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Meet Pentecopterus, a new predator from the prehistoric seas

By Guest PostSeptember 23, 2015Naturepentecopterus, pentecopterus specimens, predator, prehistoric seas, sea scorpion

You don’t name a sea creature after an ancient Greek warship unless it’s built like a predator. (more…)

Impersonating poisonous prey

By Guest PostMarch 24, 2014Natureaaron wagner, brian goldman, camouflage, color coded communiques, coral snakes, cycle, david bryson, ian dworkin, imitation, kenna lehmann, king snakes, michigan state university, nonpoisonous prey, poison, poisonous prey, predator, prey, reproductive rate, toxic animals

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery – especially in the predator/prey/poison cycle.

In nature, bright colors are basically neon signs that scream, “Don’t eat me!” But how did prey evolve these characteristics? When did predators translate the meaning? (more…)

Bats Use Water Ripples to Hunt Frogs

By Guest PostJanuary 26, 2014Nature, Scienceanti predator strategy, austin, bats, central, echolocation, eeb, frog, frog eating bats, leiden university, male tungara frog, mike ryan, natural form, physalaemus pustulosus, predator, pulsating sac, rachel page, rival, ryan taylor, salisbury university, sonar, south america, stri, trachops cirrhosus, university of texas, water ripples, wouter halfwerk

AUSTIN, Texas — As the male túngara frog serenades female frogs from a pond, he creates watery ripples that make him easier to target by rivals and predators such as bats, according to researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Leiden University and Salisbury University.

A túngara frog will stop calling if it sees a bat overhead, but ripples continue moving for several seconds after the call ceases. In the study, published this week in the journal Science, researchers found evidence that bats use echolocation — a natural form of sonar — to detect these ripples and home in on a frog. The discovery sheds light on an ongoing evolutionary arms race between frogs and bats. (more…)

Limited food may be significantly changing Great Lakes ecosystems

By Guest PostDecember 23, 2013Environmentdavid bo bunnell, Economy, great lakes ecosystems, inputs of phosphorus, invasive species, lake huron, microscopic water organisms, native invertebrates, phytoplankton, phytoplankton growth, predator, quagga mussels, suzette kimball, thomas f nalepa, thomas h johengen, U.S. Geological Survey, university of michigan, zebra

ANN ARBOR — Declines of the food resources that feed lake organisms are likely causing dramatic changes in the Great Lakes, according to a new study.

The study, led by the U.S. Geological Survey and co-authored by three University of Michigan researchers, found that since 1998, water clarity has been increasing in most Great Lakes, while phytoplankton (the microscopic water organisms that feed all other animals), native invertebrates and prey fish have been declining. These food web changes fundamentally affect the ecosystem’s valuable resources and are likely caused by decreasing levels of lake nutrients, and by growing numbers of invasive species such as zebra and quagga mussels. (more…)

Signalers vs. strong silent types: Sparrows exude personalities during fights

By Guest PostDecember 19, 2013Natureaggressive behavior, aggressive intentions, aggressive situation, birds, caglar akcay, discovery park, elizabeth campbell, flipping the bird, mate, melospiza melodia, michael beecher, offspring, predator, seattle, signaling behaviors, song sparrows, university of washington, wild animal

Like humans, some song sparrows are more effusive than others, at least when it comes to defending their territories. New findings from the University of Washington show that consistent individual differences exist not only for how aggressive individual song sparrows are but also for how much they use their signals to communicate their aggressive intentions.

The findings, published online Dec. 4 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, show that while many birds signal their intentions clearly, other “strong silent types” go immediately to aggressive behavior and ultimately attack without first signaling their intentions. (more…)

Bad news for prey: New research shows that predators can learn to read camouflage

By Guest PostSeptember 13, 2013Natureafrican bush, african nightjar, bad news, camouflage, find the nightjar, giraffe, jolyon troscianko, predation, predator, predator types, prey, university of cambridge, university of exeter, zebra

Camouflaged creatures can perform remarkable disappearing acts but new research shows that predators can learn to read camouflage.

The study, which used human subjects as predators searching for hidden moths in computer games, found that the subjects could learn to find some types of camouflaged prey faster than others.

The research was carried out by the University of Exeter and the University of Cambridge and is published in the journal PLOS ONE. Moths with high contrast markings – that break up the shape of the body, like that of a zebra or giraffe – were best at evading predation at the start of the experiment. However humans learnt to find these prey types faster than moths with low contrast markings that match the background, like that of a stick insect or leaf bug. (more…)

UCLA life scientists present new insights on climate change and species interactions

By Guest PostJune 11, 2013Environmentanthony dell, biotraits database, climate change, cold blooded animals, consumer, coral reefs, ecology, ecosystems, feeding event, feeding relationship, flowering in plants, fluctuation, Germany, global increase, global warming, immobile prey, interactions, juvenile possum, knowledge, life scientists, massive dataset, mean temperature, metabolic rate, mobile prey, moving prey, natural ecosystems, policymakers, predator, prey, python, rainforests, rate, resource, rising temperatures, samraat pawar, species, species interactions, timing, ucla, university of chicago, university of gottingen, van savage, variability in temperature

UCLA life scientists provide important new details on how climate change will affect interactions between species in research published online May 21 in the Journal of Animal Ecology. This knowledge, they say, is critical to making accurate predictions and informing policymakers of how species are likely to be impacted by rising temperatures.

“There is a growing recognition among biologists that climate change is affecting how species interact with one another, and that this is going to have very important consequences for the stability and functioning of ecosystems,” said the senior author of the research, Van Savage, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and of biomathematics at UCLA. “However, there is still a very limited understanding of exactly what these changes will be. Our paper makes progress on this very important question.” (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…)

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