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.
With almost a third of cacti species threatened with extinction, a new open-access database of cactus ecology and evolution could help scientists and conservationists save species from the brink.
Plants & Animals
Mar 25, 2026
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Most people have experienced it: when you're moving, engaged, and focused, pain fades into the background, then flares when you're immobilized with nothing to do. That isn't imagination; it's biology. A comprehensive review ...
Veterinary medicine
Mar 24, 2026
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9
A stark rise in the number of stray dogs being euthanized across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, with rates more than tripling over a three-year period, are revealed in a new collaborative study. The research is published ...
Veterinary medicine
Mar 23, 2026
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In recent years, scientists have carefully deciphered details of the honey bee "waggle dance," which is an advanced form of social communication in the animal kingdom. University of California San Diego biologists and their ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 23, 2026
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12
Discarded litter not only makes our streets and neighborhoods look untidy, but it can also pose a significant risk to wildlife. However, in a surprising development, a study published in the journal Animal Behaviour reports ...
Human fascination with bottlenose dolphins goes back thousands of years, at least as early as Greek mythology.
Plants & Animals
Mar 23, 2026
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For decades, ecologists lumped everything bad for animals under one word: stress. But what if animals don't experience harsh environments as stressful at all? What if it is the opposite?
Ecology
Mar 23, 2026
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New research from the University of Lincoln, UK, is challenging a common assumption about the evolutionary origins of human violence, suggesting that everyday aggression does not inevitably lead to lethal conflict. The study, ...
Evolution
Mar 21, 2026
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For centuries, unusual animal behavior before earthquakes has been reported worldwide. Livestock becoming restless, wildlife disappearing and snakes emerging from hibernation in the middle of winter. For a long time, scientists ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 21, 2026
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33
The increasingly urban lifestyles of seagulls in the UK and around Europe has made them experts at grabbing food from unsuspecting outdoor diners. Herring gulls in particular are gaining a reputation for food theft in seaside ...
Ecology
Mar 21, 2026
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