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Categories: Ecology: Extinction, Environmental: Ecosystems
Published At the end of the dry season: CO2 pulses over Australia
(via sciencedaily.com) End-of-dry-season CO2 pulses recur each year in the atmosphere above the Australian continent, a discovery made by an international research team led by an environmental physicist. To investigate the carbon fluxes over Australia, the researchers studied atmospheric CO2 measurements. Their analyses show that CO2 emissions spike when heavy rain falls on dried-out soil, thus activating microorganisms in that soil.
Published Why are forests turning brown in summer?
(via sciencedaily.com) European forests are increasingly turning brown in the course of hot, dry summers. In the scorching summer of 2022, Europe experienced more trees turning brown than ever, with 37% of temperate and Mediterranean forest regions affected. In the three-year meteorological history of low-?greenness events, characteristic weather signals can be found as precursors of the events.
Published Predatory dinosaurs such as T. rex sported lizard-like lips
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study suggests that predatory dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, did not have permanently exposed teeth as depicted in films such as Jurassic Park, but instead had scaly, lizard-like lips covering and sealing their mouths.
Published Scientists discover hidden crab diversity among coral reefs
(via sciencedaily.com) The Indo-West Pacific is the largest marine ecosystem on Earth, but scientists who study its diversity have to contend with a problem so well-known it was remarked upon by Charles Darwin: related species in the IWP have similar appearances, making it difficult to assess just how many there are. A new study reveals that nearly identical crab species have one consistently distinguishing feature, which only evolves when their ranges overlap.
Published Deep ocean currents around Antarctica headed for collapse, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Antarctic circulation could slow by more than 40 per cent over the next three decades, with significant implications for the oceans and the climate.
Published Earth prefers to serve life in XXS and XXL sizes
(via sciencedaily.com) Life comes in all shapes in sizes, but some sizes are more popular than others, new research has found. A survey of body sizes of all Earth's living organisms has uncovered an unexpected pattern. Contrary to what current theories can explain, our planet's biomass -- the material that makes up all living organisms -- is concentrated in organisms at either end of the size spectrum.
Published Moths are more efficient pollinators than bees, shows new research
(via sciencedaily.com) Moths are more efficient pollinators at night than day-flying pollinators such as bees, finds new research.
Published Most of world's salt marshes likely to be underwater by 2100, study concludes
(via sciencedaily.com) Salt marshes are some of the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth. They play an outsized role in nitrogen cycling, act as carbon sinks, protect coastal development from storm surge, and provide critical habitats and nurseries for many fish, shellfish, and coastal birds. According to new research, more than 90 percent of the world's salt marshes are likely to be underwater by the end of the century. These findings come from a 50-year study of ecosystem changes in Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Mass.
Published Detecting coral biodiversity in seawater samples
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a method to measure coral biodiversity through extracting the environmental DNA (or eDNA) from a liter of surface seawater collected from above a reef. The method has been confirmed to work through observations made by scientific divers in the same areas of ocean. This has paved the way for large-scale comprehensive surveys of reef-building coral to take place and removes the reliance of direct observations made through scientific scuba diving or snorkeling.
Published Conserving wildlife can help mitigate climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Solving the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis are not separate issues. Animals remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year. Restoring species will help limit global warming, new science reveals.
Published Even Sonoran Desert plants aren't immune to climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) In North America's hottest, driest desert, climate change is causing the decline of plants once thought nearly immortal and replacing them with shorter shrubs that can take advantage of sporadic rainfall and warmer temperatures.
Published Turtles and crocodiles with unique characteristics are more likely to go extinct
(via sciencedaily.com) New study demonstrates that the most endangered turtles and crocodile species are those that have evolved unique life strategies. Many of the most threatened species carry out important ecosystem functions that other species depend on. Habitat loss was identified as the key overall threat to turtles and crocodiles, followed by climate change and global trade. Unique species faced additional pressure from local consumption, diseases, and pollution.
Published How to prepare for ocean acidification, a framework
(via sciencedaily.com) An international research team develops a rubric for governments and policymaking bodies to evaluate preparedness for ocean acidification.
Published Climate change threatens lemurs on Madagascar
(via sciencedaily.com) Even supposedly adaptable mammal species face increased risk of extinction.
Published What should we call evolution driven by genetic engineering? Genetic welding, says researcher
(via sciencedaily.com) With CRISPR-Cas9 technology, humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations. An evolutionary geneticist proposes that we call this evolutionary meddling 'genetic welding.' He argues that we must scientifically and ethically scrutinize the potential consequences of genetic welding before we put it into practice.
Published Extinction of steam locomotives derails assumptions about biological evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) When the Kinks' Ray Davies penned the tune 'Last of the Steam-Powered Trains,' the vanishing locomotives stood as nostalgic symbols of a simpler English life. But for a paleontologist, the replacement of steam-powered trains with diesel and electric engines, as well as cars and trucks, might be a model of how some species in the fossil record died out.
Published Some coastal salt marshes are keeping up with sea level rise -- for now
(via sciencedaily.com) The world's salty, tidal marshes are hotspots of carbon storage and productivity, building up sediments and plant material to stay above sea level. However, as sea level rises at an increasing rate, scientists debate whether it's possible for wetlands to win the race. New research reveals how salt marshes along the U.S. East Coast have responded to accelerating sea level rise by building elevation more quickly to keep pace with the sea over the last century.
Published Rare beetle, rediscovered after 55 years, named in honor of Jerry Brown
(via sciencedaily.com) While sampling for insects on former California Gov. Jerry Brown's ranch, a University of California, Berkeley, entomologist collected a rare species of beetle that had never been named or described -- and which, according to records, had not been observed by scientists in over 55 years. The new species will be named Bembidion brownorum, in honor of Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Brown.
Published Surprise effect: Methane cools even as it heats
(via sciencedaily.com) Most climate models do not yet account for a recent discovery: methane traps a great deal of heat in Earth's atmosphere, but also creates cooling clouds that offset 30% of the heat.
Published Climate change threatens global fisheries
(via sciencedaily.com) The diet quality of fish across large parts of the world's oceans could decline by up to 10 per cent as climate change impacts an integral part of marine food chains, a major study has found.