Albert Burchsted
Having retired after teaching Field Biology for many years, I have a wide range of topics to write on. My interests are photographing animals and plants, vacationing with my family, enjoying my grandchildren, dancing, hiking, canoeing and kayaking, gardening, winter activities, leading nature walks, writing notes on nature, and home improvements (we are renovating our retirement home). With all that I am doing now, you may wonder how I ever found the time to work - of course, most of the other things were put on hold all those years.
I have been studying plants and animals in the outdoors all my life. About thirty years ago I began photographing the organisms I was studying, and recently purchased a digital camera so that I can edit and instantly publish my pictures online.
More recently, I have decided to write for the non-scientist and hope my material is both enjoyable to read and educational. Some articles will be designed more for enjoyment and others for education. But now that I am no longer teaching, my philosophy is like Walt Disney's: "I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained." With luck, my articles will do just that. I call my material "soft-core science," and try to design them to first pique the reader's interest then to teach something.
So, please read them, enjoy them, and learn something you can tell someone else.
Latest Articles
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The Pink Lady Slipper is Endangered by Human Activities
Lady slipper orchids are sensitive to loss of habitat from human activities and increasing overshadowing as forests mature.
Oct 8, 2011
- Albert Burchsted
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When Orb Weaver Spiders Make Love the Male Has to Be Careful
A female garden orb weaver spider often eats the male after or during mating. This seems irrational, but eating the male helps produce more and larger eggs.
Oct 2, 2011
- Albert Burchsted
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Whispering Bats Catch Moths That Can Hear Bat Sonar
By emitting quiet hunting chirps, the barbastelle bat can locate and capture moths that normally evade bats hunting with loud sonar.
Sep 24, 2011
- Albert Burchsted
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How Nontoxic Moths Jam Bat Sonar with Ultasonic Pulses
Nontoxic moths have no chemical defenses against bats, but produce clicks that jam bat sonar instead of mimicking toxic moths.
Sep 22, 2011
- Albert Burchsted
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Autumnal Tree Swallow Migration Roosts
Tree swallows use reed beds in the northeastern U.S. for sleeping and protection from predators. Locations are permanent and taught to young birds.
Sep 11, 2011
- Albert Burchsted
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Dengue Fever Continues to Infect US Residents in Florida in 2011
Dengue fever reappeared in Key West in 2009, and has affected Floridians since then, continuing into 2011. Mosquitoes transmit this potential killer.
Sep 2, 2011
- Albert Burchsted
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Treating Venomous Spider Bites to Reduce Long-term Complications
Venomous spider bites can cause severe damage. But there are gentle methods to reduce both the pain and length of time to be endured.
Jul 25, 2011
- Albert Burchsted
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First Aid For Insect and Spider Bites and Stings
Home remedies can reduce swellings and pain by neutralizing or drawing venom from the bites and stings of insects and spiders.
Jul 23, 2011
- Albert Burchsted
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The Colors of Insects and Spiders Often Hide Them from Predation
Protective coloration protects some animals allowing them to blend with their environment, look like inedible objects, or break up their outline.
Jul 18, 2011
- Albert Burchsted
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Some Methods of Predator Escape Used by Both Insects and Spiders
For a species to survive, individuals must live long enough to reproduce. This means they have to avoid being eaten. Spiders and insects share some methods.
May 30, 2011
- Albert Burchsted
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