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Categories: Ecology: Extinction, Paleontology: General
Published Scientists from the Global South innovate to track ongoing amphibian pandemic
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have developed and validated an assay that could be used to diagnose Indian strains of the amphibian chytrid fungus that were not detected by previous tests. The novel assay also works for other better-known strains from other parts of the world, such as the one present in Panama.
Published Dinosaurs were the first to take the perspectives of others
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Understanding that others hold different viewpoints from your own is essential for human sociality. Adopting another person's visual perspective is a complex skill that emerges around the age of two. A new study suggests that this ability first arose in dinosaurs, at least 60 million years before it appeared in mammals. These findings challenge the idea that mammals were the originators of novel and superior forms of intelligence in the wake of the dinosaur extinction.
Published Fossils of a saber-toothed top predator reveal a scramble for dominance leading up to 'the Great Dying'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A tiger-sized saber-toothed creature called Inostrancevia has previously only been found in Russia. But scientists have discovered its fossils in South Africa, suggesting that it migrated 7,000 miles across the supercontinent Pangaea during the world's worst mass extinction 252 million years ago. Heading to South Africa allowed it to fill a gap in a faraway ecosystem that had lost its top predators.
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 Out of the frying pan: Coyotes, bobcats move into human-inhabited areas to avoid apex predators -- only to be killed by people
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Conservationists have argued that the presence of wolves and other apex predators, so named because they have no known predators aside from people, can help keep smaller predator species in check. New research shows that in Washington state, the presence of two apex predators -- wolves and cougars -- does indeed help keep populations of two smaller predators in check. But by and large the apex predators were not killing and eating the smaller predators, known as mesopredators. Instead, they drove the two mesopredator species -- bobcats and coyotes -- into areas with higher levels of human activity. And people were finishing the job.
Published Fossil of mosasaur with bizarre 'screwdriver teeth' found in Morocco
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, a sea-dwelling lizard from the age of the dinosaurs, with strange, ridged teeth unlike those of any known reptile. Along with other recent finds from Africa, it suggests that mosasaurs and other marine reptiles were evolving rapidly up until 66 million years ago, when they were wiped out by an asteroid along with the dinosaurs and around 90% of all species on Earth.
Published Impact of ancient earthquake revealed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source By combining the scientific powerhouses of genetics and geology, researchers have identified a new area of coastal uplift, which had been hiding in plain sight.
Published Assessing emotions in wild animals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study examines indicators of mental wellbeing in wild animals to improve conservation efforts.
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 Out of this world control on Ice Age cycles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team, composed of climatologists and an astronomer, have used an improved computer model to reproduce the cycle of ice ages (glacial periods) 1.6 to 1.2 million years ago. The results show that the glacial cycle was driven primarily by astronomical forces in quite a different way than it works in the modern age. These results will help us to better understand the past, present, and future of ice sheets and the Earth's climate.
Published Butterfly tree of life reveals an origin in North America
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered where butterflies originated and which plants the first butterflies relied on for food. To reach these conclusions, researchers created the world's largest butterfly tree of life, which they used as a guide to trace trace the evolution of butterflies through time in a four-dimensional puzzle that led back to North and Central America.
Published Culprit behind destruction of New York's first dinosaur museum revealed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new paper rewrites the history of the darkest, most bizarre event in the history of palaeontology.
Published Human ancestors preferred mosaic landscapes and high ecosystem diversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study finds that early human species adapted to mosaic landscapes and diverse food resources, which would have increased our ancestor's resilience to past shifts in climate.
Published Giants of the Jurassic seas were twice the size of a killer whale
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There have been heated debates over the size of Jurassic animals. The speculation was set to continue, but now a chance discovery in an Oxfordshire museum has led to palaeontologists publishing a paper on a Jurassic species potentially reaching a whopping 14.4 meters -- twice the size of a killer whale.
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 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 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 Smallest shifting fastest: Bird species body size predicts rate of change in a warming world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Birds across the Americas are getting smaller and longer-winged as the world warms, and the smallest-bodied species are changing the fastest.
Published How seaweed has been misleading scientists about reef health
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For decades, scientists have used the amount of seaweed at the ocean's surface as a proxy for the health of coral reefs below. However, a new global study of more than 1,200 marine locations over a 16-year period reveals that this approach has been misleading -- and may even have hidden signs of reef stress.