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Evolution & Behaviour

showing 71-75 of 109 breaks
Shrunken heads: a curious strategy to survive winter

Phenotypic plasticity is a remarkable capacity of organisms to change their morphology, physiology, and behavior to adapt to their environment. This ability enables individuals to cope with changes in the environmental conditions within their lifespan. Organisms inhabiting seasonal environments undergo seasonal plastic changes to cope... click to read more

  • Javier Lázaro | PhD student at Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, group of Resource Fluctuations and Animal Movement, Germany
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brain size
shrews
Views 3698
Reading time 4 min
published on Sep 24, 2018
The snake with the skin of a rhino…that eats babies!

Legends say that the rhinoceros has skin that can withstand a gunshot. Despite the slight exaggeration, without a doubt the rhinoceros bears one of the toughest hides in the animal kingdom, stretching as thick as 5 cm and woven together specifically to repel attacks. What... click to read more

  • Dawei Han | PhD student at Department of Anatomy, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health, A.T. Still University, Kirksville, USA
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  • Bruce A. Young | Professor at Department of Anatomy, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health, A.T. Still University, Kirksville, USA
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snake
skin
rhino
Views 2592
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Sep 21, 2018
Ant medics: wound treatment in a predatory species

When we get injured we treat our wounds. Our skin is an important barrier against pathogens and if it breaks we have to keep it clean. If we are not able to do so ourselves, we go to a doctor to do it for us.... click to read more

  • Erik Frank | Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Lausanne Biophore Department of Ecology and Evolution CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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Matabele ants
predators
rescue
Views 2563
Reading time 4 min
published on Sep 19, 2018
Bloody-Minded Parasites and Sex

Most plants and animals reproduce sexually. Why is sex so common? This question has intrigued scientists for generations. Even Darwin pondered its prevalence. Sex occurs when two organisms merge their genetic material. Sexual parents produce genetically distinct offspring. Many organisms, however, reproduce asexually, meaning a... click to read more

  • Kayla Stoy | PhD student at Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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  • Amanda K. Gibson | Assistant Professor at Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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parasites
Views 3280
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Sep 17, 2018
The Arctic’s singing whales

The bowhead whale is above all, a whale of superlatives. It is the only large whale to live year-round in the Arctic, its "bowed head" allows it to push up through half a meter of ice, it can live up to 200 years and it... click to read more

  • Kate Stafford | Principal Oceanographer at Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Washington, USA
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whales
Arctic
songs
communication
language
Views 3304
Reading time 4 min
published on Sep 13, 2018