Ecology & Zoology
An international team of scientists say they may have discovered why female killer whales have the longest menopause of any non-human species - it could be they worry about their adult sons. New research says that males over 30 have an almost 14-fold chance of dying during the year following the death of their mother.
The reason for the long menopause in these whales remains one of nature's great mysteries. Very few species have a prolonged period of their lifespan when they no longer reproduce, like humans do. However, female killer whales also stop reproducing in their 30s or…
When Western scrub jays summon others to screech over the body of a dead jay, they come a'runnin', and those 'funerals' can last for up to half an hour.
But why? Western scrub jays live in breeding pairs and are not particularly social birds. “They’re really territorial and not at all friendly with other scrub-jays,” said Teresa Iglesias, a U.C. Davis graduate student and co-author of a new study in Animal Behaviour. It turns out that death seems to signify danger, which opens up an even odder set of questions.
Working in the backyards of homes in Davis, Calif., Iglesias…
Hank |
There is a Chinese middle class for the first time ever and they have decided to avoid their numerous conventional food scares by opting for organic food scares.
To-date, it is has been entirely possible for Americans gullible enough to believe they are getting organic oranges in the winter to do so without a huge bump in cost. Not in the future. The Chinese have gotten positively Western in their willingness to buy ethical soap, bottled water and organic food. Their motivations for organic food are a little different than ours. They are not worried about the…
Little glowing fish called lanternfish and the similarly sized, shrimplike krill are creatures worthy of pity. They're on the menu of almost every large marine animal you can name: from tuna to penguins to whales, and, of course, squid. Most notably Humboldt squid, who stuff their beaks with truly epic quantities of these small fry.
But in the eastern Pacific Ocean, lanternfish and krill have found a refuge from predation: a layer of deep water called the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). The OMZ is generated by microbes breaking down organic matter as it sinks from the…
Here is the bleak story of a seasick squid, a granted wish, and a horrible way to live life:
by Alex Culang and Raynato Castro at Buttersafe, h/t to Squid.us
Don't get too sad though, because this tale is completely implausible. Even for humans, who are adapted to living on land, seasickness is generally restricted to the surface of the sea and goes away upon submergence (I can vouch for the relief of actually diving after suiting up on a rocky boat). Depending on species, most squid spend little to no time at the water's surface, so even a squid prone to seasickness would not…
The forests of the coastal regions from California to British Columbia are known for unique and ancient animals and plants, like redwoods, tailed frogs, mountain beavers and even folk tales of the legendary Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatch).
Now it has something else. Citizen scientists from the Western Cave Conservancy and arachnologists from the California Academy of Sciences have reported a newly discovered spider. named Trogloraptor ("cave robber") for its cave home and spectacular, elongate claws. The only thing missing is evidence of it feasting on Orc flesh.
Trogloraptora…
ms_w |
Invasive species have been something of a pet peeve of mind ever since I found about them several years ago. Who knew that the honeysuckle I enjoyed as a child actually belonged in Japan? While some invasive species have proven more harmful than others (snakehead fish vs. brown trout, for example)- and some can more correctly be called "non-native species"- in general, they are a huge headache.
So of course I was shocked to find a small study showing that science teachers are releasing lab organisms into their local environments. Since I am a science teacher myself, I feel…
Last night I had a sappy mama dream about holding and nursing my baby. Half-waking from it, I found myself wondering if the baby--scheduled to remain comfortably ensconced in my womb for another four months--might have had the same dream.
When I woke up a little further, I realized I didn't even know if a five-month-old fetus could dream. I hied me to the internet, where I learned that REM (the stage of sleep when your body paralyzes itself, your brain activity looks much like it does when you're awake, and you're most likely to dream) is first observed in humans at seven months' gestation.…
The horns of creatures as different as elk and rhinoceros beetles - along with other decorative, mate-attracting structures - are sensitive to changes in nutrition. They aren’t diabetic, but they are insulin-dependent; if they want to grow big horns and therefore attract mates.Michigan State University zoologist Ian Dworkin was part of a team that found that the key ingredient in both elk horns and peacock feathers, and therefore mating success, was insulin. Sexual selection has roots back to Darwin’s research. Subsequent research revealed the so-called 'handicap principle' which…
Hank |
Temperatures above 100 degrees and drought-like conditions have taken a toll on corn and soybeans in the upper Midwest for weeks but it has brought a benefit to peppers and other crops: Their flavors have become unusually concentrated, producing some of the most potent-tasting produce in years.
"Peppers really like hot weather," said Irwin Goldman, a horticulture professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "When it's dry and hot outside, you'll get a higher concentration of alkaloids."
Alkaloids, the substance that binds to heat receptors on the tongue, can mean the difference between a…