The existing boundaries of national parks and other habitat preserves aren’t enough to protect more than three-quarters of the world’s well-studied insects. The finding, reported February 1 in One Earth,…
Category: Animals
Prairie voles can find partners just fine without the ‘love hormone’ oxytocin
Prairie voles have long been heralded as models of monogamy. Now, a study suggests that the “love hormone” once thought essential for their bonding — oxytocin — might not be…
Birds that dive may be at greater risk of extinction
Birds that dive underwater — such as penguins, loons and grebes — may be more likely to go extinct than their nondiving kin, a new study finds. Many water birds…
Some young sea spiders can regrow their rear ends
No backside, no problem for some young sea spiders. The creatures can regenerate nearly complete parts of their bottom halves — including muscles, reproductive organs and the anus — or…
A rare rabbit plays an important ecological role by spreading seeds
A crucial link in the life cycle of one parasitic plant may be found in a surprising place — the bellies of the descendants of an ancient line of rabbits.…
A rare rabbit plays an important ecological role by spreading seeds
A crucial link in the life cycle of one parasitic plant may be found in a surprising place — the bellies of the descendants of an ancient line of rabbits.…
Chicken DNA is replacing the genetics of their ancestral jungle fowl
Today’s red jungle fowl — the wild forebears of the domesticated chicken — are becoming more chickenlike. New research suggests that a large proportion of the wild fowl’s DNA has…
These adorable Australian spike-balls beat the heat with snot bubbles
Animals cover themselves in all kinds of unsavory fluids to keep cool. Humans sweat, kangaroos spit and some birds will urinate on themselves to survive hot days. It turns out…
Sea life offers a lens for self-exploration in ‘How Far the Light Reaches’
How Far the Light ReachesSabrina ImblerLittle, Brown & Co., $27 In How Far the Light Reaches, Sabrina Imbler shows us that the ocean, in all its mystery and dazzling glory,…
Jumping beans’ random strategy always leads to shade — eventually
Given enough time, jumping beans will always find their way out of the sun. Jumping beans, which are really seed pods with twitchy moth larvae inside, hop around in a…
