Secret Science Club Post-Lecture Recap: Meeting the Neighbors

Last night, I headed down to the beautiful Bell House in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn for the monthly Secret Science Club lecture by Dr Jason Munshi-South a professor of Urban Evolutionary Biology at Baruch College and CUNY's Graduate Center. Dr Munshi-South lectured on some of the neighbors that most New Yorkers are unacquainted with.

Dr Munshi-South began his lecture with an admission that he had been somewhat surprised upon his first visit at the amount of "nature" that is present in New York City. He displayed a map of the world's biomes and indicated that, because of the activities of humans throughout the world, it was useful to think of human-altered biomes- anthromes. Because of human activity, it could be said that we are living in the age of human-dominated environments, which could be termed the Anthropocene Epoch. Even though the majority of biomes are human dominated, most ecological studies take place in protected areas. Only four percent of these studies are conducted in an urban environment.

In urban environments, biodiversity decreases. There are fewer species in urban areas, but the populations of the species that remain typically increase. While many species are "urban avoiders", the few "urban adapters" tend to thrive. Besides the ubiquitous eastern gray squirrel (we have a fairly common melanistic variety of this squirrel as well), the most common native small mammals in NYC are the white footed mouse, the meadow vole, and the northern short-tailed shrew. The mice and voles are typically caught in traps baited with birdseed, while the shrews are caught in pitfall traps. In the Q&A, Dr Munshi-South indicated that the infamous rats of the city are not included in his study because he doesn't like them, as any rats caught in the baited traps are smelly and vicious. Additionally, the rats aren't native to the region. Larger mammals, such as racoons, squirrels, striped skunks, opossums, red foxes, feral cats, and coyotes are detected with remote cameras (great images can be found at the Fauna of NYC section of the Encyclopedia of Life. The coyote pictured in the EoL was photographed on the grounds of the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. As an aside, coyotes are also present in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. They are fairly abundant in Westchester County- I actually saw one hanging out in the driveway of a Stop-n-Shop near my workplace last Thursday night, it looked like it owned the place.

Dr Munshi-South also discussed salamander species that still inhabit New York City. Redback salamanders (and their gray-backed variety the leadback) are fairly common in parks are areas bordering golf courses. Northern two-lined salamanders and dusky salamanders are not as common, but can be found near springs and streams in extreme Northern Manhattan (being very rocky, the northern tip of Manhattan has extensive undeveloped areas).

As far as the coyote goes, the animals arrived in the New York metro area recently. It is thought that the coyote came to the city by two routes- one population arrived from the west, while another population traveled east through Canada (the reduction of the wolf population made this movement easier, and this population of coyotes engaged in interbreeding with wolves- the coyotes also occasionally interbred with dogs, so the population is more accurately described as "Northeastern wild canids"), then turned south until it established itself in the undeveloped portions of the Bronx. From time to time, a coyote will enter Manhattan, but these incidents tend to be unreported these days, probably to avoid embarrassing coverage of the authorities.

After an overview of the fauna of the city, Dr Munshi-South discussed evolution in the urban environment. The habitats of the wild critters in the city tend to be fractured (this map of the parks of the city shows that the parks are often separated by long distances though Frederick Law Olmstead did design greenbelts to connect the parks. Isolated populations gain genetic variations through the process of genetic drift- changes in allele frequency can eventually become dominant in a population. Such changes in isolated populations accumulate until each population is genetically distinct.

The white-footed mouse is the the go-to animal in urban evolutionary studies. In one study, twenty-five mice each were collected from fifteen city parks, and tissue samples were taken so eighteen locations on the genome could be compared to determine the extent of genetic variation. In the more isolated parks, the populations were distinct, while mice in connected parks showed less variation (there is an extensive green belt in eastern Brooklyn and Queens composed of parks and cemeteries). To model the movement of populations diagrams similar to circuit diagrams can be used (warning: PDF). In the case of New York City's white-footed mice, travel from one suitable habitat to another is most feasible when there is a 70% coverage of an area by the tree canopy. Lesser canopy cover results in an impeded ability to move from suitable habitat to another. Even though the isolated populations of the city's white-footed mice are genetically distinct, they have not been isolated for enough generations for allopatric speciation to occur- they are not distinct species.

Further studies compared mouse populations from more rural areas (such as Harriman State Park) to the city mouse populations (yes, the obligatory joke was made). The city mice tended to have changes in the region of the genome that influences the immune system- remember that biodiversity decreases in urban areas, but the population density of successful urban adapters tends to increase. Natural selection would result in these populations having more robust immune systems.

In the case of the dusky salamander, there are two populations separated by the insurmountable obstacle posed by the Alexander Hamilton Bridge. The populations on either side of the bridge (180th St and 167th St) are genetically distinct.

In the Q&A, Dr Munshi-South addressed such topics as the explosion in the raccoon population in New York City, and the relatively high opossum population in less developed neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn. He discussed the discovery of a second beaver in the Bronx (dubbed Justin Beaver). He discussed the movement of fishers from the Albany area to the south (for the record, there's a fisher at one of my worksites in northern Westchester county- luckily, it's nowhere near my primary workplace because fishers tend to kill cats and I would be really upset if anything happened to mah preshus kittehs). Some bastard in the crowd asked about conservation measures taken to protect salamander habitats in city parks and Dr Munshi-South spoke of the need to balance human recreational needs with the needs of animals... a proposed mountain biking path was scratched to protect Northern Manhattan's dusky salamanders.

The lecture was yet another stellar Secret Science Club event. For a taste of this lecture's subject matter, crack open a beer and watch this video featuring Dr Munshi-South:

Enter the Dumbass

It's been a hell of a weekend. On Friday night, I worked one of our fall fundraisers (eight hours on my feet, a lot of running around) and got home after 1AM. I woke up around 7:30AM on Saturday and got my ass to Manhattan for my volunteer coaching gig. We had a class of 9-10 year old girls, and a class of 9-10 year old boys (the separation of gender cohorts is due to limited locker room in our pool area, so the kids can't all change together). In our free time, I fought like hell with Gentle Jimmy G., who makes me look like Rainbow Brite- we warmed up with some ground fighting and ended up with some serious standing work (lot of falls were taken). My great and good friend Frenchy taught the seventy-ish mother of the gymnastics coach who shares our room how to throw him with o soto gari, much to her delight. I felt great when I left the building, but I headed straight to work for a sold-out fundraiser.

This particular fundraiser is a haunted attraction in which actors in creepy costume scare the bejeebers out of attendees. There's a strict "no-touching" policy- the ghoulies don't touch the visitors and vice-versa. Things went pretty smoothly until one patron slugged one of our actresses, a young woman who's five foot nothing and about ninety pounds soaking wet, in the eye. A cadre of actors who rove the site looking for trouble marked the guy who slugged the actress and called for the three off-duty cops who are working the security detail. The three off-duty cops escorted the guy to our visitors' center, where the local gendarmes were waiting to determine if the guy should be charged. The interview didn't go so well for the guy:

"Why'd you punch her?"
"I'm a martial artist, I just reacted reflexively."
"You know this is a haunted attraction, you weren't being attacked. It's not real."
"My heart wasn't in it."

Ultimately, charges weren't pressed- the actress wasn't hurt badly (she had quite the black eye the following day, though) and she decided that she just wouldn't have the time to deal with a trial. Dumbass was escorted off the premises after receiving a warning.

The thing that really chapped my ass about the hearing was the guy's assertion that he was a "martial artist" and that his "training" is what led him to, basically, punch a pixie. I spent the whole morning engaged in "combat", I know the difference between a real fight and a friendly match, I know how to assess "threats". I may joke about beating up nine-year-olds, but I don't actually beat up nine-year-olds. I don't know what sort of martial arts training would cause a guy to slug someone considerably smaller than himself. Maybe he's studied tae kwan dope, the art of doing stupid things with your hands and feet.

The only other real glitch all night was a smoke alarm activation due to fluctuating power levels (due to a draw on the power lines by the lighting and sound systems), which caused our Very Early Smoke Detection Alarm to go wonky. I had to run across the site while the event was in progress, meet with a representative of the fire department, then reset the alarm and go room-by-room through the building in which the alarm activation took place. Fun.

I got home after one o'clock Sunday morning and had to throw a load of laundry in the wash. I didn't actually get to sleep until after two. At one point, I was so tired I almost did a faceplant in my apartment. Basically, I was so tired that I felt like I was wicked drunk. Sunday, I slept til just about noon, plenty of time to get ready for another day on the job. I can't wait for November.

I considered an alternate title for this post- "Enter the (Knuckle) Draggin'", but I went with my first choice.

Bottom of the Birther Barrel

Just when you think Mitt Romney can't sink any lower, he manages to outdo himself... this time by inviting right-wing conspiracy-theorist whackaloon Jerome Corsi to join his press corps.

For those unfamiliar with Jerome Corsi's oeuvre, he is a senior writer for right-wing paranoid site World Net Daily, characterized by Salon's Alex Pareene as the biggest, dumbest wingnut site on the web and known pejoratively as World Nut Daily. Corsi is also a staple guest on late night lunatic radio programs.

Corsi first gained notoriety for his slanderous hit piece on John Kerry, and has kept up the sliming during President Obama's term in the White House. He then went full birther boogie on the president and assembled a posse conmantatus to investigate the circumstances of the Kenyan Usurper's birth. Corsi has also written articles and recorded videos claiming that Barack Obama is gay, and was married to a Pakistani man.

Corsi's latest book is a pseudoscientific screed claiming that "abiotic oil" production is feasible... funny how right-wing cranks see no contradictions in citing Soviet authorities or even, at the risk of a Godwin's Law violation, lauding Nazi science.

If Mitt Romney is truly moving toward the center politically, why is he cozying up to a birther, flat-earther right-wing lunatic like Jerome Corsi? Perhaps his failure to gain a real, sustained bump from his "victory" in the first debate (and his son's failure to kill Barack Obama with his preternatural powers) has convinced him to consult one of the most vicious character assassins in the right-wing Legion of Dumb. It's a desperate, despicable act by a guy who's scraping the bottom of the barrel in his campaign for the presidency.

Putting the "Pan" in Pander

There are few things more hilarious than seeing a hypocrite caught out in a shameless pander, therefore, Paul Ryan's laughable attempt to look like he was helping out at a soup kitchen is side-splittingly funny (Mrs. Polly's hilarious "Blingee" captures the true awesomeness of this moment).

Please note the blindingly white, well-pressed apron worn by Congressman Ryan as he wastes volunteers' time and resources to "clean" already cleaned pans. Meanwhile, as Mrs. Polly notes, Ryan's budget slashes relief for the poor. Self-proclaimed Catholic boy Ryan played the Pharisee while faking a corporal act of mercy, but the nuns aren't fooled.

Yeah, this potsie pandering to this extent is pretty hilarious, or it would be if he weren't such an appalling sociopath.

Lydon on Biden

In a comment, Rumproast's YAFB linked to an interview in which John Lydon expressed some kinship with Joe Biden:




Tip to Joe Biden- spike up those hairplugs with some gel, baby! Consider springing for some crimson hair dye.

It's nice to know that Mr Lydon, though perhaps not the youthful anarchist he once was, has remained politically informed. If only Mr. Lydon would step up to be President Obama's debate partner, he could inform the president that anger is an energy and that an energetic performance would improve his public image.

Perfunctory October Post

This being October, I'm up to my ass in work. Tonight, we had a low-key fundraiser, but it still kept me from composing a lengthy post. Tomorrow, I have my volunteer gig in the morning, and then a major fundraising event (the low-key fundraiser runs concurrently- it's a mixed crowd that descends on my workplace on such nights). I figured I'd post a video which describes my October... Ministry's Halloween is Every Day:





I remember reading that Al Jourgensen has disavowed the early synth-pop Ministry songs, but I have to say that I like 'em. How could anyone disavow a song with the lyric "Walking around this stinky town, I look up at the buildings and they get me down"?

How about another disavowed Ministry synth-pop number?





Watching that video, I can't escape the conviction that the hair-gel cost more than the sets.

Projection Always, Constantly

Wow, ever see an ad which absolutely floors you with the sheer level of projection that it embodies? Today, Pupienus, the food pr0n obsessed emperor of Portland linked to a Republican PAC in a comment at Sadly, No!, which led me to this wonderful ad:





Holy Hannah, that is some serious, serious projection on the part of GOPTrust PAC... in the context of an ad which claims that Democrats use words to manipulate the public into voting for them, the ad actually uses the Frank Luntz tested neologism "Democrat Party". Tellingly, the ad only references three examples of "tested" words- "extremists", "hope", and "change". Meanwhile, the Republicans have brought us such terms as "death tax, "death panels", "job creators", and "religious freedom". Once again, it's all about projection with these wingnuts.

To cap it all off, the ad is narrated by someone using a kitschy Kissenger faux German accent (is he supposed to sound like the stereotypical cartoon psychiatrist?), and the ad veers off into a Godwin's Law violation.

It's a strange ad, more ridiculous than effective. In this post Poe's Law political reality, it's impossible to tell if it's a really bad ad by a genuine Republican PAC, or if it's a really good act of political sabotage on the part of a culture-jamming Democratic Party operative. At any rate, it's not manipulating anyone.