Other (Animal) Blog Posts

Smelly feet and heat – how malaria mosquitoes find their hosts

It seems that mosquitoes use human body odor to locate suitable hosts, and different people smell differently to mosquitoes.

Standing cows

Does it matter how much time a cow spends standing up or lying down? Bert Tolkamp thought that it did matter, and he proved his point by winning an IgNobel prize for his work on this.

Tracking a wide variety of animals

Video tracking is used to track a widevariety of animal species in even more different test arenas. From insects of 1 mm on leaf discs, to monkeys in a cage, or zebra fish in an aquarium.

To mate or not to mate? Females are less choosy when males are rare

Having a choice for a mating partner is extremely important for females, so they can be critical in choosing which male to mate with.

Caterpillars speed up seed production in plants

Did you know that plants are not as passive as they appear to be at first sight? Although plants cannot run away when they are attacked by plant eating insects, they have several sophisticated ways to defend themselves.

Using several behavioral tests to investigate the role of the NR1 gene in schizo

Studies of the mental disorder schizophrenia in lab animals often include behavioral tests to investigate social behavior, cognitive abilities, and motor functioning.

Combining physiology and behavior to create a stress scale for horses

We all are familiar with stress, and how it can have an impact not only on our behavior, but on our bodies and physiology as well. Many people get stress headaches or start to feel sick if they reach high levels of stress.

Plants with more linalool smell good, but taste bad

Plant volatiles play an important role in the interaction between plants and insects that eat them. Insect damage very often induces plants to produce volatiles.

Pesticides in bee colonies affect the behavior of bees

In the past 20 years, populations of honeybees have declined all over the world. This is partly caused by the increased occurrence of parasites and pathogens.

Developing a high-throughput method - EthoGenomics

Ornamental flowers are among the main export products of The Netherlands. Thrips are one of the most important pests on ornamental flowers.

Observing monkey behavior – cracking the nut

We already know some monkeys display above average intelligence. One way by which we can tell is their use of tools. Studies have shown that capuchin monkeys use boulders and logs as anvils upon which they can crush nuts.

Beautiful birds and UV – What we cannot see

Don’t we all enjoy the variety and intensity of bird colors? Male birds have perhaps the most impressive color display in nature.