Experts Predict Future Extinctions With the Fossil Record

(Photo : chetvergov / Fotolia)

It's no secret that countless species are threatened or in danger of extinction across our tiny blue world. What may be a surprise, however, is that a great deal of those extinctions may be natural. A new study has taken to the fossil record to determine just how many species would still be on their way out even if humans had not been around to sully their natural habitats.

"Our goal was to diagnose which species are vulnerable in the modern world, using the past as a guide," Seth Finnegan, an expert in integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, explained in a statement. "We believe the past can inform the way we plan our conservation efforts. However, there is a lot more work that needs to be done to understand the causes underlying these patterns and their policy implications."

The resulting study, which can be found in the May 1 issue of the journal Science, shows that when human intervention and influence is taken into account, the pattern of extinction seen in this day and age practically mirrors what has been seen over the past 23 million years.

Finnegan and his colleagues then used this patterning to help predict which ocean areas and marine organisms would be most at risk today without the added threat of human-caused habitat destruction, overfishing, pollution, and ocean acidification.

"It's very difficult to detect extinctions in the modern oceans, but fossils can help fill in the gaps," added co-author and conservation biologist Sean Anderson, for Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. "Our findings can help prioritize areas and species that might be at greater risk of extinction and that might require extra attention, conservation or management." (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : Finnegan et al, Science.) Ocean areas predicted to be at high risk of extinction (red) are overlaid with areas most impacted by humans (black outline) and regions experiencing a high rate of climate change (crosshatch).

Predictably, their results showed some trends that evolutionary and biological experts have long suspected. According to the study, animals with the smallest geographic ranges face the greatest risk of extinction, as it is far easier for tiny and isolated habitats to be radically changed by natural disaster or extreme weather shifts overnight.

Additionally, complex sea mammals, like whales, dolphins, and seals,  appear far more prone to extinction than many shark of invertebrate species. Simple bivalves - clams and mussels in particular - were found to be ten times less likely to experience species-specific extinctions, despite the fact they are so incredibly biodiverse.

And while the study focused on revealing patterns and not the cause and effect behind them, this may have a lot to do with how readily these groups can adapt to a changing world. Bivalves, for instance, survived many mass extinctions in the past because of their hardy nature. Even today, species like the infamous zebra and golden mussels are becoming exceptionally successful invaders because of their ability to adapt with changing water temperatures.

Other invertebrates have even proven their adaptability in the fossil record by going through radical physical. The octopus, for instance, evolved from a heavy and stiff clam-like creature to the uniquely mobile creature we see today. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : credits clockwise from top right: living whale (Ari S. Friedlaender), living shark (Kevin D. Lafferty), living echinoid (Simon Coppard), living snail (Nick Hobgood), living clam (Erin Dillon), living coral (Aaron O'Dea), fossil coral (Aaron O'Dea), fossil clam (Jon Todd), fossil snail (Felix Rodriguez), fossil echinoid (Aaron O'Dea), fossil shark (Jorge Carrillo Briceño), fossil whale (Nicholas D. Pyenson).) Fossil and living animals were analyzed by Finnegan and coauthors. Fossil examples on left, living examples on right.

By comparing extinction patterns of the past with areas where human activities, such as fishing impact, the oceans also revealed regions that may boast particularly vulnerable species. These areas included high-biodiversity regions of the tropics such as the Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean, as well as regions such as Antarctica that harbor many unique species.

"The implications of these patterns for the future of coastal marine ecosystems will depend on how natural risk and current threats interact," added study co-author Paul Harnik, an assistant professor of geosciences at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. ""By understanding these patterns in the past, we hope to provide a framework for understanding global change."

That's an understanding the researchers hope can help them focus conservation efforts in the years to come.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Understanding Python Patterns Could Help Save the Everglades... Maybe

(Photo : Wiki CC0 - Ltshears)

Florida officials have long been waging war with invasive Burmese pythons in the Everglades National Park, where an ever-growing (but still hard to find) population of invasive pythons is so prevalent that it's taking a notable chunk out of local mammal populations. Unfortunately, most ecologists won't hesitate to say that the pythons are winning. Now however, the results of a new study may turn the tables, providing new information that can help focus efforts.

The study was recently published in the open-source journal Animal Biotelemetry, and details the largest and longest Burmese python tracking project even completed.

According to the study, researchers first found and captured 19 wild pythons who had made the Everglades their home. That alone is an impressive feat, as the pythons are infamously hard to find, despite the fact that experts estimate there are at least 30,000 pythons in the park, with a growing population that may be reaching upwards of about 10 times that.

Wildlife ecologist Frank Mazzotti told local media in the past that biologists only have a one percent detection rate for the elusive Burmese in the marshlands. Last year, for instance, they found and removed only 141 Burmese from the 1.5-million-acre Everglades National Park. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : Flickr: Diana Robinson) You can't blame them for trying to preserve one of the most beautiful and wild natural habitats left in the United States. Sunrise near the Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park, Florida

To help with the detection efforts, researchers led by the US Geological Survey (USGS) strapped radio and GPS tags on the 19 captured pythons, and released them back into the national park. These animals were then tracked for 5,119 days, revealing that python home ranges are roughly an area 3-miles-wide by 3-miles-long.

But how do they chose where to live? The tracking revealed that pythons prefer the Everglades' slough and coastal habitats, with tree islands being the principal feature of common-use areas. This held true even in areas where tree islands - landmarks held together by roots above marshier ground - was not commonplace.

"These high-use areas may be optimal locations for control efforts and further studies on the snakes' potential impacts on native wildlife," Kristen Hart, a USGS research ecologist and lead author of the study, explained in a statement. "Understanding habitat-use patterns of invasive species can aid resource managers in designing appropriately timed and scaled management strategies to help control their spread."

Still, while these revelations will focus efforts, it may not be enough. Experts have stressed in the past that because the Burmese python has no natural predators in the Everglades, even while it is presented with an abundance of food sources, discovery and elimination rates need to be 50 percent or greater to even make a small annual impact on populations.

Whether or not the data from this new study can actually improve discovery rates 50 times over remains to be seen.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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'Protect Our Bees!' Citizens Plea at the White House Garden

(Photo : Pixabay)

This past weekend, the White House hosted the first tour of its garden for 2015, celebrating the arrival of spring with a brilliant display of flowers and cheer. However, those weren't the only things on display. A great number of environmental advocates showed up to urge the First Lady to ensure that not only would the White House garden be free of bee-harming pesticides, but that President Barack Obama stand by his resolution to protect pollinators across the nation.

The advocates who crowded the garden that Saturday were joined by a virtual "swarm" of online supporters, who took to Twitter to urge Michelle Obama to personally take a stand, alongside her husband, against neonicotinoids. (Scroll to read on...)

.@FLOTUS be a true bee ally & ban bee-toxic pesticides on #WHGarden & grounds & urge Obama admin 2 follow .@letsmove pic.twitter.com/dOGUrOWB49

— Friends of the Earth (@foe_us) April 25, 2015

Past studies have named the seed-coating pesticides, commonly known as neonics, as a primary cause behind a recent epidemic of colony collapse disorder (CCD) in honeybees - one that led to a major decline in US pollinator populations, first noticed in 2006. A study published last month even builds upon that revelation, showing that neonics have various adverse effects on wild bee populations as well, impacting bumblebee reproduction in particular. This could explain why nearly one in 10 bee species currently face extinction in Europe, even while US honeybee populations struggle to recover.

"The bees can't wait. The First Lady must stand up for bees and urge meaningful action on bee-toxic pesticides in her backyard and beyond if she wants to ensure healthy and affordable food for America's children and families," Tiffany Finck-Haynes, a food futures campaigner for the advocacy group Friends of the Earth (FoE), said in a recent statement. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : pixabay)

The Saturday plea was closely followed by the presentation of a letter and petition signed by more than 200,000 Americans asking that the White House publically commit to taking meaningful steps to protect pollinators from neonics.

"President Obama must not miss this opportunity to act," added Katherine Paul, associate director of the Organic Consumers Association. "The science is clear. Neonicotinoids are harmful to pollinators, and without pollinators, the US food supply is at risk. We call on the First Lady today to protect bees in her garden from bee-toxic pesticides and set an example for the nation."

However, it's important to note that US governmental offices and other parties haven't exactly been sitting on their hands. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : pixabay)

Since 2012, groups like FoE were releasing annual reports and launching campaigns to spread the word and get neonics out of our gardens and farms. This actually saw a decent amount of success, with large garden retailers like Lowes Home Improvement and BJ's Wholesale stripping products pre-treated with the pesticides from their shelves.

It also prompted the launch of the Pollinator Health Task Force - a group of experts personally asked by the president to investigate the threats neonics pose to US pollinators.

Similarly, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced back in July that it would be "phasing out" neonics - both immediately ceasing any neonic related work in their wildlife refuges, and removing any plants that were likely to have been pre-treated with the pesticide. This work is expected to be completed by 2016.

The US Environmental Protection Agency even expressed its opinion, in a recent report, that the risks of neonic use heavily outweigh any benefits.

"In our analysis of the economic benefits of this use we concluded that, on a national scale... farmers see little or no benefit from neonicotinoid seed treatments," Jim Jones, assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, recently announced.

This was closely followed by a recent a moratorium on new or expanded uses of neonics while their adverse effects are investigated by the agency.

The results of these investigations are currently being taken into consideration, and in the near-future the Task Force is expected to announce its final decision on how neonics and other pollinator threats should be handled.

Likewise, a final vote concerning neonic use in the European Union is expected to be decided by this December.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

 

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Cat Seizures Caused by Crinkling Tin Foil? It's a Real Thing, Say Experts

(Photo : Pixabay)

Be careful what kind of sounds you make around your cat. You may be throwing Whiskers into brief seizures without even knowing it! A new study has revealed that auditory-induced seizing is a very real problem in felines - one that most veterinarians never believed existed.

This problem was first uncovered by the charity group International Cat Care (ICC - formerly known as the Feline Advisory Bureau) who set out to once and for all settle a problem they had been hearing about for years. Owners and care centers alike had been seeing a strange phenomenon where some cats would behave erratically around certain sounds - such as the crinkling of tin foil or the panning of a metal spoon on a ceramic feeding bowl.

They called it "Tom and Jerry Syndrome," after the easily startled cartoon cat, and ICC asked veterinary neurologists at Davies Veterinary Specialists to investigate. Once word of the investigation spread, ICC even started receiving reports from hundreds of cat owners across the globe who had noticed the same problem in their cats - a problem most of their vets didn't believe existed.

Now, those vets may have a lot of apologizing to do. The result of the investigation, as published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, has revealed that Tom and Jerry Syndrome is a very real thing, with neurological roots. Experts call it feline audiogenic reflex seizing (FARS) - where ARS is a condition already recognized in even humans.

During the study, a total of 96 cats were assessed so that experts could determine what kind of seizures were experienced, for how long, and with what triggers. They determined that FARS covers a wide spectrum of responses, including 'absences' (non-convulsive seizures), myoclonic seizures (brief, shock-like jerks of a muscle or group of muscles), or your run-of-the-mill tonic-clonic seizures. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : Sarie Gilbertson) Kuching Mahal (which means 'cat expensive' in Indonesian), a 16-year-old Birman that experiences feline audiogenic reflex seizures.

Disturbingly, cats suffering from this last FARS response lost consciousness as a result, and the seizing could last for minutes on end.

FARS was also found to be strongly associated with common high-pitched noises. A whopping 85 percent of the cats could seize if startled by the crinkling of tin foil, while just over 82 percent responded to the bowl clanking. More than half the cats also had FARS triggers with things like the clinking of glass (72 cats), the crinkling of paper bags (71), violent keyboard tapping (61), and even the clinking of coins (59). In addition, a hammer on nails and even human tongue clicking were identified as infrequent triggers.

All of these are high-pitched noises, and the seizing problem was seen worst of all in cats past the age of 15 (with FARS onset ages ranging from 10 to 19). The problem also appears to affect the Birman pedigree the most - that fluffy breed characterized by a white, luxurious coat; a black tail, face and ears; and stunning blue eyes.

Surveyed owners of suspected FARS sufferers also revealed that, as expected, the loudness of the sound influences its severity. By muffling or simply avoiding making these noises, seizure instances could be significantly reduced.

So what can be done about it? The preliminary results of ongoing studies suggest that levetiracetam - an anticonvulsant normally used to treat epilepsy - may be just what the vet ordered.

"Our experience is that it can completely rid a cat of these sound-induced seizures, including the myoclonic twitches," study author Mark Lowrie said in a statement. "One owner reported that levetiracetam had 'truly been a miracle drug for my cat.'"

Claire Bessant, Chief Executive of the ICC, added that she was surprised and thrilled with the success of these the results.

"How wonderful," she said, "to be able to go back to those worried owners who came to us for help with a problem previously unrecognized by the veterinary profession with not only an explanation for their cats' behaviors, but a way to help them as well."

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Black Vultures Return to Southern Portugal After Decades

(Photo : Flickr: Michael Wifall)

The appearance of vultures is traditionally an ill-omen, but not this time. Two breeding pairs of Eurasian black vultures have shown up in southern Portugal, marking the return of this critically endangered species after a whopping four decades away.

As you likely knew, vultures feast on the carcasses of other animals, earning themselves infamy for ominously circling above like harbingers of death. They also aren't friendly looking animals, with oily black feathers, a balding head, and a cruelly curved beak designed for the ripping and tearing for flesh.

Between shrinking habitats, a decline in local prey, and increasingly frequent power line collisions, vultures became very rare in Portugal by the mid 1950s. According to conservation group Fauna and Flora International (FFI), the poisoning of carcasses as a means for controlling wild dog populations eventually led to the unintentional decimation of the region's remaining population, with the last black vulture breeding pair disappearing by the 1970s. Globally, the species was classified as near-threatened.

Effort to see these birds - an essential clean-up crew in the Portugal's ecosystem - return saw some breeding pairs finally reappearing in Portugal by 2010. However, with the birds remaining absent in well over half the country, it was locally designated as a critically endangered species.

That's why the reappearance of these pairs in the south is a source of new hope. FFI partner Liga para a Protecção da Natureza (LPN) had first reported spotting these breeding pairs closely following the completion of several artificial nesting platforms created by the LIFE-Nature project "Habitat Lince Abutre." (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : LIFE Habitat Lince Abutre/LPN.)

"After more than forty years without confirmed breeding south of the Tagus River in Portugal, a period during which only a failed nesting attempt was registered (about twenty years ago and on the same area), the settling of these two Black Vulture pairs on these artificial nests represents a success of the conservation [project] and an important milestone for Black Vulture conservation in Portugal," the LPN announced.

The hope is that these pairs are but the first of a growing breeding colony, as has already been seen to a small extent in northern Portugal.

The Eurasian black vulture (Aegypius monachus) is one of the world's largest birds of prey, with a wingspan that can reach almost three metes across. It is found mainly in forested habitat, and feeds on the carcasses of wild rabbits and domestic livestock.

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Species vs Species: Males Fight for Female Attention

Pictured: Male and female rubyspot damselflies mating. (Photo : Mark Bjorklund)

Scientists have long been curious as to why it's common for animals to fight with members of other species, and now a new study has found the answer, blaming it on females, of course.

According to a team of UCLA biologists, males of different species often fight for female attention to gain "priority access" to them for mating purposes. At least, that's what they observed when studying the behavior of several species of Hetaerina damselflies, also known as rubyspot damselflies.

During the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers observed more than 100 damselflies a day in their natural habitat along rivers and streams in Texas, Arizona and Mexico.

While it's typical for male damselflies to be aggressive toward males of their own species that encroach on their territory, the researchers were surprised to find that they also act antagonistic toward males of other damselfly species, who attempt to mate with females.

Female damselflies almost always refuse to mate with males of a different species, but like any persistent male, that doesn't stop them from trying - especially in cases where the females of both species have similar coloration.

"We were surprised to see how well the degree of reproductive interference - the competition for mates between species - predicts the degree of aggression between species," Jonathan Drury, the study's lead author, said in a statement.

In fact, the researchers came up with a model that predicts as competition for mates increases, male aggression increases. It also shows at what point aggression against another species becomes advantageous.

What they found during their study was that species versus species competition virtually disappeared because of substantial divergence in wing coloration. However, in most of the pairs of species they studied, there is very little difference in color. In these cases, males are just as aggressive to males of another species as to males of their own species.

"Male damselflies often have difficulty distinguishing between females of their own species and another species when making split-second decisions about whether to pursue a female," explained Gregory Grether, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and senior author of the study. "I think that's the root cause of the persistence of male territorial aggression."

And these acts of aggression can last even up to a few hours, biologists found.

These territorial battles between two males are most likely so violent because damselflies typically live only a couple of weeks, and have few mating opportunities. They cannot afford to let someone else swoop in and steal their women right from under them.

"Low levels of reproductive interference are associated with low levels of aggression, and high levels of reproductive interference are associated with high levels of aggression," Grether said.

While these findings are indeed enlightening into the world of species versus species battles, they also may shed light on human evolution. That is, Neanderthals may have mated with modern humans about 50,000 years ago, so reproductive interference and aggression between species may well have played an important role in our evolutionary past.

"There is genetic evidence of interbreeding between the two species," Grether said. "Interbreeding and warfare with modern humans are usually viewed as completely different explanations for the demise of the Neanderthals, but they might not be different explanations after all. Fighting between Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis groups might well have been motivated in part by inter-mating, just as it is in some cases of warfare between traditional human groups."

Interspecies aggression and its evolutionary impact are still little understood, and researchers hope to provide more insight into the subject in future studies.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Meet Hawaii's Tireless TV Veterinarian: The 'Aloha Vet'

(Photos : Beck Media)

Being a vet doesn't always seem like an exciting job. Sure, meeting and saving furry friends has its own brand of gratification, but it's not the kind of work that will get your blood pumping. That's not so for Dr Scott Sims, a veterinarian who moved to Hawaii in 2001 to take on a whole new kind of work day. He recently spoke with Nature World News (NWN) about his practice, his passions, and the reality TV show that has been part of his life for the greater part of the last year.

Through his clinic, the Pegasus Veterinary Clinic, the Kauai resident flits from island to island , making house calls, performing surgeries, and tending to livestock in trouble, but it wasn't always the island life for Sims.

"I worked in the northern Bay Area in a little town called Novato for 13 or so years," he told NWN in an exclusive interview.

"I had a very successful practice there and I liked it a lot," he added. " And then I made the mistake of coming to Hawaii on a vacation with a friend. It wasn't like anything I thought it was going to be!" (Scroll to read on...)

Sims had expected crowded beaches, tourist traps, and souvenir stands as far as the eye can see. Instead, Kauai - the fourth largest of Hawaii's main islands at about 560 square miles - presented the veterinarian with a lush green and rural paradise. He fell in love with the place.

"When I went home I immediately started closing doors," he said.

Paradise is Busier Than You'd Think

Sims has now been in Kauai for just about 14 years - longer than he was veterinarian in California. But if you think living in paradise is like one long vacation, think again.

Sims told NWN that a typical day will start at 8 am and won't finish until about 12 hours later. Often, especially in the case of some delicate surgeries, he can find himself working past dusk - even forgetting to eat! (Scroll to read on...)

Sims recently took on a late-night house call after two local hunting dogs were injured by a wild boar.

That's because, even with help from his two assistants, Dia and Ella, Pegasus is just one of only about 20 listed veterinarian practices in all of Kawai. By comparison, Novato boasts a stunning 230 private practices, clinics, and pet emergency centers. And while the little Californian town boasts about 52,000 people living within 28 square miles, Kauai boasts 65,000 residents living in secluded pockets of the large volcanic island.

"But the interior of the island is really wild. You can't just drive on over," Sim's added.

Instead, the vet often takes to the saddle, water, or sky to get where he needs to go. He even built his own airplane - a modest single seater with more than enough range to go island hopping.

"It sounds a lot more impressive than it really is," Sims said. "It's just a giant plastic model with a real engine." (Scroll to read on...)

What Makes a Great Veterinarian...

But while Sims can be bashful at times, he's an exceptionally charismatic human being who clearly loves the animals he works with.

"I think people love animals because they are really honest," he explained. "Even if they can't talk, they will still tell you what they are feeling and how they are feeling... and people like that."

However, he's quick to add that we should be careful not to anthropomorphize them, especially in the case of wild animals.

"One common problem for when people bring in wild animals is that they want us to treat them [immediately] - 'It's got a broken wing! We gotta help it right now!'"

"I'd have to tell them 'No, actually what we need to do is back off, get it stabilized... let it catch its breath, and then we can finally go in and fix whatever is wrong.'"

Sims explained that the tiny hearts of wild animals are delicate things, and if you try and fix everything all at once, you wind up just stressing them to death.

Still, he added that how quickly people become invested in animals they even just met is no-doubt a good thing.

... Also Makes Great TV

It may have been that level head and charming optimism which also earned Sims a spot on television. As of last year, a film crew has been following the vet around, watching him work, play, and generally treat each day as an adventure.

"I guess I'm just quirky enough for TV," he said with a chuckle. "It's not like I didn't have enough to do already... but I want to show people that we can do a lot better (in terms of caring for animals and the environment) without working very hard at it." (Scroll to read on...)

 What he means by that is exemplified in the episodes of "Aloha Vet," which premiered on Nat Geo Wild just last month. In these episodes, he suggests safer ways for farmers to tether their livestock, showcases good grooming habits for pets, and helps a lot of animals out of tough situations.

And he seems to have a lot of fun while doing it.

"I don't want to give too much away, but just last Christmas eve I got this call to go see a horse that was stuck in a ditch," he told NWN.

" I'm driving out through this field 10 O'clock at night on the night before Christmas and I can't even see where I'm going because the grass is so tall. And when I finally come upon where they wanted me, the grass parts to reveal this guy dressed up like Santa Claus whose peering into this deep ditch."

"And I'm thinking 'boy there better not be a sleigh at the bottom of this river!" he said laughing.

We won't spoil the whole story, but rest assured that Rudolf and the rest of the reindeer team are happy and hale.

"It's been very interesting experience and it's been fun to see how people get so invested in their animals," Sims added. "And that's a good thing! Animals are an important part of our lives."

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Invisible Butterfly Wings Could Inspire Future Tablets/E-Readers

(Photo : Radwanul Hasan Siddique, KIT)

For a long time now, on-the-go readers and workers have had one common enemy: sunlight. Trying to read a good book or even just your emails in the glare of the Sun has been a massive source of frustration for tablet and e-reader owners. Now however, experts are looking to a unique species of butterfly to make reflective screens a thing of the past.

The glasswing butterfly (Greta Oto) is a stunning example of camouflage at its best. Instead of trying to match its wings with the colors that surround it, the aptly named insect simply boasts "invisible wings" that are so transparent that they could serve as paper-thin windows.

But unlike your basic window, these wings hardly reflect any light. Close up, the wings of G. Oto look like spindly twigs branching out from a barely-noticeable jet-black thorax. Only small strips of white would reveal this butterfly's presence from afar, even with the Sun shining directly on it.

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) determined that amazingly, depending on the view angle, the specular reflection of light off a glasswing's surface varies between two and five percent. That's significantly lower than anything ever achieved with glass planes - even specially treated ones - which have only ever been able to achieve a minimum of eight percent reflection at very specific angles.

And most interesting of all, the butterfly wings also reflect or suppress infrared and ultraviolet light - visible to some small animals and potential avian predators.

So how does the glasswing pull this off? According to new electron microscope analyses, complete and utter chaos is key. Results were published in the journal Nature Communications.

Under the direction of researcher Hendrik Hölscher, the KIT team found that irregular nanostructures on the surface of the butterfly wing are what cause this significant reduction in reflection. Called "nanopillars" these structures varied wildly in high (between 400 and 600 nanometers) and were even spaced irregularly, ranging between 100 and 140 nanometers - about on thousandth of the width of your average human hair. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : Radwanul Hasan Siddique, KIT)

"In contrast to other natural phenomena, where regularity is of top priority, the glasswing butterfly uses an apparent chaos to reach effects that are also fascinating for us humans," researcher Radwanul Hasan Siddique, who discovered this effect explained in a statement.

Now, Hasan Siddique, Hölscher, and their colleagues are investigating how exactly these wings develop with such stunningly chaotic surfaces - a boon that they hope could be applied to the development of glare-free electronic screens in the future.

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Why Don't Birds Crash? It's All in Their Posture

(Photo : Pixabay)

Birds crash into things sometimes, whether it's windows, cars, plans, or even unfortunately the occasional wind turbine. But for the most part, it's smooth sailing for these expert fliers. And given that navigating a cluttered environment at high speed one of the greatest challenges in biology, researchers wanted to learn how birds have managed this feat. It turns out it's all in their posture.

Specifically, there are two highly stereotyped postures that birds have mastered to avoid obstacles in flight, a new study describes in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"This was somewhat surprising to us," lead author David Williams said in a statement. "In lower-order animals like insects, we think of these very stereotyped motor programs where you stimulate your muscle, and the passive dynamics of your exoskeleton or the tendons attached to that muscle control most of the motion."

"But when you look at higher-order animals," he added, "it's common to expect that those motor programs are going to be more complex, and there's going to be more subtle gradations in those programs. So it was surprising to see a very high-order animal like a bird using very simple motor programs. Biology is optimized to be just good enough to work, so what that indicates is those are very effective motor programs."

Unlike past studies, this one focuses on how birds adjust their in-flight posture not when it's clear skies, but when they encounter gaps between obstacles, big or small. To better understand the birds' in-flight postures, Williams and colleagues built a 20-meter-long flight corridor - essentially an obstacle course consisting of a number of vertical poles - for pigeons to fly through.

While the research team expected that birds would adopt a myriad of postures to fit in between various objects, they were surprised by the reality.

"What we actually found was there are two very distinct, stereotyped postures that are adopted," he said. "We thought there would be body rotation. We thought there might be intermediate stages where they would pull their wings in a little bit. We thought there would be stages where they might have one wing up and one down. We thought it would be catch-as-catch-can, and it's not."

(Photo : Pixabay)

One of these postures is referred to as "wings paused." This is when the birds hold their wings wide out, at the top of the upswing of their flapping. In the second posture, the birds tuck their wings back against their bodies, almost as if they were perched on a branch.

"The paused posture ... interrupts their wing beat cycle for shorter periods of time, so they tend to lose less height, and their wings are ready to hit the air running, so to speak," Williams said. "We thought maybe they were using the ballistic posture in cases where they want to get smaller, but it doesn't actually make them much smaller from a forward angle. What it does do is reduce the amount they're going to rotate or be disrupted if they do collide with anything."

What's more, previous research has revealed that pigeons in particular are actually actively making the decision of which of their two postures they want to use to best avoid an object mid-flight.

It was thought that perhaps which way the birds chose was simply based on the timing of their flaps, but that does not seem to be the case.

Birds are pretty impressive fliers - even better than anything humanity has ever built. And now this new study has shed more light on the method behind their madness.

In addition, the researchers hope their findings could open the door to new ways to program drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles to avoid similar obstacles in the future.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Progress: Fewer people Want Shark Fin Soup!

(Photo : wiki cc0- Joe Boyd)

Did you have a good Earth Day? Let's finish off a week that celebrates our beautiful blue world with a nice bowl of soup. One that noticeably lacks any shark fins. Surprisingly, a great many Chinese consumers will be right there with us, as a new study has found that the demand for shark fin soup is taking a steep dive.

That's at least according to a survey report recently co-published by marine conservation group BLOOM and the Social Sciences Research Centre of The University of Hong Kong.

The report, which you can find here, details how nearly 70 percent of Hong Kong residents have reduced or entirely stopped their consumption of shark fin soup - a delicacy that boasts no small infamy among animal rights activists and conservationists.

The soup is reportedly rather tasty, even if shark fin itself lacks flavor. Instead, the fin is prized by Chinese chefs for its stringy texture which can compliment various broths. It is also only delicious after a very elaborate preparation - a staple in Chinese cuisine that shows off prestige and honor. Serving this to guests then, most popularly at weddings, was traditionally seen as a way to show them respect and appreciation. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : Andrew Fung) A decadent shark fin soup served in crab cream - a popular choice at banquets.

The Soup's Good... But How They Got it Will Make You Sick

The problem, however, is how most shark fins are obtained.

"India, South Africa, Mexico, Canada, Argentina, the EU, and the US, for example, permit removal of fins only if carcasses are first brought to shore. That creates difficulties in handling and storage, making fin sale far less profitable," Ted Williams, an avid angler and conservationist, said in an analysis of shark fin trends for Yale's Environment360.

He explained that in countries like China, anglers are far more wasteful, catching sharks only to slice off their fins and dump them directly back into the water - leaving the animals to die slow and humiliating deaths. This, of course, frees up a great deal of storage on fishing boats, enabling much more slaughter of various shark species.

"Sharks can't bounce back like other fish," the angler added. "Most give birth to dog-size litters, and those that lay eggs don't spew big numbers."(Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : Wiki CC0 - Sebastián Losada)

Williams described how sharks popularly finned, like Sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus) and Duskies (Carcharhinus obscurus), don't mature until their late teens and deliver a limited number of pups only every couple years. With sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus), only two offspring ever survive their childhood - after viciously competing with and eventually eating their siblings.

The consequence, then, is collapsing food chains in which herbivore aquatic life is left to overpopulate and overgraze in the absence of large predators.

A Changing View

The good news is that more and more Chinese citizens are becoming aware of the atrocities that are committed to make shark fin soup profitable, and they have called for their government to put a stop to it.

The aforementioned BLOOM report is a follow-up of a 2009 survey study, which revealed that almost 80 percent of average Hong Kong residents (out of a sample group of 1,000) felt it was perfectly acceptable or even admirable to exclude shark fin soup from weddings. The majority of those who did consume shark fin the year they were surveyed said they did so because it was already being served, not because they actively pursued the delicacy.

The follow-up survey, which was concluded in 2014, showed that in a mere five years, public opinion has tilted even further away from shark fin demand, with 92 percent of average Hong Kong citizens claiming that excluding the infamous soup at weddings and other celebrations was acceptable. Some were even aware of alternatives - like vegetable-based imitation soups - which preserve an age-old tradition while simultaneously cutting demand for actual shark fin. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : Flickr: Cloneofsnake)

Less than 1 percent of those surveyed saw shark fin soup as irreplaceable at banquets.

"These survey results are promising and show that even in the hub of the global trade of shark fins, public support for protecting sharks is growing," Imogen Zethoven, Director of The Pew Charitable Trusts' Global Shark Conservation Campaign, said in a statement. "We know that approximately 100 million sharks are killed each year in commercial fisheries, mostly to meet the demand for shark fins. Reducing consumption will save more sharks."

Leaders Take Action

Most encouragingly, these opinions have improved in the wake of actions taken by officials in not only Hong Kong, but the greater part of China and Malaysia to have banned shark fin foods at government functions. Five hotel chains have also promised not to serve the soup (the most recent being InterContinental), while a whopping 31 airlines are now against transporting the fins that fuel a cruel industry.

American Airlines was the most recent addition to that list, with the popular travel provider publically announcing to Wild Aid Hong Kong's Alex Hofford that the company had quietly halted all shark fin shipping early last month. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : WildAid)

In a rare show of government support, especially concerning endangered species, the 2014 BLOOM survey also revealed that 87 percent of respondents agreed that the Hong Kong government has an important role to play in growing shark protection.

"The momentum that we are gaining for the goal of sustainable shark resourcing is encouraging, and we welcome the government taking the lead and doing more for marine conservation," Stan Shea, Chief Marine Program Coordinator of BLOOM, added in a statement. "But conservation work isn't done. The government has yet to implement any regulation on the sale of endangered species products beyond international trade protections for the seven species of sharks and rays agreed to in 2013. Therefore, as long as endangered species of shark and other marine species are still being traded, review and enforcement of trade regulations are necessary."

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Can Bees Become Addicted to Pesticides?

(Photo : Pixabay)

This is some bad news for beekeepers. Remember those harmful pesticides that conservationists, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and even a smattering of garden retailers are trying to keep away from bees? Well it turns out that not only are they harmful to all kinds of bees, but the little buzzers are actually crazy about the stuff, flocking to the same substances that will leave them cold and alone come winter.

Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, is a disease that causes wintering bees to wake and suddenly abandon their hives in what looks like mass suicides.

Past studies have named the seed-coating pesticides known as neonicotinoids (neonics) as a primary cause for a recent epidemic of CCD - one that led to a major decline in US pollinator populations first noticed in 2006.

However, not everyone is convinced that neonics are actually to blame.

The 'Junky' Factor

A common argument for neonics' innocence is that if the pesticides are truly harmful, most bees would learn to avoid treated plants. After all, this is how most plants protect themselves from unwanted guests - taking on toxic elements to keep potential predators at bay.

And while bees drinking nectar isn't exactly 'predation,' it should be safe to reason that poisoning that metaphorical watering hole should have the same effect.

Unfortunately that's not the case, with recent studies showing that the number of times a bee visits a treated plant verses an untreated plant are no different. Instead, neonics supposedly affect birth rates or energy reserves. So what's going on?

Geraldine Wright, a well-published insect neuroethologist, recently decided to investigate this with several of her colleagues at Newcastle University, UK.

The resulting study, published in the journal Nature, details how bees actually prefer foods contaminated with neonic traces. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : pixabay)

When Wright and her team confined honeybees (Apis mellifera) and bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) to boxes and gave them a choice between plain nectar and nectar laced with neonics, the insects showed a love for imidacloprid or thiamethoxam (two of three common neonics).

The study showed that the bees preferred pesticide-laced nectar over clean nectar regardless of concentration - an indication that the bees probably cannot taste the pesticide.

Christopher Connolly, a Reader in the Medical Research Institute at the University of Dunde, who was not involved in the study, offered his two-cents regarding these intriguing results.

He explained in a Science Media Center statement that if the bees "cannot taste the presence of these neonicotinoids...  stimulus being sought may be similar to nicotine seeking behavior in humans."

A comparison that, when considering the well-known harmful nature of cigarettes, can truly hit home.

Wright even goes as far as to suggest that the neonics could, in a small way, be brainwashing the bees into preferring nectar from contaminated fields. Past studies have found inconclusive evidence that neonics may activate receptors in bee brains linked to memory and learning - a revelation with ominous implications.

However, Lin Field, Head of Biological Chemistry and Crop Protection at Rothamsted Research, is quick to point out that this work involves a lot of speculation.

"The authors suggest it is via effects on the receptor that neonics bind to, which lead to changes in 'learning'. This is very interesting," she said, "but I think this needs more work to see if it is really true and if so how it works."

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Top ten train station most beautiful will not believe are real

 

 

In his last visit to Washington DC was eighth quality field trip, I spent desperately trying to Cindy Troncale Alexandria Holiday Inn Express, maybe another trip to the capital of our nation is in order? Lonely Planet think you just called Washington, DC, the first city in the world to visit next year.

And why not? Free museums, cherry blossoms, Kerry Washington (!!); Only the highest capital city in the largest country in the world.

Although the assumption that you thought Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was the worst, LP top 10 also highlighted some small (all politicians) fascinating cities in the world as El Chalten, Argentina, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and ski Favourite Zermatt, Switzerland.

 

1. Bund Sightseeing Tunnel- China

2. Central Park Station- Kaohsiung, Taiwan

3. City Hall Station- New York

4. Dubai Metro Station- Dubai, UAE

5. Formosa Boulevard Station- Kaohsiung, Taiwan

6. Kirovsky Zavod Station- St. Petersburg, Russia

7. Museum Station- Toronto, Canada

8. O’Hare Station- Chicago, Illinois

9. T-Centralen Station- Stockholm, Sweden

10. Toledo Metro Station- Naples, Italy

 

Introducing a 'Space Station Safari' for Conservation

(Photo : Pixabay)

Experts have some new plans for the International Space Station (ISS), and they have absolutely nothing to do with space, exploration, or even astronauts. A new investigation will be using the uniquely high vantage point of the orbital space station to help track animals in trouble - the results of which could improve conservation strategies around the world.

The plan in question boasts the science fiction-esque name the "ICARUS Initiative," with the mythological acronym standing for International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space. It will reportedly established a remote network of satellites that will use the ISS almost like a universal hub for various satellite 'safari' projects.

However, unlike your traditional safari, these long-range observations of animals down on Earth won't simply be used for pretty pictures.

"For example, bird migrations are a mind-blowing phenomenon," Meg Crofoot, an anthropologist at the University of California in Davis and an executive board member of ICARUS, said in a statement. "Despite more than 100 years of systematic research, we don't know the routes many of these species take, where they stop along the way or even how often they survive the arduous journey. Understanding the individual decisions made by these animals can provide insight on the behavior and evolution of animals in the wild and perhaps even assuring their continued existence." (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : pixabay)

And the ICARUS Initiative will make keeping track of their behavior all the more easier for invested experts. According to the researcher, when the ICARUS hardware is delivered and installed in the Russian segment of the space station in 2016, it will act as a data hub, collecting and pooling information from countless tagging projects across to globe to one central location. This data will then be quickly relayed to researchers on the ground, allowing for data recovery to be quick and easy. (No more fishing through the ocean or asking kind finders to mail tags in!)

"Results from this investigation could provide answers to so many questions," Crofoot added. "Not just for nature conservationists, but also for those studying the impacts animals have on the human population."

Bird migration data, for instance, could help keep both birds and airlines even safer. Nature World News previously reported how, despite the incredible agility that birds posses, the winged creatures still collide with commercial airplanes far too often. This largely has to do with the fact that their brains simply cannot process the sight of an oncoming plane coming at them in time. Anything, ascending plane or automobile windshield, passing that speed limit will break a delicate avain neck's even before it's considered - regardless of some species' own incredible top flight speeds.

Most importantly, the great majority of the data tracked in these 'satellite safaris' will be open to any scientists who can make use of it, easily located in an online repository called Movebank.

"Part of what makes this study so important is the collaborative nature of the project," said Crofoot. "The ability to go from watching only a handful of species to dozens on a global scale is exciting. It has been tremendously rewarding to team with a group of highly diverse scientists working toward the same goal."

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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Humpback Whales No Longer Endangered

(Photo : NOAA)

Humpback whales can now breathe a heavy sigh of relief because as of Monday, most of these iconic mammals are no longer endangered, federal officials announced.

That is, it has been proposed that 10 out of the 14 existing whale populations be removed from the endangered species list, thanks to protection and restoration efforts over the last 40 years, which have led to an increase in numbers and growth rates for humpback whales in many areas.

"To be able to bring a species to a point where their population is doing well and they no longer meet those requirements to be on the Endangered Species Act [ESA], I think that is a really important success for us as a nation," Donna Weiting, the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Protected Resources said during a news conference, according to The Associated Press (AP).

Meanwhile, two populations would remain listed as threatened, and two others would still be listed as endangered.

The humpback whale was first listed as endangered in 1970 when it became clear that commercial whaling was severely depleting their numbers. Since then, the population of these whales increased to nearly 80,000, compared to nearly 5,000 during the peak of humpback whaling in the 1960s. Some populations are growing at a rate of up to 11 percent annually since the listing, which requires federal approval for federally funded or authorized activities that could harm whales or their habitat.

However, there are a few places in the world that still allow hunting of humpback whales, according to the International Whaling Commission, which has banned commercial whaling since 1966. This includes Norway, Iceland, and Japan - which has been under heavy fire from conservationists and wildlife advocates everywhere recently for their controversial whale hunts - supposedly which are in the name of "scientific research."

Humpback whales can be found around the world, and federal officials say restoration and protection efforts have expanded their numbers in numerous places. Among those suggested for removal from the ESA listing is the humpback whale population that relocates every year from Hawaii to Alaska.

Even if the species is removed from the endangered list, it would still remain protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

"As we learn more about the species - and realize the populations are largely independent of each other - managing them separately allows us to focus protection on the animals that need it the most," Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries, said in a statement.

The NOAA hasn't taken any whale species off the ESA list since the agency delisted the gray whale in 1994. This latest proposal is open for a 90-day public comment period. After which, the process of delisting the humpback whale from the ESA list will take about 12 months.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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For Fukushima Birds, Things are Getting Worse Even as Radiation Abates

(Photo : Flickr: Katsura Miyamoto)

The destructive earthquake and tsunami that triggered a catastrophe at Japan's Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant are now four years behind us, but the effects of that disaster are still being felt today. Now a new study has revealed that even as ecosystems slowly recover, Fukushima's native bird population is actually dwindling more than ever - and researchers think they know why.

Compared to the infamous Chernobyl power plant meltdown of 1986, the amount of radiation released during and after the Fukushima-Daiichi incident was but a drop in the bucket. Back in November, an independent survey of West Coast waters near the United States revealed that the telltale radioactive compound censium was at concentrations more than 1,000 times lower than acceptable drinking water limits set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

That revelation should put panicking North Americans, who are at least 5,350 miles away (across an entire ocean) from the immediate disaster site, at ease. However, that certainly doesn't mean that the disaster was largely harmless.

"A growing body of empirical results from studies of birds, monkeys, butterflies, and other insects suggests that some species have been significantly impacted by the radioactive releases related to the Fukushima disaster," Timothy Mousseau, a lead researcher behind one of many ongoing investigations, announced last August.

He explained that a common theme researchers have noticed is that prolonged exposure to low doses of radiation has a very different effect on organisms compared to sudden high-level exposure, as seen at Chernobyl. This came to be called Fukushima's "insidious effect" and was expected to abate, with lingering radiation levels, by 2016.

Unfortunately, new research detailed in the Journal of Ornithology shows that birds may be facing trouble for even longer.

"The declines have been really dramatic," study author and biologist Tim Mousseau, of the University of South Carolina, said in a recent statement.

Mousseau and his colleagues have been launching regular bird censuses for 57 local species in contaminated areas, since a few months after the 2011 disaster. And although the data may be skewed (as the researchers were not allowed to conduct their work in the "hottest" radioactive spots for the first two years), they were still able to showcase large avian population losses in a dose-dependent manner. The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), for example, was one species that was hit the hardest. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : Flickr: Ingrid Taylar)

"There are so few barn swallows left," Mousseau added. "We know that there were hundreds in a given area before the disaster, and just a couple of years later we're only able to find a few dozen left."

A second study published in the Journal of Ornithology goes on to detail how Mousseau and Anders Moller, of The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), worked to compare and contrast the impacts that the Fukushima and Chernobyl disasters had on birds.

They quickly found that while the greater of these two disasters outright killed many avian species, those who survived or later moved back into the region have proved resilient. Meanwhile, although most birds survived Fukushima, their populations continue to rapidly decline even years after the disaster.

"It suggests to us that what we're seeing in Fukushima right now is primarily through the direct result of exposure to radiation that's generating a toxic effect - because the residents are getting a bigger dose by being there longer, they're more affected," Mousseau said.

And as that toxic effect is likely shortening lifespans and adversely affecting chick health in subtle ways, its impact may last for generations to come.

"So now we see this really striking drop-off in numbers of birds as well as numbers of species of birds," he explained. "Both the biodiversity and the abundance are showing dramatic impacts in these areas with higher radiation levels, even as the levels are declining."

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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How Marine Predators Evolved with Changing Oceans

(Photo : Pixabay)

For more than 250 million years, four-limbed land animals known as tetrapods have repeatedly conquered the Earth's oceans. Now new research is revealing just how these marine predators successfully evolved amidst this ever-changing environment.

By better understanding how marine life responded to environmental change over time, Smithsonian researchers hope to shed light on how human activities will impact modern marine species in the future.

"We know from the fossil record that previous times of profound change in the oceans were important turning points in the evolutionary history of marine species," Neil Kelley, who led the study, said in a news release. "Today's oceans continue to change, largely from human activities. This paper provides the evolutionary context for understanding how living species of marine predators will evolve and adapt to life in the Anthropocene."

Marine tetrapods represent a diverse group of living and extinct species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds that play a critical role as large ocean predators in marine ecosystems. This includes creatures such as plesiosaurs, penguins,and sea turtles, all which descended from separate groups of terrestrial vertebrates that convergently evolved to thrive in aquatic environments.

Now, recent investigations in the fossil record have provided new insight into the evolution of traits that allowed marine tetrapods to thrive in the sea - even during changing marine ecosystems and mass extinctions dating all the way back to the Triassic period.

"Land to sea transitions have happened dozens of times among reptiles, mammals and birds, across major mass extinctions," noted researcher Nicholas Pyenson. "You often get similar looking results but convergence is more than skin deep. It can be seen on a broad range of scales, from molecules to food webs, over hundreds of millions of years."

For example, similar anatomy evolved among lineages that adapted to marine lifestyles. Modern dolphins and extinct marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs both evolved into a similar fish-like body plan - even though they descended from distinct terrestrial species, and lived more than 50 million years apart. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : NOAA)

The repeated transformation of legs adapted for walking on land into fins is another example, seen in various species such as seals and mosasaurs. This allowed them to move quickly and efficiently in the water.

In addition, in the case of deep divers such as beaked whales and seals, these species have independently evolved to have positively charged oxygen-binding proteins called myoglobin in their muscles. This allows them to survive underwater for long periods of time.

This research helps to shed light on the common and unique patterns driving the extraordinary transitions that whales, dolphins, seals and other species underwent as they moved from land to sea.

It also suggests that if these creatures could adapt and survive in the Earth's changing oceans all these years, then perhaps they have a fighting chance in the face of modern climate change.

Ocean acidification, for one, is a major concern among scientists and conservationists alike. As the oceans absorb more and more carbon dioxide that is being pumped into the atmosphere - mostly from human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels - the water is becoming increasingly acidic.

It is already wreaking havoc on marine life across the globe, but some species are working hard to adapt. For instance, sharks are hiding out in coral reefs and crabs are going into "survival mode."

In the past, ocean acidification has triggered a mass extinction event - the greatest one ever. But marine predators have evolved in a changing world before, and this latest research provides hope that they can do it again and continue to thrive in the Earth's oceans.

The findings were published in the journal Science.

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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What the 'False Eyes' of Butterflies Are Really For

The common buckeye - one species of US butterfly well-known for it's beautiful eye spots. However, they are far from intimidating, so what could they be for? Researchers look at the lesser-known squinting bush brown, another eye-spotted butterfly, to find out. (Photo : Flickr: John Flannery)

Picture this: it's a beautiful spring day and the graceful fluttering of a butterfly catches your eye. The delicate insect alights on a nearby flower and, for a moment, it's wings remain unfurled. Suddenly you're face-to-face with a hideous monster, complete with 18 eyes and a crooked, segmented nose. For some time, this is what most people thought the strange "eye spot" patterning on some butterflies' wings were for. Now, however, researchers are arguing that they have a far better use than simply frightening gullible humans.

"Eyespots are conspicuous, they draw your attention and are thought to be used by many animal species to avoid death or attack, by either startling or confusing the predator," Katy Prudic, a researcher from Oregon State University explained in a statement.

Eye spots in reptiles and birds have one very obvious use. Mimicking large and fearsome visages, this patterning is meant to trick a predator into thinking they are looking at something far more intimidating than it actually is. Even for a wild cat like the serval, eye-like patterning on the back of its ears suggest the animal sees you even when its head is turned - making competitors think twice about sneak attacks.

However, in the case of insects this 'mimicry' strategy doesn't make as much sense, as their primary predators are often other insects - creatures too small to be deceived by the patterning in its whole and frightening glory.

So what's the point? A study recently published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B detail how one species of butterfly actually changes its eye-spots with the seasons in an aim to misdirect the attacks of certain predators when they are around.

Past studies of the squinting bush brown butterfly (Bycyclus anyana) have revealed that the insects usually produce about five generations of offspring a year over both dry and wet seasons. Through what is called "phenotypic plasticity," how inherited genes are expressed can change depending on seasonal conditions, in turn influencing what the butterflies look like. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : OSU/ Antonia Monteiro (right) and William Piel (Left)) Cold, dry season generations are a dull grayish-brown, sporting small and barely noticeable eye-spots. However, when a warm and wet season rolls around, the resulting butterflies often boast large and bright eyespots.

These wet-season eyespots draw a great deal of attention, and would likely make them easier targets for predatory birds in flight. However, it's not birds that the insects worry about most during this time. In warm weather, predatory insects, particularly praying mantids, are abundant - aggressively stalking bush browns in their eastern African habitats.

Mantids' with their massive compound eyes and cat-like reflexes are difficult to avoid. That's why Prudic and her colleague believe that the butterflies use their eyespots as a distraction.

In several simulated hunts, an attacking mantis often aimed for the misleading eyespots, rather than a butterfly's vulnerable body or head. In this way, even with damaged wings, the bush brown can escape for a chance to reproduce one last time. Bush browns without vibrant eye-spots, however, usually always fell victim to a killing strike. (Scroll to read on...)

[Credit: Oregon State University]

Conversely, cold dry seasons mean that most mantids are long dead and the surrounding vegetation has turned a dull brown color. In these times, the butterflies want to be as inconspicuous as possible, blending in with the brown bushes that earned them their name so that predator birds cannot see them.

"Having the right type of eyespot in the right season allowed the butterflies to live long enough to lay eggs and have more offspring in the next generation," Prudic explained. "With the wrong eyespot at the wrong time, they were quickly annihilated."

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

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