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Categories: Anthropology: Early Humans, Ecology: Animals

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Ecology: Animals
Published

Glacier National Park could provide climate haven for Canada Lynx      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Glacier National Park is home to around 50 Canada lynx, more than expected, surprising scientists who recently conducted the first parkwide occupancy survey for the North American cat. The survey reveals the iconic predator resides across most of Glacier's 1,600 square-mile landscape, although at lower densities than in the core of its range further north.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life
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Mysterious new behavior seen in whales may be recorded in ancient manuscripts      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In 2011, scientists recorded a previously unknown feeding strategy in whales around the world. Now, researchers in Australia think they may have found evidence of this behaviour being described in ancient accounts of sea creatures, recorded more than 2,000 years ago. They believe that misunderstandings of these descriptions contributed to myths about medieval sea monsters. Whales are known lunge at their prey when feeding, but recently whales have been spotted at the surface of the water with their jaws open at right angles, waiting for shoals of fish to swim into their mouths. A clip of this strategy was captured in 2021 and went viral on Instagram. This strategy seems to work for the whales because the fish think they have found a place to shelter from predators, not realising they are swimming into danger. It's not known why this strategy has only recently been identified, but scientists speculate that it's a result of changing environmental conditions -- or that whales are being more closely monitored than ever before by drones and other modern technologies.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Australia's rarest bird of prey disappearing at alarming rate      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Australia's rarest bird of prey -- the red goshawk -- is facing extinction, with Cape York Peninsula now the only place in Queensland known to support breeding populations.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Ecology: Trees
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Who are the first ancestors of present-day fish?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

What is the origin of the ancestors of present-day fish? What species evolved from them? A 50-year-old scientific controversy revolved around the question of which group, the 'bony-tongues' or the 'eels', was the oldest. A study has just put an end to the debate by showing through genomic analysis that these fishes are in fact one and the same group, given the rather peculiar name of 'Eloposteoglossocephala'. These results shed new light on the evolutionary history of fish.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Human-wildlife conflicts rising worldwide with climate change      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists reveal that a warming world is increasing human-wildlife conflicts globally. They show that climate shifts can drive conflicts by altering animal habitats, the timing of events, wildlife behaviors and resource availability. It also showed that people are changing their behaviors and locations in response to climate change in ways that increase conflicts.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Fossils
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Ancient proteins offer new clues about origin of life on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By simulating early Earth conditions in the lab, researchers have found that without specific amino acids, ancient proteins would not have known how to evolve into everything alive on the planet today -- including plants, animals, and humans.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Microbiology
Published

Deadly waves: Researchers document evolution of plague over hundreds of years in medieval Denmark      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists who study the origins and evolution of the plague have examined hundreds of ancient human teeth from Denmark, seeking to address longstanding questions about its arrival, persistence and spread within Scandinavia.

Ecology: Animals Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Developing countries pay the highest price for living with large carnivores      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of researchers has highlighted human-wildlife conflict as one of the globe's most pressing human development and conservation dilemmas. New research looked at 133 countries where 18 large carnivores ranged, and found that a person farming with cattle in developing countries such as Kenya, Uganda or India were up to eight times more economically vulnerable than those living in developed economies such as Sweden, Norway or the U.S.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Environmental: Biodiversity
Published

Effort to help pollinators shows successes, limitations      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A three-year effort to conserve bee populations by introducing pollinator habitat in North Carolina agricultural areas showed some positive effects, as bee abundance and diversity increased in the studied areas. But results of a study examining the program's effectiveness also showed that the quality of the habitat played a key role in these positive effects, and that habitat quality could be impacted by the way the areas are maintained over time.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Malaria infection harms wild African apes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists conducted a study that reveals the first evidence of harm caused by malaria infection among wild African apes. They discovered that bonobo populations differ in a key immune trait depending on the presence of malaria infection. Infected populations have a higher frequency of an immune variant that protects against developing severe disease, a pattern that mirrors what is observed among human populations.

Ecology: Animals
Published

Tracking how magnetism affects animal behavior      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists summarize the methods used to explore how the Earth's magnetic field influences the behavior of a wide variety of animal species. This review is an ideal starting point for scientists who wish to enter this fascinating but still poorly-understood topic in modern sensory biology.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Urban ponds require attention to ensure biodiversity      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research suggests aquatic plants can be utilized as a tool to enhance the co-existence between aquatic invertebrates and their fish predators in urban ponds.

Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals
Published

Deer protected from deadly disease by newly discovered genetic differences      (via sciencedaily.com) 

It was the height of summer 2022 when the calls started coming in. Scores of dead deer suddenly littered rural properties and park preserves, alarming the public and inconveniencing landowners. According to officials at the Urbana Park District, it was Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), a midge-borne viral illness that pops up in white-tailed deer populations around the state every few years. And when susceptible deer are infected, they die within days. Now, scientists have found gene variants in deer associated with the animals' susceptibility to EHD.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction
Published

Climate change, urbanization drive major declines in Los Angeles' birds in California, US      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Biologists use current and historical bird surveys to reveal how land use change has amplified -- and in some cases mitigated -- the impacts of climate change on bird populations in Los Angeles and the Central Valley over the past century. The study found that urbanization and much hotter and drier conditions in L.A. have driven declines in more than one-third of bird species in the region.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

New research reveals 12 ways aquaculture can benefit the environment      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Aquaculture, or the farming of aquatic plants and animals, contributes to biodiversity and habitat loss in freshwater and marine ecosystems globally, but when used wisely, it can also be part of the solution, new research shows.

Biology: Botany Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Ecology: Animals Physics: Optics
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Researchers uncover how photosynthetic organisms regulate and synthesize ATP      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The redox regulation mechanism responsible for efficient production of ATP under varying light conditions in photosynthetic organisms has now been unveiled. Researchers investigated the enzyme responsible for this mechanism and uncovered how the amino acid sequences present in the enzyme regulate ATP production. Their findings provide valuable insights into the process of photosynthesis and the ability to adapt to changing metabolic conditions.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Invasive Species Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Noble false widow spider found preying on pygmy shrew      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have published the first record of a noble false widow spider feeding on a pygmy shrew, a species of tiny mammal protected in Ireland. The pygmy shrew -- a protected mammal -- was captured on spider's web on a bedroom window, then paralyzed and hoisted to its doom by the invasive spider.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Gene variations for immune and metabolic conditions have persisted in humans for more than 700,000 years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study explores 'balancing selection' by analyzing thousands of modern human genomes alongside ancient hominin groups, such as Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes. The research has 'implications for understanding human diversity, the origin of diseases, and biological trade-offs that may have shaped our evolution,' says evolutionary biologists.

Biology: Developmental Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals
Published

First stem cells from a bat species known to harbor SARS-CoV-2 could shed light on virus survival and molecular adaptability      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have generated the first induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from bats, gaining valuable insights into the close relationship between bats and viruses.