Flora & Fauna: Wildlife and people agree on best mating sounds; eat your oats; 5.6 million bees found underground

Male zebra finch calls attract mates. Female zebra finches and human study participants
agreed on which males had the best calls. (Photo by Raina Fan via The Conversation)

When researchers compared which animal sounds, such as bird calls, frog croaks or cricket chirps, wildlife seemed to like best alongside which ones people preferred, the "results were striking," writes animal behavior expert Logan S. James for The Conversation. "Across our dataset, including animals separated from human beings by hundreds of millions of years of evolution, people tended to agree with the animals about which sound was more pleasant. . . . People particularly agreed with animals when it came to what researchers call 'adornments': the extra trills, chucks, clicks and flourishes that animals can add to their calls. These sounds were more appealing to both animal and human listeners alike." 

When a snow avalanche pummels an outdoor recreationist's spot, there's little people can do to find those buried under heavy piles of snow. That's when avalanche dogs are called to the scene. "Dogs play an essential role when an avalanche strikes," reports Christine Chung of The New York Times. "Their powerful noses help guide rescuers to people buried in the snow, saving critical moments that can mean life or death." Potential avalanche dogs are chosen for a very specific set of interests, skills and breed stamina, and their training starts when they're just a few months old. For avalanche dog handlers, training takes years. Click here to read about "Baggs," a golden retriever puppy from Wyoming who was once the runt of her litter. She's now a rockstar avalanche-dog-in-training.

Beta-glucan is what makes oats especially 
healthy. (Photo by Roman Matveev, Unsplash)

Among all the whole grains commonly eaten, oats may offer the most benefits. "Many studies have found that oats lower LDL cholesterol, or the 'bad' cholesterol that increases your risk of heart attack and stroke," reports Simar Bajaj of The New York Times. "Much of this effect comes from beta-glucan, a type of fiber that thickens the contents inside the gut, trapping cholesterol-rich bile acids and carrying them out of the body." Oat fiber also helps people maintain normal blood sugar levels, which "can be particularly beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes."

What's not to like about bitter greens? For many people, pretty much everything, because bitter and astringent foods taste gross. But humans didn't always avoid bitter fruits and vegetables; in fact, they were once a regular part of our ancestors' diet. "Much of the produce on grocery store shelves has grown mild or sweet in flavor, designed to appeal to a mass consumer palate," reports Joti Heir of Offrange. "That sits in high contrast to the complex tastes of wild, ancestral crops." Emerging food science reveals how bitter foods contain "compounds that provide a small challenge to the brain, and with that, activate neural pathways that result in enhanced cognition." There's even research "showing the potential of using bitter compounds to treat Alzheimer’s Disease."

Rebounding salmon populations along the Golden Coast are good news for commercial fishing operations and seafood lovers. "Federal fishery managers voted to open waters off the coast of California to commercial salmon fishing for the first time since 2022," reports Sophie Austine of The Associated Press. More recent drought-ending wet winters have helped salmon populations recover. "The federal council has said forecasts for Chinook and coho salmon off the West Coast look promising this year, though the season will open with some restrictions."

 

Miner bees are important pollinators that live in 
underground nests. (Photo by C. Lewallen via USFS)

Bees are commonly known for their constant busyness and for living in outdoor hives. But in fact, 70% of native bees don't live in outdoor hives; they live in underground nests. Researchers recently discovered 5.6 million burrowing bees "revealing just how abundant some understudied pollinators are," reports Margherita Bassi for Smithsonian magazine. "The team estimated that in 2023, between 3.1 million and 8 million of the bees emerged from the ground in the Ithaca cemetery, with the average estimate being 5.56 million. For comparison, Manhattan’s population is about 1.7 million people."