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News: October 2012

High-Flying Geese take low profile over Himalayas

A study published this week (31 October 2012) in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences has tackled the long-standing problem of assessing the actual altitude and migration path of Bar-headed geese crossingthe Himalayas using state of the art satellite tracking technology. Scientists from Bangor University and an international team of collaborators recorded highly accurate GPS (Global Positioning System) locations from 42 individual geese as they migrated.

Publication date: 31 October 2012

Massive fish fondly followed Kate

A 70 pound grouper, fondly named Darth Vader, took a shine to a Bangor University student over the summer. Kate Cooper, 18, from Pembroke, Bermuda, volunteered at the Bermuda Aquarium during her summer vacation. The massive fish seemed to be very fond of Kate, following her around like a puppy as she cleaned the inside of the glass in the fish tanks

Publication date: 30 October 2012

How penguins use bubbles to 'take to the air'

A suggestion by Bangor University Professor Roger Hughes of the School of Biological Sciences, that bubble trails seen in footage of emperor penguins swimming to the sea surface are produced to reduce drag is published in the November 2012 edition of National Geographic. Roger Hughes's intriguing idea while watching penguins on TV originally led to a research paper revealing just how the penguins could manage this. Collaborators at University College Cork and the Technical University of Denmark showed that ‘lubrication’ provided by tiny air bubbles released from under the feathers could allow penguins to gain enough speed to leap out of the water and onto the ice shelf.

Publication date: 22 October 2012

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