#Biologists developing global citizen network to monitor insect abundance

“#Biologists developing global citizen network to monitor insect abundance” Adam Siepielski netting damselflies. Credit: Roy Cordell. A U of A biologist is part of an international team of researchers building a volunteer network of citizen scientists to help monitor the abundance of dragonflies and damselflies. Recent studies have indicated that insect species in general are…

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#A new species of spider

“#A new species of spider” Lower picture: Various views of a male specimen (upper row) and a female specimen (lower row) of the newly discovered spider species Ocrepeira klamt. Credit: Charlotte Hopfe. During a research stay in the highlands of Colombia conducted as part of her doctorate, Charlotte Hopfe, Ph.D. student under the supervision of…

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#Coconut rhinoceros beetle makes unexpected ‘host shift’ to Guam’s cycad trees

“#Coconut rhinoceros beetle makes unexpected ‘host shift’ to Guam’s cycad trees” Coconut rhinoceros beetle adult and frass extracted from a burrow within the cataphylls of a Cycas micronesica stem apex. Cycad cataphylls are modified leaves designed to protect the massive stem apex. Credit: University of Guam Western Pacific Tropical Research Center Researchers at the Western…

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#Fish exposed to noise pollution likely to die early: study

“#Fish exposed to noise pollution likely to die early: study” Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Fish stressed by noise are less able to fight off disease while prolonged exposure can lead to an early death, according to research published Tuesday, the latest outlining the consequences of man-made clamour on the natural world. Human noise pervades the…

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#Biggest fish in the sea are girls

“#Biggest fish in the sea are girls” Measuring whale sharks. Credit: Andre Rereuka / AIMS A decade-long study of the iconic fish has found male whale sharks grow quickly, before plateauing at an average adult length of about eight or nine meters. Female whale sharks grow more slowly but eventually overtake the males, reaching an…

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#An extremely social robotic fish helps unravel the collective patterns of animal groups

“#An extremely social robotic fish helps unravel the collective patterns of animal groups” Using state-of-the-art robotics, a research team from the University of Konstanz, Science of Intelligence, and the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) shows that animals’ speed is fundamental for collective behavioral patterns, and that ultimately it is the faster…

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