Wandering Adventure Party

Across the animal kingdom, sound is more than communication—it’s a signal of survival and success. From birds and primates to insects, fish, and amphibians, animals broadcast acoustic “advertisements” to defend territory, attract mates, and reveal their physical condition. Because these calls can reflect traits such as body size, strength, or health, they play a powerful role in sexual selection and help shape how species compete and reproduce. Parasites can influence these mating signals. Infections drain energy and trigger immune responses that weaken the body, altering traits tied to mating success, such as stamina and the quality of acoustic calls, sometimes disrupting how sounds are produced or perceived. Adding to the complexity, some parasites infect hosts through predator-prey interactions. This means individuals that are larger or more effective at foraging—qualities often preferred by potential mates—may actually face a higher risk of infection. However, studies in amphibians have produced mixed results. To explore this paradox, Florida Atlantic University researchers studied green treefrogs (Dryophytes cinereus) and oral frog tongueworm parasites (Halipegus occidualis) that live in the mouth and throat of frogs, to test whether food-web–transmitted parasites influence mating calls and female mate choice in a natural population. During the breeding season, male green treefrogs gather in loud choruses around ponds, inflating their vocal sacs to produce repeated “honking” calls from nearby vegetation. Females use these calls to choose mates, typically favoring lower-frequency, faster, and sometimes longer calls—traits that often signal a larger or healthier male. Pulse patterns in the calls also help females recognize their own species. Researchers recorded the calls of male green treefrogs in the wild and counted the number of tongueworm parasites in each frog’s mouth. They then analyzed the recordings using audio software to measure features of the calls, such as frequency, length, and pulse structure. They aggregated calls into three infection categories: uninfected, moderately infected (five to eight adult worms), and heavily infected (more than nine adult worms). To see how females responded, the team conducted two-choice playback experiments, broadcasting pairs of male calls and observing which one they approached. Results of the study, published in the journal Current Zoology, suggest that choosy female green treefrogs may face a croak conundrum: the call traits they prefer—such as lower frequencies—are typically produced by larger males, which may also be more likely to carry parasites. [image: image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhexbear.net%2Fapi%2Fv3%2Fimage_proxy%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fscx2.b-cdn.net%252Fgfx%252Fnews%252Fhires%252F2026%252Fthe-croak-conundrum-pa-1.jpg] Tongueworm infections do influence the calls males use to attract mates, but not in the simple way scientists expected. Rather than just weakening signals, the parasites altered several call traits, creating a complex pattern that can change how females evaluate potential partners. “Parasites don’t always tell a simple story about health or weakness,” said Sarah R. Goodnight, Ph.D., first author, a Ph.D. graduate of FAU Harbor Branch, and a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. “In this system, the frogs most successful at finding food may also be the ones most likely to pick up parasites. That means females are evaluating signals that can simultaneously advertise both strength and risk.” The findings challenge the long-standing Hamilton–Zuk hypothesis, which predicts that parasites reduce the quality of sexual signals and that females should prefer less-infected males. Instead, the pattern was more complex. Larger male frogs—typically favored by females—also carried more tongueworm parasites, likely because males that eat more prey accumulate infections over time. Parasites subtly reshaped male calls: heavily infected frogs produced lower-frequency calls, a trait females usually prefer, but their calls were shorter, which can signal lower stamina. Playback experiments revealed a similar pattern. Females avoided the most heavily infected males but often preferred males with moderate infections over uninfected ones, suggesting they weigh multiple signals at once—balancing traits linked to size and attractiveness against the risk of parasite infection. Call duration appeared to play a particularly important role in this decision-making. Longer calls generally come from males with fewer parasites and greater energetic reserves, signaling vigor and lower infection risk. However, the relationship wasn’t entirely straightforward: some moderately infected males produced longer calls than uninfected males, possibly because successful foragers accumulated both energy reserves and parasites. “Mate choice is rarely based on a single trait,” said Michael W. McCoy, Ph.D., co-author, associate director, FAU School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability, and professor of quantitative ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. “Our results show that parasites can reshape the information animals use when choosing partners by subtly changing multiple aspects of a male’s call. Females may be responding to several signals at once, some linked to desirable traits like size and others hinting at infection. Understanding that complexity is critical for explaining how sexual selection actually works in natural populations.” The study reveals that parasites influence mate selection by altering multiple traits in male calls, creating a complex signal environment. Rather than just diminishing attractiveness, infections introduce nuanced cues that females must interpret, revealing how parasites subtly guide mating decisions and shape sexual selection in wild populations. The study co-author is Ellen F. Titus with The Nature Conservancy.

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I’ve added the link, I agree I think they will have to relax the locality assumption of classical physics. The article does point out that it’s doesn’t really explain the reality underlying quantum effects. It’s at least some progress beyond many worlds or the Copenhagen interpretation which leaves it a black box.

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The call of Gracixalus weii is essentially a biological signal. Just as a morse code translator turns raw pulses into a clear message, the frog’s vocal sac translates survival needs into a melodic sequence.

Maybe websites should connect bot detectors to those; “Fart, to prove you’re a human”

Britain’s toads have begun their spring migration, putting them at even greater risk than usual. Here’s how – and why – we should look after them There’s a touch of old magic about toads, those shapeshifters of myth, superstition and folklore. Charismatic creatures with the pleasing Latin binomial bufo bufo, common toads have astonishing copper- or gold-coloured eyes and rugged, textured skin. “People say they look warty, which I’ve always thought is a bit unfair,” says Dr Silviu Petrovan, a conservationist and toad population researcher. More prosaically, toads are great for your garden. “We say toads are a gardener’s best friend, because they eat all the pests,” says Jenny Tse-Leon, the head of conservation and impact at the British amphibian charity Froglife. Their spring migration is a dramatic event, during which hundreds of thousands of animals travel back to their ancestral breeding ponds. “Like the wildebeest of the Serengeti,” says Tse-Leon. “They’re just a lot smaller than wildebeest.” The males “piggyback” on potential partners: “You see them riding on the female’s back to get a lift to the pond.” Why do they need to be saved? A study published by Petrovan and others last year found that, between 1985 and 2021, the population of common toads in the UK (as counted by toad patrols, of which more later) had fallen by 41%. “Because these are an abundant species, that represents vast numbers of individuals that have just disappeared,” says Petrovan. Road mortality is a huge factor. The annual migration almost inevitably brings toads in contact with the UK’s dense road network – and they start moving at dusk, coinciding with rush hour. But our landscape is increasingly inhospitable to amphibians in other ways. Half of the UK’s ponds – approximately 400,000 – have been lost since 1900 and many of those that remain may be “heavily polluted”, Petrovan says. Toads are also vulnerable to construction work, which can destroy the patches of woodland that serve as their terrestrial habitat, while conservationists believe it’s it’s likely that the invertebrates toads eat are in shorter supply, adversely affecting toad populations. “There is some evidence that, for instance, earthworm abundance has been declining,” says Petrovan. [image: image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhexbear.net%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2F00ba6808-c05a-4cb2-b5ea-8bc35f26bdfb.png] Then there’s the climate crisis. Some studies suggest that warmer winters are problematic, Petrovan explains: “Toads will continue to expend energy during those mild winters, but, at the same time, they will not necessarily feed. Therefore, their body condition reduces and females end up producing fewer offspring.” How can you help? Join a toad patrol Across the country, groups of volunteers spend spring evenings helping toads cross the road. It’s pretty simple: “You go along, look for the toads, pick them up, put them in the bucket and move them to the other side so that they can carry on with their migration,” Tse-Leon explains. More than 2 million toads have been helped by patrols since Froglife began recording in 1974; it also gathers data on toad numbers to assist research and inform planning decisions. [image: image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhexbear.net%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2F402a4592-0b73-4499-bdf7-1e1a3d3b9241.png] Mike Collins has been patrolling Charlcombe Lanein Bath for five years. Since the patrol began in 2003, half a mile of the road has been closed each year for six weeks in February and March to aid the migration. Collins finds great fulfilment in “being part of a community wanting to stand up for nature and make a difference”. One night last month, the patrol recorded 822 amphibians and helped 75 toads to cross; in 2025, they celebrated having saved a total of 50,000 toads. They also encounter other wildlife: deer, shrews, even great crested newts. Since the patrol started, the toad casualty rate in the area has dropped from about 60% to 3%. “There’s that real sense of collective endeavour,” says Collins. “You’re part citizen scientist, collecting the data that is important for the scientists, but you’re also part conservationist, helping them on their way.” Now is the time to get involved: toads are on the move during the wet, milder days of spring. If you live in Great Britain, you can find your nearest patrol on the Froglife website and register to volunteer, or even to start a patrol. Build a pond “Having a bit of water makes a huge difference. They say the first inch of water that you add to your garden is the most biodiverse,” says Tse-Leon. “Even if you don’t have your own garden, there might be a green space where you can still do it – if you’ve got an allotment, a community garden, a school, you can do a pond.” [image: image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhexbear.net%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2Fdd1d36a2-98e5-46e9-b619-3587aec7c267.png] Unless it’s very large and deep, it’s unlikely toads will breed in your pond, but it will encourage the insects they eat and may attract other amphibians. The ideal pond for amphibians is free of fish and has gently sloping edges with a deeper middle. (Froglife’s downloadable leaflet, Just Add Water, provides full instructions.) Leave spawn alone Although it’s something people have done traditionally to stock their ponds, it’s not a good idea to collect wild frog and toad spawn to hatch at home, says Tse-Leon. “There’s evidence that disease has been spread around the country by movements of spawn.” Create a winter Toad Hall In winter, toads go into brumation – a dormant period similar to hibernation – and need safe places to do it. “One of the best things people can do in their gardens is to have overwintering sheltering space,” says Tse-Leon. “It might be leaving an area overgrown and not cutting back all the vegetation, leaving leaf litter on the ground.” If you’re extra-keen, you can build a hibernaculum: a log pile covered with soil with gaps for amphibian access. “It helps to keep the temperature stable, for them to overwinter,” says Tse-Leon. More information is available on Froglife’s website. Make green spaces toad-friendly Toads are ambush predators. “They will sit in a good position and pretty much try to eat whatever crosses in front of them – earthworms, slugs, ants,” Petrovan says. Avoiding pesticides and planting thoughtfully can support them. “Areas of your garden that are planted up well and have a lot of insect diversity will benefit toads,” says Tse-Leon. [image: image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhexbear.net%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2F1397d2c9-22a7-4b35-b728-0757967d0a9d.png] Consider including areas of longer grass – they stay cooler and are good spots for toads to forage – as well as wildflowers and other insect-friendly plants. This goes for common spaces, too. In Bath, Collins’ community has created a nature reserve: “We have a whole load of amphibians in there.” Lobby your MP Wildlife and Countryside Link, the largest environment and wildlife coalition in England, of which Froglife is a member, has six “asks” for the water reform bill, which will be introduced during this parliament. These include tougher regulation and the creation and protection of corridors of wetland and water habitat. Make your MP aware.

This is a fun one: https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.04388One more way LLMs appear human like: they faithfully reproduce cognitive bias, and give plausible, seemingly unbiased justifications for their biased answers.In this case, the biases they looked at were embedded in the structure of the dataset, in the prompt from the user, and from social stereotypes. They used "chain of thought" reasoning, which is supposed to force the LLM into a more rational, transparent "thought process" when generating its answers. They found they could systematically bias the LLM's output, and the LLM would never own up to that bias.(1/3)#science #llm #ai

@pomaranc @SemAntiKast - that's not an original image but AI slop. Please either provide real source or don't post stuff (assuming that this was not on purpose). For NASA/ESA images, the best is to find the image on the original agency page.

!Subscribe to dog singing videos

Neat, this has come a long way since I learned about these projects in school

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Article is very uninformative. No interesting data.

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seems only useful until your immune system destroys the bacteria limiting the efficacy of the treatment, they did the same with viruses.

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[image: image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhexbear.net%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2F83763250-b73e-44d4-9eb5-05bc7e781de1.png] Smithsonian researchers in Panama have begun to reintroduce native golden frogs to the wild in special enclosures [image: image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhexbear.net%2Fapi%2Fv3%2Fimage_proxy%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fth-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com%252FM1o5DdRLNgW9d_1nSHTvZn2b2Us%253D%252F600x400%252Ffilters%253Ano_upscale%2528%2529%253Afocal%25281500x1000%253A1501x1001%2529%252Fhttps%253A%252F%252Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Ffiler_public%252F7f%252Fac%252F7fac13fe-4207-4993-b20e-afc3fd1260f8%252Fbrian_gratwicke_golden_frog_in_nature.jpeg] The last known time that someone saw bright yellow frogs bespeckled with black dots in Panama’s wilderness was in 2009. These Panamanian golden frogs probably succumbed to a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis, which has decimated amphibian populations across the globe. Now, researchers who have captive-bred the critically endangered golden frogs recently soft-released 100 of them into nature. The creatures stayed in special pens in late 2025 so that the scientists could assess how the deadly disease affects the animals—and how they might eventually adapt to it. “This project was designed to see what would happen if we put these golden frogs back into a wild situation, just to kind of understand what are the disease dynamics, and how do these frogs regain their skin toxins,” Brian Gratwicke, a conservation biologist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI), tells Smithsonian magazine. Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, also called chytrid fungus. It’s thought to have reached southern Central America—where Panama is located—in the late 1980s. In 2019, researchers estimated that Bd had led to the extinction of 90 species worldwide as well as the decline of at least 491 others, and chytridiomycosis is often considered the most devastating wildlife disease on record. Fungal spores can travel in water and even catch rides with other animals, including humans. Once they reach an amphibian, chytrid fungus can have devastating effects. “It attacks the skin and kind of forms the ability to grow in and on the skin, and then causes, usually, the skin to fall off of the animal,” Jason Stajich, a microbiologist at the University of California, Riverside, who is not involved in the Panama project, tells Smithsonian magazine. “Because amphibians breathe through their skin, that can really impair them.” Fun facts: Deceptive, deadly frog Despite their name, Panamanian golden frogs are actually toads. Research suggests that each frog has enough toxins in its skin to kill more than 1,000 mice. Around two decades ago, experts at NZCBI and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute predicted the decline of golden frogs and other creatures in Panama based on how Bd was spreading. So, they partnered with the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Zoo New England to build the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (PARC) to protect animals at the highest risk of extinction from the fungal disease. Gratwicke and his colleagues at PARC have been captive-breeding these amphibians for about 20 years. Now, the team has begun to release them back into nature to understand how to rewild these threatened species. In August 2025, the researchers put golden frogs in pens called mesocosms, which Gratwicke likens to outdoor patios. “We put a big layer of leaf litter on the bottom that’s full of little insects and food so the frogs can forage,” he says. “It keeps the frogs inside where we can find them again, and it also keeps some of the predators out.” The frogs spent 12 weeks inside these mesocosms, while researchers kept tabs on the creatures. During that time, about 70 percent of the frogs died from chytridiomycosis. Most of the surviving frogs were fully released into the wild afterwards. Although the death rate was high, the data collected during this trial period is crucial to understanding how chytridiomycosis spreads and persists, and how amphibians might be able to adapt to chytrid fungus, Gratwicke says. “This experiment is probably the first experiment where we’ve actually been able to really get a full understanding of the disease dynamics of these animals.” [image: image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhexbear.net%2Fapi%2Fv3%2Fimage_proxy%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fth-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com%252Fk_Y7y71scYv4_lxRJ8x1qaNCXFc%253D%252Ffit-in%252F1072x0%252Ffilters%253Afocal%25282120x1413%253A2121x1414%2529%252Fhttps%253A%252F%252Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Ffiler_public%252F1a%252F94%252F1a94e74b-3b30-417c-9f63-36e2a10adf18%252F4_roberto_releasing_frogs_a7s01431_ana_endara.jpg] This might help researchers eventually place golden frogs in environments that are at adequate temperatures for the animals but too hot for the fungus. In recent research, for example, individuals of a frog species that lives in southeastern Australia seemed to have an easier time fending off chytrid fungus if they spent time in warm, sunny “saunas” than those in cooler temperatures. And in some regions, amphibians whose numbers declined due to chytrid are beginning to bounce back. Tom Smith, a biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has seen this happen with certain frogs in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. “These populations have now been living with that pathogen for several generations across several decades, and we’re actually seeing adaptation and evolution to that in some of the populations,” he tells Smithsonian magazine. Additionally, some frog species in the region do not seem to be susceptible to chytrid fungus, and scientists hope to use those species to “discover what the mechanism of tolerance and or resistance is to the disease,” says Smith, who is not involved in the Panama project. For now, the team at PARC will continue to keep an eye on the Panamanian golden frogs to better understand fungal resilience in the creatures. “I’ve been very pleased with the progress,” Gratwicke says. “It’s really important to actually make progress towards our ultimate goal, which is to create healthy, thriving populations of these animals to the wild. This experiment is one of the first steps towards achieving that.” One of the links had another great photo of one: [image: image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnationalzoo.si.edu%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fstyles%2Fwide%2Fpublic%2Fanimals%2Fgoldenfrog_species.jpg%3Fh%3D3d3b2bee%26itok%3DhWuOhQ9-]

So if the generalizations held before, they were societal?