Showing 20 articles starting at article 81

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Ecology: Trees, Offbeat: Plants and Animals

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tree-planting campaigns have been underway in the United States, especially in cities, as part of climate mitigation efforts given the many environmental benefits of urban forests. But a new study finds that some areas within urban forests in the U.S., may be more capable than trees growing around city home lawns in adapting to a warmer climate.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have shed light on Earth's earliest ecosystem, showing that within a few hundred million years of planetary formation, life on Earth was already flourishing.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The flow of water within a muscle fiber may dictate how quickly muscle can contract, according to a new study.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research team has assembled the genome and 3D chromosomal structures of a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth -- the first time such a feat has been achieved for any ancient DNA sample. The fossilized chromosomes, which are around a million times longer than most ancient DNA fragments, provide insight into how the mammoth's genome was organized within its living cells and which genes were active within the skin tissue from which the DNA was extracted. This unprecedented level of structural detail was retained because the mammoth underwent freeze-drying shortly after it died, which meant that its DNA was preserved in a glass-like state.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The surprising discovery of a new species of extinct crocodile relative from the Triassic Favret Formation of Nevada, USA, rewrites the story of life along the coasts during the first act of the Age of Dinosaurs. The new species Benggwigwishingasuchus eremicarminis reveals that while giant ichthyosaurs ruled the oceans, the ancient crocodile kin known as pseudosuchian archosaurs ruled the shores across the Middle Triassic globe between 247.2 and 237 million years ago.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A record-breaking swim by two lion brothers across a predator-infested African river has been documented in a new study. The researchers say the 1km swim is another example of iconic wildlife species having to make tough decisions to find homes and mates in a human-dominated world.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The most complete dinosaur discovered in the UK in the last 100 years, with a pubic hip bone the size of a 'dinner plate', has been described in a new article.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Unique recordings show that bats can ramp up heart rate from 6 to 900 b.p.m within minutes.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Many trees could expand their ranges by more than 25 percent based on their potential temperature tolerances.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The United States has lost its only stand of the massive Key Largo tree cactus in what researchers believe is the first local extinction of a species caused by sea level rise in the country.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study highlights the sustainable, cultural and ecosystem benefits of offshore removal or decomposition of whale remains. The study tracked the remains of a humpback whale that was intercepted before washing up on the shoreline, then repositioned 30km offshore and fitted with a satellite tag that tracked its position as it drifted with the wind and currents for 6 days before falling to the seabed.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reveals that the rare Desertas Petrels (Pterodroma deserta), a wide-ranging seabird in the North Atlantic, exhibit unique foraging behaviors during hurricane season. Contrary to other pelagic seabirds, these petrels do not avoid intense tropical cyclones but instead exploit the dynamic conditions for their benefit, providing new insights into the impact of cyclones on open ocean marine life.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

From sifting through topsoil for native truffles to cracking open hard shells of seeds and nuts to munch on the tasty kernels, Australia bettongs and potoroos are described as 'ecosystem engineers' in a two-way relationship between their rich diet and environmental health. However, with native ecosystems and potoroid marsupial numbers in decline, ecology and evolution experts are working to understand how difficult it is to bite into the foods these leading foragers seek out.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A type of extinct kangaroo that lived during the Pleistocene around two and a half million to ten thousand years ago, known as the 'giant wallaby', was a poor hopper, a study has found.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A newly discovered ancestor of Thescelosaurus shows evidence that these animals spent at least part of their time in underground burrows. The new species contributes to a fuller understanding of life during the mid-Cretaceous -- both above and below ground.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Investigators sought to help figure out how to send materials like probiotics into space and to better treat a variety of gastrointestinal (GI) and metabolic diseases. The team's formulations allow microbial therapeutics, including those used to treat gastrointestinal diseases and improve crop production, to maintain their potency and function over time despite extreme temperatures.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Genotyping techniques can be used to select fruit trees with desired traits at the seedling stage, increasing the efficiency of fruit tree breeding. However, so far, there are multiple different genotyping systems, each generating distinct datasets. In a recent study, Japanese scientists revealed that integrating genomic data obtained with different genotyping systems can effectively combine with historical data, leveraging the accuracy of genomic predictions.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change is likely to drive tree species towards colder and wetter regions.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Blue and great tits recall what they have eaten in the past, where they found the food and when they found it, a new study shows. In the first experiment of its kind to involve wild animals, blue and great tits demonstrated 'episodic-like' memory to cope with changes in food availability when foraging. The same study may suggest that humans leaving out seeds and nuts for garden birds could be contributing to the evolution of these memory traits.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Meet Gaiasia jennyae, the swamp creature with a toilet seat-shaped head. It lived 40 million years before the first dinosaurs, and it was the top predator in its ecosystem.