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Categories: Ecology: Extinction, Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound

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Africa has a huge diversity of large mammals, but their evolutionary relationships and movement across the continent over time often remain a mystery. A new scientific study sheds light on longstanding questions about the interplay between evolution and geography in one of these mammals, namely the iconic African bushpig, and helps settle a major question regarding prehistoric human activities shaping biodiversity patterns in Africa.

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An international team of researchers has found that Africa's birds of prey are facing an extinction crisis. The report warns of declines among nearly 90% of 42 species examined, and suggests that more than two-thirds may qualify as globally threatened.

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Animal ecologists developed an analytical approach to better understand one of the latest threats to feathered creatures: the rise of wind and solar energy facilities.

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A lot has changed in the world since the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted 50 years ago in December 1973. Experts are now discuss how the ESA has evolved and what its future might hold. 

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Insect decline is being driven by losses among the locally more common species, according to a new study. The meta-analysis of 923 locations around the world notes two significant trends: 1) the species with the most individuals (the highest abundance) are disproportionately decreasing in number, and 2) no other species have increased to the high numbers previously seen. This likely explains the frequent observation that there are fewer insects around now than ten, twenty, or thirty years ago. 

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Humans have wiped out around 1,400 bird species -- twice as many as previously thought -- with major implications for the ongoing biodiversity crisis, a new study has found. The estimated extinctions would mean almost 12 per cent of bird species have died out over modern human history, since the Late Pleistocene around 130,000 years ago, with the vast majority of them becoming extinct directly or indirectly due to human activity.

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Some coral species can be resilient to marine heat waves by 'remembering' how they lived through previous ones, research suggests.

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Simulations integrate historical records, fossils, and ancient DNA to reveal why the European bison nearly went extinct, and pinpoint optimal areas for conservation.   Since the near-extinction of the European bison, enormous conservation efforts have helped to restore wild populations, and its numbers are on the rise. However, the study authors argue that ensuring the species's long-term protection and recovery requires understanding why they nearly went extinct in the first place.    'Our study also suggests areas where rewilding attempts are most likely to be successful,' said lead author July Pilowsky, currently a disease ecologist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Pilowsky completed the research while working on their PhD at University of Adelaide and University of Copenhagen.   

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Researchers have described a Japanese mosasaur the size of a great white shark that terrorized Pacific seas 72 million years ago. The mosasaur was named for the place where it was found, Wakayama Prefecture. Researchers call it the Wakayama Soryu, which means blue dragon.

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The current emoji library doesn't accurately represent the 'tree of life' and the breadth of biodiversity seen in nature according to a new analysis. A team of conservation biologists categorized emojis related to nature and animals and mapped them onto the phylogenetic tree of life. They found that animals are well represented by the current emoji catalog, whereas plants, fungi, and microorganisms are poorly represented. Within the animal kingdom, vertebrates were over-represented while arthropods were underrepresented with respect to their actual biodiversity.

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Record breaking marine heatwaves will cause devastating mass coral bleaching worldwide in the next few years, according to a coral reef scientist.

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A recently published study puts forth a new theory that volcanic eruptions combined with widespread ocean detoxification pushed Earth's biology to a tipping point in the Late Devonian era, triggering a mass extinction.

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New research estimates 55 million marine organisms worth $2.15bn are sold in the marine aquarium trade each year, making it as valuable as global fisheries such as tuna.

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Engineers have developed a bio-compatible ink that solidifies into different 3D shapes and structures by absorbing ultrasound waves. Because the material responds to sound waves rather than light, the ink can be used in deep tissues for biomedical purposes ranging from bone healing to heart valve repair.

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Tropical coral reefs are among our most spectacular ecosystems, yet a rapidly warming planet threatens the future survival of many reefs. However, there may be hope for some tropical reefs in the form of feathered friends. A new study has found that the presence of seabirds on islands adjacent to tropical coral reefs can boost coral growth rates on those reefs by more than double.

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The sound a disc makes while soaring through the air is full of information about how fast the disc is flying and how quickly it spins. This inspired Kyle S. Dalton of Penn State University to combine disc golf and acoustics into an interactive acoustic signal processing lesson. He set three microphones in a line and connected them to equipment that converts each microphone's signal to a data point. Then he threw a disc with a small whistle mounted on top and recorded the flying disc's acoustical signal. The resulting dataset can be used to learn basic processing tools and practice data visualization.

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What wiped out the dinosaurs? A meteorite plummeting to Earth is only part of the story, a new study suggests. Climate change triggered by massive volcanic eruptions may have ultimately set the stage for the dinosaur extinction, challenging the traditional narrative that a meteorite alone delivered the final blow to the ancient giants.

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Around 250 million years ago, 700 species of reptiles closely related to the modern-day crocodile roamed the earth, now new research reveals how a complex interplay between climate change, species competition and habitat can help explain why just 23 species of crocodile survive today.     

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Children must be taught more about the importance of plants if education about climate change and sustainability is to be effective, experts have warned.

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During a two-year survey of soft corals in the Florida Keys,  scientists identified three species of octocorals that have survived heat waves. While the coral animal itself may be heat tolerant, scientists concluded that the symbiotic algae inside the coral serve as a protector of sorts.