The Common Naturalist
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The Common Naturalist is a natural history blog with features spanning the life sciences, earth sciences, astronomy, and exploration. This blog is here to share some of that spirit and I hope that you will find it a worthy companion on your naturalist adventures.
The Common Naturalist
1y ago
This post has been updated from when it was initially published in 2014. When you think of the United States Geological Survey, you probably think about things like USGS Benchmarks or that great Earthquake tracker. Plants and animals, however, probably don’t come to mind – other than, perhaps, fossilized ones. But it turns out that ..read more
The Common Naturalist
3y ago
Those of us that enjoy taking a wander into nature are well-acquainted with the habitats around us. We regularly observe the wildlife that calls our forests, grasslands, and coastal areas home – however, it is easy to forget that there is a whole other world that resides just under the surface of the water, hiding ..read more
The Common Naturalist
3y ago
I sometimes create original illustrations for use in my blog posts or at the request of readers. These unlabeled line drawings were created for use in creating educational guides for an entomology course. In the event you’d like to use these illustrations, they are being shared with a Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 4.0 license. If you are ..read more
The Common Naturalist
3y ago
I sometimes include original illustrations in my blog posts. This illustration was made to accompany a post on phoretic behavior exhibited by some species of pseudoscorpion. In the event you’d like to use this illustration, it is being shared with a Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 4.0 license. If you’d like to use a PDF version, you can ..read more
The Common Naturalist
3y ago
Since rebooting this blog in May after an extended hiatus, I’ve been inspired by so much new naturalist content. When I started The Common Naturalist in 2014, natural history was experiencing a pretty steep decline and identity crisis. People and institutions connected to the field were struggling to innovate and evolve in response to a ..read more
The Common Naturalist
3y ago
I’m getting off a late start this year, but I wanted to highlight some of the best wildlife streams I’ve seen this year for the spring and summer seasons. Bird streams continue to dominate the list this year, but that’s not surprising. Bird nesting and feeding sites lend themselves well to this kind of medium ..read more
The Common Naturalist
3y ago
Here’s a word to add to your naturalist vocabulary: phoresy. Phoretic associations between organisms involve one party (the symbiont) using a typically larger other party (the phoront), as a means of transportation. In other words, one hitchhikes on the other. You can observe this strategy right in your own backyard. For example, some tiny nectar-eating mites ..read more
The Common Naturalist
3y ago
Sometime in 2008, I saw a photograph of a splendid poison frog from Brazil. It came from a set of photos taken during a series of expeditions between 2004 and 2006 in Estado Amapa, a lush rainforest region in the Guinea Shield. During those expeditions, a researcher named Enrico Bernard (affiliated with Conservation International) snapped ..read more
The Common Naturalist
3y ago
Plants generally lack the ability to move to new locations and that presents some challenges when it comes to reproduction. Not only do they need to find ways of exchanging their genes, but they also need to disperse offspring away from the parents. Plant parents growing in close contact with their children is undesirable. It creates a ..read more
The Common Naturalist
3y ago
When you walk into almost any aquatic pet store it’s likely that some of the first fish to catch your eye will be male guppies. Domestic male guppies come in all shapes and colors. Together, they make shimmering masses of blue, green, purple, red, and everything in between. Wild guppies (Poecilia reticulata), on the ..read more