July 5, 2007, 9:39 PM CT

Benefits Of Butterfly Defenses

Scientists observed the behaviour of Great-tits foraging for artificial prey to understand more clearly how a species evolves to protect themselves from predators.

Insects, such as butterflies, have bright contrasting colour patterns that indicate to predators that they are not likely to be palatable. In order to gain greater protection from predators, however, some butterflies evolve to imitate the warning signals of a more highly defended species a phenomenon known as mimicry. Researchers at Liverpool, in collaboration with the University of Jyvskyl in Finland, tested which species of butterfly benefits the most from this technique.

Hannah Rowlands explains: Prior studies have suggested that the relationship between two look-alike species is parasitic, whereby a tastier insect reaps all the benefits of resembling a more unpalatable species. Researchers have argued that predators may get confused as to which species is most edible and which is not, resulting in them eating more of the unpalatable species than they normally would have done.

We observed that the two species of butterfly we used in our research do not undermine each other and benefit mutually from looking like each other. Copying in this sense is the highest form of flattery!

In order to understand how this technique benefited both species of butterfly the team devised an experiment in an indoor aviary and observed the behaviour of Great-tits as they attacked artificial prey made from almond filled paper parcels......... Posted by: Kelly      Read more         Source

July 5, 2007, 9:37 PM CT

Chickens And Earth's Magnetic Field

40 years ago, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wiltschko was the first to prove that migrating robins use the Earths magnetic field to direct themselves during migration. Their magnetic sensor showed them the course of the field lines of the Earths magnetic field. This produces an inclination compass that reacts to the inclination of the Earths magnetic field to the surface of the Earth, thus distinguishing between pole-wards (the side on which the field lines incline downwards) and equator-wards (the side on which they incline upwards). The inbuilt compass is additionally finely tuned to the field strength of the Earths local magnetic field, but can also be flexibly adapted to other field strengths that the birds encounter in the course of migration. Since that time a compass of this kind has been found in more than 20 species of birds, the majority of them being those songbirds that undertake annual migration. An international working group under the direction of Wolfgang und Roswitha Wiltschko of Frankfurt University has now succeeded in demonstrating the presence of a magnetic sense of direction in domestic chickens as well.

For this purpose, newly hatched chicks were imprinted on a red ball which they from then on regarded as their mother. The scientists then hid the ball behind one of four screens, and taught the chickens by intensive training that the mother was always behind the screen that was in the northerly direction. To demonstrate that the chicken senses this compass point by means of its magnetic sense of direction, the scientists set up an artificial magnetic field in an easterly direction and the chickens did actually seek their mother behind the screen that lay to the east......... Posted by: Kelly      Read more         Source

July 2, 2007, 9:58 PM CT

Endangered Grey-Shanked Doucs in Vietnam

A team of researchers from WWF and Conservation International (CI) has discovered the world's largest known population of grey-shanked doucs (Pygathrix cinerea), increasing chances that the Endangered monkey can be saved from extinction.

The grey-shanked douc is one of the world's 25 most endangered primates and has only been recorded in the five central Vietnamese provinces of Quang Nam, Kon Tum, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, and Gia Lai. Fewer than 1,000 individuals are believed to still exist, and until now, only one other population with more than 100 animals was known.

"This is an exciting and important discovery because of the large size of the population," said Barney Long, Central Truong Son Conservation Landscape Coordinator for WWF Greater Mekong - Vietnam Program. "It's very rare to discover a population of this size with such high numbers in a small area, particularly for a species on the brink of extinction. This indicates that the population has not been impacted by hunting like all other known populations of the species".

Recent surveys in Que Phuoc Commune in Quang Nam Province recorded at least 116 animals (the number of individuals observed), with an estimated population of over 180 individuals. To date, only a small part of the area has been surveyed, meaning significantly more doucs may live in the adjacent forest......... Posted by: Kelly      Read more         Source

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:28:57 GMT

Happy-hours for the Invertebrates

If you thought, only humans have rights, you are in for a surprise. Now even creatures like spiders, squids and lobsters have rights to be free and happy. Dogs, Cats and Horses already enjoy this privilege. If they had managed to speak, they could have asked for food and water and there would be no way, we could have denied them that. With the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs investigating if invertebrates that comprise insects, spiders and mollusks feel pain, it would be a hard time in future for the non-vegetarians and the people who derive sadistic pleasure by crushing these slimy things.

Animal campaigners have pressurized the government to consider this proposal on the basis of their argument that even these creatures feel pain. This comes in the aftermath of the Animal Welfare Act in April, by virtue of which people would be held liable for the basic welfare of animals in their care. Any violation of this law would carry fines of up to 20,000. In recent times, animal welfare activists have lobbied to ensure that the animal community also deserves compassion and proper treatment. They believe that they share the same feelings as we humans do. It is, therefore, mandatory to introduce laws to provide them the respect that we as humans receive. The next time you see a spider crawling up your table and you are itching to squash it, think again! You could be in for some trouble.

Via: DAILYMAIL Posted by: Alpheus      Read more     Source

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:17:15 GMT

False faces

The number of times that natural selection has pulled eyespots from its magic hat tells us that humans are not the only animals for whom a face is a beacon.

The difference is that we draw inferences that a bird, for example, would not.

Wherever we see eyes: that could be me. So many imaginary friends!

But maybe it’s only the backside of a click beetle, or some other prodigy of a trickster universe. The trap springs. The mask possesses its wearer.

Whereas a cardinal can spend all summer warring with its reflection in the implacable eyes of the house.
__________

“False Faces” was the name the Jesuits gave to the preeminent medicine society of the Haudenosaunee and other Iroquoian peoples.

As for my blogging and internetting, I’m trying to think positively about slowness. Posted by: Vianegativa      Read more     Source

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:57:41 GMT

Marsupial Genome Sequenced

A report in Nature has announced that the first marsupial genome has been sequenced. Tarjei Mikkelsen of the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Mass and team sequenced the 3,475 megabase genome of the South American grey short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica. The opossum genome appears to contain about 20,000 protein-coding genes, the authors found, and the vast majority of these are also found in placental mammals. Apparently most of the differences between marsupial and placental mammals comes from junk.... ahem.... non-coding sequences, not proteins. It provides more evidence the main difference between you and other animals is how your genes are regulated not the proteins you possess.

Oh and that isn't the only time I've seen 'possums in the news lately.

Apparently a homeless person seeking shelter from the rain in a trash bin was accidentally dumped into a garbage truck. Trapped in the garbage compactor, the man was able to avoid being crushed by grabbing a....

a) a steel pole
b) a brace
c) our marsupial cousin, Didelphis virginiana

If you picked, c, the Common Opossum, you get a medal.

Our friend Marko from Croatia writes "Are opossums that common?"
Yes, Marko, Common Opossums are in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' category of Least Concern. Posted by: Dennehy      Read more     Source

June 22, 2007, 5:02 AM CT

Invertebrate Immune Systems Are Anything But Simple

A hundred years since Russian microbiologist Elie Metschnikow first discovered the invertebrate immune system, researchers are only just beginning to understand its complexity. Presenting their findings at a recent European Science Foundation (ESF) conference, researchers showed that invertebrates have evolved elaborate ways to fight disease.

By studying starfish, Metschnikow was the first to see cells digesting bacteria, a process he called phagocytosis (the eating of cells by other cells). Phagocytosis, it turns out, is an important immune defence in all living things. Since Metschnikow's work, researchers have studied the immune systems of simpler organisms (such as invertebrates) in the hope of understanding the immune systems of more complex organisms, like us.

However, invertebrates' immune systems are more elaborate than we expected. "We have underestimated the complexity of invertebrate immunity," says Dr. Paul Schmid-Hempel, an evolutionary ecologist at the ETH Zurich in Switzerland. By studying the immune systems of fruit flies, mosquitoes and other invertebrates (including bed bugs, moths, crustaceans, worms, sponges and bees), researchers are finding new molecules involved in defences against pathogens (microbes that cause disease).

One molecule found in fruit flies, Dscam, is capable of folding itself in 18,000 different ways. Computer models that predict the structure of this molecule have led researchers to suggest that this folding creates different shapes, each capable of binding to different structures on the pathogen's surface. "These molecules can be used very flexibly by assembling their components in a number of ways," says Schmid-Hempel. Until now, this ability to recognize specific pathogens was believed to be limited to vertebrates......... Posted by: Kelly      Read more         Source

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 03:24:52 GMT

Buenos Aires Zoo: The Kangaroos Have Arrived

This is an extremely humorous print advertisement campaign lBuenos Aires Zoo announcing the arrival of kangaroos. This campaign was launched almost two years back in Argentina. The campaign aims at announcing the arrival of kangaroos using a light and indirect approach. The advertisements are showing lion and orangutan with their black eyes explaining the menacing arrival of the new guest. The advertisements are indicative in nature and to some extent a bit difficult to understand the message of the campaign.

The presentation of the campaign is considerably limping to bring out the real message in an effective way. However, the photography of the campaign is actually very remarkable and helped producing a visually good looking campaign. The punch line of the campaign reads, The Kangaroos have arrived. The campaign was deDel Campo Nazca- Saatchi & Saatchi, Buenos Aires.

Via Duncans Print
Posted by: Balendu      Read more     Source

June 20, 2007, 10:19 AM CT

Researchers track snakes to study populations

A researcher for Washington University in St. Louis, along with colleagues at the Saint Louis Zoo and Saint Louis University are tracking timber rattlesnakes in west St. Louis County and neighboring Jefferson County. They are investigating how developing subdivisions invade the snakes' turf and affect the reptiles.

The scientists are studying timber rattlesnakes and copperheads in their Pitviper Research Project. They hope their efforts will educate the public and convince people that they can live with the species without destroying them. Wayne Drda is the Washington University researcher. Jeff Ettling, reptile curator at the Saint Louis Zoo, is another member of the research team. The third member is Ryan Turnquist, a biology major at Saint Louis University. Friends of the three scientists and the Missouri Department of Conservation also assist in the study.

"I am the field manager, organizer, and I oversee the equipment," Drda said.

"Jeff will be doing the DNA analysis work, and Ryan helps with the field work and is our GPS/GIS computer whiz."

Most people detest snakes, so the first instinct is to eliminate them, said Drda, who researches at Washington University's Tyson Research Center and who recently assisted Corey Anderson, former Washington University biology graduate student, with his doctoral thesis on rattlesnake and copperhead population behaviors. Anderson, a student of Alan Templeton, Ph.D., Washington University professor of biology, now is a postdoctoral researcher in biology at Arizona State University......... Posted by: Kelly      Read more         Source

June 20, 2007, 8:05 AM CT

Lost Cuckoo Breaks Its Silence

One of the world's rarest, most secretive birds has emerged from the jungle with two loud calls. The Sumatran ground cuckoo, found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, was captured by a trapper and handed over to a team of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) biologists. The biologists created the world's first recording of the bird's scream-like call.

"We were extremely lucky to have recorded the bird's unique call," said Firdaus Rahman, of WCS's Indonesia Program. "Our team will use the recording to hopefully locate other Sumatran ground cuckoos, and to eventually secure their protection." The recording will also help the biologists in evaluating the bird's total population. Ornithologists frequently use recorded birdcalls to aid them in identifying species.

Sumatran ground cuckoos have sturdy legs and green bills and are relatively large, about half a meter (20 inches) in size, with long tails. Until this latest rescue, the bird was known only by a handful of specimens collected during the past century. In fact, ornithologists feared the bird was extinct until 1997, when a single individual was spotted. Last year, a remote camera trap photographed a second bird. The cuckoo is now thought to becritically endangered.

Currently in the care of the scientists, the vocal cuckoo is nursing an injured foot. Once fully recovered, it will be released back into northern Bukit Baresan Selatan National Park, where it was originally captured......... Posted by: Kelly      Read more         Source