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.
New research led by the University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka shows some bird species may be taking advantage of natural geothermal "health spas."
Ecology
Sep 17, 2026
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7
In recent years, numerous attempts have been made to use artificial intelligence to decipher the communication of bats, whales, birds and other animals. However, a new study led by a team of researchers from Tel Aviv University ...
Ecology
Sep 16, 2026
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26
Chimpanzee and bonobo mothers sometimes continue to carry their infants after they have died, a behavior known as infant corpse carrying (ICC). It is widely documented, and many explanations have been proposed, but few have ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 16, 2026
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57
When we tell a dog "no" and it resists temptation, what happens in its brain? New research from the Department of Ethology at ELTE and the HUN-REN Research Centre of Natural Sciences suggests that dogs may do more than respond ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 16, 2026
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64
Right whales forage near the water's surface at night, putting them at greater risk of potentially fatal collisions with boats, Jay Kirkham at Dalhousie University, Canada, and colleagues report Sept. 16, 2026, in the journal ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 16, 2026
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17
Humpback whale mothers may experience grief when their calves die, a rare research observation led by Griffith University and Sea World Foundation has found.
Plants & Animals
Sep 16, 2026
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933
Two-thirds of a century after Jane Goodall observed "David Greybeard" break off a twig to fashion a fishing rod for termites, researchers following in her footsteps have found that adult chimpanzees in Senegal literally hand ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 16, 2026
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155
A dolphin that harasses fish until they regurgitate their food—then swoops in to steal it—has astonished University of the Sunshine Coast researchers who have documented this novel feeding strategy.
Plants & Animals
Sep 15, 2026
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24
Should I stay or should I go? What determines whether birds migrate for the winter? This is one of the questions explored in a new doctoral thesis by Cassandra Ugland from NTNU's Department of Biology. The work is published ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 15, 2026
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5
In a study of monk parakeets, researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Duke University found that sex has little to no impact on who initiates fights, who is targeted or who rises in the dominance hierarchy.
Plants & Animals
Sep 14, 2026
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24
