Showing 20 articles starting at article 321

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Anthropology: General, Ecology: Animals

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists examined hundreds of birds in museum collections and discovered a suite of feather characteristics that all flying birds have in common. These 'rules' provide clues as to how the dinosaur ancestors of modern birds first evolved the ability to fly, and which dinosaurs were capable of flight.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new collaborative study analyzed fecal samples to shed light on how the fatal disease impacts the gut microbiome in deer, providing a promising tool for disease surveillance.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Beaked whales are among the least studied mammals in the world. Now, a new study reveals surprising information about the Baird's beaked whale species.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Analysis reveals imported earthworm species have colonized large swaths of North America, and represent a largely overlooked threat to native ecosystems. The researchers warn of the need to better understand and manage the invaders in our midst.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Following the arrival of the first farmers in Scandinavia 5,900 years ago, the hunter-gatherer population was wiped out within a few generations, according to a new study. The results, which are contrary to prevailing opinion, are based on DNA analysis of skeletons and teeth found in what is now Denmark.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study illuminates the cultural evolution that took place approximately 50,000 to 40,000 years ago, coinciding with the dispersals of Homo sapiens across Eurasia. The insights gleaned from their examination of stone tool technology challenge the widely held notion of a rapid cultural and technological 'revolution' that enabled anatomically modern humans to surpass Neanderthals and other archaic humans. Instead, the research suggests a nuanced evolutionary process, unfolding gradually over an extended period, with changes occurring at various times. These findings challenge the conventional theory on the timing and nature of cultural transitions during this pivotal period in human history.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A mortuary practice known as Log Coffin culture characterizes the Iron Age of highland Pang Mapha in northwestern Thailand. Between 2,300 and 1,000 years ago, individuals were buried in large wooden coffins on stilts, mostly found in caves and rock shelters.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new biocontainment method for limiting the escape of genetically engineered organisms used in industrial processes.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An experiment spanning more than two decades has found that removal of apex predators from an ecosystem can create lasting changes that are not reversed after they return -- at least, not for a very long time. The study challenges the commonly held belief that the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park restored an ecosystem degraded by their absence.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There was an increase in the number of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide and an uptick in fatalities in 2023 compared to the previous year. A scientific database of global shark attacks, confirmed 69 unprovoked bites in 2023. Although this is higher than the most recent five-year average of 63 attacks, the data remain consistent with long-term trends.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The proverb "necessity is the mother of invention" has been used to describe the source from which our cultural evolution springs. After all, need in times of scarcity has forced humans to continually invent new technologies that have driven the remarkable cumulative culture of our species. But an invention only becomes cultural if it is learned and spread by many individuals. In other words, the invention must be socially transmitted. But what are the forces that drive social transmission?

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using advanced geospatial modeling to compare environmental and archaeological evidence, researchers found evidence that connects ancient mobility and subsistence strategies to cultural connections forged among Tibetan farmers and herders in the Bronze and Iron Ages -- adding to understanding of how and why ancient communities built social relationships and cultural identities across the extreme terrain in Tibet.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

We often think of fish as carefree swimmers in the ocean, reacting to the world around them without much forethought. However, new research suggests that our marine cousins may be more cognizant than we credit them for. Fish may be counting vertical bars on intruders to determine their threat level, and to inform the social hierarchy governing their sea anemone colonies.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research focused on a population of cirl bunting reintroduced into Cornwall from 2006 as part of a major conservation program. It suggests that if the translocation of nestlings is deemed necessary for conservation purposes, it may not lead to long-term problems for communication and population persistence.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A collaborative team of researchers has conducted first-of-its kind research into how global climate change affects African elephants. The work shows that older elephants will have markedly decreased chances of survival, which will not only drastically reduce the species' overall ability to weather the changing climate but will send ripple effects throughout the surrounding landscape. The team has also modeled possible mitigation scenarios.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Floating macroalgal acts as a raft that provides habitat for a diverse array of juvenile oceanic fish a new study has found. The study conducted in the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area, Western Australia, revealed that fish were more abundant around macroalgal rafts than in open water, with eleven species of juvenile fishes associated with Sargassum rafts, and one species of both juveniles and adults.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Archaeologists have debated whether Neanderthals or modern humans made stone tools that are found at sites across northern Europe and date from about 40,000 years ago. A new excavation at one site in Germany turned up 45,000-year-old bone fragments that, when analyzed for mitochondrial DNA, proved to be from Homo sapiens. This is the earliest evidence that modern humans overlapped with Neanderthals in northwest Europe, thousands of years before Neanderthals went extinct.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study, which centers on evidence from skulls of a 6-million-year-old fossil ape, Lufengpithecus, offers important clues about the origins of bipedal locomotion courtesy of a novel method: analyzing its bony inner ear region using three-dimensional CT-scanning. The inner ear appears to provide a unique record of the evolutionary history of ape locomotion.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Great whites, the largest predatory sharks in the world with the most fatal attacks on humans, are tough to imagine as newborn babies. That is partially because no one has seen one in the wild, it seems, until now.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The spread of West Nile virus in Europe is strongly linked to agricultural activities, urbanization, and bird migration, according to new research.