Science desk
< June 21	<< May \| June \| Jul >>	June 23 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Science Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

June 22

Ecoregions follow-up

OK, here's Part 2 of the question I asked earlier about ecoregions of North America (and the real reason why I asked in the first place): Which ecoregions of the United States do not have any native Papilionidae (swallowtail butterfly) species, except maybe near boundaries with other ecoregions, or as very rare vagrants? (NO PHOTOS OF SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLIES PLEASE, but maps of their native range are always welcome, especially if these have state lines, major cities and/or ecoregion boundaries shown for reference!) Oh, and I'm asking only about the continental USA -- I know that these critters are found pretty much everywhere in Hawaii, but you won't find them at all in Alaska! 2601:646:8A00:A0B3:4960:40AC:D40E:12AC (talk) 03:04, 22 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

See distribution map: [1]

Note: Canadian tiger swallowtail (Papilio canadensis) is indeed distributed in Alaska.

The main blank area in the map roughly corresponds with the Yuma Desert section of the Colorado Desert region of the Sonoran Desert.—2606:A000:1126:4CA:0:98F2:CFF6:1782 (talk) 17:43, 22 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks... for the bad news! :-( So, how big can each of these critters grow (maximum size)? 2601:646:8A00:A0B3:4960:40AC:D40E:12AC (talk) 02:44, 23 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The largest butterfly that can be found naturally in the United States is the Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) with a wing span of 4-6 inches.[2] —2606:A000:1126:4CA:0:98F2:CFF6:1782 (talk) 03:47, 23 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

And the ones which are shown on the map? How big can they grow? (BTW, I was pretty sure P. rutulus could grow to 6 inches or more -- but maybe that's just me being too frightened to estimate size accurately! Or maybe it was P. cresphontes I saw on all those occasions -- is it native to California and/or Oregon?) 2601:646:8A00:A0B3:4960:40AC:D40E:12AC (talk) 06:38, 23 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Trademark symbols in academic writing

In academic writing is there any point in putting trademark symbols for company names and products like Thermo Fischer Scientific or SYBR Safe? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.215.47.59 (talk) 17:53, 22 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

For company names, probably not, unless confusion is likely for some reason without it. For products, it may sometimes be useful. I have seen quite a number of papers using a trademark symbol when giving the proprietary name of a drug. For example, even doctors seeing the names diltiazem and Cardizem might not be certain which is the generic name and which is the proprietary name. Looie496 (talk) 18:04, 22 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I've never used or seen it in published academic writing. I wouldn't. If it was a requirement, the author guidelines for your journal of choice would say to do it. In my experience. none do. Fgf10 (talk) 08:12, 23 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Here's one 185.230.100.66 (talk) 00:17, 24 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I'd say omit ™ (and the related ® too) in general, if possible. Just use consistent and proper capitalization and spelling. From the Chicago Manual of Style: "Although the symbols ® and ™ often accompany trademark names on product packaging and in promotional material, there is no legal requirement to use these symbols, and they should be omitted wherever possible." source

--Doroletho (talk) 12:05, 23 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Estimating tree mass: is height and species enough?

How accurately can a tree's mass be estimated, given only its height and species? Neon Merlin 22:33, 22 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Try GlobAllomeTree. Alansplodge (talk) 22:58, 22 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]