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Categories: Ecology: Extinction, Ecology: Trees

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Anthropology: General Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

The evidence is mounting: humans were responsible for the extinction of large mammals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human hunting, not climate change, played a decisive role in the extinction of large mammals over the last 50,000 years. This conclusion comes from researchers who reviewed over 300 scientific articles from many different fields of research.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science
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Ecologists reconstruct the history of biodiversity in the Indo-Australian archipelago and its rise as a hotspot      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Coral Triangle, also known as the Indo-Australian Archipelago, is renowned for having the greatest marine biodiversity on our planet. Despite its importance, the detailed evolutionary history of this biodiversity hotspot has remained largely a mystery. An international research team has now shed light on this history, reconstructing how biodiversity in the region has developed over the past 40 million years.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Projected loss of brown macroalgae and seagrasses with global environmental change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers predict that climate change will drive a substantial redistribution of brown seaweeds and seagrasses at the global scale. The projected changes are alarming due to the fundamental role seaweeds and seagrasses in coastal ecosystems and provide evidence of the pervasive impacts of climate change on marine life.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
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Last surviving woolly mammoths were inbred but not doomed to extinction      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The last population of woolly mammoths was isolated on Wrangel Island off the coast of Siberia 10,000 years ago, when sea levels rose and cut the mountainous island off from the mainland. A new genomic analysis reveals that the isolated mammoths, who lived on the island for the subsequent 6,000 years, originated from at most 8 individuals but grew to 200--300 individuals within 20 generations. The researchers report that the Wrangel Island mammoths' genomes showed signs of inbreeding and low genetic diversity but not to the extent that it can explain their ultimate (and mysterious) extinction.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems
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To protect corals from summer heatwaves, we should help their microbial symbionts evolve heat tolerance in the lab      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Most coral reef restoration efforts involve restocking reefs with nursery-grown corals. However, if these corals are of the same stock as their wild counterparts, they will be equally vulnerable to the heat stress that caused the bleaching event in the first place. Researchers discuss the potential of improving corals' chances by inducing the evolution of heat tolerance in their symbionts -- the mutualistic microbes that provide corals with nutrients in exchange for shelter and that are expelled during coral bleaching.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science
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Future risk of coral bleaching set to intensify globally      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have projected future marine heatwaves will cause coral reefs to be at severe risk of bleaching for longer periods than previously seen.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Paleontology: Climate
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Ocean's loss of oxygen caused massive Jurassic extinction: Could it happen again?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found a chemical clue in Italian limestone that explains a mass extinction of marine life in the Early Jurassic period, 183 million years ago. Volcanic activity pumped out CO2, warming oceans and lowering their oxygen levels. The findings may foretell the impact climate change and oxygen depletion might have on today's oceans.

Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires
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Fuel treatments reduce future wildfire severity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There is a common belief that prescribed burning, thinning trees, and clearing underbrush reduce risks of the severity of future fires. But is that true? A new project analyzing 40 studies where wildfire burned into different vegetation treatments, spanning 11 western states. Researchers found overwhelming evidence that in seasonally dry mixed conifer forests in the western U.S., reducing surface and ladder fuels and tree density through thinning, coupled with prescribed burning or pile burning, could reduce future wildfire severity by more than 60% relative to untreated areas.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees
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New tomato, potato family tree shows that fruit color and size evolved together      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new family tree of the plant genus Solanum helps explain the striking diversity of their fruit color and size. This genus includes tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and other economically important plants.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Boosting biodiversity without hurting local economies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Protected areas, like nature reserves, can conserve biodiversity without harming local economic growth, countering a common belief that conservation restricts development. A new study outlines what is needed for conservation to benefit both nature and people.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction
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Insecticides contributed to loss of butterflies across American Midwest, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Insecticide use is a major factor causing a decrease in the size and diversity of butterfly populations across the US Midwest, according to a new study.

Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Trees
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Wooden surfaces may have natural antiviral properties      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Viruses, including the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can get passed from person to person via contaminated surfaces. But can some surfaces reduce the risk of this type of transmission without the help of household disinfectants? Wood has natural antiviral properties that can reduce the time viruses persist on its surface -- and some species of wood are more effective than others at reducing infectivity.