Ecology & Zoology

Sometimes relationships work out well. Not talking romance here. I'm thinking of the partnership that has evolved between various species who, despite great differences, do rather well together. In particular, I'm thinking about a most unlikely "couple," sloths and blue-green algae.  Their pairing has provided a home for the algae and a bit of camouflage - the slight greenish hue we see in the sloth's coat. Location, location, location is the mantra for many of us in our macro world but it is also true for the world of the small and the domain of the wee blue-green algae.…

How long have salmon been making the trek to the sea, the rivers and back again? We are all familiar with the image of salmon returning to fresh water, to the rivers of their youth, to spawn and complete their lifecycle, in fact, it is one of the staple images of British Columbia. As adults, we bring our children to witness this cycle, rushing to the banks of our local rivers to watch as the adults, keen in their fight for reproduction and survival, struggle to complete their epic journeys against currents and predators. Arriving as they do, year upon year, season upon season, it seems to us…

Ski tourism raises stress levels among capercaillie and could harm the birds’ fitness and ability to breed successfully, write ecologists in the Journal of Applied Ecology. They warn that forests should be kept free from tourism if they are inhabited by capercaillie - a species whose numbers are declining markedly across central Europe. The study by ecologists from Switzerland, Germany and Austria used a new technique to assess the impact of ski tourism on capercaillie. Working in the Southern Black Forest in Germany, they collected the birds’ droppings before and after the start of the ski…

Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have discovered how roots find their way past obstacles to grow through soil. The discovery also explains how germinating seedlings penetrate the soil without pushing themselves out as they burrow. “The key is in the fuzzy coat of hairs on the roots of plants” says Professor Liam Dolan. “We have identified a growth control mechanism that enables these hairs to find their way and to elongate when their path is clear”. Root hairs explore the soil in much the same way as a person would feel their way in the dark. If they come across an obstacle,…

Biologists have elucidated the mechanism of a plant gene that controls the amount of atmospheric ozone entering a plant’s leaves and their finding helps explain why rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may not necessarily lead to greater photosynthetic activity and carbon sequestration by plants as atmospheric ozone pollutants increase. It also provides a new tool for geneticists to design plants with an ability to resist droughts by regulating the opening and closing of their stomata—the tiny breathing pores in leaves through which gases and water vapor flow during…

Do bats have animal magnetism? Yes, say researchers from the Universities of Leeds and Princeton who say they have discovered that bats use a magnetic substance in their body called magnetite as an ‘internal compass’ to help them navigate. Dr Richard Holland from Leeds' Faculty of Biological Sciences and Professor Martin Wikelski from Princeton University studied the directions in which different groups of Big Brown bats flew after they had been given different magnetic pulses and released 20km north of their home roost. Dr Holland was part of the team which, in 2006, discovered that bats…

Considerable attention has been paid to the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in aquatic environments, but rather less attention has been given to routes of contamination on land. A new study by researchers at Cardiff University, reveals that wild birds foraging on invertebrates contaminated with environmental pollutants, show marked changes in both brain and behavior: male birds exposed to this pollution develop more complex songs, which are actually preferred by the females, even though these same males usually show reduced immune function compared to controls. Katherine Buchanan…

Scientists have discovered Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), a shrimp-like crustacean thought to live only in the upper ocean, are living and feeding down to depths of 3000 metres in the waters around the Antarctic Peninsula. The discovery completely changes scientists’ understanding of the major food source for fish, squid, penguins, seals and whales. Antarctic krill feed on phytoplankton and are in turn eaten by a wide range of animals including fish, penguins, seals and whales. Phytoplankon are the starting point for the marine food chain and use photosynthesis to extract carbon from…

A team of researchers has discovered the remains in Madagascar of what may be the largest frog ever to exist. The 16-inch, 10-pound ancient frog, scientifically named Beelzebufo, or devil frog, links a group of frogs that lived 65 to 70 million years ago with frogs living today in South America. Discovery of the voracious predatory fossil frog is significant in that it may provide direct evidence of a one-time land connection between Madagascar, the largest island off Africa's southeast coast, and South America. Beelzebufo. This ain't your daddy's giant devil frog. Credit: SUNY-Stony…

When European naturalists first visited the New World Tropics they saw vast forests that seemed untouched by humans. While indigenous people often lived in these forests, their populations were small. This led to a perception of tropical forests as primeval, “virgin” forests. In the last few decades, this perception has changed - large areas now covered by mature forests have a history of cultivation. In many cases, “primeval” forests are less than 500 years old. La Selva biological station in Costa Rica is one of the premier research stations for Neotropical biology. Prior to archaeological…