A six-month study by Oakland University alumna Amanda Lechnar on the underwater behavior of gentoo penguins at the Detroit Zoo’s Polk Penguin Conservation Center is changing the way researchers are looking at how animals in captivity interact with each other and their environment.

A study led by the University of Liverpool and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) has found that parasites affect flight ability of wild seabirds, which may make it harder for them to raise chicks.

“Mom knows best”– the adage is true not just for humans but also for many animals, including the cheetahs, wood ducks, and jaguars studied by experts at Virginia Tech.

Iridescence is a form of structural colour which uses regular repeating nanostructures to reflect light at slightly different angles, causing a colour-change effect.

When it comes to finding protection and a safe feeding ground, fish rely on towering blades of seaweed, like kelp, to create a three-dimensional hiding space. Kelp forests have been shown to be one of the most productive systems in the ocean with high biodiversity and ecological function. However, in recent decades, many kelp habitats have been taken over and replaced by lower turf-dominated seaweed species. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that this change in the seascape may impact the behavior of fish and could be leaving them less options for refuge and more vulnerable to predators.

The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa killed more than 11,000 people and was the deadliest outbreak since the discovery of the virus in 1976.

New University of Alberta research on managing aquatic invasive species in Canada combines the power of machine learning with expertise in biology and statistics to build a simple, easy-to-use tool for environmental managers.

Conservationists often criticize state fish and game departments for focusing single-mindedly on one species to the detriment of everything else — for instance, improving habitat for elk, which then browse down habitat for songbirds. But what if conservationists — who don’t have that traditional hook-and-bullet mindset — nonetheless inadvertently do much the same thing?

For decades, researchers have thought that access to food determined the brood size of birds. Now, biologists at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a completely new explanation: the body temperature of small birds can increase by more than 4°C to exceed 45°C when they are feeding their young. Larger broods would require more work, resulting in even higher body temperatures - something the birds would probably not survive.

With the arrival of spring, we look forward to the return of hundreds of species of migratory songbirds from their wintering grounds.