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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Environmental: Ecosystems
Published Characterizing abnormal neural networks in dogs with anxiety
(via sciencedaily.com) 
Researchers report abnormalities in functional neural networks of dogs diagnosed with anxiety. The study shows that compared with healthy dogs, those with anxiety exhibit stronger connections between the amygdala and other regions of the anxiety network. The findings might also help reveal how functional connections between anxiety-related regions of the brain are altered in cases of human anxiety disorders.
Published Mild fever helps clear infections faster, new study suggests
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It may be better to let a mild fever run its course instead of automatically reaching for medication, new research suggests. Researchers found that untreated moderate fever helped fish clear their bodies of infection rapidly, controlled inflammation and repaired damaged tissue. Moderate fever is self-resolving, meaning that the body can both induce it and shut it down naturally without medication. The health advantages of natural fever to humans still have to be confirmed through research, but the researchers say because the mechanisms driving and sustaining fever are shared among animals, it is reasonable to expect similar benefits are going to happen in humans.
Published Recovering tropical forests offset just one quarter of carbon emissions from new tropical deforestation and forest degradation
(via sciencedaily.com) 
A pioneering global study has found deforestation and forests lost or damaged due to human and environmental change, such as fire and logging, are fast outstripping current rates of forest regrowth.
Published Bird flu associated with hundreds of seal deaths in New England in 2022
(via sciencedaily.com) 
Researchers have found that an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was associated with the deaths of more than 330 New England harbor and gray seals along the North Atlantic coast in June and July 2022, and the outbreak was connected to a wave of avian influenza in birds in the region.
Published Humans are leaving behind a 'frozen signature' of microbes on Mount Everest
(via sciencedaily.com) 
Thanks to technological advances in microbial DNA analysis, researchers have discovered that mountaineers' boots aren't the only things leaving footprints on the world's tallest mountain. When someone sneezes on Everest, their germs can last for centuries.
Published High winds can worsen pathogen spread at outdoor chicken farms
(via sciencedaily.com) 
A study of chicken farms in the West found that high winds increased the prevalence of Campylobacter in outdoor flocks, a bacterial pathogen in poultry that is the largest single cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. Researchers found that about 26% of individual chickens had the pathogen at the 'open environment' farms in the study, which included organic and free-range chicken farms. High winds the week prior to sampling and the farms' location in more intensive agricultural settings were linked to a greater prevalence of Campylobacter.
Published Climate change alters a human-raptor relationship
(via sciencedaily.com) 
Bald Eagles and dairy farmers exist in a mutually beneficial relationship in parts of northwestern Washington State. According to a new study, this 'win-win' relationship has been a more recent development, driven by the impact of climate change on eagles' traditional winter diet of salmon carcasses, as well as by increased eagle abundance following decades of conservation efforts.
Published Swan populations grow 30 times faster in nature reserves
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Populations of whooper swans grow 30 times faster inside nature reserves, new research shows.
Published Researchers find decaying biomass in Arctic rivers fuels more carbon export than previously thought
(via sciencedaily.com) 
A new study found that plants and small organisms in Arctic rivers could be responsible for more than half the particulate organic matter flowing to the Arctic Ocean. That's a significantly greater proportion than previously estimated, and it has implications for how much carbon gets sequestered in the ocean and how much moves into the atmosphere.
Published Entire populations of Antarctic seabirds fail to breed due to extreme, climate-change-related snowstorms
(via sciencedaily.com) 
The arrival of the new year is a prime time for Antarctic birds like the south polar skua, Antarctic petrel, and snow petrel to build nests and lay their eggs. However, from December 2021 to January 2022, researchers did not find a single skua nest on Svarthamaren, one of the regions where the birds go to raise their young. Similarly, the number of Antarctic petrel and snow petrel nests dropped to almost zero.
Published Study shows how biodiversity of coral reefs around the world changes with depth
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Dramatic differences between shallow and mesophotic reefs stress the importance of studying--and conserving--these vital ecosystems along their entire depth gradient.
Published Minke whales are as small as a lunge-feeding baleen whale can be
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A new study of Antarctic minke whales reveals a minimum size limit for whales employing the highly efficient 'lunge-feeding' strategy that enabled the blue whale to become the largest animal on Earth.
Published Changing landscapes alter disease-scapes
(via sciencedaily.com) 
A new study has?highlighted?how and when?changes to the environment result in?animal-borne disease?thresholds?being breeched, allowing for?a?better understanding and?increased?capacity to?predict?the?risk of?transmissions.
Published Arctic climate modelling too conservative
(via sciencedaily.com) 
Climate models used by the UN's IPCC and others to project climate change are not accurately reflecting what the Arctic's future will be, experts say.
Published Looking for risky viruses now to get ahead of future pandemics
(via sciencedaily.com) 
Rather than let the next outbreak take the world by surprise, two virologists say that the scientific community should invest in a four-part research framework to proactively identify animal viruses that might infect humans.
Published Jewel beetles evolve to see new colors by duplicating their genes
(via sciencedaily.com) 
Jewel beetles are striking insects, easily recognized by their vivid colors and metallic sheen. New research investigated the complex evolutionary history of jewel beetles' vision.
Published Remarkable squirting mussels captured on film
(via sciencedaily.com) 
Researchers have observed a highly unusual behavior in the endangered freshwater mussel, Unio crassus. The jets disturb the river surface and attract fish. Mussel larvae in the jets can then attach to the gills of the fish and complete their metamorphosis into adults.
Published Existential threats to the iconic Nile River Delta
(via sciencedaily.com) 
Decades of poor environmental and water management turned the Nile River Delta from a unique ecological habitat in the Sahara to one of the largest polluted areas on the planet, with tens of millions of people and migrating birds at risk of exposure to water-borne contaminants.
Published Assessing the potential risks of ocean-based climate intervention technologies on deep-sea ecosystems
(via sciencedaily.com) 
An international team of experts convened remotely as part of the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative's Climate Working Group to consider the deep-sea impacts of ocean-based climate intervention (OBCI). A research team has analyzed the proposed approaches to assess their potential impacts on deep-sea ecosystems and biodiversity. Their findings raise substantial concern on the potential impacts of these technologies on deep-sea ecosystems and call for the need for an integrated research effort to carefully assess the cost and benefits of each intervention.
Published Sea temperatures control the distributions of European marine fish
(via sciencedaily.com) 
An analysis extending from southern Portugal to northern Norway highlights the importance of temperature in determining where fish species are found.