Madariaga virus (MADV), or South American eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), has -- until now -- been found primarily in animals of South and Central America, with the first human outbreak occurring in Panama in 2010. Now, scientists writing in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases report the identification of MADV in eight children in Haiti in...
Elephants take to the road for reliable resources
An elephant never forgets. This seems to be the case, at least, for elephants roaming about Namibia, looking for food, fresh water, and other resources.
The relationship between resource availability and wildlife movement patterns is essential to understanding species behavior and ecology. Landscapes can change from day-to-day and year-to-year, and many animals will move about according...
15-meter-long ancient whale Basilosaurus isis was top marine predator
The stomach contents of ancient whale Basilosaurus isis suggest it was an apex predator, according to a study published January 9, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Manja Voss from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Germany, and colleagues.
The authors uncovered an adult B. isis specimen in 2010 in the Wadi Al Hitan ("Valley...
Change of teeth causes yo-yo effect in elephants' weight
The teeth of most mammals, including humans, are only replaced once in a lifetime, when the milk teeth give way to the permanent teeth. This one change is enough to adapt to the increasing size of the jaw. But elephants increase greatly in size and weight over the course of their lives -- from a...
Beech trees are dying, and nobody's sure why
A confounding new disease is killing beech trees in Ohio and elsewhere, and plant scientists are sounding an alarm while looking for an explanation.
In a study published in the journal Forest Pathology, researchers and naturalists from The Ohio State University and metroparks in northeastern Ohio report on the emerging "beech leaf disease" epidemic, calling for...
Leafcutter ants emit as much N2O as wastewater treatment tanks
Tropical forests are one of the largest natural sources of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O), and a tiny insect may play a big role in how those emissions are spread out across the landscape.
In a new study published this month in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, University of Montana researchers...