Behavior
A round of underwater applause: Scientists record gray seals clapping underwater
How do you get someone else’s attention underwater? It turns out some seals may clap their flippers together the same…
Tag: animal behavior
Conservation
Ensuring that coral reefs sound like home
What does a coral reef sound like? The answer is more important than you might think. By playing the sounds…
Neurobiology
No nerves lost: Octopuses can regenerate their nervous system.
Octopuses have complex behaviors, like communicating with other octopuses by changing color patterns of their skin. Damage to the nerve…
Behavior
Mazes aren’t just for mice: European shore crabs exhibit spatial learning
Mazes aren’t just for mice, although a scientific literature search for maze learning might lead you to think so. In…
Behavior
The story behind the story: Understanding how mother whales communicate and the challenges of studying an endangered species
How do North Atlantic right whale moms talk to their calves? A recent paper describes new quiet calls which have…
Conservation
From Animal Tracking to Conservation
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to ride on the back of a whale? Scientists now use…
Fisheries
Does ocean circulation provide prey for a top ocean predator?
Ocean circulation patterns are generally thought to move water from one area to another in the world’s oceans. One example…
Neurobiology
Are dolphins losing their minds in blooming ocean waters?
Polluted water is a great source of food for harmful algal blooms, which release even more toxins into the water.…
Behavior
Same-Sex Squid Sex
Same-sex sexual behavior exists across a wide range of animals, but the behavior has long puzzled scientists because of the…
Neurobiology
Bold Fish, Shy Fish: What’s in Their Brains?
Much like people, some fish individuals are adventurous, while others are more cautious. Do differences in the brain function hold…
Behavior Biological oceanography Biology Climate Change Conservation Ecology Sea Ice Trophic Ecology
Ecology of Fear: Current Implications of Orca Presence on Narwhal Behavior and Future Trends
The ecology of fear is a hypothesis that predators drive habitat use and behavior in prey species. In the Arctic,…
Coral
Lost in the sound: coral planulae habitat selection affected by boat noise
It can be hard to cut through the noises that surround us and focus on the task in front of…
Sharkbites Saturday
Citizen Science and Undersea Stars: The Value of Photographs to Global Megafauna Biology
Check out this article about how tourist pictures of whale sharks are helping scientists learn about whale shark populations around…
Biology
Summertime skincare: bowhead whales use rocks to help peel off molting skin
Whale summer skin care? Yes, it really is a thing. Read on to learn how bowhead whales in the eastern…
Ocean Acidification
Wandering copepods can’t find their way home in acidic oceans
Journal source: Smith, J. N., C. Richter, K. Fabricius, and A. Cornils. 2017. Pontellid copepods affected by ocean acidification: A…
Methodology
Using seabirds to study squid
How do scientists track fast swimming squid in the remote and vast open waters of the Southern Ocean? Probably not…
Biology
Candidate compass genes in fish
A team of American researchers use next-generation sequencing to ask: "magnetoreception, how does it work?"
Climate Change
It’s a trap! African penguins impacted by climate change
Young penguins living along the southwestern coast of Africa typically follow cool, nutrient rich water to find food as they…
Behavior Book Review Coastal Management Conservation Coral Ecology Human impacts
Small MPAs: the new all-you-can-eat buffets?
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a popular conservation tool and are in many situations very effective. Unfortunately, as with many…
Biology
What killer whales tell us about menopause
Killer whales, or orcas (Orcinus orca), are amazingly intelligent and social animals. What can they tell us about the evolution…