A seagull follows a crab boat and awaits leftovers. Scientists have tracked large scale changes in bird movement patterns due to fishing operations. Scientists have tracked the movement patterns of seabirds off the coast of Spain and found they are directly tied to the schedule of fishing boats. Specifically, when the fishing boats are working during the week, the birds…

According to researchers at the University of Maryland, Egyptian fruit bats, unlike their American relative the big brown bat, locate objects through a series of tongue clicks directed to either side of their target. Big brown bats locate their fast moving prey—such as mosquitos—by firing sounds from their vocal cords directly at their target. Egyptian bats, on the other hand,…

This post contributed by Nadine Lymn, ESA Director of Public Affairs   Personality traits that lead an individual to want to avoid crowds could actually be playing a role in biological invasions, says a recent study that appeared in the Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences.  Julien Cote and colleagues at the University of California at Davis looked at…

This post was contributed by Nadine Lymn, ESA Director of Public Affairs As is tradition on the first Monday in February, the President yesterday unveiled his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year of 2011.  All over Washington, DC, federal agencies held budget briefings, with more to come over the next several days. Although President Obama called for some fiscal…

This post contributed by Nadine Lymn, ESA Director of Public Affairs  Another example of the ingenuity of nature: researchers are finding inspiration in the extraordinarily strong exoskeleton of a deep-sea snail, Crysomallon squamiferum.  The mollusk’s iron-plated shell is giving researchers insights that could lead to stronger materials for airplane hulls, cars, and military equipment. Researchers at the National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported…

According to a study published last month in the Archives of Ophthalmology, nearsightedness, called myopia, has increased in the U.S. by 66% since the early 1970s. And the intensity of the disorder has also increased—that is, the prevalence of people with moderate cases of myopia has nearly doubled since the 70s. Susan Vitale, an epidemiologist at the National Eye Institute…

In a recent Nature Geoscience study, scientists discovered that soil clings to water from the first rainfall of the summer and holds it so tightly it almost never mixes with other water. This discovery challenges the century-old assumption that rainwater, after it enters the soil through precipitation, displaces leftover water and pushes it deeper into the ground and eventually into…

Two timely reports have surfaced this week regarding the decline of honeybee populations in Europe, and France has taken action in an attempt to curb the falling numbers.  A recent study linked honeybee health and plant biodiversity In a study published in the Journal of Apicultural Research, scientists have found that managed honeybee populations across Europe have dropped an average…

January’s recent cold snap not only affected local produce and nonnative Iguanas in Florida, but the endangered sea turtles as well. Sea turtles recover in a warming pool Photo Credit: NOAA Acclimated to milder water off of Florida’s coasts, cold-blooded sea turtles become unable to swim or eat as water temperatures drop, leaving the reptiles stunned and hypothermic. The Florida Fish and…

This post was contributed by Piper Corp, ESA Science Policy Analyst   London-based writer and philosopher Alain de Botton recently shared his thoughts on the environment. In a UN Chronicle essay, de Botton says that climate change is different from threats we’ve faced in the past—whether natural disasters or nuclear warfare—in that it is neither outside our control nor a result…

Scientists studying the Lost City hydrothermal vent field have found what appears to be microbes just waiting to thrive; that is, when their perfect ecosystem arrives. At the Lost City, microbes known to be rare in hotter, more active vents flourish in the cooler, moderated ecosystem of the older vent. And when those microbes’ ideal environment changes, another set of rare,…

This post was contributed by Piper Corp, ESA Science Policy Analyst In a recent Plant Biotechnology Journal paper, scientists at Thomas Jefferson University’s Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories say that genetically modified tobacco “has the potential to produce more energy per hectare than any other non-food crop.” Tobacco Field in Pinar del Rio, Cuba Photo Credit: Henryk Kotowski Biofuel oil is typically…