http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/animals/ Animals in the news. Dogs, elephants, horses and kangaroos. Read the latest research involving animals of every sort and description. en-us Fri, 16 May 2008 16:05:01 EDT Fri, 16 May 2008 16:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/animals/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515145406.htm Smaller primates expend no more energy climbing than they do walking. This surprising discovery may explain the evolutionary edge that encouraged the tiny ancestors of modern humans, apes and monkeys to climb into the trees about 65 million years ago and stay there. Sat, 17 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515145406.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516111849.htm The Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus) is one of the world's smallest mammals. It is about four centimetres long and weighs merely two grams. Being a nocturnal animal, it hunts predominantly with its sense of touch. "As quick as a flash, the Etruscan shrew scans its prey and adapts, when necessary, its hunting strategy," explained one of the researchers. "Thus, no prey escapes." Sat, 17 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516111849.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515092624.htm Studies with non-human primates have made major contributions to our understanding of the brain and will continue to be an important, if small, part of neuroscience research, according to a recent review. Sat, 17 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515092624.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514082019.htm Due to their ability to produce a potent inhibitor of protein degradation, hibernating bears do not lose muscle mass after long periods of hibernation. The team researched for the first time the physiological reasons for an effect that is well known to the scientific community -- the fact that hibernating bears do not lose muscle tissue, only fat. The team studied the physiological response of muscle cells of laboratory rats grown with hibernating bear plasma outside the period of hibernation. Fri, 16 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514082019.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513210450.htm Pointed wings, together with carrying less weight per wing area and avoidance of high winds and atmospheric turbulence, save a bird lots of energy during migration. This is shown for the first time in free-flying wild birds. Researchers state that climate change might have a critical impact on small migrants' energy budgets if it causes higher winds and atmospheric instability as predicted. Thu, 15 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513210450.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514175045.htm The U.S. government has finally decided to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The listing is based on the fact that loss of sea ice will likely continue to threaten polar bear habitat. Thu, 15 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514175045.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514064921.htm A study investigating aging in mice has found that hormonal changes that occur when mice eat significantly less may help explain an already established phenomenon: a low calorie diet can extend the lifespan of rodents, a benefit that even regular exercise does not achieve. Thu, 15 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514064921.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513210456.htm A Swiss marine biologist and an Australian quantum physicist have found that a species of shrimp from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, can see a world invisible to all other animals. Mantis shrimp not only have the ability to see colors from the ultraviolet through to the infrared, but have optimal polarization vision -- a first for any animal and a capability that humanity has only achieved in the last decade using fast computer technology. Thu, 15 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513210456.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515145412.htm Evidence of physically similar species hidden within plant tissues suggest that diversity of neotropical herbivorous insects may not simply be a function of plant architecture, but may also reflect the great age and area of the neotropics. Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515145412.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512153631.htm Over a decade of work and contributions by more than 200 leading conservation scientists have produced a first-ever comprehensive map and database of the diversity of life in the world's freshwater ecosystems. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World divides the world's freshwater systems into 426 distinct conservation units, many of which are rich in species but under increasing pressure from human population growth, rising water use, and habitat alteration. Wed, 14 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512153631.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513191934.htm In the first experiment to record the electrophysiology of sleep in a wild animal, three-toed sloths carrying miniature electroencephalogram recorders slept 9.63 hours per day -- 6 hours less than captive sloths did. Wed, 14 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513191934.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507084005.htm Some Malagasy mouse lemurs are so similar that picking a mate of the right species, especially at night time in a tropical forest, might seem like a matter of pot luck. However, new research has shown that our desperately cute distant cousins use vocalizations to pick up a partner of the right species. Wed, 14 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507084005.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514171807.htm You might think that stocking the Great Lakes with things like trout and salmon would be good for the herring gull. The birds often eat from the water, so it would be natural to assume that more fish would mean better dining. But a new report published in the journal Ecology says that restoring fish has not been good for the birds. Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514171807.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512094438.htm It's a tough job, but somebody, or at least some dogs, have to do it. In the Cerrado region of Brazil, four dogs trained to detect animal feces by scent are helping researchers monitor rare and threatened wildlife such as jaguar, tapir, giant anteater and maned wolf in and around Emas National Park, a protected area with the largest concentration of threatened species in Brazil. Tue, 13 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512094438.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512092420.htm Scientists in Louisiana are reporting development and successful testing of a new cost-effective system to kill unwanted plants and animals that hitch a ride to the United States in the ballast water of merchant ships. These so-called "invasive species," such as the notorious zebra mussel, devastate native organisms and infrastructure and cost taxpayers billions of dollars annually. Mon, 12 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512092420.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080511190843.htm Most female frogs don't call; most lack or have only rudimentary vocal cords. A typical female selects a mate from a chorus of males and then -- silently -- signals her beau. But the female concave-eared torrent frog, Odorrana tormota, has a more direct method of declaring her interest: She emits a high-pitched chirp that to the human ear sounds like that of a bird. Mon, 12 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080511190843.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080511190830.htm At first, fruit flies eat like horses. Hatching inside over-ripe fruit where they were laid, they feed wildly in the sugar-rich environment until nature sends them an offer they can't refuse. To survive, they must leave the fruit, wander off and burrow into the earth where they avoid food as if it were poison. Only then can the larvae grow and hatch into flies that will take wing to lay their own eggs. Researchers have now discovered that the important developmental switch from food attraction to aversion in the fruit fly larva is controlled by a timing mechanism in the brain and its sensory system. The study shows how this important avoidance mechanism has been recruited into evolutionary processes to promote development and could lead to new methods of controlling pain in humans and other animals. Mon, 12 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080511190830.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508170916.htm Investigations continue into the cause of a mysterious illness that has killed thousands of bats since March 2008. At more than 25 caves and mines in the northeastern US, bats exhibiting a condition now referred to as "white-nosed syndrome" have been dying. The US Geological Survey recently issued a Wildlife Health Bulletin, advising wildlife and officials throughout the US to lookout for the condition known as "white-nose syndrome" and to report suspected cases of the disease. Sun, 11 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508170916.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508131953.htm New research on cane toads in Northern Australia has discovered a way to control the cane toad invasion using parasites and toad communication signals. Biologists says that controlling toads has been difficult as things that kill them will often kill frogs. Professor Shine and his team studied cane toads in Queensland that lagged behind the invasion front and found they were infected with a lungworm parasite which slows down adults and, in laboratory tests, kills around 30% of baby toads. Sat, 10 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508131953.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508132549.htm Research done by the US Department of the Interior to determine if global warming threatens the polar bear population is so flawed that it cannot be used to justify listing the polar bear as an endangered species, according to a new study. The Interior Department has been ordered to make a determination by May 15. Sat, 10 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508132549.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105606.htm Black bears that become habituated to human food and garbage may not be learning these behaviors exclusively from their mothers, as widely assumed. Bears that steal human food sources are just as likely to form these habits on their own or pick them up from unrelated, "bad influence" bears, researchers have found. Sat, 10 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105606.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508131118.htm New research shows increased temperatures and carbon dioxide levels are a threat to the Australian national icon, the koala. Biologists have been researching the effects of carbon dioxide increases and temperature rises on eucalypts. They have shown in the laboratory that increases in carbon dioxide affect the level of nutrients and 'anti-nutrients' (things that are either toxic or interfere with the digestion of nutrients) in eucalypt leaves. Anti-nutrients in eucalypts are built from carbon and an increase in carbon dioxide levels will favor the production of anti-nutrients over nutrients. Koalas are fussy about the species of eucalypts that they eat as different species contain different ratios of nutrients to anti-nutrients. Fri, 09 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508131118.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507083955.htm Nearly 35% of all amphibians are now threatened of extinction raising them to the position of the most endangered group of animals in the world. Decline of amphibian populations and species is ongoing due to habitat loss, fungal disease, climate shift and agrochemical contaminants. These impacts are even worse to frogs that reproduce in water bodies such as streams and ponds. Scientists now propose a priority set of areas for the conservation of frogs and toads in Latin America. The study is unprecedented in terms of not only the proposition of key-conservation areas, but also because it shows that the inclusion of species biological traits, such as reproductive modes, affects the performance of area-prioritization analyses. Fri, 09 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507083955.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507083958.htm Walking through the last rainforests on the volcanic island of Mauritius, located some 800 km east of Madagascar, one is surrounded by ghosts. Since human colonisation in the 17th century, the island has lost most of its unique animals. The litany includes the famous flightless dodo, giant tortoises, parrots, pigeons, fruitbats, and giant lizards. It is comparatively easy to notice the los­­s of a species, but much more difficult to realise how many interactions have been lost as a result. Fri, 09 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507083958.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508181914.htm A biologist has brought his admiration of Neil Young to a whole new class. Or species, to be exact. A professor of biology has named a newly discovered trapdoor spider, Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi, after the legendary rock star. Thu, 08 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508181914.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506100310.htm An outbreak of the insidious "screw worm" fly in Yemen, is threatening livelihoods, in a country where rearing livestock is a traditional way of life. The menacing fly lays its eggs in a cut or open wound of a warm-blooded animal. The maggots then feast off the living flesh, and can kill the animal if it´s not treated in time. Thu, 08 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506100310.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507131453.htm The duck-billed platypus: part bird, part reptile, part mammal -- and the genome to prove it. Scientists have decoded the genome of the platypus, showing that the animal's peculiar mix of features is reflected in its DNA. An analysis of the genome can help scientists piece together a more complete picture of the evolution of all mammals, including humans. Wed, 07 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507131453.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501125508.htm Scientists have found the first evidence of an animal using ultraviolet B (UVB) rays to communicate with other members of its species. In a series of mate choice experiments with the Chinese jumping spider (Phintella vittata), the researchers found that female spiders would rather mate with males that reflect UVB than those that do not. Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501125508.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505211835.htm The Arctic has become a poster child for the negative effects of climate change, but new research that species living in the tropics likely face the greatest peril in a warmer world. Tue, 06 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505211835.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430075912.htm In humans, the eyes are said to be the 'window to the soul,' conveying much about a person's emotions and intentions. New research demonstrates for the first time that birds also respond to a human's gaze. Mon, 05 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430075912.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080504194241.htm Leptospirosis is a serious but neglected emerging disease that infects humans through contaminated water. Now research published in the May issue of the journal Microbiology shows for the first time how bacteria that cause the disease survive in the environment. Mon, 05 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080504194241.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429204244.htm Researchers studying the echolocation behavior in bats have discovered that the diminutive flying mammals emit exceptionally loud sounds -- louder than any known animal in air. Sat, 03 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429204244.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501154209.htm Scientists rediscovered the highly distinctive greater dwarf cloud rat, last seen in 1896. Thought to be extinct, Carpomys melanuru has never before been discovered in its natural habitat. It has dense fur, black mask around large eyes, and a broad/blunt snout. It was found in the canopy of a large tree, on a branch covered with moss, orchids, and ferns. This gives hope for the conservation of one of the world's most diverse, threatened mammal fauna. Fri, 02 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501154209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429095049.htm Researchers discovered a legless lizard and a tiny woodpecker along with 12 other suspected new species in Brazil's Cerrado, one of the world's 34 biodiversity conservation hotspots. The Cerrado's wooded grassland once covered an area half the size of Europe, but is now being converted to cropland and ranchland at twice the rate of the neighboring Amazon rainforest, resulting in the loss of native vegetation and unique species. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429095049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428104518.htm Endangered North Atlantic right whales are safer along Massachusetts Bay's busy shipping lanes this spring, thanks to a new system of smart buoys. The buoys recognize whales' distinctive calls and route the information to a public Web site and a marine warning system, giving ships the chance to avoid deadly collisions. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428104518.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428124235.htm German scientists are engaging bats to kick-start natural reforestation in the tropics by installing artificial bat roosts in deforested areas. The researchers report that the deployment of artificial bat roosts significantly increases seed dispersal of a wide range of tropical forest plants into their surroundings, providing a simple and cheap method to speed up natural forest regeneration. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428124235.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080425151819.htm Shape matters, even in hearing. Specifically, it is the shape of the cochlea -- the snail-shell-shaped organ in the inner ear that converts sound waves into nerve impulses that the brain deciphers -- which proves to be surprisingly important. A direct link was found between the cochlea's curvature and the low-frequency hearing limit of more than a dozen different mammals. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080425151819.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080427233813.htm Many animal species detect and avoid predators by smell, but this ability has been largely overlooked in the study of birds, since it was traditionally thought that they did not make use of this sense. However, it has now been discovered that birds are not only capable of discerning their enemies through chemical signals, but that they also alter their behavior depending on the perceived level of risk of predation. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080427233813.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428071113.htm A mammal has been discovered living in Ireland, which has never been seen there before. The shrew, which has been spotted in Tipperary and Limerick, is only the third new mammal to be found on the island in almost 60 years. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428071113.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428090704.htm Ants may be an unwelcome intruder at picnics, but they could soon be a welcome guest in your medicine cabinet. Chemists in China report identification of substances in a certain species of ants that show promise for fighting arthritis, hepatitis, and other diseases. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428090704.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140403.htm The results of large-scale imaging experiments examining how social signals are represented in the sensory system have just been published. Working with a newly-developed line of transgenic mice that expresses the genetic calcium indicator G-CaMP2, the team monitored neural activity in the vomeronasal organ, a sensory organ found in many vertebrate animals that detects pheromones. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140403.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423171524.htm Scientists have discovered why birds, unlike mammals, lack a tissue that is specialized to generate heat. There is a surprising implication that the same lack of heat-generating tissue may have contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs. Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423171524.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424112455.htm The Wildlife Conservation Society recently launched a four-year study to determine if climate change is affecting populations of a quintessential Arctic denizen: the rare musk ox. The research team will be assessing how musk ox are faring in areas along the Chukchi and northern Bering Seas, and the extent to which snow and icing events, disease, and possibly predation may be driving populations. Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424112455.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423154558.htm The loss of sea ice due to climate change could spell disaster for polar bears and other Arctic marine mammals. Sea ice is the common habitat feature uniting these unique and diverse Arctic inhabitants. Sea ice serves as a platform for resting and reproduction, influences the distribution of food sources, and provides a refuge from predators. The loss of sea ice poses a particularly severe threat to Arctic species, such as the hooded seal, whose natural history is closely tied to, and depends on, sea ice. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423154558.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421145204.htm The technique lizards use to grab their grub influences how they move, according to new research. Lizards use two basic foraging techniques. In the first approach, aptly dubbed sit-and-wait, lizards spend most of their time perched in one location waiting for their prey to pass. Then, with a quick burst of speed, they run after their prey, snatching it up with their tongues. In the other form of foraging, known as wide or active foraging, lizards move constantly but very slowly in their environment, using their chemosensory system to stalk their prey. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421145204.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422203315.htm East Africa's Lake Tanganyika has a highly diverse fauna which closely resembles marine animals. A researcher has traced the origins of the Lake's freshwater herring to a marine invasion which occurred in West Africa 25 to 50 million years ago. The ancient freshwater capture of marine organisms may help to explain the origins of other species unique to this Lake. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422203315.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140418.htm Putting more meat on the theory that dinosaurs' closest living relatives are modern-day birds, molecular analysis of a shred of 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex protein -- along with that of 21 modern species -- confirms that dinosaurs share common ancestry with chickens, ostriches, and to a lesser extent, alligators. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140418.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423171527.htm Biologists have found that eliminating germline stem cells, the cells that make eggs and sperm, lengthens the life of fruit flies and alters insulin production. These findings suggest a provocative general principle at work: Molecular signals from the reproductive system affect aging and metabolism in animals -- and possibly in humans. The work also proposes a new mechanism of how this control may occur. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423171527.htm