Ecology & Zoology

Carbon Monoxide: Elephant Seals Have An Equivalent Of 40 Cigarettes A Day

Carbon monoxide is known as the "silent killer" because it is imperceptible and lethal. Most homes carry detectors. We think of it as artificial, due to car exhaust and such, but it is produced naturally in humans and animals, and some medical r ...

Article - News Staff - May 15 2014 - 1:00am

Understanding The Eagle Genome May Help Protect Them From Wind Turbines

When most people think of modern birds they don't often picture dinosaurs- but that is the case. Dinosaurs rule the sky as they once ruled land and there are even modern raptors- eagles. ...

Article - News Staff - May 18 2014 - 8:32am

Fairy Circles Apparently Not Created By Termites

For several decades, there has been speculation about the formation of the enigmatic, vegetation-free circles frequently found in certain African grassland regions. Now researchers have tested different prevailing hypotheses as to their respective plausib ...

Article - News Staff - May 20 2014 - 10:47am

Plant Diversity Implicated In Cankerworm Damage

Research from North Carolina State University finds that a lack of plant diversity is a key contributor to the widespread defoliation caused by cankerworms in cities, and highlights the role that increasing diversity can play in limiting future damage. Fa ...

Article - News Staff - May 23 2014 - 10:53am

Global Waming In Europe: Dark-Colored Insects Affected Most

Lighter-colored butterflies and dragonflies do better in warmer areas of Europe, a finding that could have implicated for global warming; darker insects could face a competitive disadvantage, finds a study recently published in Nature Communications. Ligh ...

Article - News Staff - May 27 2014 - 2:02pm

Global Warming Causes More Interbreeding Between Natives And Invaders

A new paper  in Nature Climate Change asserts that global warming is causing the hybridization of trout – interbreeding between native and non-native species – to increase in the interior western United States. ...

Article - News Staff - May 28 2014 - 1:01am

Erythritol: Truvia Sweetener Component May Also Be A Good Insecticide

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, it is said, but most people want to avoid catching flies at all. A study has found that a popular non-nutritive sweetener, erythritol,  the main component of the sweetener Truvia®, is toxic to Drosophila melan ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 4 2014 - 6:31pm

And The New Winner For The Animal Kingdom's Highest-Pitch Love Call Is...

In the rainforests of South America, scientists have discovered a new genus and three new species of katydid with the highest ultrasonic calling songs ever recorded in the animal kingdom. Katydids (bushcrickets) are insects known for their acoustic communi ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 7 2014 - 11:00am

Downside To Diversity: How Grey Squirrels Invade So Easily

The first genotyping of grey squirrels shows a direct link between their genetic diversity and their ability to invade new environments. Grey squirrels are an invasive species introduced from North America. While they are common throughout most of the UK a ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 7 2014 - 10:44pm

Mating Plugs: Male Dwarf Spiders Create Their Own Chastity Belts For Females

People may associate the concept of the chastity belt with medieval Europe but other parts of the animal kingdom used them long before that. Male dwarf spiders, for instance, have evolved a mechanical safeguard to ensure their paternity- mating plugs to bl ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 10 2014 - 8:47am