New study uncovers 'magnetic' memory of European glass eels
A new study has found that European glass eels use their magnetic sense to 'imprint' a memory of the direction of water currents in the estuary where they become juveniles.
Read moreWild Animals
First scientific description of elusive bird illuminates plight of Borneo's forests
Scientists surveying the birdlife of Borneo have discovered a startling surprise: an undescribed species of bird, which has been named the spectacled flowerpecker. While scientists and birdwatchers have previously glimpsed the small, gray bird in lowland forests around the island, the Smithsonian team is the first to capture and study it, resulting in its formal scientific description as a new species.
Read moreScientists discover new species of wasp-mimicking praying mantis
Biologists have described a new species of praying mantis that displays the first documented example of conspicuous mimicking of a wasp among praying mantises.
Read moreStudy helps pinpoint what makes species vulnerable to environmental change
Researchers have reported that a bird species' ability to adapt to seasonal temperature changes may be one factor in whether it can better withstand environmental disruption. The researchers studied 135 bird species in the Himalayas and found that species living in the seasonal western Himalayas adapted to the conversion of forests to agricultural land better than birds native to the tropical eastern Himalayas. Results such as these could help conservationists better determine where to focus their efforts.
Read moreStartled fish escape using several distinct neuronal circuits
A fast knee-jerk 'ballistic' escape response and a more considered 'delayed' escape response are mediated by distinct and parallel neuronal pathways in zebrafish, according to a new study.
Read morePiranha fish swap old teeth for new simultaneously
With the help of new technologies, a team has confirmed that piranhas lose and regrow all the teeth on one side of their face multiple times throughout their lives. How they do it may help explain why the fish go to such efforts to replace their teeth.
Read moreRare 'itinerant breeding' behavior revealed in California bird
Only two bird species have ever been shown to undertake what scientists call 'itinerant breeding': nesting in one area, migrating to another region, and nesting again there within the same year, to take advantage of shifting food resources. However, new research provides strong evidence of this rare behavior in a third bird — the Phainopepla, a unique bird found in the southwestern US and the northernmost member of an otherwise tropical family.
Read moreTaming the wild cheese fungus
The flavors of fermented foods are heavily shaped by the fungi that grow on them, but the evolutionary origins of those fungi aren't well understood. Experimental findings offer microbiologists a new view on how those molds evolve from wild strains into the domesticated ones used in food production.
Read moreThe impact of human-caused noise pollution on birds
Anthropogenic noise pollution (ANP) is a globally invasive phenomenon impacting natural systems, but most research has occurred at local scales with few species. Researchers in this study investigated continental-scale breeding season associations with ANP for 322 bird species to test whether local-scale predictions are consistent at broad spatial extents for an extensive group of North American bird species in the continental United States.
Read moreTracking wild pigs in real time and understanding their interaction with agro-ecosystems
A new study investigates how the success of a wild pig invasion may be dependent on how they use their surrounding food resources, and how when it comes to agriculture, the pigs continue their destructive trend.
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