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.
It started with a simple message: "This is the year to do something small for something huge." Now, 17 years later, the Whitsundays region has some of the best protection in the world for migrating humpback whales.
Plants & Animals
Aug 28, 2026
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Coral reef fish that are exposed to motorboat noise grow up smaller and less able to dodge predators, new research shows. Scientists played either boat noise or natural reef sounds to a species from the Great Barrier Reef ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 28, 2026
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When Ashley Dayer was walking on the beach with her 8-year-old son recently, he stopped her before she got too close to a group of shorebirds. "Momma, stop. We have to walk around the shorebirds," he told her. Dayer smiled. ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 28, 2026
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Eagles are symbols of hunting prowess. Known as top predators wherever they live, they are often assumed to kill as their primary mode of obtaining food. However, a new study published in the Journal of Raptor Research reports ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 28, 2026
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The southern humpback whale migration is in full swing. Tens of thousands of whales are now making their journey from warm Australian waters in the north to their cold feeding grounds in Antarctica.
Plants & Animals
Aug 27, 2026
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Different cover crops may affect how plants defend themselves against pests—including by attracting more insects that eat harmful caterpillars—according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State's College of Agricultural ...
Ecology
Aug 27, 2026
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How has offspring dependence on parents evolved over the course of evolution? Researchers at the University of Bayreuth, in collaboration with Kyoto University, Japan, have investigated one possible mechanism by studying ...
Evolution
Aug 27, 2026
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With their charming waddles, heat-conserving huddles and tuxedo-like plumage, emperor penguins are among the world's most recognizable animals. Recent satellite surveys estimate that hundreds of thousands of the flightless ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 27, 2026
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For centuries, scientists have been fascinated by the remarkable coordinated movements of flocking birds, swarming insects and schooling fish. Researchers have studied these natural phenomena to understand the rules of interactions ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 26, 2026
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14
Capuchin monkeys hunt prey when fruits and vegetables become scarce, potentially mirroring the habits of human ancestors, according to a study published in PLOS One by Susana Carvalho (Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique), ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 26, 2026
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