Showing 20 articles starting at article 201
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Ecology: Extinction, Paleontology: Fossils
Published Reptile roadkill reveals new threat to endangered lizard species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The chance sighting of a dead snake beside a sandy track in remote Western Australia, and the investigation of its stomach contents, has led researchers to record the first known instance of a spotted mulga snake consuming a pygmy spiny-tailed skink, raising concerns for a similar-looking, endangered lizard species.
Published New study reveals insight into which animals are most vulnerable to extinction due to climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a new study, researchers have used the fossil record to better understand what factors make animals more vulnerable to extinction from climate change. The results could help to identify species most at risk today from human-driven climate change.
Published Loss of nature costs more than previously estimated
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers propose that governments apply a new method for calculating the benefits that arise from conserving biodiversity and nature for future generations.
Published Earth's earliest forest revealed in Somerset fossils
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The oldest fossilized forest known on Earth -- dating from 390 million years ago -- has been found in the high sandstone cliffs along the Devon and Somerset coast of South West England.
Published Microbes impact coral bleaching susceptibility
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study provides insights into the role of microbes and their interaction as drivers of interspecific differences in coral thermal bleaching.
Published Fossils of giant sea lizard with dagger-like teeth show how our oceans have fundamentally changed since the dinosaur era
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fossils of a strange new species of marine lizard with dagger-like teeth that lived 66 million years ago, show a dramatically more biodiverse ocean ecosystem to what we see today.
Published Fossil named 'Attenborough's strange bird' was the first in its kind without teeth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new fossil, named 'Attenborough's strange bird' after naturalist and documentarian Sir David Attenborough, is the first of its kind to evolve a toothless beak. It's from a branch of the bird family tree that went extinct in the mass extinction 66 million years ago, and this strange bird is another puzzle piece that helps explain why some birds -- and their fellow dinosaurs -- went extinct, and others survived to today.
Published 8 in 10 lizards could be at risk due to deforestation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source These reptiles move around tree trunks to seek warmth or shade. With trees disappearing, they would have trouble controlling their body temperature, a new study shows.
Published Scientists ID burned bodies using technique used for extracting DNA from woolly mammoths, Neanderthals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A technique originally devised to extract DNA from woolly mammoths and other ancient archaeological specimens can be used to potentially identify badly burned human remains, according to research.
Published Slimming down a colossal fossil whale
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A 30 million year-old fossil whale may not be the heaviest animal of all time after all, according to a new analysis by paleontologists. The new analysis puts Perucetus colossus back in the same weight range as modern whales and smaller than the largest blue whales ever recorded.
Published Uncertainty in measuring biodiversity change could hinder progress towards global targets for nature
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More than ever before, there is a growing interest in dedicating resources to stop the loss of biodiversity, as recently exemplified by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) decided at COP15 in December 2022. The GBF focuses on understanding why biodiversity is declining and what actions are needed to reverse this trend. However, according to researchers, implementing the plan is challenging because information about biodiversity changes is not evenly available everywhere, and is uncertain in many places.
Published Genetic research revealed several new fern species in tropical America
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have clarified the evolutionary history of a previously poorly known group of ferns from the tropical rainforests of America using DNA methods. The study discovered many new fern species, 18 of which have now been given official names and species descriptions.
Published Older African elephants will be most severely affected by the changing climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Older elephants in East Africa will be most severely impacted by climate change, threatening the long-term survival of this vulnerable African mammal, according to a new study.
Published Counting rays: Aerial surveys reveal ample populations in Southeast Florida
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A unique long-term study quantified the abundance of whitespotted eagle and giant manta rays in Southeast Florida. Researchers conducted 120 survey flights between 2014 and 2021 from Miami north to the Jupiter Inlet. One or both species were seen on nearly every flight and both populations appear to be stable in the region. The giant manta rays were more abundant in the south and the whitespotted eagle rays were found all along the coast. Neither species seems to be deterred by the greater human population density in Fort Lauderdale/Miami.
Published Extinctions could result as fish change foraging behavior in response to rising temperatures
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fish species respond to temperature increases by going after more readily available prey. Models suggest this behavior could lead to more extinctions.
Published 'Janitors' of the Sea: Overharvested sea cucumbers play crucial role in protecting coral
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers discovered that sea cucumbers -- sediment-eating organisms that function like autonomous vacuum cleaners of the ocean floor -- play an enormous role in protecting coral from disease.
Published High resolution techniques reveal clues in 3.5 billion-year-old biomass
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To learn about the first organisms on our planet, researchers have to analyze the rocks of the early Earth. These can only be found in a few places on the surface of the Earth. The Pilbara Craton in Western Australia is one of these rare sites: there are rocks there that are around 3.5 billion years old containing traces of the microorganisms that lived at that time. A research team has now found new clues about the formation and composition of this ancient biomass, providing insights into the earliest ecosystems on Earth.
Published Increasingly similar or different? Centuries-long analysis suggests biodiversity is differentiating and homogenizing to a comparable extent
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The tendency of communities and the species within them to become more similar or more distinct across landscapes -- biotic homogenization and differentiation -- are approximately balanced, according to a new study. This analysis is the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive assessment of how local and regional biodiversity changes combine across landscapes over centuries.
Published Panama Canal expansion rewrites history of world's most ecologically diverse bats
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a new study, paleontologists describe the oldest-known leaf-nosed bat fossils, which were found along the banks of the Panama Canal. They're also the oldest bat fossils from Central America, preserved 20-million years ago when Panama and the rest of North America were separated from southern landmass by a seaway at least 120 miles wide.
Published Artificial reefs help preserve coral reefs by shifting divers away from the natural ones, according to new long-term study of one in Eilat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Divers are essentially tourists who love coral reefs and invest a lot of time and effort to watch them. Unfortunately, divers also cause damage to corals, often unintentionally, through disturbing and resuspending sand, touching them, hitting them with their equipment, and scaring fish away. Artificial reefs have been proposed as a means of diverting diving pressure from the natural reef to alternative sites, thus preserving both dive tourism and the coral reef.