Tag: Animal Behavior
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Can Brainless Animals Think? Understanding Simple Nervous Systems
Intro: The Question at Hand The phrase “brainless animals” often conjures images of mindless creatures. Yet many animals such as jellyfish, sea stars, sea urchins, and sea anemones display complex behaviors: catching prey, avoiding danger, and reacting to changing environments. If they aren’t wired with a centralized brain, can we still say they think? The…
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UM Students Eye Animal Behavior Through Camera Traps on a Montana Hillside
Fieldwork in Montana: UM students deploy camera traps to study wildlife behavior On a sunlit hillside in northwest Montana, a small team of University of Montana students gathers around a tree, threading a sturdy strap and adjusting the angle of a motion-activated camera. The scene could be mistaken for a routine nature hike, but for…
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Splatatouille: A Squirrel Rather Than a Rat Debunked by Science
What was once a quirky urban mystery On a damp stretch of West Roscoe Street in Chicago, a peculiar imprint in the concrete captured the public imagination. Dubbed “Splatatouille” in a light-hearted public naming contest, the footprint-like mark suggested something extraordinary had fallen onto wet pavement. The image spread across social media in 2024, prompting…
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Total Solar Eclipse Triggers Dawn Behavior In Birds: A New Look at How Light Disruptions Shape Avian Rhythms
How a rare cosmic event reshaped bird behavior When the April 2024 Great American Eclipse plunged midday into near-night across much of the central and eastern United States, it did more than dim the landscape. It provided scientists with an unprecedented, large-scale natural experiment to observe how quickly and dramatically birds respond to abrupt changes…
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Flag-Waving Bugs Reveal Surprising Anti-Predator Strategy
Mystery Behind the Waving Flags What looks like a playful dance on the leaves is actually a survival tactic. For years, scientists wondered if the bright leg flags of matador bugs were a courtship display shaped by sexual selection. However, a study examining both male and female waving found no link to mating or competition.…
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Birds’ Vocal Warnings Reveal Clues About Language Origins
Global parallels in nest-parasite warnings A sweeping international study finds that more than 20 bird species across four continents share an remarkably similar warning call when they spot a brood parasite near their nests. The whining vocalization, learned in the moment as birds listen to their surroundings, appears to be a common strategy across distant…
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Jane Goodall: A Gentle Revolutionary Redefining Humanity
A life of wonder: from England’s backyard to the wilds of Tanzania Jane Goodall, often described as a gentle revolutionary, reshaped our understanding of what it means to be human through decades of patient, empathetic science. Her lifelong curiosity about the natural world began in the quiet streets of England, where a young girl gazed…
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Jane Goodall: A Gentle Revolution Redefining Humanity
A childhood spark in England Jane Goodall’s life began with a wonder that outgrew the boundaries of a backyard garden. Born in the 1930s in England, she carried a child’s wide-eyed curiosity about animals into adulthood. Stories of wild cousins and distant jungles, along with a fascination inspired by Tarzan and Jane of the old…
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Jane Goodall: Pioneering Chimpanzee Scientist and Activist
A Life Spanning Science and Conservation Jane Goodall’s work reframed our understanding of primates and, more broadly, our place in the natural world. Born in 1934 in London, she carried a lifelong fascination with animals from childhood. Although she studied to be a secretary early on, her curiosity about wildlife would set her on a…
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Jane Goodall: Trailblazing Chimpanzee Scientist Dies
Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died, leaving a sweeping legacy that reshaped our understanding of chimpanzees, primates, and the way science engages with the living world. Born in 1934 in London, Goodall’s curiosity about animals would carry her from a modest early life to the heart of Africa’s forests and, later, to classrooms and communities…