:

Finally, we can affirm that Gerald Durrell was one of the first and biggest activists in conservation of the wild fauna, going so far as to create school and developing in his entire capacity one of the props inside the conservation strategy faunística.

To end, only it stays to aim that the majority of his bibliography is edited in Castilian, although there are many qualifications descatalogados. At present, the biggest number of active qualifications is offered in pocket edition by Publishing Alliance, and all of them are entirely advisable.

Equation of Drake

Hello! Me lack? already that I do not write for a long time but yesterday a quite curious document I go over to the mail.
It is the application of the equation of Drake applied to the everyday life, and more specifically to the possibility of finding couple. The work belongs to Peter Backus, economist, and ride for title: Why I do not have to girlfriend: An application of the Drake Equation to love in the UK. (Why do not I have a fiancée: Application of the equation of drake in the love in U.K).
Not if the whole world will know this equation, that of Drake, so the best thing will be to tell who Drake is and that it is his equation.
Frank Drake born in Chicago on May 28, 1930, is an astronomer and American astrophysicist. At present he is the director of the Center Carl Sagan, inside the Ins tituto SETI, of which he is an emeritus president. I postulate in 1961 an equation that allows the statistical calculation of the number of civilizations with the aptitude to the called Equation of Drake communicate by signs of radio in our galaxy.
The Drake equation is the following one:
N = R* x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L
Where:
N: Civilizations with aptitude to communicate in our galaxy.
R*: Annual rhythm of formation of stars "adapted" in our galaxy.
fp: Stars fraction with planets.
faith: Planets orbiting inside the habitable stripe of the star.
fl: Planets inside the habitable stripe in which the life has developed.
fi: Fraction of these planets in which intelligent life has developed.
fc: Fraction of these planets where the necessary technology has been reached and they try to communicate.
L: Time space in that an intelligent and communicative civilization can exist, in years.
So that then they say that the spatial investigation does not serve as anything. Although as a wise person said: "If we want better frying pans with teflon, let's investigate the teflon, let's not shield in it to justify the spatial investigation"