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Wild Biology News - February 2009 Archives
Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute recently solved the half-century-old mystery of a fish with tubular eyes and a transparent head. A new paper by Bruce Robison and Kim Reisenbichler shows that this fish's unusual eyes can rotate within a transparent shield that covers the fish's head. This allows the barreleye to peer up at potential prey or focus forward to see what it is eating.
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 | For such a small shark species, there seems to be super-sized confusion about its population status. But for researchers at the University of New Hampshire, one thing is clear -- definite changes have occurred to spiny dogfish shark populations in the past two decades. ...> Full Article |
 | Photos a first for cheetahs in that country ...> Full Article |
 | New volume is the first to offer a site-by-site comparison of data recording similarities, differences in orangutan populations ...> Full Article |
 | The mystery of how some marine animals produce light has come one step closer to being solved. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have discovered that krill, the luminous crustacean, can use special and previously unknown muscles to regulate light intensity. ...> Full Article |
Following trends is a lifesaving instinct, at least for birds, and provides clues that can be applied across the animal kingdom. New research from University of Montreal published in Biology Letters, shows that Herring and Ring-billed gulls not only watch their neighbors -- they mimic their behavior to assure their survival. Contrary to previous beliefs, this study suggests that animals don't necessarily act independently and that they cue on reactions from other members of their group.
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Researchers at Uppsala University can now show that what is good for one sex is not always good for the other sex. In fact, evolutionary conflicts between the two sexes cause characteristics and behaviors that are downright injurious to the opposite sex. The findings are being published in the scientific journal Current Biology.
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 | Trees do it. Bees do it. Even environmentally stressed fish do it. But Prof. Yossi Loya from Tel Aviv University's Department of Zoology is the first in the world to discover that Japanese sea corals engage in "sex switching" too. ...> Full Article |
Magellanic penguins, like most other species of the flightless birds, are having their survival challenged by wide variability in conditions and food availability, a University of Washington biologist has found.
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Species are adapting slowly to climate change and "assisted colonization" can play a vital role in helping wildlife to survive in a warming world.
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In a new, year-long University of Pennsylvania survey of dog owners who use confrontational or aversive methods to train aggressive pets, veterinary researchers have found that most of these animals will continue to be aggressive unless training techniques are modified.
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Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell, an ecologist and consulting assistant professor in otolaryngology at Stanford University School of Medicine, has been studying elephant communication for more than 15 years. During that time she's puzzled over which or their two seismic sensing systems -- either bone conduction or somatosensory reception -- elephants use most often in locating the source of a call. In her most recent field season last summer, she finally got an answer.
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 | Research may help endangered species re-establishment programs ...> Full Article |
Researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen have shown in computer simulations that in a cyclical competition of three species, it is nearly always the weakest species that comes out as victor -- while the other two are condemned to extinction.
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Lizards have the ultimate quick release escape system. When in a predator's grips, they drop their tails to escape. But what price do tree dwelling lizards pay for freedom? A team led by Gary Gillis from Mount Holyoke College, US, tested the effect the loss had on the lizards' mobility and found that the lizards are extremely compromised. They can no longer jump, somersaulting backwards, making it difficult to land safely when jumping between branches.
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 | ASU researchers investigate bird's carotenoid 'circle of life' ...> Full Article |
 | A combination of changing weather patterns, overfishing, pollution, and other factors have conspired to drive penguin populations into a precipitous decline, according to long-term research funded by the Wildlife Conservation Society. ...> Full Article |
 | A York University researcher has tracked the migration of songbirds by outfitting them with tiny geolocator backpacks -- a world first -- revealing that scientists have underestimated their flight performance dramatically. ...> Full Article |
 | Over the last two decades, marine biologists have discovered lush forests of deep-sea corals and sponges growing on seamounts (underwater mountains) offshore of the California coast. It has generally been assumed that many of these animals live only on seamounts, and are found nowhere else. However, two new research papers show that most seamount animals can also be found in other deep-sea areas. These findings may help coastal managers protect seamounts from damage by human activities. ...> Full Article |
 | Most common salamanders in cloud forest have nearly disappeared ...> Full Article |
 | Plants are flowering at higher elevations along trails in Arizona's Santa Catalina Mountains, according to new research from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Individual plant species respond differently to a warming climate. An analysis of 20 years of data collected by an avid local hiker and naturalist shows that 93 species of plants have shifted their flowering ranges uphill to find the right conditions for flowering. ...> Full Article |
 | Can Southern right whales adapt if food becomes scarce? ...> Full Article |
A team of researchers are reporting the ongoing emergence of a new species of fruit fly -- and the sequential development of a new species of wasp -- in the February 6 issue of the journal Science.
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 | Rise of dark-colored Canis lupus credited to human dog breeding, may aid in coping with climate change ...> Full Article |
Killer whales nearing the menopause may be more successful in rearing their young. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Frontiers in Zoology shows that estimated survival rates for calves born to these older mothers were 10 percent higher than those for other calves.
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 | Most animals, like humans, have separate sexes -- they are born, live out their lives and reproduce as one sex or the other. However, some animals live as one sex in part of their lifetime and then switch to the other sex, a phenomenon called sequential hermaphroditism. What remains a puzzle, according to Yale scientists, is why the phenomenon is so rare, since their analysis shows the biological "costs" of changing sexes rarely outweigh the advantages. ...> Full Article |
Scientists announce the discovery of 10 amphibians believed to be new to science, including a spiky-skinned, orange-legged rain frog, three poison dart frogs and three glass frogs, so called because their transparent skin can reveal internal organs.
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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
New species discovered on the Great Barrier Reef
Why female moths are big and beautiful
Exotic flowers help bees stay busy in winter
American pika are thriving in the Sierra Nevada and southwestern Great Basin
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