Birds don’t leave the nest randomly but pick the ideal moment when this should happen. If the younglings leave their parents too late, they put the whole brood in danger, but leaving too early has its disadvantages as well. Therefore, researchers decided to study how the needs of young birds and their parents clash.

When should birds leave the nest?

Before birds leave the nest, they need to make sure they have acquired all the traits necessary to survive. If they spend more time with their parents, their wings develop better, while they also become more capable of escaping danger. However, an advantage for the young bird might mean a disadvantage for the brood. Every extra day it spends in the nest increases the levels of danger, as the whole brood risks getting eaten.

Researchers realized the needs of young birds and those of their parents might be different, so they decided to study when they should leave the nest. For this, they selected 19 species of songbirds native to the US and started making some observations.

Different fledging times have different consequences

They looked at the time these youngsters needed to develop, as well as the statistics on nest predations. Afterwards, they selected 11 of the species and performed advanced observations using Go-Pro cameras. With the cameras, they looked at their flying skills and the age when they left the nest.

If they chose to leave the nest early, their flying performance was poor and were easier targets for predators. Then, they performed a few experiments where they allowed young birds to leave the nest naturally but kept them protected for a few days. Even so, those who fledged too early were less likely to survive.

Now, you might think these birds should evolve a longer nesting period. However, older studies proved nests are easier targets for predation the more they stay occupied. If they get attacked, the whole brood is in danger. This way, parents promote early fledging, since some younglings manage to survive. Therefore, bird parents try to convince their young to leave the nest as soon as possible for everyone’s safety.

The study birds that leave the nest was published in the journal Science Advances.

Image source: Max Pixel

A plant considered ornamental turned out to be a real enemy to humans, as touching it can leave you with third-degree burns. The giant hogweed with white blossoms and tall stems might look pretty in a garden, but researchers have just discovered how dangerous it is to have it touch your skin.

Giant hogweed started as an ornamental plant

The first ones who started cultivating giant hogweed were the English, but Americans quickly followed their example 100 years ago. This plant is easily recognizable after its white flowers that gather in numerous bouquets on 14-feet-tall stems. Given its ornamental status, it easily spread across several states, but people quickly realized it was actually really dangerous.

Giant hogweed, scientifically called Heracleum mantegazzianum, has a phototoxic sap. This means that, if the sap touches your skin and you expose it to light, you will suffer some severe adverse reactions. The place will turn into a rash, as you’ll quickly develop oozing blisters. If the sap gets into your eyes, you might go blind.

Giant hogweed has started spreading excessively over the past decades

The situation can easily become critical, according to the researchers. They have noticed how, over the past 20 years, giant hogweed has started spreading a lot more rapidly. This happens because only one plant can produce up to 20,000 seeds in a year that spread through all kinds of means. In even, even humans may carry them.

However, giant hogweed didn’t go on a growing spree as soon as it got established in the US. Its invasiveness only started several decades later, which is really interesting. Scientists couldn’t explain the phenomenon, but they have a few suggestions. It might be that only now did they get adapted to the new environment. Or, another culprit might be climate change for it.

Image source: Pixabay

Coral reefs have already suffered a lot of damage, which is bad news for the environment. However, they play a more important role on the globe, and their disappearance would produce a huge natural disruption. If there were no coral reefs around, lands would experience double damage coming from coastal flooding and triple damage from storms.

Corals hedge us from the effect of the waves

We should protect coral reefs not only to maintain the balance of the ecosystem. A team of researchers from the University of California in Santa Cruz developed a study that predicted the damage coastal flooding could produce if there weren’t enough corals to protect us. As global warming is a constant threat to these creatures, we might witness a major increase in the floods and storms that hit the shore.

Corals are important because they serve as hedges that keep waves from hitting the shore at full force. Also, if sea storms or cyclones get too close, corals are there to absorb the shock. If this hedge didn’t exist, coastal flooding would occur with at least double the damage, causing losses of several billions of dollars.

With no corals to protect us, coastal flooding can get destructive

However, the situation isn’t too bright. We have already suffered massive coral losses, as most shallow reefs have already been damaged. Earth has 44,000 miles of coral near the coasts, which have been victims of global warming and human activity. As a result, coastal flooding has already produced more trouble than before.

The biggest enemy of the corals is warmer seawater, as even the smallest increase can be fatal. Heatwaves have already destroyed about 30 percent of the Great Barrier Reef. If seas keep getting warmer even by a few degrees, we might face the biggest coral extinction event in history.

The study on the effect of corals on coastal flooding was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Image source: Pexels

Many people know bees are pretty intelligent, but they can actually outsmart quite a big number of creatures. A recent research showed these insects are capable of dealing with an advanced subject, namely the concept of zero. After previous studies showing bees can count, this new research explains how they can also understand this complex concept.

Bees are more intelligent than we thought

Some animals are pretty intelligent and can perceive difficult concepts, but the concept of zero remains a mystery for most of them. This is why researchers were amazed to discover bees have this amazing capability. They already knew bees can count, but the zero concept is an entirely different thing.

To reach these findings, researchers trained the bees to get sugar water from two containers. Bees had to guess where the sugar water was, as on top of each container was a card with a various number of symbols. The reward was under the card with fewer symbols, so the bees were trained to learn what fewer meant.

Bees always chose the blank card as the one with fewer symbols

After some time, they brought out a card that had no symbols which, of course, hid the sugar water. Through this experiment, researchers saw bees could understand the concept of zero. In 70 percent of the cases, they selected the blank card as the one with fewer symbols. To make sure the study was foolproof, they also ran some control tests to see if blank cards weren’t just more appealing.

Researchers were amazed at the discovery, since the concept of zero seemed really hard to grasp for animals. However, they actually suspect more creatures might possess this type of intellect. With the right testing methods, they might prove others can understand the concept of zero as well. Researchers already know birds and monkeys are intelligent enough, but finding out about insects was truly remarkable.

The study in question was published in the journal Science.

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People usually blame cities for the impact they have on wildlife. However, an evolutionary biologist from Leiden University thinks urban areas can also have a positive influence on biodiversity. Instead of preventing evolution, cities might actually help animals and birds adapt to new environments and develop better surviving mechanisms. In fact, they can also ease the development of new species.

Cities produce a spike in biodiversity

Urban areas are often regarded as wildlife wastelands where humans destroy animals’ natural habitats. However, professor Menno Schilthuizen promotes cities as a good influence for biodiversity. Since creatures have to adapt to the new habitat, the process speeds up their evolution. This can lead to the emergence of whole new species of animals.

To explain the process better, Schilthuizen gave the example of a new species of mosquito. This creature is called the London Underground Mosquito, and has evolved in all types of underground areas, including subways, cellars, or basements. These mosquitoes no longer mix with the specimens above ground, so researchers are now calling it a whole new species.

Urban areas actually speed up evolution

Another good example is the one of the Hollywood bobcats. These creatures have adapted some different features that those in the north of the 101 freeway. This is an example of fragmentation which often occurs in cities. Artificial barriers lead to changes in animal populations, thus spiking biodiversity. Whenever one group of animals gets separated from a different one, evolution speeds up.

Schilthuizen says evolution is actually taking place a lot more quickly that Charles Darwin assumed. Scientists used to measure evolution in terms of generations. However, if more generations are born during a year, we can say the pace of evolution has got quicker.

Far from disrupting the environment, artificial changes might be great for biodiversity. They force animals to evolve new traits to survive. In a fragile ecological context, these changes are welcome, as they strengthen animal populations and increase their numbers.

Image source: Pixabay

Ants are among the most extreme creatures out there, as they are ready to go really far to protect the safety of their colony. A new report has recently surfaced about a unique species of exploding ants that have won the title for the most intense way to take care of their nest.

The exploding ants sacrifice themselves for the community

Everyone is aware that ants can have odd behaviors whenever they feel threatened. This explains why so many people are afraid of ants and their painful bites. Now, researchers stumbled upon some fierce exploding ants that wage war on their enemies whenever they feel like they are under attack.

During a fight between these ants and their enemies, they jump on top of the adversary and ‘explode’. More precisely, they split themselves open and let their insides flow over the enemies. Then, they smear them with a yellow substance than can make them move slower, and can often be deadly.

This is a new species, but it can earn a place on the exciting list of other exploding ants. The discovery is quite remarkable, as it’s the first time since 1935 when researchers find a new species of the sorts. After finding out what this is about, you might think it’s not that spectacular.

The behavior is common for social insects

Of course, exploding ants produce no actual explosion. However, the behavior is so extreme that the ant performing the attack kills itself to save the others. Now, you might think of kamikaze pilots or, if you want another example from nature, a stinging bee.

According to the researchers, this suicidal behavior is found only in insects with strong social characteristics. They are the only ones that are willing to sacrifice their own lives for the sake of the community. A colony of exploding ants acts like a single entity, and the main purpose of the smaller individuals is to kill themselves whenever they are under attack.

Researchers published a study on the exploding ants, scientifically called Colobopsis explodens. The study can be found in the journal ZooKeys.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Scientists uncovered a tiny fossil of a prehistoric baby bird, dating back to the Mesozoic Era(250-65 million years ago). This fossil could shed light on how early avians managed to evolve in a world where massive dinosaurs roamed.

According to researchers at the University of Manchester in the UK, the bird fossil is a chick belonging to a group of prehistoric birds called Enantiornithes.

Researchers claim that the ancient bird roamed the prehistoric Earth 127 million years ago and it would’ve been less than five centimeters (1.97 inches) tall and had a weight of 8.5 grams (0.3 ounces). The fossil, which is made up of a nearly complete skeleton, is amongst the smallest known Mesozoic avian fossils ever discovered.

What sets this discovery apart from other similar avian fossils is its death. According to the researchers, the avian died not long after its birth, which means that the prehistoric bird was still developing its skeleton. The bird’s extremely short life allowed researchers to analyze the species’ bone structure and development.

“The evolutionary diversification of birds has resulted in a wide range of hatchling developmental strategies and important difference in their growth rates,” said Fabien Knoll from the University of Manchester.

Knoll and his team used a synchrotron radiation to analyze the fossils small skeleton. They found the baby bird’s sternum was still made of cartilage, meaning that it had not developed into solid bone when it died. This would suggest that the prehistoric bird would not have been able to fly.

The researchers note that the bird’s lack of bone development did not necessarily mean that the avian relied heavily on its parents for care and feeding. According to them, this particular group of birds may have developed in more diverse ways than had been previously thought.

The research was published in the journal, Nature Communications.

Image Source: WikipediaCommons

Scientists from the Senckenberg Nature Research Society and the Technical University in Munich have found that widespread insects will start to decline due to a lack of species diversity in the future.

According to the study, published in the journal, Biological Conservation, the reasons behind this decline are due to habitat fragmentation and the intensification of agriculture. More so, researchers claim that there will be a sharp decline in butterfly species in the future, causing insect species to become more sensitive to environmental changes.

The number of insect species in the past decade was reported to have decreased by a whopping 75 percent in some regions.

“ Until now, we assumed that it is primarily the specialists among the insects, i.e., animals that depend on a specific habitat, that are threatened with extinction,” said Professor Dr. Thomas Schmitt, director of the Senckenberg German Entomological Institute in Müncheberg h

This recent study shows that even the “so-called ‘ubiquitous species’” will be threatened in the future, Professor Schmitt added.

Researchers explain that species that do not have high habitat requirements rely on the exchange between different populations.

Dr. Jan Christian Habel of the Technical University in Munich, states that widespread species have a very diverse intraspecific gene pool than species which have adapted to a specific habitat. He notes that once these widespread species are no longer able to keep this “genetic diversity” via exchange, they will lose the ability to overcome environmental changes.

The researchers point out to a “temporal shift” as one of the potential causes for the decline of species. They believe that insects which specialize in a particular ecosystem (such as the Mountain Apollo butterfly) will be threatened by the loss of high-quality habitats. Once these top-tier environments deteriorate, then other less demanding habitats will start to fragment. Thus, the threat of “undemanding” species such as the Pearly Heath (Coenonympha arcania) will begin to increase.

Image Source: Pixabay

Biologists of NOAA Fisheries have announced on Wednesday that only 450 endangered North Atlantic right whales remain in the oceans. If these animals keep getting hit by ships and getting tangled in fishing gear, researchers believe the right whale will be wiped off the planet in the next 20 years.

The biologists warned that there are only 450 remaining white whales in the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, and North Pacific Oceans, and their numbers are dwindling every day.

“We are very concerned about the future of North Atlantic right whales,” said Barb Zoodsma, right whale biologist for NOAA Fisheries, in a prepared statement.

John Ballard, who is the regional administrator of NOAA Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, urges both US and Canada to work on preserving the species. The two countries are discussing possible fishing and shipping regulations to protect the right whale from becoming extinct.

The ongoing discussions stem from 17 whales deaths this year, 12 of them being in Canadian waters.

What’s more concerning is the low number of live female whales. Zoodsma and her team of biologists estimate that only 105 breeding females are left and they are “producing fewer calves”.

According to NOAA officials, the female whales produced five calves in this year with the average number of calves annually being 11. Previous NOAA data revealed that from 1980 to 1992, approximately 145 calves were born out of which 65 were identified females.

Right whale mating season occurs in mid-November and continues until mid-April during which boaters are told to stay alert and steer clear of the right whales.

Biologists claim the reason for their dwindling numbers is entanglement in commercial fishing gear. This can inhibit the whales from eating or swimming as well as cause lethal infections.

Federal law requires all boating vessels and aircraft to keep a distance of 500 yards from right whales in order to reduce the risk of collision.

Image Source: NOAA

Los Angeles has a couple of tricks left up its sleeve or in this case 10 thousand-year-mammoth fossils. Everytime construction work starts on the Los Angeles Metro Purple Line subway extension, paleontologists grab their equipment and go underground for any potential new discoveries.

Construction of the Metro Purple Line in Los Angeles began in 2014 and over the past three years, the crew working on the project found an array of ancient fossils buried deep under the city of 8 million people. The recent discoveries included a prehistoric rabbit’s jaw, teeth of a mastodon, a camel foreleg, bison vertebrae, a mammoth tusk, tooth and ankle bone from a horse, and the crowning jewels of the collection, the skull of a young mammoth. The Columbian mammoth, whose skull had both tusks still attached, was estimated by researchers to have been between 8 to 12 years old.

Paleontologist, Ashley Leger, is attached to the Metro Purple Line project and was on call to identify the recent discoveries. She is at the ready everytime the construction crew discovers anything that would resemble a fossil.

„They’re making sure that they’re recovering every single fossil that could possibly show up. They call me anytime things are large and we need to lead an excavation.” Said Leger.

The mammoth skull has been relocated to the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum.

Los Angeles had a varied fauna during the last Ice Age which was approximately ten thousand years ago. Wooly mammoth were prevalent in the area as well as sabretooth tigers and dire wolves. Ever since the Purple Line subway expansion began, Ice Age fossils would pop out here and there

The discovery of a mammoth skull, however, is something very unique, according to Dr. Emily Lindsey of the La Brea Tar Pits and Musem. She states that only around 30 mammoth fossils have been found in the Los Angeles area so far.

Image Source: WikipediaCommons