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Categories: Ecology: Animals, Ecology: Trees

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Insects already had a variety of defense strategies in the Cretaceous      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Analyses of amber show that insect larvae were already using a wide variety of tactics to protect themselves from predators 100 million years ago.

Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

How national policies affect forests in border regions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How do national policies impact deforestation? Researchers have looked into this question at the global scale and have found that, contrary to common assumptions, national strategies have a significant -- and visible -- influence on efforts to protect forest heritage.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Tree plantations can get better with age -- but original habitats are best      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Older tree plantations can be more attractive to animals who are looking for a new home than younger plantations, according to a new study. In the tropics, older plantations also welcome a greater variety of different plants and animals -- though sadly, Christmas tree plantations do not become more biodiverse over time.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Trees
Published

New larks revealed in Africa      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have studied the relationships between five closely related species of larks that occur in Africa south of the Sahara. Two of these have not been observed for decades, so the researchers analyzed DNA from museum specimens, some of which were over 100 years old.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Animals Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Genetic diversity of wild north American grapes mapped      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Wild North American grapes are now less of a mystery after researchers decoded and catalogued the genetic diversity of nine species of this valuable wine crop.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Genetics of host plants determine what microorganisms they attract      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plants often develop communities with microorganisms in their roots, which influences plant health and development. Although the recruitment of these microbes is dictated by several factors, it is unclear whether the genetic variation in the host plants plays a role.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research
Published

Study uncovers major hidden human-driven bird extinctions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Humans have wiped out around 1,400 bird species -- twice as many as previously thought -- with major implications for the ongoing biodiversity crisis, a new study has found. The estimated extinctions would mean almost 12 per cent of bird species have died out over modern human history, since the Late Pleistocene around 130,000 years ago, with the vast majority of them becoming extinct directly or indirectly due to human activity.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Ecology: Animals
Published

Scientists collect aardvark poop to understand how the species is impacted by climate in Africa      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new study of aardvarks, researchers spent months in sub-Saharan Africa collecting poop from the animal and concluded that aridification of the landscape is isolating them, which they say could have implications for their long-term survival.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals
Published

New method could help estimate wildlife disease spread      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new method could be used to estimate the prevalence of disease in free-ranging wildlife and help determine how many samples are needed to detect a disease.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Earliest evidence for domestic yak found using both archaeology, ancient DNA      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The high-altitude hero of the Himalayas, yak are among the few large animals that can survive the extremely cold, harsh and oxygen-poor conditions of the Tibetan Plateau. In the mountainous regions of Asia, yak and yak-cattle hybrids serve as vital sources of meat, milk, transportation and fuel. However, little is known about their history: when or where yak were domesticated. In a new study, researchers report archaeologically and genetically confirmed evidence for domestic yak, dating back 2,500 years, by far the oldest record.  

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Trees in wetter regions more sensitive to drought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

This holiday season brings surprising news about your Christmas tree. Scientists just discovered that globally, trees growing in wetter regions are more sensitive to drought. That means if your tree hails from a more humid clime, it's likely been spoiled for generations.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

How forests smell -- a risk for the climate?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plants emit odors for a variety of reasons, such as to communicate with each other, to deter herbivores or to respond to changing environmental conditions. An interdisciplinary team of researchers carried out a study to investigate how biodiversity influences the emission of these substances. For the first time, they were able to show that species-rich forests emit less of these gases into the atmosphere than monocultures. It was previously assumed that species-rich forests release more emissions. The Leipzig team has now been able to disprove this assumption experimentally.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Study overturns conventional wisdom about wild turkey nesting survival      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that precipitation levels during nesting season are not related to reproductive success for wild turkeys, which runs counter to the conventional wisdom regarding the role that rainfall plays in wild turkey nesting success. The findings shed new light on how climate change may affect wild turkey populations.

Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Twenty-year study confirms California forests are healthier when burned -- or thinned      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A 20-year experiment in the Sierra Nevada confirms that different forest management techniques -- prescribed burning, restoration thinning or a combination of both -- are effective at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire in California. These treatments also improve forest health, making trees more resilient to stressors like drought and bark beetles, and they do not negatively impact plant or wildlife biodiversity within individual tree stands, the research found.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Best areas for rewilding European bison      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Simulations integrate historical records, fossils, and ancient DNA to reveal why the European bison nearly went extinct, and pinpoint optimal areas for conservation.   Since the near-extinction of the European bison, enormous conservation efforts have helped to restore wild populations, and its numbers are on the rise. However, the study authors argue that ensuring the species's long-term protection and recovery requires understanding why they nearly went extinct in the first place.    'Our study also suggests areas where rewilding attempts are most likely to be successful,' said lead author July Pilowsky, currently a disease ecologist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Pilowsky completed the research while working on their PhD at University of Adelaide and University of Copenhagen.   

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Why the long face? Scientists solve a major puzzle in mammal skull shape evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Horses have developed long faces simply 'because they can,' a team of evolutionary biologists say. In a major review of how mammalian heads evolve, scientists found that adaptations to feeding explain why large species of mammals often have much longer faces compared to smaller closely related species -- a pattern referred to as Craniofacial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA).

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals
Published

Migratory bats can detect Earth's magnetic field      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Pipistrelle bats have a magnetic compass and calibrate it at sunset, according to a new study. An international team of researchers has used behavioral experiments to show that two different components of the Earth's magnetic field influence the orientation of these animals. Like birds, they seem to be sensitive to magnetic inclination.