Rebound for bird on brink of extinction
A recent survey in northern Victoria uncovered a record number of plains wanderers—small, quail-like birds that live only in eastern Australia grasslands, and represent an ancient lineage of birds that evolved in Gondwana more than 100 million year.....»»
More cows are being tested and tracked for bird flu. Here"s what that means
U.S. health and agriculture officials are ramping up testing and tracking of bird flu in dairy cows in an urgent effort to understand—and stop—the growing outbreak......»»
Evolutionary biologists show that the color variants of female cuckoos are based on ancient mutations
Every cuckoo is an adopted child—raised by foster parents, into whose nest the cuckoo mother smuggled her egg. The cuckoo mother is aided in this subterfuge by her resemblance to a bird of prey. There are two variants of female cuckoos: a gray morp.....»»
Fragments of bird flu virus genome found in pasteurized milk, FDA says
The test cannot tell if the virus is live. The FDA still assess milk supply as safe. Enlarge / Cows being milked (credit: Getty | Edwin Remsberg) The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced that genetic fragmen.....»»
Concern grows as bird flu spreads further in US cows: 32 herds in 8 states
Experts say the US is not sharing as much data on the outbreak as it should. Enlarge / Greylag geese sit on a field and rest while a cow passes by in the background. (credit: Getty | Daniel Bockwoldt) Researchers aroun.....»»
H5N1 strain of bird flu found in milk: WHO
The H5N1 bird flu virus strain has been detected in very high concentrations in raw milk from infected animals, the WHO said Friday, though how long the virus can survive in milk is unknown......»»
Bird flu in cattle: What are the concerns surrounding the newly emerging bovine H5N1 influenza virus?
The confirmed presence of bird flu in American dairy cattle in a March 25 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—and a case in Texas where a human working with cattle was infected—has put Canadian public health experts on high aler.....»»
Team finds direct evidence of "itinerant breeding" in East Coast shorebird species
Migration and reproduction are two of the most demanding events in a bird's annual cycle, so much so that the vast majority of migratory birds separate the two tasks into different times of the year......»»
Computer model suggests frozen cells could be used to save northern white rhino from extinction
A team of geneticists and computer scientists from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Cornell University and the University of California, Santa Cruz, has created a computer model that shows it should be possible to save the northern white rhino fr.....»»
Marine plankton behavior could predict future marine extinctions, study finds
Marine communities migrated to Antarctica during the Earth's warmest period in 66 million years long before a mass-extinction event......»»
Researchers find babbling by zebra finch chicks is important step to memorizing songs
When babies learn to talk or birds learn to sing, the same principle applies: listen and then imitate. This is how the first babble becomes the first word or vocalization. Male zebra finch chicks initially memorize the song of an adult bird. Later, t.....»»
Surf clams off the coast of Virginia reappear and rebound
The Atlantic surf clam, an economically valuable species that is the main ingredient in clam chowder and fried clam strips, has returned to Virginia waters in a big way, reversing a die-off that started more than two decades ago......»»
Cut light pollution and treat glass to help migrating birds, say researchers
Spring bird migration has begun. Under cover of darkness, 2.5–3.5 billion birds will fly northward to their breeding grounds in the United States and Canada. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, now is one of the most important times of yea.....»»
Reptiles in South Africa are under threat, but there"s good news too
Media reports about the biodiversity crisis and what researchers have argued qualifies as a mass extinction event tend to focus on the big ecological effects. Melting ice sheets, severe weather events, droughts, habitat loss and wildfires dominate he.....»»
Saturday Citations: Listening to bird dreams, securing qubits, imagining impossible billiards
It's Saturday, which means that in a universe where the arrow of time moves backward, people have to go to work tomorrow. In such a hypothetical universe, Garfield hates Fridays—tough to imagine. This week, we looked at several hundred breaking sci.....»»
Bird Flu Is Spreading in Alarming New Ways
H5N1 has infected cattle across the US and jumped from a mammal to a human for the first time. Experts fear it may someday evolve to spread among humans......»»
What do bird dreams sound like?
For more than 20 years, researchers have known that areas of birds' brains dedicated to singing show neural patterns during sleep akin to the ones they use while awake and singing......»»
Scientists find blue light makes buildings more deadly to migrating birds
Bird collisions with buildings are nothing new, but a new study by scientists at The University of New Mexico sheds light on a potential cause......»»
Experts determine best way to breed frogs in captivity
Frogs belong to a group of animals called amphibians—the most endangered group of species on the planet. Two out of every five amphibian species are currently threatened with extinction, and this figure is rising......»»
Archaeological study suggests cultural diversity increases biodiversity of ecosystems
Cultural diversity is likely to have an overall positive effect on the biodiversity of ecosystems. The homogenization of human life forms may therefore be regarded as an important motor of the ongoing major extinction events in the "Age of Humans" (A.....»»
Study finds 17 mountains at high risk of losing biodiversity under climate change
Species living in 17 mountains around the world are facing the risk of extinction due to the rapid rate of warming attributed to climate change. However, the establishment of additional meteorological monitoring stations in mountainous areas globally.....»»