Category Archives: What’s New in Sensory Ecology?

The search engines in our heads: mud dauber wasps and their use of search images

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            The world is crowded with different types of complex information – images that can be perceived differently depending on the types of light an animal is capable of perceiving, sounds that can be heard within a certain range of … Continue reading

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A Noisy World: Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Zebrafish Model

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There has been an expeditious increase in anthropogenic noise ever since the industrial revolution. As a result, noise-induced hearing loss has rapidly increased worldwide. The World Health Organization has even suggested that prolonged noise exposure is likely responsible for upwards … Continue reading

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Information of the age of rivals does not impact the scent marking behaviors in male meadow voles

Many terrestrial animals use scent marking behaviors as a major form of communication. The scent marking process involves the systemic depositing of odors from metabolic byproducts, urine, or feces, from specialized glands, or from the orbital gland into the environment. … Continue reading

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A Quick Getaway. How Crickets Avoid Obstacles During Escape Behaviors.

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How do crickets, and many other animals, avoid collisions with objects in their path and guide themselves to walk in a particular direction? This becomes a more complex question when considering that the visual system may be compromised due to … Continue reading

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Feeding in the dark: how light levels affect foraging in the hawkmoth

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Moths provide necessary pollination services during the night, which can be negatively impacted by variations in the environment caused by humans such as climate change, air pollution and habitat loss. Artificial light at night is a key factor that leads … Continue reading

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Dear Tree Friend, Please Keep My Food Safe and Warm—How do Canada Jays Identify and Exploit the Optimal Trees for Their Cache?

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Do you ever find the food provided by the dining hall so undesirable, that you have to dig up those months-old snacks in your fridge or cabinet? Some animals in nature behave in the same way. When facing the threat … Continue reading

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Fly Me to the Moon: How the light of the moon may impact flight behaviors in the Black Swift

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Many birds have evolved as migratory species. This means they spend the majority of their lifespan in flight, traveling long distances when they are not in their breeding period. One such group are Old World swifts which spend up to … Continue reading

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Plain Birds With Beautiful Songs

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Fabio Marcolin and his colleagues study how different evolutionary pressures affect bird song. This study is focused on parrots, and tested four theories about how birds evolve their specific song.  Why do birds sing the way they do? To answer … Continue reading

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Fancy Dancing: Multimodal Signaling in Jewel Bug Courtship

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All across the animal kingdom, animals communicate with each other by sending signals. Many use multimodal signaling, which includes components in multiple sensory modalities, for example, both visual and auditory. It is thought that ordering multiple signals increases evolutionary fitness … Continue reading

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Bird Migration: A Magnetic Pull for Mating

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When spring rolls around, birds migrate northward in order to follow the call of the wild, the swell in insect population and plants for food and to find bountiful breeding and nesting sites in the lush riparian landscapes that burst … Continue reading

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