Dogs are all honest, loyal and obedient, right? Well, not always. Our pets can be sneaky and manipulative when they want to maximise the number of tasty treats they get to eat. Marianne Heberlein, who studies dog cognition at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, wanted to test the animals’ ability to use deception to […]
New Scientist
Snow will melt more slowly in a warmer world – here’s why
As global temperatures rise, snow will melt more slowly. Yes, you read that right – more slowly. Warmer global temperatures will lead to less snow in many mountainous areas, says Keith Musselman, a hydrologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. That thinner layer of snow will be less likely to last […]
Why grey wolves kill less prey when brown bears are around
Wolves may be better at sharing their meals with bears than we thought. Biologists have long assumed that when wolves and brown bears share territory, the wolves are forced to kill more often to make up for the food stolen by scavenging bears. But when Aimee Tallian, a biologist at Utah State University, and her […]
The devoted spider dads who fix up nurseries for their babies
Most male spiders bail out after mating – if they make it through the process alive, that is, as females of many spider species cannibalise their mates. But not this spider. Male Manogea porracea in South America not only help with childcare, they often end up as single dads. Read more in New Scientist.
Sword-slashing sailfish hint at origins of cooperative hunting
Cooperation makes it happen. Sailfish that work together in groups to hunt sardines can catch more fish than if they hunt alone, even without a real coordinated strategy. To catch their sardine dinner, a group of sailfish circle a school of sardines – known as a baitball – and break off a small section, driving […]
Chimps and bonobos interbred and exchanged genes
Chimpanzees and their relatives bonobos are closer than we thought. Bonobos seem to have donated genes to chimps at least twice in the roughly two million years since they last shared an ancestor. The two closely related apes have occasionally interbred in captivity, and bonobos are renowned for their free and easy sex life. But […]
Islands to lose fresh water as rising seas sink them from within
Small island nations are among the countries most at risk from climate change, as rising sea levels threaten to swamp them and make their fresh water salty. But they face another danger – the rising seas will cause them to lose their fresh water by pushing it above ground, where it gets evaporated. Read more in […]
Endangered frog recovers thanks to resistance to deadly fungus
For decades a deadly fungus has been slaughtering amphibians around the world, driving many to the brink of extinction or even beyond. But now one frog’s recovery shows that, with a little luck and habitat preservation, some amphibians may be able to evolve resistance to the fungus. Read more in New Scientist.
Surfing on a turtle’s tail makes swinging crabs monogamous
Surfing the world’s oceans on the back of a turtle may sound like a life of luxury, but for a small crab it also means restricting itself to a single mate. A species of small oceanic crab, Planes minutus often makes its home on the shells of loggerhead turtles. They tuck themselves into a tiny […]
Rattlesnakes silently shook their tails before evolving rattles
Shake, rattle and strike. It is possibly one of the most terrifying sounds in the animal kingdom, but how the rattlesnake evolved its chilling warning signal is a mystery. Now a study suggests the rattle evolved long after the tail-shaking behaviour. The evolution of the rattle has baffled scientists because, unlike other complex physical traits […]