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Categories: Ecology: Animals, Offbeat: Plants and Animals

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Researchers have identified a species of frog new to science. The Indonesian amphibian is the size of a quarter, unlike its two-pound cousins, and has tiny fangs. Nearly uniquely among amphibians, they lay their eggs on the leaves of trees, and the males guard and tend to the nests. 

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Wild North American grapes are now less of a mystery after researchers decoded and catalogued the genetic diversity of nine species of this valuable wine crop.

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Plants often develop communities with microorganisms in their roots, which influences plant health and development. Although the recruitment of these microbes is dictated by several factors, it is unclear whether the genetic variation in the host plants plays a role.

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Humans have wiped out around 1,400 bird species -- twice as many as previously thought -- with major implications for the ongoing biodiversity crisis, a new study has found. The estimated extinctions would mean almost 12 per cent of bird species have died out over modern human history, since the Late Pleistocene around 130,000 years ago, with the vast majority of them becoming extinct directly or indirectly due to human activity.

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Our understanding of which aquatic species produce sounds just took a big step forward. Scientists have created an inventory of species confirmed or expected to produce sound underwater.   

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Research along James River in Richmond suggests that climate change could shorten window for predators to prey on larvae.

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In a new study of aardvarks, researchers spent months in sub-Saharan Africa collecting poop from the animal and concluded that aridification of the landscape is isolating them, which they say could have implications for their long-term survival.

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A new method could be used to estimate the prevalence of disease in free-ranging wildlife and help determine how many samples are needed to detect a disease.

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A new study suggests that it's not Rudolph's red nose that helps reindeer find food during snowy Arctic winters, but instead a unique adaptation of their eyes to their favorite food. Reindeer may have developed their unique ability to see in the ultraviolet spectrum so they can more easily spot their primary food, the algae-fungus fusion known as lichens -- which absorb UV -- in the winter landscape. The findings help explain the long-standing scientific mystery as to why reindeer -- including Rudolph and his fellow airborne ungulates from the classic story -- can see in UV.

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Researchers have developed a theoretical framework that can reproduce and predict the patterns associated with gastrulation in a chicken embryo.   

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Arctic seals have evolved many adaptations to cope with their frosty environment -- one that you might not immediately think of is the bones in their nasal cavity. Arctic seals have more convoluted nasal passages than seal species that live in milder environments, and researchers report that these structures help the seals more efficiently retain heat and moisture as they breathe in and out.

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Researchers have come one step closer to unlocking the potential of synthetic DNA, which could help scientists develop never-before-seen proteins in the lab.

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The high-altitude hero of the Himalayas, yak are among the few large animals that can survive the extremely cold, harsh and oxygen-poor conditions of the Tibetan Plateau. In the mountainous regions of Asia, yak and yak-cattle hybrids serve as vital sources of meat, milk, transportation and fuel. However, little is known about their history: when or where yak were domesticated. In a new study, researchers report archaeologically and genetically confirmed evidence for domestic yak, dating back 2,500 years, by far the oldest record.  

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This holiday season brings surprising news about your Christmas tree. Scientists just discovered that globally, trees growing in wetter regions are more sensitive to drought. That means if your tree hails from a more humid clime, it's likely been spoiled for generations.

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A new study finds that precipitation levels during nesting season are not related to reproductive success for wild turkeys, which runs counter to the conventional wisdom regarding the role that rainfall plays in wild turkey nesting success. The findings shed new light on how climate change may affect wild turkey populations.

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Simulations integrate historical records, fossils, and ancient DNA to reveal why the European bison nearly went extinct, and pinpoint optimal areas for conservation.   Since the near-extinction of the European bison, enormous conservation efforts have helped to restore wild populations, and its numbers are on the rise. However, the study authors argue that ensuring the species's long-term protection and recovery requires understanding why they nearly went extinct in the first place.    'Our study also suggests areas where rewilding attempts are most likely to be successful,' said lead author July Pilowsky, currently a disease ecologist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Pilowsky completed the research while working on their PhD at University of Adelaide and University of Copenhagen.   

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A team of scientists had a close encounter with a non-human (aquatic) intelligence. The Whale-SETI team has been studying humpback whale communication systems in an effort to develop intelligence filters for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. In response to a recorded humpback 'contact' call played into the sea via an underwater speaker, a humpback whale named Twain approached and circled the team's boat, while responding in a conversational style to the whale 'greeting signal.' During the 20-minute exchange, Twain responded to each playback call and matched the interval variations between each signal.

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Horses have developed long faces simply 'because they can,' a team of evolutionary biologists say. In a major review of how mammalian heads evolve, scientists found that adaptations to feeding explain why large species of mammals often have much longer faces compared to smaller closely related species -- a pattern referred to as Craniofacial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA).

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Pipistrelle bats have a magnetic compass and calibrate it at sunset, according to a new study. An international team of researchers has used behavioral experiments to show that two different components of the Earth's magnetic field influence the orientation of these animals. Like birds, they seem to be sensitive to magnetic inclination.

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Researchers have described a Japanese mosasaur the size of a great white shark that terrorized Pacific seas 72 million years ago. The mosasaur was named for the place where it was found, Wakayama Prefecture. Researchers call it the Wakayama Soryu, which means blue dragon.