Dec 23, 2019If JJ Abrams Had Said, “Yes, and…”If you’re reading this, you’ve hopefully seen The Rise of Skywalker, meant to be the conclusion to the Skywalker Saga that started forty-something years ago with a New Hope. I’m gonna be honest: I never liked Star Wars as a kid. I watched A New Hope and I wasn’t filled…Star Wars12 min readStar Wars12 min read
Jan 16, 2019Makira Lessons: The One-Two Punch of Habitat & Alien SpeciesSomewhere in Madagascar’s most pristine rainforests, right at this very moment*, a feral cat is killing an adorable, chubby rat with fur the color of rust.Cats5 min readCats5 min read
Jan 10, 2018All My Popular Science Writing!This is simply a document that holds all my popular science writing, available either here on Medium or on some other website. This document will be updated when possible. Non-Medium Popular Science Articles The Last Jedi’s porgs may be a serious threat to the galaxy’s ecosystems Salamander Twitter Is a Light in the Darkness …Science1 min readScience1 min read
Aug 31, 2017The Times Are A Changin’: Declines in Native Wildlife in MadagascarIt is the early 21st century. …Environment5 min readEnvironment5 min read
Aug 3, 2017Makira Lessons: Wherein A Common Bird and A Red Rat Are Low-Key High-MaintenanceIf you go into the Madagascar rainforest today, you’re in for two assured sightings: a small, black-and-white bird called a Madagascar magpie-robin, and a small, red-furred rodent called a red forest rat.Environment4 min readEnvironment4 min read
Jul 10, 2017Megazord Camera Trap Study Finds That Carnivores Like to EatTrail cameras are perhaps the coolest wildlife research tech used today. Those teeny GPS backpacks that send you locations of a tagged bat or bird or turtle directly to your computer get pretty close. But c’mon. In addition to getting candid snapshots of crazy-cool things like a…Environment3 min readEnvironment3 min read
May 18, 20172,000 Ring-Tailed Lemurs Left In the Wild? Not So Fast…*Please note that we have published this information in the International Journal of Primatology here* If you are at all interested in wildlife, you might have heard about the newest shocking decline. According to two new studies (Gould and Sauther 2016 and LaFleur et al. 2016), ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)…Environment6 min readEnvironment6 min read
Feb 14, 2017Makira Lessons: The Fitoaty (aka the Creature with Seven Livers)“Are you sure?” The guides talked amongst themselves in Malagasy. I sat patiently, looking at the picture on my laptop that had caused such excitement. The bench made of two lashed together logs hurt my butt, but I was too tired by a morning of checking our camera traps to…Madagascar5 min readMadagascar5 min read
Dec 30, 2016Science Twitter’s Year in HashtagsOther than being incredibly dashing and smart, scientists — particularly biologists and the corresponding Biology Twitter — tend to be social media mavens, creating fun and educational hashtags left and right that quickly get picked up by news outlets (pay us!). Here’s a quick roundup of 10 hashtags from 2016. #WildBum (credit: Gabriela K Hajduk @AmidstScience)Science3 min readScience3 min read
Nov 24, 2016Makira Lessons: Why Do Fosa Eat Soap (Or, Euplerids Are Enigmas)How would you feel about going on a spontaneous tropical cruise with a group of your closest friends? No planning, no talking it over, just getting up and sailing away. Nice, right? The catch here is that this cruise is a one-way journey that will take place on a mat…Conservation6 min readConservation6 min read
