Discoveries / Research News - 2009

May 4, 2009. During the breeding season, male and female crested auklets (Aethia cristatella) grow a distinct group of bristle feathers on the top of their head. Scientists have for some time known that both sexes show a preference for selecting mates with larger crests. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks have discovered that the larger feathers a male crested auklet has, the lower its stress hormones. This suggests that male with larger crests may be better able to cope with the demands of reproduction, foraging, and competition.

May 3, 2009. The University of California, Davis and the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project have together launched an ambitious and comprehensive program to protect mountain gorillas (Gorilla geringei beringei). The program, called 'One Health', aims to protect the remaining 740 mountain gorillas that inhabit the Virunga Mountains, a crest of mountains that straddles the borders of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa.

May 1, 2009. A small fossil carnivore discovered on Devon Island, in Nunavut, Canada has shed light on an obscure stage in pinneped evolution. Pinnepeds belong to a group of marine carnivores that includes seals, sea lions, and the walrus. Pinnepeds are semi-aquatic mammals with limbs that have been modified into flippers. Pinnepeds are believed to be close cousins to two other groups of carnivores, the Ursidae (bears) and the Mustleoidae (skunks, otters, badgers, and relatives).

April 3, 2009. Amphibians around the world are suffering dramatic population declines due to a combination of factors. Among the most significant of these factors is the fungal disease, chytridiomycosis. This leathal skin disease is caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. It was first identified in amphibian populations from Queensland Australia in 1993 and has since been detected throughout Africa, North and South America, Europe, New Zealand and Oceana.

March 13, 2009. New software has been developed that will help wildlife researchers to better identify tigers photographed via remote cameras. The software, developed by experts from Conservation Research Ltd. and the Wildlife Conservation Society, relies on technology similar to that of fingerprint-matching software used by crime investigators. Camera trap photography is a non-intrusive method for studying animals in their natural habitat.

April 2, 2009. Scientists have discovered that two characteristics—large size and fast bite—may indicate an evolutionary vulnerability in bony fishes. These two characteristics, large size and fast bite, are common to many predatory fishes—these fish must be large enough to overpower their prey and possess a fast bite speed to capture them. There are a number of additional reasons large predatory fishes may tend to be more susceptible to decline. They often have low population growth rates and require larger territories.

March 2, 2009. A new tiger protection effort has been launched by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the World Bank, and the Global Environment Facility. Together, these organizations have committed $2.8 million to tiger conservation under a project called Tigers Forever. The project's objectives are exceptionally concrete: to increase tiger numbers within a selection of sites throughout Asia by 50 percent over the next ten years. Conservationists involved in the project have for the first time placed such finite numbers on their goals. There are currently 800 individuals in the selected sites.

February 26, 2009. Until recently, small migratory songbirds, too small to track via satellite, have eluded scientists who wish to follow their annual migrations. Now, a tiny device that senses light levels and records sunrise and sunset times, enables scientists to gain new, detailed insight into songbird migration. The device, referred to as a 'light-level geolocator', is made of plastic and weights about 1.5 grams. To use it, scientists must first capture several individual birds that they wish to track and attach the geolocators to each bird.

February 25, 2009. In many species of birds, bright, colorful feathers serve as a signal of vitality and as a result the more vibrant birds often are more successful at attracting mates. In species such as house finches, flamingos, scarlet ibises and Northern cardinals, their colorful feathers are the result of a diet rich in carotenoids. Carotenoids are a class of organic pigments that are produced by plants. These red, yellow, and orange pigments help plants to absorb light energy for photosynthesis and prevent degradation of chlorophyll.

February 20, 2009. Despite their common name, gray wolves (Canis lupus) are a colorful bunch of canines. Their coat color can range from white to gray to black and is regulated by a complex set of genetic factors. The frequencies of coat colors within a wolf population vary depending on the type of habitat the wolves occupy. For example, wolf packs that live in open tundra habitat consist of primarily light-colored individuals. This enables the wolves to blend in with their surroundings and, in turn, conceal themselves when pursuing caribou, their primary prey.