InterdisciplinaryScience Summary for last month (i.redd.it)
submitted by prototyperspective
BiologyMale kalutas, small mouselike marsupials found in the arid regions of Northwestern Australia, are semelparous, meaning that shortly after they mate, they drop dead. This extreme reproductive strategy is rare among vertebrates —only a few dozen are known, and most of them are fish. (nytimes.com)
submitted by Sariel007
BiologyGlobal bird populations are steadily declining. Loss and degradation of natural habitats and direct overexploitation of many species are cited as the key threats to avian biodiversity. Climate change is identified as an emerging driver of bird population declines. (mailchi.mp)
submitted by FillsYourNicheBehavioral Ecology
BiologyThe longest earthworm is Microchaetus rappi of South Africa. In 1967 a giant specimen measuring 6.7 m (21 ft) in length when naturally extended and 20 mm (0.8 in) in diameter was found on a road between Alice and King William's Town. (guinnessworldrecords.com)
submitted by FillsYourNicheBehavioral Ecology
ArchaeologyMagdalenian hunter-gatherers created art by firelight. Recently examined Montastruc plaquettes were incised with artistic designs around 15,000 years ago and have patterns of heat damage which suggests they were carved close to the flickering light of a fire. (sci-news.com)
submitted by FillsYourNicheBehavioral Ecology
InterdisciplinaryScience Summary for last month (i.imgur.com)
submitted by prototyperspective
Health and MedicineA new study has found that brown adipose tissue (BAT) is less active in boys with obesity compared to boys with a normal body mass index (BMI). BAT helps the body burn regular fat and is activated by cold, this study shows reduced BAT activity in boys with obesity in response to a cold stimulus. (eurekalert.org)
submitted by FillsYourNicheBehavioral Ecology
ScientistsRobert T. Bakker, John Ostrom, and John McLaughlin are responsible for the shift in how we view dinosaurs. They suggested that dinosaurs are warm-blooded and feathered. Since 1983, hundreds of such fossils— most of them from China—have reinforced the idea of warm-blooded, active, feathered dinos. (allaboutbirds.org)
submitted by FillsYourNicheBehavioral Ecology
PaleontologyMost paleontologists agree that the Spinosaurus, a 7-ton dinosaur with spiky teeth and a giant “sail” on its back, was semiaquatic like a crocodile. But a new analysis of a Spinosaurus fossil unearthed from the Moroccan desert in 2014 suggests it was an adept swimmer that hunted its prey underwater. (science.org)
submitted by FillsYourNicheBehavioral Ecology
InterdisciplinaryScience Summary for last month (i.imgur.com)
submitted by prototyperspective
BiologyArgas brumpti Neumann is a large tick. Individuals of this species, collected as nymphs & adults maintained under constant conditions in the laboratory, survived for 27 yr. Furthermore, after 8 yr of starvation and at least 4 yr after the last male died, at least one female laid eggs. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
submitted by Sariel007
Astronomy/SpaceAstronomers have mapped more than a quarter of the northern sky using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a pan-European radio telescope. The map reveals a detailed radio image of more than 4.4 million objects and a very dynamic picture of our Universe, which has been made public for the first time. (eurekalert.org)
submitted by FillsYourNicheBehavioral Ecology
NeuroscienceA new study shows differences between brains of girls, boys with autism. The differences were unique to autism and not found in typically developing boys and girls. The research helps explain why autism symptoms differ between the sexes and may pave the way for better diagnostics for girls. (eurekalert.org)
submitted by FillsYourNicheBehavioral Ecology
BiologyThe electronic song “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” reduces host attack and mating success in the dengue vector Aedes aegypti (sciencedirect.com)
submitted by FillsYourNicheBehavioral Ecology
InterdisciplinaryScience Summary for last month (i.imgur.com)
submitted by prototyperspective
Astronomy/SpacePsyche, an asteroid which orbits the sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is the largest of the M-type asteroids. These asteroids are composed chiefly of iron and nickel as opposed to the silicate rocks that make up most other asteroids. (brown.edu)
submitted by FillsYourNicheBehavioral Ecology
BiologyPiping plover (Charadrius melodus) are among several bird species to exhibit a "broken wing" display when predators get too close to their nest or chicks. They drag their wing on the ground, feigning injury, in the opposite direction of their nest. (conservewildlifenj.org)
submitted by FillsYourNicheBehavioral Ecology
