Category Archives: Population Biology

Massive study suggests chimp populations mixed more recently than previously reported

Posted on March 19, 2021 by David Adam

A recent study in Communications Biology reports results from the largest such survey of chimpanzee genetics so far. It suggests that animals from the different groups have mixed more recently than many researchers in the field previously believed. The findings … Continue reading →

Models shift blame for Neanderthal extinction away from modern humans

Posted on December 23, 2019 by Stephen Ornes

Neanderthals vanished about 40,000 years ago, but the reasons for their demise remain shrouded in mystery and a source of debate among archaeologists. The timing coincides with the arrival of modern humans in Europe, which has led some researchers to … Continue reading →

Predators can harm rather than help biodiversity

Posted on June 14, 2019 by Natasha Gilbert

Rich biodiversity depends on the ability of species to coexist. And yet, ecologists are still grappling with the requisite mechanisms. Recent findings published in Nature suggest that predators might not be as helpful a driver of species coexistence as … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Older zebra finch fathers produce young with shorter lifespans

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Carolyn Beans

Scientists have long observed that the offspring of younger parents tend to live longer than the offspring of older parents in many animal species, including humans. But this phenomenon, dubbed the “Lansing effect” for the first scientist who described it, … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Self-sacrificing male spiders assist in their own cannibalism to aid offspring

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Charles Choi

Spiders are infamous for their deadly females, which often devour males before, after, or even during sex. Now scientists find that male dark fishing spiders (Dolomedes tenebrosus) apparently sacrifice themselves to females after mating to aid their offspring, as reported … Continue reading →

First Look: When an increase in predator numbers can lead to an increase in prey

Posted on May 13, 2014 by pnas

When numbers of predators and their prey rise and fall over time, one would expect peaks in prey abundance to precede spikes in predator abundance. Now scientists find the opposite, counter-intuitively, also can happen. Predator numbers can rise before prey … Continue reading →

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