Artificial light at night also makes guppies more courageous during the day, according to a behavioural study led by researchers from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. Exposing fish to artificial light at night, not only made fish more active during the night, but...
What's eating these endangered orchids?
A species of seed-feeding fly is critically damaging the seed production of multiple orchid species, as revealed by a group of Japanese researchers. If the damage caused by this fly is occurring long-term and across Japan, these already-endangered orchid species could become unable to reproduce using seeds, and their dwindling numbers will take a large...
Fat from 558 million years ago reveals earliest known animal
Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and overseas have discovered molecules of fat in an ancient fossil to reveal the earliest confirmed animal in the geological record that lived on Earth 558 million years ago.
The strange creature called Dickinsonia, which grew up to 1.4 metres in length and was oval shaped with rib-like segments...
What makes a mammal a mammal? Our spine, say scientists
Mammals are unique in many ways. We're warm-blooded and agile in comparison with our reptilian relatives.
But a new study, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and led by Harvard University researchers Stephanie Pierce and Katrina Jones, suggests we're unique in one more way -- the makeup of our spines. The researchers describe their finding...
Two fishes a day keep the mantid coming back to prey: The first fishing praying mantis
Commonly known to predate on insects, praying mantises have occasionally been observed to feed on vertebrates, including small birds, lizards, frogs, newts, mice, snakes and turtles. Mostly, such records have either not been scientifically validated or have occurred under induced and human-manipulated circumstances.
Nevertheless, no scientific data of mantises preying on fish existed until the recent...
Pairing zebrafish by personality improves fitness of the species
Scientists have challenged the theory of "love at first sight" after discovering that they can boost the reproductive success of zebrafish by pairing them by personality, rather than appearance.
Experts at the University of Stirling, collaborating with the Autonomous University of Barcelona, conducted the first study into the impact of animal personality and external coloration patterns...