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Categories: Ecology: Trees, Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published Giant sequoias are a rapidly growing feature of the UK landscape
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Imported giant sequoia trees are well adapted to the UK, growing at rates close to their native ranges and capturing large amounts of carbon during their long lives, finds a new study.
Published Rainforest's next generation of trees threatened 30 years after logging
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Rainforest seedlings are more likely to survive in natural forests than in places where logging has happened -- even if tree restoration projects have taken place, new research shows.
Published Mapping the future's sweet spot for clean energy and biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study of Joshua trees, kit foxes and solar energy developments highlights the need to consider climate-induced range shifts for species as we expand clean energy.
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 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 An inside look at Beech tree disease
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study found differences at the cellular level of leaves from infected Beech trees -- variations that may account for tree mortality.
Published Modeling the origins of life: New evidence for an 'RNA World'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists provide fresh insights on the origins of life, presenting compelling evidence supporting the 'RNA World' hypothesis. The study unveils an RNA enzyme that can make accurate copies of other functional RNA strands, while also allowing new variants of the molecule to emerge over time. These remarkable capabilities suggest the earliest forms of evolution may have occurred on a molecular scale in RNA, and also bring scientists one step closer to re-creating autonomous RNA-based life in the laboratory.
Published In wake of powerful cyclone, remarkable recovery of Pacific island's forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source After one of the most intense cyclones in world history tore through the Pacific island of Tanna in Vanuatu, new research showed the resilience of the island's forests.
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 Creepy crawlies protect apples when flowers are planted on farms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bugs including hoverflies, lacewings and ladybirds play an important role in keeping Britain's apples healthy, a new study has shown.
Published Change in gene code may explain how human ancestors lost tails
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A genetic change in our ancient ancestors may partly explain why humans don't have tails like monkeys.
Published Modeling tree masting
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The effects of a phenomenon called tree masting on ecosystems and food webs can be better understood thanks to new theoretical models validated by real world observations.
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 Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats has long been in flux
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source It has been long assumed that Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats was formed as its ancient namesake lake dried up 13,000 years ago. But new research has gutted that narrative, determining these crusts did not form until several thousand years after Lake Bonneville disappeared, which could have important implications for managing this feature that has been shrinking for decades to the dismay of the racing community and others who revere the saline pan 100 miles west of Salt Lake City. Relying on radiocarbon analysis of pollen found in salt cores, the study concludes the salt began accumulating between 5,400 and 3,500 years ago, demonstrating how this geological feature is not a permanent fixture on the landscape.
Published Butterfly and moth genomes mostly unchanged despite 250 million years of evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Comparison of over 200 high-quality butterfly and moth genomes reveals key insights into their biology, evolution and diversification over the last 250 million years, as well as clues for conservation.
Published An awkward family reunion: Sea monsters are our cousins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The sea lamprey, a 500-million-year-old animal with a sharp-toothed suction cup for a mouth, is the thing of nightmares. A new study discovered that the hindbrain -- the part of the brain controlling vital functions like blood pressure and heart rate -- of both sea lampreys and humans is built using an extraordinarily similar molecular and genetic toolkit.
Published Did neanderthals use glue? Researchers find evidence that sticks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Neanderthals created stone tools held together by a multi-component adhesive, a team of scientists has discovered. Its findings, which are the earliest evidence of a complex adhesive in Europe, suggest these predecessors to modern humans had a higher level of cognition and cultural development than previously thought.