environmental science research for everyone
Antillean manatees are an endangered subspecies of manatee that live in the warm waters of the Caribbean, but little is known about their behavior, both in the wild and under human care. This is why scientists in France set out to better understand and define manatee behavior in captivity, identifying how bold or shy they were and how they acted towards novel and familiar stimuli.
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It’s all fun and games outdoors until mosquitoes crash the party. Female mosquitoes need protein-rich human blood for energy to produce eggs. While an itchy bump follows most bites, some can transfer harmful viruses, like Zika and dengue. Mosquitoes are experts at finding human hosts, and now scientists have discovered how. Mosquito brains may give insights into new strategies to control mosquitoes and the diseases they carry.
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Carpenter ants play an important role in an ecosystem; they break down wood into smaller pieces that will ultimately become part of the soil. But a parasitic ant can rapidly take over and destroy a colony by simply disguising herself through chemical means.
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How the bacteria living inside of us may protect us against harmful infections.
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Fires, both from intentional and unintentional sources, have been altering our ecosystems for as long as history has been recorded, yet little is known about how these occurrences affect animal behavior, especially concerning predator-prey interactions. Countless factors, including the extent of the fire and the adaptability of both predator and prey to these new conditions affect the behavior and survivability of both predator and prey. In the end, change is inevitable, but if we improve our understanding of how fires influence animal behavior, we can then help rehabilitate affected populations in more effective and efficient ways.
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Two groups of citizen scientists in the UK discovered something previously unknown to science– toads living in trees. Read on to learn about how citizen science and collaborations with scientists can lead to more interesting questions and discoveries.
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Though you may expect to only spot wildlife in natural areas such as parks, urban animal visitors are likely more common than you’d think! What kind of animals might be spotted in human-dominated areas, and how do they interact with our backyards?
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Primary Source: Al-Attar R, Storey KB. Lessons from nature: Leveraging the freeze-tolerant wood frog as a model to improve organ
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Many animals, including fledgling seabirds, navigate using the moon or stars. How do increasing levels of artificial light pollution affect their ability to find their way?
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Parasites are threatening pollinator populations worldwide, raising concerns for the future of our food security. How we manage our gardens in cities could impact parasite transmission among pollinators, especially bees. Researchers found that bee parasites decrease when we plant plenty of flowers to promote diverse pollinators. We also reduce parasites when we refrain from mulching our gardens, as mulch covers nests for ground-nesting bees. As spring approaches, will your garden be friendlier to bees or their parasites?
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