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16 episodes with Biology Letters
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2 episodes with Biology Letters
2 episodes with Biology Letters
2 episodes with Biology Letters
Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Warum wir uns so leicht ablenken lassen +++ Gespräche funktionieren ein bisschen wie ein Tanz +++ Linkshänder mögen Wettbewerb offenbar lieber +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Studie zur Aufmerksamkeit in PLOS Biology: "Frequency-specific attentional mechanisms phasically modulate the influence of distractors on task performance", 23.02.2026Studie zu Meeresspiegeln in nature: "Sea level much higher than assumed in most coastal hazard assessments", 04.03.2026Studie zu jungen Dohlen in Biology Letters: "Socially learnt predator recognition in nestling jackdaws", 04.03.2026Sicherheitstool für Dating-Apps unter anderem von kanadischen Forschenden der Waterloo UniversityStudie zum Ablauf von Gesprächen in nature reviews psychology: "Psycholinguistic perspectives on face-to-face conversation", 17.02.2026Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .
Chinese conservationists have worked hard to protect the critically endangered Chinese alligator, creating new habitats for them after significant alterations made most of their Yangtze River home unsuitable. Thanks to the power of GPS technology, we now have some fascinating insights into how they are using the wetlands they are being reintroduced to, and it's mixed news. We follow that chat up with two new species of sand swimming skinks from Madagascar, and some big news from Tom about a brand new mammal. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Li M, Sun K, Wang Z, Zhang C, Gao Y, Zhang S, Tu G, Wu X, Pan T. 2025. Extremely limited spatial and temporal utilization for wild Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis). Biology Letters 21:20250513. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0513. Species of the Bi-Week: Miralles A, Schmidt R, Rakotoarison A, Delaunay A, Freiwald A, Rahagalala NA, Rakotomanga S, Razafimanafo D, Ratsoavina FM, Crottini A, Raselimanana AP, Glaw F, Vences M. 2025. Integrative taxonomy of Madagascar's sand-swimming skinks (Scincidae: Voeltzkowia , Grandidierina) and preliminary evidence for an overlooked inland belt of white sand patches across the island's west. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 205:zlaf147. DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf147. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Sun K, Li M, Wang Z, Sun S, Yang J, Wu X, Pan T. 2025. Habitat Integrity Challenges for the Chinese Alligator Amid Land Occupation by Human: Pathways for Protection. Ecology and Evolution 15:e71113. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.71113. Other Links/Mentions: Wild London (~37 minutes in for Aesculapian snakes) - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002hzg7 Editing and Music: Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com
I've already talked this year about research that shows staring at a seagull will prevent it from stealing your chips, but as beach season starts again - here is another science backed tactic that you can use. According to new research published in the journal Biology Letters the best defence might be the simplest - just shout at the gull! The researchers tested 61 on how they responded to human voices after placing a portion of chips in a gull hotspot. As soon as a gull approached, the team played one of three recordings: A male voice shouting: “NO, STAY AWAY, THAT'S MY FOOD, THAT'S MY PASTY!” The same voice speaking the same words in a normal tone. Birdsongs from a robin. All recordings were played at the same volume, so “shouting” didn't mean louder, just sharper and more commanding. Gulls are surprisingly sensitive to the tone of human speech, even when the loudness stays the same. Nearly half the gulls exposed to the shouting voice flew away within a minute. Only 15 percent flew away when they heard the normal speaking voice and many walked away. 70 percent of gulls who heard the robin stayed exactly where they were. This is the first known study showing that wild animals can distinguish between different emotional tones in human speech. Dogs, pigs, and horses can do this, but it's never been studied in seagulls. A future version of the study may test whether a woman's voice works just as well, or perhaps even better. It's not often science gives us an excuse to yell in public, but in this case you can claim it's for your own good. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Urban areas represent both opportunities and risks for animals, and they adapt their behaviour in many ways to cope with this fast-paced lifestyle. Now, a new study has detailed how urban wall lizards in Croatia have richer social lives than their rural counterparts. Then we chat about a listener-submitted story detailing wild lizards eating pizza. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Maune AL, Wittenbreder T, Lisičić D, Caspers BA, Camerlenghi E, Damas-Moreira I. 2025. City lizards are more social. Biology Letters 21:20250326. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0326. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Dendi, D., Segniagbeto, G. H., Meek, R., & Luiselli, L. (2023). Opportunistic foraging strategy of rainbow lizards at a seaside resort in Togo. African Journal of Ecology, 61(1), 226-227. Editing and Music: Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com
Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten : +++ Globaler CO2-Ausstoß steigt auf neuen Höchstwert +++ Forschende geben Tipps zur Abwehr von Möwen +++ Warum sich junge Menschen einsam fühlen +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Emerging climate impact on carbon sinks in a consolidated carbon budget, Nature, 12.11. 2025Herring gulls respond to the acoustic properties of men's voices, Biology Letters, 12.11. 2025Lonely and connected in emerging adulthood: The ambivalence of sociality in a time of transitions, Plos One, 12.11. 2025Telecommuting and division of domestic work: the role of gender role attitudes in Germany, European Sociological Review, 10.11. 2025Deutscher Gesundheitsbericht Diabetes 2026, Deutsche Diabetes Gesellschaft (DDG) und diabetesDE – Deutsche Diabetes-Hilfe, 13.11. 2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .
Ellen comes clean about the bluestreak cleaner wrasse. We discuss trust, cheating, fish patriarchy, manipulation, deception, game theory, the prisoner's dilemma, marketing, the mirror test, the horrors of self-awareness, and so much more. Christian drinks a Capri-Sun. Works Cited:“Testing the Low-density Hypothesis for Reversed Sex Change in Polygynous Fish: Experiments in Labroides dimidiatus” - Tetsuo Kuwamura et al., Scientific Reports, March 2014“Punishment and partner switching cause cooperative behavior in a cleaning mutualism” - Redouan Bshary & Alexandra Grutter, Biology Letters, July 2005“Power and temptation cause shifts between exploitation and cooperation in a cleaner wrasse mutualism” - Simon Gingins et al., Proc. Biol. Sci., June 2013“Male cleaner wrasses adjust punishment of female partners according to the stakes” by Nichola J Raihani et al., Proc. Biol. Sci., June 2011“Cleaner fish are sensitive to what their partners can and cannot see” - Katherine McAuliffe et al., Communications Biology, Sep 2021“Biting cleaner fish use altruism to deceive image-scoring client reef fish” by Redouan Bshary et al., Proc. Biol. Sci., Feb 2002“If a fish can pass the mark test, what are the implications for consciousness and selfawareness testing in animals?” - Masanori Kohda et al., PLOS Biol, Feb 2019“Further evidence for the capacity of mirror self-recognition in cleaner fish and the significance of ecologically relevant marks” - Masanori Kohda et al., PLOS Biol., Feb 2022“Cleaner fish recognize self in a mirror via self-face recognition like humans” - Masanori Kohda et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Feb 2023“Cleaner fish with mirror self-recognition capacity precisely realize their body size based on their mental image” - Taiga Kobayashi et al., Scientific Reports, Sep 2024“The false cleanerfish relies on aggressive mimicry to bite fish fins when benthic foods are scarce in their local habitat” - Misaki Fujisawa et al., Scientific Reports, May 2020Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!
Ellen comes clean about the bluestreak cleaner wrasse. We discuss trust, cheating, fish patriarchy, manipulation, deception, game theory, the prisoner's dilemma, marketing, the mirror test, the horrors of self-awareness, and so much more. Christian drinks a Capri-Sun. Works Cited:“Testing the Low-density Hypothesis for Reversed Sex Change in Polygynous Fish: Experiments in Labroides dimidiatus” - Tetsuo Kuwamura et al., Scientific Reports, March 2014“Punishment and partner switching cause cooperative behavior in a cleaning mutualism” - Redouan Bshary & Alexandra Grutter, Biology Letters, July 2005“Power and temptation cause shifts between exploitation and cooperation in a cleaner wrasse mutualism” - Simon Gingins et al., Proc. Biol. Sci., June 2013“Male cleaner wrasses adjust punishment of female partners according to the stakes” by Nichola J Raihani et al., Proc. Biol. Sci., June 2011“Cleaner fish are sensitive to what their partners can and cannot see” - Katherine McAuliffe et al., Communications Biology, Sep 2021“Biting cleaner fish use altruism to deceive image-scoring client reef fish” by Redouan Bshary et al., Proc. Biol. Sci., Feb 2002“If a fish can pass the mark test, what are the implications for consciousness and selfawareness testing in animals?” - Masanori Kohda et al., PLOS Biol, Feb 2019“Further evidence for the capacity of mirror self-recognition in cleaner fish and the significance of ecologically relevant marks” - Masanori Kohda et al., PLOS Biol., Feb 2022“Cleaner fish recognize self in a mirror via self-face recognition like humans” - Masanori Kohda et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Feb 2023“Cleaner fish with mirror self-recognition capacity precisely realize their body size based on their mental image” - Taiga Kobayashi et al., Scientific Reports, Sep 2024“The false cleanerfish relies on aggressive mimicry to bite fish fins when benthic foods are scarce in their local habitat” - Misaki Fujisawa et al., Scientific Reports, May 2020Links:For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!Follow Ellen on BlueSky!
Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Vorm Marathon am besten Training zurückschrauben +++ Eidechsen in der Stadt geselliger als auf dem Land +++ Apfelessig-Studie zurückgezogen +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Training Volume and Training Frequency Changes Associated with Boston Marathon Race Performance, Sports Medicine, 06.09.2025City lizards are more social, Biology Letters, 24.09.2025Retraction: Apple cider vinegar for weight management in lebanese adolescents and young adults with overweight and obesity: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, 23.09.2025The first emergence of unprecedented global water scarcity in the Anthropocene, Nature Communications, 23.09.2025"Lab-Quakes": Quantifying the Complete Energy Budget of High-Pressure Laboratory Failure, AGU Advances, 28.08.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .
Continuamos con nuestra mini serie sobre comunicación en la naturaleza. En este episodio exploramos la comunicación visual: desde los colores brillantes y patrones sorprendentes, hasta las formas y movimientos que los organismos usan para enviar mensajes. También abrimos la conversación a otros lenguajes menos evidentes, como la comunicación táctil y la eléctrica.REFERENCIAS- Brown, C., Garwood, M., & Williamson, J. E. (2012). It pays to cheat: Tactical deception in a cephalopod social signalling system. Biology Letters, 8(5), 729–732. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0435- Rosenthal, G. G., & Ryan, M. J. (2000). Visual and acoustic communication in non-human animals: A comparison. Journal of Biosciences, 25(3), 285–290. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02703937
The gang ends “Wet Hot Archosaur Summer” with the final podcast recorded from our undisclosed location in the woods. For this podcast, we indulge Amanda by talking about birds and trace fossils. The first paper looks at the remains of nesting sites that date back to the Cretaceous, and the second paper investigates sources of error in estimates of avian maximum speeds from trace fossils. Meanwhile, Amanda has a message for the bears, James proposes an alliance with the crows, and Curt does an “homage”. Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition): The friends talks about two papers that will make one of them very happy because they are all about the ways that animals that fly can make marks on the ground to let us know about how they move. The first paper looks at where these animals that fly will make their home. This paper shows that animals that fly have been found in this cold place near the top of the world for a really long time. This place would not have been as cold as it is today, but would have been dark for half the year. Some of the animals they find in this area look like they would have moved in when things were good and left when things got bad. This is something we see animals that fly do today in the top of the world as well. The second paper looks at how we try and use how these animals make marks on the ground to see how fast they would move. The paper shows that the way we were doing it in the past kind of worked, but also didn't work. This is because when these animals that can fly move, they do not move in the same way as other animals all the time. And so the way that these things walk is important if we want to try and understand more about how fast they could move from the marks on the ground. References: Wilson, Lauren N., et al. "Arctic bird nesting traces back to the Cretaceous." Science 388.6750 (2025): 974-978. Prescott, Tash L., et al. "Speed from fossil trackways: calculations not validated by extant birds on compliant substrates." Biology Letters 21.6 (2025): 20250191.
In this episode we are talking chameleons, one of nature's most famous colour changers. But despite their famous status, very few studies have actually demonstrated that they can change colour under controlled conditions. Research led by our very own Tom Major has shown that flap-necked chameleons from Tanzania are capable of changing their colour, and brightness, to match their surroundings and escape predation. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Major T, Hesten ACM, Stipala J, Cant MA, Stevens M, Troscianko J. 2025 Flap-necked chameleons change colour to match their background. Biology Letters 21: 20250134 Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Drown, R. M., Liebl, A. L., & Anderson, C. V. (2022). The functional basis for variable antipredatory behavioral strategies in the chameleon Chamaeleo calyptratus. Journal of Experimental Biology, 225(10), jeb242955. Stuart-Fox, D., Whiting, M. J., & Moussalli, A. (2006). Camouflage and colour change: antipredator responses to bird and snake predators across multiple populations in a dwarf chameleon. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 88(3), 437-446. Editing and Music: Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com
Analysis of over 70 spider venoms finds potency depends on a spider's diet Photo Credit: Andrew Downes, Xposure, A salmon pink tarantula Embargoed until 0001hrs Wednesday May 21, 2025: A new study by researchers at the University of Galway's School of Natural Sciences has revealed why some spiders possess venom that is far more potent than others. Why are some spiders are more venomous than others? By analysing the venoms of more than 70 different spider species, the team explored whether factors such as body size, prey type, and hunting method, including the use of webs, could explain the wide variation in venom strength. The research was published today in the journal Biology Letters. While spiders are infamous for the widespread arachnophobia they induce for a multitude of reasons, including erratic movements, eight spindly legs, sticky webs, and most notably, their venomous bites, the actual effects can vary dramatically depending on the species. For instance, a bite from the Brazilian wandering spider can result in serious medical complications, whereas the venom of a giant house spider typically poses no threat to humans, raising the question, what drives such differences in venom potency? The researchers discovered that diet is one of the most important drivers influencing the potency of spider venom. They found that spider venoms are what is called prey-specific, meaning if a spider primarily hunts insects, its venom is likely to be particularly effective at killing insects in general, such as crickets and flies, but far less effective against other non-insect prey, like small mammals. Lead author Dr Keith Lyons from University of Galway's School of Natural Sciences, said: "Our results show that spider venoms have evolved to be especially potent when tested on animals found in their diet in the wild. This may explain why species that are known to occasionally prey upon small mammals, such as the Brazilian wandering spider or Black widow, have venoms that can cause medically significant effects in us humans, whereas species that only prey on invertebrates, such as the Giant house spider, have evolved venoms that target invertebrate physiologies rather than our own, posing little threat to us." The researchers also tested whether the use of webs to capture prey was related to the potency or volume of a spider's venom. Dr Kevin Healy, Senior author and Head of the Macroecology lab at the University's School of Natural Sciences, said: "We predicted that web-hunting spiders might have less potent venoms because they may have evolved to rely more on their webs to immobilise prey. Surprisingly, we found no relationship between whether a spider used their web and the potency of their venom, suggesting that webs are likely important for restraining prey in web-hunters, regardless of how deadly their venom is. "This study helps us to understand the evolution of spider venoms and aids in our understanding of why some spiders, such as the Noble False widow become invasive species in some parts of the world, or how some venoms may be of particular interest for future drug discovery, or the development of pest species-specific, pollinator-friendly insecticides." Dr Michel Dugon, Head of the Venom Systems Lab, Ryan Institute, University of Galway, said: "By understanding the fundamental drivers of venom evolution we can better predict the types of biomolecules in spider venoms that have yet to be explored for drug discovery and why some species of spiders are more likely to become invasive species." About University of Galway Established in 1845, University of Galway is one of the top 2% of universities in the world. We are a bilingual university, comprised of four colleges, 18 schools and five research institutes, with more than 19,700 students, including around 3,000 international students. We have been accredited with an Athena SWAN Institutional Bronze Award, and 12 out of our 18 schools hold individual Athena SWAN Awards. We ...
Day geckos and certain plants share a long evolutionary history, with day geckos feasting on nectar and in return pollinating plants. A study from back in the mid 2000s proved this neatly, and we delve into it this episode. After that, we have a snake eating somebody's underwear, and a very novel new method for controlling invasive cane toads in Australia. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Hansen DM, Beer K, Müller CB. 2006. Mauritian coloured nectar no longer a mystery: a visual signal for lizard pollinators. Biology Letters 2:165–168. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0458. Other Links/Mentions: Brann M. 2025. Woman finds python eating her bra and shirt for breakfast. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-25/cattle-producer-finds-python-eating-bra-and-shirt/104976022 de Kruijff P. 2025. Cannibal cane toad tadpoles that never grow up could help toad control. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2025-04-08/cane-toad-created-that-never-grows-up-and-eats-its-siblings/105100286 Editing and Music: Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com Intro visuals – Paul Snelling
The ‘bone collector' caterpillar covers itself with body partsIt's like something from a horror movie. A creeping, carnivorous creature that in a macabre attempt at disguise and protection, covers itself with the dismembered remains of dead insects. This super-rare caterpillar is one of the strangest insects in the world. It lives on spider webs inside of trees and rock crevices in a 15 square kilometre radius on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu. Daniel Rubinoff, from the University of Hawaii Insect Museum, found about 62 of these caterpillars over the past 20 years. Their research was published in the journal Science. If a dolphin pees in the water, does anybody know it?Researchers observing river dolphins in Brazil were first surprised to see the animals turning on their backs and urinating into the air, and then further amazed to see other dolphins sampling the falling stream. The Canadian and Brazilian team, led by Claryana Araújo-Wang from the CetAsia Research Group, believe this aerial urination may be a way to communicate dominance among males. The research was published in the journal Behavioural Processes.How the snowball Earth made life bloom on our planet700 million years ago our planet was frozen from pole to pole during a period known as snowball Earth. Glaciers at that time scoured deep into the continents below like a giant bulldozer, grinding the rock into fine sediments. In a new study in the journal Geology, scientists found that as the glaciers melted, a lot of that loose material was injected very rapidly into the oceans. Branden Murphy, from St. Francis Xavier University, said this chemical cocktail fertilized the oceans, and set the stage for rise of multicellular complex life on Earth. How a team of microbiologists use cars to sample air across the countryUnderstanding the distribution of bacteria that might be a concern for human or animal health across an entire country is a huge job. But a team from Laval used a very clever shortcut to gather their data. They collected car air filters from vehicles across the nation, and looked in them to see what they sucked up. They found regional differences in the antimicrobial resistance genes specific to the agricultural activities and environmental factors at each location. Paul George, from Laval University, was the lead researcher on the study published in the journal Environmental DNA.Albertan obsidian artifacts are the end point of a widespread Indigenous trade networkObsidian — volcanic glass used to make super-sharp tools — is found as artifacts from chips to blades to arrowheads at hundreds of sites across the Rockies of Alberta and B.C., dating back thousands of years. However, there are no volcanos in the area so archaeologists are using this volcanic glass to chart Indigenous trade routes through North America. New research, led by Timothy Allan of Ember Archeology, has traced the obsidian's point of origin to a site nearly 1,000 kilometres away, suggesting the material travelled over long distances and passed through many hands. The research was published in the Journal of Field Archaeology.Do his gills ring a bell? Fish can recognize humansScientists at a Mediterranean research station kept noticing that particular fish would follow them around whenever they would try and do experiments. To find out if the fish were actually capable of recognizing individual humans, a team from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany decided to turn this annoying behaviour into a scientific experiment. They found that the fish were indeed capable of remembering which humans had shared tasty treats in the past. The research was published in the journal Biology Letters.
Certain words are overrepresented in text written by AI language models. A study investigates why such patterns develop. Also, the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres, typically shorten as an organism ages. But when some fat-tail dwarf lemurs hibernate, they lengthen.‘Delving' Into The ‘Realm' Of AI Word ChoiceSeveral years ago, some eagle-eyed readers of scientific papers noticed an unusual trend—an increase in the number of abstracts using certain words. The terms, including “delve,” “realm,” “evolving landscape,” and more, were suddenly appearing more often than they used to.Researchers analyzed the abstracts and compared them to abstracts written just a few years earlier, before the widespread availability of artificial intelligence large language model chatbots. They came to the conclusion that abstracts written by AI were more likely to use words from a list of around 20 favorites than regular human speech. The question was, why? If the models were trained on conventional writing, how did a preference for words such as “delve” creep in?Host Flora Lichtman talks with Dr. Tom Juzek and Dr. Zina Ward of Florida State University, who set out to try to understand the origins of some of AI's favorite words.When Dwarf Lemurs Hibernate, Their Chromosomes Do Something OddThe fat-tail dwarf lemur is one of the only primates that hibernate for the winter. A new study published in the journal Biology Letters takes a closer look at what's going on inside lemur cells when they are in this extended phase of suspended animation. It turns out that their telomeres, the ends of the chromosomes, actually grow longer when the dwarf lemurs hibernate. Typically telomeres shorten as we age, as cells continuously divide. So, what exactly does this finding mean for lemurs and other primates, like humans?Host Flora Lichtman talks with the co-authors of this study, Dr. Marina Blanco and Dr. Lydia Greene, research scientists at Duke University.Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.
Most people wouldn't guess ‘fish' when asked about intelligence in animals, but new research in the journal Biology Letters shows that fish might be smarter than many of us think. Previous lab studies have shown that captive archerfish, can recognise human faces in controlled settings, however there is little evidence that wild fish can do the same. To learn more about wild fish, researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour ran experiments to test whether they could distinguish between different humans based solely on visual recognition. They started by getting a diver to attract the attention of local fish 8 metres underwater in the Mediterranean sea. The diver wore a bright red vest and fed the fish while swimming in a straight line for 50 metres. Every day the diver repeated this process, but started to remove some of the visual cues on their dive gear like the red vest. They also stopped feeding the fish continually during the 50m swim, instead waiting until they had swam the whole 50m with them until feeding them. Two species of wild sea bream willingly engaged in the swimming task and after 12 days of training, around 20 fish would reliably follow the diver for 50m in order to get some food at the end. In the next part of the experiment, two divers entered the water, with the new diver wearing a different coloured wetsuit and fins. The divers swam 50m in opposite directions and on the first day the fish were confused as to which diver to follow. At the end of the 50m swim, only the original diver fed the fish and by day two the fish ignored the new diver and followed the original diver who fed them at the end. To see how the fish were recognising the original diver as the deliverer of food, the next part of the experiment involved both divers wearing exactly the same colour and style of dive gear. This confused the fish and they didn't know which diver to follow which suggests that wild fish can quickly learn to use specific cues like colour to recognise individual human divers and is a finding that challenges long-held assumptions about fish cognition. This study not only sheds light on the sophisticated cognitive abilities of fish but also prompts a re-evaluation of how we perceive and interact with marine life. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hello everyone! Episode 110 features another edition of Herp Science Sunday with Dr. Alex Krohn. Alex and I had a crazy cool conversation with Dr. Evan Grant, of the Northeastern Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative at the USGS Eastern Ecological Research Center, Dr. Grant is a co-author on a paper regarding range-wide salamander densities, focusing on the Redback Salamander (Plethodon cinereus), and he guides us through some mind-blowing discoveries about these mostly invisible creatures of the woodland realm. The paper we discussed in the episode is titled "Range-wide salamander densities reveal a key component of terrestrial vertebrate biomass in eastern North American forests", and was published in 2024 in the Biology Letters of the Royal Society Publishing, Vol 20 (https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0033). If you would like a PDF copy of the paper, email me at somuchpingle@gmail.com and I will send it to you! Here is the link for the Salamander Population & Adaptation Research Collaboration Network (SPARCNet). And as always, I am grateful to all the show's patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you're out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, it's easy to do, you simply go to the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee! You can also support the show via one-time contributions via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there's also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tips for herping better, etc. -Mike
Our understanding of the social lives of snakes is evolving at breakneck speed. This week we discuss a new study which has revealed that ball pythons have social behaviour. We also talk about sociality in rattlesnakes, before moving on to some news from the world of milk snake speciation - there may be fewer species than previously thought. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Clark RW, Brown WS, Stechert R, Greene HW. 2012. Cryptic sociality in rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) detected by kinship analysis. Biology Letters 8:523–525. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.1217. Skinner M, Kumpan T, Miller N. 2024. Intense sociability in a “non-social” snake (Python regius). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 78:113. DOI: 10.1007/s00265-024-03535-7. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Kornai D, Jiao X, Ji J, Flouri T, Yang Z. 2024. Hierarchical Heuristic Species Delimitation Under the Multispecies Coalescent Model with Migration. Systematic Biology 73:1015–1037. DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syae050. Other Links/Mentions: Salamander call and video by Heidi Rockney and Gary Nafis from: https://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?where-genus=Dicamptodon&where-species=ensatus Editing and Music: Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com Intro visuals – Paul Snelling
Con Yaiza Santos No tuvo más remedio que ocuparse de las dos caras de la misma moneda, nuestro trumpiano familiar y el verdadero Trump, parecidos y distintos. En especial, observó divertido la pretensión en Davos del presidente español para erigirse en el fact checker global. Nadie se llame a engaño: a Sánchez no le importan la verdad o los ciudadanos, sino el blanqueamiento de la mugre que lleva encima, su preocupación por no pasar a la historia como el campeón europeo de la mentira. Este es un mero asunto higiénico y personal. Sobre el anonimato y los bulos tuvo mucho que decir. Por ejemplo, que la pretensión cumplida de Sánchez pudiera llevar a conocer los mensajes borrados del fiscal general. O que las empresas, ¡autopistas de la información, se llamaban!, son responsables e impunes por permitir no solamente mentiras sino delitos. No, no atenderá Murtra, ese nuevo lacayo. Está prestando gran atención al apoyo que parece dar el nuevo Gobierno de Estados Unidos a la inteligencia artificial. Con toda la aversión que le provoca el monigote Trump, sí vislumbra que puede ser el momento ideal para dar un impulso al fin de grandes fatalidades. Tras conocer la detención de quienes robaron a los abogados de González Amador, recordó lo que un policía le había contado sobre las mafias parásitas que surgen al calor de los momentos aldamas. Y preguntó a Santos: si, como dice el paper candente de la semana, las mujeres hacen más formidables a los hombres, ¿quién o qué hace formidables a las mujeres? Y fue así que Espada yiró. Bibliografía: Jean-François Revel, La obsesión antiamericana Thierry Meyssan, La gran impostura José Luis Pardo, «Verificaciones», en El Mundo Julio Trujillo, Bipolar Burning paper: «El cuerpo masculino sexy y formidable: la altura y el peso de los hombres son rasgos que dependen de la condición y seleccionados sexualmente», Biology Letters, 22 de enero de 2025, recogido por The Guardian See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Nach nur zwei Stunden war aufgenommenes Mikroplastik im Gehirn von Mäusen angekommen +++ Forschende haben 141 römische Goldmünzen in Luxemburg gefunden +++ Helfen Nagetieren Bäumen - oder doch nicht? +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Microplastics in the bloodstream can induce cerebral thrombosis by causing cell obstruction and lead to neurobehavioral abnormalities, Science Advances, 22.01.2025Energetic costs of social dominance in wild male baboons, Proceedings of the royal society B, 22.01.2025In Luxemburg gefundener Goldschatz ist wertvoller als erwartet, SWR, 23.01.2025Pathophysiological effects of hypoxia on testis function and spermatogenesis, Nature Reviews Urology, 06.01.2025Tracking individual seed fate confirms mainly antagonistic interactions between rodents and European beech, Biology Letters, 22.01.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok auf&ab , TikTok wie_geht und Instagram .
Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Mehr Gehalt und mehr Zufriedenheit nach Jobwechsel +++ Große unterirdische Wasserstoff-Vorkommen vermutet +++ Männer doppelt so stark gewachsen wie Frauen +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Erfolgreiche Jobwechsel. Wie berufliche Mobilität Einkommen und Arbeitszufriedenheit steigert, Bertelsmann Stiftung, 22.01.2025Model predictions of global geologic hydrogen resources, Sciences Advances, 13.12.2024„Super-Emittenten“ der Fleisch- und Milchwirtschaft in Deutschland, Germanwatch, 01/2025The sexy and formidable male body: men's height and weight are conditfion-dependent, sexually selected traits, Biology Letters, 22.01.2025KI an europäischen Schulen. Deutscher Bericht zur Befragung von 12- bis 17-jährigen Schüler:innen in sieben Ländern, Vodafone Stiftung, 22.01.2025Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok auf&ab , TikTok wie_geht und Instagram .
Bien que les humains soient les seuls à produire et consommer intentionnellement des boissons alcoolisées, d'autres animaux consomment naturellement de l'alcool dans la nature. Ce phénomène est largement étudié en biologie et en éthologie, révélant des comportements intrigants chez diverses espèces.L'origine naturelle de l'alcoolL'alcool (éthanol) est un sous-produit naturel de la fermentation des sucres par des levures, un processus courant dans la nature. Les fruits mûrs ou en décomposition, riches en sucres, sont souvent une source d'éthanol. Une étude publiée dans Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Dudley, 2004) a exploré la "théorie du singe ivre", selon laquelle l'alcool a attiré les primates vers des fruits énergétiques, favorisant leur survie et leur adaptation.Consommation d'alcool chez les animauxDe nombreux animaux consomment de l'alcool, souvent par accident mais parfois de manière répétée. Voici quelques exemples documentés par des études scientifiques :1.Primates :oDes macaques à longue queue (Macaca fascicularis) ont été observés consommant des cocktails laissés par des touristes dans des stations balnéaires. Une étude de Brennan et Anderson (1985) a révélé que ces singes développent des préférences similaires à celles des humains : certains sont modérés, d'autres préfèrent une consommation excessive.2.Éléphants :oDes anecdotes populaires rapportent des éléphants ivres après avoir mangé des fruits de marula fermentés. Cependant, une étude de Morris et Humphreys (2013) dans Biology Letters a montré que les éléphants devraient ingérer des quantités irréalistes de fruits pour ressentir les effets de l'alcool.3.Oiseaux :oDes merles et des jaseurs boréaux consomment régulièrement des baies fermentées en hiver. Dans certains cas, ils montrent des signes d'ébriété, comme des vols désordonnés ou des chutes. Une étude de Carey et al. (2003) a documenté ces comportements.4.Mammifères terrestres :oLes rongeurs, comme les rats, consomment volontiers de l'alcool dans des expériences en laboratoire, ce qui en fait des modèles de choix pour l'étude de l'addiction humaine.5.Drosophiles (mouches des fruits) :oCes insectes préfèrent pondre leurs œufs sur des fruits fermentés, où l'éthanol protège leurs larves contre les parasites. Une étude publiée dans Nature (2012) par Kacsoh et al. a démontré que l'éthanol joue un rôle adaptatif dans leur comportement.Pourquoi les animaux consomment-ils de l'alcool ?La consommation d'alcool chez les animaux peut être accidentelle, mais elle offre parfois des avantages évolutifs. Par exemple, l'alcool attire les animaux vers des sources de nourriture riches en énergie. Cependant, les effets enivrants peuvent aussi les rendre vulnérables aux prédateurs ou entraîner des comportements désavantageux.ConclusionLes humains ne sont pas seuls à consommer de l'alcool, mais nous sommes uniques dans la fabrication et l'utilisation intentionnelle de cette substance pour des raisons culturelles et sociales. Chez les animaux, la consommation d'alcool est un phénomène naturel lié à l'environnement, parfois bénéfique et parfois risqué, illustrant les liens fascinants entre biologie, comportement et écologie. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.
Octopus camouflage is incredibly hard workOctopuses have the remarkable ability to change their appearance in the blink of an eye – assuming new skin coloration and patterns for camouflage or communication. A new study in the journal PNAS has explored how much energy this takes, and it turns out transforming themselves is a workout harder than you'd ever get at the gym. Dr. Kirt Onthank is a professor of Biology at Walla Walla University and known as The Octopus Guy on social media.Bigger isn't better when it comes to dog brainsDog bodies and brain sizes vary enormously, but a new study comparing dogs' cognitive abilities and personalities with brain size reveals some surprises. The research, led by evolutionary biologist Ana Balcarcel, found that the biggest brains relative to their body sizes belong to the small, anxious, excitable companion dogs, while the trainable, obedient working breeds are not gifted when it comes to volume of brain tissue. The work was published in the journal Biology Letters.This universe is too sparse, this one's too dense, and this one? Well, it'll doOur universe might seem like it's perfectly tuned for life, but when it comes to the role dark energy plays in the emergence of life, it turns out that our universe might not be so special after all. A new study that simulated the development of hypothetical universes with different amounts of dark energy suggests the optimal amount of dark energy to enable the evolution of life is only one-tenth of the density in our universe. Daniele Sorini, a postdoctoral researcher at Durham University and his team published their work in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Why a smack on the lips might have come from a snack on a tickLip mashing is an oddity in the animal kingdom. Other than humans, few species have adopted the custom of pressing lips together as a signal of affection. A new theory for why humans kiss suggests it emerged from primate grooming practices, and the lip-lock has its roots in us slurping up parasites we've combed from a companion's fur. Dr. Adriano Lameira, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Warwick published his new hypothesis in the journal Evolutionary Anthropology. Taking out our brains' trash may be key to maintaining a healthy brainSome scientists think it's possible that a host of neurological disorders, from Alzheimer's to Parkinson's, could be connected to problems with the way the brain rids itself of metabolic waste. A couple of recent studies in Nature are helping this longstanding puzzle about how this waste removal system works and what we might be able to do about it when it doesn't. A study published in Nature describes how synchronized electrical waves help flush the waste out when we sleep. Jonathan Kipnis, a neuroimmunologist from Washington University in St. Louis, said our neurons that are driving this waste removal system through what's known as the glymphatic system. A separate study of how gamma frequency stimulation, at 40 cycles per second, can kickstart gamma waves that are compromised in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Li-Huei Tsai, a neuroscientist from MIT, said they found this stimulation flushes out beta-amyloid peptides in the brains of mice that would otherwise build up and form plaques which are the hallmark of diseased Alzheimer's brains.
Blood drinking bats can suck energy out of their protein-rich mealsVampire bats are famous for exclusively drinking blood, but they're also surprisingly good runners. And part of why that's surprising is that blood contains very little carbohydrates or fat, which most other mammals rely on for fuel. So Kenneth Welch and Giulia Rossi at University of Toronto Scarborough ran bats on a specially-designed treadmill to find out more. They discovered that the bats can almost instantly convert the amino acids in their blood meals into usable energy. The research was published in the journal Biology Letters.Canada's most prestigious science prize goes to garbage scienceDr. Kerry Rowe of Queen's University's Civil Engineering Department has been awarded this year's Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering for his critical work in designing landfills that have to contain our waste and pollutants for generations.UK sugar rationing in the 1950s led to lower risks of illness late in lifeSugar was rationed in the UK from 1940 to 1953 due to the war and postwar austerity, and so was consumed at about the level nutritionists now recommend. Dr. Claire Boone from McGill University was part of a new study published in the journal Science which found that the limited sugar intake by people in the UK during pregnancy and the first couple of years of life resulted in significant decreases in diabetes and hypertension.Reinventing the wheel to understand how the wheel was first inventedThe invention of the wheel is a milestone in human technological evolution, but it's not clear how it happened. A new study combines design science and computational mechanics to virtually re-invent the wheel and understand the developments that could have led to the creation of the first wheel-and-axle system. The research, led by Kai James from Georgia Institute of Technology, adds support to the theory that the wheel was likely first invented by Neolithic copper miners in around 3900 BC. The research was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.Can high tech fishing gear limit losses of endangered whales?The endangered North Atlantic Right Whale has had a long and rocky road to recovery after the depredations of commercial whaling. One of the major threats to the species today is fishing line entanglements. In a documentary, producer Sonya Buyting explores how researchers, like Sean Brillant from the Canadian Wildlife Federation, and fishers, like Greg Beckerton in New Brunswick, are trialing high-tech ropeless fishing gear to save the whales while still preserving the fishers' livelihoods.
Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Wer als Kind Gewalt erlebt hat, leidet später häufiger unter psychischen Problemen +++ Neue Brennstoffzelle erzeugt Strom aus Ammoniak +++ Vampir-Fledermäuse verraten auf dem Lauf ihren Stoffwechsel +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:The Long-Term Consequences of Family Violence Victimization: An Umbrella Review of Longitudinal Meta-Analyses on Child Maltreatment and Intimate Partner Violence, Journal of Family Violence, 25.10.2024Wasserstofftechnologien: Klimafreundlicher Strom aus Ammoniak, Forschung Kompakt, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., 04.11.2024Vampire bats rapidly fuel running with essential or non-essential amino acids from a blood meal, Biology Letters, 06.11.2024Nurse Burnout and Patient Safety, Satisfaction, and Quality of Care, JAMA Network Open, 05.11.2024Seiche-Induced Fish Kills in the Sea of Galilee—A Possible Explanation for Biblical Miracles? Water Resources Research, 24.10.2024Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok auf&ab , TikTok wie_geht und Instagram .
Text Light Pollution News!A lot to discuss this month! Host Bill McGeeney is joined by an expert panel featuring the astronomer and artist, Dr. Tyler Nordgren, photographer and Youtuber, Nico Carver, and, thought leader and CEO of Visibility Innovations, Nancy Clanton.See Full Show Notes, Lighting Tips and more at LightPollutionNews.com. Like this episode, share it with a friend!Bill's Picks:Rehabilitation outcomes of bird-building collision victims in the Northeastern United States, PLOS ONE. The effects of artificial light at night on spider brains, Biology Letters.In Iceland, humans throwing baby puffins is a good thing, Alisha McDarris, Popular SciencePiraeus Tower is a Greek high-rise icon revived through sustainable strategies, Ellie Stathaki, Wallpaper* Outdoor nighttime light exposure (light pollution) is associated with Alzheimer's disease, Frontiers in Neuroscience. Support the showLike what we're doing? Your support helps us reach new audiences and help promote positive impacts. Why not consider becoming a Paid Supporter of Light Pollution News?
Estudo publicado por investigadores australianos no Biology Letters conclui que o white noise estimula um fungo que ajuda as plantas a crescer e combate parasitas. Pode ajudar na restauração de ecossistemas
Et si les plantes répondaient à la musique ? Une équipe de chercheurs australiens a découvert qu'un simple son monotone pouvait stimuler l'activité d'un champignon microscopique du sol, connu pour favoriser la croissance des végétaux. Face aux enjeux de l'érosion, de la pollution, et de la surexploitation agricole, cette découverte pourrait apporter un outil supplémentaire pour la restauration des sols, essentielle à la préservation de la biodiversité et à une agriculture durable.Dans une étude publiée dans *Biology Letters* de la British Royal Society, les chercheurs de l'Université de Flinders, en Australie, ont voulu explorer un domaine encore peu étudié : l'effet de la stimulation sonore sur le développement des micro-organismes. Le champignon en question, *Trichoderma harzianum*, est utilisé en agriculture biologique pour protéger les plantes et améliorer leur absorption des nutriments. Les chercheurs ont soumis ce champignon à des ondes sonores de 8 kHz, diffusées à 80 décibels pendant 30 minutes chaque jour, dans des chambres stériles.Le résultat ? Au bout de cinq jours, les champignons exposés à ce "paysage sonore" ont montré une croissance et une production de spores plus élevées que ceux cultivés en silence. Selon les scientifiques, ces effets pourraient être dus à des mécanismes tels que l'effet piézoélectrique, où la pression mécanique des ondes acoustiques est convertie en charge électrique, influençant les processus cellulaires. Une autre hypothèse pointe vers les mécanorécepteurs présents dans les membranes des champignons, similaires à ceux de la peau humaine, qui réagissent aux vibrations et pourraient activer des gènes liés à la croissance. « Pouvons-nous accélérer la restauration des sols avec des paysages sonores ? Quel impact sur la faune du sol ? » s'interroge Jake Robinson, co-auteur de l'étude. Une piste fascinante qui ouvre la voie à des recherches prometteuses. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.
A Central American lizard creates a bubble of air underwater to breatheSemi-aquatic lizards in the western rainforests of Central America have the ability to hide from predators underwater by breathing from a bubble of air they forms over its head. In a new study in the journal Biology Letters, ecologist Lindsey Swierk from New York State University at Binghamton, found that the lizards with this bubble-breathing trick could stay underwater for 30 per cent longer than the lizards without a bubble. A really weird fish walks on its fingers and tastes with them tooThe sea robin is a strange fish with wing-like fins and finger-like bony structures that it uses to prop itself up as it roams the ocean floor. New research from a team of scientists from Harvard and Stanford Universities, including Nick Bellono, looked at how these bizarre creatures use their legs to hone in on their prey. It turns out these funny finny fingers can also taste food in the sediment of the sea bottom. The research was published in the journal Current Biology.We can make our food production systems more stable by reintroducing natureA new study by a team of researchers at the University of Guelph suggests that removing large animals and destroying natural habitat is making our agricultural systems and fisheries more unstable and vulnerable to boom and bust cycles. But the study, published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, also suggests that restoring nature can help stabilize our food production to better feed the world's billions. Giant clams live off sunlight and could inspire solar power systems Working in the protected reefs of Palau, Dr. Alison Sweeney, associate professor of physics and of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University, was intrigued by the iridescence of the giant clams. Her team discovered that the giant clams tissues are optimized to channel sunlight to photosynthetic algae that live inside them. They work like solar panels, but far more efficiently than manufactured versions, providing inspiration for bio-inspired energy technology. The study was published in the journal PRX Energy.Plastic: Understanding the problem, and the struggle for a solutionPlastic is a miracle material, and one of the most useful innovations of the modern age. But its ubiquity and the durability that makes it so useful mean it's also becoming one of our biggest waste problems. Twenty years after he discovered microplastics on beaches around the UK, marine biologist Richard Thompson has just released a new study looking at what we've learned about these pervasive plastics, and urges scientists to turn their research focus towards solving the problem. We also speak with RJ Conk from the University of Berkeley about his work on vaporizing plastics down to their chemical building blocks, which could finally make real recycling a reality.
Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Nur kurze Mathe-Hausaufgaben bringen was +++ Auch Pinguine haben sensible Schnäbel +++ Erde bekommt Asteroiden-Besuch +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Little and often: Causal inference machine learning demonstrates the benefits of homework for improving achievement in mathematics and science/ Learning and Instruction, Oktober 2024Tactile bill-tip organs in seabirds suggest conservation of a deep avian symplesiomorphy/ Biology Letters, 18.09.2024A Two-month Mini-moon: 2024 PT5 Captured by Earth from September to November/ NRAAS, September 2024Exploring the links between type and content of virtual background use during videoconferencing and videoconference fatigue/ Frontiers in Psychology, 19.09.2024Drip Bars: teurer Lifestyle-Trend ohne medizinischen Wirkungsnachweis/ DGIM,Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: Tiktok und Instagram.
Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Kurze Wege vor allem in europäischen Städten +++ Algorithmus sagt, welche Kommune für Geflüchtete am besten passt +++ Pub-Versuch: Kleinere Gläser = weniger Alkoholkonsum +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:A universal framework for inclusive 15-minute cities, Nature, 16.9. 2024Algorithmus hilft dabei, Schutzsuchende besser auf Kommunen zu verteilen, FAU, 17.9. 2024Impact on beer sales of removing the pint serving size: An A-B-A reversal trial in pubs, bars, and restaurants in England, PLOS MEDICINE, 17.9. 2024Novel rebreathing adaptation extends dive time in a semi-aquatic lizard, Biology Letters, 18.9. 2024Scheduling meetings: are the odds in your favor?, The European Physical Journal B, 13.8. 2024Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: Tiktok und Instagram.
Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Gespritztes Medikament weckt Hoffnung im Kampf gegen Aids +++ Merkur könnte Diamantenschicht haben +++ Athleten mit durchschnittlich 27 Jahren besonders fit +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Twice-Yearly Lenacapavir or Daily F/TAF for HIV Prevention in Cisgender Women, New England Journal of Medicine, July 24, 2024A diamond-bearing core-mantle boundary on Mercury, Nature Communications, 14 June 2024Peaks and primes: Do athletes get one shot at glory?, Significance, Volume 21, Issue 3, July 2024Sexually dimorphic eye size in dragonfishes, a response to a bioluminescent signalling gap, Biology Letters, 24 July 2024A medical language for climate discourse, Front. Clim., 06 May 2024Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: Tiktok und Instagram.
500 million years ago, the world was a very different place. During this period of time, known as the Cambrian period, basically all life was in the water. The ocean was brimming with animals that looked pretty different from the ones we recognize today — including a group of predatory worms with a throat covered in teeth and spines. Researchers thought these tiny terrors died out at the end of the Cambrian period. But a paper published recently in the journal Biology Letters showed examples of a new species of this worm in the fossil record 25 million years after scientists thought they'd vanished from the Earth. One of the authors of the paper, Karma Nanglu, tells us how this finding may change how scientists understand the boundaries of time. Curious about other weird wonders of the ancient Earth? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Who doesn't love an eclipse? Apparently, wildlife has very mixed feelings about the whole affair. This month, the guys prepare for the upcoming 2024 total eclipse by looking into the research around how animals react to the moon photobombing the sun for a few minutes. The reactions are not universal, but they are varied. And trying to figure out what the animals are up to makes for a fascinating listen. This episode was recorded on March 20, 2024 at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve in Cheektowaga, NY.Episode NotesBill mentioned that “wind is air moving between temperature differences.” When listening back to the episode during editing, he worried that maybe he was wrong on that. Looking it up, he did find some websites claiming that wind is due to differences in air pressure and that temperature has little to do with it, but it turns out that's not quite true either. According to the good people at NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the organization referred to in this episode), the answer is both. Their short answer to “what makes wind?” is that it's the movement of gases from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas. BUT, they go on to say that the main cause of wind is actually temperature. More specifically, it's differences in temperature that lead to different air pressures.It all starts because as the sun warms up the air on the Earth, it does so unevenly. Because the sun hits different parts of the Earth at different angles, and because Earth has oceans, mountains, and other features, some places are warmer than others. Because of this, we get pockets of warm air and cold air.Since gases behave differently at different temperatures, that means you also get pockets with high pressure and pockets with low pressure. Generally speaking (and notice we said generally), in areas of high pressure, the gases in the air are colder and more crowded. In low pressure zones, the gases are warmer and a little more spread out. And this is why wind happens. Gases move from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas. And the bigger the difference between the pressures, the faster the air will move from the high to the low pressure. That rush of air is the wind we experience.Bill stated that perigee when the moon is farthest from the Earth. WRONG! The point in the moon's orbit where it is farthest from the earth is called apogee, while it's closest approach is known as perigee.Steve mentioned he though an eclipse viewer was like a camera obscura, and he was correct! A camera obscura is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. The camera obscura was used to study eclipses without the risk of damaging the eyes by looking directly into the Sun. From WikpediaLinks Ways to get involved recording weather and/or animal behaviors during the eclipse:The Eclipse Soundscapes Project is a NASA Citizen Science project that's studying how eclipses affect life on EarthSolar Eclipse Safari is another Citizen Science option that invites you to collect data on animals and their behaviors during the eclipse. This project looks at domestic and well as wild animals. https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/ - a great website for general info about eclipses What Do Birds Do During a Total Eclipse? - an article compiling eBird sightings and descriptions of bird behavior during the 2017 eclipse, including an animation of radar data that shows bird activity during totality Sponsors and Ways to Support UsGumleaf Boots, USA (free shipping for patrons)Thank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our episodes! Support us on Patreon!Check out the Field Guides merch at our Teespring store. It's really a great deal: you get to pay us to turn your body into a billboard for the podcast!Works CitedBuckley, E.M.B., Caven, A.J., Gottesman, B.L., Harner, M.J., Pijanowski, B.C. and Forsberg, M.L., 2018. Assessing biological and environmental effects of a total solar eclipse with passive multimodal technologies. Ecological Indicators, 95, pp.353-369.Fulton, S.A. and Dodd, L.E., 2018. Acoustic Activity of Bats in Kentucky During the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017. Northeastern Naturalist, 25(3).Hartstone-Rose, A., Dickinson, E., Paciulli, L.M., Deutsch, A.R., Tran, L., Jones, G. and Leonard, K.C., 2020. Total Eclipse of the Zoo: Animal Behavior during a Total Solar Eclipse. Animals, 10(4), p.587.Mekonen, S., 2021. Bird Behaviour during the June 21, 2020 Solar Eclipse. Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences, B. Zoology, 13(1), pp.103-115.Fazekas, Andrew. Surprising Ways Animals React to Solar Eclipses, Nationalgeographic.com, 14 August, 2017, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/animals-react-total-solar-eclipse-august-space-science. Accessed 17 Mar. 2024.Gerasopoulos, E., Zerefos, C.S., Tsagouri, I., Founda, D., Amiridis, V., Bais, A.F., Belehaki, A., Christou, N., Economou, G., Kanakidou, M. and Karamanos, A., 2008. The total solar eclipse of March 2006: overview. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 8(17), pp.5205-5220.Nilsson, C., Horton, K.G., Dokter, A.M., Van Doren, B.M. and Farnsworth, A., 2018. Aeroecology of a solar eclipse. Biology Letters, 14(11), p.20180485.Platt, S.G. and Rainwater, T.R., 2018. Unusual diurnal roosting behavior by turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) during a solar eclipse. New York State Ornithological Association, Inc. Vol. 68 No. 1 March 2018.Ritson, R., Ranglack, D.H. and Bickford, N., 2019. Comparing social media observations of animals during a solar eclipse to published research. Animals, 9(2), p.59.Tramer, Elliot J. "Bird behavior during a total solar eclipse." The Wilson Bulletin 112, no. 3 (2000): 431-432.VanDoren, Benjamin. Project Update: What Do Birds Do During a Total Eclipse? Observations from eBird and Radar on August 21, 2017, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 26 Aug. 2017, birdcast.info/news/eclipse/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2024.Wheeler, W.M., MacCoy, C.V., Griscom, L., Allen, G.M. and Coolidge, H.J., 1935, March. Observations on the behavior of animals during the total solar eclipse of August 31, 1932. In Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Vol. 70, No. 2, pp. 33-70). American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Tortoises return to an island in the Galapagos and prove themselves to be solid ecosystem engineers. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Tapia Aguilera W, Gibbs JP. 2023. Rewilding giant tortoises engineers plant communities at local to landscape scales. Conservation Letters 16:e12968. DOI: 10.1111/conl.12968. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Loconsole M, Stancher G, Versace E. 2023. Crossmodal association between visual and acoustic cues in a tortoise (Testudo hermanni). Biology Letters 19:20230265. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0265. Starck, J. M., Schrenk, F., Schröder, S., & Pees, M. (2022). Malformations of the sacculus and the semicircular canals in spider morph pythons. Plos one, 17(8), e0262788. Other Links/Mentions: Scinax crospedospilus by Mario Sacramento from https://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?where-genus=Scinax&where-species=crospedospilus Charles Darwin Foundation. Studying the ecology and distribution of the invasive treefrog Scinax quinquefasciatus https://www.darwinfoundation.org/en/research/projects/invasive-treefrog Editing and Music: Podcast edited by Emmy – https://www.fiverr.com/emmyk10 Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com
In this episode, Dr. Marsha Penner delves into the neuroscience behind impulse control, why adolescent dogs notoriously struggle with it, and what we can do about it. We discuss:How reconnecting with her Native American heritage reaffirmed the way she works with animalsDifferent types of impulse controlHow adolescent brains developFinding more compassion and patience for the unruly adolescent dogHow trust can improve impulse controlDr. Penner's bio:Dr. Marsha Penner is a behavioral neuroscientist, certified dog trainer (KPA-CTP), and owner of Learning to Dog Training & Enrichment. Marsha worked as a research scientist and award winning professor, focusing her attention on learning, memory, and effective teaching strategies. She turned her love of learning, behavior, and teaching into a full time career as a professional dog trainer after graduating from the the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior in 2015. She is a proud Anishinaabe Kwe from Treaty One, but currently lives in Durham, NC with her husband and two dogs.Links:https://learningtodog.com/https://www.marshapenner.com/A collection of studies analyzing impulse control - this is really cool for those who want to dive deeper!https://saverezdogs.com/Asher L, England GCW, Sommerville R, Harvey ND. 2020. Teenage dogs? Evidence for adolescent-phase conflict behaviour and an association between attachment to humans and pubertal timing in the domestic dog. Biology Letters. 16: 20200097. Contact Behavior Vets tweet us @BehaviorVets follow us on Facebook email us at nyc@behaviorvets.com follow us on Instagram Online courses Webinars and seminars
Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Knabenchor-Gesang wird strahlender, wenn Mädchen im Publikum sind +++ Zufriedenheit in Deutschland wieder leicht gestiegen +++ ASMR kann Stimmung heben und Blutdruck senken +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Sex-related communicative functions of voice spectral energy in human chorusing, Biology Letters, 8.11.2023A multi-taxon analysis of European Red Lists reveals major threats to biodiversity, Plos One, 8.11.2023Die Erholung setzt sich langsam fort, SKL Glücksatlas 2023, 9.11.2023October 2023 capped the hottest 12-month span in recorded history, Climate Central, 9.11.2023Deutsche trinken weniger Alkohol, Rheinische Post, 8.11.2023Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR): A PRISMA-guided systematic review, Psychology of Consciousness, 2023**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: Tiktok und Instagram.
Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Reste von Himmelskörper Theia im Erdmantel +++ Seesterne haben keine Arme, sondern nur Kopf +++ Diskriminierung schadet selbst den Profiteuren**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Moon-forming impactor as a source of Earth's basal mantle anomalies, Nature, 01.11.2023Molecular evidence of anteroposterior patterning in adult echinoderms, Nature, 01.11.2023Discrimination reduces work effort of those who are disadvantaged and those who are advantaged by it, Nature Human Behaviour, 21.09.2023Some deaf children in China can hear after gene treatment, MIT Technology Review, 27.10.2023The first European woolly rhinoceros mitogenomes, retrieved from cave hyena coprolites, suggest long-term phylogeographic differentiation, Biology Letters, 01.11.2023Thermal impact of underground car parks on urban groundwater, Science of The Total Environment, Ausgabe Dezember 2023**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: Tiktok und Instagram.
Marcus and Will wrap up our feeding series by reviewing global drivers of supplemental feeding and breakdown a study reporting positive effects on wild turkey populations from supplemental feed. Resources: Cox, D. T., & Gaston, K. J. (2018). Human–nature interactions and the consequences and drivers of provisioning wildlife. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 373(1745), 20170092. Malpass, J. S., Rodewald, A. D., & Matthews, S. N. (2017). Species-dependent effects of bird feeders on nest predators and nest survival of urban American Robins and Northern Cardinals. The Condor: Ornithological Applications, 119(1), 1-16. Robb, G. N., McDonald, R. A., Chamberlain, D. E., & Bearhop, S. (2008). Food for thought: supplementary feeding as a driver of ecological change in avian populations. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 6(9), 476-484. Robertson, B. C., Elliott, G. P., Eason, D. K., Clout, M. N., & Gemmell, N. J. (2006). Sex allocation theory aids species conservation. Biology Letters, 2(2), 229-231. Pattee, O. H., & Beasom, S. L. (1979). Supplemental feeding to increase wild turkey productivity. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 43(2), 512-516. Dr. Marcus Lashley (@DrDisturbance) (Academic Profile) Dr. Will Gulsby (@dr_will_gulsby) (Academic Profile) Turkeys for Tomorrow (@turkeysfortomorrow) UF DEER Lab (@ufdeerlab) (YouTube) Watch these podcasts on YouTube: Wild Turkey Science YouTube Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org. Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family. Music by Artlist.io Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak
Marcus and Will wrap up our feeding series by reviewing global drivers of supplemental feeding and breakdown a study reporting positive effects on wild turkey populations from supplemental feed. Resources: Cox, D. T., & Gaston, K. J. (2018). Human–nature interactions and the consequences and drivers of provisioning wildlife. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 373(1745), 20170092. Malpass, J. S., Rodewald, A. D., & Matthews, S. N. (2017). Species-dependent effects of bird feeders on nest predators and nest survival of urban American Robins and Northern Cardinals. The Condor: Ornithological Applications, 119(1), 1-16. Robb, G. N., McDonald, R. A., Chamberlain, D. E., & Bearhop, S. (2008). Food for thought: supplementary feeding as a driver of ecological change in avian populations. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 6(9), 476-484. Robertson, B. C., Elliott, G. P., Eason, D. K., Clout, M. N., & Gemmell, N. J. (2006). Sex allocation theory aids species conservation. Biology Letters, 2(2), 229-231. Pattee, O. H., & Beasom, S. L. (1979). Supplemental feeding to increase wild turkey productivity. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 43(2), 512-516. Dr. Marcus Lashley (@DrDisturbance) (Academic Profile) Dr. Will Gulsby (@dr_will_gulsby) (Academic Profile) Turkeys for Tomorrow (@turkeysfortomorrow) UF DEER Lab (@ufdeerlab) (YouTube) Watch these podcasts on YouTube: Wild Turkey Science YouTube Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org. Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family. Music by Dr. David Mason & Artlist.io Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak
------------------------------- 強化英語課程資訊 ------------------------------- 「社會人核心英語」有聲書課程連結：https://15minsengcafe.pse.is/554esm ------------------------------- 15Mins.Today 相關連結 ------------------------------- 歡迎針對這一集留言你的想法： 留言連結 官方網站：www.15mins.today 加入Clubhouse直播室：https://15minsengcafe.pse.is/46hm8k 訂閱YouTube頻道：https://15minsengcafe.pse.is/3rhuuy 主題投稿/意見回覆 : ask15mins@gmail.com 商業合作/贊助來信：15minstoday@gmail.com ------------------------------- 以下有參考文字稿～ 各播放器有不同字數限制，完整文稿可到官網搜尋 ------------------------------- 每日英語跟讀 Ep.K622: Scientists Discover Unprecedented "Virgin Birth" of Crocodile at Costa Rica Zoo Researchers have made an extraordinary finding at a zoo in Costa Rica, as they document the first-known case of a "virgin birth" by a crocodile that had been isolated for 16 years. The female American crocodile laid 14 eggs in 2018 within her enclosure, a relatively common occurrence among captive reptiles. However, the true surprise came when one of the eggs was discovered to contain a fully formed stillborn baby crocodile after three months of incubation. 研究人員在哥斯大黎加的一個動物園達成了一項非凡的調查，他們記錄了鱷魚「孤雌生殖」的首例，而這隻鱷魚在動物園獨居了16年。這隻美洲鱷於2018年在圈養環境下產下了14個蛋，這對圈養爬行動物來說是相對常見的現象。然而，真正的驚喜出現在經過三個月孵化後，其中一個蛋被發現含有一隻完整的鱷魚寶寶死胎。 In a study published in the journal Biology Letters, scientists examined the genetic composition of the crocodile fetus. They identified DNA sequences indicating that the fetus resulted from facultative parthenogenesis (FP), a form of reproduction that does not involve the genetic contribution of males. Although this phenomenon, also known as a "virgin birth," has been observed in other species such as fish, birds, lizards, and snakes, this marks the first recorded instance in a crocodile. 在發表於《生物學報》期刊的研究中，科學家們檢驗了這隻鱷魚胎兒的基因組成。他們發現DNA序列表明這個胎兒是由「真孤雌生殖」（FP）產生的，即無需雄性基因參與的一種繁殖形式。雖然這種現象，也被稱為「處女生殖」，在其他物種如魚類、鳥類、蜥蜴和蛇類中已被觀察到，但這是首次在鱷魚中出現的記錄。 FP occurs when a female's egg cell develops into a viable offspring without being fertilized by a male's sperm cell. During the process of egg cell formation, a precursor cell divides into four cells. While one of these cells becomes the egg cell itself, retaining essential cellular structures and cytoplasm, the remaining cells contain extra genetic material. One of these additional cells functions similarly to a sperm cell, fusing with the egg and initiating the process of fertilization. 「真孤雌生殖」是指雌性的卵細胞在沒有雄性精子受精的情況下發育成一個能夠存活的後代。在卵細胞形成過程中，一個前體細胞分裂成四個細胞。其中一個細胞成為卵細胞本身，保留著關鍵的細胞結構和細胞質，而其他細胞則含有額外的遺傳物質。其中一個額外的細胞類似於精子細胞，與卵細胞融合，啟動了受精的過程。 The American crocodile is currently classified as vulnerable and faces the risk of extinction in the wild. The study suggests that FP may be more prevalent among species nearing extinction. The scientists believe that the Costa Rica "virgin birth" could provide valuable insights into the reproductive capabilities of ancient crocodile ancestors that existed during the Triassic Period, approximately 250 million years ago. The findings could offer new knowledge about the reproductive mechanisms of archosaurian relatives, including members of Pterosauria and Dinosauria. 美洲鱷目前被列為易危物種，面臨野外滅絕的風險。研究表明，「真孤雌生殖」在接近滅絕的物種中可能更為普遍。科學家們認為哥斯大黎加的「處女生殖」發現可能為早在約2.5億年前三疊紀時期存在的古代鱷魚祖先的繁殖能力提供寶貴的洞察資料。這些發現可為翼龍目和恐龍亞目等主龍類近親相關的繁殖機制提供新的知識。 Reference article: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/scientists-find-crocodile-virgin-birth-costa-rica-zoo-2023-06-07/
The world is experiencing a decline in overall insect populations as well as a collapse in insect diversity. A recent special issue of the journal Biology Letters discusses the major causes of this alarming trend. According to the study, the primary causes of the worldwide decline in insect biomass are land-use intensification in the form […]
Summary: What do these secretive amphibians eat? Join Kiersten as she takes you on a culinary journey in this episode on caecilian diet. For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean. Show Notes: “Caecilian jaw-closing mechanics: integrating two muscle systems” by Thomas Kleinteich, Alexander Haas, and Adam P. Summers. J R Soc Interface, 2008 Dec 6: 5(29): 1491-1504. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2008.0155 “Diet of the Banana Caecilian Ichthyophis bannanicus in Mekong Delta, Vietnam” by Binh V. Ngo, Nghiep T. Hoang, and Chung D Ego. Journal of Herpetology, 48(4):506-513 (2014). doi.org/10.1670/13-113. “Rotational feeding in caecilians: putting a spin on the evolution of cranial design” by G. John Easy and Anthony Herrel. Biology Letters (2006) 2, 485-487. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0516 “Dietary Partitioning in Two Co-occurring Caecilian Species (Geotrypetes seraphim and Herepele squalostoma) in Central Africa” by M. T. Kouete and D. C. Blackburn, Integr Org Bill, 2020; 2(1). doi:10.1093/iob/obz035 Music written and performed by Katherine Camp Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops) Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I'm Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. This episode continues caecilians and the sixth thing I like about these awesome amphibians is their diet. Our understanding of what and how caecilians eat is still evolving but we know enough to know that it is fascinating! First, let's talk about what they eat. Caecilians are carnivores. That means they eat meat. There have been enough studies into various species of caecilians that we have a decent idea of what prey items they tend to eat. In general they focus on invertebrates that are commonly found where they live, underground, in the leaf litter of tropical forests, and underwater. Some examples include ants, termites, earthworms, snails, and some caecilians have been recorded eating crabs, lizards, frogs, and blind snakes. Aquatic caecilians eat fish and aquatic invertebrates. You probably get the drift, if it's an insect or small animal that lives where caecilians live and it fits in their mouth, they'll eat it. Since caecilians have no limbs to help them catch or stabilize prey items their jaw muscles and skulls have evolved to produce a high bite force to help prevent prey items from squiggling away. Caecilians have developed a double jaw muscle mechanism that is special to these amphibians. These muscles are different from other vertebrates because they are actually located above and below the jaw as opposed to the side of the jaw. Take a moment here and place your hands on the side of your jaw. Now open and close your mouth. What you feel moving is your jaw muscles. If we were able to place our hands on the sides of a caecilian's jaw, we would not feel those muscles. Scientists think that the placement of the muscles on the top and bottom of the skull may be due to the close confines of burrows in which the caecilians live and hunt. Whatever the reason it's one more cool adaptations these amphibians have developed. In the last episode we talked about the two different skull formations found in caecilians. At first thought, these differences might be due to the burrowing needs of the caecilian, but upon studying bite force and diet the different skull formations may actually be related to bite force. Caecilians who have the perforated, or zygokrotaphic, skull structure utilize the leverage from the two jaw muscles more efficiently than caecilians with the completely roofed, or stegokrotaphic, skull. What exactly does this information indicate? We're not quite sure yet. We need more research to determine what these results may mean. For now, we'll just have to settle for the knowledge itself. Scientists, being the inquisitive people that they are, asked if caecilians might specialize in specific diet items. Two pieces of evidence leans us towards yes as the answer. One piece of evidence supporting this is tooth shape. Caecilains that eat mostly soft-bodied invertebrates, like earthworms, tend to have sharp curved teeth. This allows the teeth to hook into soft tissue and hold tight. Caecilians that tend to eat prey items that have a harder shell, such as snails, have flatter, pedestal style teeth. This allows them to crush and grind the hard shell. While we're talking about teeth, let me toss this cool fact out there. Caecilians have two rows of teeth in their top jaw and may have one to two rows in the bottom jaw! Forgive my side trip, I just couldn't resist telling you this fascinating fact. The second form of evidence supporting diet specialization comes from a study done with two species of caecilians that live in the same area but in different layers of soil. Researchers analyzed the diet of Geotrypetes seraphini and Herpele squalostoma two terrestrial caecilians from Central Africa. G. seraphini lives lower in the soil and eats mostly earthworms, while mole crickets which are found higher in the soil or in leaf litter above ground dominated H. squalostoma's diet. Now, we don't know if the diet is dependent on where they live or if they live where their preferred diet can be found. That is a study for the future. Caecilians just can't stop surprising us! In another study looking at feeding behavior of caecilians scientists discovered that these amphibians utilize rotational feeding. What exactly is rotational feeding? Think about those nature programs you've seen about African animals being snatched up by a crocodile. The crocodile often catches something larger than it can swallow in one gulp and spins length wise. This behavior is used to reduce the size of a prey item so it can be easily consumed. In this study, two species of terrestrial caecilians were observed and recorded eating. They caught both species using rotational feeding to successfully maneuver large prey items into their mouths, just like crocodiles. Unexpectedly, the researchers also observed the caecilians using rotational feeding even when they caught smaller prey items that easily fit into their mouths. So the question is why do they spin when the prey item fits easily into their mouth? We don't have a solid answer to that question yet, but the researchers postulated that because caecilians are blind maybe they are using the rotational feeding to feel the prey item to help them determine what it is. The last behavior we're going to talk about concerning caecilians' diet is the most fascinating and slightly disturbing food item I've come across in all my years as an animal caretaker. Boulengerula taitanus is an African caecilian that begins life by eating its mother's skin. You heard me correctly, they eat their mother's skin! What?! So, while mom incubates her eggs that she laid in her subterranean tunnel the outer layer of her skin thickens with nutritious fatty lipids. When the young hatch they have special baby teeth that help them shave off the mother's outer skin layer. This is the only vertebrate known to use this type of parental feeding strategy! I am thankful everyday I wasn't born bird so my mother didn't have to puke into my mouth to feed and now I'm thankful I wasn't born a caecilian so I didn't have to eat my mother's skin. That's all for this episode and I know you loved this episode on caecilian diets because it's the most fascinating episode I've researched so far and it's my sixth favorite thing about this amphibian. If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. Join me next week for another thing I like about caecilians! (Piano Music plays) This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.
Trichobatrachus robustus, a.k.a the Hairy/Horror/Wolverine frog. Described somewhere after the late 1880s. Short and hairy, it prefers to inadvertently stab everyone who hugs it. Powers & Abilities include enhanced senses, animal-like attributes, a regenerative healing factor, retractable bone claws, an indestructible skeleton (it will destroy it itself before ever giving you a chance) and is a master foot-to-foot combatant. Its whole life, it felt like an animal. Nature made it a freak, we made it into an episode...but we also made it last too long :) ====================== Send us suggestions and comments to darwinsdeviations@gmail.com Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror) 3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com ====================== SOURCES: Squeakers: Frogs with Claws, Frogs with "Hair" About the Horror Frog 'Horror frog' breaks own bones to produce claws Blackburn et al. Concealed weapons: erectile claws in African frogs. Biology Letters, 2008; 1 (-1): -1 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0219 BAREJ, M.F., BÖHME, W., PERRY, S.F., WAGNER, P., SCHMITZ, A. (2010) The hairy frog, a curly fighter? – A novel hypothesis on the function of hairs and claw-like terminal phalanges, including their biological and systematic significance (Anura: Arthroleptidae: Trichobatrachus). Revue Suisse de Zoologie 117(2): 243-263.
Trichobatrachus robustus, a.k.a the Hairy/Horror/Wolverine frog. Described somewhere after the late 1880s. Short and hairy, it prefers to inadvertently stab everyone who hugs it. Powers & Abilities include enhanced senses, animal-like attributes, a regenerative healing factor, retractable bone claws, an indestructible skeleton (it will destroy it itself before ever giving you a chance) and is a master foot-to-foot combatant. Its whole life, it felt like an animal. Nature made it a freak, we made it into an episode...but we also made it last too long :) ====================== Intro/outro sampled from "Sequence (Mystery and Terror) 3" by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez) at pixabay.com Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com SOURCES: Squeakers: Frogs with Claws, Frogs with "Hair" About the Horror Frog 'Horror frog' breaks own bones to produce claws Blackburn et al. Concealed weapons: erectile claws in African frogs. Biology Letters, 2008; 1 (-1): -1 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0219 BAREJ, M.F., BÖHME, W., PERRY, S.F., WAGNER, P., SCHMITZ, A. (2010) The hairy frog, a curly fighter? – A novel hypothesis on the function of hairs and claw-like terminal phalanges, including their biological and systematic significance (Anura: Arthroleptidae: Trichobatrachus). Revue Suisse de Zoologie 117(2): 243-263.
Pollinators, such as bees and bats, are vital for global food production. They provide an ecological service that's necessary for the reproduction of nearly 75% of the world's flowering plants, including more than two-thirds of global food crops. Bumblebees are among the most important plant pollinators. They pollinate many food crops, including apples, tomatoes, blueberries […]
The gang discusses two papers that look at the impact of the end Cretaceous mass extinction. The first paper looks at ecomorphospace changes in mosasaur communities prior to the extinction event, and the second paper discusses the importance of a large freshwater gar which lived through the recovery. Meanwhile, James has some new and interesting ecological theories, Curt is simpatico with his recording equipment, and Amanda acts as our resident “fish” expert. Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition): Our friends talk about two papers that look at a time when a big rock hit us a long long time ago. The first paper looks at how big angry animals in the water that you can not drink did before the big rock hit. There is a big question about if these big angry animals that live in water you can not drink were doing well before the big rock hit, or if they were already on their way out. This paper looks at how the heads of these animals changed over space and time by looking at a large number of these from lots of different places. What they find is that there is a lot going on before the big rock hit. Some places are having their big animals look like they are having real problems, but in other places there seems to be a lot of new change in these big animals. It seems that this time before the big rock was a time when these big animals were going through a lot of changes. The big rock may have hit at a very bad time because things were not calm because of all of these changing going on. The second paper looks at animals living in water you can drink after the big rock hit. This paper finds a very large animal that breathes water head. Since this is a group of animals that are still around today, they can use the head to figure out how big the animal would have been, and they find that it would have been pretty big and also would have eaten other animals. This animal lived pretty soon after the big rock hit. This might mean that animals living on land and in the water that you can drink may have been doing a lot better than things living in the water you can not drink. If an animal was able to get that big eating other animals, it seems that these places were doing well. One of the ways animals respond when things get bad and foot is short is that they get smaller. Since we do not see that happening in this place, it could mean that places like this were not hit that bad when the rock hit. References: MacLaren, Jamie A., et al. "Global ecomorphological restructuring of dominant marine reptiles prior to the Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction." Proceedings of the Royal Society B 289.1975 (2022): 20220585. Brownstein, Chase Doran, and Tyler R. Lyson. "Giant gar from directly above the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary suggests healthy freshwater ecosystems existed within thousands of years of the asteroid impact." Biology Letters 18.6 (2022): 20220118.
The gang discusses two sets of papers about how we study crocodylomorphs, with each of these topics being replies to previous studies. The first paper looks at the importance of total evidence approaches in determining the evolutionary placement of fossil pseudosuchians, and the second set of papers discusses the potential biases and issues associated with how we handle body size data in evolutionary studies. Meanwhile, Curt goes Camus, Amanda has some bizarre funeral plans, and James continues to have opinions about pies. Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition): Our friends look at a lot of papers that were written to reply to another paper. All of these papers look at how we study big angry animals that spend a lot of time in water and jump out to eat things. This group of animals has been around for a long time and before today they used to do a lot of different things, even though now most of them spend a lot of time in water and jump out to eat things. These papers look at the older groups of these animals. The first paper looks at how we try and understand how these older groups go together. It shows that if you only look at how these things look, there are a lot of different ways these groups could go together. They say that things get better if we use both how they look and the changes in the small stuff that helps build up all life. This is important, because how these old groups go together will change how and when we think the groups of big angry animals we see today first came to be. The second group of papers looks at how big these angry animals were in the past. One of these papers looked at how big these animals got over time, but the reply shows that there are some problems with how that was done. If you just take how big these animals are without doing anything to those numbers, it means that something that is big getting slightly bigger is going to seem like more than something small getting bigger about the same. It is because the bigger thing starts with bigger numbers. You can fix this by doing some things to the numbers to make sure that you can better look at changes in both small and big animals. When you do that, it does change the story of the paper. References: Darlim, Gustavo, et al. "The impact of molecular data on the phylogenetic position of the putative oldest crown crocodilian and the age of the clade." Biology Letters 18.2 (2022): 20210603. Stockdale, Maximilian T., and Michael J. Benton. "Environmental drivers of body size evolution in crocodile-line archosaurs." Communications biology 4.1 (2021): 1-11. Benson, Roger BJ, et al. "Reconstructed evolutionary patterns for crocodile-line archosaurs demonstrate impact of failure to log-transform body size data." Communications Biology 5.1 (2022): 1-4. Stockdale, Maximilian T., and Michael J. Benton. "Reply to:‘Reconstructed evolutionary patterns from crocodile-line archosaurs demonstrate the impact of failure to log-transform body size data'." Communications biology 5.1 (2022): 1-4.
In a study titled “Canine Sense of Quantity” published in Biology Letters earlier this month, researchers from Atlanta's Emory University found that a dog's brain processes numbers in a similar way to the human mind. Read more: Dogs Can Naturally Count and Process Numbers Like Humans, New Study Finds Support our work: Donate Now
With the midterm elections less than a week away, science is on voters' minds even when it's not on the ballot. From coastal floods in Florida, to the growing pains of renewable energy in Hawaii, to curbing the opioid addiction crisis in Kentucky, different stories hit closer to home depending on what state you're in. We'll share stories of salmon conservation policy, meat substitute labeling, renewable energy expansion, and more from their respective states. And they take listener input: What's the most important science story YOU see in your state? The oceans can be a noisy place filled with boats and an increasing number of wind farms. The animals who call the sea home have had to adapt to the increased sounds. Researchers found that bottlenose dolphins in the Atlantic ocean off the coast of Maryland were simplifying the calls that they use to identify one another. Their results were published in the journal Biology Letters. Marine biologist Helen Bailey, who was an author on that study, talks about the benefits and costs that these adaptations have on the health of these dolphins. This week, NASA announced we will soon be saying goodbye to another old friend. For nine years, NASA's Kepler space telescope has been orbiting deep space, giving us an unprecedented look at the objects within it. But after confirming the existence of over 2,600 exoplanets, and extending its mission for another five and half years, Kepler has run out of fuel. NASA says that the agency will soon be sending it's final command to the telescope, shutting it down permanently. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.
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