Blame foxes for decline of the ‘world’s happiest animal’

The decline of quokkas in Australia has been somewhat of a mystery, but resarcehers have a suspect. Invasive species, and foxes in particular.

Vanderbilt U. • futurity
April 7, 2020 ~4 min

Why West African lions don’t avoid hunting areas

Images from camera traps show West African lions venturing out of protected areas and closer to humans. Researchers have an idea why.

Jim Erickson-Michigan • futurity
April 2, 2020 ~7 min


Why do snakes produce venom? Not for self-defence, study shows

Relax, snakes aren't out to get you.

Kevin Arbuckle, Senior Lecturer in Biosciences, Swansea University • conversation
March 23, 2020 ~6 min

‘Fatal attraction’ may keep small predators in check

In a kind of "fatal attraction," small predators drawn to kill sites for leftover scraps may get killed themselves when big predators return for seconds.

Michelle Ma-Washington • futurity
March 18, 2020 ~6 min

Cats don’t roam far, but they do lots of killing

Is your outdoor cat a wildlife-killer? "We found that house cats have a two- to 10-time larger impact on wildlife than wild predators—a striking effect."

Mick Kulikowski-NC State • futurity
March 12, 2020 ~4 min

Competition and predators may not make species adapt, after all

Competition between species and predation aren't the drivers behind adaptation that scientists might've thought, new research indicates.

McGill University • futurity
Feb. 25, 2020 ~2 min

Vanishing snakes highlight the biodiversity crisis

After frogs in protected area of Panama died off en masse, the snakes that ate them began to disappear, too. It shows the extent of our "biodiversity crisis."

Layne Cameron-Michigan State • futurity
Feb. 14, 2020 ~6 min

Some bird flocks are a lot like K-pop groups

Birds in flocks with many different species change the way they hunt to better work as a team. It's a little like boy bands, one researcher says.

Natalie van Hoose-Florida • futurity
Feb. 13, 2020 ~7 min


Predator overlap keeps prey from getting out of control

Sea urchins boomed after a mysterious disease decimated sea stars off the California coast. Researchers say it shows how redundancy can protect ecosystems.

Harrison Tasoff-UC Santa Barbara • futurity
Feb. 13, 2020 ~9 min

Why don’t predators ever totally wipe out their prey?

New research digs into the back and forth between predators and prey, confirming that these cycles can last for long periods of time.

Katherine Gombay-McGill • futurity
Dec. 20, 2019 ~4 min

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