News

Cross-dressing vertebrae: how sloths got their long neck

8 August 2013

From mice to giraffes, mammals are remarkable in that all but a handful of their 5000 species have exactly seven vertebrae in the neck. Among the few that deviate from this number are three-toed sloths, which may have up to ten ribless vertebrae in the neck.

Academic leadership in the Department, from 1 October 2010

8 August 2013

1 October 2010 sees major changes in the academic leadership of the Department.

Celebrating Ecology - BES Photographic Competition

8 August 2013

This photograph, taken by Tim Cockerill a PhD student in the Department's Insect Ecology Group, was a runner-up in the British Ecological Society Photographic Competition 2010.

Trawl fishing surviving through sale of previously discarded fish

8 August 2013

Fishermen barely eking out a profit because of overfishing of their target stock, shrimp, are now surviving by selling their bycatch (the low-value fish also caught in the large, indiscriminate nets).

Chariots of Fire

8 August 2013

Members of the Team from the Insect Ecology Group (Museum of Zoology), after taking part in the Chariots of Fire Charity Race on September 19th.

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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

Department of Zoology

Cross-dressing vertebrae: how sloths got their long neck

Academic leadership in the Department, from 1 October 2010

Celebrating Ecology - BES Photographic Competition

Trawl fishing surviving through sale of previously discarded fish

Chariots of Fire

Meerkat groups have 'traditions'

Killer whales and the mystery of human menopause

Science Meets Culture

Cracks in egg theory

Cleaner fish respond to the shadow of the future

Zoology Features in University Research News

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