The Animal Question

This spider's a vegetarian!

From Wired:

Found in Central America, the order-defying jumping spider eats nutrient-rich structures called Beltian bodies, which are found on the tips of Acacia trees. Trees produce the bodies to feed ants that defend them, which is a textbook example of what’s called co-evolutionary mutalism, and one that B. kiplingi has evolved to exploit.

via www.wired.com

This is the world's first known vegetarian spider. The males also take part in parental care, another arachnid rarity.

Gives 'Pet Sounds' a whole new meaning

Wired Science has a great article on a species-specific music test, a collaboration between a composer and a scientist. They found that the monkeys they tested the music on aren't that interested in most human music, but when the musician created music that shared pitch, tone, and quality with the monkeys' own communications, they responded:

Monkey music, on the other hand, had a significant and predictable effect on behavior. After listening to the fear-based track, the animals became anxious and upset, as indicated by increased activity and nervous behaviors like urination and scent marking. After hearing the calm music, the monkeys became more relaxed and social.

via www.wired.com

This makes sense to me, but I also wonder about the potential for cross-species communication through music. I played both the 'happy' and the 'fearful' monkey music and much preferred the soothing quality of the former to the dissonant angst of the latter. My husband plays guitar, and we often observe our cat responding to the music he plays. She is calm and expresses pleasure in particular songs and will seek him out when he's playing in the backyard, as if she enjoys the serenade. The Wired article includes a link to a company producing music specifically for cats. I enjoyed all three cat compositions myself! 

Thanks to Mike Levine for sharing this article.

Your new Facebook friend is a real animal

According to Wildlife Authority spokeswoman Lillian Nsubuga, “Through geo-tracking and GPS, you’ll be able to get information about new births within the family and other information.” You’ll also be able to watch live footage from one of the cameras that’ll be installed around Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, where about 740 mountain gorillas reside.

via mashable.com

Now you can befriend a Ugandan gorilla on Facebook. OK, not really, but this might be the next wave in nature documentary.

Students asked to turn in evolution T-shirts

via blogs.riverfronttimes.com

This T-shirt for a Missouri high school band's "Brass Evolutions" concerts was banned by the school principal, who said the school is required to take a neutral stance on "religious matters."