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Categories: Ecology: Research, Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published Rare ant species rediscovered in North Carolina trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There's a species of ant that is so rare, only a handful of records exist from across the entire eastern United States. North Carolina State University researcher Michelle Kirchner not only found these ants in the Triangle region of North Carolina, she is the first to document an entire colony for scientists, taxonomists and ant-thusiasts everywhere. It is the first time males of the species have been collected or photographed.
Published Broadband buzz: Periodical cicadas' chorus measured with fiber optic cables
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Through an emerging technology called distributed fiber optic sensing, cables bringing high-speed internet to American households can be used to detect temperature changes, vibrations, and even sound. And periodical cicadas -- the insects that emerge by the billions every 13 or 17 years and make a racket with their mating calls -- are loud enough to be detected. A new study shows how fiber optic sensing could open new pathways for charting populations of these famously ephemeral bugs.
Published how far can the wind can carry a plant's seeds? New model
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Playing an essential foundational role in an ecosystem, plants contribute to the well-being of human health by helping create resources like food and medicine. Therefore, to better understand how plants can maintain resiliency in the face of challenges like climate change, researchers recently developed an innovative mathematical model that can provide fast and reliable predictions of how far wind can carry a plant's seeds.
Published How do you make a robot smarter? Program it to know what it doesn't know
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have come up with a new way to teach robots to know when they don't know. The technique involves quantifying the fuzziness of human language and using that measurement to tell robots when to ask for further directions. Telling a robot to pick up a bowl from a table with only one bowl is fairly clear. But telling a robot to pick up a bowl when there are five bowls on the table generates a much higher degree of uncertainty -- and triggers the robot to ask for clarification.
Published Slash-and-burn agriculture can increase forest biodiversity, researchers find
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by many Indigenous societies across the world can actually have a positive impact on forests, according to a new study done in Belize. Researchers found that in areas of the rainforest in which Indigenous farmers using slash-and-burn techniques created intermediate-sized farm patches -- neither too small nor too large -- there were increases in forest plant diversity.
Published Fish ecologist's research indicates need to conserve iconic migratory snook in Mexico
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biologists investigated the snook’s almost 400-mile migration up into the rainforest habitat of the Usumacinta River. They have found that the snook, which connect aquatic food webs and support fisheries, spawn and start their lives in coastal nursery habitats before moving into river habitats that offer an array of food resources.
Published Deoxygenation levels similar to today's played a major role in marine extinctions during major past climate change event
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have made a surprising discovery that sheds new light on the role that oceanic deoxygenation (anoxia) played in one of the most devastating extinction events in Earth's history. Their finding has implications for current day ecosystems -- and serves as a warning that marine environments are likely more fragile than apparent. New research, published today in leading international journal Nature Geosciences, suggests that oceanic anoxia played an important role in ecosystem disruption and extinctions in marine environments during the Triassic--Jurassic mass extinction, a major extinction event that occurred around 200 million years ago. Surprisingly however, the study shows that the global extent of euxinia (an extreme form of de-oxygenated conditions) was similar to the present day.
Published How shipwrecks are providing a refuge for marine life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has highlighted how the estimated 50,000 wrecks around the UK coastline are protecting the seabed, and the species inhabiting it, in areas still open to bottom-towed fishing.
Published Hybrid transistors set stage for integration of biology and microelectronics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers create transistors combining silicon with biological silk, using common microprocessor manufacturing methods. The silk protein can be easily modified with other chemical and biological molecules to change its properties, leading to circuits that respond to biology and the environment.
Published First experimental evidence of hopfions in crystals opens up new dimension for future technology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hopfions, magnetic spin structures predicted decades ago, have become a hot and challenging research topic in recent years. New findings open up new fields in experimental physics: identifying other crystals in which hopfions are stable, studying how hopfions interact with electric and spin currents, hopfion dynamics, and more.
Published Deep-sea mining and warming trigger stress in a midwater jellies
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The deep sea is home to one of the largest animal communities on earth which is increasingly exposed to environmental pressures. However, our knowledge of its inhabitants and their response to human-induced stressors is still limited. A new study now provides first insights into the stress response of a pelagic deep-sea jellyfish to ocean warming and sediment plumes caused by deep-sea mining.
Published Protect delicate polar ecosystems by mapping biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Concerted action is required to mitigate the impact of warming on polar ecosystems and sustainably manage these unique habitats.
Published People watched other people shake boxes for science: Here's why
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When researchers asked hundreds of people to watch other people shake boxes, it took just seconds for almost all of them to figure out what the shaking was for. The deceptively simple work by perception researchers is the first to demonstrate that people can tell what others are trying to learn just by watching their actions. The study reveals a key yet neglected aspect of human cognition, and one with implications for artificial intelligence. 'Just by looking at how someone's body is moving, you can tell what they are trying to learn about their environment,' said author Chaz Firestone, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences who investigates how vision and thought interact. 'We do this all the time, but there has been very little research on it.'
Published AI system self-organizes to develop features of brains of complex organisms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have shown that placing physical constraints on an artificially-intelligent system -- in much the same way that the human brain has to develop and operate within physical and biological constraints -- allows it to develop features of the brains of complex organisms in order to solve tasks.
Published Idai vs. Impalas: New study shows in real-time what helps mammals survive a natural disaster
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source After a massive cyclone transformed the ecosystem of Gorongosa National Park, researchers studied the immediate and knock-on impacts to garner lessons for wildlife managers around the world.
Published Nature photographers posting to social media help with protecting biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nature photographers posting to social media are helping improve biodiversity conservation mapping in South Asia, and the method could go global.
Published Wearables capture body sounds to continuously monitor health
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source From heart beats to stomach gurgles, sounds hold important health information. New wireless devices sit on skin to continuously capture these sounds, then stream data to smartphones or tablets in real time. In pilot studies, devices accurately tracked sounds associated with cardiorespiratory function, gastrointestinal activity, swallowing and respiration. The devices are particularly valuable for premature babies, who can experience apneas and gastrointestinal complications, which are accompanied by sounds.
Published New study reveals huge potential for future waves of invasive species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Human trade and transport have led to the intentional and accidental introductions of non-native species outside of their natural range globally. These biological invasions can cause extinctions, cost trillions, and spread diseases. A study has investigated how many of these non-native species already exist worldwide and which species groups are particularly prone to become non-native.
Published Forget social distancing: House finches become more social when sick
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Social distancing when sick has become second nature to many of us in the past few years, but some sick animals appear to take a different approach. A new study of house finches uncovered a surprising result. Unlike other social animals who passively or actively isolate themselves when sick, this gregarious backyard bird species gravitates toward healthy flock mates when they are sick, even more so than healthy birds do.
Published Realistic talking faces created from only an audio clip and a person's photo
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers has developed a computer program that creates realistic videos that reflect the facial expressions and head movements of the person speaking, only requiring an audio clip and a face photo. DIverse yet Realistic Facial Animations, or DIRFA, is an artificial intelligence-based program that takes audio and a photo and produces a 3D video showing the person demonstrating realistic and consistent facial animations synchronised with the spoken audio (see videos).