Bird Populations Are in Meltdown
Humans rely on birds to eat insects, spread seeds, and pollinate plants—but these feathered friends can’t survive without their habitats......»»
Salmon deplete fat stores while stopped at dams, study shows
Restoration of the critically endangered Atlantic salmon is an important issue in the rivers of Maine. Dams on Maine rivers have long been known to impact fish populations, but a new study led by the University of Maine quantifying the time and energ.....»»
Decades-old crustaceans coaxed from lake mud give up genetic secrets revealing evolution in action
Human actions are changing the environment at an unprecedented rate. Plant and animal populations must try to keep up with these human-accelerated changes, often by trying to rapidly evolve tolerance to changing conditions......»»
New research turns what we know about bird window strikes inside-out
New research from William & Mary published in PeerJ reveals that decals intended to reduce incidents of bird window strikes—one of the largest human-made causes of bird mortality—are only effective if decals are placed on the outside of the windo.....»»
The next de-extinction target: The dodo
Bird reproduction will make bringing the dodo back a big challenge. Enlarge / The Nicobar pigeon, the dodo's closest living relative, is quite a bit smaller and capable of flight. (credit: Samuel Hambly / EyeEm) Colossal.....»»
Mini creatures with mighty voices know their audience and focus on a single frequency
In the cloud forests of South America, amid the constant cacophony of bird and insect noise, a deafening blare pierces through the background from time to time. Belonging to the loudest known bird, the white bellbird, Procnias albus, this sound would.....»»
Scientists are trying to resurrect the dodo centuries after the bird famously went extinct
The list of extinct species that genetic engineering company Colossal wants to bring back to life is growing. The latest addition: the dodo......»»
Why Bother Bringing Back the Dodo?
Audacious plans to resurrect the long-extinct bird could be lucrative. But the moonshot raises thorny philosophical questions......»»
Study finds timing of drought is more damaging to invertebrates than severity
Populations of various species of aquatic insects and other invertebrates respond to flooding and waterway drying due to drought in different ways that can be anticipated, according to a new Penn State-led study that employed a novel method to assess.....»»
Songbird species work together to mob predator owls, but only strike when the time is right
Fleeing isn't the only way by which songbirds can protect themselves against predators. Many songbird species are known to engage in mobbing, where they gather aggressively around a bird of prey, flying rapidly while making stereotypic movements and.....»»
Rapid development is main threat to big carnivores: Study
Declines in populations of big carnivores like lions, tigers and wolves may be driven more by rapid human economic development than habitat loss or climate change, according to a new study Tuesday......»»
Bird study links spatial thinking with not getting eaten
Shows that birds tend to get killed at the edge of territory they know well. Enlarge (credit: Robert Trevis-Smith) It's pretty easy to link humans' intelligence to our success as a species. Things like agriculture, build.....»»
Rosy finches are Colorado"s high-alpine specialists, and researchers want to know why
Mountaineers who venture high into the Colorado Rockies have likely spotted medium-sized, brown-and-pink birds rummaging around on snow patches for insects and seeds. These high-elevation specialists are rosy finches, a type of bird that's evolved to.....»»
Weather radar, machine learning used to study how bird roosting habits are changing with climate
Birds including swallows and martins—known as aerial insectivores—control insect populations and insect-borne disease and provide hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of pest control for agriculture. But these feathered friends to humanity are.....»»
Urban elites seize most of the benefits of big cities, finds study
Urban inequality in Europe and the United States is so severe that urban elites claim most of the benefits from the agglomeration effects that big cities provide, while large parts of urban populations get little to nothing. In a study published in N.....»»
A new AI tool can predict mosquitoes" ages with 98% accuracy to speed malaria research
Using machine learning techniques to predict the age of mosquitoes from different populations could reduce turnaround time for malaria research and improve surveillance programs, says a new study published in BMC Bioinformatics......»»
No spread of H5N1 bird flu between mammals found
Mammals can become infected with the highly pathogenic (HPAI) avian influenza H5N1 virus when they feed on infected sick or dead wild birds. Studies by Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR) show that there is no spread of the virus between the mam.....»»
As egg prices soar, the deadliest bird flu outbreak in US history drags on
Risk to humans is low, but epidemiologists fear a future pandemic by such a flu. Enlarge / Chicken eggs are disposed of at a quarantined farm in Israel's northern Moshav (village) of Margaliot on January 3, 2022. (credit: Getty.....»»
Polygamous birds shown to have fewer harmful mutations
Bird species that breed with several sexual partners have fewer harmful mutations, according to a study led by the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath. The study, published in Evolution, shows for the first time how polygamy increas.....»»
EU eyes more help for shrinking bee populations
The EU on Tuesday announced proposals to try to reverse an "alarming decline" in the number of bees—and other insects that pollinate the bloc's crops—including by rewarding organic farming......»»
Sharks, spatial data, and a conservation success story
It's hard out there for a shark. A critical barometer to the health of ocean ecosystems, shark and ray populations have faced significant global declines from overfishing, habitat loss, and environment degradation. Add to the mix a slow reproductive.....»»