Lonely Species Matter Too

The lemur, Javan rhino and Santa Cruz kangaroo rat are all lonely animals, but they matter too, according to a new study. As endemic species, living in habitats restricted to a particular area, they are more important to biodiversity than previously thought. (Photo : Joe Bailey)

The lemur, Javan rhino and Santa Cruz kangaroo rat are all lonely animals, but they matter too, according to a new study. As endemic species, living in habitats restricted to a particular area, they are more important to biodiversity than previously thought.

Factors like climate change and urban development have all forced these animals into a lonely existence, however, they have also developed unique strategies as a means for survival. And these characteristics, as described in the journal PLOS ONE, may also impact the survival of their neighbors in the ecosystem.

"Because endemic species' genes and traits are different relative to nonendemic species, the web of interactions those genes support is also different," Joe Bailey, from the University of Tennessee, said in a statement. "Therefore, the losses of those genes from ecosystems will likely ripple through and hurt the species interactions they create."

Using experimental forestry trials where plants were taken from the wild and replanted in a single location, the researchers looked at endemic eucalyptus found in Tasmania. It turns out these eucalypts have evolved traits, like thicker leaves, that allow them to live in harsh conditions where many other species can't. This strategy not only allows the plants to minimize the resources they invest in leaves, but also makes eucalypts unappealing to herbivores that might otherwise munch on these tasty plants. This can impact the entire ecosystem.

Considering the increasing effects of climate change, these findings are of great importance to scientists. So if one species is impacted from our warming world, it could have a domino effect on other nearby species.

"In the midst of a biodiversity crisis where species extinction rates are a hundred to a thousand times greater than the natural rate of extinction, understanding the biology of rare and endemic species is a priority rather than a pursuit of novelty," Bailey added.

Female Frogs Make Offspring Grow Faster Amidst Global Warming

Some female frogs are making their offspring grow faster in the midst of global warming, new research shows, adjusting the rate depending on the date of reproduction. (Photo : Germán Orizaola)

Some female frogs are making their offspring grow faster in the midst of global warming, new research shows, adjusting the rate depending on the date of reproduction.

As the climate changes, plants and animals are seeing a notable acceleration of the date when reproduction and other life processes occur. In order to compensate, over recent decades many organisms have adjusted accordingly, including Rana arvalis, an amphibian species located in northern Europe.

Female frogs of this species have the ability to influence both the growth rate and the development of their offspring, and given the changes global warming is causing, they are utilizing this skill to their advantage.

According to researcher Germán Orizaola, "the mechanism by which the female frogs can condition the growth of their larvae could be due to the genes associated with the maintenance of their biological clock being transferred to the embryos and becoming active even before fertilization."

"This would provide the larvae with the exact information regarding the progression of the growing season," he added in a statement.

A changing climate means that environmental conditions can vary and be unpredictable, so animals don't often know when the best time to reproduce is. Normally, Rana arvalis, commonly known as the moor frog, reproduce from March to June, AmphibiaWeb reports. But now to ensure their offspring's survival, the females speed up reproduction and development rates.

To test this adaptation in the lab, researchers delayed the date of reproduction, which simulated a time of environmental instability. The result was an equivalent reduction in the growth period for the larvae.

"That means the later this species of frog breeds, the faster the larvae develop," explained Orizaola, the study's co-author.

The findings are described further in the journal Ecology.

Moor frogs are one of the most abundant species in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as West Siberia. When they reproduce, females will lay anywhere from 500 to 3,000 eggs, all of which she tries to protect from the environmental elements.

Lady Birds Cleverly Force Divorce

If you have been through one, you understand that breakups are rough. Apparently, they can be just as bad for birds as they are for humans, where many couples will tragically separate when things get particularly rocky. Interestingly, a new study has found that the female is almost always the one doing the dumping. (Photo : Flickr: Rodney Campbell )

If you have been through one, you understand that breakups are rough. Apparently, they can be just as bad for birds as they are for humans, where many couples will tragically separate when things get particularly rocky. Interestingly, a new study has found that the female is almost always the one doing the dumping.

The study, recently published in the journal Biological Reviews details how divorce has been observed in a stunning 92 percent of all monogamous bird populations.

"Divorce is an adaptive strategy as it is triggered by generally low breeding success, and as it leads to increase in breeding success between the two seasons," study author Antica Culina said in a statement.

Culina and his colleagues analyzed data recorded on 64 different species, focusing particularly on coupling displays and similar displays that may be signaling a divorce.

Among humans, when a woman throws her engagement ring at a man and storms out of a restaurant, it's a good indicator that things are over. But among birds, it's a lot more about the egg clutch.

According to the study, pairs in which the female produced a low number of eggs or laid them relatively late were less likely to stick together for a second breeding season. Culina admits that it's very possible that, like with other animals, the males may have realized the female can only mother a limited number of children, and so head off to find a better mate.

However, the researchers also suggests that because female birds have been known to control the time and number of eggs they hatch, this could be a sly method to see a poorly performing male off.

"It might be that she's already made the decision, and because she doesn't like him very much, she won't make many eggs," Culina told New Scientist.

She and her team also observed that females who divorce gain better breeding success with a new partner, but males who divorce rarely ever wind up doing better. This is a strong indicator that, through subterfuge, a female bird's decision is the primary driver of divorce.

The impact of numerology over the names

Whenever an infant is born into a family, it’s a norm to first assess him/her with a name. The name of a person is just not a word to be referred to them but actually is the definition, a description of their personality and the briefing of their traits. It should be made very sure that while naming a person all the necessary measures are taken care of. They say that labeling of a product is done properly to define the quality of that product. The same theory can be applied upon assessing names to the young ones too. The better the name the more illustrative would be the definition.

 

While a lot of people who believe in ancestry, name their children on the basis of their legacy or the family trees, while others who believe in Numerology have different opinions. The people who believe in numerology work and practice a lot with numbers before naming their kids. In numerology each letter of your name is said to have an individual corresponding number. Cornerstone is said to be the first letter in your name while capstone is said to be the last one. Under Numerology the first vowel is also given sheer importance, as it is said to fulfill all your urges and dreams in life. Each and every letter in this section has a meaning of its own and preparing a name with all those combine meaningful letters will eventually make out the best desired result. The sum of the numbers in your birth date and the sum of numbers you make out while naming a person displays a great deal in the character, the future, the strengths and the weakness of an individual. Numerology helps in standing and fighting against all these weaknesses and odds. Believers say that numerology make you achieve whatever you want in life, and not just infants, a lot of people change their names in the later stages of their life too after realizing the problems they are suffering in their lives and in order to fight against them. This concept of Numerology was initially brought up by the Babylonians but gradually everyone started practicing it and eventually it became so popular and effective that now it is practiced across almost all over the world. There might be no scientific proofs about the authenticity of these numerology charts, but people still have faith in ample numbers about the relationship of words and numbers.

 

People also believe that in Numerology the on goings and the redemption is based upon three major factors; the date of birth, the name given to you on your birth and the name you use currently. The third factor can well be managed according to the needs and necessary requirements by the Numerology charts. There are ways to work over your names even if you’re a grown up in order to get over the grey shades you are going through in your personal lives. So everyone needs to go through that Numerology chart while assessing their young ones with new names.

 

Browse through name meaning, rankings, other people's comments, ratings, and other statistics in addition to the name meanings.

 

Ants Use Sex and Bondage to Out-Compete Rival Species

A new field study of two rival ant species has shown that ant queens will willingly mate with males from the opposing group in order to quite literally serve as "sperm parasites," stealing potential female births. The result is an unusual bedroom arms race between these ants, where they develop new strategies to use tricked males or to escape a rival queen's lustful clutches. (Photo : University of Vermont/Sara Helms Cahan)

A new field study of two rival ant species has shown that ant queens will willingly mate with males from the opposing group in order to quite literally serve as "sperm parasites," stealing potential female births. The result is an unusual bedroom arms race between these ants, where they develop new strategies to use tricked males or to escape a rival queen's lustful clutches.

The study, recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, details how two species of Pogonomyrmex harvester ants dwelling in deserts along Arizona and New Mexico's boarder have occasionally and aggressively hybridize.

According to the study, these ants suddenly find themselves locked in a bizarre display of competitive mating once a year directly following summer monsoon rains. During this time, males from rival colonies don't appear to be able to tell a difference between their own queen and rival queen, and will mate with whoever is willing.

However, the researchers observed that sometimes these males realize they've made a mistake in the middle of their... ahem... session, and will slow down while they struggle to break away. They do this in order to conserve sperm - limited seed that could still be used to make a healthy ant with their proper queen during the brief mating period.

Interestingly, these rival queens have developed a horrifying form of bondage to prevent these suddenly sobered males from getting away.

"They lock slow males in copula significantly longer," explained researcher Helms Cahan, "until they eventually deliver the same amount of sperm that they normally would have."

"Essentially, they are sperm parasites," she said in a statement.

So why do these queens even want to mate with a rival colony's males to begin with? The researchers found that this "stolen" sperm is reserved for a time when the queen is producing sterile hybrid females - ideal workers for the nest. Without males bumbling into the wrong nest and mating with the wrong queen each year, both opposing colonies would find themselves lacking a ready worker supply.

"In this harvester ant system there really needs to be some sort of stalemate," added study lead Michael Herrmann, "because if the males actually were able to tell what type of female they were mating with, they would cut off the sperm to the queens that need it."

The researchers add that this illustrates the power of female influence on the natural world, where "they have their own distinct evolutionary interests and are just as capable of imposing those interests on their partners when conditions warrant."

Fat Turtles Are the Best Swimmers

It's very unlikely that you will hear someone say "that guy is so plump! I bet he's a great swimmer." However, according to researchers from the NOAA, that's exactly what we should be saying for sea turtles. (Photo : Pixabay)

It's very unlikely that you will hear someone say "that guy is so plump! I bet he's a great swimmer." However, according to researchers from the NOAA, that's exactly what we should be saying for sea turtles.

A study recently published in the journal PLOS One details how NOAA experts teamed up with researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Florida Atlantic University to determine what makes a swimming animal the most "fit."

By measuring the forces that act against a swimmer and the energy required to move through the water, researchers found that slender and seemingly hydrodynamic sea turtles are actually worse off than their fatter compatriots. That's because more rotund turtles are somehow getting more out of each stroke of the flipper, and naturally have more strokes in them.

The team determined this after constructing several computer models based on their real-world data to run various swim condition scenarios.

"Swimming animals are very, very difficult to measure experimentally," study lead Warren Porter said in a statement. "It's very difficult to get drag and thrust."

Because of this, Porter and his colleagues initially thought the result that portly sea turtles were the apex swimmers or their kind must be a mistake. However, after a closer look at the data and scenarios, the researchers found that the flippers of thinner turtles come closer together at the bottom of their stroke than those of larger turtles, causing them to lose power.

Porter now hopes to take this valuable lesson about swimming efficiency and apply it to a larger scale.

"Now that we have [models] for both marine and terrestrial environments, we can ... get back to the big mass extinctions and get some insights into how did animals live before and after those extinctions," he explained. "Why were the animals that survived able to survive?"

Rare Bush Frog Breeds in Bamboo

Raorchestes chalazodes, a rare bush frog found in India, has developed the unique strategy of breeding and laying eggs in bamboo despite their extremely narrow openings, new research describes. (Photo : Seshadri K S)

Raorchestes chalazodes, a rare bush frog found in India, has developed the unique strategy of breeding and laying eggs in bamboo despite their extremely narrow openings, new research describes.

Slipping in between narrow bamboo slits - which are often less than five to 10 millimeters long and three to four millimeters wide - is a novel reproductive mode, or strategy used to increase reproductive success. The critically endangered white spotted bush frog is just one of two species known to adopt the tactic.

Until it was recently discovered in the wet evergreen forests of the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats, R. chalazodes was believed to be extinct for the last 100 years or so. Now, researchers have not only found them, but learned that these frogs make their way into bamboo through a very small opening, possibly made by insects, to breed. Adult male frogs, usually fewer than 25 millimeters in length, shimmy their way into bamboo slits where they vocalize to attract mates. Females then follow suit, laying about five to eight eggs inside the bamboo.

"This is a significant discovery in two ways," researcher David Bickford said in a statement. "First, it reiterates that natural history observations, often ignored, are fundamental for understanding evolutionary ecology. Second, it sets a theoretical foundation to ask several interesting questions about the diversity of reproductive modes and the evolutionary pathways behind such amazing amphibian behaviors."

Through their research, the team also found that R. chalazodes only breeds in bamboo that have openings at the base of the internode, whereas those with openings at the top might let water in and drown the froglets.

And with spotted frogs being an endangered species - occurring in fewer than five localities - ensuring that their bamboo breeding ground is intact remains essential. Unregulated overharvesting of bamboo for paper and pulp may destroy breeding habitats and threaten their long-term survival, according to the study.

"Amphibians are among the most threatened creatures on earth and yet, we know very little about them," added Mr. Seshadri K S, a PhD student involved in the study.

Learning more about these unique frogs, in particular, could help conservation of the species through developing frog-friendly harvesting techniques.

This work is described further in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Hogs Gone Wild in Florida County

A band of hungry hogs has gone wild in a Florida county, wreaking havoc on homes and threatening to ruin Halloween for all those trick-or-treaters out and about on Friday. (Photo : Pixabay)

A band of hungry hogs has gone wild in a Florida county, wreaking havoc on homes and threatening to ruin Halloween for all those trick-or-treaters out and about on Friday.

Feral hogs have recently been running amok throughout neighborhoods in Brevard County, on the Atlantic coast near Orlando. Outside of their native Eurasia habitat, these pigs are known as one of the most destructive invasive species on the planet, according to National Geographic. This is evidenced by the fact that in this Florida county hungry hogs have already torn up about 17 yards in search of food and defecated on sidewalks, authorities said.

Law enforcement has hired licensed tracker James Dean, 52, to hunt down these hogs so that children trying to celebrate Halloween with candy and fun aren't met with a piggy surprise. Dean told ABC News that so far he's nabbed 11 hogs, and is still in search for more.

"There's really no telling how many hogs are out there," Dean said. "But there's a lot more than those 11 that are damaging yards." It can cost as much as $1,000 to repair the damage these diggers cause, he noted.

Feral hogs are actually quite common in Florida, and given that they're breeding like crazy, the problem may only get worse.

"They multiply like rabbits," Dean added. "It's just totally impossible to keep them under control."

Wild pigs don't normally attack humans, but will if they feel at all threatened or are provoked. No attacks have been reported so far, according to Dean, but with lots of kids walking around on Halloween this Friday, he urges people to be careful and walk the other way should they run into one of these hogs - especially when they boast 3-5-inch tusks.

Dean normally uses a tasty concoction to lure the pigs into cages - to be kept alive or killed based on his discretion - but with the upcoming holiday he plans to use a pack of dogs to chase the rest back into the woods where they belong.

"That's one of the reasons why I want to bring in the dogs," Dean said. "So the kids can have their Halloween."

Saving the Bees With Bugs

Even as US companies and agencies continues to turn away from the deadly pesticides that left local bee population despondently low, a natural factor is still making recovery earned. Now researchers behind a new study say that they discovered a nature-made solution to this natural problem. (Photo : Pixabay)

Even as US companies and agencies continues to turn away from the deadly pesticides that left local bee population despondently low, a natural factor is still making recovery earned. Now researchers behind a new study say that they discovered a nature-made solution to this natural problem.

Bee experts have known about the disease American Foulbrood for centuries. Aptly named, the disease is a bacterial infection that targets the brood of the hive, their larvae, in particular. It is a notoriously hardy disease known to resist most antibiotic treatments. There is a history of beekeepers burning entire hives to the ground in order to ensure the disease does not make its way to their other bees.

While a problem, American Foulbrood was completely natural and manageable, but in the wake of massive bee population decline with the widespread use of neonicotinoids in the US, the disease is now making it particularly difficult for remaining bee populations to recover.

Now researchers at Brigham Young University say they have found a natural counter to the Paenibacillus larvae ssp. larvae bacterium that causes the foulbrood disease.

"Phages are the most abundant life form on the planet and each phage has a unique bacteria that it will attack," senior researcher Sandra Burnett explained in a release. "This makes phage an ideal treatment for bacterial disease because it can target specific bacteria while leaving all other cells alone."

This sounds simple, but finding a phage that is already naturally specialized to hunt down American Foulbrood's cause was an exceptionally daunting task for the researchers, and reportedly took some time.

After it was discovered though, it was a simple process of applying the phage to an infected hive through a sugar-water solution.

"Just the nature of a phage itself is that it's self-replicating at the expense of the bacteria," Burnett added. "It multiplies itself so there are more of them to hunt down the bacteria. Then as soon as the host is gone, the phage just disappears."

After a significant time spent gene sequencing, Burnett and her colleagues believe they have identified five phage types that could be candidates for honeybee treatment.

The word is detailed in full in the journal BMC Genomics.

Fish 'Personality' Determines The Catch of the Day

Looking for a hefty catch the next time you're out fishing? You might want to get to know the fish of you local lake first. It turns out that the personality of a fish has a lot to do with how likely you are to catch one. (Photo : wiki CC0 - Zivya)

Looking for a hefty catch the next time you're out fishing? You might want to get to know the fish of you local lake first. It turns out that the personality of a fish has a lot to do with how likely you are to catch it.

That's at least according to a study recently published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, which details how a fish's vulnerability to angling can be predicted by observing individual differences in everyday behavior.

It's easy to assume that the fish that eventually winds up on your line is either too curious to too hungry to be wary of bait on a hook. However, not all fish are created equal in their curiosity or appetite. Given the right personality, a fish may never be caught.

This was determined after experts conducted a series of novel experiments at the University of Eastern Finland and the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute.

After observing brown trout population reared in traditional and enriched hatchery environments, the experts noted various differences in 'fish personality' based on their day-to-day behavior. When transferred to semi-natural stream and pond environments where fishing occurred, long term observation revealed that, predictably, cautious fish out-lived their more curious fellows.

The more willing a brown trout was to explore new environment in behavioral tests, more likely it was to be snagged by an angler later on. Likewise, fish who we cautious about eating unfamiliar natural food items in the ponds were found to be increasable vulnerable to angling simply because of their hunger.

Interestingly, over time the populations in a pond would grow more cautious and difficult to catch . However, this effect was mitigated given a large enough population.

The researchers also note that fish reared in enriched hatchery environments - modified to resemble natural environments - were more likely to develop cautious personalities and live off natural resources, while fish raised in traditional hatcheries were found to be more vulnerable.

The authors suggest enriching hatchery environments to both increase the "sporting" nature of fisheries and preserve populations.

False Alarm for Great Lake Carp Invasion

Officials concerned about Asian carp invading Lake Michigan tributaries are breathing a sigh of relief this week, after no new evidence of invasion was uncovered. Experts are now saying that initial DNA evidence discovered earlier this month was likely just a false alarm. (Photo : wiki CC0 - Tino Strauss)

Officials concerned about Asian carp invading Lake Michigan tributaries are breathing a sigh of relief this week, after no new evidence of invasion was uncovered. Experts are now saying that initial DNA evidence discovered earlier this month was likely just a false alarm.

Officials with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) initially found evidence of Asian carp DNA in Kalamazoo River - which runs into Lake Michigan - back on Oct. 2. However, this was in one sample out of 200, indicating either the very slow beginnings of an invasion or simple contamination from a boat, fishing gear, or even bird droppings.

The FWS estimates the net worth of the Great Lakes fishery is about $7 billion. That and other economic interests dependent on the Great Lakes and their tributaries have prompted a strong political desire to protect these waters from encroaching invasion, with joint field exercises and regular DNA sampling being performed in a proactive effort. Follow-up DNA sampling was even taken to either confirm or quell Kalamazoo suspicion.

Now the results of that DNA analysis is back, and it looks like we're in the clear. Ed Golder, a spokesperson for the MDNR told local reporters Monday that none of the 200 environmental samples from Kalamazoo river came back negative for Asian carp DNA. If bighead carp or silver carp were in the river, it's extremely unlikely that their presence would have been overlooked.

Still, "we're not letting our guard down by any stretch of the imagination. We're still doing a lot of outreach and education with anglers and boaters in the Kalamazoo River," Tammy Newcomb, a DNR senior water policy advisor, told Fox 17.

An additional positive result for silver carp DNA was identified in Fox River just last week - also a one in 200 result. FWS officials are still waiting for that river's follow-up testing.

Invasive Asian carps like bighead and silver carps infamously consume large amounts of plankton - a crucial source for native fish and other aquatic life. Scientists fear that the spread of Asian carp in the United States - where they have few predators - will cause irreparable harm to the Great Lakes' food web.

African Lions Need Protection, FWS Says

African lions are in need of protection, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said Monday, as loss of habitat and prey are putting the species in danger of extinction.
(Photo : Reuters)

African lions are in need of protection, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said Monday, as loss of habitat and prey are putting the species in danger of extinction.

"Following a review of the best available scientific information, the US Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed listing the African lion as threatened under the Endangered Species Act," the FWS said in a statement.

"The agency's analysis found that lions are in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future."

Such protection would allow US authorities to toughen enforcement and monitoring of imports and international trade of these animals, which are hunted for sport, and would help raise awareness of conservation efforts.

While these majestic creatures still roam around their native Africa, the majority of the population has dwindled to 10 major strongholds. They are traditionally seen as "kings of the jungle," but African lions are quickly losing their reign. Prides once roamed most of Africa and parts of Asia and Europe, but National Geographic says that today they are found only in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

Aside from loss of habitat, humans are encroaching on the lions' territory, creating increasing conflicts with people over prey. According to the agency, humans are overhunting lion prey, causing the predators to target livestock instead, which then leads to retaliatory killings by humans. African lions typically eat large animals that they find in their grassland territory, including antelopes, zebras and wildebeest.

The FWS decision comes after a 2011 petition from a coalition of organizations requesting the African lion be listed as endangered.

A 90-day comment period, ending in January 2015, will allow the public to weigh in on the proposed rule.

"It is up to all of us, not just the people of Africa, to ensure that healthy, wild populations continue to roam the savannah for generations to come," FWS Director Dan Ashe said in the statement.

The African lion is 4.5 to 6.5 feet (1.4 to 2 meters) long from its head to its rump, and its tail measures about 26 to 40 inches long. African lions typically weigh 265 to 420 pounds.

Stunting Sediment Causes Trouble for Fish

It may sound inconsequential, but sand and fine sediment from activates like sea-floor dredging and natural flood plumes can have a destructive impact on aquatic life. Now researchers are saying that silty deposits can even have a stunning impact on fish, extending the time required for the development of their larvae. (Photo : Flickr: Robyn Jay)

It may sound inconsequential, but sand and fine sediment from activates like sea-floor dredging and natural flood plumes can have a destructive impact on aquatic life. Now researchers are saying that silty deposits can even have a stunning impact on fish, extending the time required for the development of their larvae.

"Sediment concentrations at levels found in plumes from dredging or in floods cause a significant delay in the development of clownfish larvae," Amelia Wenger of James Cook University in Australia said in a recent statement. "This in turn could significantly reduce the numbers of larvae competent to settle on reefs and could have a major effect on adult populations."

Wenger and her colleagues recently authored a study that was published in The Journal of Experimental Biology that details how fish larvae raised in even slightly elevated sediment took much longer to develop than those raised in the absence of sediment. In many cases, the development time of sample clownfish populations doubled from the normal 11 days to 22 days.

The exact cause for why this occurs remains unclear, but Wengner explains that a prolonged larval stage can have a drastic impact on how many fish actually make it to adulthood.

"The pelagic larval stage is when you get the highest level of mortality, so the longer fish spend as larvae the less likely they are to survive," she said. "During this time they can be in open water away from the protection of the reef so if a fish is spending twice as long in this stage it means their risk from predators is greatly increased," Dr Wenger says.

Co-author, Geoff Jones added that it remains unclear if all fish species are as vulnerable to the phenomenon as clownfish, but if changing flood patterns and increased dredging operations around the world continue, many ecosystems could be in serious danger.

Female Fruit Flies Love Flamboyant Males

Dazzling colors and flamboyant displays are a common way for males to get the girl in the animal kingdom, but did you know this goes for fruit flies too? The Incredibly tiny and uniform insects actually have a hidden display that is all about the sheen of their wings. Males who boast a particularly psychedelic shine have been found to far more likely to find a mate and reproduce within their short lifetime. (Photo : André Karwath aka Aka)

Dazzling colors and flamboyant displays are a common way for males to get the girl in the animal kingdom, but did you know this goes for fruit flies too? The incredibly tiny and uniform insects actually have a hidden display that is all about the sheen of their wings. Males who boast a particularly psychedelic shine have been found to be far more likely to find a mate and reproduce within their short lifetime.

That's at least according to a new study recently published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS).

The study details how male fruit fly wings boast the hidden ability to reflect a rainbow of colors in the right light.

"Because the wings are transparent, these colours are only visible against a dark background", study author Jessica Abbott explained in a recent release.

(Photo : Abbott/Svensson/Lund University)

Experts, who have long been studying the intriguing insects, are well aware that female fruit flies searched for the 'right man' before reproducing. However, because this colorful wing sheen is almost completely invisible to the human eye, they had often wondered what the selection motivation could be. Predictable traits, such as size or aggression did not seem to sway female preference.

However, for the current study researchers found that the thicker the male wing, the more unique reflective properties it had, launching a kaleidoscope of colors in the right light. After identifying this trait, they observed fruit flies in action, finding that females were indeed drawn to males with thick and shiny wings.

"Our experiment shows that this newly-discovered trait is important in female choice in fruit flies, and is the first evidence that wing interference patterns have a biological signaling function between the sexes during sexual selection," Abbot said.

Still, the researchers remain unsure what shiny wings could say about the genes or health of a male.

"Our results will hopefully stimulate more research on wing interference patterns in other species, and increase interest in the role that the light environment plays in mate choice," added researcher Erik Svensson.

Florida Lizards Evolve in Just 15 Years

A native lizard species from Florida has demonstrated some rapid evolution - in as little as 15 years - due to pressures from an invading lizard species hailing from Cuba, according to a recent study. (Photo : Wikimedia Commons)

A native lizard species from Florida has demonstrated some rapid evolution - in as little as 15 years - due to pressures from an invading lizard species hailing from Cuba, according to a recent study.

Fearful of invading Cuban anoles or brown anoles, the native lizards reportedly began perching higher in trees, and, generation after generation, their feet evolved to become better at gripping the thinner, smoother branches found higher up.

The change occurred so quickly, that just within a matter of months all members of the species began shifting their sights higher up. It was just a matter of time until just 15 years and 20 generations later, their toe pads had become larger, with more sticky scales on their feet.

"We did predict that we'd see a change, but the degree and quickness with which they evolved was surprising," researcher Yoel Stuart, the study's lead author, said in a statement.

To put this in perspective, researchers say that if human height evolved as fast as these lizards, the average American man, standing 5 feet 9 inches tall, would soon shoot up to 6 feet 4 inches within 20 generations. That's about the same height as an NBA shooting guard, Stuart said.

"Although humans live longer than lizards, this rate of change would still be rapid in evolutionary terms," he added.

The rapidly evolving lizards in question, called Carolina anoles or green anoles, are common in the southeastern United States. Their peaceful existence was then shattered in the 1950s when brown anoles first started showing up, possibly as stowaways in agricultural shipments from Cuba. They have since spread across the southeastern United States and have even jumped to Hawaii.

This latest study, published in the journal Science, demonstrates just one of very few examples of "character displacement," in which similar species competing with each other evolve differences to take advantage of different ecological niches.

For example, two species of finch in the Galápagos Islands diverged in beak shape as they adapted to different food sources. In the case of Carolina and green anoles, they developed stickier scales to better grip towering smooth branches to inhabit higher perches.

Sex-Loving Reptiles Lead Shorter Lives

Apparently reptiles have an ultimatum in life. Live hard and die young, or live long and healthy lives by abstaining from sex and meat. (Photo : Pixabay)

Apparently reptiles have an ultimatum in life. Live hard and die young, or live long and healthy lives by abstaining from sex and meat.

That's at least according to a new study published in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography, which details how the "rock n' roll" lifestyle equivalent for lizards is apparently having plenty of sex while stuffing your face with meats.

This was determined after researchers analyzed global data on 1,014 species including 672 lizards and 336 snakes. It was found that the more a reptile had sex or gave birth, the shorter its average life-span was. Carnivorous tendencies influenced lifespan to a similar effect.

Co-author Daniel Pincheira-Donoso of the University of Lincoln likened this to the rock star adage "live fast, die young."

"Along the same lines, the study revealed that reptiles which sexually mature at a younger age will likely have shorter lives, while those who prefer to delay sexual maturity will probably live longer," he added in a statement. "And lastly, we found that vegetarians live longer than their carnivorous counterparts. Vegetal food is an intrinsically low-nutrition food, so we think that those who have these diets experience a reduction in reproductive rates, which in turn increases their lifespan."

According to the study, Pincheira-Donoso and his colleagues collected data on things like body size, maturation rate, reproductive mode, size of litter or clutch of eggs, birth rate, diet, and even active temperature - a major influence on energy supplies in cold-blooded reptiles.

They found that carnivores tend to mature faster simply because they are exposed to more protein on a regular basis. This leads to more active sex lives, and thus shorter lives. However, the researchers also admit that hunting is riskier than grazing on local flora - leading to shorter lives and stronger pressures to reproduce and keep a species populated.

Hope for Indian Vultures: Cooperation Following Drug Ban

Indian veterinarians and livestock farmers seem to be complying with the ban of a drug that has nearly eliminated local vulture populations. Now experts are saying that these vultures are no longer on the decline, giving conservationists hope for a steady recovery. (Photo : Flickr: John Haslam)

Numerous surveys of vulture populations in India have shown that the birds are in dire straits, and have been for the last decade and-a-half. These avian scavengers were once hugely prevalent in the country, but have declined in population by a stunning 99 percent since 1992.

So what's to blame? Extensive research has identified the cause of the decline to be diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat livestock, according to an updated case study compiled by Bird Life International.

The vultures, who are corpse-eaters crucial to any arid ecosystem, were feeding on deceased livestock treated with the drug, unwittingly poisoning themselves en masse. Once made aware of this tragedy, the Indian government banned veterinary diclofenac back in 2006.

Now, new studies are finally finding that the ban is letting vulture populations recover, albeit extremely slowly.

A 2013 study published in the journal PLOS One found that the rapid and worrying decline in vulture numbers had slowed or ceased in some parts of the Indian subcontinent between 2007 and 2011. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : Flickr - Lip Kee) White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) - juvenile

A newer study still, published just this week in The Royal Society: Biological Sciences, details how there is strong evidence that Indian farmers and veterinarians are actually taking it upon themselves to not use diclofenac, despite the fact that many report the Indian  government doing very little to enforce the 2006 ban.

The study, led by Rhys Green at the University of Cambridge - the same team of researchers who conducted the PLOS  study - collected more than 6,000 liver samples from livestock carcasses found across India between 2005 and 2009. During that time, the presence of diclofenac fell by 50 per cent, and the presence of meloxicam - a vulture-safe drug offered at an alternative to veterinarians - increased by 44 per cent.

According to the authors, what's stunning about these results is the fact that diclofenac is far cheaper than meloxicam and more readily available to veterinarians. Human diclofenac is sold in large vials that are usually far from empty by the time a patient no longer needs it. These vials can then be cheaply sold to livestock farmers and vets at a significantly cut price.

Still, with a 50 percent drop in use, that shows that at least some professionals are taking the ban, and the drug's threat to vultures, quite seriously, and that's always good news.

Salamander Pileup Surprises Homeowner on Doorstep

Apparently when salamanders party, everyone's invited. At least that was the case for a recent shindig in Missouri where a hoard of salamanders piled up on a homeowner's doorstep for a surprise visit. (Photo : Missouri Department of Conservation/Facebook)

Apparently when salamanders party, everyone's invited. At least, that was the case for a recent shindig in Missouri where a hoard of salamanders piled up on a homeowner's doorstep for a surprise visit.

Ringed salamanders, members of the Ambystomatid family, typically spend most of their lives underground, hiding under logs and rocks or in burrows made by small mammals, seldom venturing into the open, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Apparently the same cannot be said of this friendly bunch.

In the fall and winter these amphibians emerge from the ground and migrate to a pond to breed, usually during cool temperatures and after heavy rains. And since the ringed salamander is typically secretive, they often travel by night to settle in ponds formed by the rain which, lucky for them, are usually fish free, so predators aren't an issue. As many as hundreds of salamanders can congregate in one place to breed.

"So, the ringed salamanders that this Missouri homeowner found on their doorstep had undoubtedly just emerged from their subterranean lairs and were undertaking their annual terrestrial migration to a breeding wetland," wildlife biologist Dr. David Steen told The Dodo.

Steen and other experts still aren't sure why this slippery species ended up on someone's doorstep of all places (something tells me it wasn't to borrow a cup of sugar), but it's possible they were thrown off route by nearby construction.

Nevertheless, they were happily removed from the Missouri doormat and put in their rightful place.

"Our St. Louis office got a call last week from a homeowner who had this pile of ringed salamanders trapped in an outside stairway," the Missouri Department of Conservation wrote on its Facebook page. "The salamanders were moved to a nearby fishless pond so they could continue."

Ringed salamanders are slender amphibians, on average running five to seven inches long, with white or yellow rings as its name suggests. Like other salamanders, this species preys on many small invertebrates, but is itself prey to larger predators like snakes, hawks and raccoons.

Invasive Seaweed is Sheltering Local Crustaceans

Imagine spending another lovely day on the beach when, out of the blue, great forests of foreign seaweed wash ashore. The last thing you'd likely do is say, "hm, I think I'm going to live in this stuff!" Strangely, that's exactly what crabs and other crustaceans are doing, and it's working out really well for them. (Photo : Erik Sorka / ESA)

Imagine spending another lovely day on the beach when, out of the blue, great forests of foreign seaweed wash ashore. The last thing you'd likely do is say, "hm, I think I'm going to live in this stuff!" Strangely, that's exactly what crabs and other crustaceans are doing, and it's working out really well for them.

A study recently published in the journal Ecology details how the red Japanese seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla is gaining a foothold where no native seaweeds live - along the salty mudflats of Georgia and South Carolina.

This region was originally best characterized by only debris from high-tide and patches of dying marsh grass. This made it prime hunting ground for predators who preyed on exposed crabs and tiny shrimp.

However, now these creatures, namely the native crustacean Gammarus mucronatus, is finding shelter among the new seaweed, using it to hide from aquatic predators and birds during high tide, and as a source of shade during the region's hot and dry low tide.

Researchers investigating this unexpected turn of events found that G. mucronatus was up to 100 times as abundant on seaweed invaded mudflats, compared to shorelines devoid of the weed.

And while this sounds like a boon for these innovative crustaceans, it also shows how invasive species can severely impact foodwebs in ways that don't immediately look harmful.

Most invasive plants are easily identified as problem species when they begin to outcompete local flora, choking out the competition and massively disrupting the ecosystem in the process. However, "the story for individual species is more complicated, as the presence of the invader is sometimes a benefit, either as a new source of food or, as in this case, of shelter," the Ecological Society of America said in a recent release.

Nature World News recently reported about a similar case seen in the San Francisco Bay, where the endangered California Clapper Rail actually learned to use a highly invasive cord grass as its new breeding habitats after the invader bullied out the plants that characterized the bird's original habitat.

"Just thinking from a single-species standpoint doesn't work," environmental scientist Alan Hastings said back in May. Flexibility and careful consideration, he says, are key in any battle against invaders.

First Orca Calf Born to Endangered Pod Presumed Dead

The first orca calf born in the last two years to an endangered pod of killer whales is missing and presumed dead just weeks after its birth, experts said on Tuesday.
(Photo : Facebook/Center for Whale Research)

The first orca calf born in the last two years to an endangered pod of killer whales is missing and presumed dead just weeks after its birth, experts said on Tuesday.

The mother of the late baby orca has been seen now for the third day in a row swimming in waters off Washington state without her calf by her side.

"For the first two years, a calf is glued to its mother's side. This calf hasn't been seen with its mother, and that's conclusive that it died," Howard Garrett, co-director of the Washington-based Orca Network, told Reuters.

There are only about 78 orcas left in the Puget Sound area in Washington, down from 98 in 1995 and over 200 decades ago. The unique population was listed as endangered in 2005, but the birth of L-120, the missing baby calf, back in early September gave conservationists hope that the whales were on their way to recovery.

Now, it seems all their hopes are dashed as the search continues for L-120. Experts had given the baby orca between a 50 and 65 percent chance of survival.

"We were being guardedly optimistic that a turning point had been reached, but that is not the case," Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research told The Associated Press (AP).

The largest members of the dolphin family, orcas are highly social and intelligent marine mammals that communicate using whistles and pulsed calls and maintain group cohesion or "pods" through their lifetime, according to the NOAA. These black and white beauties are identified by slight variations in the shape of their dorsal fins, the AP notes, and a distinctive whitish-gray patch of pigment behind the dorsal fin, called a saddle patch.

Threats to the population include pollution and overfishing of their major food source, chinook salmon, near the San Juan Islands in the Salish Sea.

Artificial Lighting Helps Blackbirds 'Seize the Night' But Lose Sleep

You're likely quite familiar with the adage 'the early bird gets the worm,' but what about late nights? Now researchers are finding that artificial lighting in urban parts of the world is making some species stay out later, significantly influencing how they function from day-to-day. (Photo : Flickr: Theodore Scott )

You're likely quite familiar with the adage 'the early bird gets the worm,' but what about late nights? Now researchers are finding that artificial lighting in urban parts of the world is making some species stay out later, significantly influencing how they function from day-to-day.

A study recently published in the Journal of Ornithology details how scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and Leipzig University in Germany found that  street noise and artificial light was making urban blackbirds stay up later than their counterparts in quieter unlit forests.

This was determined in an assessment of over 200 blackbirds (Turdus merula) between 2011 and 2013. These birds were observed living in a part of Leipzig, Germany that stretched up to about two miles from the city's center. This gave them adequate space to observe birds of the same species who lived in well-lit urban areas and those who flitted around the darker surrounding floodplain forests.

Interestingly, the researchers quickly found that artificial light had a bigger impact on urban blackbirds in the winter than it did in the spring, simply due to the fact that street lamps and city-glow kept habitats lit under a fast-setting sun.

However, "the longer the days grew, the smaller the difference became," Anja Ruß of UFZ explained in a release. "In the summer, there were just a few minutes' difference between city and forest birds."

Stunningly, the researchers also found that despite the fact that they had more time to forage for nearly half the year, the urban blackbirds were no healthier than forest blackbirds. This could be due to the fact that they are simply losing sleep, and burn more energy in their late nights.

"Whilst pollution of air, noise and water have been anchored in the minds of the public for a long time and have been scientifically researched to a corresponding extent, awareness of the problem of the loss of the natural darkness of the night due to artificial light and the far-reaching changes in natural processes is coming to the fore much more slowly," A UZF correspondent added.

Nature World News similarly reported how some experts are worried that "eco-friendly" LED lamps may prove even more harmful to nature than contemporary artificial lighting due to their disruptive blue wavelength light.

What Makes Sea Otter Teeth Especially Tough

Despite the fact that sea otters have teeth made out of the same material as human teeth, they are somehow able to crunch though tough clams, crabs, and other shelled creatures without fear of chipping a tooth. Now, researchers think they figured out the secret of these super-strong teeth. (Photo : Pixabay)

Despite the fact that sea otters have teeth made out of the same material as human teeth, they are somehow able to crunch though tough clams, crabs, and other shelled creatures without fear of chipping a tooth. Now, researchers think they figured out the secret of these super-strong teeth.

A study recently published in the journal Biology Letters details how the dental enamel of otters appears to have a incredibly unique microstructure - a coating that makes otter teeth up to two-and-a-half times tougher than human teeth.

The study looked at the probable force it took for otter teeth samples to chip, suspecting that it takes significantly more intense blunt force to crack otter enamel than previously thought.

All mammals boast teeth coated in enamel - tiny crystals of calcium phosphate that give a tooth's surface its hardness. This enamel can be worn down by things like plaque and acid, but traditionally can stand the test of time unless subjugated to a heavy enough blunt force.

That's thanks to the fact that these enamel crystals are separated by thin layers of protein-rich gel that helps prevent cracks from propagating. Human enamel boast about 14 layers of crack-stopping layers per millimeter of tissue. The new study found that sea otters boast five additional layers per millimeter, significantly booting the effectiveness of their enamel to resist blunt force.

Interestingly, the authors note that the unique circular pathing of enamel structure in otter teeth actually resembles that of structures seen in Paranthropus boisei - early Homo sapiens commonly called "nutcracker men" who lived in East Africa between 1.2 million and 2.3 million years ago

This might indicate that early humans once could bite through very tough substances, but were never presented with adequate environmental pressures to select for the trait permanently, especially after they moved to new regions and were presented with softer foods.

Still, that all remains pure speculation.

"Understanding more about extreme adaptations and variability in the enamel of extant animals will aid in deciphering dietary habits of our own lineage and close relatives," the authors concluded.

Fish Just Want to Have Fun: Study

Fish just want to have fun, according to a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, study that finds even fish "play."
(Photo : Pixabay)

Fish just want to have fun, according to a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, study that finds even fish "play."

When we think of animals that like to play, dogs, kittens, even otters come to mind. But according to Gordon Burghardt, a professor in the university's departments of Psychology and Ecology are Evolutionary Biology, the idea of "play" can also be applied to species not previously thought to be fun-loving - such as wasps, reptiles and invertebrates.

"Play is repeated behavior that is incompletely functional in the context or at the age in which it is performed and is initiated voluntarily when the animal or person is in a relaxed or low-stress setting," Burghardt explained in a statement.

Out of the hundreds of species of cichlid fish, one species in particular seems to want in on the fun.

The research team studied and filmed three male fish individually over the course of two years. During that time, the cichlids found a certain bottom-weighted thermometer amusing, repeatedly hitting it just for fun. The presence or absence of food, or other fish within the aquarium or visible in an adjacent aquarium, had no effect on their behavior.

"The quick righting response seemed the primary stimulus factor that maintained the behavior," Burghardt said. "We have observed octopus doing this with balls by pulling them underwater and watching them pop back up again. This reactive feature is common in toys used for children and companion animals."

Just like any animal's biology or cognitive abilities, "play is an integral part of life," according to Burghardt. Equal to emotions, motivations, perceptions and intellect, it is part of a species' evolutionary history and is not just random, meaningless behavior.

Burghardt believes that by more accurately characterizing play and observing it throughout the entire animal kingdom, humans may even be able to better understand themselves.

The findings were published in the journal Ethology.

Scottish Fish to Thank for Awkward Origins of Sex

About 385 million years ago, a pair of ancient Scottish fish did a jig that was somewhat like square dancing, and now scientists are saying this was actually the awkward origin of sex.
(Photo : Flinders University)

About 385 million years ago, a pair of ancient Scottish fish did a jig that was somewhat like square dancing, and now scientists are saying this was actually the awkward origin of sex.

The prehistoric armored fish, called "placoderms," were the first-known animal to stop reproducing by spawning and instead mate by having sex. A group of Australian scientists showed in their study, published in the journal Nature, that males of the Microbrachius dicki, which belong to the antiarch group of placoderms, developed bony L-shaped genital limbs called claspers to transfer sperm to females.

"It was previously thought that reproduction spawned externally in water, and much later down the track in the history of vertebrate evolution," John Long, a professor at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, and the study's lead author, said in a statement. "Our new discovery now pushes the origin of copulation back even further down the evolutionary ladder, to the most basal of all jawed animals."

Measuring about eight centimeters long, M. dicki lived in ancient lake habitats in Scotland, as well as parts of Estonia and China. They are the earliest vertebrate ancestors of humans. But unlike humans, rather than partaking in the usual missionary position, these primitive bony fish interlocked their arms and positioned their bodies sideways in what looked like a square dance rather than sexual intercourse.

"This enabled the males to maneuver their genital organs into the right position for mating," Long explained. Females also developed small paired bones to lock the male organs in place for mating.

The new findings are also expected to make a significant contribution to an ongoing debate about placoderms' place in evolutionary history. According to scientists, other vertebrates likely shared a common ancestor with this ancient group of fish, which was considered to be an "evolutionary dead end."

"Placoderms were once thought to be a dead-end group with no live relatives but recent studies show that our own evolution is deeply rooted in placoderms... Now, we reveal they gave us the intimate act of sexual intercourse as well," Long said.

Below is a video portraying the copulation, described in the study.

[Credit: Flinders University]

Predator Decline Is Leaving Prey in a Thorny Situation

The fact that there are less predators stalking them day and night should sound like a good news for a great many herbivores across the globe. But a new study has found that this isn't necessarily the case. With fewer large predators keeping populations in check, herbivores are over-foraging and destroying the delicate ecosystems that have kept them fed for countless years. (Photo : Flickr: Chris Eason)

The fact that there are less predators stalking them day and night should sound like a good news for a great many herbivores across the globe. But a new study has found that this isn't necessarily the case. With fewer large predators keeping populations in check, herbivores are over-foraging and destroying the delicate ecosystems that have kept them fed for countless years.

That's at least according to a new study recently published in the journal Science which details how losses in large predators is indirectly driving loses in foraging vegetation. Interestingly this is also impacting what kind of vegetation is most dominant in an area, where over-foraging can pave the way for undesired plants, such as those with thorns to gain an ecological advantage.

"Plants have two pathways to success," study author and zoologist Adam Ford explained in a statement. "You either protect yourself from herbivores by growing large thorns, or thrive in areas that are risky to ... plant eaters."

Unfortunately, "as human activities continue to reduce populations of predators, herbivores like impala become willing to feed in areas that used to be risky - consuming more preferred vegetation and, ironically, allowing less-preferred thorny plant species to take over," he added.

The researcher determined this after observing changes that are occurring at an ideal model region, the Mpala Research Center in Laikipia, Kenya. Previous studies have also shown that more than three quarters of the world's 31 large carnivore species are in decline.

Interestingly, the opposite can be seen in happening in some parts of the United States.

Nature World News has been reporting how, after a seven decade hiatus, grey wolves are again flourishing in regions like Yellowstone National Park. There, researchers have observed local flora undergoing a change where berry bushes are beginning to explode in population now that there are more large predators to keep once over-foraging elk in check.

And because of this, bears are suddenly eating more berries, which are an essential part of their omnivorous diets.

Ford says that he and his colleague will continue to monitor model populations such as impala in Kenya to better understand these changes.

"We're only beginning to understand the linkages between carnivores, their prey, plants and people," he said.