Dawn Of Animal Vision Discovered:
By peering deep into evolutionary history, scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered the origins of photosensitivity in animals. The scientists studied the aquatic animal Hydra, a member of Cnidaria, which are animals that have existed for hundreds of millions of years. The authors are the first scientists to look at light-receptive genes in cnidarians, an ancient class of animals that includes corals, jellyfish, and sea anemones.
Ecologists Discover City Is 'Uber-forest' For Big Owls:
Charlotte has a spooky secret: the North Carolina city is home to a robust population of very large barred owls -- a species long-believed by ornithologists to require old growth forest for survival. According to ecologists doing the most extensive field study ever done on the species, the owls see urban life as an upgrade on the old woods, and Charlotteans are not at all creeped out by the big birds that share their yards.
Endangered Wild Ox Given Lifeline:
Twenty years after its discovery in the forested mountains of Vietnam, local authorities here have agreed to establish new nature reserves to protect a critically endangered wild ox.
Life Science
Comments
Wait, Coturnix, say it isn't so!
You mean, in re the barred owls:
1. Species are capable of adaptation in the face of environmental change?
2. That all the crap about having to preserve forests because species CANNOT adapt was just treehugger propaganda?
3. That the folks who tell us that we are losing undiscovered species at an unprecedented rate might just be wrong?
Posted by: Michael Munger | October 19, 2007 2:50 PM