Understanding the factors that affect a bird species' nesting success can be crucial for planning effective conservation efforts. However, many studies of nesting birds last only a few years -- and that means they can miss the effects of long-term variation and rare events. A new study from The Auk: Ornithological Advances demonstrates this with...
Even flies like a familiar song
The ability to learn and speak language depends heavily on the sounds and language we experience during early infancy. While this may sound self-evident, we still do not understand exactly what happens neurologically as a developing infant learns how to speak. In a study published in eLife, researchers at Nagoya University devised a new neurological...
First evidence of live-traded dogs for Maya ceremonies
Police detectives analyze isotopes in human hair to find out where a murder victim was born and grew up. Ashley Sharpe, an archaeologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, and colleagues combined clues from carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and strontium isotope analysis discovering the earliest evidence that the Maya raised and traded dogs and...
Detection, deterrent system will help eagles, wind turbines coexist better
Researchers have taken a key step toward helping wildlife coexist more safely with wind power generation by demonstrating the success of an impact detection system that uses vibration sensors mounted to turbine blades.
The findings are important because while wind power is generally regarded as green energy, danger to birds -- particularly federally protected bald eagles...
Fish accounted for surprisingly large part of the Stone Age diet
New research at Lund University in Sweden can now show what Stone Age people actually ate in southern Scandinavia 10 000 years ago. The importance of fish in the diet has proven to be greater than expected. So, if you want to follow a Paleo diet -- you should quite simply eat a lot of...
New genetic test detects manatees' recent presence in fresh or saltwater
U.S. Geological Survey scientists have developed the first laboratory test that can pick up traces of manatees' genetic material in the waterways where they live. Using a water sample collected in the field, the innovative environmental DNA test can reveal whether one or more of the elusive marine mammals has been in the area within...