Animal behavior is the scientific study of the observable actions, interactions, and behavioral patterns of animals, typically investigated within ethology, behavioral ecology, and comparative psychology. It encompasses mechanisms (proximate causes such as neural, hormonal, and genetic control), development (ontogeny and learning), function (adaptive value in survival and reproductive success), and evolution (phylogenetic history and divergence among taxa). Research on animal behavior quantifies activities such as foraging, mating systems, parental care, communication, social organization, and antipredator strategies, often integrating experimental, observational, and modeling approaches to understand how behavior emerges from organism–environment interactions and contributes to fitness and ecological dynamics.
Two-thirds of a century after Jane Goodall observed "David Greybeard" break off a twig to fashion a fishing rod for termites, researchers following in her footsteps have found that adult chimpanzees in Senegal literally hand ...
Plants & Animals
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A dolphin that harasses fish until they regurgitate their food—then swoops in to steal it—has astonished University of the Sunshine Coast researchers who have documented this novel feeding strategy.
Plants & Animals
15 hours ago
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Should I stay or should I go? What determines whether birds migrate for the winter? This is one of the questions explored in a new doctoral thesis by Cassandra Ugland from NTNU's Department of Biology. The work is published ...
Plants & Animals
16 hours ago
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In a study of monk parakeets, researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Duke University found that sex has little to no impact on who initiates fights, who is targeted or who rises in the dominance hierarchy.
Plants & Animals
Sep 14, 2026
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Laboratory animals are anesthetized to avoid pain during invasive procedures. Anesthesia is necessary for these animals' welfare, but it is not always without problems: Substandard anesthesia can cause suffering, distort ...
Veterinary medicine
Sep 14, 2026
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The story of Dan Blumstein's decision to share videos of marmots from the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory field study on an OnlyFans account called OnlyMarms has captured attention around the world over the past few ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 11, 2026
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It's the season for babies in the snake world, and Project RattleCam is capturing magical moments.
Plants & Animals
Sep 11, 2026
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The seemingly trivial ability to hear a regular pulse in music is a remarkable—and perhaps distinctively human—feature of the brain. In a wide-ranging critical review, Gábor Háden of the HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 11, 2026
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Amphibian larvae—often known as tadpoles—exhibit a behavior known as "social aggregation," in which they gather together to avoid predators. These interactions are evidence of their "association preferences," or their tendency ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 11, 2026
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Dogs trained in scent detection may be better at sniffing out the right smell after breakfast, with new research finding hungry dogs working for treats are more likely to falsely identify the wrong scent. The study, led by ...
Veterinary medicine
Sep 10, 2026
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