Showing 20 articles starting at article 1641

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Biology: Zoology, Environmental: Ecosystems

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research shows that environmental impact reports hugely underestimate the consequences of new developments for wildlife. This is because they don't take into account how birds and other animals move around between different sites. The research shows how a planned airport development in Portugal could affect more than 10 times the number of Black-tailed Godwits estimated in a previous Environmental Impact Assessment. The team have been studying these Godwits across Europe for over 30 years but they say that any species that moves around is likely to be under-represented by such reports.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study of squirrels in California's Sierra Nevada mountains finds that climate is just one factor impacting where species make their homes in a changing world.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change might compromise how permanently forests are able to store carbon and keep it out of the air. In a new study, researchers found that the regions most at risk to lose forest carbon through fire, climate stress or insect damage are those regions where many forest carbon offset projects have been set up. The authors assert that there's an urgent need to update these carbon offsets protocols and policies.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered the first effective bacterial probiotic for treating and preventing stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), a mysterious ailment that has devastated Florida's coral reefs since 2014 and is rapidly spreading throughout the Caribbean. The probiotic treatment provides an alternative to the use of the broad-spectrum antibiotic amoxicillin, which has so far been the only proven treatment for the disease but which runs the risk of promoting antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ponderosa pine forests in the Sierra Nevada that were wiped out by western pine beetles during the 2012-2015 megadrought won't recover to pre-drought densities, reducing an important storehouse for atmospheric carbon.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Natural disasters can devastate a region, abruptly killing the species that form an ecosystem's structure. But how this transpires can influence recovery. While fires scorch the landscape to the ground, a heatwave leaves an army of wooden staves in its wake. Storm surges and coral bleaching do something similar underwater.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A framework has been developed to test disgust and its associated disease avoidance behaviors across various animal species, social systems, and habitats. Over 30 species have been predicted to exhibit disease avoidance strategies in the wild. With these predictions, the team accounts for models of specific ecological niches, sensory environments and social systems for a number of species including the native common octopus and the invasive red-eared slider, which are both relevant to Japan.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A warmer Arctic has been linked to extreme winter weather in the midlatitude regions. But, it is not clear how global warming affects this link. In a new study, researchers show, using weather data and climate models, that while the 'Warm Arctic-Cold Continent' pattern will continue as the climate continues to warm, Arctic warming will become a less reliable predictor of extreme winter weather in the future.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers created a new way to estimate the abundance of invasive 'sleeper' species in freshwater ecosystems and help guide management strategies.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have successfully bulk-produced fat tissue in the lab that has a similar texture and make-up to naturally occurring fats from animals.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A previously underestimated risk lurks in the frozen soil of the Arctic. When the ground thaws and becomes unstable in response to climate change, it can lead to the collapse of industrial infrastructure, and in turn to the increased release of pollutants. Moreover, contaminations already present will be able to more easily spread throughout ecosystems. According to new findings, there are at least 13,000 to 20,000 contaminated sites in the Arctic that could pose a serious risk in the future.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Current methods to monitor red tide are limited. Using AUTOHOLO, a new autonomous, submersible, 3D holographic microscope and imaging system, a study is the first to characterize red tide in the field and breaks new ground for monitoring harmful algal blooms.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human culture and language may be the result of 'self-domestication': an evolutionary process that leads to less aggressive and more prosocial individuals. A research team argues that elephants -- like humans and bonobos -- may also be self-domesticated. Elephants show many traits associated with self-domestication, such as prosocial behavior, playfulness and complex communication skills. This makes elephants an interesting new animal model for the evolution of prosociality.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The number of insects has been declining for years. This has already been well documented for agricultural areas. In forests, however, temporal trends are mostly studied for insect species that are considered pests. Now, a research team has studied the trends of very many insect species in German forests. Contrary to what the researchers had suspected, the results showed that the majority of the studied species are declining.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Marine predators have expanded their ranges into the Arctic waters over the last twenty years, driven by climate change and associated increases in productivity.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international research team has determined that Troodon, a dinosaur very close to modern birds, was a warm-blooded animal (an endotherm), but had a reproductive system similar to that of modern reptiles. The scientists applied a new method which allowed for accurate determination of the temperature when the egg's carbonate shell was formed. Furthermore, the researchers showed that Troodon laid 4 to 6 eggs per clutch. As nests with up to 24 Troodon eggs had been found, the scientists conclude that several Troodon females laid their eggs in communal nests.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A groundbreaking three-year study in the South Pacific has found evidence that ocean warming can trigger outbreaks of 'dinoflagellate-infecting RNA viruses' that attack symbiotic algae inside corals. Coral reef viruses have gained greater attention since being implicated in 2021 as a possible cause of stony coral tissue loss disease that has decimated Florida and Caribbean reefs for almost a decade.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers provide open-access tool to capture new data on a global plant destroyer, Phytophthora.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the face of a warming climate that is having a profound effect on global biodiversity and will change the distribution and abundance of many animals, a research team has developed a statistical model that improves estimates of habitat suitability and extinction probability for cold-blooded animals as temperatures climb.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered, using a recently developed technology, that genetically identical cells within a bacterial community have different functions, with some members behaving more docile and others producing the very toxins that make us feel ill.