Wild Biology News

Key to evolutionary fitness: Cut the calories

Friday, July 03, 2009 00:00 MST

Charles Darwin postulated that animals eat as much as possible while food is plentiful, and produce as many offspring as this would allow. However, new research shows that, even when food is abundant, intake reaches a limit. Dr. Teresa Valencak will discuss the theory that animals actively limit their energy turnover to maintain a higher level of reproductive success over their lifetime at the Society for Experimental Biology Meeting on Wednesday, July 1.

Researchers survey Mid-Atlantic ridge looking for new life forms, clues to deep-sea communities

Friday, July 03, 2009 00:00 MST

An international team of researchers is surveying the Mid-Atlantic Ridge halfway between Iceland and the Azores to determine its biodiversity and perhaps discover new species and clues to deep-sea food webs. The project is part of a 16-nation effort to determine if the underwater mountain chain in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean has its own distinct animal communities.

Scientists find a biological 'fountain of youth' in new world bat caves

Friday, July 03, 2009 00:00 MST

Scientists from Texas are batty over a new discovery which could lead to the single most important medical breakthrough in human history -- significantly longer lifespans. The discovery, featured on the cover of the July 2009 print issue of the FASEB Journal, shows that proper protein folding over time in long-lived bats explains why they live significantly longer than other mammals of comparable size, such as mice.

Birds with a nose for a difference

Thursday, July 02, 2009 00:00 MST

Avoidance of inbreeding is evident among humans, and has been demonstrated in some shorebirds, mice and sand lizards. Researchers writing in the open-access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology now report that it also occurs in a strictly monogamous species of bird, suggesting that the black-legged kittiwake possesses the ability to choose partners with a very different genetic profile.

The faster they come

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 00:00 MST

In many animal species stable hierarchies are routinely formed in which some individuals seem to slip naturally into their dominant role whereas others resign themselves to play the part of lowly subordinates. Researchers will present their findings at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting on Sunday, June 28, where they discuss why subordinates embrace this fate so readily instead of putting up a fight.

Two is not company -- as far as fish are concerned

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 00:00 MST

Research at the Universities of Plymouth and Exeter has shown that fish kept alone or in small groups are more aggressive and exhibit fewer natural behaviors such as shoaling. Dr Katherine Sloman will discuss the findings and their implications for welfare guidelines for aquarium fish at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting on Monday June 29.

Straighten up and fly right: Moths benefit more from flexible wings than rigid

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 00:00 MST

New research using high-speed digital imaging shows that, at least for some insects, wings that flex and deform, something like what happens to a heavy beach towel when you snap it to get rid of the sand, are the best for staying aloft.

Mice run faster on high-grade oil

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 00:00 MST

Between the 1932 and 2008 Olympic Games, world record times of the men's 100m sprint improved by 0.6 seconds. Scientists at the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology in Austria have shown that an equivalent improvement can be achieved in mice by feeding them a diet high in a certain type of polyunsaturated fatty acid. Dr. Christopher Turbill will present the research at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting on Monday, June 29.

Corals stay close to home

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 00:00 MST

New DNA analysis reveals that corals are more closely related than previously thought, and these results have significant implications for coral conservation.

Evolution of a contraceptive for sea lamprey

Monday, June 29, 2009 00:00 MST

In addition to providing fundamental insights into the early evolution of the estrogen receptor, research by a team at the University of California - San Diego School of Medicine may lead to a contraceptive for female lampreys -- a jawless fish considered an invasive pest species in the Great Lakes region of the United States. This could prove important to the Great Lakes region, where lampreys aggressively consume trout, salmon, sturgeon and other game fish.

Good males are bad fathers

Sunday, June 28, 2009 00:00 MST

Contrary to predictions, males of high genetic quality are not very successful when it comes to fertilizing eggs. A new study on seed beetles by Swedish and Danish scientists Goran Arnqvist and Trine Bilde shows that when a female mates with several males, the males of low genetic quality are the most successful in fertilizing eggs. The study is published in this week's issue of Science.

Dolphins get a lift from delta wing technology

Saturday, June 27, 2009 00:00 MST

Dolphins are supremely agile swimmers, but it wasn't clear how their fins help them maneuver though water. Building scale models of whale and dolphins' fins, a team of US scientists has found that some dolphins' fins work just like delta wing aircraft.

Rhesus monkeys discriminate faces much as humans do

Saturday, June 27, 2009 00:00 MST

Humans' ability to easily distinguish among many faces and recognize people they know goes way, way back, say researchers reporting online on June 25 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. That assertion stems from new evidence that, like us, rhesus monkeys tell their friends from foes by picking up on the precise layout of facial features.

Researchers see evidence of memory in the songbird brain

Saturday, June 27, 2009 00:00 MST

When a zebra finch hears a new song from a member of its own species, the experience changes gene expression in its brain in unexpected ways, researchers report. The sequential switching on and off of thousands of genes after a bird hears a new tune offers a new picture of memory in the songbird brain.

Disappearing dolphins clamour for attention at whale summit

Friday, June 26, 2009 00:00 MST

Small whales are disappearing from the world's oceans and waterways as they fall victim to fishing gear, pollution and habitat loss -- compounded by a lack of conservation measures such as those developed for great whales, according to a new WWF report.