Recent Videos

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  REDD+ on the Threshold – Gemma Sethsmith (2011)

  August 3, 2018 at 8:44 am / Ecological Documentaries, Global Patterns, Human Nature, Video

  The promise of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) is fairly straightforward: Forest owners keep their standing vegetation intact and in return get compensated by polluters. There are already established strong protective traditions in some local communities such as the indigenous Mayan cantones in the state of Totonicapán, Guatemala, Kichwa tribe of the Ecuador and many others around the World. REDD+ is an economical model developed by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) […]

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  The White Pine Weevil’s Life Cycle – Ray Asselin

  August 1, 2018 at 1:43 pm / Natural history, Short Observations, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

  Tree architecture is affected by many factors. Genetics is a major determinant. Hundreds of genes coordinate to determine the stature of a tree. Conifers have strong apical dominance in their growth and plant hormones such as the auxin play a lead role in its maintenance. When the apical dominance is lost due to loss of the apical meristem located at the top of shoot tip the branching pattern of a tree changes. Apical meristem can be lost due to physical […]

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  Gray Triggerfish Nesting Behavior – Mert Gökalp | AQUADIARIES (2018)

  July 31, 2018 at 6:05 am / Natural history, Short Observations

  The evolutionary origins of nest building behavior in vertebrates are deep rooted and go all the way back to the fish. The behavior can be very complex with stunning results such as that of the Japanese puffer fish. Here in this short observation an underwater cameraman and filmmaker Mert Gökalp captures a few distinct scenes from the Gray Triggerfish nesting behavior in the Eastern Mediterranean town of Kaş. This fish colonized the Mediterranean through the Gibraltar and reached the farthest […]

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  A Stunning Artwork by the Japanese Puffer Fish – BBC Life

  July 30, 2018 at 1:45 pm / Natural history, Short Observations, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

  The evolutionary origins of nest building behavior in vertebrates are deep rooted and go all the way back to the fish. The behavior can be very complex with stunning results such as that of the Japanese puffer fish. When the behavior was documented for the first time by Japanese divers it created a big excitement among biologist. Here in this short observation the selective pressures on the male puffer fish exceeds those from predation and nest parasitism but purely sexual. […]

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  Seed Dispersal by Dung Mimicry – Nature (2015)

  July 20, 2018 at 3:47 pm / Ecological Documentaries, Evolution, Natural history, Short Observations, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

  Plant-animal interactions have not always evolved to become mutualistic win-win strategies like birds dispersing seeds of palms while feeding on the fruits. Plants can be rather deceptive. They can hijact sensory vulnerabilities of animals. Secondary metabolites such as nicotine, caffeine, codeine can be rather addictive. Plant chemicals can also be used as deterrent. A sub-Saharan desert plant taily weed (Ochradenus baccatus) detonates a mustard bomb in the mouths of seed predators who dare to chew and destroy its seeds. Plant […]

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  The Lost Forests of New England – Ray Asselin (2018)

  July 14, 2018 at 8:33 pm / Ecological Documentaries, Natural history, Video

  The documentary by filmmaker Ray Asselin highlights many values of oldgrowth forests and features forest ecologists including David Foster of Harvard Forest, Peter Dunwiddie of University of Washington, Tony D’Amato of University of Vermont, Tom Wessels of Antioch University of New England, David Orwig and Neil Pederson of Harvard Forest. Among these people Robert Leverett is a nature enthusiast who has spearheaded local expeditions to find the last bits of old-growth patches and gain recognition. Today old-growth forests occupy a […]

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  A Copperhead Snake Taking Its First Breath – Copperhead Institute (2015)

  July 12, 2018 at 8:25 pm / Natural history, Short Observations, Video

  In this short observation you can see a juvenile copperhead individual taking its first breath filmed by The Copperhead Institute in South Carolina. Copperheads are ovoviviparous, that is babies are born alive. Eggs incubate inside the mother’s body instead of being oviposited like many other reptiles such as turtles. Copperheads mate in the spring. This results upto 18 offspring in late summer or fall. Snakes may seem as asocial however, prior to giving birth female copperheads may gather in certain […]

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  A Bumblebee Mimic Robber Fly (Laphria macquarti) Hunting

  June 28, 2018 at 4:55 pm / Ecological Documentaries, Natural history, NatureDocumentaries.org, Short Observations, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

  A Bumblebee Mimic Robber Fly (Laphria macquarti) hunting. June 26th 2018, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD. Robber flies (Asilidae) are predatory insects. Adult forms of both sexes launch grasping aerial attacks on other insects, including stinging insects such as bees and wasps. For this reason they are also known as ‘bee catchers’. Foraging occurs in sunny habitats. They are seldom found in deep woods where it is dark. Here in this observation, the habitat is an exposed sunny edge […]

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  The Incredible Oyster Reef – Chesapeake Bay Foundation (2017)

  June 28, 2018 at 4:01 pm / Ecological Documentaries, Natural history, Wildlife Documentaries

  Poor water quality, disease, and harvesting nearly put an end to native oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in Chesapeake Bay. Restoration of the bay to pre-Columbian levels is challenging. The film commissioned by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation explores the ecology of this keystone species providing services to maintain a healthy biological community. A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water in the Chesapeake Bay in a single day. Oysters filter nutrient and suspended sediment from the water column. Moreover, […]

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  The Ecology of Fear – KQED/QUEST (2014)

  May 28, 2018 at 5:32 pm / Ecological Documentaries, Natural history, Video, Wildlife Documentaries

  The return of wolves had a profound impact on vast wilderness areas in North America. Biologist Aaron Wirsing explores why wolves and other top predators are necessary for maintenance of diversity in ecosystems. Using a “deer-cam” Wirsing is quantifying some of the behavioral relationships between predator and prey. Wildlife cameras provide unprecedented opportunities to view social lives of many wild animals including mountain lions. The gray wolf is one of the world’s most adaptable and widely distributed mammals, ranging over […]

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  An Agouti Eating Pulp of the Dipteryx panamanensis Seed Coat

  April 14, 2018 at 2:27 pm / Ecological Documentaries, Natural history, NatureDocumentaries.org, Short Observations, Video

  Agoutis are rodents exclusive to forested and wooded lands of the American tropics. Their habitats include rainforests and savannas. Some species have even adapted to live in cultivated fields. They are active during daytime. At night they hide in hollow tree trunks or in burrows among roots. Here in this short observation recorded at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Barro Colorado Island, Panama you can see an agouti feeding on the outer pulp of the one of the […]

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  7 Ways Blockchain Can Stop Climate Change & Save The Environment – WEF (2017)

  April 13, 2018 at 3:18 pm / Global Patterns, Human Nature, Video

  This World Economic Forum video outlines many uses of blockchain technology for environmental protection. The system created can also protect many local tibal communities vulnerable to resource extraction. From Conquistadors to robber barons to oil and gas companies natural resources of tropical regions have been unsustainably harvested and exploited. It doesn’t have to be this way. We must prevent this. Take for instance the Earth Bank of Codes initiative. This ambitious collaborative aims to assign every piece of biological data […]

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  The Living Forest: The Amazonian Tribespeople Who Sailed Down the Seine | Guardian Docs

  April 13, 2018 at 2:56 pm / Human Nature, Video

  The Kichwa tribe in the Sarayaku region of the Amazon in Ecuador believe in the ‘living forest’, where humans, animals and plants live in harmony. They are fighting oil companies who want to exploit their ancestral land. A delegation of indigenous people were at the Conference of Parties Paris COP21 climate conference to project their voices to the World. From Conquistadors to robber barons to oil and gas companies natural resources of tropical regions have been unsustainably harvested and exploited. […]

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  My Father’s Tools – Heather Condo (2017)

  April 12, 2018 at 10:29 am / Human Nature, Video

  As a pre-pottery Human technology basketmaking and clothing has been an important part of the ancestral Human life style. The earliest archaeological evidence for weaving comes from the Eurasian Paleolithic. The earliest evidence for basketry comes from sites in Israel dated back to 23,000 years before present. Mastering use of plant fibers for weaving enabled Humans to broaden their resource utilization space including creative design of fish traps. Here in this meditative short by filmmaker Heather Condo, we see Stephen […]

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  Priceless Blaschka Glass Models | Natural History Museum (2012)

  March 26, 2018 at 7:24 am / Natural history, Video

  The delicate glass artworks of sea creatures crafted by father-and-son team Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka were made between 1866 to 1889. Glassmakers Leopold Blaschka (1822-1895) and his son Rudolph Blaschka (1857-1939), provide a rich insight into the scientific appetite of the late Victorians in many disciplines of biology including botany as well as invertebrate zoology. Together they solved a rather difficult display obstacle faced by many natural history museums. Many botanical and zoological specimens loose their original qualities when preserved […]

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