PeerJ Articles featured in the New York Times, Scientific American, NY Post, Earth.com and more

PeerJ has a strong press program and media network. We press release articles most weeks via our press list and EurekAlert, and our authors’ research is regularly featured in a wide range of outlets, from popular international news sites to specialist sites. Below are a few examples of articles we’ve published and press released so far this year. If you’re an author and want to know more about our press program, or a journalist who would like to receive our press releases, email press@peerj.com

Window films increase avoidance of collisions by birds but only when applied to external compared with internal surfaces of windows

This article was featured in a number of outlets, including The New York Times, widlife.org and Cosmos.

“Many people want to reduce bird-window collisions, as these unfortunate events kill hundreds of millions of birds each year,” says Dr. Swaddle. “There are lots of decals and window films that will likely make glass surfaces more visible to birds, decreasing collision risk. We were able to show that people must apply decals and films to the external surface of their windows to benefit the birds. We want people to know this as we want their time and money to be well spent—protecting the birds we all love.”Swaddle added “This research was conducted with a team of William & Mary undergraduate researchers, demonstrating the caliber of William & Mary students and the promise of the next generation of conservation researchers.”

This article, authored by researchers from William & Mary, highlights the effectiveness of window films in reducing bird collisions. The researchers found that window films applied to external surfaces of windows were more effective in reducing bird collisions than those applied to internal surfaces. This has important implications for architects and building designers when considering bird-friendly design.

Mezcal worm in a bottle: DNA evidence suggests a single moth species

This article used DNA analysis to identify the species of moth larvae found in mezcal bottles containing the traditional “mezcal worm”. The researchers found that the majority of larvae belonged to a single species, rather than multiple species as previously thought. This has important implications for the regulation and marketing of mezcal, a popular alcoholic beverage in Mexico.

The research was covered in Scientific American, The New York Post and the BBC Wildlife Magazine

Giant, swimming mouths: oral dimensions of extant sharks do not accurately predict body size in Dunkleosteus terrelli (Placodermi: Arthrodira)

Featured by  Science Times, Sci Tech Daily and phys.org – A new study by Case Western Reserve University Ph.D. student Russell Engelman published in PeerJ attempts to address a persistent problem in paleontology—what were the size of Dunkleosteus and other late Devonian arthrodire placoderms. Arthrodire placoderms are extinct fishes that had armor covering their head and part of their torso, but like sharks the rest of their skeleton was made of cartilage, meaning most of their body did not preserve when they became fossilized.

Hidden impacts of conservation management on fertility of the critically endangered kākāpō

Animal conservation often requires intensive management actions to improve reproductive output, yet any adverse effects of these may not be immediately apparent, particularly in threatened species with small populations and long lifespans. Hand-rearing is an example of a conservation management strategy which, while boosting populations, can cause long-term demographic and behavioural problems. It is used in the recovery of the critically endangered kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus), a flightless parrot endemic to New Zealand, to improve the slow population growth that is due to infrequent breeding, low fertility and low hatching success.

This article was featured in coverage by earth.com, Sci Tech daily and phys.org

See more PeerJ Press releases here.