Australian researchers looking for a genetic lifeline to endangered hog deer species endemic to Pakistan, northern India and mainland southeast Asia have found widespread hybridization of the species in Victoria.
Read moreWe usually think of a species as being reproductively isolated — that is, not mating with other species in the wild. Occasionally, however, closely related species do interbreed. New research documents the existence of a previously undiscovered hybrid zone along the coasts of California and Oregon where two related bird hummingbirds are blurring species boundaries, and researchers hope that studying cases such as this one could improve their understanding of how biodiversity is created and maintained.
Read moreResearchers analyzing recent BBC and Netflix nature documentaries found that although they increasingly mention threats to nature, visual depictions of these threats remain scarce, potentially misleading audiences on the state of the natural world.
Read moreMost of the pups born in an elephant seal colony in California over a span of five decades were produced by a relatively small number of long-lived 'supermoms,' according to a new study.
Read moreUsing DNA from museum specimens collected in the early 20th century, researchers identified two new species of giant salamander — one of which they suspect is the world's biggest amphibian.
Read moreResearchers published the first experiments to gauge whether biomimetic robotic fish can induce fear-related changes in mosquitofish, aiming to discover whether the highly invasive species might be controlled without toxicants or trapping methods harmful to wildlife. Their findings indicate that even brief exposure to a robotic replica of the mosquitofish's primary predator can provoke meaningful avoidance behaviors and physiological changes associated with the loss of energy reserves, potentially translating into lower rates of reproduction.
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Scientists obtained a total of 733 pathogen isolates from 171 individual wild Bottlenose dolphins in Florida and found that the overall prevalence of resistance to at least one antibiotic for the 733 isolates was 88.2%. Resistance was highest to erythromycin, followed by ampicillin. It is likely that these isolates from dolphins originated from a source where antibiotics are regularly used, potentially entering the marine environment through human activities or discharges from terrestrial sources.