The declining salmon and whale numbers raise a critical question: Is the southern resident killer whale population solely reliant on the abundance of salmon? And, if so, since when?
We wanted to understand the ways in which predatory animals eavesdrop on the sexual ‘conversations’ of their prey.
Once described by West Moberly Elders as being as abundant as “bugs on the landscape,” caribou populations are now rapidly disappearing.
(Giguere/Wildlife Infometrics)
These coordinated movements of a flock of starlings follow no plan or leader. Scientists used to think the animals must communicate via ESP to create these fast-moving blobs.
Wild dogs are usually with their pack mates.
Scott Creel
African wild dogs are used to evading hyenas and lions. Genetic research suggests they are using the same strengths to get around human development as well.
The researchers found tooth shape varied, depending on the types of food a carnivore regularly bites into – in much the same way we choose a kitchen knife depending on what we’re cutting up.
Looking a bit like enlarged woodlice, ancient trilobites crawled along the seabed and had an exoskeleton made of calcite — nature’s version of a suit of armour.
Small but fierce: Grasshopper mice can eat prey that are toxic to other mice.
Lauren Koenig
Animals that regularly dine on toxic food may hold clues for designing new drugs to treat persistent pain in humans.
Burnt trees can be logged and turned into timber and other wood products. But removing them from the forest can have negative impacts on the wildlife.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Past research has shown honeybees can add, subtract and even understand ‘zero’. But according to new findings, they can’t tell four flowers from five in natural settings.
Krait bites are so painless that many victims don’t even realise they have been bitten until it’s too late.
Wolfgang Wüster
Wildlife can smell and hear a fire coming, and have developed novel ways to evade it. But they must watch out for cunning predators rushing in for a feed.
An AC/DC-loving biologist tests the band’s 1980 assertion that “rock ‘n’ roll ain’t noise pollution.” Turns out it can be – and the negative effects of noise can ripple through an ecosystem.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Zoology, University of Venda, Researcher at IGDORE, and Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology, Durham University