Animals

Animals

Hot Bother: Ground squirrels taunt in infrared

California ground squirrels broadcast an infrared signal when confronting a rattlesnake.

Animals

Thoroughly Modern Migrants

Butterflies and moths are causing scientists to devise a broader definition of migration and this has raised some old questions in new ways.

Animals

A tale of new whiskers

A newly discovered, featherweight tree mouse with an unexpected evolutionary past has survived widespread habitat destruction on the Philippine island of Luzon.

Animals

Well-Tuned Bats: These animals are what they hear

Two studies of bats find that neighbors can live in virtually different worlds because their echolocation calls are tuned to detect different prey.

Animals

Turtle Trekkers: Atlantic leatherbacks scatter widely

Satellite monitoring of leatherback turtles in the Atlantic show that these animals range widely instead of sticking to "turtle corridors."

Animals

Red Sweat: Hippo skin oozes antibiotic sunscreen

The hippo version of sweat, which is red-orange, contains pigments that can block microbial growth and some ultraviolet light.

Animals

Toxin Takeout: Frogs borrow poison for skin from ants

Scientists have identified formicine ants as a food source from which poison frogs acquire their chemical weapons.

Animals

Din among the Orcas: Are whale watchers making too much noise?

Whale-watching boats may be making so much noise that killer whales off the coast of Washington have to change their calls to communicate over the racket.

Animals

Shielded cells help fish ignore noise

Fish can sort out the interesting ripples from the background rush of water currents through sensors shielded in canals that run along their flanks.

Animals

Male spiders amputate organs, run faster

Tiny male spiders of a species common to the southeastern United States routinely remove one of their two oversize external sex organs, enabling them to run faster and longer.

Animals

Hooking the Gullible

Research into fish behavior often reveals ways that bait designers can trick a fish into biting odd-looking lures, but angler appeal can also be an important marketing consideration.

Animals

Dull birds and bright ones beat so-so guys

The plumage of yearling male lazuli buntings shows signs of a rare form of evolutionary pressure called disruptive selection.