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Giraffes have the highest blood pressure of all mammals—up to 300/200, more than double that of a typical human. But pregnant giraffes don't suffer from pre-eclampsia, a dangerous disorder caused by hypertension.
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Containing specimens from different locations, sometimes spanning across centuries, museum collections can teach us a lot about how some animals are built and how we can protect them. Properly labeled, preserved specimens can show us how the environment and species distribution has changed over extended time periods. Because in many cases these collections remain largely unexplored, a revision can reveal "treasures" that were hidden in plain sight for decades.
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An international study provides the first global evaluation of all terrestrial vertebrate species that have not been declared extinct and identifies more than 500 species considered to be "lost"—those that haven't been seen by anyone in more than 50 years.
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Using the eyes and ears of public volunteers can stretch the reach of science, according to a new analysis from Erica Stuber from the Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center. Stuber and a team of researchers examined the accuracy of information produced by citizen science apps for monitoring bird populations. They compared publicly-produced data with officially tracked numbers from monitoring programs and found that with some refinement, data from citizen scientists could offer a lot of utility for researchers.
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No vertebrate (fish, mammal, bird, reptile, or amphibian) has ever had an odd number of limbs. Despite this "forbidden phenotype," some animals seem to use other body parts as a third or fifth "limb" to move from one place to another.
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The yellow-billed hornbill, a cousin of fan-favorite Zazu from The Lion King, faces local extinction due to the climate crisis. Researchers investigated the effects of high air temperature and drought on the breeding success of southern yellow-billed hornbills in the Kalahari Desert between 2008 and 2019. This study is one of the first to research the impact of the climate crisis on population-level breeding success over a longer timescale.
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If you have ever watched a bird land on a tree branch, you may have noticed that it rapidly pitches its wings upward at a high angle to execute a smooth landing. However, for some birds, they land by folding their wings as they perch instead, creating a sweeping motion as they decelerate.
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When Christopher Tubbs joined an ambitious multinational effort to save California condors from the brink of extinction, he knew the odds of success were long.
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Tucked away east of Sudan's capital Khartoum, a sanctuary of lush green vegetation has been a haven for dozens of exotic birds from far and wide.
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Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) scientists working in the vast Amazon Basin have contributed more than 57,000 camera trap images for a new study published in the journal Ecology by an international team of 120 research institutions.
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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources confirmed in a news release on May 13 that several fox kits were infected with the currently circulating H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
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A trio of researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand, has found that when it comes time to name a newly found species after someone, female honorees tend to be underrepresented. In their paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Robert Poulin, Cameron McDougall and Bronwen Presswell describe their analysis of thousands of newly named species and what it showed them about gender bias.
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In the 1980s there were just ten or so pink pigeons left in the wild. Known to scientists as Nesoenas mayeri, the species is found only on Mauritius, the Indian Ocean island that was once home to the dodo. Like the dodo, the pink pigeon made an easy target for cats, rats and other predators introduced by humans, who also chopped down almost all of their native forest. Unlike the dodo, however, the pink pigeon has since made a remarkable recovery.
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Peggy Stenger casually admits to having a freezer of dead birds.
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Twenty-five years ago, when I was a young anthropologist working in northern Siberia, the Indigenous hunters, fishers and trappers I lived with would often stop and solemnly offer something to the tundra. It was usually small, such as coins, buttons or unlit matches. But it was considered essential. Before departing on a hunting or fishing trip, I'd be asked if I had some change in my outer coat. If I didn't, someone would get me some so it was handy. We left other gifts, too, such as fat from wild reindeer to be fed to the fire.
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Jars of tiny platypus and echidna specimens, collected in the late 1800s by the scientist William Caldwell, have been discovered in the stores of Cambridge's University Museum of Zoology.
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A team of researchers at Istituto Sistemi Complessi, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, UOS Sapienza and a colleague from IMT Institute for Advanced Studies has created a model that demonstrates how flocking birds regulate their speed. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group describes their mathematical model and its performance when compared against video of real birds.
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Ancient moa DNA has provided insights into how species react to climate change, a University of Otago study has found.
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Fruit flies synchronize the movements of their heads and bodies to stabilize their vision and fly effectively, according to Penn State researchers who utilized virtual-reality flight simulators. The finding appears to hold true in primates and other animals, the researchers say, indicating that animals evolved to move their eyes and bodies independently to conserve energy and improve performance. This understanding could inform the design of advanced mobile robots, according to principal investigator Jean-Michel Mongeau, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
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When we think about the Arctic, most of us think of a snow-covered barren landscape and vast stretches of icy ocean. This is far from the reality of the Canadian Arctic today. With approximately 150,000 people calling it home, this region is certainly not barren.
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An avian flu that's spreading quickly across the U.S. has been detected in the Pacific Northwest in two backyard bird flocks in rural Oregon and Washington.
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Staggering declines in bird populations are taking place around the world. So concludes a study from scientists at multiple institutions, published today in the journal Annual Review of Environment and Resources. 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.
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A volunteer scoops up a fledgling kite lying nearly immobile on a scorching Indian sidewalk as the relentless sun beats down on its feathers—one of countless birds struggling to endure an unbearable heatwave.
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Bird flu is killing an alarming number of bald eagles and other wild birds, with many sick birds arriving at rehabilitation centers unsteady on their talons and unable to fly.
Growing number of sick and dying California brown pelicans worries animal experts
in Bird Research in the Media
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