Human activity continues to shape environmental systems around the world creating novel ecosystems that are increasingly prevalent in what some scientists call the Anthropocene (the age of humans). The island of Guam is well known as a textbook case for the devastating effects of invasive species on island ecosystems with the extirpation of most of...
Capturing of the rare Yanbaru whiskered bat
The critically endangered Yanbaru whiskered bat, Myotis yanbarensis, has been caught for the first time on Okinawa Island since its discovery 22 years ago. Kyoto University doctoral student Jason Preble succeeded in the capture on the night of 20 February, during a survey in the Yanbaru Forest in the north of Okinawa's main island.
The rare...
Whale shark logs longest-recorded trans-Pacific migration
Little is known about the world's largest living fish, gentle giants reaching 12 meters (40 feet) in length. Researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and colleagues tracked a female whale shark from the eastern Pacific to the western Indo-Pacific for 20,142 kilometers (more than 12,000 miles), the longest whale shark migration route ever...
Novel ecosystems provide use for some native birds
Ecosystems that have been altered by human activities can provide suitable habitat for native birds, according to scientists in the United States and Australia.
In a study published in the journal Ecosphere, the researchers concluded that while some native birds are sensitive to novel ecosystems, others don't seem to mind.
The study results shouldn't be interpreted that...
Dinosaurs' tooth wear sheds light on their predatory lives
Predatory, bird-like theropod dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous (100.5-66 million years ago) of Spain and Canada all relied on a puncture-and-pull bite strategy to kill and consume their prey. But close examination of patterns of wear and modeling of their serrated, blade-like teeth reported in Current Biology on April 26 also suggest that these dinosaurs...
Horses remember facial expressions of people they've seen before
A study by the Universities of Sussex and Portsmouth reveals that horses can read and then remember people's emotional expressions, enabling them to use this information to identify people who could pose a potential threat.
Published today, Thursday 26 April 2018, in the journal, Current Biology, the paper 'Animals remember previous facial expressions that specific humans...