Ecology & Zoology

Understanding African Elephant Body Fat Might Solve Their Fertility Issues

The first molecular characterization of the African elephant's adipose tissue, body fat, will form the basis of future studies aimed at securing the health and future survival of captive elephants. The population of captive elephants, both Asian and ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 5 2014 - 10:30am

Kangaroo Discovery- The First Animal To Use Its Tail As A Leg

A new study has found that kangaroos, commonly viewed as two-legged hoppers, move with a “pentapedal” gait, planting their tails on the ground in combination with their front and hind legs.  What’s remarkable is that the tail is anatomically quite differen ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 3 2014 - 10:31pm

Tropical Fish Are Like Locusts, But For Kelp

The migration of tropical fish poses a serious threat to the areas they invade, because they overgraze on kelp forests and seagrass meadows. The harmful impact of tropical fish is already evident in southern Japanese waters and the eastern Mediterranean, ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 9 2014 - 12:00am

Poop Evidence Shows 53 Percent More Adélie Penguins Than Estimated

If global warming is causing extinction, it isn't happening to Adélie penguins in the Southern Ocean. Adélie penguins have long been considered a key indicator species to monitor in order to understand the effects of climate change and fishing in the ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 9 2014 - 12:41pm

Smell You Later- Scent And Social Signals In Arousal

A new study finds that Silverback gorillas appear to use odor as a form of communication with other gorillas. ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 13 2014 - 2:33pm

Over-Fished Populations Rebuild In Belize No-Take Zones

A new systematic review says that no-take zones in Belize are helping rebuildeconomically valuable species such as lobster, conch, and fish- and perhaps also helping to re-colonize nearby reef areas. The literature in the review was from no-take areas aro ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 12 2014 - 1:30pm

Ecological Niche Visualized: 14 Fish Get A Four-Dimensional Food Diagram

We're all aware of the concept of an ecological food niche and a web that extends from it- but it is pretty simplistic and easily leads to claims that if species X is used too much, we are doomed. Literate people know that 99.999% of species had gone ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 12 2014 - 2:27pm

Atlantic Salmon Adapt To Warmer Waters

When global warming happens, Atlantic salmon will likely be just fine. They have shown a surprisingly good capacity to adjust to warmer temperatures that are being seen with climate change. The finding about Atlantic species adds to similar research about ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 17 2014 - 6:27pm

Gopher It: Four New Species Of Tuco-tucos Identified

It's uncommon to identify a new species of mammal these days, but four new species of Ctenomys, a genus of gopher-like mammal commonly called tuco-tucos and found throughout much of South America, have been identified. Tuco-tucos are burrowing rodent ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 18 2014 - 10:01am

In Plants, Size And Age Impact Productivity More Than Climate And Rain- Study

The size and age of plants has more of an impact on their productivity than temperature and precipitation, according to a landmark study by University of Arizona researchers. Professor Brian Enquist and postdoctoral researcher Sean Michaletz, along with c ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 20 2014 - 6:28pm