EurekAlert! In the Spotlight

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

This August, we're exploring the science behind the animals that share our planet. From the behaviors and adaptations that help species thrive to the conservation efforts protecting wildlife around the world, animal awareness days like World Lion Day, World Elephant Day, International Cat Day, and International Wolf Day are an opportunity to celebrate biodiversity and discover the research helping us better understand and protect the species that call our planet home.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 23-Oct-2026 20:17 ET (24-Oct-2026 00:17 GMT/UTC)

30-Jul-2026

FSU geologists discover North, South American mammals mingled before continental connection

Florida State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Florida State University researchers are part of an international team whose work reveals that North and South American mammals interacted before the Panamanian land bridge formed about 3 million years ago.

Journal: Science

30-Jul-2026

Female birds have shorter lifespans than male birds, researchers find

University of California - Los Angeles
Peer-Reviewed Publication

UCLA ornithologists analyzed over 563,000 records of banded birds in North America over 27 years and found that adult survival was, on average, 12% lower for females than males in 35 species. Greater male survival was strongest in long distance migrant birds. The findings supported the general idea that migration takes a heavier toll on females, but it wasn’t clear why female non-migratory birds also tended to have shorter lifespans. Habitat loss and climate change are causing bird populations to decline, and the researchers want to learn whether those factors are also affecting the survival of animal sexes differently.

Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
Funder: National Science Foundation

30-Jul-2026

Newly discovered parasite linked to coastal seabird deaths

Texas A&M University

Along the Gulf Coast, black skimmers have long been a familiar sight — gliding just above the water with their bright orange beaks slicing through the surface to feed.

But when more than 160 chicks died in Texas nesting colonies during the summers of 2022 and 2023, researchers uncovered something no one had documented before — a previously unknown parasite that may be part of a much larger conservation challenge.

To investigate the die‑off, researchers from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) partnered with the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory and colleagues in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Journal: PLOS One

30-Jul-2026

Before North and South America were connected, their mammals found a way to intermingle

University of California - Berkeley
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Biologists thought that before the Panamanian land bridge formed 3 million years ago, mammals in North and South America were isolated from one another. Based on new fossils, UC Berkeley paleontologists suggest that mammals from today’s U.S. migrated into Mexico by about 10 million years ago, where they waited in a kind of holding pen until opportunities arose for some of them to cross to the south starting about 7 million years ago.

Journal: Science

30-Jul-2026

Tiny fossils crack a Cretaceous cold case

Northwestern University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Calcium isotopes in fossilized shells show ocean acidification caused the extinction event. Massive volcanic eruptions released CO2 into the atmosphere, acidifying seawater. Fifth Northwestern study to link volcanic eruptions to ocean acidification and extinction. Ancient events help scientists understand current CO2 increases and potential consequences.