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Frogs Use Calls to Find Mates with Matching Chromosomes, University of Missouri Researchers Find

By Guest PostDecember 29, 2011Naturefemale tree frogs, frog evolution, grey tree frogs, songs of mates, synthetic male calls, tree frogs

Tree frogs that look similar hear chromosome difference in calls; offers new insight to frog evolution

Columbia, MO – When it comes to love songs, female tree frogs are pretty picky. According to a new study from the University of Missouri, certain female tree frogs may be remarkably attuned to the songs of mates who share the same number of chromosomes as they do. The discovery offers insight into how new frog species may have evolved. (more…)

Cockroach Hookup Signal Could Benefit Endangered Woodpecker

By Guest PostDecember 29, 2011Naturecockroach hookup signal, cockroach signal, hook up, sex pheromone, synthetic pheromone, wood cockroaches

A North Carolina State University discovery of the unique chemical composition of a cockroach signal – a “Let’s hook up” sex pheromone emitted by certain female wood cockroaches to entice potential mates – could have far-ranging benefits, including improved conservation of an endangered woodpecker. (more…)

Sorghum a Sweet Treat for Zoo Animals

By Guest PostDecember 21, 2011Naturebiofuel production, sugarcane of desert, sweet sorghum, sweet sorghum stalks, zoo animals

Scraps from sweet sorghum harvested for biofuel production enrich the diets of elephants, monkeys, parrots and other animals in Tucson’ Reid Park Zoo.

This holiday season, animals in Tucson’s Reid Park Zoo get to munch on a rare treat: scraps from the University of Arizona’s research into renewable energy sources. (more…)

What Do Animals ‘Know’? More Than You May Think

By Guest PostDecember 11, 2011Natureanimal, animal cognition, animal intelligence, judgments, knowledge, rational creatures, rats

Rats use their knowledge to make decisions when faced with ambiguous situations, UCLA psychologists report.

“Rats often make judgments and behave as if they’re rational creatures,” said UCLA associate professor of psychology Aaron Blaisdell, a member of UCLA’s Brain Research Institute and senior author of a new study published in the December issue of the journal Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. (more…)

MU Veterinarians Find Infections Faster By Monitoring Blood Compound

By Guest PostDecember 10, 2011Natureblood biomarkers, blood test, dogs, infection in dogs, infections, sepsis in dogs, veterinarians

Blood test for dogs could lead to similar human test; severe infections kill more than half of patients

COLUMBIA, Mo. – In pets and people, the time it takes to diagnose an infection may mean life or death. Now, a University of Missouri veterinarian is identifying ways to diagnose pet infections in approximately a third of the current diagnosis time. The resulting test could be used eventually for humans. (more…)

Female Fish Choose Attractive Friends to Avoid Attention

By Guest PostDecember 8, 2011Naturearipo river, attractive friends, females, freshwater fish, male attention, mating, receptive, reduce harassment, safi darden, scientists, sexual attention, sexual pheromone, species, trinidad, trinidadian guppy, universities of exeter

Scientists have observed a strategy for females to avoid unwanted male attention: choosing more attractive friends.

Published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study is the first to show females spending time with those more sexually attractive than themselves to reduce harassment from males.

Carried out by the Universities of Exeter and Copenhagen, the study focuses on the Trinidadian guppy, a species of small freshwater fish. It shows that the females choose companions that are relatively more attractive than themselves and in this way reduce harassment from males. The research shows that the tactic is successful and by ensuring they are less attractive than other group members, the fish experience less harassment and fewer mating attempts from males. (more…)

Powerful Mathematical Model Greatly Improves Predictions for Species Facing Climate Change

By Guest PostDecember 4, 2011Environment, Nature, Scienceatmosphere and oceans, beetle, bridgett vonholdt, carbon dioxide emissions, coat color gene, coat color phenotype, daniel macnulty, daniel stahler, earth temperature, ecological impacts, ecological model, ecological parameters, ecosystem, Environment, environmental change, general model, genetics, global warming, gray wolf, grizzly bears, harmony, health of populations, heterozygotes, high arctic, integral projection model, ipm, mathematical model, new model, plants, polar bear, population ecology, population genetics, predictive model, quantitative genetics, robert wayne, species, sub fields of ecology, tim coulson, trophic cascade, wolf, wolf population, wolves, yellowstone, yellowstone national park

UCLA life scientists and colleagues have produced the most comprehensive mathematical model ever devised to track the health of populations exposed to environmental change.

The research, federally funded by the National Science Foundation, is published Dec. 2 in the journal Science.

The team’s groundbreaking integral projection model, or IPM, unites various sub-disciplines of population biology, including population ecology, quantitative genetics, population genetics, and life-span and offspring information, allowing researchers to link many different data sources simultaneously. Scientists can now change just a single variable, like temperature, and see how that affects many factors for a population. (more…)

Frogs’ Amazing Leaps Due to Springy Tendons

By Guest PostDecember 3, 2011Natureelastic structure, frog jumping, leg muscle, leopard frog, ordinary frogs, springy tendons

The secret to frogs’ superlative jumping lies in their tendons. Researchers at Brown University, filming frogs jumping at 500 frames per second with special X-ray technology, show that the frog’s tendon stretches as it readies its leap and then recoils, much like a spring, when the frog jumps. The finding could explain how other animals are exceptional leapers. Results appear in Biology Letters.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Some species of frogs and many other animals are able to jump far beyond what appear to be their capabilities. The trained contestants in the frog-jumping competition in Calaveras County, Calif., come to mind, but even ordinary frogs can leap several times farther than their physiology would seem to allow. (more…)

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