Wild Biology News - December 2008 Archives

Scientists reveal structure of new botulism nerve toxin subtype (12/27/2008)

Scientists have determined the structure of a third subtype of botulinum neurotoxin -- a deadly toxin that causes the disease botulism, and is also used in cosmetic and therapeutic applications. The structure reveals a unique arrangement of the active components that may help explain why subtype E is faster-acting than others -- and may have implications for improving vaccines and/or therapeutic agents. ...> Full Article

Protea plants help unlock secrets of species 'hotspots' (12/26/2008)

New species of flowering plants called proteas are exploding onto the scene three times faster in parts of Australia and South Africa than anywhere else in the world, creating exceptional 'hotspots' of species richness, according to new research published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

Researcher deciphers the meaning within bird communication (12/26/2008)

To many people, bird song can herald the coming of spring, reveal what kind of bird is perched nearby or be merely an unwelcome early morning intrusion. But to Sandra Vehrencamp, Cornell professor of neurobiology and behavior, bird song is a code from which to glean avian behavior insight. ...> Full Article

Honey bees on cocaine dance more, changing ideas about the insect brain (12/25/2008)

In a study that challenges current ideas about the insect brain, researchers have found that honey bees on cocaine tend to exaggerate. ...> Full Article

Honeybees as plant 'bodyguards' (12/24/2008)

Honeybees are important to plants for reasons that go beyond pollination, according to a new study published in the Dec. 23 issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The insects' buzz also defends plants against the caterpillars that would otherwise munch on them undisturbed. ...> Full Article

Shade coffee benefits more than birds (12/23/2008)

Here's one more reason to say 'shade grown, please' when you order your morning cup of coffee. Shade coffee farms, which grow coffee under a canopy of multiple tree species, not only harbor native birds, bats and other beneficial creatures, but also maintain genetic diversity of native tree species and can act as focal points for tropical forest regeneration. ...> Full Article

Unusual microbial ropes grow slowly in cave lake (12/21/2008)

Deep inside the Frasassi cave system in Italy and more than 1,600 feet below the Earth's surface, divers found filamentous ropes of microbes growing in the cold water, according to a team of Penn State researchers. ...> Full Article

Why locusts abandon a solitary life for the swarm (12/19/2008)

By applying an old theory that has been used to explain water flow through soil and the spread of forest fires, researchers may have an answer to a perplexing ecological and evolutionary problem: why locusts switch from an innocuous, solitary lifestyle to form massive swarms that can devastate crops and strip fields bare. ...> Full Article

Quiet bison sire more calves than louder rivals (12/18/2008)

Researchers at University of California, Davis, and Point Loma Nazarene University have found that during bison mating season, the quietest bulls score the most mates and sire the most offspring while studs with the loudest bellows see the least action ...> Full Article

Over 1,000 species discovered in the Greater Mekong in past decade (12/17/2008)

Fish, plants, amphibians and mammals -- including an 'extinct' rock rat -- are under threat from dams, roads and development ...> Full Article

Practice as well as sleep may help birds learn new songs (12/17/2008)

Research looks at brain in the first moments of learning ...> Full Article

Moving in for the winter toxic brown recluse spiders pose danger (12/16/2008)

MU entomologist warns of the venomous brown recluse spider's bite ...> Full Article

Whispering bats are 100 times louder than previously thought (12/16/2008)

Some echo-locating bats seem to be really quiet, appearing to make echo-locating calls that are no louder than 70decibel. But no one had successfully recorded their volume under natural conditions, so Annemarie Surlyyke and Signe Brinklov from University of Southern Denmark teamed up with Elizabeth Kalko from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to record whispering bats and found that some of them are shrieking 100 times louder than thought. ...> Full Article

New online report on massive jellyfish swarms released (12/15/2008)

Massive swarms of stinging jellyfish and jellyfish-like animals are transforming many world-class fisheries and tourist destinations into veritable jellytoriums that are intermittently jammed with pulsating, gelatinous creatures. Areas that are currently particularly hard-hit by these squishy animals include Hawaii, the Gulf of Mexico, the east coast of the US, the Bering Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, Australia, the Black Sea and other European seas, the Sea of Japan, the North Sea and Namibia. ...> Full Article

Cost of hatchling turtles' dash for freedom (12/15/2008)

The first few hundred meters that a newly hatched turtle swims are the most dangerous of its life. Frantically swimming and surrounded by predators, as many as 30 percent die on their maiden voyage. Curious to know how much energy the youngsters need to reach safe deep water, David Booth from the University of Queensland measured the hatchling's oxygen consumption and found that they have enough energy reserves to survive 14 days at sea without feeding. ...> Full Article

Team finds secret ingredient for the health of tropical rainforests (12/14/2008)

A team of researchers led by Princeton University scientists has found for the first time that tropical rainforests, a vital part of the Earth's ecosystem, rely on the rare trace element molybdenum to capture the nitrogen fertilizer needed to support their wildly productive growth. Most of the nitrogen that supports the rapid, lush growth of rainforests comes from tiny bacteria that can turn nitrogen in the air into fertilizer in the soil. ...> Full Article

Orangutan's spontaneous whistling opens new chapter in study of evolution of speech (12/14/2008)

An orangutan's spontaneous whistling is providing scientists at Great Ape Trust of Iowa new insights into the evolution of speech and learning. ...> Full Article

Drama in the heart of the Tarantula (12/14/2008)

A new Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the Tarantula Nebula gives scientists a close-up view of the drama of star formation and evolution. The Tarantula, also known as 30 Doradus, is in one of the most active star-forming regions in a galaxy close to the Milky Way. Massive stars in 30 Doradus are producing intense radiation and searing winds of multimillion-degree gas that carve out gigantic super-bubbles in the surrounding gas. ...> Full Article

In the animal world, bigger isn't necessarily better (12/13/2008)

Shocking new research shows size isn't always an advantage in the animal world, shattering a widely-held belief that bigger is better. ...> Full Article

Spider love: Little guys get lots more (12/12/2008)

Big males outperform smaller ones in head-to-head mating contests but diminutive males make ten times better lovers because they're quicker to mature and faster on their feet, a new study of redback spiders reveals.Published in the current online issue of Journal of EvolutionaryBiology, the study shows the importance of maturation in defining mating and paternity success. ...> Full Article

Why do some bird species lay only 1 egg? Study offers some answers (12/10/2008)

A global study of the wide variation among birds in this trait, known as the "clutch size," now provides biologists with some answers. The study, published in the current issue of the journal PLoS Biology, combined data on the clutch sizes of 5,290 species of birds with information on the biology and environment of each of these species. ...> Full Article

Isopora or isn't it? (12/9/2008)

Mistaken identity leads researchers to two new extinct species of coral ...> Full Article

No place like home: New theory for how salmon, sea turtles find their birthplace (12/5/2008)

How marine animals find their way back to their birthplace to reproduce after migrating across thousands of miles of open ocean has mystified scientists for more than a century. But marine biologists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill think they might finally have unraveled the secret. ...> Full Article

Imitation is not just flattery for Amazon butterfly species (12/4/2008)

A new paper studies an aspect of the natural world that, like survival of the fittest individual, is explained by natural selection: namely, mutualism -- an interaction between species that has benefits for both. The work shows that some species of butterfly that live alongside one another have evolved in ways that, surprisingly, benefit both species. ...> Full Article

First comprehensive 'inventory' of life in Antarctica (12/3/2008)

The first comprehensive "inventory" of sea and land animals around a group of Antarctic islands reveals a region that is rich in biodiversity and has more species than the Galapagos. The study provides an important benchmark to monitor how they will respond to future environmental change. ...> Full Article

Solar-powered sea-slugs live like plants, prof says (12/1/2008)

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New national park protects world's rarest gorilla (12/1/2008)

The Wildlife Conservation Society, the government of Cameroon, and other partners have collaborated to create a new national park to help protect the world's most endangered great ape: the Cross River gorilla. The park now forms part of an important trans-boundary protected area with Nigeria's Cross River National Park, safeguarding an estimated 115 gorillas -- a third of the Cross River gorilla population -- along with other rare species. ...> Full Article