Ecology: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Scientists call for an update in environmental decision making that takes human rights into account      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers argue that to protect human wellbeing global decisions with the potential to impact the environment must be guided by our understanding of the inseparable connection between humans and nature. The article's authors are aiming to support fair and inclusive decision-making for a healthy ocean for people and planet.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

To kill mammoths in the Ice Age, people used planted pikes, not throwing spears, researchers say      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Archeologists say new findings might help resolve the debate about Clovis points and reshape how we think about what life was like roughly 13,000 years ago. After an extensive review of writings and artwork -- and an experiment with replica Clovis point spears -- a team of archaeologists says humans may have braced the butt of their weapons against the ground in a way that would impale a charging animal. The force would have driven the spear deeper into the predator's body, unleashing a more damaging blow than even the strongest prehistoric hunters would have been capable of by throwing or jabbing megafauna.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Mobile species are 'glue' which connect different habitats together      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A groundbreaking study conducted across 30 field sites in the southwest UK has revealed the importance of incorporating varied habitats into the landscape at large.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil hotspots in Africa obscure a more complete picture of human evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows how the mismatch between where fossils are preserved and where humans likely lived may influence our understanding of early human evolution.

Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Forest loss intensifies climate change by increasing temperatures and cloud level, which leads to decrease of water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers report that deforestation during the last two decades induced a higher warming and cloud level rise than that caused by climate change, which threatens biodiversity and water supply in African montane forests.

Biology: General Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science
Published

It's a rave: Underground acoustics amplify soil health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Barely audible to human ears, healthy soils produce a cacophony of sounds in many forms -- a bit like an underground rave concert of bubble pops and clicks. Special recordings made by ecologists show this chaotic mixture of soundscapes can be a measure of the diversity of tiny living animals in the soil, which create sounds as they move and interact with their environment.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Rethinking the dodo      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are setting out to challenge our misconceptions about the Dodo, one of the most well-known but poorly understood species of bird. Researchers have undertaken the most comprehensive review of the taxonomy of the Dodo and its closest relative, the Rodriguez Island Solitaire.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Nearly 25% of European landscape could be rewilded, researchers say      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Europe's abandoned farmlands could find new life through rewilding, a movement to restore ravaged landscapes to their wilderness before human intervention. A quarter of the European continent, 117 million hectares, is primed with rewilding opportunities, researchers report.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Lake Erie walleye growth is driven by parents' size, experience      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Parent size and the conditions in which actively spawning adults lived are the most influential factors affecting growth of Lake Erie walleye, a new study has found.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Study reveals urban trees suffer more from heat waves and drought than their rural counterparts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study details how trees in New York City and Boston are more negatively impacted by heat waves and drought than trees of the same species in nearby rural forests. The finding highlights the challenges urban trees face in the context of climate change and underscores the importance of tailored urban forestry management as a tool for protecting tree species and reducing urban heat islands.

Ecology: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Protecting surf breaks mitigates climate change, helps coastal communities      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Safeguarding places to hang ten and shoot the curl is an opportunity to simultaneously mitigate climate change, fuel tourism and help surrounding ecosystems, research has shown.

Biology: Biochemistry Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Early mammals lived longer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What distinguishes the growth and development patterns of early mammals of the Jurassic period? Paleontologists have been able to gauge the lifespan and growth rates of these ancient animals, and even when they reached maturity, by studying growth rings in fossilized tooth roots.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

When mammoths roamed Vancouver Island      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mammoths, the massive pre-historic ice age cousins of the modern-day elephant, have always been understood to have inhabited parts of British Columbia, but the question of when has always been a bit woolly. Now, a new study has given scientists the clearest picture yet when the giant mammals roamed Vancouver Island.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Giant prehistoric flying reptile took off using similar method to bats, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The pterosaur likely used all four limbs to propel itself in the air, as seen in bats today, researchers have found.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossil shows how penguins' wings evolved      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A tiny fossil penguin plays a huge role in the evolutionary history of the bird, an international study shows.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Combined effects of plastic pollution and seawater flooding amplify threats to coastal plant species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study highlights how a combination of environmental stressors -- namely plastic pollution and seawater flooding -- can increase the threats faced by plants in some of the planet's critical ecosystems. It showed that both stressors had some effects on the species tested, but being exposed to both microplastics and flooding together -- a threat likely to increase as a result of climate change and plastic use -- had a more pronounced impact on their resource allocation.