As It Happens6:05What killed and ate a really big shark? An even bigger shark, scientists say When marine biologist James A. Sulikowski started monitoring the migration and mating habits of porbeagle sharks, he didn’t expect he would end up investigating a murder mystery. But when Penelope, a 2.4-metre-long porbeagle, dropped off his research team’s radar, … Read more
This pygmy sperm whale washed ashore on the Avalon Peninsula, says Julie Huntington, offering scientists a glimpse into the life of the rarely seen creature. (Submitted by Julie Huntington/Lukas Ward) A dead pygmy sperm whale washed up on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula last week, and one conservationist says the creature was still able to mount a type … Read more
Although cooler fall temperatures are coming, which local experts say usually drives down mosquito populations, one researcher says Calgary isn’t totally in the clear yet A relatively new species is likely hitting its peak population now, according to John Soghigian, an assistant professor of parasitology at the University of Calgary. The Culex pipiens, also referred to … Read more
An invasive sea creature with a disappearing anus and a penchant for cannabalizing its own young may have yet another trick up its sleeve. When life is going badly for the sea walnut, it will shrink and take on the shape of its larval form, and stay that way until things are looking up again, according … Read more
During the summertime, it’s routine for Everton resident Susan Johnson to go to her backyard and check on her milkweed plants in the garden. Milkweed plants are the only host plant for monarch caterpillars. It provides the nourishment the monarch needs to transform into an adult butterfly. Without it, the monarch cannot complete its life … Read more
In the first episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, fictional entomologist Gil Grissom arrived at a crime scene and used tweezers to pull a maggot out of a dead body. Within moments, he announced that the age of the maggot indicated that the body had been dead for seven days. The same approach applies in … Read more
As It Happens6:21Giant scorpions once ruled seas — and may have traversed entire oceans Asked to rank giant sea scorpions on a scale of one to terrifying, Russell Bicknell puts them at about an eight. “I suppose it depends how you define terrifying,” Bicknell, a paleobiologist at the American Museum of Natural History, told As … Read more
They lurk in the murky depths of some of Alberta’s biggest rivers, living fossils from when giant lizards strode the earth. But a prominent fisheries biologist fears the province’s lake sturgeon may finally share the fate of the dinosaurs because of growing pressure on water resources. “The more you shrink the area in which a … Read more
Disease-resistant seedlings of an endangered tree species are doing well during their first season in a western Quebec forest, according to the conservation group that planted them. Butternut trees are native to Canada and can be found in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. But over the last 30 or so years, canker disease has wiped out … Read more
It’s a rare sighting: A small oblong insect coloured a bright Barbie pink. It’s a pink katydid, a grasshopper-like insect with a recessive gene that turns them from their usual pale green to bright pink. Geoff Pekor is an insect enthusiast who makes a hobby out of looking for these, and other unusual insects at … Read more
