Ever since "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss (the pen name for Theodor Geisel), was first published in August of 1971, it has captured the minds of young readers. It's been translated into 15 languages and more than 1.6 million copies were sold by 2010. The short and spunky, furry orange creature called the Lorax, who...
Microclimates may provide wildlife with respite from warming temperatures
Sheltered pockets of cooler and more variable conditions in the British countryside may help native species of flora and fauna survive warming temperatures caused by climate change, researchers have found.
As global temperatures rise, some species of butterfly, beetle and plant are already beginning to disappear from the warmer parts of their geographical range.
By the end...
Fruit fly species can learn each other's dialects
Fruit flies from different species can warn each other when parasitic wasps are near. But according to a new study led by Balint Z. Kacsoh of Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, published July 19th in PLOS Genetics, they are more likely to get the message across if the fly species have previously cohabited and...
Monkeys benefit from the nut-cracking abilities of chimpanzees and hogs
To investigate the scavenging behaviour first author Bryndan van Pinxteren of the University of Amsterdam analysed all video material from the camera traps by scoring the visiting behaviour of mangabey monkeys, fowl species and squirrels to chimpanzee nut-cracking sites in relation to known nut-cracking events. Furthermore, since mangabeys are infrequently preyed upon by chimpanzees, he...
Does biodiversity loss leads to an increased disease risk?
Biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming rate as infectious diseases increasingly spill over from wildlife to humans. Disease ecologists fervently debate whether biodiversity loss leads to an increased disease risk. Now, a University of Montana researcher has published a new study with some answers.
UM Assistant Professor Angela Luis shows for the first time that species...
For one tropical tree, effective seed dispersal relies especially on elephants
Deer, bears, gibbons, but especially elephants, play an important role in seed dispersal for a large-fruited tree in the forests of Thailand, according to a new study publishing July 18 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Kim McConkey of the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore and colleagues from BIOTEC, Thailand. The data...