Ecology & Zoology

It's Not Pesticides Hurting Moth Pollinators, It's Car Fumes

Due to the president making bee colonies a national priority, there is a lot of talk from environmentalists about banning neonicotinoid pesticides but they may be blaming out of convenience rather than evidence.  Car and truck exhaust fumes can be bad for ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 27 2014 - 1:00am

Cloudina: Animals Were Building Reefs 550 Million Years Ago

Cloudina were tiny, filter-feeding creatures that lived on the seabed during the Ediacaran Period, which ended 541 million years ago. Fossil evidence indicates that animals had soft bodies until the emergence of Cloudina. Now they are involved in a new st ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 26 2014 - 4:09pm

Cherokeea Attakullakulla: New Species Of Moth From The Appalachian Mountains

A small, drab and highly inconspicuous moth has been flitting nameless about its special niche among the middle elevations of one of the world's oldest mountain ranges, the southern Appalachian Mountains in North America. A team of American scientist ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 27 2014 - 11:31am

Duvalius Abyssimus: A New Species Of Beetle In The World's Deepest Cave

Cave beetles are one of the most iconic species found in subterranean habitats. They were historically the first living organisms described by science that are adapted to the conditions of hypogean- subterranean- life. Now, the unusual habitat of the Krub ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 1 2014 - 12:00pm

Plants Respond To Vibrations Caused By Insects Chewing Their Leaves

It's commonly believed that plant growth can be influenced by sound and that plants respond to wind and touch. Researchers at the University of Missouri took it a step farther than playing classical music for  ivy. They conducted a chemical and audio ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 1 2014 - 6:14pm

How Locusts Optimize Holocausting The Environment

Locusts decide the most nutritious plant to eat based on ambient temperature- they choose their food and then where they digest it according to how hot it is.   ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 1 2014 - 9:49pm

Memory Like A...Fish? They Remember What They Were Fed 12 Days Later

Many humans can't remember what they had for dinner last night. Nor can many other creatures. Some have exceptionally short memories. Defying popular convention, a new study finds that fish, believed to have a memory span of only 30 seconds, can actu ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 1 2014 - 7:26pm

Desert Design: Scorpions Are Master Architects

Scorpions build a platform on which to warm up before the evening hunt.  ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 3 2014 - 8:56am

Groovy Giraffes- How Do Those Spindly Legs Support All That Weight?

Researchers at the Royal Veterinary College have identified a highly specialized ligament structure that is thought to prevent giraffes' legs from collapsing under the immense weight of these animals. "Giraffes are heavy animals (around 1000 kg) ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 6 2014 - 3:26am

Bone House: Species Of Wasps Protects Its Home Using Bodies Of Dead Ants

Want to send a message to possible invaders? Pile dead bodies high and deep. A new species of wasp does just that. This wasp with a unique nest-building strategy was discovered in the forests of southeast China. The "bone-house wasp" shuts off it ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 3 2014 - 11:10am