Biodiversity Blog
BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY: the Texas Live Oak
One of the historic Battle Oaks on the UT campus. Describing a mature live oak as “stately” is a bit of an understatement. They can live several centuries and these older trees command quite a presence. Their trunks can grow 4 feet or more in diameter and their crowns can spread more than 100 feet, sometimes touching the ground in a sprawl...
BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY: Jumping Spiders
Habronattus pyrrithrix male (Photo: Ian M. Wright) Jumping spiders make up the largest family of spiders. Constituting the family Salticidae, this family contains over 600 described genera and over 6000 described species as of 2019. With a family this big, this means jumping spiders show a lot of diversity, and live just about everywh...
Trees of BFL: Cottonwoods and Willows
Cottonwood trees and willows are similar in many ways. They germinate through wind dispersion and colonize moist muddy areas exposed to full sun. Both are present in Brackenridge Field Lab, and the cottonwoods in particular have a close connection to the history of the field lab. COTTONWOODS Cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) are one of the ...The Challenge of 1%
Dung beetle (Photo: Alex Wild)
Natural History collections hold material going back centuries, but the digital revolution means their holdings are now open to everyone, pending the process of digitization. Properly digitizing specimens consumes enormous resources, particularly the one we all have so little of: time.
But the Entomology Coll... BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY: Cliff Chirping Frog
Photo: Tom Devitt
The Cliff Chirping Frog is an elusive creature. Nocturnal and about the size of a quarter, they are more easily heard than seen.
There are actually three species of Chirping Frog in the genus Eleutherodactylus in Central Texas. There is Eleutherodactylus marnockii. They are native and their range is central ... Part 2: Microsporidia Help BFL Researchers Control Invasive Crazy Ants
Photo: Alex Wild
In part one of our blog, the tawny crazy ants (Nylanderia fulva) were overrunning the native species at Estero Llano Grande State Park. Researchers at Brackenridge Field Lab had identified a microsporidian that could possibly control the population, but success rates were still very low.
When the resear... Part 1: Microsporidia Help BFL Researchers Control Invasive Crazy Ants
Photo: Alex Wild
In 2016, staff at Estero Llano Grande State Park knew something wrong. During night tours for visitors, they noticed many of the normally-seen species like scorpions were gone. They also had not seen many snakes or lizards common to the area. Then came sightings of blinded rabbits.
Turns out that this state ... Stengl Wyer Research Award to Support Creation of Environmental Sensing Network
Angle of prototype. Sensors are to the right and left of the processor.
Advances in machine learning and remote sensing provide potential for studying life’s diversity and interactions between organisms and their natural environments. Tim Keitt, professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, and his colleagues are interested in lev... BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY: Texas Spiny Lizard
Photo: Clinton & Charles Robertson from RAF Lakenheath, UK & San Marcos, TX, USA & UK (Creative Commons)
If the Green Anole is the showy lizard presence in a garden, scampering around while flaring its red dewlap, the Texas Spiny Lizard is the opposite, typically shy, and well-camouflaged agai... BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY: Grasshoppers!
This colorful insect that looks like it’s about to go to a carnival is actually the nymph of Aidemona azteca. The adults of this species are drab in appearance. (Photo: Alex Wild)
Grasshoppers are one of the oldest living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. In Central Texas, we ha... Old Croone Day!
Croone as painted in 1680 by Mary Beale, one of the most prolific British portrait painters at the time.
Got plans on June 4th? Looking for something to celebrate? Might think about Old Croone Day. While it’s not official, the day honors a man who gave us a lot when it comes to the modern natural history collection.
Dr. William Croone (... BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY: Mediterranean gecko
Photo: ZooFari (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)
Mediterranean gecko? What? But we’re in Texas!
While these are an Old World species, native to Southern Europe and North Africa, Mediterranean geckos have been introduced to many areas of the world, including Texas. They are common around Austin. You’... 
Meet Eric Abelson
Eric Abelson is a Research Scientist in the Department of Integrative Biology. He works closely with the Biodiversity Center. Tell us where you came from before UT, and what you studied. After receiving my Ph.D. from Stanford University, where I worked on wildlife behavior and conservation ecology, I went on to two post-doc po...BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY: Dandelions
Photo: H. Zell
(Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)
Some make wishes while blowing their seeds into the wind. Others eat them or use them in medicine. And others frown when they see them popping up on their lawns. These are dandelions, probably a plant that just about everyone can identify,... Viruses, biodiversity, and evolution
Illustration: Nicole Elmer
Viruses are tiny but their impact on life is huge. This is true not just for people, but for all life forms on earth. Some researchers believe that viruses might just be the most successful of earth’s inhabitants. But why might this be?
To understand this requires looking at the attributes that allow liv... BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY: White-Winged Dove
Photo: Dick Daniels (http://carolinabirds.org/)
If you step outside, you can probably hear this bird in a nearby tree, cooing softly. Or you might see it foraging on the ground, its head bobbing back and forth on its plump beige body.
This is the white-winged dove (Zenaida asiatica). Its name tells you how to tell it apart from ot... Where Do Viruses Come From?
Illustration: Nicole Elmer
The origin of viruses is a hotly debated topic. It’s unclear how they first evolved. However, there are many ideas floating around out there. There are three classical hypotheses but many new ideas and discoveries challenging them.
The first one is the virus first hypothesis, and states that since viruse... BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY: Green Anoles
Female Green Anole, looking a little brownish-green. (Photo: Travis Laduc)
With more time than usual at our homes, and the weather not searing hot yet, it’s a great opportunity to get outside and become familiar with the species we have in our own backyards! The Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) is a common lizard not difficu... Some Virus History and Origins
Illustration: Nicole Elmer
The history of viruses is difficult to trace because they don’t exist in the fossil record. Unlike our beloved dinosaurs, viruses don’t have bones that can be fossilized, and they are just too small and fragile.
However, there is another way viruses can make their mark in the fossil record, and that’s th... 
