“They also found that, in general, the size of the birds’ repertoire decreased
as anthropogenic noise increased, especially when the birds were exposed to
levels of anthropogenic noise that were above the usual noise to which they were
accustomed.”
Alejandro Portilla Navarro ,
City birds are changing their tune
(Knowable Magazine ,
November 14, 2022 ,
via Ars Technica )
posted 11/25/2022 8:00pm ∞
“No longer needing to sing at high frequencies that could be heard over the
highway’s rumble, the sparrows’ songs became more expansive, occupying more of
the soundscape’s ‘acoustic bandwidth.’ Even those with quiet voices became
audible; in those first months, ‘you could hear four times as many birds as you
could before,’ says [Professor Elizabeth] Derryberry.”
posted 12/23/2022 8:00pm ∞
“[T]he coffee it makes is good. … That grown in South Sudan had ‘notes of
raspberry coulis, figs, plums, and milk chocolate.’ It has comparable caffeine
levels to Arabica, so can be an appropriate substitute as growing conditions for
Arabica continue to decline.”
Diana Gitig ,
Your next pour-over may be Liberica or excelsa
(Ars Technica ,
December 15, 2022 )
posted 12/18/2022 8:00pm ∞
“Wolves with antibodies against [Toxoplasma gondii ] were significantly more
likely to disperse (leave their packs and set out on their own) and to become
pack leaders. Pursuing both of these courses of action constitutes aggressive
and risky wolf behavior.”
posted 12/5/2022 8:00pm ∞
“The spiders searched the part of the web where the cricket had been—the sheet
or the lines—which indicated a memory of prey location. And when Sergi stole
prey from the gumfooted lines, the spiders made more searches for prey that was
especially large relative to themselves.”
posted 11/27/2022 8:00pm ∞