Κυριακή 30 Σεπτεμβρίου 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News


Time bomb: Military ordnance in Gulf of Mexico poses threat to shipping, says expert

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 11:03 AM PDT

Millions of pounds of unexploded bombs and other military ordnance that were dumped decades ago in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as off the coasts of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, could now pose serious threats to shipping lanes and the 4,000 oil and gas rigs in the Gulf, warns oceanographers.

Marine plants can flee to avoid predators: First observation of predator avoidance behavior by phytoplankton

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 11:03 AM PDT

Scientists have made the first observation of a predator avoidance behavior by a species of phytoplankton, a microscopic marine plant. The scientists made the unexpected observation while studying the interactions between phytoplankton and zooplankton.

White shark diets vary with age and among individuals

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 11:02 AM PDT

White sharks, the largest predatory sharks in the ocean, are thought of as apex predators that feed primarily on seals and sea lions. But a new study shows surprising variability in the dietary preferences of individual sharks.

Chocolate makes snails smarter

Posted: 27 Sep 2012 06:19 AM PDT

Chocolate isn't usually on the diet for snails, but when researchers became curious about the effects of diet on memory, they decided to try a flavonoid from chocolate, epicatechin (epi) on the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis to see if it improved the animals' memories. After a dose of epi, the pond snails were able to remember a training protocol for longer and the memories were stronger.

Hummingbirds make flying backward look easy

Posted: 27 Sep 2012 06:19 AM PDT

Animals that move backwards usually require a lot of energy, so a biologist was surprised when he realized that hummingbirds execute this maneuver routinely. Wondering how hummingbirds perform the feat, he analyzed their flight and the amount of oxygen they consume and found that reversing is much cheaper than hovering flight and no more costly than flying forward.

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