FLORA FAUNA - AFRICA DAILY

Usual prey gone, a fish survives by changing predictably

Mar 06, 2015 (SPX)

A species of fish that normally eats smaller fish changes in predictable ways when isolated from its prey, research led by a Case Western Reserve University bio...

The environment may change, but the microbiome of queen bees does not

Mar 05, 2015 (SPX)

Researchers from North Carolina State University, Indiana University and Wellesley College have characterized the gut microbiome of honey bee queens. This is th...

Float like a mosquito, sting like a ... mosquito

Mar 05, 2015 (SPX)

Small semi-aqueous arthropods, such as mosquitoes and water striders, are free to go about their waterborne business thanks to their unique leg-based adaptation...

Major changes in world's leaf growth patterns over recent decades

Mar 05, 2015 (SPX)

Extensive worldwide changes in the timing of leaf activity over the past few decades--which may have significant ecological and atmospheric consequences--have b...

Parasite provides clues to evolution of plant diseases

Mar 04, 2015 (SPX)

A new study into the generalist parasite Albugo candida (A. candida), cause of white rust(1) of brassicas(2), has revealed key insights into the evolution of pl...

Chinese ivory traders find haven online: group

Mar 03, 2015 (AFP)

China's booming e-commerce websites have carried thousands of advertisements for illegal wildlife products including ivory, rhino horn and tiger bone, a wildlif...

Ultra-small bacteria detailed in new microscope imagery

Mar 02, 2015 (UPI)

Over the last two decades, scientists have gone back and forth on whether or not ultra-small bacteria exist. But now, for the first time, there's photographic p...

First Detailed Microscopy Evidence of Bacteria at the Lower Size Limit of Life

Mar 02, 2015 (SPX)

Scientists have captured the first detailed microscopy images of ultra-small bacteria that are believed to be about as small as life can get. The research was l...

Plain wren duets could help further understand fundamentals of conversation

Mar 02, 2015 (SPX)

Known for their beautiful singing duets, plain wrens of Costa Rica perform precise phrase-by-phrase modifications to the duration between two consecutive phrase...

Salish Sea seagull populations halved since 1980s

Mar 02, 2015 (SPX)

The number of seagulls in the Strait of Georgia is down by 50 per cent from the 1980s and University of British Columbia researchers say the decline reflects ch...

Myanmar finds rare white elephant: state media

Mar 02, 2015 (AFP)

A rare white elephant has been captured in Myanmar, state media said Monday, a creature traditionally seen as a sign of political good fortune in a country edgi...

Cryptochrome protein helps birds navigate via magnetic field

Mar 02, 2015 (SPX)

Each year, the Arctic Tern travels over 40,000 miles, migrating nearly from pole to pole and back again. Other birds make similar (though shorter) journeys in s...

Neurons controlling appetite made from skin cells

Mar 02, 2015 (SPX)

Researchers have for the first time successfully converted adult human skin cells into neurons of the type that regulate appetite, providing a patient-specific ...

How mantis shrimp evolved many shapes with same powerful punch

Feb 27, 2015 (SPX)

The miniweight boxing title of the animal world belongs to the mantis shrimp, a cigar-sized crustacean whose front claws can deliver an explosive 60-mile-per-ho...

'Blue-green algae' proliferating in lakes

Feb 27, 2015 (SPX)

The organisms commonly known as blue-green algae have proliferated much more rapidly than other algae in lakes across North America and Europe over the past two...

American birders anxious to explore, protect Cuban species

Feb 27, 2015 (UPI)

With travel and communication beginning to open up between Cuba and United States, biologists and birders -- both amateur and formally accredited -- are eager t...

China ivory carving ban a 'symbolic' move: wildlife group

Feb 27, 2015 (AFP)

Beijing has imposed a one-year ban on imports of ivory carvings as critics say rising Chinese demand threatens African elephants with extinction, but campaigner...

Molecular feedback loop gives clues to how flowers drop their petals

Feb 26, 2015 (SPX)

As Valentine's Day fades into the past, you may be noticing a surfeit of petals accumulate around your vase of flowers. A new study from the University of Misso...

Ooowl, that hurt! Rogue bird sows terror in Dutch city

Feb 25, 2015 (AFP)

The northern Dutch town of Purmerend has advised residents to arm themselves with an umbrella when going out at night after a mysterious spate of bloody rogue o...

International team of scientists launches fossil database

Feb 25, 2015 (SPX)

Have you ever wondered exactly when a certain group of plants or animals first evolved? This week a groundbreaking new resource for scientists will go live, and...