Melissa Taylor’s Post

Wildlife objects detection using Ultralytics YOLOv8 🐘 🦓 🦏 🐃 We just released the wildlife dataset, which can be a valuable asset for educational use, allowing students and researchers to explore and comprehend the traits and behaviors of various animal species. Advantages 🔥 ✅ Diverse: Covers buffalo, elephant, rhino, and zebra images. ✅ Educational: Helps students and researchers study animal traits. ✅ Research Aid: Supports wildlife conservation efforts. Learn more ➡ https://lnkd.in/djRJgUwQ #computervision #wildlife #objectdetection #yolov8 #zoology

Surprising behavior in one of the least studied mammals in the world . Beaked whales are among the least studied mammals in the world. Now, a new study reveals surprising information about the Baird's beaked whale species. #ScienceDailynews #InnovativeResearch #NextGenScience #ExploringFrontiers

Only the second (known) case of bilateral gynandromorphy in a Green Honeycreeper. With male on one side and female on the other, it's a striking bird! And easy to see in sexually dimorphic species. In some previous bilateral gynandromorphic birds, they've found that it results in an ovary on the female side and testes on the male – which means such individuals could theoretically mate as either. #sciencecommunication #freelancewriter #websitecontent #magazines https://lnkd.in/gUkZkE37

I found this on NewsBreak: Texas Parks & Wildlife warns of invasive species. "They might not look like much, but marbled crayfish, which have become popular pets, are spreading quickly in environments where they have been introduced, posing a threat to local ecosystems. They are all female, and reproduce by cloning, which means a single crayfish can easily become the first of an entire invasive population." - Fox #news #journalism #astacology #marinescience #marinebiology #marineecology #marinechemistry #marinepharmacology #freshwaterecology #invasiveecology #insectecology #entomology #foxnews #newsbreak

KANEOHE, HI- AUGUST 20- In a study published today in Royal Society Open Science, researchers at the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP) at UH Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and Alaska Whale Foundation (AWF) consider a new designation of the humpback whales they study: tool wielders. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” to hunt, but they have learned that the animals don’t just create the bubble nets; they manipulate this unique tool in a variety of ways to maximize their food intake in Alaskan feeding grounds. This novel research demystifies a behavior key to the whales’ survival and offers a compelling case for including humpbacks among the rare animals that manufacture and wield their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food,” explains Professor Lars Bejder, co-lead author of the study and Director of MMRP, “but very few actually create or modify these tools themselves. We discovered that solitary humpback whales in southeast (SE) Alaska craft complex bubble nets to catch krill, which are tiny shrimp-like creatures. These whales skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form nets with internal rings, actively controlling details like the number of rings, the size and depth of the net, and the spacing between bubbles. This method lets them capture up to seven times more prey in a single feeding dive without using extra energy. This impressive behavior places humpback whales among the rare group of animals that both make and use their own tools for hunting.” Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gngwbt48 #whale #whalewatching #ocean #conservation #biology #hawaii

Unravelling the Mysteries of Marine Mammal Behavior: New Research Reveals Surprising Insights Unravelling the Mysteries of Marine Mammal Behavior: New Research Reveals Surpr... Read More - https://lnkd.in/dsBB6RNS

🧠 It's Thursday, our brains are all a bit tired, but is our wildlife knowledge still knocking around in there somewhere? 🐢 There are some pretty impressive animal migrations on this planet, the most impressive of which include members of the bird, invertebrate and reptile family. But the migrations of bats and one other mammal group can be found near the top of 'longest migration' charts, but what is the other group? Answers below! 👇 #ecology #wildlife #nature #bats #zoology

Gone but not forgotten Today, on World Wildlife Day, we remember the species we lost in 2023. Scientists estimate that of the millions of species we are aware of, there could be 5 million more undiscovered and many possibly already extinct. It's a reminder that we must take action to protect the species we know of and those yet to be discovered. Let's all consider ways we can help protect the world's wildlife today. #WorldWildlifeDay #animals #conservation #zoology #wildlife #foodforthought https://lnkd.in/gAmVRmRZ.

IT'S FUN FACT FRIDAY! DID YOU KNOW? The duration of a vertebrate animal’s yawn is directly correlated to the size of its brain. The bigger the brain, the longer it will yawn.   There’s an intriguing connection between brain size and yawning! A comprehensive study involving 1,291 separate yawns from 55 mammal species and 46 bird species revealed a robust positive correlation between the duration of an animal’s yawn and the size of its brain. And now that you know this fun fact, I challenge you to not make a brain-size mental note the next time you see someone, or some animal, yawning.  You’ll simply have to do it. #appraisal #appraiser #velox #valuations #appraisalfirm #staffappraiser #trainee #veloxvaluations #hybridappraisal #reviewappraisal #funfactfriday #funfact #funfacts

In honor of #WorldOrcaDay, let’s dive into how AWI is working to protect a critically endangered orca population around the Iberian Peninsula. This population—numbering only about 40 individuals—has made waves in the media due to their interactions with boats. About 15 of these orcas have engaged in these interactions over the past five boating seasons. During this time, the media has pushed—and the public has entertained—the harmful and inaccurate narrative that the orcas are seeking revenge for past trauma inflicted by humans. In May, the Spanish government published a report resulting from an international workshop attended by experts—including Dr. Naomi Rose, AWI’s marine mammal biology senior scientist—challenging this narrative and explaining that the orcas’ behavior is most likely play. Changing the narrative is imperative to help protect this critically endangered population and ensure the orcas are not punished for their social behavior. Learn more by reading Naomi’s op-ed in FairPlanet: https://lnkd.in/eqZz4rhh 📷: Plie Do