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Categories: Ecology: Animals, Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published Gone for good? California's beetle-killed, carbon-storing pine forests may not come back
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ponderosa pine forests in the Sierra Nevada that were wiped out by western pine beetles during the 2012-2015 megadrought won't recover to pre-drought densities, reducing an important storehouse for atmospheric carbon.
Published Underground water could be the solution to green heating and cooling
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source About 12% of the total global energy demand comes from heating and cooling homes and businesses. A new study suggests that using underground water to maintain comfortable temperatures could reduce consumption of natural gas and electricity in this sector by 40% in the United States. The approach, called aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), could also help prevent blackouts caused by high power demand during extreme weather events.
Published Coral skeletons influence reef recovery after bleaching
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Natural disasters can devastate a region, abruptly killing the species that form an ecosystem's structure. But how this transpires can influence recovery. While fires scorch the landscape to the ground, a heatwave leaves an army of wooden staves in its wake. Storm surges and coral bleaching do something similar underwater.
Published Lifting the veil on disease avoidance strategies in multiple animal species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A framework has been developed to test disgust and its associated disease avoidance behaviors across various animal species, social systems, and habitats. Over 30 species have been predicted to exhibit disease avoidance strategies in the wild. With these predictions, the team accounts for models of specific ecological niches, sensory environments and social systems for a number of species including the native common octopus and the invasive red-eared slider, which are both relevant to Japan.
Published Researchers correlate Arctic warming to extreme winter weather in midlatitude and its future
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A warmer Arctic has been linked to extreme winter weather in the midlatitude regions. But, it is not clear how global warming affects this link. In a new study, researchers show, using weather data and climate models, that while the 'Warm Arctic-Cold Continent' pattern will continue as the climate continues to warm, Arctic warming will become a less reliable predictor of extreme winter weather in the future.
Published New tool shows progress in fighting spread of invasive grass carp in Great Lakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers created a new way to estimate the abundance of invasive 'sleeper' species in freshwater ecosystems and help guide management strategies.
Published Preventing urban flooding in the face of climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Planners have come up with many innovative ways to prevent flooding caused by heavy downpours -- from planting rain gardens to installing green roofs. But in many cases, nothing works quite as well as a simple hole in the ground -- a detention basin.
Published Insect decline also occurs in forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The number of insects has been declining for years. This has already been well documented for agricultural areas. In forests, however, temporal trends are mostly studied for insect species that are considered pests. Now, a research team has studied the trends of very many insect species in German forests. Contrary to what the researchers had suspected, the results showed that the majority of the studied species are declining.
Published Warming Arctic draws marine predators northwards
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Marine predators have expanded their ranges into the Arctic waters over the last twenty years, driven by climate change and associated increases in productivity.
Published Innovative method predicts the effects of climate change on cold-blooded animals
(via sciencedaily.com) In the face of a warming climate that is having a profound effect on global biodiversity and will change the distribution and abundance of many animals, a research team has developed a statistical model that improves estimates of habitat suitability and extinction probability for cold-blooded animals as temperatures climb.
Published Squash bees flourish in response to agricultural intensification
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source While pollinator populations of many species have plummeted worldwide, one bee species is blowing up the map with its rapid population expansion. The key to this insect's success? Its passion for pumpkins, zucchinis, and other squashes, and the massive increase in cultivation of these crops across North America over the last 1,000 years. A new study found that the squash bee (Eucera pruinosa) has evolved in response to intensifying agriculture -- namely squashes in the genus Curcurbita. The research has demonstrated the role of agriculture as an evolutionary force acting on a wild insect pollinator and may have implications for food security.
Published Can cities make room for woodpeckers?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are deploying the latest mapping techniques to identify the most important suburban habitat for North America's largest woodpecker. Wildlife habitat in congested places is becoming increasingly fragmented as forests give way to new construction. Eventually, this could spell trouble to an animal with specific habitat needs like the pileated woodpecker.
Published Hope for salamanders? Study recalibrates climate change effects
(via sciencedaily.com) For tiny salamanders squirming skin-to-soil, big-picture weather patterns may seem as far away as outer space. But for decades, scientists have mostly relied on free-air temperature data at large spatial scales to predict future salamander distributions under climate change. The outlook was dire for the mini ecosystem engineers, suggesting near elimination of habitat in crucial areas.
Published Why are forests turning brown in summer?
(via sciencedaily.com) European forests are increasingly turning brown in the course of hot, dry summers. In the scorching summer of 2022, Europe experienced more trees turning brown than ever, with 37% of temperate and Mediterranean forest regions affected. In the three-year meteorological history of low-?greenness events, characteristic weather signals can be found as precursors of the events.
Published AI could set a new bar for designing hurricane-resistant buildings
(via sciencedaily.com) Being able to withstand hurricane-force winds is the key to a long life for many buildings on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast of the U.S. Determining the right level of winds to design for is tricky business, but support from artificial intelligence may offer a simple solution.
Published Rainbow trout subspecies newly named
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The McCloud River redband trout, or O. mykiss calisulat, is newly identified as its own distinct subspecies of rainbow trout in a new study. It was named in consultation with the Winnemem Wintu tribe.
Published Moths are more efficient pollinators than bees, shows new research
(via sciencedaily.com) Moths are more efficient pollinators at night than day-flying pollinators such as bees, finds new research.
Published Machine learning model helps forecasters improve confidence in storm prediction
(via sciencedaily.com) When severe weather is brewing and life-threatening hazards like heavy rain, hail or tornadoes are possible, advance warning and accurate predictions are of utmost importance. Weather researchers have given storm forecasters a powerful new tool to improve confidence in their forecasts and potentially save lives. Over the last several years, Russ Schumacher, professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science and Colorado State Climatologist, has led a team developing a sophisticated machine learning model for advancing skillful prediction of hazardous weather across the continental United States. First trained on historical records of excessive rainfall, the model is now smart enough to make accurate predictions of events like tornadoes and hail four to eight days in advance -- the crucial sweet spot for forecasters to get information out to the public so they can prepare. The model is called CSU-MLP, or Colorado State University-Machine Learning Probabilities.
Published How whale shark rhodopsin evolved to see, in the deep blue sea
(via sciencedaily.com) A group of researchers discovered that the rhodopsin -- a protein in the eye that detects light -- of whale sharks has changed to efficiently detect blue light, which penetrates deep-sea water easily. The amino acid substitutions -- one of which is counterintuitively associated with congenital stationary night blindness in humans -- aid in detecting the low levels of light in the deep-sea. Although these changes make the whale shark rhodopsin less thermally stable the deep-sea temperature, allows their rhodopsin to keep working. This suggests that the unique adaptation evolved to function in the low-light low-temperature environment where whale sharks live.
Published Conserving wildlife can help mitigate climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Solving the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis are not separate issues. Animals remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year. Restoring species will help limit global warming, new science reveals.