Gone for good, or just for lunch? Photo by Leo Reynolds.

Happy New Year! In case it wasn’t previously obvious that I write these posts in advance, here’s the proof.

• In ant-plant relationships, plants seem to be in charge: they cheat! (Thomas’s Plant-Related Blog)
• Bats eat mosquitoes – but do they control mosquito populations? (Cheshire)
• The sea lions of San Francisco’s Pier 39 have abandoned their post, for no readily apparent reason. No word on whether anyone has found a note reading “So long, and thanks for all the fish,” but plans to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the sea lions’ arrival this January are in question (Wired Science and NY Times)
• Good news: a new long-term study confirms that creating marine protected areas allows overfished ecosystems to recover. Bad news: marine protected areas are more likely to be set up in areas that aren’t very economically important. (Conservation Maven)
• After colonizing a region with brilliant white, gypsum sands, three different desert lizard species evolved white skin – but each species evolved a different genetic mechanism to do so. (Not Exactly Rocket Science)
• A bat was found in France carrying the same fungus that seems to be killing bat colonies across eastern North America – but only one bat, and it seems to be healthy. (Effect Measure)

Happy Christmas! I’m with family for the holidays, but still spending too much time online.

Photo by Erik K Veland.

• Scientists propose to sequence genomes from 10,000 vertebrate species, sampling almost every vertebrate genus (Dechronization)
• A feathered dinosaur related to Velociraptor has tooth and skull traits that suggest it was venomous – or do they? (Brian Switek at Smithsonian)
• Recalibrating estimates of “background” extinction implicates humans in the disappearance of North America’s ancient mammals (Ecographica)
• The adorable proportions of koala skulls might be the result of selection for both strong jaw muscles and sensitive ears. (Wired Science)
• Male ducks have baroque, convoluted penises, probably because of sexual selection imposed by female ducks’ baroque, convoluted vaginas. (Wired Science, Ecographica, and A DC Bird Blog so far … this is bigger than fruitbat fellatio!)

That last one is probably as good an excuse as any to post the limerick with which I took second place in a department contest for Darwin’s 200th birthday:

A biologist, whom we’ll call Chuck
Said, “Regard, if you will, this poor duck –
“I blame sexual selection
“For his corkscrew erection,
“Since it must make it tricky to …
fly.”