Tag Zoology
Curiosities: Why can birds eat hot peppers?
In the 1990s, scientists began to wonder why birds in the Southwest ate the hot-tasting fruits of a wild plant called the “bird pepper.”…
Curiosities: How can a polar bear survive in a Wisconsin zoo?
“Wisconsin bears in zoos may not be in an environment as extreme as something like a tropical zoo,” says Kurt Sladky, assistant professor of…
UW-Madison undergraduates make unwelcome discovery in Lake Mendota
On Sept. 11, a standard cruise on Lake Mendota's University Bay began for students in University of Wisconsin–Madison's Zoology 315, a course that introduces them to the study of lakes. With the sampling craft Limnos anchored about one-quarter mile offshore on a clear sunny day, four students pulled up a small net and began poking through its contents.
Monkeys get a groove on, but only to monkey music
Music is one of the surest ways to influence human emotions; most people unconsciously recognize and respond to music that is happy, sad, fearful or mellow. But psychologists who have tried to trace the evolutionary roots of these responses usually hit a dead end. Nonhuman primates scarcely respond to human music, and instead prefer silence.
Zebra mussels hang on while quagga mussels take over
The zebra mussels that have wreaked ecological havoc on the Great Lakes are harder to find these days - not because they are dying off, but because they are being replaced by a cousin, the quagga mussel. But zebra mussels still dominate in fast-moving streams and rivers.
Optimum running speed is stride toward understanding human body form
Runners, listen up: If your body is telling you that your pace feels a little too fast or a little too slow, it may be right.
Evolution, ecosystems may buffer some species against climate change
Although ecologists expect many species will be harmed by climate change, some species could be buffered by their potential to evolve or by changes in their surrounding ecosystems.
Study: Can nature’s leading indicators presage environmental disaster?
Economists use leading indicators - the drivers of economic performance - to take the temperature of the economy and predict the future. Now, in a new study, scientists take a page from the social science handbook and use leading indicators of the environment to presage the potential collapse of ecosystems.
Lowly Icelandic midges reveal ecosystem’s tipping points
A UW–Madison zoologist describes in the journal Nature an ecosystem population dynamics model built on the flies of Iceland’s Lake Myvatn, showing how even slight human-induced changes can irreversibly alter the balance of nature.
‘Glass menagerie:’ Museum unearths exotic stash of glass sea creatures
An ordinary mid-summer stroll through Noland Hall in 2005 led Paula Holahan to an extraordinary discovery: box after box filled with a sea of intricate glass sculptures of marine invertebrate animals.
Curiosities: Can dogs be trained not to bark?
"Yes, absolutely," said canine authority and UW–Madison adjunct associate professor of zoology Patricia McConnell. When confronting the natural tendency of our…