"Sexy" Tusks Led to New Whale Species? (December 22, 2008)
The two curled, tusklike teeth of the male beaked whale evolved to attract females as well as to battle other males, according to new research. Female beaked whales' apparent attraction to the tusks may have spurred the development of new species.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Oldest Spider Web Found in Amber (December 17, 2008)
The world's oldest spider web has been found in a piece of amber on the south coast of England, scientists announced recently. Amateur paleontologist Jamie Hiscocks found the amber deposits, long hidden by sands and tides, and gave them to an Oxford University team.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Elephants Die Earlier in Zoos
(December 15, 2008) A new study comparing wild, captive and working elephants has found that living in zoos can significantly shorten the animals' lives. Writing in the journal Science, researchers say obesity is a major cause of death in adult zoo elephants. They also cite stress as the key factor in the death of young captive animals when they are moved from zoo to zoo.
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Source: BBC |
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European Butterflies Threatened by Climate Change
(December 13, 2008) European butterflies could face dramatic extinctions should global temperatures continue to rise, a new study says. If the colorful insects try to migrate north to cooler climes, habitat destruction-such as deforestation-and large bodies of water might stop them.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Poaching May Erase Elephants From Chad Wildlife Park
(December 12, 2008) The elephant population in one of Central Africa's remaining wildlife strongholds may vanish within the next two to three years if poaching continues at current levels, according to conservationists who recently surveyed the park. Researchers conducted two sample surveys this year of African elephant populations in Chad's Zakouma National Park. Both counts indicate that there may be just a thousand members of the species left in this 1,200-square-mile (3,100-square-kilometer) refuge.
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Source: National Geographic |
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1/5 of Coral Reefs Lost Due to Acid-Filled Oceans
(December 11, 2008) The world has lost nearly one-fifth of its coral reefs, and much of the rest could be destroyed by increasingly acidic seas if climate change continues unchecked, a conservation group warned Wednesday. Rising temperatures from greenhouses gases are the latest and most serious threats to coral, which are already being damaged by destructive fishing methods and pollution, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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Source: National Geographic |
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"Medusa" Worms Found in Mud Volcano (December 10, 2008)
These new, undersea worms don't have eyes to turn you into stone. But their resemblance to snake-haired Medusa (above) wasn't lost on discoverer Ana Hilário, who plans to name at least one after the mythological Greek monster.
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Source: National Geographic |
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New Bizarre Monkey Group Found (December 08, 2008)
No, these monkeys haven't gone ape for plastic surgery. The strange-looking Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, only found in two Vietnamese provinces, naturally has a narrow, upturned nose and full, pink lips.
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Source: National Geographic |
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New Field Could Explain How Salmon, Turtles, Find Home
(December 06, 2008) Sea turtles and salmon may use their sensitivity to Earth's magnetic field to guide them home at the end of their epic coming-of-age journeys, suggest scientists aiming to solve one of nature's enduring mysteries. The newly proposed theory is one of several ideas being explored under the banner of an emerging scientific field dubbed movement ecology.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Amphibian Extinctions: Is Global Warming Off the Hook?
(December 02, 2008) The world's amphibians are in dire straits-but global warming may not be the problem, a new study suggests. Previous research has pinned steep declines in amphibian species on rising global temperatures, which are said to be fueling the growth of a deadly fungus.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Oldest turtle Found; May Crack Shell-Evolution Mystery
(November 29, 2008) Fossils of the oldest-known turtles, unearthed in southwestern China, may help answer an evolutionary enigma-how did the turtle get its shell? The 220-million-year-old animals did not have full shells, or carapaces, on their backs, researchers found.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Lizards do "Push Ups" to Get Their Neighbours' Attention
(November 25, 2008) Lizards use "push-ups" to attract attention in noisy environments, according to new research that used robotic lizards. The robots, fashioned to mimic the appearance and body language of live anole lizards, helped scientists confirm a longheld theory that animals use grand gestures, such as the lizard push-up, and loud noises to get the attention of other members of their species in chaotic, noisy environments.
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Source: National Geographic |
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First Otter Reaches Farne Islands
(November 24, 2008) An otter has survived a "perilous" three-mile sea crossing to the Farne Islands for the first time, the National Trust has said. The animal, more commonly found in rivers, has swum from the coast of Northumberland despite rough seas.
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Source: BBC |
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Beetle Invasion to Dim New England Fall Colours?
(November 21, 2008) A beetle invasion could mean big trouble for New England's trees-and the syrup fans and leaf peepers who love them. A recent infestation of the Asian longhorned beetle in Massachusetts may portend a grim future for the sprawling hardwood forests, which are rich with maples and other tree species favored by the pest.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Ton of Illegal Ivory, Hippo Teeth Seized in Kenya (November 19, 2008)
Africa's largest-ever investigation of wildlife crime has unearthed a ton of illegal African elephant ivory, several animal pelts, and hippopotamus teeth, the Kenya Wildlife Service and INTERPOL announced this week. The undercover operation, coordinated by INTERPOL-the world's largest international police organization-booked more than 60 alleged criminals in five African countries.
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Source: National Geographic |
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"Extinct" Primate Found in Indonesia (November 18, 2008)
It may look like a gremlin, but this tiny animal is actually a pygmy tarsier, recently rediscovered in the forests of Indonesia. The 2-ounce (57-gram) carnivorous primate had not been seen alive since the 1920s. That was until researchers on a summer expedition captured, tagged, and released three members of the species (including this individual, above).
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Source: National Geographic |
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U.S Navy Wins Dispute Over Sonar, Whales (November 17, 2008)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that military training trumps protecting whales in a dispute over the U.S. Navy's use of sonar in submarine-hunting exercises off the coast of southern California. Writing for the majority in the court's first decision of the term, Chief Justice John Roberts said the worst that would happen, in terms of whale conservation, is that an unknown number of the marine mammals would be harmed.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Lizards, Birds have Hair Genes
(November 12, 2008) Our hair is rooted in reptilian claws, according to a new study that revealed hair genes in both lizards and birds. Previously, scientists thought hair first appeared in mammals. Hair, which provides insulation and protection, is seen as one of the main evolutionary innovations that led to the rise of mammals.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Global Warming Threatens Lemmings in Norway
(November 08, 2008) Climate change may be responsible for shrinking lemming populations in Norway, a new study shows. As a result, the lack of the small mammals is cascading through the ecosystem, forcing predators to find different food sources.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Deadly Bat Disease Linked to Cold-Loving Fungus
(November 01, 2008) Scientists have pinpointed the fungus linked to white-nose syndrome, the mysterious ailment that has wiped out large populations of bats in the northeastern United States. The fungus, found on the wings, ears, and muzzles of infected bats, is a member of the Geomyces genus.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Inland Ants Crave Salt, and Hurricanes May Help
(October 31, 2008) Salt-deprived animals and insects living far inland from some coasts may benefit if global warming increases hurricane intensity, a new study suggests. Storms bring sodium-a necessary nutrient for almost all life-forms other than plants-from the seas farther inland, explained study lead author Michael Kaspari, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Vampire Moth Discovered - Evolution at Work (October 28, 2008)
A previously unknown population of vampire moths has been found in Siberia. And in a twist worthy of a Halloween horror movie, entomologists say the bloodsuckers may have evolved from a purely fruit-eating species.
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Source: National Geographic |
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How Snails Walk on Water is a Small Miracle (October 24, 2008)
Walking on water may seem miraculous, but for tiny aquatic snails, it's an everyday activity. Now, scientists have puzzled out the snails' baffling method of propulsion. "How the snails were dragging themselves across a surface that they could not even grip was absolutely perplexing to us," said lead author Eric Lauga, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, San Diego.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Ink Squirts make Squid Swim for their Lives (October 19, 2008)
Squid can't shout out in alarm to their comrades when danger threatens, but they certainly can squirt out, and this, it seems, serves the same purpose. It is assumed that the main reason squid squirt ink is to have a "cloaking device", allowing them to escape from predators - but other squid may pick up on it as well.
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Source: New Scientist |
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Got Rhythm? Baby Zebra Fish Do (October 17, 2008)
Zebrafish babies got rhythm-and shake their booties to prove it, a new study shows. After being "taught" a rhythm using flashes of light, the larvae "remembered" the beat pattern for 20 seconds after the flashes ceased, scientists found. The finding, published online Wednesday by the journal Nature, suggests that the fish possess a sort of mental metronome that can help them elude predators.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Caterpillars Build Silk "Alarm Syatems" (October 15, 2008)
Metalmark moth caterpillars can build their own versions of home security systems out of silk, according to new research. Until now, spiders were thought to be the only animals to detect tremors in their webs caused by foreign objects.
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Source: National Geographic |
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"Lost" Deer Species Rediscovered in Trap (October 14, 2008)
In the first ever photograph of a live Sumatran muntjac, the dog-size deer awaits release from a poacher's snare on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The photo, released Friday, is the first record of the "lost muntjac of Sumatra" in 80 years, says U.K. conservation group Flora & Fauna International.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Birds in "Big Trouble" Due to Drugs, Fishing, More
(October 13, 2008) Bird species are in "big trouble" worldwide, a sign that the planet's health is also faltering, according to a new report released today at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Not only are rare birds getting rarer, but migratory songbirds, seabirds, and even common backyard birds are also plummeting, according to the State of the World's Birds, a report by the U.K. nonprofit BirdLife International.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Beaver Dams Boost Songbird Populations (October 12, 2008)
The busy beaver's iconic dams do more than hold back streams; they also provide critical habitat to some migratory songbirds, a new study finds. The study, detailed in the October issue of the journal Western North American Naturalist, found that through dam building, beavers create ponds and stimulate growth of diverse streamside vegetation critical for birds, including many migratory songbirds that are currently in decline.
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Source: Live Science |
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Shark "Virgin Birth" Confirmed (October 11, 2008)
A female blacktip shark in Virginia fertilized her own egg without mating with a male shark, new DNA evidence shows. This is the second time scientists have used DNA testing to verify shark parthenogenesis—the process that allows females of some species to produce offspring without sperm.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Butts, Faces Help Chimps Identify Friends (October 01, 2008)
Chimpanzees may not forget a familiar face—or a behind, a new study says. In a recent experiment, captive primates were able to identify photos of their acquaintances' rears and match them with the right faces. The ability suggests that the animals possess mental "whole body" representations of other chimps they know.
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Source: National Geographic |
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