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Categories: Ecology: Research, Paleontology: Fossils
Published Corals mark friendly algae for ingestion -- revealing possible conservation target
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biologists reveals how coral cells tag friendly algae before ingesting them, initiating a mutually beneficial relationship. This information could guide next-level coral conservation efforts.
Published Ancient climate change solves mystery of vanished South African lakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New evidence for the presence of ancient lakes in some of the most arid regions of South Africa suggests that Stone Age humans may have been more widespread across the continent than previously thought.
Published Wildfire spread risk increases where trees, shrubs replace grasses
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study found that as woody plants like shrubs and trees replace herbaceous plants like grasses, spot fires can occur farther away from the original fire perimeter.
Published Humanity's earliest recorded kiss occurred in Mesopotamia 4,500 years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Written sources from Mesopotamia suggest that kissing in relation to sex was practiced by the peoples of the ancient Middle East 4,500 years ago.
Published Study finds carrying pollen heats up bumble bees, raises new climate change questions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study finds carrying pollen is a workout that significantly increases the body temperature of bumble bees. This new understanding of active bumble bee body temperatures raises questions about how these species will be impacted by a warmer world due to climate change.
Published Homo sapiens likely arose from multiple closely related populations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In testing the genetic material of current populations in Africa and comparing against existing fossil evidence of early Homo sapiens populations there, researchers have uncovered a new model of human evolution -- overturning previous beliefs that a single African population gave rise to all humans.
Published We now know exactly what happens in nature when we fell forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Deforestation is the biggest threat to the planet's ecosystems, and new research has now mapped out exactly what happens when agriculture replaces forestry.
Published Like ancient mariners, ancestors of Prochlorococcus microbes rode out to sea on exoskeleton particles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Throughout the ocean, billions upon billions of plant-like microbes make up an invisible floating forest. As they drift, the tiny organisms use sunlight to suck up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Collectively, these photosynthesizing plankton, or phytoplankton, absorb almost as much CO2 as the world’s terrestrial forests. A measurable fraction of their carbon-capturing muscle comes from Prochlorococcus — an emerald-tinged free-floater that is the most abundant phytoplankton in the oceans today. New research suggests the microbe's ancient coastal ancestors colonized the ocean by rafting out on chitin particles.
Published Invading insect could transform Antarctic soils
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A tiny flightless midge which has colonized Antarctica's Signy Island is driving fundamental changes to the island's soil ecosystem, a study shows.
Published A jumping conclusion: Fossil insect ID'd as new genus, species of prodigious leaper, the froghopper
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A fossil arthropod entombed in 100-million-year-old Burmese amber has been identified as a new genus and species of froghopper, known today as an insect with prodigious leaping ability in adulthood following a nymphal stage spent covered in a frothy fluid.
Published Kangaroo Island ants 'play dead' to avoid predators
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source They're well known for their industrious work, but now a species of ant on Kangaroo Island is also showing that it is skilled at 'playing dead', a behavior that researchers believe is a recorded world first.
Published Water warming study shows unexpected impact on fish size
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The theory that water-breathing animals such as fish will shrink due to global warming has been called into question by a new study.
Published Beetles and their biodiversity in dead wood
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Which energy type promotes the biodiversity of beetles living in dead wood in the forest? That depends entirely on where the beetles are in the food chain.
Published Earth's first animals had particular taste in real estate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Even without body parts that allowed for movement, new research shows -- for the first time -- that some of Earth's earliest animals managed to be picky about where they lived.
Published Exploring the underground connections between trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fungal networks interconnecting trees in a forest is a key factor that determines the nature of forests and their response to climate change. These networks have also been viewed as a means for trees to help their offspring and other tree-friends, according to the increasingly popular 'mother-tree hypothesis'. An international group of researchers re-examined the evidence for and against this hypothesis in a new study.
Published Small wildlife surveys can produce 'big picture' results
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Small-scale wildlife surveys can reveal the health of entire ecosystems, new research shows.
Published Viruses could reshuffle the carbon cycle in a warming world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The roles microbes play in ecosystems are changing with global warming. Microbes are also affected by infection by viruses, but scientists know relatively little about how these viral infections could change how microbes react to warming. In this study, scientists describe different ways that increasing temperatures could affect viruses and their microbial hosts. Their preliminary models show that viruses could alter carbon balance, causing some ecosystems to switch from net carbon sources to net carbon sinks.
Published Archaea in a warming climate become less diverse, more predictable
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using a long-term multifactor experimental field site researchers showed that experimental warming of a tallgrass prairie ecosystem significantly altered the community structure of soil archaea and reduced their taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity.
Published Vanishing glaciers threaten alpine biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source With glaciers melting at unprecedented rates due to climate change, invertebrates that live in the cold meltwater rivers of the European Alps will face widespread habitat loss, warn researchers. Many of the species are likely to become restricted to cold habitats that will only persist higher in the mountains, and these areas are also likely to see pressures from the skiing and tourism industries or from the development of hydroelectric plants.
Published Scientists recover an ancient woman's DNA from a 20,000-year-old pendant
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team has for the first time successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Paleolithic artefact: a pierced deer tooth discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. To preserve the integrity of the artefact, they developed a new, nondestructive method for isolating DNA from ancient bones and teeth. From the DNA retrieved they were able to reconstruct a precise genetic profile of the woman who used or wore the pendant, as well as of the deer from which the tooth was taken. Genetic dates obtained for the DNA from both the woman and the deer show that the pendant was made between 19,000 and 25,000 years ago. The tooth remains fully intact after analysis, providing testimony to a new era in ancient DNA research, in which it may become possible to directly identify the users of ornaments and tools produced in the deep past.