In November 2017 -- under a biodiversity monitoring and assessment activity supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) -- scientists and conservationists of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) and WWF-Vietnam captured photographs of one of the rarest and most threatened mammal species of Southeast Asia, the large-antlered muntjac (Muntiacus...
The prevalence of twin births in pure Spanish horses
It is known that chromosomal anomalies are one of the principle genetic causes of infertility in horses. However, a great proportion of these cases still go undiagnosed, probably due to the fact that their symptomatology is non-specific and diagnosis is complex. This is the case with chimerism, which is greatly associated with twin births in...
Could we predict the next Ebola outbreak by tracking the migratory patterns of bats?
Javier Buceta, associate professor of bioengineering, Paolo Bocchini, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and postdoctoral student Graziano Fiorillo of Lehigh University have created a modeling framework that takes a zoonotic perspective on Ebola.
The team's approach works by tracking the migratory patterns of bats, which are believed to be a main carrier of the...
How coyotes conquered the continent
Coyotes now live across North America, from Alaska to Panama, California to Maine. But where they came from, and when, has been debated for decades. Using museum specimens and fossil records, researchers from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University have produced a comprehensive (and unprecedented) range history of the...
Missing link between blow flies and possible pathogen transmission
Determining whether blow flies have consumed animal fecal material versus animal tissue has important implications for both human public health and animal conservation. A recent study by researchers in biology and chemistry at the School of Science at IUPUI shows how that determination can be made.
"Imagine looking at farming operations that produce a lot of...
Giant invasive flatworms found in France and overseas French territories
One of the consequences of globalization is the introduction of invasive species. Giant hammerhead flatworms, or land planarians, up to 40 cm (over 1 foot) in length, are reported from France and overseas French territories by an international team led by Jean-Lou Justine of ISYEB (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France). This is the first...