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.
A team of researchers from Utrecht University, Durham University, and other institutions have observed something remarkable at a chimpanzee sanctuary in Zambia. Several chimpanzees from one particular group were seen dangling ...
Evolution
Jul 8, 2025
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There's something magnetic about a group of people looking in the same direction—others will follow their gazes to see what has caught their attention. But is the same true for animals like pigeons? If so, does it make a ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 7, 2025
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119
From schools of fish darting away from sharks to flocks of starlings swirling through the sky, the animal kingdom is full of examples of how group behavior offers a survival advantage. Through collective behaviors, animals ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 7, 2025
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51
Unlike most other bird species, the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species and leaves the host to raise its young—a behavior known as brood parasitism. To become a successful ...
Light pollution, or artificial light at night (ALAN), is a widespread phenomenon in areas with dense human populations. Normally, animals use natural external cues, like sunlight and temperature, to synchronize their biological ...
Sexual behavior and sex preference in animals and humans are shaped by complex interactions between the brain and hormones during early development. One critical factor is exposure to androgens (male sex hormones) during ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 2, 2025
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Animal communication takes many forms.
Plants & Animals
Jul 2, 2025
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Anxiety, the psychological and physiological state characterized by an anticipation of potential threats and a heightened sense of vigilance, is regularly experienced by many humans worldwide. Research suggests that anxiety ...
A team of bio-robotic specialists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems has confirmed theories suggesting that scaly-tailed flying squirrels use their spiky tails to keep their perch in slippery trees. In their ...
Anybody who has ever struggled to get enough sleep knows just how much in life can interfere with our rest, and just how detrimental this can be to our health and happiness. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Animal ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 25, 2025
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