Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Surprising Family Ties

Rattle Snake Families

Young rattlers leave their mothers at just a few weeks old, but when it’s time to hibernate in the winter, they follow their mother’s scent trail and use the same den. Future generations will also use the same den—some have been used for over 100 years.



Plant Siblings

According to a new study in Biology Letters, plants respond competitively when forced to share their pot with strangers of the same species, but when placed in a pot with their siblings are more accomodating. "Siblings were less competitive than strangers, which is consistent with kin selection," the study reports.

1 comment:

sciencebird said...

That's interesting that plants can recognize siblings. We think of plants as being so inanimate.