The quality of relationships and the social organization of a society, influence the transfer of valuable resources not only in humans but also in other primates. Researchers at the German Primate Center (DPZ) – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen have discovered this using the example of Guinea baboons (Papio papio), which distribute meat according to patterns similar to those of human hunter-gatherer groups. The team analyzed 109 meat-eating events and combined these records with behavioral data from nearly a decade of field research. The closer the relationship between two animals, the more likely and peaceful the transfer of meat was. In contrast, theft occurred among less closely related group members (iScience).

A collaboration team of researchers from the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Graduate School of Science at Nagoya University, and the RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS) reports in ACS Nano an integrative modeling workflow to understand with atomistic precision biomolecular dynamics from high-speed atomic force microscopy experiments.

From agriculture and urban land clearance to loss of habitat and feral animal predation, native wild animals and their food sources face a rising tide of threats caused by human activities.

A new study led by Flinders University warns traffic noise is one more pressure faced by one of southern Australia’s rare songbirds, the threatened Southern Emu-wren (Stipiturus malachurus).

Australian ecologists have made a remarkable discovery about the mysterious and endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart: it is partial to climbing trees.

The first analysis of recent extinctions across plants and animals finds that, contrary to previous studies, the rate at which many groups of organisms have gone extinct has declined over the last 100 years. The research also revealed that the patterns and causes of these past extinctions differed from current and future threats, making it problematic to extrapolate them into the future: While past extinctions were predominantly due to invasive species on islands, habitat destruction presents the greatest threat currently.