WHAT IS THE SECRET OF THE SCUBA DIVING SPIDER?

Meet the scuba diving spider! A one-of-a-kind, air-breathing animal that spends most of its life underwater. How does it do it?

No bigger that your thumbnail, the scuba diving spider triggered the curiosity of scientist Roger Seymour since he was a young boy. At 10 years old, he read Erna Pinner’s book, Curious Creatures.  He told me, “One of the chapters described the diving bell spider that lived in ponds in Europe. I imagined what it would be like to live inside an underwater bubble.” That image remained in Seymour’s mind until he became a scientist and studied the spider’s secret.

Seymour teamed with scientist Stefan Hetz and together they made a home for the spiders in aquariums in the lab, and observed and measured their activities. They discovered how the spiders achieve this unique and quiet lifestyle. It has worked well for the spiders; it allows them to remain out of sight from predators, trap food, and create an underwater home for them to grow and have a family. 

The spider, too, has an amazing name, Argyroneta aquatica, which means “aquatic spinner of silver.” 

TheSecret of the Scuba Diving Spider book also includes four more secrets: the secret of the not-so-quiet caterpillar, why bats jam with each other, zombie beetles, really?, and the secret of the unstoppable cockroach. 

If this book appeals to you, may I entice you with more animal secrets? I invite you to visit my website to explore the other titles of this series.

ATTENTION TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS

Coming up soon: Teacher’s Guides for Animal Secrets books!

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The Alligator's Super Sense, and More.

It's Nonfiction Monday! I have something different today. I want to share the good news that my article “The Alligator’s Super Sense” has been published on the November 2011 issue of “Highlights” magazine. (Look for the little alligator at the bottom left of the cover) The discovery of how alligators and other crocodilians ‘feel’ their prey nearby is a tribute to a scientist’s curiosity and perseverance. Dr. Daphne Soares worked with baby alligators, getting her share of bites from the tiny, but sharp, teeth, and uncovered one of the reasons alligators have survived before, during and after the dinosaurs and through major extinction events. I hope her story engages young lady budding scientists everywhere.

For educators looking to introduce or discuss more about amazing crocodilians, I suggest “Alligators and Crocodiles! Strange and Wonderful”, by Laurence Pringle and illustrated by Meryl Henderson.
And to top it off, check “Highlights’” online complementary feature for my article about the magnetic sense. This combo of three, the article, the book and the online feature, is a good start for educators and all interested in animal senses, science in action, and learning more about some of the oldest inhabitants of our planet: the outstanding crocodilians.

Visit more Nonfiction Monday blogs today at Jean Little Library.
And, as usually, I invite you to visit my website.

Ants Are Smart

It’s S.T.E.M. Friday! Join us and enjoy learning about the mysteries of science, the wonders of technology, the ingenuity of engineering, and the usefulness of math. “Secret of the Plant-killing Ants” is mostly about the ants’ fascinating ability to communicate and work together in a way quite familiar to us. Ants have “business cards”, ants go to school, they are dedicated gardeners, and they work as an army of one. Scientists are now discovering more and more behaviors that were not even considered years ago, but now it’s clear more than ever that the word ‘impossible’ should not be in a scientist’s vocabulary. Look at the book cover, for example. It doesn’t seem that much is going on, but these two ants are having a sort of conversation in which important information is exchanged. It’s much more than just “Hi!” Both ants want to know “Are you from my nest?” “What is your job?” “Can you tell me where food is located?” “Where is home?” And ants really know how to work together. I was simply amazed when I read about ants plugging gaps and holes on the ground with their bodies to make a ‘bridge’ over which the rest of the colony will speed their way to the nest. What an amazing team work for the colony’s sake. Click here for more "Secrets" books, and go to Shelf-employed for other posts on S.T.E.M. Friday.

I want to share the wonderful news that on January 1, 2012, my new four-book series Extreme Animals in Extreme Environments will be available in paperback and in library binding. I am very excited about this series!
“Secret of the Plant-Killing Ants…and More,” Enslow Publishers, 2009.
Visit my website

Mice Sing, Truly.

Sometimes I wish I could speak other languages. I don’t mean other people’s languages. I’d love to speak whale, dolphin, bat and now, mouse. We have all heard mice squeaking, but it turns out they can also sing ultrasonic songs that sound just like bird songs. These songs play the same role serenades play for people, but people cannot heard them with plain ears, some techno-tweaking is necessary. Male mice sing when a female is close by, and she listens. The scientists that discovered this were not looking for it. Plain luck and paying attention to the experimental results led them to their discovery. Pasteur said it, “Chance favors the prepared mind.”
Animal communication using sound, scent, and visual clues is obvious in some instances, but quite subtle on many occasions. I just wonder, what are they saying? In “Secret of the Singing Mice,” I put together five fascinating studies about animal communication. Besides the singing mice, check out why baby bats babble, what’s the point of ground squirrel’s whispers, how in the world does the star nosed mole sniff underwater, and the aromatic degu’s double-take secret. I love discovering animal secrets. They bring me closer to the animal world. Check what secrets I have found.
This post is part of S.T.E.M. Friday today. Check the other posts here.
"Secret of the Singing Mice...and More", Ana María Rodríguez, 2009, Enslow Publishers, ISBN 978-0-7660-2956-9

Otters and Owls in Nonfiction Monday!

A sea otter is quite large; a male can be as big as a German shepherd dog. They are good parents too. Sometimes sea otter moms will wrap their pup in kelp (a large, brown seaweed) to keep it in one place while she dives for food. River otters are half or a third of the size of a sea otter, but they are equally fascinating. River otters are speedy swimmers. They swim fast enough to catch fish, their favorite food. River otters hunt in the water and rest in dens on land, while sea otters stay in the water, finding shelter and food in forests of kelp. I like “Otters” very much. Its fluid and accurate text and its colorful, lovely illustrations combine well to introduce early readers to the otter world.
Same goes for “Owls.” There are about 180 species of owls in the world living in all continents, except Antarctica, but I am thankful to scientists who have agreed that all those species can be put together in one of two groups; barn owls or typical owls. Among all birds of prey owls are quite fascinating with their ability to glide so quietly not even a mouse can hear them. The great gray owl is the largest of them all, being almost as tall as a kitchen counter. The elf owl is the smallest of the owls. It would fit in a child’s palm. And here is an owl fact that made me giggle: “A group of owls is called a parliament.” A cool link to government studies!
Otters and owls are amazing animals, with fascinating adaptations that make them favorites of children and adults. Both books have a glossary and illustrations of the various species around the world, while focusing on the North American species. I believe these books will trap you in kelp or catch you with their talons (softly) and won’t let you go until you read the last page.
“Otters” (2003) and “Owls” (2004) are both written by Adrianne Mason and illustrated by Nancy Gray Ogle, and published by Kids Can Press, Toronto, Canada.
“Otters” ISBN: 1-55337-407-X “Owls” ISBN: 978-1-55337-624-8
Visit True Tales & a Cherry on Top, for more Nonfiction Monday blog posts.

Slime Attack!

"The severed head of a dead fish with its mouth propped open looked a little odd, its is true." But the scientists didn't worry about the odd looks and the comments their colleagues whispered about their strange experimental set up. They were seriously studying how hagfish survive in the "bigger-fish-eats-smaller-fish" deep ocean world. The story of the discovery of how the hagfish, an eel-shaped bottom feeder, survives predator attacks takes readers into a "fishy" laboratory where slime is the center of attention. Where does the sticky slime come from? How does the slow-paced fish avoid getting "slimed" itself? This is one of five chapters in the book "Secret of the Suffocating Slime Trap,..., and More" in which readers tag along with scientists trying to uncover how sea animals do the amazing things they do to survive their hostile environments. The other chapters are: "Fish Fight the Big Freeze (not your usual anti-freeze), "Bubbleheads Never Heard So Well" (some fish rely on bubbles to listen to their surroundings), "Fish Get Hooked on Decorating" (it's true, some fish decorate their nests), and "Eyes on the Stars" (the unusual eye of brittle stars).
Cool fact about the hagfish:They are the only animals known to tie themselves in a knot!
"These books offer fascinating accounts of how scientists systematically analyzed, tested, and proved their theories or how their findings led to other, serendipitous discoveries." –School Library Journal, February 2009, Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal, copyright Media Source, Inc.
"Secret of the Suffocating Slime Trap,..., and More" Ana María Rodríguez Enslow Publishers, 2009 ISBN: 0-7660-2954-9 Grades 4-9 Color photos, sidebars, hands-on activity, bibliography.

"SECRET OF THE BLOODY HIPPO...AND MORE!" receives an outstanding review!

I begin my first post with a celebration. SIMPLY SCIENCE blog has given "SECRET OF THE BLOODY HIPPO...AND MORE!" high praise. Thank you, SIMPLY SCIENCE! This book is one of six in the Animal Secrets Revealed Series! each book presents five "secrets" or amazing animal adaptations, such as why the hippo's skin looks pink-red, what's the lion's mane for, how horses cool their brains, or what makes the chameleon's tongue so powerful. To discover each of the secrets, readers tag along with scentists as they plan and execute the experiments and delight us with anecdotes. For example, the chameleon's scientist had a good laugh when a chameleon shot its sticky tongue at his nose. It took a while until the chameleon released him! The books are illustrated with color photos, most of them courtesy of the scientists I interviewed. I added short sidebars, activities, a bibliography, and a list of websites with more information. I invite you to listen to my interview in BlogTalk Radio, check The Animal Secrets Revealed Series! in my publisher's page and my page in Amazon.com Cheers! and I'll see you August 22nd when I'll host Nonfiction Monday. I hope to see you then!