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The article focuses on Carnivorous bats, known collectively as false vampire bats, found from southern Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil. It mentions the mysteries of rare flesh-eating bats that are found hanging in an ancient Maya temple in Mexico. It states that biologist Rodrigo Medellin along with researcher Ivar Vleut have been collecting data to know about the bats' preferred habitat for hunting.

The article focuses on the mental ability of the birds, such as a Goffin's cockatoo named Figaro. Topics include the similarity between the intellectual skills of birds and humans, the studies on the avian neural anatomy which shows the bird's neural structures called the pallium that resemble the mammalian neocortex, and how crows recognize the face of people and never forgets them.

The article looks at the Afar depression in Ethiopia. The 2005 eruption of the region's largest volcano, Erta Ale, caused by magma swelling up between two tectonic plates beneath the area, is described. The article notes that the area is the only place on Earth where an undersea ridge appears on land, allowing scientists to study geologic processes normally found below the ocean's surface. Also mentioned is flooding in the area from the Red Sea, which causes salt buildup.

The article presents a profile of the Macgregor's bowerbird, a Papua New Guinea native species whose male constructs a large natural nest-towers out of tree saplings to attract a female. Details are given describing both the characteristics of the nests as well as their role in the mating rituals of the bowerbird. Additional mention is given to the role of the nests in territory disputes between other males.

The article reports on the biodiversity and animal life of Equatorial Guinea's Bioko Island. Details are included about endangered monkeys found on the island, including the Bioko Preuss's monkey, the Bioko drill, and the Martin's putty-nosed monkey. The Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program (BBPP) which was founded by biologist Gail Hearn, is discussed. The various dangers to the monkeys on Bioko Island, including over-hunting and offshore oil drilling, are also investigated.

The article focuses on the cognitive processes of animals. Attention is paid to scientist Irene Pepperberg's study of an African Gray Parrot and the notion that animals can think. Signs of higher order mental abilities are mentioned, including good memory, understanding grammar and symbols, self-awareness, and creativity, which have been documented in animals. Attention is paid to behavioral ecologist Alex Kacelnik, researcher Nicky Clayton, and deceptive behavior in animals.

The article discusses the wolf population of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian wolf is the only species of wolf found in Africa, and is highly endangered. Most of the remaining wolves live in the Bale Mountains National Park. Though they hunt alone, Ethiopian wolves live in packs to ensure they maintain an area large enough to maintain good hunting.

The article reports on the Grand Canyon and notes that it was home to various peoples for 10,000 years. The Anasazi were responsible for the trails that snake through the canyon, as well as some of the discarded bits of pottery, ruins and pictographs. Other Native American tribes lived in the canyon until it was transformed into an uninhabited national park at the beginning of the 20th century. Native people still farm in the canyon beyond the boundaries of the park.

The article explores ancient marine reptiles. These ancient land reptiles crawled into the water and ruled the oceans for 185 million years, evolving such features as huge eyes, necks and teeth. Shallow seas and a lack of significant marine predators created new niches for many land reptiles. Evidence from fossils provides insight into these so-called sea monsters. The Loch Ness monster is one of many legendary water monsters. In many instances, these monsters are linked to actual fossils of marine reptiles.

Offers a look at social conditions facing the Afar people of the Danakil Desert in Africa. Experience of the author traveling with the Afar salt caravans; Report that Afar rebels called the Ugugumo are fighting to regain territory lost in the Eritrean-Ethiopian war; Importance of the salt trade to the Afar; Classification of the Afar language as Cushitic; Importance of Islam to the Afar.

The animal does not in the least resemble an earthly mollusk— an organism like a snail, oyster, or mussel with a firm shell protecting its soft body and that travels, if it must, on a single, podlike foot. This one is swimming free in the deep, dark waters of Monterey Canyon off California, more than a mile down, although the word "swimming" doesn't quite capture the creature's ethereal, yoga-like moves. For a long moment it is quiet in the control room of Western Flyer, the state-of-the-art research vessel of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. INSETS: Grand Canyon of the Sea;Bringing Bait to the Bottom.

The article focuses on Brazil's Atlantic forest. Brazil's Atlantic forest rivals the Amazon with its eye-popping array of unique plants and animals, yet its proximity to Rio de Janeiro and other cities puts it at even greater risk. Now, some 70 percent of Brazil's population lives in what was once the Atlantic forest, with most people concentrated in two of the three largest cities in South America, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Given that history of destruction, it's not surprising that today less than 7 percent of the Atlantic forest remains, much of it in isolated patches, some less than six acres in size.

From fruit flies to elephants, females pick the male with which they want to mate. The males, in turn, compete with each other to get a female's attention, each vying to show her that he will be the best sperm donor for her babies. That is why, evolutionary biologists say, males are most often the ornamented sex. Charles Darwin was the first scientist to devise a theory of sexual selection and to recognize that females frequently select mates. He began to develop the notion while writing 'On the Origin of Species,' in which he argued that the related theory of natural selection is the primary force in the evolution of all organisms. Natural selection goes far in explaining why one individual animal survives to pass on its genes to the next generation, while another dies leaving no descendants.

Explores the female-run society of the gelada monkeys in the Simen Mountains of Ethiopia. Males' lackadaisical role in offspring rearing; Mating habits of males; Battle to reproduce; Pete, a gelada monkey named by an Australian biologist, and his battle to keep his family.

Discusses the empires of the Wari and Tiwanaku Indians in various regions of the Andes Mountains. Their administrative and spiritual influence over the later Incan empire; Prior misperception of archaeologists that these cultures were one; Details of various archaeological excavations of Wari and Tiwanaku sites; Relations between the empires; Description of their temples and rites; Administrative operations.

Focuses on wildlife conservation efforts in the Hengduan Mountains of China. Abundance of plant and animal species which are threatened by clear-cutting, hunting and other human activities; Efforts of anthropologists and others to respect Buddhist beliefs regarding the sacred spaces of these mountains; Transition of this area from a logging to a tourism economy; Details of a search for a rare conifer.

Focuses on the discovery of the graves of workers who built the great pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Work of archaeologists Zahi Hawass, who discovered the graves, and Mark Lehner, who is excavating what appears to be the laborers' city; Significance of the find, which suggests that the pyramids were built by common Egyptians rather than slaves or foreigners; Description of the excavation of a grave and its contents; Speculation about the lives of the workers. INSETS: COPPER AGE;WALL OF THE CROW;WATERS OF PLENTY;BEEF, BREAD, AND BEER

Focuses on frogs. Efforts of herpetologists, those who study reptiles and amphibians, to find frogs; Decline in the number of frogs around the world; Study of frog mating habits; History of frogs; Adaptations of frogs; Description of gastric breeders, who hatch their young in their stomachs; Threats to frog life.

Focuses on the Blue Nile, one of Africa's great rivers, and its impact on the Ethiopians, who refer to the river as Abay Wenz, meaning 'great river.' Expedition to travel the entire length of the river; How the river inspires both reverence and fear among the people who live along its banks; Stories of the Gihon, another name for the Blue Nile; History of the Nile; People met on the journey.

Presents photographs and information on biodiversity in the late 1990s. The work of entomologist Terry Erwin of the Smithsonian Institute to index the species of insects in the Ecuadorian rain forest; The number of different insect species; The variety of life on the planet; Efforts of Paul Rainey of Oxford University to study bacteria species; The importance of variety in life.

Discusses a survey of Peru's remote Vilcabamba region. Suggestion that the wealth of species cataloged may encourage the government to protect its fragile habitats; Details of the efforts of several scientists to catalog species; The search for endemics by zoologists and botanists; Photographs by Frans Lanting.

Discusses species extinction. Mass extinction being fueled by humans; Suggestion that based on the calculations of biologist Stuart Pimm et al half of the world's flora and fauna could be on a path to extinction within a hundred years; Comments from Pimm; Details about the extinctions; The explosion of amphibian deformities; Photographs by Frans Lanting.

Discusses solutions to counter the destruction of Earth's biodiversity. Comments from Danilo Balete, a biologist with the Haribon Foundation, a conservation organization in Quezon City, Philippines; The plans of Balete and the Haribon Foundation for projects that give the local villagers a bigger role in deciding how to manage the Isarog's forest; The approach taken by ecologists Dan Janzen and his wife, Winnie Hallwachs in Costa Rica's Guanacaste Conservation Area; Photographs by Frans Lanting. INSET: Putting a Price Tag on Nature.

Discusses the efforts to identify and protect biological treasures in Madagascar as of January 1999. Details about an expedition led by Steve Goodman, field biologist with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Chicago, Illinois' Field Museum; Map of the native vegetation zones; The efforts of villagers in Andranomaitso to preserve their forest and regional watershed; Animals of the area; Photographs by Frans Lanting.

Profiles Amelia Earhart, an aviator who disappeared in 1937 during an attempt to fly around the world. Her life; How she began flying; Comments from Earhart; Records she set and broke; How others viewed her; Rumors concerning her disappearance.

The article report on that the Scientists found that if plants aren't flowering, the bees bite them and those incisions somehow speed the arrival of pollenladen blooms, when scientists tried to mimic the marks, the plants bloomed earlier, but not as early as they did for bees.

The article discusses the avian world's pink-feathered icons form long-lasting, loyal friendships, scientists recently discovered, the flamingo bonds vary, from mated couples that build nests and raise chicks each year to same-sex friends or groups of three to six close buddies.

The article looks at the use of detection dogs in the study of endangered species. Aimee Hurt is a founding member of the U.S.-based group Working Dogs for Conservation. Detection dogs can be taught to locate animals or their scat. This helps conservationists collect data about a species. Scat analysis can be used when a wild species is accused of attacking domestic livestock, because conservationists will be able to discern what the wild animals are eating.