Ecology & Zoology

Cebrennus Rechenbergi- New Spider Species Rolls Like A Tumbleweed And Flips Like An Acrobat

A spider in the Moroccan Sahara rolls like a tumbleweed and can do powerful, acrobatic flips through the air. Cebrennus rechenbergi runs for a short time, then stretches out its front legs, spinning into the air and returning to touch the ground with its h ...

Article - News Staff - May 9 2014 - 8:56am

Environmental Catastrophe Looming: Invasive Coyotes Wiping Out Eastern Deer Populations

If you ask rural people in the American east which is more damaging to the ecology, coyotes or deer, it may be a toss-up. But that doesn't mean it is a good idea for one to just take the other out. In most states, deer population management also brin ...

Article - News Staff - May 10 2014 - 2:00pm

EU Ban On Throwing Back Unwanted Fish Is Not Based On Evidence- And Doesn't Help

Seabirds, marine mammals, seabed animals and other fish actually love human fishermen- because they throw back unwanted fish and that means free food with less work. New rules have been put in place by the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy (CF ...

Article - News Staff - May 13 2014 - 9:30am

Carbon Monoxide: Elephant Seals Have An Equivalent Of 40 Cigarettes A Day

Carbon monoxide is known as the "silent killer" because it is imperceptible and lethal. Most homes carry detectors. We think of it as artificial, due to car exhaust and such, but it is produced naturally in humans and animals, and some medical r ...

Article - News Staff - May 15 2014 - 1:00am

Understanding The Eagle Genome May Help Protect Them From Wind Turbines

When most people think of modern birds they don't often picture dinosaurs- but that is the case. Dinosaurs rule the sky as they once ruled land and there are even modern raptors- eagles. ...

Article - News Staff - May 18 2014 - 8:32am

Fairy Circles Apparently Not Created By Termites

For several decades, there has been speculation about the formation of the enigmatic, vegetation-free circles frequently found in certain African grassland regions. Now researchers have tested different prevailing hypotheses as to their respective plausib ...

Article - News Staff - May 20 2014 - 10:47am

Plant Diversity Implicated In Cankerworm Damage

Research from North Carolina State University finds that a lack of plant diversity is a key contributor to the widespread defoliation caused by cankerworms in cities, and highlights the role that increasing diversity can play in limiting future damage. Fa ...

Article - News Staff - May 23 2014 - 10:53am

Global Waming In Europe: Dark-Colored Insects Affected Most

Lighter-colored butterflies and dragonflies do better in warmer areas of Europe, a finding that could have implicated for global warming; darker insects could face a competitive disadvantage, finds a study recently published in Nature Communications. Ligh ...

Article - News Staff - May 27 2014 - 2:02pm

Global Warming Causes More Interbreeding Between Natives And Invaders

A new paper  in Nature Climate Change asserts that global warming is causing the hybridization of trout – interbreeding between native and non-native species – to increase in the interior western United States. ...

Article - News Staff - May 28 2014 - 1:01am

Erythritol: Truvia Sweetener Component May Also Be A Good Insecticide

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, it is said, but most people want to avoid catching flies at all. A study has found that a popular non-nutritive sweetener, erythritol,  the main component of the sweetener Truvia®, is toxic to Drosophila melan ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 4 2014 - 6:31pm