Carnivore in Biological News

Outdoor enthusiasts scaring off native carnivores in parks

... allow no public access. Evidence of some native carnivore populations - coyote and bobcat - was more than ... to how the ecosystem is doing." To measure carnivore numbers, Reed studied the droppings of six native ... out of my lab to date." The differences in carnivore populations are even more surprising when you ...

Photos reveal Myanmar's large and small predators

... Myanmar Program that appeared in the April edition of the journal Small carnivore Conservation. Data on small carnivores gathered from camera-trap surveys ... predators," said WCS researcher U. Than Zaw, lead author of the small carnivore study. "So far, we've determined that otter populations have been ...

Great white's mighty bite revealed

... Tooth) is the highest of all time, making it arguably the most formidable carnivore ever to have existed. Shark researchers from the University of New ... biting creatures alive, possibly the hardest. "Nature has endowed this carnivore with more than enough bite force to kill and eat large and potentially ...

Captive carnivores not up to wild living

... animals to new areas. This study reviewed 45 case studies, involving 17 carnivore species, and found that only 30% of captive animals released survived. ... with local communities before any reintroduction, especially as most carnivore extinctions were originally caused through conflict between animals and ...

Research sheds new light on how diseases jump across species

... species. By analysing the virus genetic sequence in both dog and wild carnivore species, the research team were able to prove that two key parts of a CDV ... where these impinge on previously undisturbed habitats. CDV in wild carnivore populations is usually fatal says McCarthy. So as well as the possibility ...

T. rex quicker than Becks, say scientists

... the movie Jurassic Park would have us believe but the worlds most fearsome carnivore was certainly no slouch, research out today suggests. The University of ... rex required for movement, suggests that while not incredibly fast, this carnivore was certainly capable of running and would have little difficulty in ...

Large trees declining in Yosemite

... 1988�. A decline in large trees means habitat loss and possible reduction in species such as spotted owls, mosses, orchids and fishers (a carnivore related to weasels). Fewer new trees will grow in the landscape because large trees are a seed source for the surrounding landscape. Large-diameter ...

Genome projects launched for three extreme-environment animals

... and determination of the genomic basis of their unique evolution and extreme environmental-adaptation. The polar bear is the world's largest land carnivore and is native to the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas. Although many of its physical characteristics are specifically adapted for surviving in a ...

Fossil evidence of missing link in the origin of seals, sea lions, walruses found in Canadian Arctic

... having a long tail, and fore-limbs comparatively proportionate to modern carnivorous land animals as opposed to pinnipeds. It is the first mammalian carnivore found at the site. Other fossils found include two taxa of freshwater fishes, one bird, and four mammalian taxa: shrew, rabbit, rhinoceros, and small ...

Red pandas reveal an unexpected (artificial) sweet tooth

... found in lion and other cats. Because only primates were believed to be able to taste aspartame, the researchers predicted that none of the carnivore species tested would show a preference for the artificial sweeteners. This indeed was the case for five of the species. However, the sixth ...

Biologists solve mystery of black wolves

... one gene involved, with two forms one causing white and one causing black. This is the most comprehensive genealogical analysis of a North American carnivore population ever undertaken." ...

Scientists believe photograph depicts wolverine in California

... whose presence has not been confirmed in California since the 1920s. Katie Moriarty, a wildlife biology student, was conducting research on another carnivore called the American marten when a remote-controlled camera she set photographed the animal on February 28, 2008. Forest Service scientists who are ...

Ant invaders eat the natives, then move down the food chain

... isotopes (molecular weights) of nitrogen in all members of an ecological community, scientists can determine if a particular organism is primarily a carnivore or herbivore. What the researchers found surprised them. In the early stages of invasion the Argentine ants behaved much as they did in their own ...

Choosing dry or wet food for cats makes little difference

... is harmful to cats and leads to increased incidence of diabetes. Wet cat food, on the other hand, is high in protein and more similar to a natural carnivore diet. In the study, Robert Backus, assistant professor and director of the Nestle Purina Endowed Small Animal Nutrition Program at MU, and his ...

Carnivores in recent study help Bergmann's rule reach the 21st century

... history and ecology. In a new study in the journal Ecography, an international team of researchers have analyzed Bergmann's rule in European carnivore mammals. Their approch allows them to, for the first time, partition body mass variation into historical and ecological components. Doing this, they ...

Tassie tiger no match for dingo

... also been linked to climate change and a shift in Aboriginal land-use patterns about the same time as the introduction of the dingo. The unique carnivore then persisted only on the island of Tasmania which was free of dingoes until the arrival of European settlers, who persecuted it believing it to ...

Want to save polar bears? Follow the ice

... by using available data on sea ice trends over the past few decades, we can make effective decisions that can make a difference for the largest carnivore on earth." The "Warm Waters for Cool Bears" initiative represents a departure from previous polar bear studies, which typically focused on ...

Philandering female felines forgo fidelity

... Female cheetahs occupy a home range averaging some 833 square kilometers in size, whereas a male’s territory averages 37 square kilometers. In many carnivore species, it’s the males that have larger ranges that encompass several female ranges. “The picture that emerges is that of wide-ranging females ...

New tiger report release: Tiger habitat down from just a decade ago

... 76 "tiger conservation landscapes" ?places and habitats that have the best chance of supporting viable tiger populations into the future. Large carnivore populations like tigers are highly vulnerable to extinction in small and isolated reserves. Half the 76 landscapes can still support 100 tigers or ...

First wolverine radio-collared in Pacific Northwest

... of his research team called from a site high in the northern Cascade Range of Washington to report that a wolverine had just been captured. Aubry, a carnivore expert and research wildlife biologist at the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station in Olympia, Wash., and Jeff Copeland, a ...

Predators keep the world green, ecologists find

... the debate raging in many countries over reintroduction of top predators such as wolves. "The take-home message is clear: the presence of a viable carnivore guild is fundamental to maintaining biodiversity," the authors wrote. Information collected for the Journal of Ecology report is a five-year ...

DNA traces evolution of extinct sabertooths and the American cheetah-like cat

... the Yukon region) and the American cheetah-like cat (a Miracinonyx specimen from the state of Wyoming) with DNA from modern felid (cat-family) and carnivore species. The analysis shows that the sabertooth cats were a sister group to the modern cats--that is, they diverged early on from the ancestors of ...