Mammals in Biological News

Climate-caused biodiversity booms and busts in ancient plants and mammals

... mammals. In fact, there were more species of mammals living in the western part of North America at ... and information on the fossil plants and mammals that inhabited North America during the Eocene ... of increased warming, when many modern groups of mammals first appeared in North America, probably by ...

Naming evolution's winners and losers

... mammals and many species of birds and fish are among ... and colleagues. "Our results indicate that mammals are special," said Michael Alfaro, a UCLA ... success of these groups, such as hair on mammals or mammals' well-coordinated chewing ability or ...

After dinosaurs, mammals rise but their genomes get smaller

... and plants strongly suggests only one group -- mammals -- have seen their genomes shrink after the ... given that the last 65 million years have seen mammals expand in diversity and number, not to mention ... in overall genome sizes of the lineages of the mammals the scientists studied. That could come about in ...

Natural-born divers and the molecular traces of evolution

... our body. When the ancestors of present marine mammals initiated their return to the oceans, their ... charge of this protein is increased in marine mammals compared with terrestrial relatives, and they ... molecular sequence of myoglobin in small aquatic mammals such as beavers, muskrats and water shrews, which ...

Wildlife Conservation Society supports world's first study of egg-laying mammal

... years of remotely tracking the porcupine-sized mammals and recording their dens and other signs. The ... a member of the monotremes, a primitive order of mammals that forced zoologists to change their very ... are members of the monotremes, an order of mammals that lay leathery eggs, as opposed to placental ...

CU-Boulder study shows 53 million-year-old high Arctic mammals wintered in darkness

... the study shows several varieties of prehistoric mammals as heavy as 1,000 pounds each lived on what is ... study has implications for the dispersal of early mammals across polar land bridges into North America and for modern mammals that likely will begin moving north if Earth's ...

Climate change driving Michigan mammals north

... "We're talking about the commonest mammals there, mammals that have considerable ecological impact," Myers ... prey base for a huge number of carnivorous birds, mammals and snakes. But we don't know enough about their ...

When every photon counts

... available in German . The eyes of nocturnal mammals contain particularly large numbers of the highly ... unique arrangement, the rod nuclei of nocturnal mammals act as micro-lenses that focus the incoming ... in Cambridge could show that in nocturnal mammals the chromatin arrangement in the rod nuclei is ...

Female mammals follow their noses to the right mates

... Such vivid examples of female preferences in mammals are harder to find, leading to an assumption that mate choice plays a smaller role in mammals than in birds. But that's not necessarily the ... convincing evidence for female mate choice in mammals comes from studies of ...

New explanation for a puzzling biological divide along the Malay Peninsula

... an apparently abrupt switch in the kinds in of mammals found along the Malay Peninsula in southeast Asia ... in the past 40 million years. Current species of mammals are much younger than that. Instead, David ... and Turner mapped the ranges of 325 species of mammals found in the region. "We ...

Scientists discover why teeth form in a single row

... system of opposing genetic forces determines why mammals develop a single row of teeth, while sharks sport ... embryo. The first sign of tooth development in mammals is the thickening of the epithelium along the jaw ... first solid proof that the precise space where mammals can develop teeth (the "tooth morphogenetic ...

Mammals that hibernate or burrow less likely to go extinct

... new study published in The American Naturalist , mammals that hibernate or that hide in burrows are less ... of Oslo. That study found that sleep-or-hide mammals seem to last longer as species than other ... Helsinki wanted to see if this trend holds for mammals living today. Using a database of over 4,500 ...

Mammals can be stimulated to regrow damaged inner retina nerve cells

... (UW) have reported for the first time that mammals can be stimulated to regrow inner nerve cells in ... brain. The findings on retina self-repair in mammals will be published this week in the Early Edition ... cells. Compared to birds, the scientist said, mammals have an even more limited Mller glia cell ...

Field Museum provides gold standard for mammal survey

... beaked whales and all of Earth's other known mammals was a gigantic task ably assisted by a Field ... doing the assessment is to get a picture of how mammals on our planet are doing. The news isn't good. One ... habitats is the biggest threat, while marine mammals suffer more from accident deaths stemming from ...

Researchers document world's mammals in crisis

... to tiny and often unappreciated rodents, mammals on Earth are in a state of crisis. One in four ... that have given rise to the biodiversity of mammals we are perched on a crisis where 25 percent of ... look at the health of terrestrial and marine mammals across the globe. It is a companion assessment to ...

Effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals -- a research strategy

... an Expert Group on anthropogenic sound and marine mammals convened at the joint European Marine Board and ... logistical support of the Marine Board. Marine mammals are an important component in the food-chain of ... strategy is of key importance because both marine mammals and many economically important sea-based ...

Long-term study shows effect of climate change on animal diversity

... in a two-mile-thick deposit of rock the mammals that roamed the area from 18 to 1 million years ... broad-leafed plants were no longer available. mammals that relied on fruit and browse disappeared early ... was the dominant vegetation, most herbivorous mammals in the area subsisted mainly on grass. The ...

Scientists find 'redesigned hammer' that forged evolution of pregnancy in mammals

... and evolution of the placenta and uterus in mammals is associated with evolutionary changes in a ... the uterus and placenta, it became possible for mammals to protect their growing young and to ensure they ... in HoxA-11 is present in all known placental mammals from elephants, the most primitive lineage with ...

Killer whales, blind bats, discriminating dolphins, mating birds

... the Tiger's Roar 1) HOW NOISE AFFECTS MARINE mammals Effects of sonar and other manmade ocean noises on marine mammals have traditionally been defined either as injury ... of noise and other human activities on marine mammals are also presenting papers at the Paris meeting. ...

Persistent man-made chemical pollutants found in deep-sea octopods and squids

... to the diet of cetaceans, a class of marine mammals which includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... and tissues of whales and other predatory marine mammals as well as in some deep-sea fish. Other investigators had speculated that the pollutants in marine mammals had resulted from feeding on contaminated squids. ...

Can feces save the species?

... dogs to learn about where and how the threatened mammals live. Data such as numbers, range, diet, hormonal ... genetic identity contribute to a study of how the mammals use environments inside and outside the park, ... Filho said. These data allow us to estimate which mammals would be able to reproduce or if they would be ...

Duck-billed platypus genome sequence published

... platypus, native to Australia, is one of the few mammals that lays eggs. However, platypus peculiarity ... of the platypus genome to those of other mammals will provide new insights into the history, ... the same number of protein-coding genes as other mammals -- approximately 18,500. The platypus also shares ...

Dwarf cloud rat rediscovered after 112 years

... of the species," said Lawrence Heaney, Curator of mammals at the Field Museum and Project Leader. "Since ... work, the first comprehensive survey of the small mammals of Mt. Pulag National Park, according to Samuel ... said William Stanley, Collections Manager of mammals at The Field Museum. "Also, finding this animal ...

Arctic marine mammals on thin ice

... dramatic seasonal transformation. Arctic marine mammals appear to be well adapted to the extremes and ... found that the most sensitive Arctic marine mammals appear to be the hooded seal, polar bear, and the ... Shifts in the prey base of Arctic marine mammals would likely lead to changes in body condition ...

Clues to ancestral origin of placenta emerge in Stanford study

... suggests the placenta of humans and other mammals evolved from the much simpler tissue that ... the placental cells primarily activate genes that mammals have in common with birds and reptiles. This ... evolved through repurposing genes the early mammals inherited from their immediate ancestors when ...

Researchers to develop ocean sanctuary 'noise budget' to evaluate potential impact on marine mammals

... the level of man-made noise is rising. Marine mammals and many fishes are highly dependent on sound for ... heavy vessel traffic, is frequented by marine mammals like endangered Northern right whales, and forms ... have the potential to impact endangered marine mammals and fishes, said David Wiley, the Sanctuary's ...

NOAA science story tips -- AAAS 2008 edition

... How Marine mammals React to Underwater Sound Connie Barclay, NOAA ... NOAA Fisheries Service is looking at how marine mammals react to underwater sound. Increasing evidence ... sound in some settings may cause certain marine mammals to strand and ultimately die. Some of these ...

Moss protein plays role in Alzheimer's disease

... that goal. Heres how. The gene presenilin in mammals provides the catalytic activity for an enzyme ... functions during development. Two genes occur in mammals in which mutations cause an earlier onset of ... Khandelwal said. Moonlighting protein in mammals We spent a lot of time trying to find an ...

Scientists discover new species of giant elephant-shrew

... about life on Earth, charismatic animals like mammals are usually well documented, and it is rare to ... as intriguing as the elephant-shrews, monogamous mammals found only in Africa with a colorful history of ... ancestry. Like shrews, these small, furry mammals eat mostly insects. Early scientists named them ...

Controlling schistosomiasis: buffalo or snails?

... differences. Schistosomes are passed from mammals to fresh-water snails via feces, and then cycle back to infect mammals that contact water inhabited by infected snails. ... the team found that transmission from snails to mammals was a more important factor in explaining the ...

Why diving marine mammals resist brain damage from low oxygen

... Scientists have long wondered why marine mammals are so tolerant of hypoxia. The conventional ... by Williams's group and others. How marine mammals could keep their vital organs alive on such low ... They collected brain tissue from 41 terrestrial mammals and 23 ...

Burrowing mammals dig for a living, but how do they do that?

... Moles and mole rats, she said, are examples of mammals that have adapted to moving soil in rocky, root-packed soils, in opposition to most other burrowing mammals that prefer softer, dryer sandy soils. "It ... it's really hard work to shift soil. Burrowing mammals acquire a complex of features that lets them ...

Researchers studying how singing bats communicate

... STATION, Oct. 18, 2007 Bats are the most vocal mammals other than humans, and understanding how they ... offspring and recognize each other. No other mammals besides humans are able to use such complex vocal ... to human speech. The brains of all mammals are organized in basically the same way, so a bat ...

Rodent size linked to human population and climate change

... comprehensive, it was the first attempt of its kind to examine data on mammals from many global locations to find links between morphological change and ... many people have thought, especially for mammals," said Pergams. "Those mammals that can adapt quickly have a much higher chance to survive big ...

Manatees can probably hear which directions boats approach from

... The world is a perilous place for the endangered manatee. While the mammals are at risk from natural threats, human activity also poses a great danger ... South Florida and the New College of Florida decided to test whether the mammals can pinpoint sound sources. They publish their results on 12 June 2009 in ...

Mammalogists to convene in Alaska for annual meeting

... and workshops focusing on scientific research on more than 40 species of mammals from little brown bats to big brown bears. Presentations will cover many ... on population dynamics, politics and perils of large terrestrial mammals in North America will be presented by R. Terry Bowyer, UAF professor ...

Cantabrian cornice has experienced seven cooling and warming phases over past 41,000 years

... inferences being drawn on the basis of the fossil associations of small mammals whose remains have been deposited in El Mirn over the past 41,000 years. The fossil associations of these mammals reveal the composition of fauna living around the cave at the time, and ...

Researchers engineer metabolic pathway in mice to prevent diet-induced obesity

... Liao. "This is the first example of how people can build new genes into mammals to achieve a desired function. It's very exciting that we've been able to achieve this new pathway in mammals that could potentially be used to fight a very serious problem." ...

Avian flu research sheds light on swine flu outbreak

... flu virus requires relatively few mutations to spread rapidly between mammals by respiratory droplets. "This is similar to the method by which the ... mutations in his lab strain that enabled respiratory transmission between mammals was on the tip of the HA surface protein, one of the sites where human ...

Google Earth aids discovery of early African mammal fossils

... interesting story of their own. The bones and teeth---remains of small mammals that lived in the early Miocene Epoch, some 18 to 20 million years ... that age to be found in Egypt. They may even represent some of the first mammals to migrate from Asia to Africa when the land bridge between the two ...