Jump to content
Ornithology Exchange (brought to you by the Ornithological Council)

PhysOrg

| RSS Feeds
  • Posts

    11,681
  • Joined

Posts posted by PhysOrg

  1. The working memory is the brain's ability to process information for a short period of time in a retrievable state. It is essential for performing complex cognitive tasks, such as thinking, planning, following instructions or solving problems. A team of researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has now succeeded in investigating this special area of memory in birds in more detail and in comparing it to data storage in the mammalian brain. The scientists found that birds and monkeys—despite their different brain architecture—share the same central mechanisms and limits of working memory.

    View the full article

  2. Our oceans are under pressure like never before, with over 60% struggling from the increasing impact of fishing, coastal activities and climate change. The harsh truth is that as we move towards 2022 only 3% of oceans are totally free from the pressure of human activity. The greatest impact appears to be on large-bodied animals such as marine mammals and birds, which cannot reproduce as quickly as smaller species.

    View the full article

  3. Cacao farms not only provide us with the pleasure of chocolate, but also offer potential advantages for biodiversity-friendly agriculture. The benefits to biodiversity have been widely studied in tropical rainforests, but were so far unknown in tropical dry forests. An international team of researchers led by the University of Göttingen has now reported for the first time how seasonal effects drive the presence of birds and bats—the most important consumers of insect pests—in cacao agroforests in Peru. The results were published in Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment.

    View the full article

  4. In South and Central America, an especially high number of biodiverse areas are in jeopardy. Tropical rainforests are being cleared so that the land can be used for livestock grazing and planting soybeans. To compensate for these losses, other areas need to be placed under protection. The United Nations plans to protect 30 percent of global landmass by 2030; currently, the 17-percent benchmark still applies.

    View the full article

  5. WWF-Russia today released a publicly accessible, easy-to-use interactive map that shows habitats of animals listed in the Red Data Books of Russia's endangered species. The map covers the full territory of the Russian Federation, including the boundaries of forestry units and leased areas of logging companies. It will serve as an important tool to identify and determine whether habitats of rare bird species are to be found in planned logging areas. Most of the information covers habitats of rare bird species, although data on some other animal species is also available.

    View the full article

  6. Data collected from a long-term study by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists shows declining populations of an already relatively rare Antarctic seabird, the South Georgia shag. Published in the journal Polar Biology, a 40-year census from Signy Island in the remote South Orkney Islands and a 30-year census from Bird Island, close to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, have shown significant population declines at both locations.

    View the full article

  7. A pair of researchers with Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología, has found that an invasive species of snake has killed off nearly all of the reptiles native to Gran Canaria. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Julien Piquet and Marta López-Darias describe their comparison of habitats impacted by the importation of an invasive snake species and those that have not.

    View the full article

×
×
  • Create New...