Education 9-4

Though the impact predators have upon their prey is an obvious factor in a species’ survival, three studies by UCSB researchers that will appear in September’s issue of the scientific journal Ecology indicate that the fear of being eaten may have an equal or even greater impact. One, for example, explains that the presence of wolves may make deer afraid to graze as much as they might otherwise, thus jeopardizing their chances of successful reproduction.

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A collision between galaxy clusters was observed by a team of international scientists-including UCSB astronomers Marusa Bradac and Tommaso Treo-and has provided valuable information about the nature of dark matter. The collision, which occurred 5.7 billion light years away and was observed through the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, will be the subject of a report by the scientists in an upcoming article in The Astrophysics Journal.