Showing 20 articles starting at article 1681

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Biology: Zoology, Environmental: Ecosystems

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

In North America's hottest, driest desert, climate change is causing the decline of plants once thought nearly immortal and replacing them with shorter shrubs that can take advantage of sporadic rainfall and warmer temperatures.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

New study demonstrates that the most endangered turtles and crocodile species are those that have evolved unique life strategies. Many of the most threatened species carry out important ecosystem functions that other species depend on. Habitat loss was identified as the key overall threat to turtles and crocodiles, followed by climate change and global trade. Unique species faced additional pressure from local consumption, diseases, and pollution.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers collected the bodies of birds that crashed into buildings while migrating, and used these specimens to learn about the relationship between birds and the microbes living in their guts -- which appears to be wildly different from mammals and their microbiomes.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international research team develops a rubric for governments and policymaking bodies to evaluate preparedness for ocean acidification.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Even supposedly adaptable mammal species face increased risk of extinction.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Free-range organic chicken or factory farming? Scientists have developed a new detection method that can reveal such differences in husbandry. The so-called epigenetic method is based on the analysis of the characteristic patterns of chemical markers on the genome of the animals.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

The world's salty, tidal marshes are hotspots of carbon storage and productivity, building up sediments and plant material to stay above sea level. However, as sea level rises at an increasing rate, scientists debate whether it's possible for wetlands to win the race. New research reveals how salt marshes along the U.S. East Coast have responded to accelerating sea level rise by building elevation more quickly to keep pace with the sea over the last century.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Most climate models do not yet account for a recent discovery: methane traps a great deal of heat in Earth's atmosphere, but also creates cooling clouds that offset 30% of the heat.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

The diet quality of fish across large parts of the world's oceans could decline by up to 10 per cent as climate change impacts an integral part of marine food chains, a major study has found.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

The success of North American crops from corn to Christmas trees partly depends on a relatively invisible component of the food web -- ground beetles. Nearly 2,000 species of ground beetle live in North America. New research shows that some of these insects could thrive while others could decline as the climate changes. The team found that the response will largely depend on the species' traits and habitats and could have significant implications for conservation efforts.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

The first study into the biological response of the upper ocean in the wake of South Pacific cyclones could help predict the impact of warming ocean temperatures, researchers believe.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

When resources are scarce, most animals have to choose. A new study reveals an ancient origin to how female butterflies invest.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

An unusually severe form of toxoplasmosis killed four sea otters and could pose a threat to other marine wildlife and humans, finds a new study.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

In a new study, an international team of researchers warn that the Arctic Sea ice may soon be a thing of the past in the summer months. This may have consequences for both the climate and ecosystems. Ten thousand years ago, the ice melted at temperatures similar to those we have today.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

New method to study the movement, behaviour, and environmental context of group-living animals using drones and computer vision.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Moderate levels of artificial light at night -- like the fixture illuminating your backyard -- bring more caterpillar predators and reduce the chance that these lepidoptera larvae grow up to become moths and serve as food for larger prey.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Beetles are champions at surviving in extremely dry environments. In part, this property is due to their ability to suck water from the air with their rear ends. A new study explains just how. Beyond helping to explain how beetles thrive in environments where few other animals can survive, the knowledge could eventually be used for more targeted and delicate control of global pests such as the grain weevil and red flour beetle.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have come up with a system of measuring animal welfare that enables reliable comparison across different types of pig farming.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers from the fields of healthcare, ocean science, and social science have collaborated to quantify plastic's considerable risks to all life on Earth. The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health report presents a comprehensive analysis showing plastics as a hazard at every stage of their life cycle.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

The growing period of hardwood forests in eastern North America has increased by an average of one month over the past century as temperatures have steadily risen, a new study has found.