PYF Cool Animal Facts

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Aesop Poprock: Oct 21, 2008; Grimey Drawer

Let's post cool and interesting facts or trivia about animals or hell even plants and other living things. I'll start.

Scientists just recently found out bees can learn how to move a ball into a hole for a reward which is something way outside of anything they'd have to do in the wild, meaning they now count as animals that can learn to use tools to achieve goals. The article is awesome and adorable and I hope this leads to bees playing soccer against each other for sugar water although now that I typed that out it sounds kind of sad.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2017/0224/Ball-playing-bumblebees-demonstrate-flexible-thinking

quote:

It turns out you can teach an old bee new tricks. The fuzzy insects can even improve on the method, scientists say.

Bees join the ranks of tool-capable organisms, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Science. A team of researchers from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) showed bees to be cleverer than anyone expected, teaching them to push a ball into a goal for a sweet reward. Surprisingly, the insects� behavior implied an abstract understanding of the simple soccer game, one that that went beyond mere mimicry.

Once considered the exclusive domain of humans, then primates, and then birds and cetaceans, tool-use has historically been thought a hallmark of highly intelligent animals. Now, bees are buzzing into the club.

"Our study puts the final nail in the coffin of the idea that small brains constrain insects to have limited behavioural flexibility and only simple learning abilities," Lars Chittka, the project supervisor, co-author, and a professor at QMUL�s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, said in a press release.

Scientists have shown that bees can grasp the abstract concept of using an object to achieve a goal � in this case, a gulp of sugar water � even if they aren't likely to engage in such behavior in the wild.

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Bees in a previous experiment succeeded in pulling a string to get their ambrosia, but since they often carry out similar tasks in the wild, such behavior could have been an extension of natural instinct. This time, researchers wanted to test whether bees could solve a problem involving a nearby object with no obvious connection to the reward.

They set up a test where a bee could land on a small table with a ball and a central hole. If the bee rolled the ball into the hole, scientists would reward it with a snack of sweet sucrose solution.

But while a few super-smart bees were able to solve the problem on their own, most needed some help. Researchers trained initial bees by using a bumblebee-decorated stick to show how to push the ball to the goal. Later bees could watch previously-trained live bee demonstrators for a chance to learn �socially.� Another group watched a �ghost� demonstration where a magnet hidden under the table dragged the ball into the hole, and a control group was presented with a ball already sitting on top of the hole.

It turns out bumblebees catch on quickly when there�s sugar involved. Rookies had three chances to watch a veteran do the trick, after which all were able to imitate the teacher. Eight out of 10 bees could learn from the magnet, while only three were able to figure out the task with no demonstration.

"It may be that bumblebees, along with many other animals, have the cognitive capabilities to solve such complex tasks, but will only do so if environmental pressures are applied to necessitate such behaviours," explained joint-lead author Olli J. Loukola in the release.

Even more impressive was how the trainees showed off their new skills. When presented with a new situation where three balls sat on the table at varying distances from the hole, seven out of 10 socially trained bees and six out of 10 �ghost�-taught bees went for the closest one, even if they had watched an experienced bee move the farthest ball during training.

From this innovation, the researchers could conclude two things: that the bees had an abstract notion of what they were doing, rather than just mindlessly following the leader; and that rolling a relatively big ball all the way across a table is tough for little bees.

"The bees solved the task in a different way than what was demonstrated, suggesting that observer bees did not simply copy what they saw, but improved on it," Dr. Loukola said.

Repeating the experiment with a black ball rather than a yellow one produced almost identical performance in trained bees, further underscoring the idea that the insects knew exactly what they were doing, in a display of what the researchers wrote was �unprecedented cognitive flexibility.�

It seems we�ve been underestimating the mental capabilities of the very small.

�The old-fashioned view is if an animal has a small brain, it�s not intelligent or smart,� Loukola told New Scientist.

Even though a bee brain has about 100,000 times fewer neurons than the one between a human's ears, it seems that in at least one simple situation they have the ability to learn and improvise a new strategy just like a person.

As the team wrote in the paper, "We present here an example in which an insect displays a goal-directed behavior for which evolution has not provided them with a rigid adaptation."

Eirik S�vik, who studies bees and animal problem-solving at Volda University College in Norway, suggests that we�re only just beginning to scratch the surface of insect cognition.

�We just have not been very good at designing experiments that allow us to probe insect cognition very well,� he told New Scientist. �That�s probably because it is so incredibly difficult to imagine how bees experience the world, and if you want to give them tasks they can succeed at, that is key. I think the authors here really succeed at taking the bees� view of the world.�

The idea of bees watching other bees push a ball into a hole to get a treat and going "oh I could do that" is awesome and it's the best birthday present I could ask for

# ? Feb 24, 2017 18:49

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# ? Apr 24, 2024 18:57

UltraMegaPhil: May 2, 2010; Number one.

Wombat poop is cube-shaped.

# ? Feb 25, 2017 10:19

Alhazred: Feb 16, 2011

UltraMegaPhil posted:

Wombat poop is cube-shaped.

Australia, home of the useless animals.

# ? Feb 25, 2017 10:58

Schubalts: Nov 26, 2007; People say bigger is better.

But for the first time in my life, I think I've gone too far.

Aesop Poprock posted:

Scientists just recently found out bees can learn how to move a ball into a hole for a reward which is something way outside of anything they'd have to do in the wild, meaning they now count as animals that can learn to use tools to achieve goals. The article is awesome and adorable and I hope this leads to bees playing soccer against each other for sugar water although now that I typed that out it sounds kind of sad.

So Buck Bumble was truly ahead of its time, with its multiplayer soccer game mode.

# ? Feb 25, 2017 18:35

Macrowave Oven: Nov 20, 2008; Guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, clavinet, piano, keytar, lap steel guitar, slide bass guitar, mandolin, violin, and FRESH POTS.

UltraMegaPhil posted:

Wombat poop is cube-shaped.

I didn't believe you and couldn't think of how this was possible. Here's the explanation I found (wherein some guy in a video uses his hands to experience scatalogia unmitigated);

Brad Neil posted:

Do they have square buttholes?

No.

This YouTube video is excellent. Apparently there is no definitive answer, but as the thinking goes,

1) Wombats have a slow digestion (up to a week) which allows digestive matter to become quite compact.

2) The first part of their large intestine is configured with horizontal ridges which may serve to mold this matter into sections; the last part is relatively smooth and lax which may allow that shape to persist.

3) Their poop is very dry and when excreted resists being reshaped by pressure from the sphincter. This dryness may also contribute to the excrement breaking off into cubes at its weakest points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzevM30IrUQ

Edit- Woah, the video maker also built an artificial wombat G.I. tract and jelly wombat scats.

Macrowave Oven has a new favorite as of 19:09 on Feb 25, 2017

# ? Feb 25, 2017 19:06

Queen-Of-Hearts: Mar 17, 2009; "I want to break your heart💔 and give you mine🫀"

The rhinoceros is just some bullshit, leftover dinosaur.

# ? Feb 25, 2017 20:21

Queen-Of-Hearts: Mar 17, 2009; "I want to break your heart💔 and give you mine🫀"

Crows know their place in the universe.

# ? Feb 25, 2017 20:25

Queen-Of-Hearts: Mar 17, 2009; "I want to break your heart💔 and give you mine🫀"

My cat is the best cat.

# ? Feb 25, 2017 20:25

Queen-Of-Hearts: Mar 17, 2009; "I want to break your heart💔 and give you mine🫀"

Otters are actually water squirrels.

# ? Feb 25, 2017 20:27

Queen-Of-Hearts: Mar 17, 2009; "I want to break your heart💔 and give you mine🫀"

Wild Fin Raziels are known to live alone on islands for years before searching out their natural enemies; Greater Queenicus Bavmordacus.

# ? Feb 25, 2017 20:36

Queen-Of-Hearts: Mar 17, 2009; "I want to break your heart💔 and give you mine🫀"

Weedles are delinquents who delight in the use of spray paint to attract mates.

# ? Feb 25, 2017 20:41

Queen-Of-Hearts: Mar 17, 2009; "I want to break your heart💔 and give you mine🫀"

The squirrels in my neighborhood train all year for the olympics

# ? Feb 25, 2017 20:43

Queen-Of-Hearts: Mar 17, 2009; "I want to break your heart💔 and give you mine🫀"

Grovers can not be trusted to build houses

# ? Feb 25, 2017 20:49

Jeza: Feb 13, 2011; The cries of the dead are terrible indeed; you should try not to hear them.

Greenland sharks only reach sexual maturity at 150 years old, proving there is still hope for goons everywhere.

# ? Feb 25, 2017 21:12

Sponge Baathist: Jan 30, 2010; by FactsAreUseless

Certain breeds of dogs lay eggs.

E:

Sponge Baathist has a new favorite as of 21:50 on Feb 25, 2017

# ? Feb 25, 2017 21:48

Novum: May 26, 2012; That's how we roll

Binturongs taste like popcorn

# ? Feb 26, 2017 00:14

Alhazred: Feb 16, 2011

Jeza posted:

Greenland sharks only reach sexual maturity at 150 years old, proving there is still hope for goons everywhere.

In 1880 a bowhead whale was harpooned, 130 years later it died.

# ? Feb 26, 2017 00:25

Cowslips Warren: Oct 29, 2005; What use had they for tricks and cunning, living in the enemy's warren and paying his price?; Grimey Drawer

There is only one species of hermaphroditic killifish in the world. It is a brackish fish.

Not all plecos (aka the 'algae eater fish') eat algae. There is an entire group, Hypancistrus, that are carnivores. Zebra plecos are among the most rare.

# ? Feb 26, 2017 00:30

Queen-Of-Hearts: Mar 17, 2009; "I want to break your heart💔 and give you mine🫀"

Pugs are so inbred and stupid that they can't even get fetal alcohol syndrome right.

# ? Feb 26, 2017 00:54

SUPERMAN'S GAL PAL: Feb 21, 2006; Holy Moly! DARKSEID IS!

All of those deep sea anglers you see are female. The males are tiny and if able to find a female in the depths, they latch onto her and eventually become part of her circulatory system, their only purpose to provide fertilization for her eggs.

# ? Feb 26, 2017 02:53

Queen-Of-Hearts: Mar 17, 2009; "I want to break your heart💔 and give you mine🫀"

HA! Suck on THAT, MRA's.

# ? Feb 26, 2017 04:41

RabbitWizard: Oct 21, 2008; Muldoon

SUPERMAN'S GAL PAL posted:

All of those deep sea anglers you see are female. The males are tiny and if able to find a female in the depths, they latch onto her and eventually become part of her circulatory system, their only purpose to provide fertilization for her eggs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-BbpaNXbxg

# ? Feb 26, 2017 04:45

Numero6: Oct 10, 2012; ここは地の果て　流されて俺
今日もさすらい　涙も涸れる
ブルーゲイル

There are wild wallabies close to Paris.

# ? Feb 26, 2017 04:55

Choco1980: Feb 22, 2013; I fell in love with a Video Nasty

Scorpions glow under uv lights.

# ? Feb 27, 2017 14:31

3D Megadoodoo: Nov 25, 2010

Fish don't have necks.

# ? Mar 1, 2017 14:11

Alhazred: Feb 16, 2011

Numero6 posted:

There are wild wallabies close to Paris.

Young wallabies are called "joeys".

# ? Mar 1, 2017 15:42

Rangpur: Dec 31, 2008

Shoebills can tuck in their long necks by curling their spine so that it bends outward from their mouth.

This has become my go-to 'nature is loving crazy' fact to share with people.

# ? Mar 1, 2017 16:49

Aesop Poprock: Oct 21, 2008; Grimey Drawer

Rangpur posted:

Shoebills can tuck in their long necks by curling their spine so that it bends outward from their mouth.

This has become my go-to 'nature is loving crazy' fact to share with people.

Haha whoa what the gently caress

I guess the followup question would be "why"

# ? Mar 1, 2017 17:59

Ariong: Jun 25, 2012

Rangpur posted:

Shoebills can tuck in their long necks by curling their spine so that it bends outward from their mouth.

This has become my go-to 'nature is loving crazy' fact to share with people.

That reminds me of this pelican. Is it actually yawning, or some other thing that looks like yawning? (like crop clearing)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JylstDBYlE

# ? Mar 1, 2017 22:11

Tiberius Thyben: Feb 7, 2013; Gone Phishing

Fact: Animals are cool.

# ? Mar 1, 2017 22:11

Randaconda: Jul 3, 2014; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

These charming sea creatures are tunicates, also known as sea squirts. Despite appearances, they are members of the Chordata, our own phylum!

# ? Mar 1, 2017 23:48

Cowslips Warren: Oct 29, 2005; What use had they for tricks and cunning, living in the enemy's warren and paying his price?; Grimey Drawer

Feline boys have spiked penises. When they withdraw, backwards-pointing spike/spines tear up the female, which helps stimulate her to ovulate.

Ringworm is not in fact a worm. It is a fungus related to athlete's foot fungus and is cured the same way.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 02:28

Randaconda: Jul 3, 2014; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Cowslips Warren posted:

Feline boys have spiked penises. When they withdraw, backwards-pointing spike/spines tear up the female, which helps stimulate her to ovulate.

Ringworm is not in fact a worm. It is a fungus related to athlete's foot fungus and is cured the same way.

A little bit of nail polish will also kill ringworm.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 10:22

doodlebugs: Feb 18, 2015; by Lowtax

Black kites maybe use fire as a tool.

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/australian-raptors-may-be-playing-fire/

# ? Mar 2, 2017 11:57

Dragonwagon: Mar 28, 2010; And that, as much as anything else, led to my drinking problem.

Jeza posted:

Greenland sharks only reach sexual maturity at 150 years old, proving there is still hope for goons everywhere.

loving sharks doesn't sound very appealing tbh

# ? Mar 2, 2017 12:27

3D Megadoodoo: Nov 25, 2010

Jeza posted:

Greenland sharks only reach sexual maturity at 150 years old, proving there is still hope for goons everywhere.

Goons are more the land whale type, not the land shark type.

# ? Mar 2, 2017 13:25

Rangpur: Dec 31, 2008

Armadillos are the only animal besides humans that can contract leprosy.

(Pretend I posted a picture of Jesus treating an armadillo here because against all odds, that is the one thing the internet hasn't drawn.)

# ? Mar 6, 2017 01:58

Ein cooler Typ: Nov 26, 2013; by FactsAreUseless

They probably just think the queen wants them to put the ball in a hole

# ? Mar 6, 2017 02:44

3D Megadoodoo: Nov 25, 2010

The park across the street is infested with literal dinosaurs because, get this, dinosaurs never went extinct!

# ? Mar 6, 2017 06:32

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# ? Apr 24, 2024 18:57

Khazar-khum: Oct 22, 2008; Cat Army
2nd Battalion

Elephants and a few breeds of horses don't trot. Instead, they do a running walk, an intermediate gait where they're always keeping one foot on the ground so they don't bounce.

Here's a video showing the running walk. You'll notice the riders are sitting smoothly, no matter how fast the horse is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JBa8n_tN1U

# ? Mar 6, 2017 09:54

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