Hanging Out With Humans Makes This Bird Bad at Its Job - The New York Times

Good morning all,

Just passing along here an interesting news article, linking behavior and conservation.

Human have long associated with animals, and in doing so have shaped many of their behaviors.  Here's an example of a detrimental effect: a semi-domestication that changes foraging behavior and seed dispersal in endangered New Zealand weka:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/science/weka-birds-seeds-new-zealand.html

This kind of change illustrates the behavioral flexibility many species employ, particularly for adapting their own ecology to exploit the humans around them.  In the long run, these sorts of associations can cause evolutionary change in brain and behavior (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/09/humans-shaped-dog-brains/), in ways that can dramatically alter the natural ecology of species.  This is also an important reminder that interacting too much with endangered species can endanger them ever more if they imprint too strongly on humans - hence the need for 'panda suits' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaLP6S9ZHQ4 - how's that for a day job?).

See you tomorrow for review of the material for our first exam.  I'm not planning a formal lecture; instead, I will review any material on which you have questions.

Sincerely,
Dr. Nealen