News tagged with small mammals

Some mammals used highly complex teeth to compete with dinosaurs: study

Conventional wisdom holds that during the Mesozoic Era, mammals were small creatures that held on at life's edges. But at least one mammal group, rodent-like creatures called multituberculates, actually flourished ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Mar 14, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Mini Dinosaurs Prowled North America (w/Video)

Massive predators like Albertosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex may have been at the top of the food chain, but they were not the only meat-eating dinosaurs to roam North America, according to Canadian researchers w ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Mar 16, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (15) | comments 0

Yosemite's alpine chipmunks take genetic hit from climate change

Global warming has forced alpine chipmunks in Yosemite to higher ground, prompting a startling decline in the species' genetic diversity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, ...

Biology / Ecology

created Feb 19, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 13 | with audio podcast

Researchers find critical speed above which birds- and drones- are sure to crash

The northern goshawk is one of nature's diehard thrill-seekers. The formidable raptor preys on birds and small mammals, speeding through tree canopies and underbrush to catch its quarry. With reflexes that rival a fighter ...

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

SANS tracks cell death protein invading biomimetic mitochondrial membrane

(PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of biochemists, biophysicists, and neutron scientists are using a combination of fluorescence and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) techniques to assist biochemists ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A pitcher perfect relationship

(PhysOrg.com) -- It seems counterintuitive, but in rare cases carnivorous plants and herbivorous animals nourish each other in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jul 05, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Gentle bilby had 'killer' ancestor

(PhysOrg.com) -- The gentle rabbit-like bilby - Australia's stand-in for the Easter bunny - had an ancient relative that was a far more fearsome little beast, a new study has found.

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Sep 01, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Small mammals -- and rest of food chain -- at greater risk from global warming than thought

The balance of biodiversity within North American small-mammal communities is so out of whack from the last episode of global warming about 12,000 years ago that the current climate change could push them ...

Biology / Ecology

created May 23, 2010 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (12) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Lyme disease surge predicted for the northeastern US

The northeastern U.S. should prepare for a surge in Lyme disease this spring. And we can blame fluctuations in acorns and mouse populations, not the mild winter. So reports Dr. Richard S. Ostfeld, a disease ...

Biology / Ecology

created Mar 16, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Irish mammals under serious threat from 'invasional meltdown'

Some of Ireland's oldest inhabitants are facing serious threat and possible extinction because of foreign species, according to researchers at Queen's University.

Biology / Ecology

created Feb 21, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Winter diets? The secret is to chill the extremities

It is well known that large mammals living in temperate climates lower their metabolism in winter. But does this represent a mechanism for coping with less food or is it merely a consequence of having less to eat? For the ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 16, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Rare bettongs return to mainland

The rare eastern bettong (Bettongia gaimardi) has returned to the Australian mainland, after an absence of over 80 years.

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Sierra Nevada red foxes are more common than once thought

At least half a dozen Sierra Nevada red foxes, a species once believed to have been nearly wiped out in the 1920s, roam the high country wilderness south of Yosemite, U.S. Forest Service biologists said Thursday.

Biology / Ecology

created Sep 26, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Lyme disease tick adapts to life on the (fragmented) prairie

A new study offers a detailed look at the status of Lyme disease in Central Illinois and suggests that deer ticks and the Lyme disease bacteria they host are more adaptable to new habitats than previously ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jun 21, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Can we predict which species will be able to move far or fast enough to track changing climate?

As global temperatures rise, suitable sites for many plants and animals are shifting to cooler and higher ground. Can we predict which species will be able to move far or fast enough to keep up? A new study says the secrets ...

Biology / Ecology

created May 12, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0