Latest Predation Stories
Swedish scientists have discovered Siberian jay birds use more than a dozen different calls to communicate danger and predator category to other birds. The researchers said most prey immediately escape upon detecting a predator. However, when encountering resting predators, some prey approach and mob the predators despite any associated risk. And, while mobbing predators, the prey utter mobbing calls that have been suggested to vary depending on risk or predator category. The new study from...
How fast can evolution take place? In just a few years, according to a new study on guppies led by UC Riverside's Swanne Gordon, a graduate student in biology.Gordon and her colleagues studied guppies "” small fresh-water fish biologists have studied for long "” from the Yarra River, Trinidad. They introduced the guppies into the nearby Damier River, in a section above a barrier waterfall that excluded all predators. The guppies and their descendents also colonized the lower portion of...
U.S. ecologists have discovered rare traits persist in a population because predators prefer common forms of prey and ignore variations. University of Tennessee Assistant Professor Benjamin Fitzpatrick, who led the research, found birds will target salamanders that look like the majority -- even reversing behavior in response to alterations in the ratio of a distinguishing trait. He worked with Kim Shook and Reuben Izally in studying the effects of the prevalence of a dorsal stripe among a...
Rare traits persist in a population because predators detect common forms of prey more easily. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Ecology found that birds will target salamanders that look like the majority "“ even reversing their behavior in response to alterations in the ratio of a distinguishing trait.Benjamin Fitzpatrick, from the University of Tennessee, worked with Kim Shook and Reuben Izally to study the effects of the prevalence of a dorsal stripe among a group of...
According to conservationists, livestock grazing poses a threat to a variety of fish and other wildlife across over three-fourths of their dwindling habitats on federal land in the Western U.S.WildEarth Guardians began a study last year, using satellite mapping and federal records, matching wildlife habitat and U.S. grazing allotments across over 260 million acres of federal land in the West.The study includes most of the remaining habitat of the Greater sage grouse, a hen-sized game bird...
How do the many carnivorous animals of the Americas avoid competing for the same lunch, or becoming each other's meal?A possible answer comes from a new study by a pair of researchers at the University of California, Davis. Their large-scale analysis shows that it's not just chance that's at play, but avoidance strategies themselves that have been a driving force in the evolution of many carnivores, influencing such factors as whether species are active daytime or nighttime, whether they...
By applying an old theory that has been used to explain water flow through soil and the spread of forest fires, researchers may have an answer to a perplexing ecological and evolutionary problem: why locusts switch from an innocuous, solitary lifestyle to form massive swarms that can devastate crops and strip fields bare. Their report, published online on December 18th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, concludes that once the insects' ranks grow to a certain threshold size,...
Like something from a horror movie, the swarm of bacteria ripples purposefully toward their prey, devours it and moves on.Researchers at the University of Iowa are studying this behavior in Myxococcus xanthus (M. xanthus), a bacterium commonly found in soil, which preys on other bacteria.Despite its deadly role in the bacterial world, M. xanthus is harmless to humans and might one day be used beneficially to destroy harmful bacteria on surfaces or in human infections, said John Kirby, Ph.D.,...
By Pack Notes Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, that Berks County Mecca for migrating birds of prey, is now open for a 72nd season. Hawk watches are being held daily through Dec. 15. An average of 18,000 birds of prey will soar over the sanctuary's North Lookout 1,500 feet atop the Kittatinny Ridge. Trained staff announce approaching birds for the visiting public. Ospreys, bald eagles and American kestrels are featured in late summer. Broad-winged hawks build in mid September. The greatest...
By Lois Henry, The Bakersfield Californian Aug. 5--If you've never visited the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge area, you should. It's incredible country in southwestern Kern County. Its rugged, stark beauty can take your breath away. Unfortunately, it's being run by a unit of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that also leaves me breathless (OK, sputtering), for their incredible arrogance. I learned about the Bitter Creek controversy last week when the Kern County Board of...
Latest Predation Reference Libraries
Thomson’s gazelle (Eudorcas thomsonii) is also known as a “tommie” and is one of the most well-known gazelle species. Named after Joseph Thomson, Thomson’s gazelle is native to Africa where it is the most commonly found gazelle. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the red-fronted gazelle, and was previously in the genus Gazella, in the subgenus Eudorcas. Eudorcas eventually became a distinct genus, classifying some species of gazelle within their own genus. Thomson’s...
Grant’s gazelle (Nanger granti) is native to Africa. Its northern range of Tanzania extends south to Ethiopia and the Sudan, and from the coast of Kenya to Lake Victoria. It prefers habitats within shrub lands and grass plains, but can also be found in regions that are more arid. In Swahili, Grant’s gazelle is called Swala Granti. It was placed within the Nanger subgenus of the genus Gazella, before Nanger became a separate genus. Grant’s gazelle holds five recognized subspecies. The...
The Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) is a species of passerine tyrant flycatcher found from southern Texas and Mexico south to Uruguay and central Argentina. They are also found on Trinidad. They have been introduced to Bermuda in 1957, and Tobago in 1970. The adult Great Kiskadee is 8.7 inches long and weighs 2.2 ounces. It has a black head with a white eye stripe and concealed yellow crown stripe. The upperparts are brown. The wings and tail are brown and have reddish-brown fringes....
The West Caucasian Tur (Capra caucasica), is a goat antelope found only in the western half of the Caucasus Mountain Range. They thrive in rough mountainous terrain between 2625 and 13120 feet in elevation. West Caucasian Turs are nocturnal, eating in the open at night and sheltering during the day. Females live in herds of around ten individuals, while males are solitary. The Tur stands up to 39.4 inches at the shoulder and weighs about 143 pounds. West Caucasian Turs have large but...
The Wild Goat (Capra aegagrus), is a common species of goat, with a distribution ranging from Europe and Asia Minor to central Asia and the Middle East. In the wild, these goats live in flocks of up to 500 individuals. Male wild goats are solitary and go through a period called a rut, where they are ready to mate. During the rut old males drive younger males from the maternal herds. The gestation period averages 170 days. Females usually give birth to one kid. Kids can follow the mother...
