Guest Author • Nov 07, 2020 •
Jane Younger, University of Bath When you think of scientists discovering new species, you might imagine searching the Amazon rainforest for new types of insect or the depths of the ocean for undiscovered crustaceans. But these days most new species we discover are found hiding in plain sight. Such “hidden” species can look so similar to … Read More
Guest Author • Mar 14, 2018 •
Harvey Lillywhite, University of Florida This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Beachgoers often find unusual things that have washed up with the tides. But many people were surprised when a venomous yellow-bellied sea snake recently was found alive on California’s Newport Beach. Sea snakes are less well-known than other … Read More
Guest Author • Mar 07, 2018 •
Cecilia Gontijo Leal, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. The first time I traveled to the Amazon, in 2010, I had no idea what to expect. A doctoral student from the far-off Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, I imagined that my field work – studying … Read More
Guest Author • Mar 02, 2018 •
Coleen Suckling, Bangor University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. If you go down to the shore today, you’re sure of a big surprise. Many will have witnessed the presence of a starfish or two when visiting the seashore or a public aquarium. Starfish come in an exciting range of … Read More
Jean Balchin • Feb 09, 2018 •
Students often get to look at hydras – tiny, fresh-water members of the group that includes sea anemones, jellyfish, corals, and the Portuguese man’o’war. All these cnidarians have a simple body-plan: two layers of true tissue with a jelly-like layer between them, a sac-like gut with a single opening that acts as both mouth and anus, and the characteristic stinging cells – … Read More
Nic Rawlence • Sep 26, 2017 •
‘What’s in a name? that which we call a rose. By any other word would smell as sweet’ wrote the bard when he penned Romeo and Juliet. Names are important. They evoke emotions, power, a sense of pride and ownership. Names can transcend language barriers and allow global communication of science. Naming biodiversity is no different. Recently I gave a … Read More
Guest Author • Jul 10, 2017 •
Kevin Thiele, University of Western Australia; David Yeates, CSIRO; Kym Abrams, University of Western Australia, and Nerida Wilson, Western Australian Museum Earlier this year, a Canadian scientist named a new moth species Neopalpa donaldtrumpi (read that name out loud for full effect). It’s an insect with a golden hairdo and relatively … Read More
Guest Author • May 02, 2017 •
By Tim Doherty, Deakin University; Aaron J. Wirsing, University of Washington; Chris Dickman, University of Sydney; Dale Nimmo, Charles Sturt University; Euan Ritchie, Deakin University, and Thomas Newsome, Deakin University Humans and their canine companions share many close bonds. Wolves (Canis lupus) were the first animal domesticated by … Read More
John Kerr • Dec 09, 2016 •
Now you see them, now you don’t. Hundreds of species have already undergone ‘local extinctions’ because of climate change, according to new a study. As overall temperatures increase around the world thanks to climate change, plants and animals are starting to shift their geographic range closer to the cooler poles of the planet, or higher up the slopes of mountains. Read More
John Kerr • Sep 29, 2016 •
The New Zealand Sea Lion ranks as one of the most murderous species on the planet, according to a new study examining lethal violence among mammals. Do dolphins duel to the death? Are hippos homicidal? And what about genocidal gerbils? Spanish researchers have mapped the extent of lethal violence across 1000 mammal species, from aardvarks to zebras, and their macabre analysis is … Read More