Owl Pellet Dissection: An Opportunity For The Study Of Vertebrate Skeleton

Did you know that the dissection of owl pellets can be a great exercise for the study of comparative anatomy?

           Owls are a group of highly efficient nocturnal birds of prey. Therefore, they present adaptations and hunting skills such as an excellent vision (vide their large eyes) great audition and specialized feathers to promote a silent flight.

      As generalist predators they could feed on various animals, from invertebrates (such as insects) to large vertebrates. However, these birds do not have the ability to chew their food and so the prey are swallowed whole. The soft tissues are digested to nourish them and then the undigested portions as feathers, hair, bones and teeth are compressed into a pellet and subsequently regurgitated.

     

     Given that,in one of my classes we had to identify through the pellets  dissected which bones were present and assume which animals were predated according to the pattern of bones that has each group. Through the analysis of these pellets is important to understand the preferences of the animal, as well as the dynamics of prey in a given ecosystem. It was expected to find bones of rodents, moles, shrews and birds in separate pellets or even in the same one.

Expectation...

My Owl Pellet 

Some bones separated (red box) from the fur.

  

 The bones are sets that follow a similar pattern in vertebrates - allowing the study of comparative anatomy.

Primates are awesome!

       However much someone is uninterested in nature, a primate never goes unnoticed. This is explained simply by the fact that these lovely creatures have characteristics, either physical or behavioral, that somewhat resemble us.     In both semesters here I took two classes at another University (Tulane University) which study our beloved "relatives".
These are:
- Primate behavior and ecology
- Primate Evolution and adaptation   

      Well, the classes include everything of  the biology, taxonomy, behavior, ecology and evolution of the primate order. Since the university is located right next to one of the best zoos in the United States (TripAdvisor Popularity ranking), the Audubon Zoo, the classes also relied on observation activities in the field. The park has thirteen different primates in an area called "World of Primates".  
     I already learned a lot about behavior and main characteristics of the groups and I feel very rewarded to have taken these classes because in Brazil I have no access to specific disciplines about primates in my undergraduate school.

Here are some nice pictures I took of these cuties. It's impossible not to fall in love with them!

The Black and White Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata)

 The Talapoin monkeys (Miopithecus talapoin)

The White-Faced Saki (Pithecia pithecia)

My friend from Brazil! 
The Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) 

Eastern Black and White Colobus (Colobus guereza)

The Drill Baboon (Mandrillus leucophaeus)

Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus)

My favorite!
Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) 

How cute is that? 

Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)

He is playing the tough guy...

Spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) 

Comparative Anatomy

Hey all,

here I am again to tell you a little bit more about my internship as a science major here. So, I have taken different classes and one of them was the Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates, a class taught by the professor Dr.Hood here at Loyola. Sounds hard, huh? And it was. Although I've learned a lot during this class since I took the lecture and the lab. The lecture required a lot (I mean A LOT) of reading and dedication otherwise you would not be able to understand the classes and neither the lab.

In the lab with my friends!

We labeled all this points to compare and figure out relations of ontogeny or phylogeny between different types of skull 

          Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy is a course concerning the evolution of vertebrates. We explored how vertebrates originated, their characteristic anatomical and physiological features, how they developed, and how those features allow vertebrates to perceive their environment, seek prey, avoid predators, maintain homeostasis and basically do everything an organism must do to live. The vertebrate body is not simply a collection of static anatomy, but that the form and function of vertebrates is integrated into functional systems.

                                        

Different types of teeth

It was a great experience since I learned how to identify homologies and analogy between structures in the vertebrate’s skeleton and the relevance of form in function of several structures, including the teeth. We also learned the biomechanics of the vertebrate skeleton and the most diverse types of locomotion and its implications.

Last but not least, we learned all the systems that compose the body of vertebrates from its functioning until the name of its main structures.

                                                                   Dissection class

Ps: remember that the animal was already preserved.