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Monkeys 'see' real, abstract, study says

LOGAN , Utah, July 21 (UPI) -- Humans aren't the only ones who can see in the real and abstract -- "lower order" animals are quite skilled at memory tasks too, U.S. researchers say.

A study by researchers of cognition and behavior at Utah State University in Logan and Duke University in North Carolina reported Rhesus macaques show they have a capacity thought solely human -- the ability to count and sum up sight-and-sound combinations to assess a situation, the Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City reported Monday.

Researchers tested the hypothesis that wild animals use counting and sounds to determine territorial threats.

Utah State psychologist Kerry Jordan said results indicate macaques not only understand numbers as images and sounds, but also recognize numerals' abstract qualities.

The research, published in Cognition, offers evidence that animals have the foundations of math "very early on in the evolutionary line and early on in development," Jordan said.

Duke researcher Elizabeth Brannon said the study supports the concept that non-human primates can understand the meaning of numerals.

"Although monkeys don't have language, they can understand a symbol and what it refers to," she said.

Makemake newest plutoid

PARIS, July 21 (UPI) -- Makemake, a dwarf planet orbiting the sun beyond Neptune, is the fourth entity in the solar system's new class of plutoids, a astronomy group said.

The International Astronomical Union said Makemake, named after a Polynesian god, is a small orb that is among the largest objects in the outer solar system, Space.com reported.

But the fourth dwarf planet so far is smaller and dimmer than Pluto, which was reclassified as a plutoid in June, astronomers said.

Astronomers discovered Makemake in 2005 and believe frozen methane covers its surface. The plutoid is bright enough to be seen with a high-end hobbyist's telescope, the IAU in Paris said.

"The orbit is not particularly strange but the object itself is big," said astronomer Mike Brown of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, who led the team that discovered Makemake. "Probably about two-thirds the size of Pluto."

Pluto, Makemake and a third object -- Eris -- are classified as plutoids, as well as dwarf planets. The solar system's largest asteroid, Ceres, is a dwarf planet, but a plutoid because its orbit -- in an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter -- is smaller than that Neptune's trip around the sun.

Lionfish danger to reef life, study says

CORVALLIS, Ore., July 21 (UPI) -- Marine species show dismal survival rates when the predatory lionfish swim into their ecosystem, an Oregon State University study indicates.

The study found when lionfish entered an area, survival rates other reef fishes fell by about 80 percent, ScienceDaily.com reported.

The loss of some herbivorous fish permits seaweed potentially to overwhelm coral reefs and disrupt their ecological balance, scientists said.

The study is the first to quantify the severity of the problems presented by the lionfish, native to the Pacific and Indian oceans and having few natural enemies in the Atlantic Ocean, scientists said.

"This is a new and voracious predator on these coral reefs and (they're) undergoing a population explosion," said Mark Hixon, an Oregon State professor of zoology and expert on coral reef ecology. "The threats to coral reefs all over the world were already extreme, and they now have to deal with this alien predator in the Atlantic. These fish eat many other species and they seem to eat constantly."

It is believed that the first lionfish -- known for dramatic coloring and large, spiny fins -- were introduced into waters off Florida in the early 1990s by aquariums or fish hobbyists.

Blimp boosts eelgrass study

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, July 21 (UPI) -- A blimp-shaped balloon is ferrying equipment Canadian researchers need to get a picture of the health of the Canadian seashore's ecosystem.

After the trial run in Halifax Harbor, researchers will take the blimp to the Acadian shore in New Brunswick. where scientists from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, will study eelgrass in collaboration with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the university said Monday in a news release.

Eelgrass beds are a great indicators of shore's health, and that's why their depletion has raised concern, the scientists said.

"They're like our rain forests," said Jon Grant, a coastal zone management expert and professor at Dalhousie University. "If they're healthy, they're very luxuriant and all kinds of things live there among the bright-green grasses. They provide shelter, food and even slow down water currents."

The grasses' destruction can be traced to human activities, such as aquaculture and nutrient runoff from farms and fish plants, he said.

"The good news is that eelgrass beds can be restored and replanted," Grant said. "And we can make predictions about what beds are under threat and take appropriate action."