The loss of biodiversity poses a challenge for nature and humans alike. A study led by Ulm University shows that a decline in biodiversity promotes the spread of potentially zoonotic pathogens.
Ecology
Apr 17, 2024
0
1
A new study has highlighted how bats can be valuable allies for farmers, by feeding on important agricultural pests. The findings demonstrate that encouraging bat species can be a win-win for both conservation efforts and ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 16, 2024
0
34
Unlike most animals that rely on visual senses, bats navigate and locate prey or obstacles through echolocation. By emitting sounds and comparing them to the reflected echoes, bats can "visualize" movement in the environment. ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 28, 2024
0
23
Bats carry some of the deadliest zoonotic diseases that can infect both humans and animals, such as Ebola and COVID-19. In a recently-published article in the journal Cell Genomics, a Texas A&M research team has revealed ...
Evolution
Feb 20, 2024
0
19
Most bats patrol the night sky in search of insects. New World leaf-nosed bats take a different approach. Among the more than 200 species of leaf-nosed bats, there are those that hunt insects; drink nectar; eat fruit; munch ...
Evolution
Feb 20, 2024
0
45
A high-sugar diet is bad news for humans, leading to diabetes, obesity and even cancer. Yet fruit bats survive and even thrive by eating up to twice their body weight in sugary fruit every day.
Plants & Animals
Jan 9, 2024
0
73
Vampire bats may soon take up residence in the United States and bring with them an ancient pathogen. "What we found was that the distribution of vampire bats has moved northward across time due to past climate change, which ...
Ecology
Nov 27, 2023
2
88
Mammals usually mate via penetrative sex, but researchers report Nov. 20 in the journal Current Biology that a species of bat, the serotine bat, (Eptesicus serotinus) mates without penetration. This is the first time non-penetrative ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 20, 2023
0
2
The scientific community and the public alike have often been presented with portrayals of bats as carriers of numerous dangerous viruses that are passed onto humans. In a paper published in Biology Letters, an international ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 17, 2023
0
70
Ask a biologist why predators don't exterminate all their prey, and part of the answer is often that there is an ongoing arms race between predators and prey, with both parties continuously evolving new ways to cheat each ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 27, 2023
0
95
