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Department of Zoology

 
Read more at: Meerkat groups have 'traditions'

Meerkat groups have 'traditions'

8 August 2013

Just as afternoon tea is traditional in England but not in France, different groups of meerkats have different ways of doing things, Cambridge zoologists have found.


Read more at: Killer whales and the mystery of human menopause

Killer whales and the mystery of human menopause

8 August 2013

The evolutionary mystery of menopause is a step closer to being solved thanks to research on killer whales. A study by Cambridge and Exeter universities has found a link between killer whales, pilot whales and humans - the only three known species where females stop breeding relatively early in their lifespan. Despite very...


Read more at: Science Meets Culture

Science Meets Culture

8 August 2013

Dr Alex Thornton will be speaking at a prestigious joint meeting of the Royal Society and the British Academy entitled "Culture Evolves" on the 28th of June at the Southbank Centre in London. The meeting runs from the 28th to the 30th of June and is open to the public. The meeting forms part of the celebrations of the...


Read more at: Cracks in egg theory

Cracks in egg theory

7 August 2013

Members of the Evolutionary Ecology group have found cracks in the long-standing theory that the number of eggs animals have – and the size of those eggs – is related to how much parental care they invest in their offspring.


Read more at: Cleaner fish respond to the shadow of the future

Cleaner fish respond to the shadow of the future

7 August 2013

Tropical fish alter their behaviour with an eye to the future, researchers in the department have found. This is the first time such behaviour has been seen in any animals except humans.


Read more at: New baylissi chameleon

New baylissi chameleon

7 August 2013

Recently a host of new species have been discovered from Mt. Mabu in northern Mozambique as part of a RBGKew Darwin Initiative award entitled Monitoring and Managing Biodiversity Loss on South-East Africa's Montane Ecosystems’.


Read more at: Life in the rainforest

Life in the rainforest

7 August 2013

PhD student Tim Cockerill recounts his adventures in the northern Borneo rainforest on the Planet Earth podcast.


Read more at: Swarming locusts need larger brains

Swarming locusts need larger brains

7 August 2013

Desert locusts are infamous for their swarming behaviour when they migrate en masse and consume everything in their path, but usually they occur in a form that actively avoids other locusts and live solitary existences. Which one of these lifestyles poses bigger challenges and requires more brain power?


Read more at: Alfred Russel Wallace Award (2008-9)

Alfred Russel Wallace Award (2008-9)

7 August 2013

Dr Tom Fayle has been awarded the Alfred Russel Wallace prize by the Royal Entomological Society for his studies of the ant community structure in a rain forest microcosm.


Read more at: A bird’s eye view of how cuckoos fool their hosts

A bird’s eye view of how cuckoos fool their hosts

7 August 2013

Using field experiments in Africa and a new computer model that gives them a bird’s eye view of the world, Dr Claire Spottiswoode and Dr Martin Stevens have discovered how a bird decides whether or not a cuckoo has laid an egg in its nest.