Human Echolocators Can 'See' With Sound, And Brain Scans Reveal How Echolocation is not just a skill that dolphins or bats possess.

“Echolocation is not just a skill that dolphins or bats possess. Believe it or not, humans can also 'see with sound', and it's surprisingly easy for people to learn.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#echolocation

www.sciencealert.com/human-echolo...
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Cicadas use darkness cues from shadows to move toward trees Tree-climbing cicadas find their perches by looking for patches of darkness, a strategy known as skototaxis.

“The result confirmed that it was indeed darkness guiding the insects, a behavior known as skototaxis.”

“Skototaxis exists across the insect world: Cicadas join crickets, beetles, ants, flat bugs and even swimming bees.”

#scicomm
#skototaxis
#sensoryecology

www.sciencenews.org/article/cica...
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Platypuses share a surprising fur feature with birds Platypuses are the first mammals known to have hollow melanosomes, pigment-bearing structures found in the hair of many animals.

“The discovery grows even more puzzling: In birds, the hollowness of melanosomes can contribute to the iridescent sheen of feathers. But platypuses aren’t iridescent.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology

www.sciencenews.org/article/plat...
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Deer Create Mysterious Ultraviolet Signals That Glow in Forests Deer have the ability to see ultraviolet light, and a recent study shows they can also leave a glowing trail visible in those wavelengths, too.

“Deer have the ability to see ultraviolet light, and a recent study shows they can also leave a glowing trail visible in those wavelengths, too.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#photoluminescence
#mammals

www.sciencealert.com/deer-create-...
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Nest weave pattern in weaverbirds: a sexual signal selected through sensory drive? Abstract. Nests are primarily shaped by natural selection, but are also subject to sexual selection. Here, we investigated the potential role of sexual sel

doi.org/10.1093/evol...
#SPEetologia

#SexualSelection #AnimalArchitecture #Weaverbirds #BehaviouralEcology #EvolutionaryBiology #SensoryEcology

Fluttering ‘tails’ on bird nests confuse would-be predators Blue manakins in Brazil use “disruptive camouflage” to protect their eggs, new study finds

“The findings suggest streamer-building birds aren’t trying to render their nests invisible, nor make them look like something else in their surroundings. Instead, a tail gives the nest a “false shape,”… “avoiding detection...”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology

www.science.org/content/arti...
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In a new kind of plant trickery, this yam fools birds with fake berries Black-bulb yam’s mimicry tricks birds into spreading its berrylike clones. The plant's novel strategy helps it spread without seeds or sexual reproduction.

“The black-bulb yam (Dioscorea melanophyma) makes fake berries that help the species spread to new locations”

“The results extend the mimicry concept to nonreproductive structures of the plant”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#deception
#mimicry

www.sciencenews.org/article/new-...
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In a Quebec park, a science game brings predator-prey dynamics to life Results show that players’ choices echo predator-prey patterns seen in wildlife, though scientists stress the limits of the analogy.

“The researchers hosted nine 30-minute games… Players took on roles of prey, mesopredator (an animal that preys on smaller animals) and apex predator, each identified by the color of their shirt.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology

www.sciencenews.org/article/pred...
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This Stunning 'Blue Marble' Fruit Isn't Actually Blue – It's a Wild Optical Illusion The fruit of Africa's marble berry (Pollia condensata) is a true living gemstone, sporting a stunning metallic blue sheen that never fades.

“‘This is the highest reported reflectivity of any land-based biological organism, including beetle exoskeleton, bird feathers, and the famously intense blue of Morpho butterfly scales.’”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology

www.sciencealert.com/this-stunnin...
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Deer urine glows like holiday lights in the breeding season “Photoluminescence” may be a way for the animals to communicate with each other

“The glow is an example of photoluminescence, a property widely found in nature in which organic material absorbs light and re-emits it at longer wavelengths—shifting ultraviolet (UV) light into our visible range, for example.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology

www.science.org/content/arti...
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Bioluminescence on Earth Evolved Over 500 Million Years Ago, Study Finds In the darkest corners of the planet, where the light of the Sun never touches, eerie glows can yet be found, illuminating the shadows.

“Bioluminescent organisms can harness chemical reactions to produce a glow of their own, a tool used for various purposes by the different creatures that wield it.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology

www.sciencealert.com/bioluminesce...
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This flower smells like injured ants — and flies can’t resist it A type of Japanese dogsbane releases a scent identical to wounded ants’ distress signal, drawing in scavenging flies that unwittingly pollinate it.

“Experiments revealed that the plant’s odor is a near-perfect chemical match to the distress signals released by injured ants”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#mimetism
#mimicry
#chemicalcommunication

www.sciencenews.org/article/flow...
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The Scent Gland Microbiomes of Wild Tamarins Provide New Insight Into Microbial Contributions to Olfactory Communication Our study investigated the microbiomes of suprapubic and sternal scent glands in two wild tamarin species to explore their putative roles in odor production and communication. Using metagenomic seque...

dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

Led by PhD Candidate @silviacarboni.bsky.social, our new paper explores the contributions of surface microbes to the production of odours in the scent glands of wild tamarins. A great collaboration with Dr. Alice Poirier and @fieldprojects.org #sensoryecology

📣 Fully-funded PhD opportunity in my Lab @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social
🔬We will explore how coral larvae sense their environment and guide settlement.
Check out the details! 👇
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

#Coral #SensoryEcology #PhD #MarineScience

New #OpenAccess work in #RESEcolEnt

Of walls & floors: how physical structures affect mating song detection in stridulating orthopterans
doi.org/10.1111/een.70017

#Stridulation #Orthoptera #Acoustics #SensoryEcology
@sheborg.bsky.social @robwilsonmncn.bsky.social @callomac.bsky.social @wiley.com

New research article! 📰

Porras-Brenes and Amador-Vargas investigated how carrying oversized loads affects leafcutter ants’ antennae-ground tapping 🎒
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#LeafcutterAnts #ForagingBehavior #SensoryEcology #LoadCarrying #AnimalBehavior #Atta #Antennae #ForagingTrail

Is camouflage better than warning colors? For insects, it depends The effectiveness of camouflage or warning colors for insect defense depends on conditions such as light levels and how many predators are around.

“A global study comparing defensive coloration in insects reveals that camouflage and warning colors each excel under certain environmental conditions.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#camouflage
#aposematism
#luminosity

www.sciencenews.org/article/inse...
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Sea turtle hatchlings struggle through a smelly seaweed maze Sargassum strikes again.

“Sargassum. The smelly, brown seaweed can put a damper on a day at the beach at best and hinder baby turtles on their way to the ocean at worst.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology

www.popsci.com/environment/...
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Around the world, birds sing longer in light-polluted areas In light-polluted landscapes, birds' singing time is an average of 50 minutes longer per day. It's still unclear if this hurts bird health or helps.

“A behavioral analysis of nearly 600 bird species suggests that light pollution from human development can lengthen the time birds spend singing by nearly an hour per day”

#scicomm
#lightpollution
#sensoryecology
#bioacoustics

www.sciencenews.org/article/bird...
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Glow-in-the-dark marsupial shows off its luminous fur — July’s best science images The month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.

“Under visible light, this animal’s fur is brown or black with white spots, but areas of it can absorb UV light and emit it at a different wavelength, creating a vibrant blue glow.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#fluorescence

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
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This insect shoots peppermint at predators from a pair of canons behind its head The peppermint stick insect has a weird name, but trust me, it gets even weirder.

“Armed with chemical weapons (a pair of glands just behind its head), the stick insect shoots an irritating spray out of these glands, which smells exactly like peppermint, when threatened.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#aposematism
#camouflage

www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildl...
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[Happy jawless fish noises]
#fish #palaeo #palaeontology #fossil #agnathan #aglaspidid #gnathostome #chondrichthyes #sensoryecology #teeth #sacabambaspis

Seeing sick faces may prime the immune system to repel invaders Seeing sick-looking faces in virtual reality triggers brain circuit changes related to threat detection and boosts activity of certain immune cells.

“… participants who saw sick-looking faces in virtual reality showed changes in brain activity related to personal space monitoring and threat detection. Additionally, the activity of certain immune cells in the blood increased.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology

www.sciencenews.org/article/seei...
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Mexican jumping beans jump to safety in a dynamic world - Binghamton News New research from Binghamton University reveals that Mexican jumping bean larvae respond to different colors of light, jumping more vigorously under different hues, which can help them avoid potential...

“Although less than 1% of light actually penetrated the seed wall, larvae moved the most under red light and the least under purple light, which are at opposite ends of the visual spectrum.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#jumpingbeans
#temperature
#illuminant

www.binghamton.edu/news/story/5...
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Spider Builds Fake Spider Decoy The new spider, thought to be a member of the genus Cyclosa, might build these decoys as part of a defense mechanism to confuse or distract predators

“Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, a spider is at work building an elaborate, fake decoy of itself. In its web, it busily goes to working crafting its doppelgänger out of leaves, debris and dead prey insects…”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#falsesignal

www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/s...
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Insect X-Men: Helmets help these odd bugs sense electric fields Ability may help treehoppers distinguish friend from foe

“But the appendage isn’t just for show: It gives these sedentary herbivores the superpower of detecting electric fields, perhaps helping them distinguish friend from foe”

#scicomm
#electroreception
#electricfield
#sensoryecology

www.science.org/content/arti...
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Songbirds play optical tricks to make their feather colors ‘pop’ Concealed black or white bands on feathers boost the vibrancy of bird plumage

“And when researchers compared male and female feathers, they found that females’ feathers tended to have less pigment, which let the bands of black and white peek out and made the feathers appear duller.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#animalcoloration

www.science.org/content/arti...
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Stay tuned for more on monkey pee and social olfaction in capuchins in Santa Rosa Costa Rica in coming months! #sensoryecology

Trees can’t get up and walk away, but forests can In fantasy worlds, trees like the Lord of the Rings’ Ents are agile and mobile. In the real world, they’re slow.

“… trees orient themselves to get the most sunlight possible, a phenomenon called phototropism.
Tree roots move too. When they sense moisture in the soil, trees push their roots toward the likely water source.”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology

www.sciencenews.org/article/tree...
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Tiny brown moth navigates 600 miles using stars — just like humans and birds | CNN Native to Australia, tiny Bogong moths travel hundreds of miles in an astonishing annual migration by using the starry night sky to navigate, according to a new study.

“Stars are not the only navigational cue the insects use to reach their destination. They can also detect Earth’s magnetic field, according to evidence found by previous research…”

#scicomm
#sensoryecology
#navigation
#migration
#skycompass
#magneticcompass

www.cnn.com/2025/06/20/s...
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