By looking at the eye bones and ear canals of extinct dinosaurs, researchers show that a small ancient predator likely hunted at night and had senses as good as a modern barn owl.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Predators
Displaying 1 - 20 of 63 articles
Plus a new technique to protect birds from predators – using fake smells. Listen to episode 10 of The Conversation Weekly podcast.
A parent's or grandparent's stressful experiences change how their offspring behave. And it turns out that moms' experiences produce different changes in kids than dads'.
When scientists first thought to deceive predators with bird smells, the idea seemed crazy. But after seeing how fake news messes with the minds of both humans and animals, it now makes sense.
Because of its skeleton's heavy architecture, scientists have always assumed that Anteosaurus was a rather sluggish, slow-moving animal, only capable of scavenging or ambushing its prey, at best.
Livestock guarding dogs are considered a non-lethal method for farmers to control wild predators.
Transparency is an evolved characteristic of some species to help them survive, even when predators are staring directly at them.
Millions of miles of fences crisscross the Earth's surface. They divide ecosystems and affect wild species in ways that often are harmful, but are virtually unstudied.
Even within a species, animals will suffer climate change differently. For sharks, it pays to live in warmer waters.
By eliminating the less fit individuals over time, predation can drive the population to increasing fitness in terms of survival and reproductive success.
Investigating different factors influencing the behaviour of South African bat species contributes to our understanding of these understudied animals.
The "Tasmanian tiger" was hunted to extinction based on its perceived size as a predator big enough to take sheep. But it seems this was just a tall tale, and the thylacine weighed just 16.7kg.
A recovery plan for the threatened Algonquin wolf should have been in place two years ago. Recent amendments to the Endangered Species Act mean the Algonquin wolf faces an uncertain future.
Social media has proved to be a helpful source of observations of snakes feeding. Knowing more about their diet is useful because it's linked to their venom biochemistry.
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.
Some predators thrive after fires, other wilt – and one bird even starts them on purpose.
How did whales that feed on tiny prey evolve into the largest creatures on Earth? And why don't they get even bigger?
Media coverage of sharks often exaggerates risks to people, but more than 500 shark species have never been known to attack humans, and there's lots to learn about them.
A shift in climate, along with other environmental disruptions and the invasion of competitors and new predators all likely played an important role in reshaping ancient elephants' brains.
A new study reveals that it’s not only adult bullfrogs that pose a threat but their tadpoles do, too.
Top contributors
-
Euan Ritchie is a Friend of The Conversation.Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University
-
Associate Professor in Ecology, Charles Sturt University
-
ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Sydney
-
Lecturer, University of Sydney
-
Senior Researcher in Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand
-
Professor in Terrestrial Ecology, University of Sydney
-
Postdoctoral Researcher in Conservation Biology, University of Sydney
-
Associate Professor, Murdoch University
-
Professor, Macquarie University
-
Distinguished Professor and Director, Trophic Cascades Program, Oregon State University
-
Associate professor, Curtin University
-
Professor in Evolutionary Biology, University of Sydney
-
Associate Professor in Zoology, University of Tasmania
-
Professor of Conservation Biology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney
-
Research Associate, The University of Western Australia
