BRN 9-2 (uncompressed) - Flipbook - Page 68
Michael Rich et al. (Michael Rich,
Jasmine H. Kesselring, Amy Garcia,
Danielle Wallin, and Kenneth Michael
Fedorka, 13 August 2025, Royal
Society Open Science, 12:250343
http://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.250343)
found that ÒDuring the migratory
phase, warmer temperatures reduced
male body condition, increased male
mortality, increased mating frequency
and caused females to prematurely
abandon their reproductive diapause/
dormancy and invest in oocyte
production in the absence of milkweed. Monarchs that experienced
warm migratory conditions prior to
overwintering also exhibited greater
overwintering reproductive development and mortality. Overall, reproductive development and OE burden
were the best predictors of death.
These data suggest warm migratory
temperatures signiÞcantly alter
monarch physiology and Þtness and
provide a mechanism by which
climate change could facilitate
migratory failure, winter-breeding
and overwintering mortality, all of
which can decrease overwintering
population size.
Ò(A) Males from the warm migratory
treatment exhibited a greater
mortality risk than did males from the
cold treatment. No effect of treatment was detected for females. A
hazard ratio of 1 indicates no
difference between treatments in the
risk of dying, while a hazard ratio
greater than 1 indicates a greater risk
of dying. (B) Warm treatment males
exhibited a greater drop in condition
than cold treatment. Females
exhibited no difference. Sample sizes
appear in parentheses. Estimates are
LSmeans + 95% CI.Ó
Climate change is bad news for
Monarchs.
White-lined Sphinx Moths
ÒComplete metamorphosis has been
hypothesized to be advantageous for
numerous reasons, including reduced
predation between the different
stages . . . We found that most attacks
occurred during the day and that the
chance of adult moths being attacked
was more than twice that of caterpillars. Our study supports the
hypothesis that non-adult stages may
have reduced predation risk;
however, our methodologies are only
appropriate for assessing visually
guided predators.Ó (Sanchez, B.A.; Da
Cunha, O.; Savage, J.W.; Horne, L.M.;
Saenz-Arreola, S.; Pollard, K.; Neria,
O.; Duffendack, S.; Terrazas, S.; Diaz,
J.M.; et al., ÒThe Dangers of Growing
Old: Adult Moths Face Higher
Predation Pressures than Caterpillars
in Hyles lineataÓ, Insects 27 March
2025, 16, 347, https://doi.org/
10.3390/insects16040347)
Social Learning in Birds
There are numerous research papers
which describe the learning process in
birds. In our yard, we have watched
as multiple species have learned to
access non-traditional foods by
watching other species (not a
controlled experiment obviously).
Barbara C. Klump, David Walter, John
M. Martin, and Lucy M. Aplin report
the learning of complex material
manipulation by cockatoos in
ÒEmergence of a novel drinking
innovation in an urban population of
sulphur-crested cockatoos, Cacatua
galeritaÓ, 04 June 2025, Biology
Letters (The Royal Society),
21:20250010, http://doi.org/
10.1098/rsbl.2025.0010). In short
these Sulphur-crested Cockatoos
learned how to operate a drinking
fountain, a process which required
multiple steps to successfully
complete. Apparently they Þrst
learned the process by watching
humans and then by watching each
other. Drinking from a fountain has
become part of the culture of this
group of birds - that is, the ability will
continue within the society even after
practicing individuals die.
Some of the conclusions in this study
appear to overreach (to me) but the
basic determinations are sound.
The following quotation from the text
caught my eye: ÒVladimir Pravosudov,
a behavioral ecologist and expert on
avian cognition at the University of
Nevada, Reno . . . (who noted that) . . .
Even though crows may be just as
smart, they do not have the physical
tools parrots have at their disposal to
manipulate objects. . . . The way they
can use both their beaks and feet
makes them more equipped for this
type of behavior.Ó (Reported by Jack
Tamsiea in Science, 03 June 2025.)
Everything we have done to the Earth
may come down to the fact that we
have opposable thumbs.
Evolutionary Processes
Above: Figure 2 from the cited
study), shows the ÒEffect of migration
temperature on mortality risk and
change in conditionÓ.
Above: Figure 3 from the above
study. When birds are the predator,
moths are at much more risk than the
caterpillar of the species.
67
In ÒAdaptation repeatedly uses
complex structural genomic variationÓ
Zachariah Gompert et al. describe a
process which has profound, and
mind-bending, implications. (Science,
Volume 388, Issue 6744, 18 April
2025.)
