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microscope Rising global temperatures have reduced offspring production in migratory and large-bodied birds (such as Adeliepenguins, left) but not in small and sedentary species, scientists report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.PHOTO (COLOR) [Extracted from the article]

A recent study conducted by Christopher Clark, a biologist at the University of California, Riverside, has found that great gray owls have the ability to locate and capture voles hidden beneath up to 2 feet of snow with remarkable accuracy. The owls use sound to pinpoint their prey, with lower-frequency sounds being able to penetrate deep snow. Great gray owls have large "facial discs" that are sensitive to these low-frequency sounds, and they use their faces to funnel the sounds of buried voles towards their ears before using their talons to punch through the snow and catch their prey. This hunting technique is unique to great gray owls and makes them the most extreme birds in terms of hunting beneath the snow cover. [Extracted from the article]

Many Americans are now purchasing long-term-care insurance policies. Those considering purchasing a policy should ensure that they choose one that they can afford even if their income drops.

How to help hummers Of the more than 350 hummingbird species, 16 breed in the United States, with just one, the ruby-throated hummingbird, nesting regularly east of the Mississippi River. Because species such as rufous and ruby-throated hummingbirds are highly territorial - and will fight to protect a feeder - add additional sugar-water feeders in different parts of your property for other hummers to enjoy. For bathing, hummers, such as this Anna's hummingbird in Arizona, are particularly attracted to moving water. [Extracted from the article]

Caminada Headland is the largest project completed to date using money from the $16.5 billion damage settlement between British Petroleum (BP), its drilling partners and the U.S. government as a result of the 2010 Gulf oil spill. "There were oil spills in the Gulf before, during and after the BP spill", says Amanda Fuller, deputy director of NWF's Gulf Restoration Program. "If there was one thing good that came out of the disaster, it was Louisiana's decision to use its BP penalty funds on restoring and protecting coastal areas", says Rebecca Triche, executive director of NWF affiliate Louisiana Wildlife Federation. In the weeks following the Gulf oil spill, the National Wildlife Federation trained volunteers to conduct on-theground surveys to help authorities locate oiled wildlife. [Extracted from the article]

Often isolated from larger waterways, seasonal wetlands such as prairie potholes (left) are frequently drained for agriculture or development. "Being disconnected can be better because the wetlands are catching the pollutants and retaining them as opposed to leaking them back into streams", says lead author Frederick Cheng, now at Colorado State University. Draining wetlands also destroys wildlife habitat and increases the risk of floods, drought and other impacts of climate change. [Extracted from the article]

In newer secondary forests, such spring ephemerals tend to be scarce - and in recent research published in Ecology, scientists say one explanation may be a lack of woodland ants. The scientists say low numbers of woodland ants in regenerated forests stems from several factors, including competition with invasive slugs that thrive on former agricultural lands. [Extracted from the article]

Microscope WIDE-OPEN SPECTRUM After analyzing vision research on nearly 450 species, University of Arkansas biologists report in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B that wildlife adapted to open habitats (such as prairie dogs, left) see a wider range of colors than forest animals. Unfortunately, these "small pockets of deciduous forest are often neglected in conservation planning", says Princeton ecologist and lead author Fengyi Guo, who hopes the new migration stopover map will help to change that. The map, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, "gives us a powerful new tool for identifying the key habitats these birds are using during their epic migrations", says Princeton ecologist and co-author David Wilcove. [Extracted from the article]

Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Ferraro's paper is far from the only study finding that the presence of wild birds - particularly multiple bird species - can lift people's spirits. NATURE AND HEALTH For as long as she can remember, Danielle Ferraro has been captivated by birds. In a subsequent analysis of medical data provided by German authorities for 30,000 residents, Methorst and his colleagues confirmed that the larger the number of bird and plant species in a region, the more content people are. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the most spectacular wildlife gatherings sights sure to inspire awe and a passion for conservation including two dozen northern elephant seals hauled out of the Pacific Ocean to start a breeding colony at Piedras Blancas, California coast; hundreds of thousands of geese, ducks and other migratory birds heading north on the Pacific Flyway; and hungry elk set off every autumn on a 50-mile trek to the valley of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Looks at some of the changes taking place in the image of Las Vegas. Role of people like Stephen Wynn, CEO of Mirage Resorts; The need to attract people who didn't want to gamble 24 hours a day; Services for children; Luxor, Wynn's Treasure Island and the MGM Grand; More.

Fifteen years ago, a local resident discovered a female American crocodile living on a lush, sparsely populated barrier island along the Lee Island Coast in southwest Florida. Considered among the [...]

Scientists at Columbia University used high-resolution imagery to map urban vegetation and calculate the daily and seasonal changes, or "flux", in carbon the plants capture during photosynthesis. They found that on some summer afternoons, carbon absorbed by vegetation may temporarily equal up to 40 percent of the area's carbon emissions from all sources, or almost all carbon dioxide generated at those times by motor vehicles. During summer, trees, grasses and other vegetation in New York City (left) and nearby communities may play a larger than expected role counteracting human-caused carbon emissions. [Extracted from the article]

To make this discovery, Swedish zoologists broadcast a variety of songs to some 2,000 wild flycatcher nestlings from seven populations - each with its own distinct dialect - then observed the baby birds' responses. Because flycatcher hatchlings hear surprisingly few songs, Wheatcroft says the results also raise the intriguing possibility that the birds innately recognize their own dialects. When they are as young as 12 days old, nestling pied flycatchers (right) will respond - by begging for food - to songs from adult males that live in their own population, scientists have found. [Extracted from the article]

By analyzing brain tissue from 94 species - including solitary, pair-living and group-living mammals - the researchers also identified 31 genes linked both to longevity and a species' social system. The finding, published in Nature Communications, held true for a wide array of species, from group-dwelling and long-lived golden snub-nosed monkeys (above), naked mole rats and horseshoe bats to solitary and shorter-lived giant armadillos and short-tailed shrews. In an analysis of scientific papers on the body masses, life spans and lifestyles of 974 species, Chinese zoologists found that mammals living in groups generally outlive solitary mammals. [Extracted from the article]

Working as a nutrition assistant at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, Maretta Champagne has learned all about the dietary deficiencies of her fellow Oglala Sioux tribe members. 'We [...]

AT THE END of the last century, the notion of conservation was a mere whisper in the popular consciousness. Although it was generally known that a few prominent naturalists condemned [...]

When Brenda Salgado arrived in northern Belize five years ago to begin field studies of black howlers, she quickly realized that her task involved more than just observing monkey behavior. [...]