Nature News Articles Archive Page 14 from Mon 19 Sep 2011 to Wed 05 Oct 2011

Largest ever butterfly map completed

Posted Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:37:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

A European atlas recording the distribution of all of Europe's 441 butterfly species will be a vital tool to record how climate change is affecting these lovely creatures. The work of 272 field volunteers, say the publishers, has been vital to this grand new publication project.

Largest ever butterfly map completed

Tasmanian Devils fight hardest battle yet

Posted Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:21:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

The Tasmanian Devil, an animal with a ferocious reputation is fighting for its life against an infectious cancer that is now beyond culling control according to a new study. While culling of diseased livestock is a relatively common agricultural practice, it remains controversial where wild animals are concerned.

Tasmanian Devils fight hardest battle yet

Chick attacks highlighted in study on the Nazca booby

Posted Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:26:00 GMT by Dave Armstrong

Nazca Boobies, related to other ocean travellers such as the famous wandering albatross, live in the Galapagos. Unfortunately, parents have to leave nestlings frequently to fish long-distance. On the islands, such as this booby colony on Isla Espanola, there is an intense interest by certain adults in unrelated chicks, especially when its parents are necessarily absent for long periods.

Chick attacks highlighted in study on the Nazca booby

Video documents tool use by wild fish

Posted Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:02:00 GMT by Dale Kiefer

A new video documents, for the first time, tool use by a fish. The video shows an orange-dotted tuskfish - a type of Wrassedigging a clam out of the sand, carrying it in its mouth and swimming some distance to an appropriate location, before repeatedly flinging the bivalve against a reef rock to break its hard shell and expose the tasty flesh within.

Video documents tool use by wild fish

Elephants can take the heat

Posted Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:11:01 GMT by Dale Kiefer

New research shows how elephants have adapted to extreme heat in a manner similar to desert mammals such as camels. Elephants have evolved a novel strategy for regulating body temperature, which allows them to endure soaring temperatures during the day without succumbing to heat stress.

Elephants can take the heat

First Usain Bolt, and now, Bats

Posted Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:25:00 GMT by Dave Armstrong

The unique audio reception of the bats is aided by this truly freaky muscle that contracts 100X faster than normal muscle and 20X faster than the fastest human muscle, surrounding the eye. Weep ye who admire Mr. Bolts 100 metres: this bat could do it a little better, in 0.1 seconds!

First Usain Bolt, and now, Bats

Beetles keeping it bottled-up

Posted Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:17:05 GMT by Dave Armstrong

The resemblance of a beer bottle to a female has been mooted in the past, but rarely remembered the morning after. An Australian (beetle) has now confirmed that 'stubbies' are better! The male Buprestid (jewel) beetle, Julodimorpha bakewelli, is often noticed lolling around near brown beer bottles (stubbies) in Australia.

Beetles keeping it bottled-up

A Frog's tale

Posted Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:06:00 GMT by Dave Armstrong

Australian researchers have found that green tree frogs Litoria spp. use condensation in the same way as windows on frosty mornings. During the dry season from June to September, Ozzy water is a precious commodity. These enterprising Amphibia expose themselves in such a way as to gather the air's excess moisture when temperatures plummet.

A Frog's tale

The call of the koala may have some hidden tricks

Posted Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:31:00 GMT by Dave Collier

The koala has a unusually deep bellow, but we may now have a better understanding of why this is. The bellowing sound of a koala might suggest an animal the size of a hippo. In humans, the size and depth of our voice box, or larynx, directly corresponds to our ability to produce deeper sounds.

The call of the koala may have some hidden tricks

A Variety of Fruit Selections

Posted Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:04:00 GMT by Dave Armstrong

Botanists have used perennial plants for thousands of years in the same way as the Earth's major annual food crops. In the beginning, forest trees were little modified by their human 'allies' as exploited wild plants, but this study by Drs. Allison J. Miller and Briana L. Gross assigns an intermediate period to the woody plants bred and modified extensively for domestication.

A Variety of Fruit Selections

Singing Cousins

Posted Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:38:00 GMT by Dave Armstrong

Birds and humans are related, but most people would regard that relationship as you would a distant cousin you don't talk about any more. Singing is a different kettle of fish, it seems. While common patterns in music include phrases that rise then descend (melodic arches), or just have their final note elongated, constraints on the vocal system are likely to have affected them.

Singing Cousins

Shrink-wrapped Shrimps

Posted Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:50:00 GMT by Dave Armstrong

If you've reared tadpoles or caterpillars (haven't we all), you may have noticed they tend to grow more quickly in warmer water. It's double the rate for every 10°C. rise in temperature, if you measure it. Dr Andrew Hirst and his team have now discovered more about this growth and temperature mechanism.

Shrink-wrapped Shrimps

Invasions from 'above' worse than those from 'below'

Posted Wed, 28 Sep 2011 06:08:00 GMT by Dale Kiefer

New research shows that invasive species introduced 'upstream' spread more rapidly and colonize more successfully than species that are introduced downrange within a given habitat.

Invasions from 'above' worse than those from 'below'

The Beetles Hit (on Amphibian prey)

Posted Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:08:58 GMT by Dave Armstrong

Israeli beetles turning the tables on five spp. of Amphibian. The classic instance of predators stalking their live and not-so-innocent food supply is reversed with the prey waiting to be stalked by the naive predator. They then turn the tables by killing the villain - but just where would the observers' sympathies lie?

The Beetles Hit (on Amphibian prey)

Penguins smell good - who knew?

Posted Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:34:00 GMT by Dale Kiefer

New research shows for the first time that penguins use scent to tell one another apart and avoid interbreeding. Scientists at the University of Chicago and the Chicago Zoological Society report that penguins use a highly-developed sense of smell to identify their kin, thus avoiding interbreeding with relatives.

Penguins smell good - who knew?

Oldest North American Beaver Remains Found in the Beaver State

Posted Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:23:01 GMT by Dale Kiefer

Paleontologists working in northern Oregon's Rattlesnake Formation have identified fossilized beaver teeth believed to be about 7 million years old, which is at least 2 million years older than any previously discovered beaver remains. The finding sheds new light on our understanding of when modern beavers first came to North America and diverged from the Eurasian beaver.

Oldest North American Beaver Remains Found in the Beaver State

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