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Wild Biology News - December 2009 Archives
 | Over the past decade, researchers have developed a variety of reliable real-time and archival instruments to study sounds made or heard by marine mammals and fish. These new sensors are now being used in research, management and conservation projects around the world with some very important practical results. Among them is improved monitoring of endangered North Atlantic right whales in an effort to reduce ship strikes, a leading cause of their deaths. ...> Full Article |
 | The timing of molar emergence and its relation to growth and reproduction in apes is being reported by scientists at Arizona State University's Institute of Human Origins in the Dec. 28 online early edition of PNAS. They report, "We can use the same techniques to calculate ages at first molar emergence from the fossils of early hominids that just happened to die while their first molars were erupting." ...> Full Article |
 | Kew botanists have discovered more than 250 new species of plants and fungi in the organization's 250th anniversary year. The exact number of new species discovered is 292 -- a third are threatened with extinction.
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 | Scientists have shown for the first time that insects, like mammals, use vision rather than touch to find footholds. They made the discovery thanks to high-speed video cameras -- technology the BBC uses to capture its stunning wildlife footage -- that they used to film desert locusts stepping along the rungs of a miniature ladder. The study sheds new light on insects' ability to perform complex tasks, such as visually guided limb control, usually associated with mammals. ...> Full Article |
 | The use and control of fire are behavioral characteristics that distinguish humans from other animals. Now, a new study by Iowa State University anthropologist Jill Pruetz reports that savanna chimpanzees in Senegal have a near human understanding of wildfires and change their behavior in anticipation of the fire's movement. ...> Full Article |
 | When bees come into land they slow their speed as they approach, but what happens in the final instants before touch down? Using high speed video, scientists from Australia and Sweden have found that there are three stages to the final touch down: a quasi-hover, a stable hover 16mm from the surface and finally a gentle touch down. Using this approach, bees can land on surfaces ranging from the horizontal to completely inverted ceilings. ...> Full Article |
 | Female ducks have evolved an intriguing way to avoid becoming impregnated by undesirable but aggressive males endowed with large corkscrew-shaped penises: vaginas with clockwise spirals that thwart oppositely spiraled males. ...> Full Article |
 | Details of the lifestyle of mink, which escaped from fur farms and now live wild in the UK, have been revealed through analysis of their whiskers. Research led by the University of Exeter reveals more about the diet of this invasive species and provides a clue to its whereabouts. There are now plans to use the findings to eradicate it from environments where it can be devastating to native species. ...> Full Article |
 | The American coot is a drab, seemingly unremarkable marsh bird common throughout North America. But its reproductive life is full of deception and violence. According to biologists at UC Santa Cruz, coots have evolved a remarkable set of cognitive abilities to thwart other coots that lay eggs in their neighbors' nests. ...> Full Article |
 | The teeth of some apes are formed primarily to handle the most stressful times when food is scarce, according to new research performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The findings imply that if humanity is serious about protecting its close evolutionary cousins, the food apes eat during these tough periods -- and where they find it -- must be included in conservation efforts. ...> Full Article |
Marine Scientists have proposed a new method to identify priority areas for whale conservation, based on feeding behavior and human activity.
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Many biologists warn that the planet's plants and animals are headed toward a mass extinction as a result of human-caused environmental damage, including global warming. A UC Berkeley/Penn State team has now analyzed the status of North American mammals, estimating that they may be one-fifth to one-half the way toward a mass extinction event like the "Big Five" the Earth has seen in the last 450 million years.
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 | When given the choice between unfamiliar social groups, cichlid fish chose groups where the members are large and dominant.
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 | In first-time experiments in the wild, a researcher at Brown University has discovered that a species of bat in Madagascar, Myzopoda aurita, uses wet adhesion to attach itself to surfaces. The finding explains why the bat -- unlike almost all others -- roosts head-up. It also helps to explain how it differs from a similar head-up roosting species. Results appear in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. ...> Full Article |
 | Scientists once thought of tool use as a defining feature of humans. That's until examples of tool use came in from other primates, along with birds and an array of other mammals. Now, a report in the Dec. 14 issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, adds an octopus to the growing list of tool users. ...> Full Article |
 | A study carried out in Ivory Coast has shown that monkeys of a certain forest-dwelling species called Campbell's monkeys emit six types of alert calls. ...> Full Article |
 | With growing concerns about the effects of global warming on polar bears, it's increasingly important to understand how other environmental threats, such as mercury pollution, are affecting these magnificent Arctic animals. ...> Full Article |
 | Researchers' theory: An increase in population size may mean sounds used in mate competition need not travel as far as before; acoustic information extracted from songs could be useful population monitoring tool ...> Full Article |
 | In contrast to the exhaustive research into venom produced by snakes and spiders, venomous fish have been neglected and remain something of a mystery. Now, a study of 158 catfish species, published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, has catalogued the presence of venom glands and investigated their biological effects. ...> Full Article |
 | Feeding birds in winter is a most innocent human activity, but it can nonetheless have profound effects on the evolutionary future of a species, and those changes can be seen in the very near term. ...> Full Article |
 | Looks can be deceiving, but certain bird species have figured out that a voice can tell them most of what they need to know to find the right mate.Andrew DeWoody, a Purdue University associate professor of forestry and natural resources, found that the higher the pitch of a male bird's song, the more genetic diversity that bird has, making him a better mate for breeding. ...> Full Article |
Coral reef fish can undergo a personality change in warmer water, according to an intriguing new study suggesting that climate change may make some species more aggressive.
...> Full Article
 | A scientist from the University of Salamanca and another from Yale University have shown that the presence of predators affects the behavior of Acanthodactylus beershebensis, a lizard species from the Negev Desert in the Near East. According to the study, these reptiles move less and catch less mobile and different prey if they are under pressure from predators. ...> Full Article |
 | Sally Hall, a PhD student at the University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton has formally described four new species of king crab, all from the deep sea. ...> Full Article |
 | Scientists are reporting the first identification of substances involved in the Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation that changes harmless marine bacteria into killers that cause "coral bleaching." Their study appears in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly journal. ...> Full Article |
Hit-and-run attacks by sharks can be solved with a new technique that identifies the culprits by the unique chomp they put on their victims, according to a University of Florida researcher and shark expert.
...> Full Article
 | Thanks to a satellite collar, two innovative scientists, and a blog, people can follow the travels of Brutus, the "North Pole wolf" as he leads his pack through the long arctic winter. ...> 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