Nature – Page 85 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Shark Social Networking

By Guest PostOctober 17, 2012Natureacoustic tags, acoustic transmitter, apex predator, battery recharge, behavior, biotelemetry, coast, coastal water, concern, conventional, danielle haulsee, delaware, delaware bay, delmarva peninsula, device, dewayne fox, east coast, eastern seaboard, ecological balance, georgia aquarium, habitat, identification sensor, indian river, inlet, maryland, matthew oliver, migration pattern, mobile transceiver, network, ocean, ocean observation, oceanographic, otis, real-time, remote controlled, researcher, shark migration, species, telemetry, tiger shark, tracking technique, transmitter, underwater robot, university, vemco, vmt

Shark migrations studied with underwater robot along Delmarva Peninsula

University of Delaware researchers are using an underwater robot to find and follow sand tiger sharks that they previously tagged with transmitters. The innovative project is part of a multi-year partnership with Delaware State University to better understand the behavior and migration patterns of the sharks in real time.

“In the past week our new, specially equipped glider OTIS – which stands for Oceanographic Telemetry Identification Sensor – detected multiple sand tiger sharks off the coast of Maryland that were tagged over the past several years,” said Matthew Oliver, assistant professor of oceanography in UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. “This is the first time that a glider has found tagged sharks and reported their location in real time.” (more…)

Bright Outlook for Fall Foliage

By Guest PostOctober 14, 2012Naturedropping leaves, fall foliage, green pigment, leaf colors, pigments in leaf, western mountains

North Carolina’s fall foliage should put on a vivid show as it washes over the state this month. With color already beginning to pop in the western mountains, the foliage forecast is bright, says Dr. Robert Bardon, forestry and environmental resources professor at North Carolina State University. (more…)

Yellowstone Wolf Study Reveals How to Raise Successful Offspring

By Guest PostOctober 11, 2012Naturearmies, arms race, body weight, bridgett vonholdt, canine distemper, carnivore population, cooperation, cooperative, dan macnulty, dan stahler, data, excellent model, factor, female, female wolves, gray wolves, group behavior, key ingredient, life history, life sciences, mother, national, national park, offspring, park service, predator, princeton university, pup survival, reproduction, robert wayne, social carnivores, sociality, soldiers, state university, study, survival advantage, utah, weight, wolves, world, yellowstone, yellowstone park, young adulthood

What are the key ingredients to raising successful, self-sufficient offspring? A new life sciences study using 14 years of data on gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park indicates that cooperative group behavior and a mother’s weight are crucial.

“A female’s body weight is key in the survival of her offspring, and cooperation in the protection and feeding of young pups pays off in terms of the production of offspring,” said Robert Wayne, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA and co-author of the new research, published this week in the online edition of the Journal of Animal Ecology. (more…)

Cambrian Fossil Pushes Back Evolution of Complex Brains

By Guest PostOctober 10, 2012Nature, Scienceancient animal, arachnids, arizona, arthropods, brain anatomy, branchiopod brain, branchiopods, brine shrimp, cambrian fossil, cambrian period, China, common ancestor, complex brain, course, crustaceans, dna sequence, evolution, evolutionary biologist, fuxianhuia protensa, gregory edgecombe, hypothesis, insects, malacostracans, microscope, missing link, modern brain, modern malacostracan, molecular data, morphology, mudstone, multicellular animals, Nature, neural anatomy, neurobiologist, neurocladistics, neuropils, nicholas strausfeld, optic lobes, origin, sensory organ, species, taxonomic group, transformative discovery, university, xianguang hou, xiaoya ma, yunnan province, yunnan university. kunming

Complex brains evolved much earlier than previously thought, as evidenced by a 520-million-year-old fossilized arthropod with remarkably well-preserved brain structures.

The remarkably well-preserved fossil of an extinct arthropod shows that anatomically complex brains evolved earlier than previously thought and have changed little over the course of evolution. According to University of Arizona neurobiologist Nicholas Strausfeld, who co-authored the study describing the specimen, the fossil is the earliest known to show a brain.

The discovery will be published in the Oct. 11 issue of the journal Nature. (more…)

Ancient Mollusk Tells a Contrary Story

By Guest PostOctober 7, 2012Natureancient marine life, ancient mollusk, fossil evidence, worm like mollusks

A fossil unearthed in Great Britain may end a long-running debate about the mollusks, one of life’s most diverse invertebrate groups: Which evolved first, shelled forms like clams and snails, or their shell-less, worm-like relatives? (more…)

Dwarf Species of Fanged Dinosaur Emerges from Southern Africa

By Guest PostOctober 4, 2012Naturedifferent toothed reptiles, dwarf sized heterodontosaurs, fanged dinosaur, fanged plant eaters, heterodontosaurs, punk sized herbivore

A new species of plant-eating dinosaur with tiny, 1-inch-long jaws has come to light in South African rocks dating to the early dinosaur era, some 200 million years ago. (more…)

Analysis of Bacterial Genes May Help ID Cause of Dog Brain Disease, Say UF Researchers

By Guest PostOctober 2, 2012Health, Nature, Scienceanalysis, autoimmune, bacteria, balance, brain damage, brain disorder, brain inflammation, brain syndrome, brain tissue, cell, central, chihuahuas, christopher mariani, daniel brown, decreased alertness, dina michaels, disease, dog, florida, gene, genetic makeup, genital tract, gme, granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis, immune system, karen vernau, macrophages, malteses, mycoplasma canis, necrotizing meningoencephalitis, nervous system, nme, pomeranians, pugs, renee barber, response, scott schatzberg, seizures, small breed, symptom, throat, university, viral agent, virus, yorkshire terriers

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — By analyzing the genes of bacteria, University of Florida researchers have moved a step closer to pinpointing how two brain disorders common in small-breed dogs occur.

The researchers found that the bacteria, known as Mycoplasma canis, invade dog’s cells and suppress their immune system responses. (more…)

New Fish Species Offers Literal Take on ‘Hooking Up’

By Guest PostSeptember 30, 2012Naturecolorful anal spot, fishing hook, four hooked genitalia, freshwater fish, male genitalia

Fishing hooks aren’t the only hooks found in east-central Mexican waters.

A new species of freshwater fish described by a North Carolina State University researcher has several interesting – and perhaps cringe-inducing – characteristics, including a series of four hooks on the male genitalia. (more…)

Category Archives: Nature