{"id":63,"date":"2018-10-26T06:00:26","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/?p=63"},"modified":"2018-10-16T16:52:38","modified_gmt":"2018-10-16T23:52:38","slug":"something-rotten-a-fresh-look-at-roadkill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/something-rotten-a-fresh-look-at-roadkill\/","title":{"rendered":"Something Rotten, A Fresh Look at Roadkill"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"64\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/something-rotten-a-fresh-look-at-roadkill\/something-rotten\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Something-Rotten.jpg?fit=318%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"318,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Something Rotten\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Something-Rotten.jpg?fit=318%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-64 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Something-Rotten-199x300.jpg?resize=199%2C300\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Something-Rotten.jpg?resize=199%2C300&amp;ssl=1 199w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Something-Rotten.jpg?w=318&amp;ssl=1 318w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Something Rotten, A Fresh Look at Roadkill<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0 by Heather L. Montgomery; illus. by Kevin O&#8217;Malley<\/p>\n<p>176 pages; ages 9-11. Bloomsbury Children&#8217;s Books, 2018<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s Halloween \u2013 a perfect time to read about what scientists are learning from roadkill. Author, Heather Montgomery warns that her book is not for squeamish souls; this book is full of parasites, intestines, and bloody bodies. It&#8217;s not for reckless readers either, because it&#8217;s filled with things you shouldn&#8217;t do unless (and until) you are an &#8220;authorized, bona fide, certified expert.&#8221; And it&#8217;s definitely not for the tenderhearted because it&#8217;s full of death and tragedy.<\/p>\n<p>But it is one of the most entertaining &#8211; and informative &#8211; books about roadkill that I&#8217;ve read.<\/p>\n<p>Every book has a starting point. For Heather it was a squashed snake. With tire tracks. A rattlesnake. She started asking questions that led her to David Laurencio, the archivist of the DOR (Dead on Road) collection at the Auburn University Museum of Natural History. Every specimen bears a toe tag with an identification number that references a file. A file filled with notes about where the animal was found, when, how it was killed, its gender, and DNA information.<\/p>\n<p>Turns out, scientists can learn a lot from dead animals. By mapping where animals are killed, they get a better idea of where the animals live. Are they migrating as climate change affects their traditional range? Analysis of stomach contents reveals what the animals are eating. This is important information for conservation scientists.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout her book, Heather introduces us to many scientists &#8211; a snake scientist, a scientist studying genetics of coyotes and wolves, a roadkill ecologist &#8211; as well as people who salvage roadkill for the meat. Some folks use roadkill to feed animals, others grind it up for burger and slap it on the grill.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What I like most about this book:<\/strong> that there are things we can do to decrease death-by-car. As Heather notes: if we can wage huge campaigns to save sea animals from plastic straws, we can take positive action to reduce animal deaths on our highways. One thing everyone can do &#8211; starting now &#8211; stop throwing food out your window. It&#8217;s like baiting the road.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Things I love about this book:<\/strong> Footnotes! At the bottom of most pages are extra notes that, in other books, would have been text boxes and sidebars. This is fun. Back Matter! There are lists of books, videos, other resources. There are directions for how to do your own <del>bugsplat<\/del> windshield bug count. There is a list of citizen science projects,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wildlifecrossing.net\/california\/\"> like this one<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asuen.com\/images\/stemfriday.tiny.jpg?w=525\" alt=\"STEM Friday\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">It&#8217;s STEM Friday! (<strong>STEM<\/strong> is <strong>S<\/strong>cience, <strong>T<\/strong>echnology, <strong>E<\/strong>ngineering, and <strong>M<\/strong>athematics)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Copyright \u00a9 2018 <a href=\"http:\/\/archimedesnotebook.blogspot.com\/\">Sue Heavenrich<\/a> All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Something Rotten, A Fresh Look at Roadkill,\u00a0 by Heather L. Montgomery; illus. by Kevin O&#8217;Malley 176 pages; ages 9-11. Bloomsbury Children&#8217;s Books, 2018 It\u2019s Halloween \u2013 a perfect time to read about what scientists are learning from roadkill. Author, Heather Montgomery warns that her book is not for squeamish souls; this book is full of &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/something-rotten-a-fresh-look-at-roadkill\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Something Rotten, A Fresh Look at Roadkill&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stem-friday-round-up"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pamhGQ-11","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59,"url":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/bugs-dont-hug-six-legged-parents-and-their-kids\/","url_meta":{"origin":63,"position":0},"title":"Bugs Don&#8217;t Hug, Six-legged parents and their kids","author":"Sue Heavenrich","date":"November 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Bugs Don't Hug, Six-legged parents and their kids, by Heather L. Montgomery; illus. by Stephen Stone 32 pages; ages 3-7; Charlesbridge, 2018 Mommy and daddy bugs don't give good-morning kisses. They don't tie shoes or untangle hair. And bugs don't hug. Open the pages and you find that there are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;STEM Friday Round-up&quot;","block_context":{"text":"STEM Friday Round-up","link":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/category\/stem-friday-round-up\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Bugs-dont-Hug-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":512,"url":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/a-rotten-book\/","url_meta":{"origin":63,"position":1},"title":"A rotten book!","author":"Sue Heavenrich","date":"September 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Rotten! Vultures, Beetles, Slime, and Nature\u2019s Other Decomposers, by Anita Sanchez ; illus by Gilbert Ford 96 pages; ages 7-10 HMH Books for Young Readers, 2019 \u201cIt\u2019s a rotten world,\u201d writes Anita Sanchez. No matter where you look, from the backyard compost pile to the landfill \u2013 and even in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;STEM Friday Round-up&quot;","block_context":{"text":"STEM Friday Round-up","link":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/category\/stem-friday-round-up\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Rotten-238x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":145,"url":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/a-middle-grade-title-the-hyena-scientist\/","url_meta":{"origin":63,"position":2},"title":"A Middle Grade Title:  The Hyena Scientist","author":"@roberta3","date":"November 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Although we commonly highlight picture books, today we have a middle grade title, The Hyena Scientist by by Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop. I have to admit that I wasn't sure I wanted to read a book about hyenas. After all, they have a bad reputation, as the authors say,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;STEM Friday Round-up&quot;","block_context":{"text":"STEM Friday Round-up","link":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/category\/stem-friday-round-up\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-Hyena-Scientist.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":286,"url":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/ocean-books-for-early-readers\/","url_meta":{"origin":63,"position":3},"title":"Ocean books for Early Readers","author":"Sue Heavenrich","date":"March 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I love the National Geographic Kid's books for early readers. Here are two recent books in their \"Readers\" series that focus on the ocean In the Ocean\u00a0 by Jennifer Szymanski 48 pages; ages 2-5 This book\u00a0is a level 1 co-reader, meaning that it's a book for a shared reading experience\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;STEM Friday Round-up&quot;","block_context":{"text":"STEM Friday Round-up","link":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/category\/stem-friday-round-up\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/In-the-Ocean-inside.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/In-the-Ocean-inside.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/In-the-Ocean-inside.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/In-the-Ocean-inside.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":980,"url":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/the-leaf-detective-how-margaret-lowman-uncovered-secrets-in-the-rainforest\/","url_meta":{"origin":63,"position":4},"title":"The Leaf Detective: How Margaret Lowman Uncovered Secrets in the Rainforest","author":"@roberta3","date":"February 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This week at Growing with Science blog we feature the picture book biography The Leaf Detective: How Margaret Lowman Uncovered Secrets in the Rainforest by Heather Lang and illustrated by Jana Christy. \u00a0 The Leaf Detective\u00a0 is as multilayered as a rainforest tree. The trunk of the book is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;STEM Friday Round-up&quot;","block_context":{"text":"STEM Friday Round-up","link":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/category\/stem-friday-round-up\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/THELEAFDETECTIVECOVER.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":463,"url":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/rivers-and-streams\/","url_meta":{"origin":63,"position":5},"title":"Rivers and Streams","author":"Sue Heavenrich","date":"August 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"About Habitats: Rivers and Streams By Cathryn Sill; illus by John Sill 48 pages;\u00a0ages 2-6 Peachtree publishers, 2019 Rivers and streams are places where fresh water flows across the land From babbling brooks and mountain springs to the mighty Amazon river, this book offers a glimpse into river habitats. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;STEM Friday Round-up&quot;","block_context":{"text":"STEM Friday Round-up","link":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/category\/stem-friday-round-up\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/About-Rivers-Streams-300x262.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions\/65"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asuen.com\/stemfriday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}