Latest news with #ecology
CTV News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Wanuskewin bison herd has grown in the past five years
Watch WATCH: It's national bison week and Wanuskewin Heritage Parks highlights the cultural and ecological roles of the animals.
ABC News
6 days ago
- Science
- ABC News
Bearded dragons fitted with special backpacks showed animals that moved fast, died young
It takes skill and patience to design a tiny bespoke backpack and fit it onto an Australian bearded dragon. But Kristoffer Wild regularly found himself doing just that during his PhD at the Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary in Queensland. "I became a tailor during my PhD," the University of Melbourne ecologist joked. He'd measure the neck and chest of each lizard, before quickly setting up the sewing machine, cutting specially-designed material and stitching tiny, individually measured outfits. Dr Wild then wrangled the backpacks — which weighed about as much as an AAA battery — onto the Australian central bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps). After the hour-long tailoring session, the lizards were set free sporting a new outfit stuffed with a GPS tracker, an accelerometer and a temperature tracker. "[The backpack records] every single second of what the animal is doing, and senses if it's accelerating forward, backward, up and down," Dr Wild said. The year-long study led to a wealth of data about how the lizards' temperature changed throughout the seasons, where they went and what they did. But of all the data — which has today been published in the Journal of Animal Ecology — one thing stood out. The speediest bearded dragons were the most likely to not survive to the end of the experiment. "We usually think animals that are faster are more likely to evade predation," Dr Wild said. Not only is this counterintuitive, but it goes against what prior research has found in the lab. So what is going on? Dr Wild and his team tracked 40 bearded dragons. Because the team lived close by, they could also quickly check on any lizards when there was a problem, or when they were eaten by a predator. "We could pinpoint the exact time of death and usually we could work out what caused it based off of how the carcass was left," Dr Wild said. At the end of the study, they found most of the bearded dragons were eaten in the spring, and females were much more likely than males to be eaten. "The males have to defend their territories, whereas the females have to hunker down and save all their energy for their eggs," he said. But why the speediest dragons were the most likely to die was — at first — a mystery. The Australian central bearded dragon is found throughout inland Australia, and at their largest can be up to 60 centimetres from tip to tail. Its beefy nature might explain some of the results, Dr Wild suggested. Because of their size, adult bearded dragons mostly use stealth, as opposed to speed to avoid predators. "What does a bearded dragon do when you see it in the field? They use their patterns to blend into the background," he said. This isn't the case for all lizards. Younger or smaller lizards instead try to use their speed to outrun a predator, but this makes them tasty targets. "Whereas when they're larger, they're relying more on blending into their environment." However, Martin Whiting, an animal behavioural researcher at Macquarie University who specialises in lizards, said although the paper was "valuable", larger sample sizes were needed to better understand survival in the wild. "We do predict that animals that can sprint faster have a greater chance of surviving in the wild," Professor Whiting said. "But this is still poorly understood, and this paper helps shake that paradigm a little." Although past research has shown in lab conditions that lizards that are faster are more successful, Professor Whiting said there hasn't been enough research to confirm that is actually the case. "What happens in nature is often not that black and white," he said. "There might be systems where being the fastest sprinter is good, like if you're an antelope and about to be eaten by a cheetah. And then there are other systems where you might need to be more cryptic." "You may not 'invest' in being a good sprinter." From getting a waterproof, smooth material made from a local outdoor company, to sewing the vests himself, Dr Wild did what he could to ensure the trackers didn't harm the animals. "We tracked the animals for a few days in a row just to make sure they were happy with the attachment, and they didn't get [stuck] on a fence or something. "It worked pretty great." But he also admits the vest isn't foolproof. "You do have to tell yourself, 'Yes, we are manipulating the animals' behaviour because we're putting tracking gear on it,'" he said. "But we're trying to minimise [the disruption] at all costs." This includes how long it takes to put the outfit onto a bearded dragon. "It's like putting a T-shirt on a toddler," he said. According to Dr Wild, at his best he could put the vest on a wriggling lizard in just a few seconds. And then, "once you get the T-shirt on, they're totally fine with it," he added. According to Professor Whiting, the "gold standard" for putting a tracker on almost any animal is for the tracker to weigh about 5 per cent of the creature's body weight. If the animal was human-sized, this could be anywhere in the region of 3 — 5 kilograms. Plenty of weight for a small tracker. But the smaller the animal, the harder it is to fit in the battery, sensors and anything else you might need without going over 5 per cent. An average bearded dragon female might be just 250 grams or so, meaning the whole kit needs to weigh under 12.5g. Smaller lizards are even harder to attach. "They are not that many studies where people attach this sort of technology to the animal and get this kind of data," Professor Whiting said. "It's true the technology is getting better. We're getting smaller batteries for example, but once you get a smaller battery, then it's going to run out faster as well." Dr Wild is looking to use this technology again in future research, and is optimistic about it being used on smaller and smaller species. "Five years ago, somebody would tell you you're absolutely crazy if you were going to put [a GPS tracker and accelerometer kit] on something smaller than a bearded dragon," he said. "But I was talking to somebody the other day, and they're putting accelerometers on little hatchling turtles to see how much movement they use when they're when they're hatching out of the nest."
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Science
- South China Morning Post
China reveals superfast maglev, Viagra's cancer-fighting potential: 7 science highlights
We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing China has demolished 300 dams and shut down most of the small hydropower stations on a major tributary of the upper Yangtze River to safeguard fish populations as part of an effort to restore the ecology of Asia's longest waterway. China's railway authorities gave the public its first glimpse of a superfast maglev train this week in Beijing. The vehicle, which is currently undergoing testing, could cut travel times in half, according to experts. Photo: Handout A Chinese-built maglev train that will be the nation's fastest-ever ground transport vehicle has made its public debut in Beijing – an ambitious project that is expected to drastically reduce travel times and cement China's reputation as a world leader in high-speed rail networks.
BBC News
14-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
High temperatures bringing loads of ladybirds, say experts
Warmer temperatures are behind an increase in the number of ladybirds this year, says ladybird expert Professor Helen Hoy says "very high numbers" have been seen because the warm weather has increased the number of aphids, which ladybirds feed on.A group of ladybirds are known as a 'loveliness', and Tim Coulson, professor of zoology and head of biology at the University of Oxford, said we should "learn to love" these little bugs."They are effective predators of aphids, which can be a major pest of many plant species," he do you think? Have you spotted many ladybirds around this year? Let us know in the comments. Earlier in July, these little ladybirds caused a lot of disruption at a cricket match at Lord's Cricket match between India and England was paused while swarms of ladybirds and flying ants invaded the Professor Coulson said the arrival of extra numbers of ladybirds shouldn't be seen as a bad thing."A swarm of ladybirds in a cricket game, even against India, should remind people of the role that predators play in keeping the ecology of Earth in a healthy state," he expert Professor Roy, from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Wallingford, says there are a number of ways you can help look after ladybirds."If people want to help insects and other wildlife in this weather they can leave shallow dishes with a little water for them," she said. "Also, we encourage people to leave the aphids in their garden on roses and other plants so there is plenty of food for ladybirds."
National Post
12-07-2025
- Science
- National Post
33-year-old puffin on New Brunswick island going strong, with a chick
FREDERICTON — Daniel Oliker held a 33-year-old puffin from Machias Seal Island in his hands and was in awe about how it was a decade older than him. It felt like he was holding a world of knowledge and history in that puff ball of black and white feathers. Article content The University of New Brunswick graduate student, researching Atlantic puffin ecology, found a bird with a plastic band dating back to 1992. It showed the tuxedo bird to be a wise and worldly 33. And it had a chick. Article content Article content Article content Machias Seal Island is a flat, treeless sanctuary for seabirds located about 19 kilometres southwest of New Brunswick's Grand Manan Island at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy. It has about 8,600 breeding pairs of puffins. Article content Article content Oliker said last week his fellow researcher spotted one of the tuxedo birds on the island with a faded, green-and-white plastic band, and marked the area where it was seen. Those bands were used by Canada Wildlife Services starting in the 1970s until around 1995, when they started being replaced with metal ones. Article content Around midnight Oliker and a couple of researchers went to search the burrows — nests where puffins rest at night after a day at sea — looking for the old bird. Article content After searching a few burrows, he said he found the right bird by feeling the bands on their legs. A few had metal bands. Article content 'Then I felt one that felt a little bit different, and it was in the right location that we marked so I pulled it out and it was the right guy,' he said in an interview from the island. Article content Article content The old bird was curious and didn't put up much of a fight when it was pulled out. Article content Article content The researchers replaced the plastic band with a metal one, giving the puffin its new number: JG18. But they don't yet know its gender. Article content That he was holding one of the oldest birds, Oliker said, was 'very exciting' and 'truly amazing.' Most puffins in the wild live up to their mid-20s. Article content 'Just to think of how many years he spent out on the open ocean. How deep he's dived before. It's fascinating to think about just how much this bird has gone through, what it's seen, and the fact that it's still here and raising a chick. It speaks to its persistence.' Article content The chick was a 'decent size,' which was pleasantly surprising because puffins are struggling this year from a seeming lack of food, he said. There have been a number of eggs that haven't hatched and several pufflings — babies — have died, he added. Article content 'It is very probable that this puffin, being so old, has experience and knows what it's doing. So it's been able to find a good burrow for its mate, himself and the egg, and then able to produce a chick,' he said. 'It's very likely, because he's been alive for so long, that he knows which spots might be better for fish.'
