Noise levels in the world's oceans are on the rise, but little is known about its impact on marine mammals like dolphins that rely on sound for communication. Researchers from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science laid underwater microphones on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to find out more about the ambient...
Mathematicians propose new hunting model to save rhinos and whales from extinction
Mathematicians have created a new model -- of a variety commonly found in the world of finance -- to show how to harvest a species at an optimal rate, while making sure that the animals do not get wiped out by chance.
According to the theoretical study, hunting thresholds can be calculated for individual populations and...
Birds startled by moving sticks
Do animals -- like humans -- divide the world into things that move and things that don't? Are they surprised if an apparently inanimate object jumps to life?
Yes -- according to scientists at the universities of Exeter and Cambridge.
The researchers tested how jackdaws responded to moving birds, moving snakes and moving sticks -- and found...
Chimpanzees sniff out strangers and family members
Chemical communication is widely used in the animal kingdom to convey social information. For example, animals use olfactory cues to recognize group or family members, or to choose genetically suitable mates. In contrast to most other mammals, however, primates have traditionally been regarded as "microsmatic" -- having a poor sense of smell. Although research on...
Rewilding landscapes can help to solve more than one problem
Urbanisation, biodiversity loss, climate change: just some of the worldwide problems 'rewilding' -- i.e. restoring food chains by returning 'missing' species to the landscape -- can help tackle. Researcher Liesbeth Bakker (NIOO-KNAW) has edited a theme issue of the world's oldest life sciences journal, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, on rewilding, together with...
Yes, your pet can tell time
Are you taking your time when feeding your pet? Fluffy and Fido are on to you -- and they can tell when you are dawdling.
A new study from Northwestern University has found some of the clearest evidence yet that animals can judge time. By examining the brain's medial entorhinal cortex, the researchers discovered a previously...