A census of annual pup production by Australian fur seal populations revealed the first reduction since species-wide protection was implemented in 1975, according to a study published September 5 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Rebecca McIntosh of the Phillip Island Nature Parks in Victoria, Australia, and colleagues. The study also shows that the...
Endocrine disruptors found in bottlenose dolphins
Bottlenose dolphins are being exposed to chemical compounds added to many common cleaning products, cosmetics, personal care products and plastics, according to a new study in GeoHealth, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.
The new research found evidence of exposure to these chemical compounds, called phthalates, in 71 percent of dolphins tested in Sarasota Bay,...
New research could reduce primate electrocutions and help conservation strategies
New research has mapped and analysed the incidence of primate electrocutions in Diani, Kenya to identify hotspot areas that should be prioritised to reduce the risk of electric shock. The study could also inform conservation strategies in other parts of the world where primate electrocutions are common. Electrocution threatens a wide range of primate species...
Bees coordinate strategy for defending colony
The Brazilian stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula (jataí in Portuguese) deploys a different strategy for defending its nests from other social insect species. In addition to posting sentinels at the nest entrance, as do most social insects, colonies of this species also have guards that hover near the entrance all the time.
A study by researchers in...
When it rains, snake bites soar
Hikers and trail runners be warned: Rattlesnakes and other venomous reptiles may bite more people during rainy years than in seasons wracked by drought, a new study shows.
The research, which was led by Caleb Phillips of the University of Colorado Boulder and Grant Lipman of the Stanford University School of Medicine, examined 20 years of...
How wolf predation shapes elk antler evolution
What happens when you mix a biologist who studies beetle horns with scientists who spend their time exploring predator-prey dynamics? You get a better understanding of why elk shed their antlers much later than males of any other North American species.
University of Montana researchers and their partners recently published a study in Nature Ecology and...