Zebra finch pairs that share personality traits like high aggression and an interest in exploration tend to raise healthier, more well fed offspring than pairs who differ, suggesting that parents with similar personalities may cooperate better when caring for their young.W. Schuett et al., "Pairs of zebra finches with similar 'personalities' make better parents," linkurl:Animal Behaviour,;http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W9W-51YB0FF-1&_user=10&_coverDate=01%2F15%2F2011&_alid=1622354788&_rdoc=5&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_zone=rslt_list_item&_cdi=6693&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_ct=702&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=869cbc839f40ed9803f25454c2d2c6e7&searchtype=a AOP, doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.12.006, 2011.Trading sex for smartsButterflies that learn to recognize red host plants, in addition to the green plants they find by instinct, can lay their eggs in a wider range of environments, but also tend to reproduce less in their lifetime and enter adulthood with fewer developed eggs, suggesting that a trade-off exists between learning and reproduction.E.C. Snell-Rood et al., "Reproductive tradeoffs of learning in a butterfly," linkurl:Behavioral Ecology,;http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/01/20/beheco.arq169.full AOP, doi: 10.1093/beheco/arq169, 2011.
Image: Wikimedia commons, Nevil Lazarus...
Flirtation via fear?E.I. Greig & S. Pruett-Jones, "Danger may enhance communication: predator calls alert female to male displays," linkurl:Behavioral Ecology,;http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/content/21/6/1360.abstract?sid=bedf9158-2737-4c1c-886f-6db199ec05b2 21:1360-1366, 2011.Dogs don't get logicJ. Kaminski et al., "Do dogs distinguish rational from irrational acts?" linkurl:Animal Behaviour,;http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W9W-51CHMC0-1&_user=10&_coverDate=01%2F31%2F2011&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=ad105ff6c280566e73dfcfd4a5630ab5&searchtype=a 81: 195-203, 2011.Optimistic rats
Image: Wikimedia commons, AlexK100
N.M. Brydges et al., "Environmental enrichment induces optimistic cognitive bias in rats," linkurl:Animal Behaviour,;http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W9W-51J17KJ-1&_user=10&_coverDate=01%2F31%2F2011&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=a59b3cc475ae235489a81384b387ff2b&searchtype=a 81:169-175, 2011.Parasites deter predatorsA. Fenton et al., "Parasite-induced warning coloration: a novel form of host manipulation," linkurl:Animal Behaviour,;http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W9W-51PR0K9-3&_user=10&_coverDate=02%2F28%2F2011&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=b2f044025e4c2cb687e77f2a414c0d5f&searchtype=a 81:417-422, 2011.
Image: Wikimedia commons, Boivie
Swapping shelter for poopT.U. Grafe et al., "A novel resource-service mutualism between bats and pitcher plants," Royal Society Biology Letters, AOP, linkurl:doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.1141,;http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/lookup/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2010.1141 2011.Skill in numbersA. Ward et al., "Fast and accurate decisions through collective vigilance," linkurl:PNAS,;http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/01/14/1007102108.abstract AOP, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1007102108, 2011.Old clothes
M.A. Toups et al., "Origin of Clothing Lice Indicates Early Clothing Use by Anatomically Modern Humans in Africa," linkurl:Molecular Biology and Evolution,;http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/28/1/29.abstract?sid=3a3be093-c83e-4159-818a-e674af1e3865 28:29-32, 2011.
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