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Wild Biology News - April 2009 Archives
Nature is full of mutually beneficial arrangements between organisms -- like the relationship between flowering plants and their bee pollinators. But sometimes these blissful relationships have a dark side, as Harvard zoologist Megan Frederickson describes in an article for the May issue of the American Naturalist.
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A new study appearing in Restoration Ecology describes a novel technique for reattaching large sponges that have been dislodged from coral reefs. The findings could be generally applied to the restoration of other large sponge species removed by human activities or storm events.
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 | Marine scientists are astonished at the spectacular recovery of certain coral reefs in Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park from a devastating coral bleaching event in 2006 when high sea temperatures caused massive and severe coral bleaching in the Keppel Islands. Damaged reefs were quickly smothered by a single species of seaweed -- an event that can spell the total loss of the corals. ...> Full Article |
 | Animals that seem identical may belong to completely different species. This is the conclusion of researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, who have used DNA analyses to discover that one of our most common segmented worms is actually two types of worm. "We could be talking about a large number of species that have existed undiscovered because they resemble other known species," says Professor Christer Erseus. ...> Full Article |
 | Research by UC Riverside biologists underscores importance of learning in insect systems, inclusion of social effects in models of evolution ...> Full Article |
 | Keeping warm isn't the only reason lizards and other cold-blooded critters bask in the sun. According to a study published in the May/June issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, chameleons alter their sunbathing behavior based on their need for vitamin D. ...> Full Article |
 | The extent to which sexual harassment from males can damage relationships between females is revealed in a study published today. Led by the Center for Research in Animal Behavior at the University of Exeter and published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the research uncovers the effect of sexual harassment on the ability of female fish to form social bonds with each other. ...> Full Article |
Scientists at the Cambridge University have discovered that freshwater algae can form stable groupings in which they dance around each other, miraculously held together only by the fluid flows they create.
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When dinosaurs evolved oxygen levels were much lower than they are now, so how did they cope? Curious to know what effects different oxygen levels would have on a modern dino relative, a team of US based scientists incubated alligator eggs at 12 percent, 21 percent and 30 percent oxygen. They found that the low oxygen conditions dramatically affected the embryo's development suggesting that dinosaurs' growth and metabolic patterns were drastically different from their modern relatives.
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 | A newly released study by researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks offers evidence that in one breed of northern seabird, the size of males' feather crests may be more than simple ornamentation. ...> Full Article |
Scientists have found an ancient ecosystem below an Antarctic glacier and learned the secret of its survival.
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 | Kerry Knudsen, a researcher at UC Riverside, has discovered a new species of lichen, and named it after President Obama. Knudsen discovered the new species while doing a survey for lichen diversity on Santa Rosa Island, Calif. He made the final collections of Caloplaca obamae during the suspenseful final weeks of President Obama's campaign for the United States presidency. He completed the final draft of his research paper on the day of President Obama's inauguration. ...> Full Article |
 | Once thought to be only the realm of the blue-ringed octopus, researchers have now shown that all octopuses and cuttlefish, and some squid are venomous. The work indicates that they all share a common, ancient venomous ancestor and highlights new avenues for drug discovery. ...> Full Article |
Four years ago researchers at the University of Gothenburg and Stockholm University discovered a new species of seaweed in the Baltic Sea. New studies reveal that this species may have formed only 400 years ago, making this seaweed species unique.
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 | In an experiment spanning over 20 years, researchers at the University of Illinois have found that vulnerability to being caught by anglers is a heritable trait in largemouth bass. ...> Full Article |
 | Lateral line sensory system detects vibrations from unseen prey ...> Full Article |
 | Elephant tail hair isotopes show cattle out-munch pachyderms ...> Full Article |
 | Scorpions possess resistance to high temperatures and the ability to conserve water for long periods of time, and as a result thrive in hot and arid parts of the world. But is this global distribution also seen at a more local level? Shmuel Raz and colleagues at the University of Haifa, Israel now show that this is indeed the case, even when European-like and African-like habitats were separated by no more than 100 meters. ...> Full Article |
 | New diseases affect human survival and food security, especially as population density climbs. Leaf-cutting ants, one of a few groups of social insects to cultivate crops and live in dense colonies, harvest plant material to fertilize underground fungal gardens. New results from the Smithsonian show that both the ants and their fungal crop actively combat fungi coming into the nest inside leaves. ...> Full Article |
 | Reporting in the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE April 8, Vincenzo Penteriani and Maria Delgado of the Estacion Biologica de Donana, Spain, describe the evolution of white throat badges in association with dawn and dusk vocal signals in certain species of nocturnal bird, which maximize the potential for these species to communicate during hours when light is low. ...> Full Article |
 | Male chimpanzees that regularly share their food with females are able to mate more often than their stingy fellows ...> Full Article |
 | Scientists study how microbes survive and thrive in deep, dark, noxious, oxygen-depleted, super-salty ecosystems that may resemble primordial environments ...> Full Article |
 | A team led by University of Illinois at Chicago biologist Jennifer Schmidt used DNA tagging to show that whale sharks, the world's largest fish, show little genetic variation across widely separated tropical oceans, underscoring the need for wider protection against over-fishing. ...> Full Article |
 | The wolves on Isle Royale are suffering from genetically deformed bones. Scientists from Michigan Technological University blame the extreme inbreeding of the small isolated wolf population on the island National Park in northern Lake Superior. ...> Full Article |
We all know that people sometimes change their behavior when someone is looking their way. Now, a new study reported online on April 2 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, shows that jackdaws -- birds related to crows and ravens with eyes that appear similar to human eyes -- can do the same.
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 | Neural net model shows how mollusks generate new shell layer based on yesterday's layer ...> Full Article |
Ant trails fascinate children and scientists alike. With so many ants traveling in both directions, meeting and contacting one another, carrying their loads and giving the impression that they have a sense of urgency and duty, they pose the following question: how do they organize themselves? A new study published in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE may have some answers.
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 | Butterflies seem able to both attract mates and ward off predators using different sides of their wings, according to new research by Yale University biologists. ...> Full Article |
 | The International Polar Year concluded in March 2009 with a tangible legacy in the form of a network of databases on marine biodiversity that will serve as clearinghouse for all biodiversity-related data gathered since the very first Antarctic research expeditions. The network gathers data describing the species themselves as well as information about their collection history, allowing scientists and conservationists to access the first rigorous census of Antarctic marine life. ...> Full Article |
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Ancient DNA from rare fossil reveals that polar bears evolved recently and adapted quickly
'Anaconda' meets 'Jurassic Park': Study shows ancient snakes ate dinosaur babies
Scientists locate apparent hydrothermal vents off Antarctica
Mars Express heading for closest flyby of Phobos
Artificial bee silk a big step closer to reality
Predicting the fate of stem cells
Artificial foot recycles energy for easier walking
New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing
What drives our genes? Researchers map the first complete human epigenome
Juggling enhances connections in the brain
Tracking down the human 'odorprint'
Fill 'er up - with algae
Scientists discover quantum fingerprints of chaos
Researchers help identify cows that gain more while eating less
Decoding the long calls of the orangutan
Barnacles prefer upwelling currents, enriching food chains in the Galapagos
Bringing bison back to North American landscapes
If bonobo Kanzi can point as humans do, what other similarities can rearing reveal?
Pesticide atrazine can turn male frogs into females
How can accidental captures of loggerhead turtles be reduced?
A convincing mimic: Scientists report octopus imitating flounder in the Atlantic
Study shows natural antioxidants give top barn swallows a leg on competitors
Fish can recognize a face based on UV pattern alone
New clues found linking larger animals to colder climates
The bigger the animal, the stiffer the 'shoes'
A magnetometer in the upper beak of birds?
Grizzly bears move into polar bear habitat in Manitoba, Canada