Nature News Articles Archive Page 14 from Mon 12 Sep 2011 to Fri 30 Sep 2011

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

Visiting mosquitoes threaten Galapagos with deadly virus

Posted Sat, 17 Sep 2011 16:09:27 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Scientists are worried that a disease that has caused damage to wildlife in North and South America could travel to the Galapagos Islands via mosquitoes hitching a ride with visiting boats and planes.

Visiting mosquitoes threaten Galapagos with deadly virus

Why slow-and-steady jellyfish beat fish in oceanic contest

Posted Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:00:01 GMT by Martin Leggett

A new paper in Science has gone a long way to clearing-up why primitive jelly-fish are often able to out-compete hard-pressed fish. The inclusion of their low-energy use into the modeling equations used by ecologists, shows that jellyfish and fish are on more of an equal footing than previously believed - and so jellyfish may carry on winning-out whilst over-fishing continues.

Why slow-and-steady jellyfish beat fish in oceanic contest

Mountain butterflies provide rare glimpse of hybrid speciation

Posted Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:21:00 GMT by Dale Kiefer

Observant scientists have discovered a rare example of animal hybrid speciation, in the forests of the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. The creature in question, the Appalachian tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio appalachiensis), is the genetically unique result of the union of two related butterflies.

Mountain butterflies provide rare glimpse of hybrid speciation

In the crowded canopy, fruit bats get flexible with sonar

Posted Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:01:01 GMT by Martin Leggett

Fruit bats have the ability to vary the scope of their sonar probings, to match up with the complexity of the feeding ground they are flying through, according to scientists. This flexible adaptation of the senses could be a first, say the research team, who are publishing their paper on the PLoS ONE website today.

In the crowded canopy, fruit bats get flexible with sonar

The world's dying oceans

Posted Tue, 13 Sep 2011 08:47:01 GMT by Lucy Brake

A United Nations top scientist believes that coral reefs will potentially be the first ecosystem that human activity effectively destroys. A new book released this week in the United States, Professor Peter Sale, who leads the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, states his concern that the world's coral reef ecosystems are likely to disappear this century.

The world's dying oceans

Natural disasters pose threat to coral reefs

Posted Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:12:00 GMT by Melanie J. Martin

Earthquakes launched half of the Belizean Barrier Reef into deeper waters. Studying the possible effects of natural disasters must play a role in protecting ecosystems, researchers assert. The Belizean Barrier Reef is the second largest reef ecosystem in the world, second only to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Natural disasters pose threat to coral reefs

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