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Categories: Anthropology: General, Ecology: Animals
Published Protecting endangered monkeys from poachers, habitat loss
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The 17 species of red colobus monkey living across Africa, including in the Tai Project field station region, have been singled out by scientists as a priority conservation target. Protection of these monkeys, they assert, can be expected to produce benefits throughout tropical African forests where hunting and climate change have led to dramatic wildlife and habitat loss.
Published How evolving landscapes impacted First Peoples' early migration patterns into Australia
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have applied a dynamic model of the landscape to patterns of human migration into Sahul, the combined continent of Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea.
Published Fading lights: Multiple threats to North America's firefly populations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have applied a data-driven approach to understanding firefly population dynamics on a continental scale. Key findings from this new study indicate that fireflies, part of the beetle order, are sensitive to various environmental factors, from short-term weather conditions to longer climatic trends, including the number of growing-degree days related to temperature accumulations.
Published More plants on the menu of ancient hunter-gatherers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source It has long been thought that meat played an important role in the diet of hunter-gatherers before the Neolithic transition. However, due to the scarcity of well-preserved human remains from Paleolithic sites, little information exists about the dietary habits of pre-agricultural human groups. A new study challenges this notion by presenting compelling isotopic evidence of a strong preference for plants among 15,000-year-old hunter-gatherers from Morocco. This is the first time a significant amount of plant consumption has been measured for a pre-agricultural population, shedding new light on the dietary practices of ancient human societies.
Published Florida dolphin found with highly pathogenic avian flu
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Report details first-ever finding of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in North American dolphin.
Published Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using environmental DNA analysis, an international team of researchers identified a collection of plants used in ceremonial rituals in the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah in Mexico. The plants, known for their religious associations and medicinal properties, were discovered beneath a plaza floor where a ballcourt was built.
Published Curiosity promotes biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Cichlid fishes exhibit differing degrees of curiosity. The cause for this lies in their genes, as reported by researchers. This trait influences the cichlids' ability to adapt to new habitats.
Published Scientists replace fishmeal in aquaculture with microbial protein derived from soybean processing wastewater
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have successfully replaced half of the fishmeal protein in the diets of farmed Asian seabass with a 'single cell protein' cultivated from microbes in soybean processing wastewater, paving the way for more sustainable fish farming practices.
Published Deer are expanding north, and that's not good for caribou
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the boreal forest of Western Canada, researchers have considered that both changing climate and increased habitat alteration have enabled deer to push farther north.
Published Unveiling the lionfish invasion in the Mediterranean Sea
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have published a comprehensive study on the invasion of lionfish in the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting a rapid spread and the potential ecological impacts. The research shows the lionfish species Pterois miles has significantly expanded its territory in the Mediterranean since the invasion began around ten years ago. The invasive species has established presence in the eastern Mediterranean, with observations now extending to colder waters previously thought to be unsuitable for the species.
Published These giant, prehistoric salmon had tusk-like teeth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Oncorhynchus rastrosus, a giant species of salmon that lived in the North American Pacific Northwest a few million years ago, sported a pair of front teeth that projected out from the sides of its mouth like tusks, according to a new study.
Published Color variants in cuckoos: The advantages of rareness
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Every cuckoo is an adopted child -- raised by foster parents, into whose nest the cuckoo mother smuggled her egg. The cuckoo mother is aided in this subterfuge by her resemblance to a bird of prey. There are two variants of female cuckoos: a gray morph that looks like a sparrowhawk, and a rufous morph. Male cuckoos are always gray.
Published How parasites shape complex food webs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study sheds light on how parasites, often overlooked, can dramatically affect the balance between predator and prey populations. Researchers developed a groundbreaking mathematical framework that predicts when predators, prey, and parasites can coexist, considering factors like random fluctuations and parasite effects on both populations. This research provides a valuable tool for conservation by helping predict how parasites influence ecosystem resilience and informing strategies to protect vulnerable species.
Published Decoding Avar society
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A multidisciplinary research team has combined ancient DNA data with a clear archaeological, anthropological and historical context to reconstruct the social dynamics of Avar-period steppe descent populations that settled in Europe's Carpathian Basin in the 6th century.
Published Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in a group of marine invertebrates called octocorals, according to the results of a new study. The study focuses on an ancient group of marine invertebrates that includes soft corals, pushes back the previous oldest dated example of trait by nearly 300 million years.
Published Frog species evolved rapidly in response to road salts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When we think of evolution, we think of a process that happens over hundreds or thousands of years. In research recently published, a species of frog that has evolved over the course of merely 25 years. The adaptation was spurred on by something many assume is innocuous: salt.
Published Tropical fish are invading Australian ocean water
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study of shallow-water fish communities on rocky reefs in south-eastern Australia has found climate change is helping tropical fish species invade temperate Australian waters.
Published Invasive species sound off about impending ecosystem changes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Anticipating changes to ecosystems is often at best an educated guess, but what if there was a way to better tune into possible changes occurring? Researchers have discovered that the silent growth of non-native invasive plants can affect the soundscape of an ecosystem. These altered soundscapes, the acoustic patterns of a landscape through space and time, may provide a key to better observing the hard-to-see physical and biological changes occurring in an ecosystem as they are beginning.
Published 'Itinerant breeding' in East Coast shorebird species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study has found direct evidence of a species -- the American woodcock, a migratory shorebird from eastern and central North America -- that overlaps periods of migration and reproduction, a rare breeding strategy known as 'itinerant breeding.'
Published 'Forgotten city:' the identification of Dura-Europos' neglected sister site in Syria
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Dura-Europos site in modern-day Syria is famous for its exceptional state of preservation. Like Pompeii, this ancient city has yielded many great discoveries, and serves as a window into the world of the ancient Hellenistic, Parthian, and Roman periods. Yet despite the prominence of Dura-Europos in Near Eastern scholarship, there is another city, only some miles down the Euphrates river, that presents a long-neglected opportunity for study.