Forty Winks in the Wild

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 months 2 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

Researchers have spent decades trying to understand the confusing array of sleep patterns found in mammals. A donkey typically snoozes for just three hours a day, for instance, and armadillos and bats can be dead to the world for twenty hours a day. To explain the differences, scientists have offered a slew of theories, ranging from the idea that smaller animals need more sleep to conserve energy and maintain body temperature to the need to avoid predators.

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: animal behavior ecosystems predators circadian rhythms neuroscience mammals sleep sleep patterns

Frogs and alligators swim using flexible lungs

Darkfrog submitted, created time 9 months 3 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

Almost any swamp movie shows alligators moving through the water without twitching a muscle. Turns out there is one muscle moving: the gator's diaphragmaticus, which extends lengthwise through its body and pushes stored air to one side of the body or the other, allowing the animal to tilt in the water. I don't wonder why this developed. It's probably easier to convince prey that you're a helpless log if you never move your feet or tail. Frogs do something similar.

And now the crucial question: Do crocodiles do this too and, if so, how do we tell them apart?

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: zoology predators alligators reptiles frogs amphibians

Interview with moose expert Joel Berger -- predators' effects on Yellowstone ecology

Darkfrog submitted, created time 10 months 3 weeks (www.nytimes.com)

Heavens, this is hysterical. This guy sounds so frustrated.

He's not kidding about the reintroduction of wolves, either. I remember reading about it back in high school.

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: ecology science and culture ecosystems apex predators predators Yellowstone moose

Listen to the Three-Alarm Jay

DanyC submitted, created time 11 months 3 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

This is an impressive accomplishment for the jays,and they have a third call--a combination of low and high sounds--that distinguishes a hunting hawk in the sky that is looking for prey from a hawk that has spotted its next meal and has begun a downward attack dive.
Woo...such alam can do a lot of thing than we ever thought before.

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: ornithology zoology altruism predators communication vocalization birds behavioral research

Hidden interactions between predators and prey: evolution causes cryptic dynamics in ecology

carly submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (biology.plosjournals.org)

Contemporary rapid evolution in prey and pathogen species masks strong tropic interactions with predators and hosts. These "cryptic dynamics" reveal a need for a new approach to measuring interaction strengths in food webs.

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: predators prey food web evolution