All Stories by Susan Milius
- Animals
Hybrid Power: Salamander invader ups survival of rare cousin
Mixed offspring of the endangered California tiger salamander and an invasive cousin survive better than either pure-bred species, raising tricky questions for conservationists.
- Animals
Fish Switch: Salmon make baby trout after species, sex swap
Salmon implanted with trout reproductive tissue bred to produce a generation of normal rainbow trout.
- Animals
Hive Scourge? Virus linked to recent honeybee die-off
A poorly understood virus seems to have a connection to the recent widespread demise of honeybees.
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Rethinking Bad Taste
Many animals use mimicry to gain a competitive advantage, but are there degrees of cheating?
- Animals
High Volume, Low Fidelity: Birds are less faithful as sounds blare
In noisy surroundings, normally faithful female zebra finches flirt with unfamiliar males.
- Animals
Tail singers
The male Anna's hummingbird impresses females and intimidates other males by making a whipping sound with its tail feathers.
- Animals
What’s so great about ‘chuck’?
A particular flourish in a male frog's call attracts extra interest from predators as well as female frogs, and researchers now have an idea why.
- Animals
Badly matched birds make troubled parents
Cockatiel pairs that don't cooperate well have trouble raising their chicks.
- Animals
Ferrets Gone Wild: Reintroduced animals coming back in Wyoming
A Wyoming population of endangered black-footed ferrets, started from captive-bred animals, has survived difficulties and is doing well.
- Animals
Not-So-Elementary Bee Mystery
Old-style epidemiology casework combines with an array of 21st-century lab tests in the search for clues to the disappearance of honeybees.
- Animals
Den Mothers: Bears shift dens as ice deteriorates
As Arctic ice has dwindled, pregnant polar bears in northern Alaska have become more likely to dig their birthing dens on land or nearshore ice than on floating masses of sea ice.
- Animals
Faker Crayfish: Males keep bluffing but don’t get caught
Some male Australian crayfish fake out their rivals by brandishing claws that look impressive but have little strength.
