Showing 20 articles starting at article 901
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Ecology: Animals, Environmental: Water
Published Fruit, nectar, bugs and blood: How bat teeth and jaws evolved for a diverse dinnertime
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Noctilionoid bat species evolved wildly different faces as they adapted to exploit diverse food sources -- including insects, fruit, nectar, blood and fish. New research shows that those adaptations include dramatic, but also consistent, modifications to tooth number, size, shape and position.
Published Mystery of volcanic tsunami solved after 373 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The explosion of the underwater volcano Kolumbo in the Aegean Sea in 1650 triggered a destructive tsunami that was described by historical eye witnesses. A group of researchers has now surveyed Kolumbo's underwater crater with modern imaging technology and reconstructed the historical events. They found that the eyewitness accounts of the natural disaster can only be described by a combination of a landslide followed by an explosive eruption.
Published Roosters might recognize themselves in the mirror
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scrape, cluck, lay eggs -- that's it? Anyone involved in chicken farming knows that the animals are capable of much more. Researchers have found evidence that roosters could recognize themselves in a mirror. Whether this is successful, however, depends on the experimental conditions -- a finding that points beyond the experiment with roosters and could also be of importance for other animal species.
Published Do or dye: Synthetic colors in wastewater pose a threat to food chains worldwide
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dyes widely used in the textile, food and pharmaceutical industries pose a pressing threat to plant, animal and human health, as well as natural environments around the world, a new study has found. Billions of tons of dye-containing wastewater enter water systems every year, and a group of researchers say that new sustainable technologies including new membrane-based nano-scale filtration are needed to solve the issue, adding that legislation is needed to compel industrial producers to eliminate colorants before they reach public sewage systems or waterways.
Published To navigate the world, we all shimmy like these electric fish
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An electric knifefish shimmies in the water for the same reason a dog sniffs or a human glances around a new place -- to make sense of their surroundings. For the first time, scientists demonstrate that a wide range of organisms, even microbes, perform the same pattern of movements in order to sense the world.
Published Algae's surprising potential to help ease climate change worries
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The key to bringing global net-zero goals into reach may be algae, say researchers. Studies show impressive success of certain microalgae varieties to remove CO2 from the atmosphere then break it down into useful materials.
Published Pottery becomes water treatment device for Navajo Nation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Large chunks of the Navajo Nation in the Southwest lack access to clean drinkable water, a trend that has been rising in many parts of the U.S. in recent years. A research team aims to change that.
Published On the trail of the silver king: Researchers reveal unprecedented look at tarpon migration
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research unveils a dataset, gathered over five years, that gives the finest-grained detail into the timing and spatial extent of tarpon migration. The work leveraged networks of thousands of acoustic receivers that tracked 200 tarpon over more than five years. One of the key findings is that there are two distinct subgroups of tarpon, which has immediate implications for efforts to conserve the fish, known to anglers as the 'Silver King.'
Published New method to analyze implications of large-scale flood adaptation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a test of their new analysis tool, researchers show where 'moving up' or 'moving over' may make the most sense for those affected by the 2022 Pakistan flood, and what costs it would entail.
Published Report warns about risk tipping points with irreversible impacts on people and planet
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new report finds that drastic changes are approaching if risks to our fundamental socioecological systems are not addressed. The Interconnected Disaster Risks Report 2023 warns of six risk tipping points ahead of us: Accelerating extinctions; Groundwater depletion; Mountain glaciers melting; Space debris; Unbearable heat; and an Uninsurable future.
Published Diapers can be recycled 200 times faster with light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More than 100,000 tons of diapers are disposed of annually in Germany. Vast amounts of valuable resources, such as diaper liners, end up in the trash. The liners consist of special polymers, so-called superabsorbers. Researchers have now succeeded in considerably improving their complex recycling process. They use UV radiation to degrade the chemical chains that keep the polymers together. No chemicals are needed. Recycling at room temperature is 200 times faster than conventional recycling. The recycled polymers can then be processed to new adhesives and dyes.
Published Research reveals three new marsupial species -- though all likely extinct
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The exciting discovery of three new species of a small Australian marsupial has been tempered by the sad fact that each of the newly identified species of mulgara is likely already extinct.
Published Bitcoin mining has 'very worrying' impacts on land and water, not only carbon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have grown in market share, they've been criticized for their heavy carbon footprint: Cryptocurrency mining is an energy-intensive endeavor. Mining has massive water and land footprints as well, according to a new study that is the first to detail country-by-country environmental impacts of bitcoin mining.
Published Adding crushed rock to farmland pulls carbon out of the air
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Adding crushed volcanic rock to farmland can pull carbon dioxide out of the air. In a field test, scientists found that the process works even in dry climates.
Published Bacteria can enhance host insect's fertility with implications for disease control
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research reveals how the bacteria strain Wolbachia pipientis enhances the fertility of the insects it infects, an insight that could help scientists increase the populations of mosquitoes that do not carry human disease.
Published Raining cats and dogs: Global precipitation patterns a driver for animal diversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team has identified several factors to help answer a fundamental ecological question: why is there a ridiculous abundance of species some places on earth and a scarcity in others? What factors, exactly, drive animal diversity? They discovered that what an animal eats (and how that interacts with climate) shapes Earth's diversity.
Published Finding the genes that help kingfishers dive without hurting their brains
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists studied the genomes of 30 kingfisher species to try to identify the genes that allow kingfishers to dive headfirst into water without huring their brains. The researchers found that the diving birds have unusual mutations to the genes that produce tau: a protein that helps stabilize tiny structures in the brain, but which can build up in humans with traumatic brain injuries or Alzheimer's disease. The researchers suspect that these variations in the kingfishers' tau proteins might protect their brains when they dive.
Published Scientists uncover cause of mysterious deaths of elephants in Zimbabwe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A bacterium, closely associated with deadly septicaemia, could have caused the deaths of six African elephants in Zimbabwe and possibly more in neighboring countries. The findings place infectious diseases on the list of pressures on African elephants, whose populations continue to be under threat.
Published Light, freshwater sticks to Greenland's east coast
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Meltwater that runs along the east coast of Greenland, hardly enters the open ocean before reaching the western side of the island. In the changing climate, fresh water from Greenland and the Arctic could disrupt the circulation in the Atlantic Ocean.
Published Origin of ancient mummified baboons found in Egypt
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Primatologists are using genetic analysis to determine the geographic origin of ancient mummified baboons found in Egypt. The team finds evidence that the two legendary trading regions of Punt and Adulis may have been the same place separated by a thousand years of history.