The American crab (Procambarus clarkii), an invasive species that has colonized our rivers since the 1970s, did not travel alone. A team of researchers from the University of Valencia has identified a small crustacean that was probably moving on board the crab: an invader of the invader itself. Scientists are now concentrating on finding out if this tiny animal is beneficial or harmful to the American crab, and if there is a risk of transmission to other local species.
It looks like a marble with metallic and iridescent glints, but it is actually a fruit of the African plant Pollia condensata, which can boast of being the brightest in the world. A study by the University of Cambridge published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that if this fruit has managed to be the natural element with the most intense color on the planet, it is not thanks to any pigment.
"Every year more jellyfish are seen ..." This is one of the most frequent comments among bathers who visit the beaches of our coasts each summer. The global increase in jellyfish populations is a fact that worries tourists and intrigues scientists. The increase in water temperature and other aspects related to the biology of jellyfish in their adult life have been some of the variables on which the latest research has focused. Now, a team of scientists led by the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (University of the Balearic Islands and CSIC) takes a turn of the screw and offers another explanation to the problem: the increase in human infrastructures such as ports and oil platforms favors the proliferation of these animals.
The sum of all protected natural areas on the planet covers an area equivalent in size to Russia, according to a new study released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Birds that live in areas where the weather is variable also have a much more diverse song repertoire than those that live in environments with stable conditions. These are the surprising findings of a study published in the journal Biology Letters.
By browsing through the image portfolios posted by Flickr users, scientists have managed to identify a new species of lacewing. They are fragile insects, with soft bodies and transparent wings, which during their larval phase greedily devour other insects.
The female giant spider (Nephila pilipes) that lives in forests in Asia and northern Australia make a kind of plugs to protect themselves from superfluous and unwanted sexual encounters, according to research published in the journal PLos ONE.
A new study with the participation of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) has determined that several unoccupied areas of the Pyrenees are suitable for housing up to 110 brown bears. The Pyrenean population of Ursus arctos, currently threatened, has only about 20 individuals that survive in two isolated groups.
Danni Büchner is invited to Sam Dylan's Halloween party. But the "Goodbye Germany" emigrant has no desire for many other party guests. And find clear words.
