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.
When we hear certain sounds, our brains often pair them with specific shapes. For example, most people will associate a sharp-sounding word with a jagged, pointed shape, while a soft, rolling word is linked to something smooth ...
A new study from the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics reveals a surprising insight into the operation of the ancestral brain: the visual cortex of turtles is capable of detecting unexpected visual stimuli ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
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Male caregiving is rare. Of the nearly 6,000 mammalian species, fewer than 5% of fathers stick around to raise their own young. Most are even instinctively hostile. Even among the mammals that pitch in with caregiving duties, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
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According to the ISAF 2025 shark attack report, global unprovoked shark bites returned to near-average levels in 2025, following a sharp reduction the year prior. A total of 65 unprovoked shark bites occurred worldwide in ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
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Studying foraging behavior in marine mammals is especially difficult. Unlike terrestrial animals, which can often be directly observed, marine mammals feed underwater and across vast, remote areas, making it challenging to ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
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Frank Cuozzo and Michelle Sauther first traveled to South Africa in 2012 to search for some of the most unusual primates on Earth—bushbabies. These animals are nocturnal and small, often around the size of a housecat. Bushbabies ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 17, 2026
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Just as for humans, sufficient sleep supports learning and coping for horses. A recent study at the University of Helsinki indicates that short periods of REM sleep impair horses' perseverance and performance in demanding ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 17, 2026
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An international research team, including VUB data scientist Yannick Jadoul, has shed new light on the rhythmic nature of sexual behavior in bonobos. By precisely analyzing the tempo of movements during sex, researchers aim ...
Evolution
Feb 17, 2026
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Common seal pups communicate in ways that are more similar to humans than previously thought. For instance, they take turns when "speaking" and their calls become increasingly alike when they spend time around each other. ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 17, 2026
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Humans have climbed to the top of the food chain by skillfully hunting, trapping, and fishing for other animals at scales that far exceed other predators, altering how the animals behave and earning the tag of a "super-predator." ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 17, 2026
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