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Categories: Ecology: Research, Paleontology: Fossils

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Traces of sex hormones extracted from a woolly mammoth's tusk provide the first direct evidence that adult males experienced musth, a testosterone-driven episode of heightened aggression against rival males, according to a new study.

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In the face of global warming and other environmental changes, corals in the Atlantic Ocean have declined precipitously in recent years, while corals in the Pacific and Indian Oceans are faring better. By describing several species of symbiotic algae that these corals need to grow, an international team has found that these mutualistic relationships from the Indo-Pacific may be more flexible and ultimately resilient to higher ocean temperatures than those in the Atlantic.

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A recent study found that many of the fossils from Germany's Posidonia shale do not get their gleam from pyrite, commonly known as fool's gold, which was long thought to be the source of the shine. Instead, the golden hue is from a mix of minerals that hints at the conditions in which the fossils formed. The discovery is important for understanding how the fossils -- which are among the world's best-preserved specimens of sea life from the Early Jurassic -- came to form in the first place, and the role that oxygen in the environment had in their formation.

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According to researchers, a new analysis of an 80-million-year-old permineralized pollen cone found in the Campanian Holz Shale formation located in Silverado Canyon, California, offers a more accurate cycad natural history -- one where the plants diversified during the Cretaceous.

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New research pushes back the oldest evidence of C4 grass-dominated habitats in Africa -- and globally -- by more than 10 million years, with important implications for primate evolution and the origins of tropical C4 grasslands and savanna ecosystems across the African continent and around the world.

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Each year approximately 10 million waterfowl fly north to their breeding grounds in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, but the landscape that greets them has changed. Weather patterns and agricultural practices have significantly transformed the pothole-dotted native grasslands that waterfowl have used for thousands of years.

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A major collaboration involving 80 scientists from Europe and South America has identified the regions of the Amazon rainforest where trees are most likely to face the greatest risk from drier conditions brought about by climate change. Based on the analysis, the scientists predict trees in the western and southern Amazon face the greatest risk of dying. They also warn that previous scientific investigations may have underestimated the impact of drought on the rainforest because those studies focused on the central-eastern part of the forest, which is the least vulnerable to drought.

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Fungal spores found in dung have revealed that large animals went extinct in two 'waves' in the Colombian Andes.

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Nature documentaries will tell you that lions, cheetahs, wolves and other top predators target the weakest or slowest animals and that this culling benefits prey herds, whether it's antelope in Africa or elk in Wyoming. This idea has been widely accepted by biologists for many years and was formalized in 2003 as the healthy herds hypothesis. It proposes that predators can help prey populations by picking off the sick and injured and leaving healthy, strong animals to reproduce.

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What's good for the Black-backed Woodpecker is good for restoration of burned California forests. The birds' unique relationship with fire underpins the latest research into improved post-fire management. A study describes a new tool that factors in how fires burn into forest management decisions and turns science into action for wildlife conservation.

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Genetic analysis links 3,000-year-old bone found in cave to modern Alaska Natives.

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New research finds there is significant variation in the anatomy of the human digestive system, with pronounced differences possible between healthy individuals. The finding has implications for understanding the role that the digestive tract's anatomy can play in affecting human health, as well as providing potential insights into medical diagnoses and the microbial ecosystem of the gut.

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Recently identified chili pepper fossils from Boulder and Denver museums challenge millions of years of global tomato evolutionary history. Now, that's some spicy science!

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Scientists have discovered the oldest evidence of plant self-defense in wood in a 360-million-year-old fossil from south-eastern Ireland. Plants can protect their wood from infection and water loss by forming special structures called 'tyloses'. These prevent bacterial and fungal pathogens from getting into the heartwood of living trees and damaging it. However, it was not previously known how early in the evolution of plants woody species became capable of forming such defenses. Published today in Nature Plants is the oldest evidence of tylosis formation from Late Devonian (360-million-year-old) fossil wood from the Hook Head Peninsula area, Co. Wexford, Ireland.

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The genomes of two hornet species, the European hornet and the Asian hornet (or yellow-legged hornet) have been sequenced.

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Scientists have made a remarkable discovery about cellophane bees -- their microbiomes are some of the most fermentative known from the insect world. These bees, which are named for their use of cellophane-like materials to line their subterranean nests, are known for their fascinating behaviors and their important ecological roles as pollinators. Now, researchers have uncovered another aspect of their biology that makes them even more intriguing.

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An interdisciplinary group of researchers is proposing a new way to think of some interactions between species, classifying a variety of plants, animals and fungi as 'nature's chefs.' Specifically, nature's chefs are organisms that provide food -- or the illusion of food -- to other organisms. The concept offers a new perspective on species interactions, which can inform how people think about food across the tree of life as well as disparate research disciplines.

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We now know more about the diet of a prehistoric creature that grew up to two and a half meters long and lived in Australian waters during the time of the dinosaurs, thanks to the power of x-rays. Researchers used micro-CT scans to peer inside the fossilized stomach remains of a small marine reptile -- a plesiosaur nicknamed 'Eric' after a song from the comedy group Monty Python -- to determine what the creature ate in the lead up to its death.

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A new global survey of 1000 forest areas shows how climate change since the peak of the last ice age has had a major impact on the diversity and distribution of tree species we see today. The results can help us predict how ecosystems will react to future changes, thus having an impact on conservation management around the globe.

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Researchers have discovered how long ago the Australian Nullarbor plain dried out, with a new approach shedding light on how ancient climate change altered some of the driest regions of our planet.