As always, fell free to rip apart either the papers or the pre-releases in the comments (if they deserve that, of course - some are OK:
Code Pink: Extreme Weather Leaves Flamingos Hungry:
Lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) at Lake Bogoria, Kenya, are suffering from malnutrition, report Earthwatch-supported scientists working there. The scientists are investigating the causes of recent large-scale mortality events, resulting in the death of thousands of lesser flamingos in Kenya last year and at least half a million birds during the 1990s. Post-mortem examinations on several flamingos found dead at Bogoria in late 2006 revealed that the birds weighed just 63 per cent of their normal body mass, approximately 1,050 grams. An analysis of the lake water confirmed that very low levels of spirulina (a blue-green bacteria that is the primary food source for lesser flamingos) were leaving the birds with only 10 per cent of their minimum daily food requirements.
Age Is More Than A Number: In Barn Owls, It Reveals How Susceptible One Is To Climate Change:
Fluctuations in weather and the environment affect survival and reproduction of animals. But are all individuals within a population equally susceptible? Theory on the evolution in age-structured populations suggests not -- those life stages that are more important for overall fitness should be less susceptible to environmental variation than other life stages. Empirical support for this prediction is rare because detailed data need to be collected over many years, and true variation tends to be inflated through the way in which natural populations are sampled.
In the January issue of The American Naturalist, Res Altwegg (University of Cape Town and University of Victoria), Michael Schaub (Swiss Ornithological Institute and University of Bern), and Alexandre Roulin (University of Lausanne), examined temporal variation in survival and reproduction of barn owls in western Switzerland that had been observed over the past fifteen years. Using recently developed statistical tools, they were able to show that those fitness components that experienced stronger selection were indeed less variable over the years.
"Our results help explain why certain age classes are more susceptible to adverse weather, and they will help us understand how climatic variation affects populations of organisms in nature. This is important for predicting the effect of climate change on populations," the authors said.
Big Vegetarian Mammals Can Play A Critical Role In Maintaining Healthy Ecosystems, Study Finds:
Removing large herbivorous mammals from the African savanna can cause a dramatic shift in the relative abundance of species throughout the food chain, according to scientists from Stanford University, Princeton University and the University of California-Davis. Their findings were published in the Jan. 2 edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). In the study, the research team used large electric fences to exclude cattle, elephants, zebras and other herbivorous mammals from experimental plots on a ranch in central Kenya from May 2004 to December 2005. During that time, the scientists monitored changes in the populations of trees, beetles, lizards and other plant and animal species.
It Takes A Village: Female Ducks Negotiate Joint Rearing Of Ducklings:
Female eider ducks are well known to team up and share the work of rearing ducklings, but it now appears that they also negotiate not only how much effort each puts into the partnership, but also profit-sharing. An international group of scientists used a long-running study of the eider population in a Finnish archipelago to test predictions about how each hen seeks to maximize her benefits from the partnership without making it so unattractive that other hens withdraw their participation. As hens arrive at the rearing-area with their ducklings, a period of intense socializing ensues. The hens then sort themselves into cliques -- pairs, trios, or quartets -- with each hen in a group assuming a distinct role.
Mushrooms Have A Future In Fighting A Fowl Parasite:
Wide use of a mushroom extract to protect poultry against a major parasitic disease is now closer, thanks to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and her South Korean colleagues. The researchers--led by immunologist Hyun Lillehoj at the ARS Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory in Beltsville, Md.--developed a technique for controlling coccidiosis, which costs the world's poultry industry billions of dollars in losses annually.
Researchers Discover Drug That Blocks Malaria Parasites:
Northwestern University researchers have discovered how malaria parasites persuade red blood cells to engulf them -- and how to block the invading parasites. The malaria marauders hack into the red cell's signaling system and steal the molecular equivalent of its password to spring open the door to the cell. The researchers have found that a common blood pressure medication -- propranolol -- jams the signal to prevent the parasite from breaking in.
Scientists had long been perplexed by malaria's ability to hijack red blood cells, then wildly multiply and provoke the life-threatening symptoms of malaria.
Patients With Amnesia 'Live In The Present':
Scientists at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, have shown that people with damage to the hippocampus, the area of the brain that plays a crucial role in learning and memory, not only have trouble remembering the past but also in imagining new and future experiences. Damage to the hippocampus can be caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain, for example during a cardiac arrest, or various other illnesses such as limbic encephalitis or Alzheimer's disease.
In their forthcoming paper The hidden impact of conspiracy theories: Perceived and actual influence of theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana, Dr Karen Douglas and Dr Robbie Sutton from the University of Kent show that people are persuaded by conspiracy theories about Princess Diana's death even though they do not necessarily know it. In their study, which is to be published in the Journal of Social Psychology, the authors find that while people accurately judge the extent to which others are influenced by conspiracy theories, they are unaware of the extent to which their own attitudes have changed -- a change that may actually serve to perpetuate the theories.
Spouse's Personality May Be Hazardous To Your Health:
To the long list of things to consider when choosing a mate, there is now evidence suggesting that your spouse's personality can have a major influence on your own ability to recover from - and perhaps even survive - a major challenge to your health. It is a finding drawn from a study by a team of researchers including John M. Ruiz, an assistant professor of psychology at Washington State University, as well as Karen A. Matthews and Richard Schulz, at the University of Pittsburgh, and Michael F. Scheier with Carnegie Mellon University.
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