From their native home on the banks of South America's Paraná River, Argentine ants have conquered six continents and many oceanic islands. Their success is explained by several factors: they have more than one queen per colony, making them difficult to eradicate, and they adapt to changes in their environments by living transiently rather than...
Mitigation techniques fall short of preventing electrocution of golden eagles on power poles
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Despite efforts to retrofit power poles and to build new poles to avian-friendly standards, electrocution remains a substantial cause of death for the golden eagle. The global conservation problem results in an estimated 504 eagles electrocuted annually in North America alone. A new article examines the risk factors and mitigation techniques...
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Warming temperatures may cause birds to shrink
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Biologists have known for a long time that animals living in colder climates tend to have larger bodies, supposedly as an adaptation to reduce heat loss. However, a new study shows that this trend in birds might actually be due to the effects of high temperatures during development -- raising new...
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Insects took off when they evolved wings
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Now buzzing and whizzing around every continent, insects were mysteriously scarce in the fossil record until 325 million years ago -- when they first took flight and, according to a new study, evolutionarily took off....
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Gut instinct makes animals appear clever
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Animals, including humans, can make surprisingly good decisions just based on the food in their stomach, new research suggests....
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Industry conservation ethic proves critical to Gulf of Maine lobster fishery
[unable to retrieve full-text content]A new study demonstrates how conservation practices championed by Maine lobstermen help make the lobster fishery resilient to climate change....
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