Wild Biology News - January 2009 Archives

Birds' strategic mobbing fends off parasitic invaders (1/31/2009)

Reed warblers use mobbing as a front line of nest defense against parasitic cuckoos, according to a new report published online on Jan. 29 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Cuckoos act as parasites by laying their eggs in the nests of other birds, reed warblers in particular, burdening their hosts with the trouble of raising young that don't belong to them. ...> Full Article

Serotonin brings locusts together (1/30/2009)

Role of brain chemical on locust swarming revealed in Science ...> Full Article

Mammals that hibernate or burrow less likely to go extinct (1/30/2009)

According to a new study published in the American Naturalist, mammals that hibernate or that hide in burrows are less likely to turn up on an endangered species list. The study's authors believe that the ability of such "sleep-or-hide" animals to buffer themselves from changing environments may help them avoid extinction. ...> Full Article

Emperor penguins march toward extinction? (1/29/2009)

Popularized by the 2005 movie "March of the Penguins," emperor penguins could be headed toward extinction in at least part of their range before the end of the century, according to a paper by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution researchers published Jan. 26, 2009, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. ...> Full Article

Billion-year revision of plant evolution timeline may stem from discovery of lignin in seaweed (1/28/2009)

Land plants' ability to sprout upward through the air, unsupported except by their own woody tissues, has long been considered one of the characteristics separating them from aquatic plants, which rely on water to support them. ...> Full Article

Scientific sub makes deep-sea discoveries (1/26/2009)

A four-week expedition to explore the deep ocean south-west of Tasmania has revealed new species of animals and more evidence of impacts of increasing carbon dioxide on deep-sea corals. ...> Full Article

Native lizards evolve to escape attacks by fire ants (1/25/2009)

Native fence lizards in the southeastern United States are adapting to potentially fatal invasive fire-ant attacks by developing behaviors that enable them to escape from the ants, as well as by developing longer hind legs, which can increase the effectiveness of this behavior. This finding provides biologists with an example of evolution in action, and provides wildlife managers with knowledge that they can use to develop plans for managing invasive species. ...> Full Article

Orphaned elephants forced to forge new bonds decades after ivory ban (1/25/2009)

An African elephant never forgets -- especially when it comes to the loss of its kin, according to researchers at the University of Washington. Their findings, published in a January issue of Molecular Ecology, reveal that the negative effects of poaching persist for decades after the killing has ended. ...> Full Article

New insight into how bees see (1/24/2009)

New research from Monash University bee researcher Adrian Dyer could lead to improved artificial intelligence systems and computer programs for facial recognition. ...> Full Article

Living with females extends the reproductive life of the male mouse (1/24/2009)

Living with a female mouse can extend the reproductive life of a male mouse by as much as 20 percent, according to a study conducted by a team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. The results have significant implications for the maintenance of male fertility in wildlife, livestock and even human populations. ...> Full Article

Here's venom in your eye: Spitting cobras hit their mark (1/24/2009)

Using high-speed photography and electromyography, scientists uncover the mechanics of a cobra "spit." ...> Full Article

The more promiscuous the female, the speedier the sperm (1/24/2009)

Researchers use fish to settle a sperm competition debate ...> Full Article

Key to the success of invasive ants discovered (1/23/2009)

Certain ant species gain territory by collaborating in unusual manners ...> Full Article

Chemical come-on successfully lures lovesick lampreys to traps (1/23/2009)

Michigan State University research could aid control of destructive invasive species ...> Full Article

Study may give hope that ivory-billed woodpeckers still around (1/22/2009)

Birds thought to be extinct could have survived, Warnell study concludes ...> Full Article

Slight changes in climate may trigger abrupt ecosystem responses (1/21/2009)

Slight changes in climate may trigger major abrupt ecosystem responses that are not easily reversible. Some of these responses, including insect outbreaks, wildfire, and forest dieback, may adversely affect people and ecosystems and their plants and animals. The USGS led a new assessment of the implications of a warming world on "ecological thresholds" in North America. The report was commissioned by the US Climate Change Science Program and authored by a team of scientists. ...> Full Article

Why domestic animals changed coat (1/20/2009)

A new study on pigs, published Jan. 16 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, reveals that the prime explanation for the bewildering diversity in coat color among our pigs, dogs and other domestic animals, is that humans have actively changed the coat color of domestic animals by cherry-picking and actively selecting for rare mutations. This process that has been going on for thousands of years. ...> Full Article

Fishdunnit! Mystery solved (1/19/2009)

In a new article in Science, an international team of scientists has solved a mystery that has puzzled marine chemists for decades. They have discovered that fish contribute a significant fraction of the oceans' calcium carbonate production, which affects the delicate pH balance of seawater. The study gives a conservative estimate of three to 15 percent of marine calcium carbonate being produced by fish, but it could be up to three times higher. ...> Full Article

Jumbo-sized discovery made in Malaysia (1/18/2009)

New data released today by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Malaysia's Department of Wildlife and National Parks reveals that a population of endangered Asian elephants living in a Malaysian park may be the largest in Southeast Asia. ...> Full Article

Voracious sponges save reef (1/17/2009)

Tropical oceans are known as the deserts of the sea. And yet this unlikely environment is the very place where the rich and fertile coral reef grows. Dutch researcher Jasper de Goeij investigated how caves in the coral reef ensure the reef's continued existence. Although sponges in these coral caves take up a lot of dissolved organic material, they scarcely grow. However, they do discard a lot of cells that in turn provide food for the organisms on the reef. ...> Full Article

As super-predators, humans reshape their prey at super-natural speeds (1/16/2009)

Fishing and hunting are having broad, swift impacts on the body size and reproductive abilities of fish and other commercially harvested species, potentially jeopardizing the ability of entire populations to recover, according to the results of a new study that will appear in the Jan. 12, 2009, online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

Primate culture is just a stone's throw away from human evolution, study finds (1/15/2009)

For 30 years, scientists have been studying stone-handling behavior in several troops of Japanese macaques to catch a unique glimpse of primate culture. By watching these monkeys acquire and maintain behavioral traditions from generation to generation, the scientists have gained insight into the cultural evolution of humans. ...> Full Article

Male crickets with bigger heads are better fighters, study reveals, echoing ancient Chinese text (1/14/2009)

Press release from PLoS ONE ...> Full Article

How cheating ants give themselves away (1/13/2009)

In ant society, workers normally give up reproducing themselves to care for their queen's offspring, who are their brothers and sisters. When workers try to cheat and have their own kids in the queen's presence, their peers swiftly attack and physically restrain them from reproducing. ...> Full Article

Why the swamp sparrow is hitting the high notes (1/12/2009)

A new study by University of Miami biologist shows that songbirds adjust vocals in response to a hostile situation ...> Full Article

Researcher Discovers New Species of Legume (1/11/2009)

A Baylor University researcher has discovered a new species of pea existing in the Hill Country, adding to the nearly 300 species of legumes in the state. ...> Full Article

Hind wings help butterflies make swift turns to evade predators, study finds (1/11/2009)

New tires allow race cars to take tight turns at high speeds. Hind wings give moths and butterflies similar advantages: They are not necessary for basic flight but help these creatures take tight turns to evade predators. ...> Full Article

Mosquitoes create harmonic love song before mating, study finds (1/10/2009)

That pesky buzz of a nearby mosquito is the sound of love, scientists have known for some time. But a new Cornell study reports that males and females flap their wings and change their tune to create a harmonic duet just before mating. ...> Full Article

Spookfish uses mirrors for eyes (1/8/2009)

A remarkable new discovery shows the four-eyed spookfish to be the first vertebrate ever found to use mirrors, rather than lenses, to focus light in its eyes. ...> Full Article

High numbers of right whales seen in Gulf of Maine (1/3/2009)

NOAA researchers identify wintering ground and potential breeding ground ...> Full Article

Expeditions reveal gulf of California's deep sea secrets, as well as human imprints (1/2/2009)

Submersible voyage was first to study biodiversity of gulf's undersea mountain habitats far below the reach of scuba ...> Full Article

Grazing animals help spread plant disease (1/1/2009)

Researchers have discovered that grazing animals such as deer and rabbits are actually helping to spread plant disease -- quadrupling its prevalence in some cases -- and encouraging an invasion of annual grasses that threaten more than 20 million acres of native grasslands in California. ...> Full Article