Category: Animals
Mouse to elephant? Just wait 24 million generations
Scientists have for the first time measured how fast large-scale evolution can occur in mammals, showing it takes 24 million generations for a mouse-sized animal to evolve to the size of an elephant.
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Mouse to elephant? Just wait 24 million generations
Chimp ‘X factor’: Extensive adaptive evolution specifically targeting the X chromosome of chimpanzees
Genetic mutations that boost an individual’s adaptability have greater chances of getting through to X chromosomes — at least in chimpanzees, according to new Danish research. An analysis of the genes of 12 chimpanzees has now demonstrated that the chimpanzee X chromosome plays a very special role in the animal’s evolutionary development.
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Chimp ‘X factor’: Extensive adaptive evolution specifically targeting the X chromosome of chimpanzees
What do killer whales eat in the Arctic?
Killer whales are the top marine predator. The increase in hunting territories available to killer whales in the Arctic due to climate change and melting sea ice could seriously affect the marine ecosystem balance. New research has combined scientific observations with Canadian Inuit traditional knowledge to determine killer whale behavior and diet in the Arctic.
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What do killer whales eat in the Arctic?
80 percent of ‘irreplaceable’ habitats in Andes unprotected
Hundreds of rare, endemic species in the Central Andes remain unprotected and are increasingly under threat from development and climate change, according to a new study.
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80 percent of ‘irreplaceable’ habitats in Andes unprotected
New biodiversity map of Andes shows species in dire need of protection
The Andes-Amazon basin of Peru and Bolivia is one of the most biologically rich and rapidly changing areas of the world. A new study has used information collected over the last 100 years by explorers and from satellite images which reveals detailed patterns of species and ecosystems that occur only in this region. Worryingly, the study also finds that many of these unique species and ecosystems are lacking vital national level protection. Endemic species are restricted to a specific area and occur nowhere else. These species are especially vulnerable to climate and environmental changes because they require unique climates and soil conditions.
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New biodiversity map of Andes shows species in dire need of protection
For the birds: Winged predators seek certain trees when foraging for caterpillars
Location matters for birds on the hunt for caterpillars, according to researchers. Findings suggest that chickadees and others zero in on the type of tree as much as the characteristics of their wriggly prey.
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For the birds: Winged predators seek certain trees when foraging for caterpillars
Ecologists capture first deep-sea fish noises
Fish biologists conducted one of the first studies of deep-sea fish sounds in more than 50 years, 2,237 feet under the Atlantic. With recording technology more affordable, fish sounds can be studied to test the idea that fish communicate with sound, especially those in the dark of the deep ocean.
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Ecologists capture first deep-sea fish noises
Tiny crooners: Male house mice sing songs to impress the girls
It comes as a surprise to many that male house mice produce melodious songs to attract mates. Unfortunately for us, because the melodies are in the ultra-sonic range human ears cannot detect them. Through spectrographic analyses of the vocalizations of wild house mice, researchers have found that the songs of male mice contain signals of individuality and kinship.
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Tiny crooners: Male house mice sing songs to impress the girls
Attack or retreat? Circuit links hunger and pursuit in sea slug brain
If you were a blind, cannibalistic sea slug, living among others just like you, nearly every encounter with another creature would require a simple cost/benefit calculation: Should I eat that — or flee? In a new study, researchers report that these responses are linked to a simple circuit in the brain of the sea slug Pleurobranchaea.
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Attack or retreat? Circuit links hunger and pursuit in sea slug brain
Where there’s a worm there’s a whale: First distribution model of marine parasites provides revealing insights
Each year around 20,000 people are infected by nematodes of the genus Anisakis and suffer from illnesses ranging from gastrointestinal diseases to serious allergic reactions as a result. For the first time, parasitologists have gathered data on the occurrence of the parasitic worm and have modeled the worldwide distribution of individual species in the ocean. The resulting maps not only enable statements to be made on the occurrence and migration behavior of certain hosts of the parasites, such as Baleen or toothed whales, but also provide conclusions on the risk of human infection.
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Where there’s a worm there’s a whale: First distribution model of marine parasites provides revealing insights