View allAll Photos Tagged Paulbertner
Carnivorous snail (Edentulina sp.) with prey
Photographed in Amani nature reserve, Tanzania.
Photo, sharing and courtesy: Paul BERTNER
Visit, Paul's photographic work .... it's extraordinary
Links:
© Paul Bertner
Carnivorous snail (Edentulina sp.) with prey
Photographed in Amani nature reserve, Tanzania.
Photo, sharing and courtesy: Paul BERTNER
Visit, Paul's photographic work .... it's extraordinary
Links:
© Paul Bertner
Helicophanta sp.
Madagascar.Photographed in Ranomafana national park, Madagascar. Copyright Paul Bertner 2015.
Photo, sharing and courtesy: Paul BERTNER
Visit, Paul's photographic work .... it's extraordinary
Links:
© Paul Bertner
Snail with flagellar spine
Photographed in Mt. Isarog national park, Philippines. Copyright Paul Bertner 2013.
Photo, sharing and courtesy: Paul BERTNER
Visit, Paul's photographic work .... it's extraordinary
Links:
© Paul Bertner
Snail with newly laid eggs
Photographed in Gunung Leuser national park, Indonesia. Copyright Paul Bertner 2013.
Photo, sharing and courtesy: Paul BERTNER
Visit, Paul's photographic work .... it's extraordinary
Links:
© Paul Bertner
Carnivorous snail (Edentulina sp.) with prey
Photographed in Amani nature reserve, Tanzania.
Photo, sharing and courtesy: Paul BERTNER
Visit, Paul's photographic work .... it's extraordinary
Links:
© Paul Bertner
You might say. "Hey, you've already posted a picture of Hypsiboas punctatus! Why, in the endless diversity that is #Sanilodge are you giving us the same old $h*t!?!"
To which I first respond, "Why you ungrateful little $^#$%#"
Then after a moment's self-reflection and brutal honestly I come to the epiphany... I need the likes, the shares. The dopamine rush of your support and adulation, these lowly cockroach posts just aren't doing it for me!
This also just so happens to illustrate the transition in time from green to red in a single individual. But you know, mostly the star, fandom thing.
See more amazing #amphibiansofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #paulbertner.
Edentulina sp. with prey
Amani nature reserve, Tanzania. Copyright Paul Bertner 2014.
Photo, sharing and courtesy: Paul BERTNER
Visit, Paul's photographic work .... it's extraordinary
Links:
© Paul Bertner
What's in a name?
A brown vine or liana snake, or is it a common sharp-nosed snake? Common names pose an inherent danger of mis-communication. They often rely on physical characteristics that may or may not be polymorphic within a population, and thus your green vine snake and brown vine snake may be one and the same species. Moreover, different cultures, languages, geographical ranges, etc... a huge variety of obfuscating factors make common names unreliable, which is why whenever possible the binomial latin name is preferred. Philodryas argentea, ah, much clearer...Or is it Xenoxybelis argenteus...hmmmm...
Taxonomy isn't necessarily a field that you would think experiences revolutionary advances, however, to a discipline which once relied on observation, physiological determinants, natural history and more recently, advances in microscopy, genetics has done just that. However, this has also opened up a whole new set of questions and dilemmas. Reconciling earlier identifications with new genetic analyses which may not square. Genetics is not just an additional tool in the kit of scientific methodology, it is a usurper, and many other perfectly valid, and important tools have fallen out of favour as a result.
Moreover, the definition of species, ironically, seems to be evolving with our new tools. The old definition of a distinct population which lives, and reproduces together to produce viable offspring is under attack. Genetic homologies are finding more and more support. And yet, the variability of the gene pool within a breeding population is a difficult thing to separate from marker genes for a species. To a certain extent, this is a line in the sand.
There is no argument that genetics is a valuable and powerful tool which can parse out differences and provide a degree of exactitude beyond morphological observation, to the very base-pair essence of an individual. This is reductionism. It is amazing the degree of detail it can provide, but it is dangerous, and its risks are glossed over in academia in the pell-mell pursuit down the rabbit hole to publish, always something new, always new knowledge (regardless of its merit). As one starts describing genes, quarks, gluons, the stuff that make up life, one becomes gradually more and more removed from what life actually is. Are we more than the sum of our parts? Perhaps in our quest for knowledge, our dissection of life, we have killed the patient and our post-mortem is not as close to "Truth" as we thought. Nowadays, specialization, often to an absurd degree is the norm. Rare is the renaissance man, the polymath. Nature doesn't have separate classrooms for physics, biology, chemistry, etc...it is all in the open air, messy and wonderful.
And so what's in a name? - Apparently a convoluted history of contending ideologies, convictions, descriptions, and emotions.
See more amazing #reptilesofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at @destinationecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner.
A colourful tortoise orbweaver (Encyosaccus sexmaculata). A morphological variant of the same species displaying orange and black colours (previously posted as a halloween themed post) has several potential toxic models in the area, amongst the leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae). Though Mullerian mimicry is not to be ruled out, my bet is on mimicry.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge #Paulbertner.
Possession is 9/10ths of the law, and male rainfrogs (Pristimantis acuminatus) are very aware of this. Fertilization is all external, thus any frog could potentially usurp and father the next generation. Enter amplexus, the anuran's effective if slightly inelegant solution. Amplexus is essentially a non-reproductive, long-term hug in which the smaller male is well positioned to fertilize the female's eggs as they are laid.
So, is this a sweet adorable hug amongst lovers? Or is it a jealous, domineering male exerting his will over a tyrranized and vulnerable female? Chill out, and stop anthropomorphizing, it's just amplexus and they all do it, Geeze! See more #amphibiansofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner.
The mouse opossum (Marmosa sp.) can appear like it is all face; huge eyes, large whiskers, and a powerful nose, a triumvirate of sensation.
And, when you live in the world of the senses, amplified and concentrated, you can get a little twitchy! Probably why it is not the hissing, odorous, rodent of ill-repute many have come to know and fear when doing their spring cleaning. Rather, it is shy, nocturnal and eschews human contact.
An opportunist and a prolific breeder, It is a survivor and as such, one of the most commonly encountered nocturnal mammals here at #Sanilodge.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Paulbertner.
The glass frogs are a thing of beauty. To see a beating heart, the movement of the internal organs, it is a laboratory dissection without the blood and without the fainting of one's classmates. There is awe and fascination and they rightly deserve a place in nature's pantheon of incredible creatures.
And the glass cockroach? "The what now?" Oh why have you faded into obscurity? Equally fascinating. Equally beautiful. A marvel of nature. You are so amazing in fact that you deserve your own hashtag... see more #CockroachesofSani (It sounds bad, I know. But continuity across groups and all).
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner.
Udzungwa national park, Tanzania. Paul Bertner 2014.
Photo, sharing and courtesy: Paul BERTNER
Visit, Paul's photographic work .... it's extraordinary
Links:
© Paul Bertner
Go too long without posting a picture of a fungus and you start going through withdrawal! Ahhhhhhh....that's better. See more amazing #fungiofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner.
The development of mimicry has got to be one of the most fascinating topics in evolutionary biology. The complex interrelationship between species which has come to be reflected in each players' very DNA and further enhanced by behavioural adaptation which has come to echo that of their model organism, oftentimes with stunning and frightful accuracy. Co-evolution, the so-called evolutionary arms race of one-upsmanship between models and mimics. This is natural history drama sewn into the fabric of this tremendous ecosystem, with new threads being woven daily.
Let's follow one such thread. It leads up and into the rainforest mid-story, and to a small colony of ants. Unassuming, if slightly oddly shaped, the turtle or gliding ants (Cephalotes sp.). Of course these ants have their own rich biological history and heritage. But the thread we are following leads further. In fact, it twines itself around these ants, strangling them. It has become inextricably linked. It is the story of Aphantochilus rogersi, the gliding ant-mimicking crab spider. Perhaps one of the very finest of mimics, it's likeness is awe-inspiring. Most mimics have evolved this habitus, this way of life of mimicry, as a means of protection through verisimilitude with a toxic, or aggressive model. Defensive mimicry in other words. This is not that! Aphantochilus is not content to simply take advantage of the 'herd immunity' provided by a semblance to the gliding ant, it also preys on its model. This is offensive mimicry, is less common, and more complex. Feeding on its model requires constant proximity to the source, the nest. This puts Aphantochilus at greater risk. However, its deception is not just chitin-deep, it has changed its behaviour as well. How it feeds. Most crab spiders will grab prey, usually pollinators (since most are ambush predators around flowers and nectar sources). Aphantochilus must grab one ant out of a colony of thousands, without drawing attention to itself, without raising an alarm. It does so by grabbing ants after they have left the nest and they are more isolated and vulnerable. After delivering the fatal bite, they hold their ant prey close. They are feeding, but they also appear as two ants engaged in trophollaxis (food/biochemical liquid exchange) or else an ant carrying a dead companion.
This rainforest ecosystem is a tapestry of millions of these threads. It is naive to think that cutting one will not affect the rest. The degree of interconnectedness is so bafflingly complex that don't be surprised if that lowly fungus that disappears today, and that no one thought twice about, leads to fewer Jaguars tomorrow and we're all left scratching our heads wondering how this came to be...Protect and cherish the RAINFOREST, not just a few flagship and charismatic species that call it home.
Oh, you thought we were done did you? Complexity. Look again at the image, what do you see? Peaking over the ant's dead carcass is a predaceous beetle. It has not killed this ant, but it is all too happy to reap some of the rewards of the fresh kill. Whether it is actually a kleptoparasite or just an opportunist is a question for another day, the beetle is simply happy to take advantage of this bounty and good fortune.
See more amazing #spidersofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Paulbertner #Sanilodge.
Patience and the capacity to endure pain. Essential for both the rainforest photographer and this amblypygid. Several things came together in this image. Originally when I started photographing it there was just the hint of colour under the wings. I waited 2hrs (amongst hordes of mosquitos) for the whip spider to work its way around and through the wings to get a photo of the colourful abdomen.
Sometimes it's the small things that pass unnoticed by most that really complement, accent and make the image special. As these 2hrs were unfolding, and I was beginning to question my sanity, the smell of blood (I know, I know, it's haemolymph) in the air and possibly some droplets on the bark attracted some nearby ants. Normally this amblypygid would be snug against the tree trunk feeding, however, to do so here, would be an invitation to the ants. Thus it makes fully use of its long, stilt legs, and is at full stretch, which also allowed for more effective use of backlighting. Small ant in foreground, is just one in a small line.
Amblypygid with katydid prey photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at @destinationecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner.
Sometimes I am struck by the common and the familiar. The jumping sticks (Proscopiidae) here at #Sanilodge are a pretty common sight. I will run into males, females, and mating pairs. But this is the first time I've seen a non-reproductive aged juvenile. This little guy fit comfortably within the frame of the MPE lens, which is saying something. It's a reminder that common and rare is not just species specific, but can be life-cycle dependent as well, with 'rare' canopy species coming down to breed or in the case of the sloth, to defecate. Rare and common then is to a certain extent an artificial construction based on our search method. Change your method of search, change the way you see, and the world will surprise you anew.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner.
What's in a name?
A brown vine or liana snake, or is it a common sharp-nosed snake? Common names pose an inherent danger of mis-communication. They often rely on physical characteristics that may or may not be polymorphic within a population, and thus your green vine snake and brown vine snake may be one and the same species. Moreover, different cultures, languages, geographical ranges, etc... a huge variety of obfuscating factors make common names unreliable, which is why whenever possible the binomial latin name is preferred. Philodryas argentea, ah, much clearer...Or is it Xenoxybelis argenteus...hmmmm...
Taxonomy isn't necessarily a field that you would think experiences revolutionary advances, however, to a discipline which once relied on observation, physiological determinants, natural history and more recently, advances in microscopy, genetics has done just that. However, this has also opened up a whole new set of questions and dilemmas. Reconciling earlier identifications with new genetic analyses which may not square. Genetics is not just an additional tool in the kit of scientific methodology, it is a usurper, and many other perfectly valid, and important tools have fallen out of favour as a result.
Moreover, the definition of species, ironically, seems to be evolving with our new tools. The old definition of a distinct population which lives, and reproduces together to produce viable offspring is under attack. Genetic homologies are finding more and more support. And yet, the variability of the gene pool within a breeding population is a difficult thing to separate from marker genes for a species. To a certain extent, this is a line in the sand.
There is no argument that genetics is a valuable and powerful tool which can parse out differences and provide a degree of exactitude beyond morphological observation, to the very base-pair essence of an individual. This is reductionism. It is amazing the degree of detail it can provide, but it is dangerous, and its risks are glossed over in academia in the pell-mell pursuit down the rabbit hole to publish, always something new, always new knowledge (regardless of its merit). As one starts describing genes, quarks, gluons, the stuff that make up life, one becomes gradually more and more removed from what life actually is. Are we more than the sum of our parts? Perhaps in our quest for knowledge, our dissection of life, we have killed the patient and our post-mortem is not as close to "Truth" as we thought. Nowadays, specialization, often to an absurd degree is the norm. Rare is the renaissance man, the polymath. Nature doesn't have separate classrooms for physics, biology, chemistry, etc...it is all in the open air, messy and wonderful.
And so what's in a name? - Apparently a convoluted history of contending ideologies, convictions, descriptions, and emotions.
See more amazing #reptilesofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at @destinationecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner.
This mushroom was like an optical illusion. However I twisted and turned the leaf it was on, it flipped around, and seemed intent on escaping. Well, fine then!
Then, as I tried to keep it in frame, it would sway with the gentlest breeze, defying close focus. Well, Fine then!
Finally, just when I thought I had it in perfect focus, and frame, it inexplicably dropped from the leaf. I threw up my hands. WELL FINE THEN!
One doesn't usually characterize fungi as charismatic, but this was one little monkey of a mushroom!
See more charismatic #FungiofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Paulbertner #Sanilodge.
"You'll never be just a stink bug to me...he whispered softly into her ear".
"What? What is wrong with you? You're sleeping on the couch tonight."
I once fancied myself a novelist, and thought I might give Danielle Steele and run for her money. Somehow my attempts to write romance, always ended up with insect references. The fact that I hardly noticed, and still thought that it was romantic gold, is matter of long standing debate between me and my psychiatrist.
With great beauty comes great odour. Glandular secretions of aldehydes, sometimes laced with cyanide or other potentially toxic compounds are released when disturbed, earning it the common name, stink bug. But not to me...never to me...
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge #Paulbertner.
Size is strength in the natural world. And yet, it isn't everything...Whilst one might think that the larger ant (Camponotus sp.) would displace the smaller (Crematogaster sp.), in reality, the smaller ants are able to outmaneuver their larger counterparts. Normally around rich resources like this extra-floral nectary (a rich source of sugars) produced by plants in order to encourage the protection of ants from harmful, sap sucking insects, there would be competition and conflict. And there is when it comes to other species. Here, an uneasy alliance has been made, and both ant species can be seen feeding and benefiting from this bountiful resource.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner.
That's fresh!
Amblypygid mother with hatching young. Parental care is not the norm amongst invertebrates. When you have an accelerated life cycle and produce many young, survival strategies tend towards production rather than care. However, some arthropods buck this trend. The whip spiders (Amblypygi) carry their young in an egg sac under their abdomen where they develop over the course of months. When they finally do hatch, they remain with the mother through their most vulnerable first moult, until they can finally start a life on their own.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #paulbertner #Sanilodge.
An Amazon milk froglet (Trachycephalus cunauaru). The amphibians are the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to the environment. Decreasing global populations are a concern, and indicative of larger problems on the horizon which all species, ourselves included will have to face. Hopefully we can pull our heads out of our a...Facebook feeds...in time.
See more #amphibiansofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at #Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge, #paulbertner.
The Morpho butterfly is beauty, wrapped in tears and frustration. At least it can feel that way sometimes as a photographer. The wings, when open are brilliance. They bedazzle and enchant. Follow one along the river long enough and it may just alight on a leaf. Approach with care and from afar. The longer the lens the better. Breathe slowly and steadily, a stray gust of air might just be your undoing. Nix that, just hold your breath for the duration, safer that way. Inch forward. You have it in view! You are so close. All you need to do is gently tap the shutt... Fuuuuuu........ngus! Gah! After several impertinent laps around your head, it lazily flaps down river. Slow enough to appreciate some might say. But it is a taunt, daring you to make a second attempt. Resist the urge, lest you be made a fool of again! Maybe one of these days I'll get the drop on one of these butterflies, until then, the chrysalis from whence it came. Much easier to photograph, with nary a hint of the hair-pulling inducing trickster it will one day become. See more #butterfliesofSani.
Night falls and the night walk begins. One of the first finds is a leaf, or at least it might appear as such to a predator. It is brown with a row of colourful eyespots. Shine a light on it and you may see a brief flash of blue. It is Morpho. Cheeky little bugger, I shake my head and move on.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner.
Who's afraid of the big, bad spider?
I know that there are a lot of Arachnophobes out there, and I sympathize. But come closer my dear, and I will tell you why you have nothing to fear.
"Oh, but you have 8 eyes!"
"All the better to see you with my Dear,"
"And Oh, how many legs you have!"
"8 my Dear, all the better to keep up with you!"
"And what a big mouth you have!"
"Not a mouth, FANGS my Dear, and all the better to Bite you with!"
But this isn't a fairy tale, and your woodcutter, is actually too busy chopping down the rainforest to help. Maybe your salvation lies in nature itself - Cordyceps Caloceroides - an unlikely hero, but in this natural history tale, hope grows from the corpse of its host.
Fairy tales and the #FungiofSani
------------------------------------------------------------
Ask. Observe. Question.
Always
The #SaniProject2017 - An exploration into the beauty of boundless biodiversity
Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Paulbertner #Sanilodge
Thanks to Joao Araujo for the ID.
Amongst all the amazing avifauna that they have here in the Amazon, you wouldn't necessarily think that a duck would place too high in the beauty pageant. And yet, Sani surprises with the Moscovy duck. Beautiful iridescent plumage and crest draw birders. See more amazing #birdsofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Paulbertner #Sanilodge.
Yellow and black, a strident warning to potential predators of toxicity and unpalatability. Yet how did this come to be? How do you get from caterpillar to toxic beauty?
'De novo' (from new) biosynthesis of toxins is a possibility, though more common, and potentially less work, is bioaccumulation or biological magnification. This strategy involves a caterpillar usually adapted to a host plant, feeding, sequestering, concentrating, and perhaps slightly modifying biochemical constituents in the plant's sap. These toxic compounds provide a degree of safety as animals come to learn and associate them with colors and patterns like those seen here.
Excellent strategy, no? But that's not the entire story. This toxic lifestyle is not without its cost. Sequestration and modification of these biochemical compounds requires the right tools for the job, whether that be specialty enzymes or specific cells or organs to hold this hazardous soup and prevent poisoning oneself. This adaptation while obviously beneficial can slow growth and development, allowing faster growing competitors the opportunity to outcompete. Moreover, an organism's evolution doesn't happen in a vacuum. The plants meanwhile are modifying their biochemical constitution in the 'hopes' of ridding themselves of these essentially parasitic caterpillars and the predators are evolving means of detoxifying themselves and putting yellow and black butterflies back on the menu.
It is a rich, complex world, the deeper you go, the more you risk losing yourself in it altogether.
See more #butterfliesofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at #Sanilodge Destination Ecuador #paulbertner.
A limited English vocabulary coupled with a very basic understanding of entomology means that I often have conversations like the following with my understudy:
"Is that Katydid dangerous?"
"No, why would you say that?"
"Because it has an ass-knife"
"Excuse me?"
"A knife "(Followed by a gesture to his ass).
After a face palm..."hmmm...you're right, it's not messing around, it will cut you good. Better keep your distance".
Female leaf -mimicking katydid brandishes a scimitar to keep photographers at bay, or an ovipositor to cut into the cambrium of the plant and deposit eggs. Really 6 of one, half a dozen of the other though.
Photographed for the #saniproject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner .
Photographed in Danum Valley Conservation Area, Borneo. Paul Bertner 2014.
Photo, sharing and courtesy: Paul BERTNER
Visit, Paul's photographic work .... it's extraordinary
Links:
© Paul Bertner
"He's a bubble boy".
"A bubble boy?"
"Yes, a bubble boy".
"What's a bubble boy?"
"He lives in a bubble."
"Boy".
A Dryinid is almost ready to emerge from a transparent cocoon. Mantis-like in form, the Dryinid is actually a wasp. Its raptorial forearms have been modified into pincers which immobilize their hemipteran prey. But these prey are not given a quick, painless death. Far from it. No, the Dryinid wasp doesn't eat the hemipterans it captures, rather they will serve as the hosts for their young. Sometimes the bubble keeps the world out, other times, it keeps the predators in...
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at #Destinationcuador #Sanilodge #Paulbertner.
Cockroaches, to most westerners, are synonomous with filth. However, the blattodea are a diverse, adaptable and fascinating order, not to be painted and tarnished with the same brush as a few isolated species (whose invasive introduction you can thank your forebears by the way). They can be beautiful, colourful and their role as detritivores in the rainforest is hugely important. These underappreciated and reviled insects will be the focus of an upcoming blog post.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner.
Aposematism, mimicry and camouflage, these are the primary strategies of the butterflies and moths. Very effective, and hugely successful. But the caterpillars...an insight into the twisted and fantastical. A phantasmagorical world where nothing is as it seems. They are a laboratory of experimentation with shapes, patterns, colours and behaviours which defy the imagination, and challenge our sense of logic. Physical defences in the form of urticating barbs, spines and hairs. Chemical defences, distasteful chemical compounds, either aromatic or else a part of their very bodies. Poisons. Aposematic colours; reds, yellows, purples, blues. Cryptic patterns and camouflage, mimicry of snakes, and ants and other flora and fauna. The strategies are seemingly endless and here at #Sanilodge, there is always something new around the corner. See more #caterpillarofSani.
"Just" a spiny, aposematic caterpillar photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #paulbertner.
I am designating the cockroach as the #SaniProject2017 official mascot (much to the chagrin of my partners), (I am looking into t-shirts being made :))
And herein we come to the crux of the matter.
At a glance, I could be mistaken for a cockroach fetishist, or at least a Blattodean sympathizer with all these photos and posts. And of course it's always easy to jest and treat with levity subjects that are either perceived as trivial or unpleasant.
However, the cockroach is a subject chosen with care and foresight as one of the first organisms to really be showcased by the #SaniProject2017. They represent beauty through understanding. They represent diversity. They represent what is underfoot, and what passes as invisible but which contributes in manifold and literally, untold ways. They represent the 99% of organisms which make up the rainforest ecosystem, and which are beholden to the 1% of the so-called banner species. And finally, maybe, they will come to represent disgust, confined to our own ignorance and intolerance.
So you can celebrate a diversity in all its forms, or else you can champion poverty through ignorance.
Ask yourself, "what to you is the cockroach underfoot?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask. Observe. Question.
Always
The #SaniProject2017 - An exploration into the beauty of biodiversity
Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Paulbertner #Sanilodge
Thanks to Gil Wizen for the ID.
Seems my cockroach blog isn't drawing the viewership I had been led to believe based on these universally loved, and fascinating insects...
Time to go HuffPo on your asses:
This Sunday, The cockroach blog that YOU MUST SEE to BELIEVE!!!!!
5 Ways these CREEPY, CRAWLY BUGS can help you lead a long and healthy life.
5 Ways Cockroaches can improve YOUR sex love life?!! HOW? Join us and find out!
Which 5 Celebrities have a Cockroach SECRET?! (Hint: It rhymes with Soaprah)
And in this tell-all, Macauly culkin explains his downward slide from child star to vagrant-meme which all began when he was sexually assaulted by a cockroach. The exclusive right here!
----------------------------
The anxiety in the rainforest is palpable, they all want to see their favourite heroes triumph. Nail-biting a common sight with all the ensuing tension.
Redemption can be had here:
pbertner.wordpress.com/…/maligned-a-cockroach-by-…/…
Join the queue of excited rainforest reptiles here #ReptilesofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Paulbertner #Sanilodge.
"When there's something strange
in the neighbourhood,
Who you gonna call?" -
-So my Ecuadorian number is 09987638790 ;)
The cribellate silk of the Net-casting spider (Deinopidae) isn't sticky in the conventional sense. Rather, it is silk that is pulled from a cribellum, a plate with thousands of tiny spigots, and combed to give it a fluffy appearance. If you were to look at it under a microscope you would see a tangle of fibres, this microstructure is designed to ensnare through entanglement.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #paulbertner #Sanilodge.
Landsnail sp.
Photo from Chiriqui Grande, Panama. Copyright Paul Bertner 2016.
Photo, sharing and courtesy: Paul BERTNER
Visit, Paul's photographic work .... it's extraordinary
Links:
© Paul Bertner
I am designating the cockroach as the #SaniProject2017 official mascot (much to the chagrin of my partners), (I am looking into t-shirts being made :))
And herein we come to the crux of the matter.
At a glance, I could be mistaken for a cockroach fetishist, or at least a Blattodean sympathizer with all these photos and posts. And of course it's always easy to jest and treat with levity subjects that are either perceived as trivial or unpleasant.
However, the cockroach is a subject chosen with care and foresight as one of the first organisms to really be showcased by the #SaniProject2017. They represent beauty through understanding. They represent diversity. They represent what is underfoot, and what passes as invisible but which contributes in manifold and literally, untold ways. They represent the 99% of organisms which make up the rainforest ecosystem, and which are beholden to the 1% of the so-called banner species. And finally, maybe, they will come to represent disgust, confined to our own ignorance and intolerance.
So you can celebrate a diversity in all its forms, or else you can champion poverty through ignorance.
Ask yourself, "what to you is the cockroach underfoot?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask. Observe. Question.
Always
The #SaniProject2017 - An exploration into the beauty of biodiversity
Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Paulbertner #Sanilodge
Thanks to Gil Wizen for the ID.
Mark the dates on your calendars people, next Sunday the 5th you will learn to love the cockroach and images like this one will break your heart! A tribute and celebration to beauty, diversity, and complexity. Let's change the paradigm and revolt against revulsion.
A cockroach graveyard surrounds this cryptic owlfly. Cockroaches form a an important dietary staple and supplement for many insects, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
Changing hearts and minds one lowly and unevenly spaced blog entry at a time...
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at #DestinationEcuador #Sanilodge #Paulbertner #projectowlfly #cockroachesofSani.
This semi translucent fungus (Tremella fuciformis), several metres up a tree caught my eye as we were paddling down the river. Naturally I asked my guide to stop, row back upstream, and I climbed up to investigate further. I wasn't disappointed! It almost looks like glass in the proper light. A beautiful specimen (but aren't they all?!!!), just one of the amazing #FungiofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Paulbertner #Sanilodge.
Thanks to Susanne Sourell for the ID.
A pet peeve of mine is anthropomorphizing animals and attributing to them human emotions, sentiments and values. Not only is this very anthropocentric and narrow minded, it also cheapens the rich, amazing evolutionary journey these animals have trekked to get to their present form. So when my guide/understudy, a young, local Kichwa took me aback by saying that this grasshopper looked like Angelina Jolie's Maleficent, I felt the need to sit him down and give him a stern talking to. "You do realize that that movie only got 50% on rotten tomatoes, it's just your standard hollywood...I mean, the grasshopper's antennae have evolved over evolutionary time to appear as they do. Sometimes the odd shape is to disrupt a predator's search image, other times they serve a specific function, beyond the traditional sensory role. It is only through observation, study, and a rigorous application of the scientific method that we can tease out each animal's complicated story. And if you want to see a real movie, then go see Citizen Kane!" - I finished at nearly fever pitch, slightly traumatizing him.
The "Maleficent grasshopper" ;) photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Paulbertner #Sanilodge.
Thanks to Doug Yanega for the ID.
Found during a night hike in Mt. Kinabalu national park, Malaysian Borneo.
Treehoppers (Membracidae) can be plain and unassuming, even boring. And then you see one that looks a little like a thorn and you say to yourself, 'yeah, that's pretty cool but it's no wasp-mimicking bark louse (m.facebook.com/story.php…)'. Then you come to the tropics and you feel like you have stepped into an alternate reality. The so-called pronotal ornamentation (a modification of the pronotum, the first segment of the thorax) explodes in a staggering, and stupefying display of evolutionay genius/madness. Ranging from the ant-like bulbous appendages of Cyphonia spp. , to the wasp-like Heteronotus, and Zebra-like Zona spp.
At a certain point you take a break from drinking the water because surely someone must have put something in it. You give it 5 minutes....And then regardless, you drink some more because you just don't want this crazy ride to end.
A pretty normal membracid photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at Destination Ecuador #Sanilodge #paulbertner.
"You'll never be just an Ecuadorian poison arrow frog (Ameerega bilinguis) to me", he whispered softly into her ear..."
Gah, writer's block!
Poison arrow frogs are one of the true delights of the rainforest, and they bring together the houses - "Griffindor" - the mammal seekers, Slytherin - the herpetologists, Ravenclaw- the birdwatcher's and Hufflepuff - the losers...no, I mean...yeah, sorry they are kinda losers (I mean a badger as your emblematic crest, you couldn't do any better?). They are a delight to all is what I'm trying to say, and it's no wonder why. Colourful and charismatic. But there is still a fair bit of misinformation that surrounds these little jewels.
The poison in the poison arrow frogs is not uniform across all groups. There are approximately 28 different classes of lipophilic alkaloids (Batrachotoxins, pumiliotoxins, etc...), each with different attributes, and different levels of toxicity. It is this very biochemical diversity which has lent itself to potential therapeusis, ranging from non-addictive painkillers, to heart stimulants and muscle relaxants.
The Genus Phyllobates has the highest LD50 (Lethal dose in 50% of the population, a reproducible and quantifiable measure used in the laboratory to indicate toxicity) poison amongst the poison arrow frogs (and one of the most potent animal toxins in the world). This genus is the one that gives these frogs their name, and fearsome reputation. However, the majority of poison arrow frogs are only mildly toxic to humans, and the lipophilic nature of their alkaloids means that the poisons must be rubbed into ones eyes or mucosal membranes, ingested, or find ingress in a wound. Simply touching these organisms is usually insufficient to poison.
"But my Dad, Uncle, Best friend - told me that if you simply touch a poison arrow frog you can die".
-Did they belong to Hufflepuff? Yes, the golden poison arrow is said to kill by simply touching it. I haven't tested this and think that it is more a case of the sheer toxicity and low LD50 necessary to poison, and thus micro-scratching of the skin's surface would present a form of entry. I imagine that It would have to possess additional chemical constituents enabling the poison to migrate across the skin, which represents a rather significant barrier.
Moreover, the poison is secreted through glands in the back and behind the head in response to a threat. Since poisons/venoms are expensive to produce, they are only used when danger is perceived. This is why you might see poison arrow frogs hopping along someone's arm with no apparent harm coming to that person.
We discussed earlier 'de novo' vs. biomagnification of biochemical constituents to be used in toxic sequestration (specifically in the case of the ithomiine/heliconiidae). It is much the same here. Poison arrow frogs obtain the toxic alkaloids which form the structural basis of their poisons from their diet, ants and termites mostly.
So whether you're a Griffindor and appreciate the beauty, the Ravenclaw, appreciating the biology and biochemical complexity, the slytherin who makes it their purpose to study these organisms, or the Hufflepuff...honestly, I don't why you're still here...these amphibians are beauty. They are complexity. And they are hope for both the rainforest, and ourselves.
See more rainforest jewels at #amphibansofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at #destinationecuador #Sanilodge #Paulbertner.
Try to photograph the anoles during the day, and you will quickly realize that they are exceptionally agile, visually acute and very responsive to movement or anything that might be construed as threatening. They have to be. They lack venom and/or poison, no physical deterrents, no real defensive displays, they are lambs in a forest of wolves. But...all defensive strategies are not necessarily so dramatic or "active". Passive defensive strategies like camouflage are hugely effective, and avoid conflict in the first place. "You can run, but you can't hide", a photographer might say, stupidly not realizing just who he is dealing with". Only to realize that once again nature has made a fool of him... Or her...this is obviously a hypothetical with no basis on my own experience...
Predators choose the most suitable prey based on their current needs, both nutritionally (vitamin/mineral composition) as well as their gross energy needs (Larger, and more potentially dangerous prey will only be approached when a predator is facing starvation, or extenuating circumstances like feeding their young). Outwardly, the anoles seem like the ideal food source. However, like the photographer, they are likely to give up quickly when faced with the reality. It's a delicious, ripe, tasty ambrosia, but it is a mirage, that recedes as one draws near. A gust of movement, the trace of malintent and an empty stomach, or a photo of an empty branch is ones only reward.
Crypsis and speed would seem to be the winning combination. But the anole leads a complicated life, not only must it, you know, not be eaten, but it must also guard its territory against potential rival males and woo females. Unfortunately being the most cryptic is not a feature that females find particularly mate-worthy. But what's that gorgeous bright, orange thing? It has red and ohhhhh, you can make it bigger or smaller. Colour me intrigued!
Camouflage has had its day; now, it is time to attract a female. The male, possessing a colourful fold of expandable skin under its neck, known as the dewlap will choose a perch, usually highly visible and expand the fold of skin until it is fully inflated. It will bob its head, possibly wave its arms, anything to garner attraction. It is an invitation...and a challenge. When sex is on the table, you can bet all those guys that moments before were lounging on the couch have suddenly perked up. Rivals will square off, head-bobbing and inflating their dewlaps. While most encounters are quickly resolved without violence and with larger individuals carrying the day, biting and wrestling in some species might also be observed. Dewlap evolution is still a thing of conjecture and hypotheses with most theories revolving around sexual selection.
The anole truly is the cryptic beauty. See more #reptilesofSani.
Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at #DestinationEcuador #Sanilodge #Paulbertner.