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.
Researchers have shed new light on the features that enable tree-dwelling mammals to move effectively through their environments, providing insights into the evolution of the distinct upright postures seen in primates. The ...
Evolution
Feb 17, 2026
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66
Look at the armpits—or, technically, the "wingpits. That's what Scott Mehus, education director at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minn., told a group of bird watchers recently as they prepared to scan the winter skies ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 17, 2026
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166
We like to think that animals follow the crowd. If most of the group does something, surely the individual will copy. But what if the story is more complicated? What if the deciding factor isn't just what the majority is ...
Gray wolves adapt their diets as a result of climate change, eating harder foods such as bones to extract nutrition during warmer climates, new research has found. The study, led by the University of Bristol in collaboration ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 13, 2026
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33
Purrs of contentment. Soulful eyes locked on yours over dinner. Valentine's Day? Not for pet owners. For those of us who share our lives with animals, this is a daily—if not exactly romantic—experience. So are the various ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 13, 2026
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104
A study from the University of California, Davis, found that temperature affects the sound and quality of male frogs' mating calls. In the colder, early weeks of spring, their songs start off sluggishly. In warmer weather, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 12, 2026
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19
A multi-institutional team of researchers led by Virginia Tech's Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC has for the first time identified specific patterns of brain chemical activity that predict how quickly individual ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 11, 2026
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84
New research led by the University of Michigan is painting a more comprehensive picture of how noise pollution is impacting birds around the world. "The major takeaway from this study is that anthropogenic noise affects many ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 10, 2026
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50
Most seals give birth to a pup around the same time each year, and wean them and send them on their way within 12 months in an annual cycle.
Plants & Animals
Feb 10, 2026
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23
Americans love dogs. Nearly half of U.S. households have one, and practically all owners see pets as part of the family—51% say pets belong "as much as a human member." The pet industry keeps generating more and more jobs, ...
Veterinary medicine
Feb 9, 2026
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152
