News by Subject Biology

Land conservation programs that have converted tens of thousands of acres of agricultural land in Illinois back to a more natural state appear to have helped some rare birds increase their populations to historic levels, a new study finds. Other bird species with wider geographic ranges have not fared as well, however.

Some people consider pufferfish, also known as fugu, a delicacy because of its unique and exquisite flavor, which is perhaps seasoned by knowledge that consumption of the fish could be deadly. Now, researchers have identified the major compounds responsible for the taste of pufferfish, minus the thrill of living dangerously. They report their results in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Humpback whales overwintering in feeding areas may sing complex, progressive songs which closely resemble those associated with breeding grounds, according to a study published Jan. 23, 2019, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Edda E. Magnúsdóttir and Rangyn Lim from the University of Iceland.

The hagfish dates back at least 300 million years. The secret of survival for these eel-like sea creatures can be found in the rate and volume of slime it produces to fend off predators. Interestingly, the oldest fossils of these eel-like sea creatures, were found in Illinois, and today researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are beginning to uncover the mystery of how the hagfish uses this substance to choke its predators

Researchers of the Department of Conservation Biology at the University of Göttingen have carried out research in Southwest Cameroon to assess which proportion of forest would be necessary in order to provide sufficient habitat for rainforest bird species. The results of the study were published in the journal Biological Conservation.