Ecology & Zoology

Better Than Lava Lamps- Fish That Glow Red

Scientists have discovered that certain fish are capable of glowing red. Research published today in BMC Ecology includes striking images of fish fluorescing vivid red light. Due to absorption of ‘red’ wavelengths of sunlight by sea-water, objects which lo ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 15 2008 - 11:31pm

Ancient Whales... With Back Legs

The crashing of the enormous fluked tail on the surface of the ocean is a “calling card” of modern whales. Living whales have no back legs and use their front legs as 'flippers' that allow them to steer. Their tails provide the powerful thrust ne ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 14 2008 - 5:33pm

Far Out Phylogenetics- The Base Of The Ant Evolutionary Tree Found

AUSTIN, Texas—A new species of blind, subterranean, predatory ant discovered in the Amazon rainforest by University of Texas at Austin evolutionary biologist Christian Rabeling is likely a descendant of the very first ants to evolve. The new ant is named ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 15 2008 - 9:08pm

Food Shortages Lead To Rampant Infanticide In Guillemots

One of Britain's best-known species of seabird is increasingly attacking and killing unattended chicks from neighboring nests due to food shortages. Researchers at the University of Leeds and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology observed a dramatic ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 16 2008 - 9:13pm

Plants Have Their Own Form Of Aspirin And It Helps With Their Kind Of Stress Headache

Plants in a forest respond to stress by producing significant amounts of a chemical form of aspirin, scientists have discovered. The finding, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), opens up new avenues of research into the b ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 18 2008 - 11:08am

Fish Food- Calanus Finmarchicus (Zooplankton) Survived Global Warming In The Past

The effect of global climate change on the planet's ecosystems is one of the key issues scientists are currently focusing on and, while there isn't a lot of good news, there is some; the main source of food for many fish, including cod, in the No ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 23 2008 - 6:12pm

Jelly in the Grass

Gulf Coast residents were alerted today-- jelly in the grass. Not only in the grass but also in the swimming pools! A man's net scooping out quarter-size buttons left an indelible impression in my brain. The news was meager in details. But "Jelly ...

Blog Post - Hatice Cullingford - Oct 19 2008 - 1:58pm

Fire More Important Than Rain For Savannah Ecosystem

Natural grass fires are evidently more important for the ecology of savannahs than has previously been assumed, according to the findings of a study carried out in Etosha National Park in the north of Namibia. Writing in the Journal of Ecology, researchers ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 28 2008 - 10:04am

Froghopper Pleural Arch Allows It To Leap 100X Its Body Length

Froghoppers, also known as spittlebugs, are the champion insect jumpers, capable of reaching heights of 700 mm- more than 100 times their own body length. Research published today in BMC Biology reveals that they achieve their prowess by flexing bow-like s ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 29 2008 - 8:38pm

Pseudoliparis Amblystomopsis- Deepest Ocean Camera Views Surprisingly Cute Snailfish

Scientists filming in one of the world’s deepest ocean trenches have found groups of highly sociable snailfish swarming over their bait, nearly five miles (7700 metres) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean. This is the first time cameras have been sent ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 8 2008 - 1:45pm