Ecology & Zoology

Mammoth And Mastodon Weren't So Nomadic

Mammoths and mastodons, the famously fuzzy relatives of elephants that lived in the American midwest, weren't as nomadic as previously believed – or Cincinnati was just a great place to be at the end of the last ice age. A study led by Brooke Crowley ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 22 2014 - 3:00am

Bird Intelligence May Be More Fact Than Fiction

In Aesop's fable about the crow and the pitcher, a thirsty bird happens upon a vessel of water, but when he tries to drink from it, he finds the water level out of his reach. Not strong enough to knock over the pitcher, the bird drops pebbles into it ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 24 2014 - 9:40am

Noise Pollution Impacts Different Fish Differently

Acoustic disturbance has different effects on different species of fish, according to a new study which tested fish anti-predator behaviour.  Three-spined sticklebacks responded sooner to a flying seagull predator model when exposed to additional noise, w ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 25 2014 - 5:00am

Older California Cultures Used Fire For Ecological Manipulation

Before the European colonial era, the people who lived on the land now called California used fire to control growth and make sure they had food, fuel, tools, and objects for ritual.  ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 26 2014 - 4:15pm

Bees Know Their Business: They Learn Which Flowers Have The Best Pollen

Bumblebees can glean differences in pollen quality based on floral features like petal color and that informs their decision on where to land. Bees do not sample pollen so it has been unclear how they determined quality. The new study in the Journal of Ex ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 30 2014 - 6:51pm

Another Reason To Visit Maui- Brother Of Hibiscus Discovered

Hibiscus flowers are an iconic symbol of tropical resorts worldwide but some are rather rare. Hawaii's State Flower, Hibiscus brackenridgei, is an endangered species. Everyone knows of the Hawaiian hibiscus but few are aware of an equally beautiful a ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 31 2014 - 1:28pm

Reptiles Surpass Birds To Become Most Diverse Vertebrates

More than 10,000 reptile species have been recorded into the Reptile Database, a web-based catalog of all living reptile species and classification, making the reptile species among the most diverse vertebrate groups in the world, alongside bird and fish ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 2 2014 - 6:00am

Squid Lady Parts

This Bobtail squid was imaged by the Deep Discover ROV in Atlantis Canyon, is less than one foot in length.This bobtail squid is very surprised at the absence of squid gynaecologists! Image credit: NOAA OKEANOS Explorer Program ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Aug 1 2014 - 11:46pm

Needed: Increased Conservation Efforts For Black Bears

It's no surprise that between 1880 and 1920, as the population increased and America became more settled, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas had increased deforestation and that decreased the habitat for black bears and other forest species. To remedy t ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 6 2014 - 9:42pm

Photon Hunting In The Mesopelagic Twilight Zone

Lanternsharks produce and perceive bioluminescent light in order to communicate, find prey, and camouflage themselves against predators in the mesopelagic twilight zone. The mesopelagic twilight zone is 200-1000 meters deep in the sea- a vast, dim habitat ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 7 2014 - 5:01am