social

A yellow-faced bumblebee flies between purple sage flowers.

Hive Minds: Bumblebees Collaborate to Learn Complex Behaviors

March 27, 2024March 25, 2024 Lauren Glevanik 0 Comments animal behavior, bees, behavior, behavioral ecology, Culture, innovation, social, social learning

In a groundbreaking discovery, bumblebees have been shown to have a more sophisticated social culture than previously known. Bees could learn to solve a challenging puzzle through social interaction, demonstrating their ability to learn new and complex behaviors beyond their individual cognitive abilities. This study suggests that advanced social learning is not unique to humans, and encourages further exploration of collaboration and culture in the animal kingdom.

Animal behavior

Weaving Social Webs – A trick or a treat?

October 5, 2021September 16, 2022 Brandi Pessman 0 Comments Halloween, social, spiders, webs

Spooky season is upon us, and people of all ages will be planning social events involving the holiday. Humans are not the only social beings. Although rare, some spider species are social too, living in large groups and sharing a web and the prey it catches. Sharing resources can be a real treat, but do some spiders get tricked into doing more work? Creep into the article for more on this spidery tale.

Animal behavior Remote Environments Science through time

Sperm Whales Learned to Avoid Nineteenth-Century Whalers

May 5, 2021September 16, 2022 Brandi Pessman 0 Comments communication, history, social, whales, whaling

Nineteenth-century whalers questioned why sperm whales were getting drastically more challenging to capture. At the time, whalers of the North Pacific Ocean kept detailed logbooks about sperm whale sightings and harpoon strikes. These logbooks could help provide answers to the problem whalers faced in the 1800s and to the sperm whale populations struggling to recover today. Sperm whales that have encountered whalers might communicate to other sperm whales how to avoid the dangerous whalers. This information transfer between whales could help them adapt to rapidly changing environments.

Animal behavior

Bats Can Chat! Bats use echolocation to identify group members

November 4, 2020November 4, 2020 Brandi Pessman 0 Comments bats, communication, echolocation, social

Halloween has passed, but we can still have fun talking about bats! Bats use echolocation to find food, but could there be more hiding in these calls? Social bats search for prey together to reduce the time and energy it takes to find food. Besides, teamwork makes the dream work! Bats need to identify group members to know who is searching and where they have been. Echolocation calls are distinct between individuals allowing bats to discriminate among groupmates.

Topics Covered

agriculture Air pollution animal behavior bees biodiversity birds BSC4052 carbon cities citizen science Climate Climate Change coastal environments Conservation COVID-19 Ecology ecology and society ecosystems ecosystem services endangered species environmental policy environmental science fish fisheries forests fungi genetics hurricanes insects invasive species marine biology microplastics modeling Ocean policy pollinators Pollution public health Restoration Sustainability Trees urban ecology water water quality wetlands