
Dolphin species that live together, do not necessarily compete for food
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A new molecular method reveals how different species of toothed whales compete for prey and which food they choose in each other's company. According to previous research, the rough-toothed dolphin Steno bredanensis was supposed to be the absolute top predator of a particular area. Amino acid isotope research shows its trophic level is indeed significantly lower than previously determined.
A vast seabird colony on Ascension Island creates a "halo" in which fewer fish live, new research shows.
Scientists recently made news by using fossil shark scales to reconstruct shark communities from millions of years ago. At the same time, an international team of researchers led by UC Santa Barbara ecologist Erin Dillon applied the technique to the more recent past.
A study in PNAS led by Washington University in St. Louis finds that dragonfly males have consistently evolved less breeding coloration in regions with hotter climates. The research reveals that mating-related traits can be just as important to how organisms adapt to their climates as survival-related traits.
About 100 additional wolves died over the winter in Wisconsin as a result of the delisting of grey wolves under the Endangered Species Act, alongside the 218 wolves killed by licensed hunters during Wisconsin's first public wolf hunt, according to new research. A majority of these additional, uncounted deaths are due to cryptic poaching, where poachers hide evidence of illegal killings.
Microscopic scales covering a shark's body--dermal denticles--from fossil and modern reefs show how shark communities have changed since humans arrived on the scene.
Flies have discriminating taste. Like a gourmet perusing a menu, they spend much of their time seeking sweet nutritious calories and avoiding bitter, potentially toxic food. But what happens in their brains when they make these food choices? Yale researchers discovered an interesting way to find out. They tricked them.
Like female voles, connections between oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamus and dopamine neurons in reward areas drive parental behaviors in male voles, according to new research published in JNeurosci.
Scientists have found an unexplained cache of fossilised shark teeth in an area where there should be none - in a 2900 year old site in the City of David in Jerusalem. This is at least 80 km from where these fossils would be expected to be found. There is no conclusive proof of why the cache was assembled, but it may be that the 80 million-year-old teeth were part of a collection, dating from just after the death of King Solomon*.
Bacteria found in cow stomachs can be used to digest polyesters used in textiles, packaging, and compostable bags, according to a new study by the open access publisher Frontiers. Plastic is notoriously hard to break down, but microbial communities living inside the digestive system of animals are a promising but understudied source of novel enzymes that could do the trick. The new findings present a sustainable option for reducing plastic waste and litter, co-opting the great metabolic diversity of microbes.