Polymorphism in Nemoria arizonaria juveniles

Nature fascinates me both biologically artistically. Following a some brutal cramming  diligent, well-managed studying for my Ecology exam, my brain has been in a bit of Biology hyperdrive throughout the week, and one study concerning phenotypic plasticity has stuck with me.

The Nemoria arizonaria (emerald moth) lay two sets of eggs, once during early spring and again in the summer. Those larvae that hatch in the spring feed on Oak Catkins and thus, take on the appearance of these plants while those that hatch in the summer feed on Oak Leaves and take on a completely different appearance. There is no discernible genetic difference between offspring hatched during different times of the season. In fact the offspring are genetically identical (clones), thus the change in phenotype is derived from a developmental alteration where different genes are activated based  on environmental cues. Through experimentation these cues have been determined to be completely diet based. Oak catkins and oak leaves are very chemically different, containing different amounts of tannin (polyphenols). Depending on the plant that the caterpillars consumed, they took on the same appearance.

Catkin Juvenile

Oak leaf-twig Juvenile 

Experimentation, of course involved controlled environments with extraction of the plant chemicals to determine that these were in fact the cause of the polymorphism, and juveniles that were supplemented with larger amounts of polyphenol (more abundant in Oak leaves) and then fed catkins, still developed to look like the twigs from which oak leaves sprout. This plasticity is a display of unique adaptation since camouflage greatly increases changes of evading predation by birds. Plus, they just look pretty awesome as well. The adult moths also resemble oak leaves, further increases chances of survival.

Adult Nemoria arizonaria 

Greene, E. 1989. A diet-induced developmental polymorphism in a caterpillar.  Science 243:643-646.

Muscle Memory

 I have not had a surplus of time with which to go out and shoot photos with my new camera in the last several weeks, so although I started to get a feel for it when I came in the mail, I never really took the time to sit down and start getting aquatinted until this past tuesday. My biggest pet peeve with any new device is the initial awkwardness, getting used to where the buttons are and how they respond as I fumble around. Once the muscle memory is there to change my ISO, Aperture or Shutter Seed readily without having to lose visual on what I am shooting, I will be more comfortable with my camera. I have a Sony Alpha A300 that came with an 18-70mm kit lens and I got a 70-210mm sigma lens in addition. I do have a polarized filter and neutral density filter, so I went down to Riverfront Park to play around with everything. For the most part I was just working on getting a good histogram read and adjusting values as appropriate for the situation, starting with some general landscape/ macro photos to have that ease of time to look, adjust and shoot again before I moved over to trying to get some animals, which required a lot more fast- paced adjusting depending on the changing light and motion. I feel like I came back with a few photos that I don't hate and a whole lot more understanding of my camera.

f/ 5.0  1/60  ISO100

f/ 9.0  1/250 ISO400 Neutral Density Filter

I ended up maxing out my card at 400 some pictures since I was shooting in RAW and these have not been edited at all and I will likely make a few changes/ cropping to enhance the images to my taste.

Memories in Sunsets

Summer vacation has almost always included a trip to my family's cottage in lake Huron in northern michigan. I have gone almost every summer since I was a baby except for the summer of 2011 where I stayed in Billings to work. Being 'up north,' as we hoosiers call it, holds an extraordinary amount of memories from the past year and of course there are many collections of pictures from these adventures. My old camera was by far not the most fantastic piece of equipment in the world and I honestly never really knew how to use it correctly, but it was usually within reach when a nice sunset presented.

2006

2008

2012

I find myself surprised how some years I have an absolute lack of pictures. Perhaps other family members had their cameras on hand and I no longer have anything that pre-dates 2006 as those images were lost in a house fire last year. There are likely hard copies of some photos dating back to the early 90s, but any files before 2006 are gone. There is an obvious improvement just in my use and handling of my old camera, and I was very comfortable with the control and could change settings without thinking, but I still never quite mastered everything. My goal with my new DSLR is to gain intuitive knowledge of how it reacts and responds with different settings in different situations to start producing high quality images to document future vacations among many other activities.

The Art of Science

Australian scientific photographer, Linnea Rundgren brings a very unique perspective to nature photography on the micro and nano scale by use of tools such as x-ray machines and high powered light and electron-scanning microscopes.

One of her outstanding photos has been awarded one of the top 10 Australian scientific images from 2012. This photo shows a single neuron and the effect that an amyloid peptide plaque has upon it. Amyloid peptide is believed to attribute to the cause of neural degeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease. The neuron shown was coated in platinum to produce the contrast and color at 3200x magnification.

regards to: Linnear Photography, Eureka Photos 2012

Curiosity Cameras

Nature photography is generally attributed to wildlife and landscapes here on our lovely home planet. NASA, of course, is always thinking a little outside of our local atmosphere; from early moon explorations to the Hubble telescope and the various Mars Rovers across the years. This year marks a huge accomplishment for technology with the successful launch of the Mars Rover Curiosity. Nuclear powered and equipped with 6 wheels,  a robotic arm, lasers and equipment to detect chemical compositions, various antennae, drill bits and of course; the cameras, Curiosity has left quite a mark on the red planet (no seriously, the tire treads leave morse code on the planet's surface). 

Taking into consideration how much time has been put into this device, it is almost surprising to find that the camera equipped on the Mar Curiosity to share its findings with humanity is a mere 2 mega pixels (MP) with 8 gigabytes (GB) of memory. Compared to an iPhone 4 with a 5MP camera, or the outrageous Nokia 808 Pureview with a 41MP camera, it raises questions as the the reasoning for the camera specs on the rover.  An interview with NASA on the very subject led to a few explanations for this choice. 

The camera components of Curiosity was being worked on in 2004 where such a simple choice was not as far fetched and the data that the sensor would produce had to be considered when transmitting information from one planet to another at various points in their orbit around the sun...With four cameras working on Curiosity to provide the most accurante visual of the martian planet, large image and video files would be excessive and the files recieved are often stitched together into a larger resolution image. The equipment for the cameras had also been proven through various radiation testing to ensure that they would survive the trip. And the list goes on...Nonetheless, the entirity of the Mars Rover Curiosity is quite an amazing thing indeed, and the next 687 earth days/ 1 martian year will be full of exiting new information about our neighbor in orbit. 

Regards to NASA interview, Curiosity Specs, Nokia 808