Articles tagged with Ethology
A new study from Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences has found that German Shepherd dogs bred for working exhibit greater curiosity and fearlessness than those bred for show. The research used DNA analysis to identify genetic variations associated with these traits.
Chimpanzees learn to use calls from adults, forming signal conventions passed on through generations, offering new insight into communication development.
Researchers observed 356 pregnancies across 117 females, finding fetal loss more common in females caring for infants, especially those with frequent infant tantrums. However, females who experienced fetal loss conceived again sooner and produced more surviving offspring.
A study published in Current Biology reports an unusual sexual bond between a bull and a male donkey on an Ethiopian plateau. The two animals, from different owners, engaged in repeated mounting behavior, accompanied by affiliative behaviors like licking, rubbing, and nuzzling.
Scientists at Cornell University have identified changes in the brain region associated with aggression in tame foxes, which may explain their friendly nature. The study found that domesticated foxes have fewer estrogen receptor-expressing neurons in this region, which could contribute to their reduced aggression
Seabirds' internal clocks can become out of sync with local time during long-distance flights, causing predictable errors when navigating by the sun. Researchers analyzed 20 years of GPS tracking data from 1,045 Manx shearwaters and found systematic deviations consistent with this effect.
In Betta brownorum, subordinate individuals contribute to territorial defence and reduce the burden on breeding adults, suggesting incipient cooperative breeding. However, direct egg care or fry care was not observed, leaving classification uncertain.
Researchers found that Rüppell's vultures produce 16 distinct call types, using sounds to convey emotions and information. The study's findings could help improve captive breeding programs and shed light on the evolution of communication.
Researchers have developed an affordable, open-source air quality monitoring device for wildlife, tracking particulate matter and providing insights into smoke exposure and behavior. The device can be attached to animal collars, filling gaps in data and delivering health insights for people exposed to smoke.
Orangutan mothers actively seek out playmates for their young, even at a cost to their daily lives. This behavior helps build the strength and social skills needed later in life. Despite rarity, these playdates occur frequently enough to have a lasting impact on the young orangutans.
Fish have designed their perfect partners in a new experiment, revealing simple male preferences for larger females and more complex female tastes favouring traits like longer tails or brighter colours. This approach mimics sexual selection, where attractive traits become stronger down the generations.
Researchers discovered that dog brains synchronize with the rhythm of consonant-structured words, similar to human brains, and show a distinct brain response around 400ms after the start of each word. This finding supports the idea that exposure to speech can lead to a consonant bias in dog brains.
Researchers found that sharks can detect low-frequency sounds from considerable distances and respond by dramatically changing direction away from the source. They detected sounds from up to 243 feet away and were more sensitive to lower frequencies.
Wild orangutans learn survival skills through a combination of social and individual learning. The study, published in Science, found that infants engaged in social learning more frequently than individual learning, with social learning triggering subsequent exploration for up to 2.5 hours.
Researchers at the University of Warwick found that the indri, the world's only known singing lemur, uses a vocal technique similar to trained opera singers to hit high notes. The indri opens its mouth wider to project higher-pitched vocalizations through the forest, a process that may serve a similar purpose to formant tuning in humans.
Research from Eötvös Loránd University and the HUN-REN Research Centre suggests dogs exhibit brain activity similar to human self-control, potentially shedding light on ADHD and obesity. This study uses non-invasive EEG measurement to investigate canine brain activity during restraint commands.
Researchers found that adult chimpanzees in Senegal intentionally hand over tools to infants and youngsters, facilitating learning. The study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, reveals a unique form of teaching where adults deliberately provide tools and food to younger individuals.
Tadpoles of the Japanese common toad exhibit lower kin recognition and social preference for siblings, contrary to previous studies. Social isolation, not kinship, influences association behavior in these amphibians.
A new study from Virginia Tech scientists reveals the complex relationship between temperature, photoperiod, and bear hibernation behavior. The research found that temperature and day length interact to shape hibernation behavior, potentially disrupting climate-driven changes in hibernation timing.
Researchers studied two closely related fish species in Lake Tanganyika, finding that they share the same preferences for simple choices but diverge when faced with complex decisions. The blue featherfin makes rapid, decisive choices based on one feature, while the golden featherfin takes longer to decide and considers multiple features.
Researchers combined iNaturalist photos with scientific observations to study harvestman care for 85 species, doubling the known data on parental care. The study reveals two evolutionary paths for paternal care and sheds light on the evolution of care in the Gonyleptoidea group.
In contrast to previous studies on human food-sharing practices, female Guinea baboons have diverse sources of meat and do not rely heavily on their primary males. The researchers observed that females often catch prey themselves and access alternative sources of meat.
Research reveals how dogs developed specialized forms in response to human needs, such as compact sled dogs for Arctic regions and lean hunting dogs for tropical forests. Genetic adaptations also emerged to cope with oxygen-poor air at high altitudes, mirroring human populations' genetic traits.
A study found that pumas change deer behavior, reducing the likelihood of deer-vehicle collisions by 67%. Deer alter their use of space and time where pumas are present, overlapping less with roads.
A study of bull shark behavior found that individuals are slightly more likely to associate and socialise with relatives than unrelated sharks. This 'kinfluence' effect may contribute to both proximity-based associations and directed social interactions, particularly among male sharks.
A recent study on orphaned grizzly bears found a high mortality rate of 83%, largely due to human-bear conflicts, illegal killings, and intraspecific killing. The study also highlights the risk of habituation to humans, which can lead to serious conflicts, particularly when combined with oversized size from excessive growth during reha...
Elephants released from human care successfully reintegrate into the wild, exhibiting behaviors comparable to those of their wild neighbors. While some individuals show age- and sex-related differences, overall, rewilded elephants adapt well, with most stress levels within normal ranges.
A study found that people behave more curiously than cautiously around a service robot, noticing it more often and even grabbing multiple candies at once. However, some visitors felt slightly uncomfortable when the robot came close, highlighting the need for deeper user assessments.
Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University successfully generated red blood cell-like cells from canine induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), marking a significant step towards artificial cell production for blood bank reserves. The study used CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing to target glycophorin A, allowing the team to visualize and tr...
Social animals exhibit a range of pre-war preparations, including environmental cues and memories of past events. These behaviors can impact socio-cognitive evolution, population dynamics, and community structures. Preemptive behavior is widespread in social species, depending on the current threat level.
A new study assesses how climate change affects predator-prey dynamics in a semi-arid ecosystem. Researchers found that during periods of low precipitation, owls shifted to different prey, increasing dietary overlap variability. Temperature was the strongest driver of these changes.
A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that bumblebees display observable 'liking and disliking' behaviours after consuming different liquids. This suggests that insects can evaluate tastes as pleasant or unpleasant, pushing the understanding of their inner life.
A UMD-led study reveals that wild bats balance different types of immune defenses based on sex, age, and competition for mates. The researchers found that male bats rely more on rapid-response immune defenses, while females invest in targeted responses to pathogens.
A new study has found that changes in a senior dog's gait can be an early warning sign of dementia. The research tracked the stride length of 88 geriatric dogs over time, revealing a significant decrease in front leg stride length with worsening cognitive decline. This change was found to be more pronounced than age-related decline alone.
New research reveals orangutans selectively consume certain medicinal plants in specific sequences, suggesting 'self-medication' behaviors. The study, based on 20 years of observations, found plant combinations with known medicinal benefits are eaten consistently beyond simple nutrition needs.
Researchers at Oregon State University found that bat rays produce a chemical cue to alert other rays of potential danger. The study used three tanks with individual bat rays and simulated a predator in one tank, causing the other rays to exhibit a flight response.
A new study from Stockholm University found that young guppies raised with visual contact to live fish developed larger brains and relatively larger olfactory bulbs compared to those with only screen-based exposure. This suggests that interactive social experiences during development may be important for normal brain growth.
Urban male bowerbirds collect more colorful and larger human-made items than rural rivals, suggesting a preference for these traits in females. Researchers found that red decorations are more vivid in urban areas, while green decorations are duller.
A new study found that participating in awe-inspiring natural phenomena, like a solar eclipse, increases people's identification with science and sense of belonging. The researchers also discovered that awe plays a powerful role in this process.
A recent study found that homing pigeons use simple route averaging to improve their navigation when flying together. This strategy allows the birds to generate social routes from solitary ones, providing evidence for a simpler mechanism of social learning than previously thought.
Researchers found that the gut responds to protein deficiency by activating a fast neural circuit and a slower hormonal signal, which selectively changes dietary priorities. The study reveals a previously unknown gut-brain signaling system that rapidly alters feeding behavior in animals.
Scientists analyzed GPS tracking data from 37 animal species paired with cellphone location data to reveal how humans impact wildlife. The study found that 57% of species were impacted by human presence and landscape modification, with varied responses between species.
Researchers have captured the behavior of scissor-tailed nightjars creating a unique sound by snapping their wrists together during courtship and copulation. The study sheds light on lesser-known bird communication methods and raises questions about the nuances of mechanical sounds.
A novel imaging pipeline called Neuroplex enables simultaneous measurements of up to nine distinct neuronal populations in living mice. This approach accelerates the pace of scientific exploration into how the brain controls behavior by overcoming fundamental limitations in miniscope recordings.
Scientists found that queen bumblebees are faster learners and better at identifying scents than worker bees. This skill helps them differentiate between flowers, find the best ones, and ensure colony survival. Understanding their cognitive abilities could reveal fundamental insights into learning and evolution.
A study found that psilocybin, a key magic mushroom ingredient, significantly reduces aggressive attack behavior and energetically costly social behaviors in mangrove rivulus fish. The compound selectively dampens escalated social conflict without suppressing lower-energy social display behaviors.
A 33-year study of wild capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica reveals how climate fluctuations impact social dynamics, changing the costs and benefits of living together. Larger groups can offset internal competition by expanding their range and claiming areas from smaller groups, but this strategy is sensitive to climate variability.
A team of researchers created a touchscreen-based game task inspired by hide-and-seek to elicit curiosity in resident Japanese macaques. The monkeys preferred moderate uncertainty, spending nearly 100 trials without rewards. This study supports the goldilocks principle, where animals seek moderately complex or uncertain stimuli.
A study found that wild sulphur-crested cockatoos learn about novel food through social learning, with juveniles more likely to conform to the majority's preferences. The birds' dietary knowledge spread rapidly through their community, influenced by age groups and sex.
In a unique behavior, monkeys on Gibraltar have learned to eat dirt to help them digest the junk food consumed by tourists, which disrupts their gut microbiome. The researchers found that geophagy is socially learned and has become part of the macaques' culture, with different troops having preferences for certain types of soil.
A new study provides the first direct evidence of cuckoo egg-laying behaviour in cavity nests, rejecting a centuries-old myth about egg-carrying. Cuckoos use two distinct strategies to parasitize host nests, involving trade-offs between accuracy and risk.
A Linköping University study shows that playing with dogs for just a few minutes a day can significantly improve the emotional bond between owners and their pets. Dog training did not have the same effect, suggesting that playtime is crucial for building strong relationships.
Researchers found that crabs' iconic sideways walk originated from a single, forward-walking ancestor around 200 million years ago. This rare innovation likely contributed to the ecological success of true crabs by making their escape direction unpredictable.
A study shows how a kea parrot with a missing upper beak uses innovative fighting techniques to dominate his group and gain social status. He achieves this through 'beak jousting,' which proves more effective than other methods, leading to improved health benefits and social recognition.
Researchers at Salk Institute discovered that naked mole rats can transition to peaceful queen succession, demonstrating flexibility in their social order. This finding challenges previous understanding of colony dynamics and opens new avenues for studying eusocial mammals.
Entomologist Mark Moffett observes harvester ants congregating with smaller cone ants in Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains. The unusual behavior involves the cone ants licking and nibbling the harvester ants' body surfaces, possibly consuming calorie-rich dust-size morsels.
A new study reveals that sunbirds employ tongue suction to slurp nectar, a novel mechanism in vertebrates. This finding highlights the power of convergent evolution, where different species adapt to similar ecological challenges in distinct ways.
Wild grey squirrels show a preference for almonds over pumpkin seeds, even when they require a longer climb to reach. This suggests that animals may benefit from waiting or working harder for a better outcome in natural decision-making scenarios.
A study by University of California, Berkeley biologists found detectable alcohol in at least one flower of 26 of the 29 species of plants tested. Hummingbirds and other animals consume small doses throughout the day without apparent effects, but may metabolize ethanol like mammals do.
Researchers found that mosquitoes' rectal cells interact with their nervous system, influencing appetite and behavior. The study suggests the gut plays a key role in regulating behavior across species, with implications for understanding mosquito feeding habits and potential treatments.