http://phys.org/biology-news/plants-animals/ en-us Phys.Org provides the latest news on plants and animals Genomic analyses suggest that patterns of genetic diversity which indicate population movement may not be as ancient as previously believed, but may be attributable to recent events. This study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Investigative Genetics, based in the Netherlands, is able to genetically characterize geographically separated subpopulations within the country and map them to population movement within the last 2000 years. http://phys.org/news288236170.html Biology - Plants & Animals Mon, 20 May 2013 02:36:25 EST news288236170 What lures a lady frog to her lover? Good looks, the sound of his voice, the size of his pad or none of the above? After weighing up their options, female strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) bag the closest crooner they can, finds research in BioMed Central's open access journal Frontiers in Zoology. This seemingly short-sighted strategy turns out to be the optimal mate choice strategy for these colourful frogs. http://phys.org/news288236085.html Biology - Plants & Animals Mon, 20 May 2013 02:35:30 EST news288236085 (AP)—Mirjana Filipovic is still haunted by the land mine blast that killed her boyfriend and blew off her left leg while on a fishing trip nearly a decade ago. It happened in a field that was supposedly de-mined. http://phys.org/news288172971.html Biology - Plants & Animals Sun, 19 May 2013 09:03:04 EST news288172971 By day, insects provide the white noise of the South, but the night belongs to the amphibians. In a typical year, the Southern air hangs heavy from the humidity and the sounds of wildlife. http://phys.org/news288029316.html Biology - Plants & Animals Fri, 17 May 2013 17:09:04 EST news288029316 (Phys.org) —Two British research teams have begun using micro-CT scanners to watch butterfly pupae develop into butterflies while still alive inside their chrysalis shells. The first team did so as a means of studying the initial stages of insect metamorphosis, focusing specifically on trachea development. Their work, done as part of a BBC documentary has not yet been published. The second team has taken things much further. In their paper published in Journal of the Royal Society Interface, they describe how they created several time-lapse videos of pupae as they changed into painted lady butterflies. http://phys.org/news287930188.html Biology - Plants & Animals Thu, 16 May 2013 13:38:54 EST news287930188 (Phys.org) —A team of researchers in the United States has found that dogs appear to gain a "high" from running, similar to the well known "runner's high" experienced by people who run or jog frequently. In their paper published in The Journal of Experimental Biology, the group describes how they measured neurotransmitter levels in humans, dogs and ferrets as they moved on a treadmill to determine neurobiological reward levels. http://phys.org/news287922684.html Biology - Plants & Animals Thu, 16 May 2013 11:50:03 EST news287922684 (Phys.org) —The behavior of social spiders may settle debates over the benefits of older siblings. Cornell researchers studying Australian social huntsman spiders have discovered that younger siblings thrive when raised in nests with older siblings. Bigger brothers and sisters capture bigger, juicier prey, which they – at least occasionally – share with their younger siblings. http://phys.org/news287909831.html Biology - Plants & Animals Thu, 16 May 2013 07:57:32 EST news287909831 (Phys.org) —Research has detailed how acoustic communication has evolved within a unique species of cricket which exploits extremely high frequency harmonics to interact. http://phys.org/news287903831.html Biology - Plants & Animals Thu, 16 May 2013 06:17:20 EST news287903831 (Phys.org) —An international team of researchers has found genetic evidence that suggests dogs may have been domesticated as far back as 32,000 years ago. In their paper published in Nature Communications outlining their study and results, the team theorizes that dogs indigenous to China might represent the missing link in the domestication of dogs. http://phys.org/news287828196.html Biology - Plants & Animals Wed, 15 May 2013 10:00:01 EST news287828196 (Phys.org) —A trio of researchers working for the National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center has found that Weddell seal pups have proportionally, the largest brains at birth of any known mammal. They have published the results of their study in the journal Marine Mammal Science. http://phys.org/news287655729.html Biology - Plants & Animals Mon, 13 May 2013 10:00:01 EST news287655729 (Phys.org) —Caffeine is the naturally occurring drug most widely used by humans. In nature, though, it is reported to act as a bitter and toxic deterrent to herbivores, preventing leaves and seeds from being eaten. http://phys.org/news287643238.html Biology - Plants & Animals Mon, 13 May 2013 07:00:01 EST news287643238 (Phys.org) —Sonar used by the navy may cause porpoises to get trapped in fishing nets and killed, according to a recent study. http://phys.org/news287643132.html Biology - Plants & Animals Mon, 13 May 2013 06:20:02 EST news287643132 (Phys.org) —A George Washington University biologist and a team of researchers have created the first large-scale evolutionary family tree for every snake and lizard around the globe. http://phys.org/news287255197.html Biology - Plants & Animals Wed, 08 May 2013 18:07:19 EST news287255197 (Phys.org) —A team of researchers from Indiana State University has found that elephants can overheat when exercised in hot weather. In their paper published in The Journal of Experimental Biology, the group describes how they measured the internal temperature of a pair of zoo elephants as they were exercised in various heat related weather conditions. They found that when walking in hot weather, Asian elephants can overheat to the point of dying within just four hours. http://phys.org/news287222466.html Biology - Plants & Animals Wed, 08 May 2013 09:50:01 EST news287222466 (Phys.org) —Researchers at the University of Strathclyde have discovered that the greater wax moth is capable of sensing sound frequencies of up to 300kHz – the highest recorded frequency sensitivity of any animal in the natural world. http://phys.org/news287219459.html Biology - Plants & Animals Wed, 08 May 2013 08:11:21 EST news287219459 Is it possible that mammals have the ability to recognize individuals of the same species, whom they know well, by their voice? A new study has found that even in nocturnal, fast-moving animals such as bats, there is an ability to recognize certain vocal aspects of other bats from their social groups. The study by Hanna Kastein from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany, and her colleagues is published in the Springer journal Animal Cognition. http://phys.org/news287147412.html Biology - Plants & Animals Tue, 07 May 2013 12:10:23 EST news287147412 Most species of gigantic animals that once roamed Australia had disappeared by the time people arrived, a major review of the available evidence has concluded. http://phys.org/news287059220.html Biology - Plants & Animals Mon, 06 May 2013 15:00:25 EST news287059220 Nectar-feeding bats and busy janitors have at least two things in common: They want to wipe up as much liquid as they can as fast as they can, and they have specific equipment for the job. A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes the previously undiscovered technology employed by the bat Glossophaga soricina: a tongue tip that uses blood flow to erect scores of little hair-like structures exactly at the right time to slurp up extra nectar from within a flower. http://phys.org/news287057767.html Biology - Plants & Animals Mon, 06 May 2013 15:00:18 EST news287057767 Opposing thumbs, expressive faces, complex social systems: it's hard to miss the similarities between apes and humans. Now a new study with a troop of zoo baboons and lots of peanuts shows that a less obvious trait—the ability to understand numbers—also is shared by man and his primate cousins. http://phys.org/news286804024.html Biology - Plants & Animals Fri, 03 May 2013 12:47:25 EST news286804024 (Phys.org) —Until recently, the only primate known to hibernate as a survival strategy was a creature called the western fat-tailed dwarf lemur, a tropical tree-dweller from the African island of Madagascar. http://phys.org/news286706505.html Biology - Plants & Animals Thu, 02 May 2013 09:41:56 EST news286706505 Only within the past 12 years have marine biologists come to learn about the eye-opening characteristics of mystifying sea worms that live and thrive on the bones of whale carcasses. http://phys.org/news286563736.html Biology - Plants & Animals Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:10:01 EST news286563736 The behaviour of seabirds during migration – including patterns of foraging, rest and flight – has been revealed in new detail using novel computational analyses and tracking technologies. http://phys.org/news286563317.html Biology - Plants & Animals Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:00:01 EST news286563317 (Phys.org) —Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is a disease that is almost always fatal in cattle. Cows contract MCF after coming into contact with wildebeest carrying a form of herpes virus known as alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1). In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Benjamin Dewals of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Liège in Belgium and his team report that they have discovered the gene that enables AlHV-1 infection to progress to MCF, and they have developed a vaccine against the disease. http://phys.org/news286543832.html Biology - Plants & Animals Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:20:01 EST news286543832 When predicting the outcome of a fight, the big guy doesn't always win suggests new research on fish. Scientists at the University of Exeter and Texas A&M University found that when fish fight over food, it is personality, rather than size, that determines whether they will be victorious. The findings suggest that when resources are in short supply personality traits such as aggression could be more important than strength when it comes to survival. http://phys.org/news286195812.html Biology - Plants & Animals Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:00:01 EST news286195812 (Phys.org) —Every year millions of birds make heroic migratory journeys across oceans and continents guided by the Earth's magnetic field. How they detect those magnetic fields has puzzled scientists for decades. http://phys.org/news286179802.html Biology - Plants & Animals Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:24:10 EST news286179802 (Phys.org) —A new study by scientists in the U.S. and Taiwan has shown that birds have colorful and patterned feathers because of specific cellular interactions involving stem cells rather than through the direct involvement of encoding in DNA. http://phys.org/news286174523.html Biology - Plants & Animals Fri, 26 Apr 2013 05:55:35 EST news286174523 Most of us are familiar with the "winter blues," the depression-like symptoms known as "seasonal affective disorder," or SAD, that occurs when the shorter days of winter limit our exposure to natural light and make us more lethargic, irritable and anxious. But for rats it's just the opposite. http://phys.org/news286116456.html Biology - Plants & Animals Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:00:22 EST news286116456 Humpback whales are able to pass on hunting techniques to each other, just as humans do, new research has found. A team of researchers, led by the University of St Andrews, has discovered that a new feeding technique has spread to 40 per cent of a humpback whale population. The findings are published today by the journal Science. http://phys.org/news286115621.html Biology - Plants & Animals Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:00:15 EST news286115621 Human tendency to adopt the behaviour of others when on their home territory has been found in non-human primates. Researchers at the University of St Andrews observed 'striking' fickleness in male monkeys, when it comes to copying the behaviour of others in new groups. http://phys.org/news286117028.html Biology - Plants & Animals Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:00:11 EST news286117028 (Phys.org) —If you've owned a pet guppy, you know they often jump out of their tanks. Many a child has asked why the guppy jumped; many a parent has been stumped for an answer. Now a study by University of Maryland biologist Daphne Soares reveals how guppies are able to jump so far, and suggests why they do it. http://phys.org/news286107047.html Biology - Plants & Animals Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:11:07 EST news286107047