behaviour

Inconsistent human behaviour around animals putting wildlife at risk

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A computer model suggests that wildlife may face survival problems if some of the humans in the environment help wild animals while others hunt them Life 16 March 2022 By Christa Lesté-Lasserre Feeding wild animals might give them the misleading impression that all humans will offer assistance d3sign/Getty Images Well-meaning humans might be inadvertently putting … Read more

Bonobo infants find the arrival of a new sibling stressful

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Cortisol levels in bonobo infants jumped fivefold when they got a younger sibling and stayed high for 7 months, suggesting they found it extremely stressful Life 4 March 2022 By Alice Klein A young bonobo and her mother Sean M. Lee/George Washington University Bonobo infants become highly stressed when they get a younger sibling and … Read more

Animal behaviour: Female mammals that suckle another’s young have more offspring

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By Christa Lesté-Lasserre Suckling piglets suckling a sow Shutterstock / Thuwanan Krueabudda Mammals that share their milk produce more offspring over the course of the year – and the benefits are even greater than those seen when nursing mothers are supported in other ways, such as being provided abundant food or parenting help. The findings suggest … Read more

Bumblebees: Antibiotic used on crops might make it harder for the insects to forage

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Streptomycin, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial diseases in apple orchards, might have a negative impact on bee foraging behaviour Life 23 February 2022 By Gary Hartley A common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) Clarence Holmes Wildlife/Alamy Exposure to streptomycin, an antibiotic used to treat crop diseases in the US, weakens the foraging ability of the … Read more

Scientists Attached Tracking Devices to Magpies. But Nobody Asked The Magpies

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When we attached tiny, backpack-like tracking devices to five Australian magpies for a pilot study, we didn’t expect to discover an entirely new social behavior rarely seen in birds.   Our goal was to learn more about the movement and social dynamics of these highly intelligent birds, and to test these new, durable and reusable … Read more

Animal behaviour: Rats can accurately estimate the passage of time

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Rats trained to leave 3.2 seconds between presses of a lever or to hold it down for this length of time seem able to judge whether they were accurate enough to have earned a reward Life 21 February 2022 By Carissa Wong Rats can judge their ability to keep track of the passage of time … Read more

Octopus behaviour: Gloomy octopus hatchlings seek out light to catch their tiny prey

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Two-millimetre-long gloomy octopus hatchlings move towards a source of light, possibly because it makes it easier to hunt prey Life 16 December 2021 By Christa Lesté-Lasserre A newly hatched gloomy octopus Stefan Spreitzenbarth Tiny, newly hatched gloomy octopuses seek out light – possibly to help them find their minuscule prey. Adult gloomy octopuses (Octopus tetricus) … Read more

Zebra finch songs alter the behaviour of their chicks’ mitochondria

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In warm weather, zebra finches sing heat calls to their unborn offspring, and this programs the nestlings to produce less heat inside their cells Life 8 December 2021 By Carissa Wong A zebra finch in the wild HenrikNorway/Getty Images Zebra finches sing a special song to their eggs to warn them about hot weather, and … Read more

Animal behaviour: Plumage colour predicts whether turkeys are bold or fearful

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Domesticated turkeys in Nigeria come in a variety of colours, and those with lavender-coloured feathers are more fearful than black-feathered birds Life 10 December 2021 By Christa Lesté-Lasserre A domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) with dark plumage Graham Prentice/Alamy The feather colours of certain kinds of turkeys can predict how they cope with life on the … Read more