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Hearing laughter may cause orangutans to value rewards more

21 October 2026 at 22:00
A new study from Indiana University shows that being in a positive mood leads orangutans to value what they learned more strongly. The study comes from the lab of Erica Cartmill, professor of animal behavior, anthropology and cognitive science in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington, and was led by Daan LamΓ©ris, a postdoctoral researcher at IU.

Hearing laughter may cause orangutans to value rewards more

21 October 2026 at 22:00
A new study from Indiana University shows that being in a positive mood leads orangutans to value what they learned more strongly. The study comes from the lab of Erica Cartmill, professor of animal behavior, anthropology and cognitive science in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington, and was led by Daan LamΓ©ris, a postdoctoral researcher at IU.

Serengeti hyenas manage to keep clans stable as climate change alters animal migrations

21 October 2026 at 20:40
Although the main prey of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), migratory ungulates such as blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), now spend substantially less time within hyena territories than they did 30 years ago, hyena clans in the central Serengeti have remained largely stable.

Serengeti hyenas manage to keep clans stable as climate change alters animal migrations

21 October 2026 at 20:40
Although the main prey of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), migratory ungulates such as blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), now spend substantially less time within hyena territories than they did 30 years ago, hyena clans in the central Serengeti have remained largely stable.

Genetic snapshot of North Carolina black bears could improve population resilience

21 October 2026 at 20:10
A recent genomic survey of North Carolina black bears from mountain and coastal habitats reveals distinct differences in genetic health and diversity between the populations, with coastal bears exhibiting greater genetic fragility than mountain bears. The results could be used by wildlife management and law enforcement to ensure the health of both bears and the ecosystems they are part of.

Swiss barn owls are gradually changing color

21 October 2026 at 20:00
Over the past 30 years, Swiss barn owls have become more reddish-brown and more heavily spotted. By analyzing the genomes of more than 3,000 birds, scientists at the University of Lausanne identified the genetic variants linked to these changes in plumage and revealed natural selection at work. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, show that evolution can happen rapidly in the wild.

Swiss barn owls are gradually changing color

21 October 2026 at 20:00
Over the past 30 years, Swiss barn owls have become more reddish-brown and more heavily spotted. By analyzing the genomes of more than 3,000 birds, scientists at the University of Lausanne identified the genetic variants linked to these changes in plumage and revealed natural selection at work. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, show that evolution can happen rapidly in the wild.

'Silent' vultures turn out to use a wide range of sounds to communicate

21 October 2026 at 19:00
Vultures were long thought to make few and fairly simple sounds. Yet no one had investigated in detail how the birds use sound to communicate. For his master's thesis in Jorg Massen's Vulture Cognition Lab, Connor Proudfoot studied the critically endangered RΓΌppell's vulture. He and his colleagues found that the birds produce a wide range of complex sounds, which they use in a range of social situations. The findings, published today in PLOS One, could help improve the success of captive breeding programs and shed light on the evolution of communication.

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