Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Post

Elephants, the gentle giants of the animal kingdom, are widely known for their incredible communication skills. It might come as a surprise that one of the fascinating ways they communicate is through vibrations. As immense creatures with thick skin and padded feet, elephants have adapted to pick up seismic communication signals from miles away, using low-frequency vibrations to convey meaningful messages. These seismic signals can travel through solid ground much farther than regular audible sounds in the air, allowing them to communicate over long distances and even sense the footfall of other elephants approaching. This unique mode of communication not only enables elephants to stay in touch with each other but also plays a crucial role in their survival. Researchers have discovered that these seismic vibrations can serve various purposes for elephants, including identifying potential threats such as predatory animals or earthquakes. By detecting ground vibrations caused by large predators like lions or rhinos from several kilometres away, elephants can effectively assess danger levels and take appropriate action within their social group. Intriguingly, recent studies indicate that when an elephant detects a threat through seismic signals, it elicits different responses depending on whether the source is familiar or unfamiliar. This suggests that not only do they recognize different types of disturbances but also respond differently based on their familiarity with specific vibration patterns. In this way, elephant society becomes more intricate and complex than we previously thought—each individual learning to interpret and react accordingly to the unique vibrational cues that shape their environment. #Elephants #SeismicCommunication #WildlifeCommunication #AnimalCommunication #ElephantFacts #NatureWonders #WildlifeScience

Elephants, the gentle giants of the animal kingdom, are widely known for their incredible communication skills. It might come as a surprise that one of the fascinating ways they communicate is through vibrations. As immense creatures with thick skin and padded feet, elephants have adapted to pick up seismic communication signals from miles away, using low-frequency vibrations to convey meaningful messages. These seismic signals can travel through solid ground much farther than regular audible sounds in the air, allowing them to communicate over long distances and even sense the footfall of other elephants approaching. This unique mode of communication not only enables elephants to stay in touch with each other but also plays a crucial role in their survival. Researchers have discovered that these seismic vibrations can serve various purposes for elephants, including identifying potential threats such as predatory animals or earthquakes. By detecting ground vibrations caused by large predators like lions or rhinos from several kilometres away, elephants can effectively assess danger levels and take appropriate action within their social group. Intriguingly, recent studies indicate that when an elephant detects a threat through seismic signals, it elicits different responses depending on whether the source is familiar or unfamiliar. This suggests that not only do they recognize different types of disturbances but also respond differently based on their familiarity with specific vibration patterns. In this way, elephant society becomes more intricate and complex than we previously thought—each individual learning to interpret and react accordingly to the unique vibrational cues that shape their environment. #Elephants #SeismicCommunication #WildlifeCommunication #AnimalCommunication #ElephantFacts #NatureWonders #WildlifeScience #AnimalBehavior #WildlifeResearch

For #WildlifeWednesday, enjoy this #photoalbum from Keahole Point Precious Coral Bed, located off #KeaholePoint on the #Kona Coast, where scientists explored a region home to an abundant and diverse #coral population during our NA156 expedition: https://bit.ly/3MJxgK6 To better understand #coralspecies in the area, we deployed a new #imagingtechnology known as the #WidefieldCameraArraySystem, which allowed for the creation of #3Dmodels resembling these beautiful #coralbeds. Such models will be used to manage and study corals at this location and beyond, allowing for further comparisons determining how populations change and evolve over time.

#snsinstitutions #snsdesignthinkers #designthinking In most land vertebrate eyes, the lens, also known as the crystalline lens, is a clear biconvex structure. It refracts light in conjunction with the cornea, aqueous, and vitreous humours, focusing it onto the retina. Many terrestrial animals have adaptable lens shapes that allow them to focus on objects at different distances by essentially adjusting the focal length of their eyes. The term "accommodation" refers to this lens modification (see also below). Other forms of accommodation, such as shifting the lens's location in relation to the retina instead of altering its shape, are employed by many totally aquatic vertebrates, including fish. The process of focusing a photographic camera by switching out its lenses is comparable to accommodation. The lens is flatter on the anterior surface of land vertebrates.

Some very interesting pictures captured by #WWFMalaysia using camera traps, offering a unique perspective on the beauty of nature. https://lnkd.in/gRmJfxv5

Have you seen this article which features Gentian's work on using remote sensing as a tool to support evidence gathering and reporting on impact to nature. Gentian is able to remotely map an area and acccurately detect different habitat types. Click on link below for more information... Is this something that could be of use to you or your organisation? What are your views? https://lnkd.in/efijcY9n.

We (@bhamlalab) are happy to share our recently published collaborative review paper on landing of invertebrates to vertebrates of various sizes. https://lnkd.in/g8QcmQpD We explained How insects, and wingless vertebrates are skillful self-righting and landing on the surface. These animals have various sizes and shapes and that they experienced influence of gravity and air drag on the landing. #georgiatech #chbegeorgiatech

𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐊𝐘 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐔𝐒 Bird migration forecast maps Flowing Data BirdCast, from and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology shows current forecasts for where birds are headed over the United States: Bird migration forecasts show predicted nocturnal migration 3 hours after local sunset and are updated every 6 hours. These forecasts come from models trained on the last 23 years of bird movements in the atmosphere as detected by the US NEXRAD weather surveillance radar network. In these models we use the Global Forecasting System (GFS) to predict suitable conditions for migration occurring three hours after local sunset. Steve Kelling Amanda Dumin Rodewald Kathi Borgmann #dataviz #datavisualization #datavizualization

Wow - Pre and post-fire imagery - Lahaina, Hawaii Slider toggles pre/post highlighting structure and landscape damage https://lnkd.in/gu5_RpC7