Songbirds eavesdrop to find best nests: By playing recordings of songs to migratory songbirds, scientists have shown that they find the best place to live by eavesdropping on others that successfully have had baby birds. [Telegraph]
Baby crocs call out when ready to hatch: Baby crocodiles call from their eggs to tell others in the nest when it is time to hatch, scientists have discovered. The calls, described by one researcher as an “umph, umph” sound, are thought to be critical to the survival of the animals. [Guardian]
A Tick’s Life: Ticks, which live on blood and nothing but blood, are loathsome to us. We strongly prefer not to share our blood, unless the act is voluntary and we get juice and doughnuts afterward. [Slate]
June 24th, 2008 at 11:24 am
This article is filed under Biology, Blog.
Monkeys that go fishing discovered: Long-tailed macaque monkeys have a reputation for knowing how to find food — whether it be grabbing fruit from jungle trees or snatching a banana from a startled tourist. Now, researchers say they have discovered groups of the silver-haired primates in Indonesia that fish. [msnbc]
Study: Tree Leaves Have Built-In Thermostat: Whether in Canada or the Caribbean, tree leaves don’t have to worry about the temperature outside — they have their own built-in climate control that always aims to keep them comfortable, a new study finds. [Live Science]
Leatherback Turtle in Texas - First Since 1930s: For the first time since the 1930’s, federal biologists confirmed that a leatherback sea turtle has nested on a Texas beach, at the Padre Island National Seashore near Corpus Christi. [NYT]
June 12th, 2008 at 10:16 am
This article is filed under Biology, Blog.
Loyal to Its Roots: “I’m just amazed at what we’ve found,” said Susan A. Dudley, an evolutionary plant ecologist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, who carried out the study with a graduate student, Amanda L. File. “Plants,” Dr. Dudley said, “have a secret social life.” [NYT]
Secret sex life of the giant panda is revealed: The complete secretive courtship and mating ritual of the giant panda has been captured on camera in the wild for the first time. A BBC Natural History team recorded the scene, which is rarely displayed in captivity, deep in the bamboo forest that lines China’s Qinling mountains. [Telegraph]
A Fierce Predator Makes a Home in the Suburbs: The animal was a fisher, a weasel-like predator of the deep woods that was saved from extinction in the Northeast and Midwest and has migrated into suburban backyards. The small, sleek animal has cultivated a reputation as a ferocious killer of small pets, including cats and chickens, putting animal owners on edge. [NYT]
June 10th, 2008 at 11:05 am
This article is filed under Biology, Blog.
Moose Gain Ground but Keep a Low Profile: Here in the boreal forests of the Adirondack Mountains, moose are seemingly everywhere and nowhere. [NYT]
From Regular Bird to Chick Magnet: A little strategically placed makeup quickly turns the wimpiest of male barn swallows into chick magnets, amping up their testosterone and even trimming their weight, new research shows. It’s a “clothes make the man” lesson that — with some caveats — also applies to human males, researchers say. [Discovery]
Bees translate dances of foreign species: Honeybees can communicate with others from far-off continents by learning to interpret their dance moves, scientists have found. The world’s nine species of honeybee separated about 30m years ago and have since developed their own diverse dances, which are used like languages. [Guardian]
June 4th, 2008 at 10:57 am
This article is filed under Biology, Blog.
Nature’s greatest architects: From bird nests and beaver dams to spider webs and the display arenas of bowerbirds, the architecture of animals has fascinated our species from the dawn of history. The order and regularity of honey bee comb has inspired human builders and philosophers alike. Paper-making wasps and adobe-using birds may have opened our eyes to important technological innovations, and the relentless works of coral colonies dwarf human achievements. How do animals manage their feats of engineering, and what does it tell us about their minds? [TLS]
Extremophiles: Living creatures discovered 1.6 km beneath seabed: The bacteria-like creatures, which were found in sediment cores extracted by a ship off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada, are able to survive extreme pressure and temperatures of up to 100C. The previous record for life was 842 m underground. The creatures are single-celled organisms called archaea which are able to thrive in an ecosystem where sunlight never penetrates. The researchers who discovered them are unsure exactly how they do this, but one possibility is that they effectively eat oil. [Guardian]
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:11 am
This article is filed under Biology, Blog.
Giant Pythons Invade Florida: Giant pythons capable of swallowing a dog and even an alligator are rapidly making south Florida their home, potentially threatening other southeastern states, a study said. [Discovery]
The Killer Mice of Gough Island: Freedom from predators on an unusually isolated island has led to one very giant mouse and one very doomed bird population. [Popsci]
“Weird Beastie” Shrimp Have Super-Vision: The mantis shrimp sees colors invisible to humans and other animals, viewing the world in 11 or 12 primary colors, as opposed to our humble 3, new research has discovered. [National Geographic]
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:33 am
This article is filed under Biology, Blog.
Cheetahs of the deep: Crocodiles, cheetahs, great white sharks and peregrine falcons all come at their prey with great speed, using a combination of momentum and strength to stun and kill. Now research has put up a surprising candidate to join this high-speed predatory club: the short-finned pilot whale. [Economist]
Climbing as Easy as Walking for Small Primates: Climbing trees is no sweat for small primates, a new study reveals. Squirrel monkeys, lemurs, and other tiny species use no more energy climbing vertically than they do walking on the ground. [National Geographic]
Frogs go ultrasonic for sex: The frogs’ sounds are no mere “ribbits,” but ultrasound squeaks designed to be heard over the rushing of a nearby mountain river that roars in the audible sound range. [msnbc]
Shorebirds “Defy Gravity” to Eat, Study Says: The birds, called phalaropes, exploit the same principle that allows water droplets to stick on windows. Phalaropes take advantage of this effect, called surface tension, by using a tweezering motion with their beaks to “ratchet up” droplets embedded with tiny bits of food. [National Geographic]
May 16th, 2008 at 9:06 am
This article is filed under Biology, Blog.
Designer Genes: When Drew Endy envisions the future, he sees giant gourds engineered to grow into four-bedroom, two-bathroom houses. He sees people alerted to nascent tumors in their bodies by internal biological sensors, and cars fueled by bacteria-produced gasoline. Endy, 37, is a pioneer in synthetic biology, a field that combines biology, chemistry, and engineering to remake biological systems to act according to human design. [Good]
Platypus proves even odder than scientists thought: At first dismissed as a prank, and later cited as proof that God has a sense of humour, the duck-billed platypus has finally given up its evolutionary secrets. The creature, considered one of the strangest mammals in the world, has become the latest to have its genetic code sequenced, revealing it to be a bizarre mix of mammal, bird and reptile, with very complex sexuality. [Guardian]
Why beauty is an advert for good genes: The findings back the claim that the masculinity/femininity of faces is linked with symmetry and hence advertise quality, that is good genes. [Telegraph]
May 8th, 2008 at 9:01 am
This article is filed under Biology, Blog.
Starlings know if you are watching them: Starlings can tell if you are watching them, according to a study that has shown for the first time that starlings respond to a human’s gaze. Starlings will keep away from their food dish if a human is looking at it. However, if the person is just as close, but their eyes are turned away, the birds resumed feeding earlier and consumed more food overall. [Telegraph]
Scientists indentify new species in Brazil: A legless lizard and a miniature woodpecker are among 14 species new to science discovered in a remote region of Brazil. The animals were identified during an expedition to the Cerrado, an area of wooded grassland rated among the world’s top 50 homes for wildlife. [Times]
Giant Stingrays Found Near Thai City: After weeks of combing remote Southeast Asian rivers for giant freshwater stingrays—possibly the largest freshwater fish in the world—Hogan finally found the creature near a Thai city. To his surprise, she gave birth soon after capture. [National Geographic]
April 30th, 2008 at 8:59 am
This article is filed under Biology, Blog.
What Genes Remember: Many geneticists now think that the behaviour of our genes can be altered by experience—and even that these changes can be passed on to future generations. This finding may transform our understanding of inheritance and evolution. [Prospect]
What are little boys made of? Scientists pinpoint bananas: Women are more likely to give birth to boys if they have a high-calorie diet in the run-up to becoming pregnant, according to a team of scientists. The finding is the first clear evidence that a mother’s eating habits around the time of conception can influence the sex of her baby. [Guardian]
April 24th, 2008 at 9:51 am
This article is filed under Biology, Blog.
