Nature News Articles Archive Page 31 from Tue 23 Nov 2010 to Mon 10 Jan 2011

Family social stress affects children - even birds

Posted Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:11:23 GMT by Michael Evans

Franco-Austrian study indicates that stressed female birds can lay eggs that produce stressed chicks. The debate between nature and nurture first began in the mid-19th century when Charles Darwin's cousin, Francis Galton raised the question of whether hereditary or environmental factors were the prime influences with respect to social advancement.

Family social stress affects children - even birds

How invasive species can trigger mass extinctions

Posted Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:26:00 GMT by Michael Evans

Researchers from Ohio suggest that human activity that is allowing the introduction of invasive species into ecosystems tcould potentially lead to the Eath's sixth mass extinction. 65 million years ago dinosaurs dominated the Earth. Global temperatures were between six and 14 degrees Celsius warmer than at present and sea levels were over 300 metres higher. 40% of the present land mass was under the sea.

How invasive species can trigger mass extinctions

Pesticides threaten social, ecological aspect of ant hunting in Brazil

Posted Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:03:12 GMT by Paromita Pain

Içás, or queen ants in Brazil are a delicacy. Spring rains in October and November drive the ants out of the ground, and for a few short weeks. But this year pesticides have threatened the social and the ecological aspect of ant hunting. The principal culprits are pesticides used on eucalyptus trees that are planted to produce cellulose for paper and other products.

Pesticides threaten social, ecological aspect of ant hunting in Brazil

The Silvereye Learns to Shout Above Traffic

Posted Fri, 07 Jan 2011 09:12:46 GMT by Lynn Parr

One species of Australian bird, the silvereye, has been found to change its songs to compensate for lound traffic noise in urban areas. Some Australian birds are learning to shout to make themselves heard above traffic noise. The silvereye in urban environments have been found to sing higher-pitched but slower songs than those in rural areas.

The Silvereye Learns to Shout Above Traffic

Super Efficient Feeding Habits of Blue Whales

Posted Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:56:54 GMT by Michael Evans

A Canadian study to contrast the amount of energy a blue whale could expend during one dive, with the amount of energy it could get from the food it collected. As most people will know, the blue whale is the largest animal alive and probably the largest animal that has ever lived. When a blue whale calf is born it is as big as a fully-grown hippopotamus and during its first seven months it will drink about 400 litres of its mother's milk every day.

Super Efficient Feeding Habits of Blue Whales

Bumblebee Paper by 8 to 10-year-olds published by Royal Society

Posted Wed, 29 Dec 2010 09:11:00 GMT by Paromita Pain

Biology Letters, a peer-reviewed journal of Britain's Royal Society, on Wednesday published a report (complete with colored-pencil diagrams) on how bumblebees see colors and patterns -- conducted and written by a group of 8 to 10-year-olds in Devon, England. They reported that the bees were capable of learning and remembering cues based on color and pattern -- a finding that the Royal Society called ''a genuine advance.''

Bumblebee Paper by 8 to 10-year-olds published by Royal Society

Celebrating the years: Red-tailed hawk style

Posted Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:03:55 GMT by Paromita Pain

A red tailed hawk recently found in New York is being deemed to be the oldest hawk in history. The bird's age from a ring on its leg puts its age at 27 years. A female, this is remarkable because most red tailed hawks don't survive beyond 10 to 12 years.

Celebrating the years: Red-tailed hawk style

Volcano proves a big draw for American tourists

Posted Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:45:00 GMT by John Dean

Eyjafjallajokull volcano created misery for millions of travellers, it resulted in a 16 per cent increase in tourism from North America to the island for the first eleven months of 2010, compared with the same period last year.

Volcano proves a big draw for American tourists

Be a bee fan: New York agrees to beekeepers

Posted Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:35:01 GMT by Paromita Pain

New York City made beekeeping legal recently. It has changed the way residents view bees. No longer are they just pesky 'bugs'. People are now going out of their way to understand the importance of bees in the environmental and becoming avid beekeepers.The city has safety features in place to keep keepers and people safe.

Be a bee fan: New York agrees to beekeepers

Major increase in numbers of whales and dolphins stranded on UK beaches, figures show

Posted Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:27:01 GMT by David Hewitt

The number of whales and dolphins being beached along the UK coastline has soared dramatically over the past few years, the latest statistics show. Britons are being called upon to watch out for stranded whales and dolphins as conservationists look to explain the ongoing rise in the number being washed onto the nation's beaches..

Major increase in numbers of whales and dolphins stranded on UK beaches, figures show

Experience the Wild Wonders of Europe in stunning photographs

Posted Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:39:00 GMT by Julian Jackson

Win a beautiful book as a prize in Earthtimes' first competition. Wild Wonders of Europe is the world's biggest nature photography conservation project ever. Sixty-nine top nature photographers were sent on 125 assignments to 48 countries, visiting nature reserves.

Experience the Wild Wonders of Europe in stunning photographs

Brown Bears versus Polar Bears

Posted Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:11:00 GMT by Michael Evans

The bleak future for polar bears as global warming encourages brown bears to range further north. Something that is not widely realised is that polar bears only evolved as a distinctive species as recently as 200,000 years ago during the Pleistocene.

Brown Bears versus Polar Bears

Listen Live to whale song from your PC

Posted Sun, 28 Nov 2010 09:33:00 GMT by Louise Murray

Incredibly, whales sing at the same wavelength as the neutrinos emitted by distant stars. Worldwide, physicists and marine biologists are sharing subsea recording facilities, and now anyone with a computer can listen in to the deep sea from home.

Listen Live to whale song from your PC

Tackling Global Wildlife Crime

Posted Thu, 25 Nov 2010 15:05:01 GMT by Emma McNeil

At this week's International Tiger Forum in Saint Petersburg an important alliance was formed that will help not just tigers but a range of endangered species across the globe. A Letter of Understanding signed at the Forum brings into effect the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC).

Tackling Global Wildlife Crime

Developing nations exporting deforestation

Posted Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:08:01 GMT by David Hewitt

Though a number of domestic nations may be protecting and replanting natural forest at home, many are fuelling reforestation elsewhere as their timber imports increase in volume.

Developing nations exporting deforestation

Polar bears starvation risk as Hudson Bay ice is late arriving

Posted Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:50:00 GMT by Lucy Brake

Polar bears populations in Hudson Bay, Canada are placed under pressure this winter as the annual ice formation is nearly one month late. The delay in the annual winter ice that forms along the west coast of Hudson Bay has meant that hundreds of polar bears are facing potential starvation.

Polar bears starvation risk as Hudson Bay ice is late arriving

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