Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate
Published

The diversity of present tree species is shaped by climate change in the last 21,000 years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new global survey of 1000 forest areas shows how climate change since the peak of the last ice age has had a major impact on the diversity and distribution of tree species we see today. The results can help us predict how ecosystems will react to future changes, thus having an impact on conservation management around the globe.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Less ice, fewer calling seals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For several years, a team of researchers used underwater microphones to listen for seals at the edge of the Antarctic. Their initial findings indicate that sea-ice retreat has had significant effects on the animals' behavior: when the ice disappears, areas normally full of vocalizations become very quiet.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Researchers help AI express uncertainty to improve health monitoring tech      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of engineering and health researchers has developed a tool that improves the ability of electronic devices to detect when a human patient is coughing, which has applications in health monitoring. The new tool relies on an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that helps the AI better identify uncertainty when faced with unexpected data in real-world situations.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

How can a pollinating insect be recognized in the fossil record?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Insect pollination is a decisive process for the survival and evolution of angiosperm (flowering) plants and, to a lesser extent, gymnosperms (without visible flower or fruit). There is a growing interest in studies on the origins of the relationship between insects and plants, especially in the current context of the progressive decline of pollinating insects on a global scale and its impact on food production. Pollinating insects can be recognized in the fossil record, although to date, there has been no protocol for their differentiation. Fossil pollinators have been found in both rock and amber deposits, and it is in rock deposits that the first evidence of plant pollination by insects is being studied across the globe. But how can we determine which was a true insect pollinator in the past?

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Wildfires
Published

Wildfires and animal biodiversity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Wildfires. Many see them as purely destructive forces, disasters that blaze through a landscape, charring everything in their paths. But a new study reminds us that wildfires are also generative forces, spurring biodiversity in their wakes.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Professor unearths the ancient fossil plant history of Burnaby Mountain      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research led by a paleobotanist provides clues about what plants existed in the Burnaby Mountain area (British Columbia, Canada) 40 million years ago during the late Eocene, when the climate was much warmer than it is today.

Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Oldest bat skeletons ever found described from Wyoming fossils      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have described a new species of bat based on the oldest bat skeletons ever recovered. The study on the extinct bat, which lived in Wyoming about 52 million years ago, supports the idea that bats diversified rapidly on multiple continents during this time.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Multifunctional patch offers early detection of plant diseases, other crop threats      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed an electronic patch that can be applied to the leaves of plants to monitor crops for different pathogens -- such as viral and fungal infections -- and stresses such as drought or salinity. In testing, the researchers found the patch was able to detect a viral infection in tomatoes more than a week before growers would be able to detect any visible symptoms of disease.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Landslides Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Increased droughts are disrupting carbon-capturing soil microbes, concerning ecologists      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Soil stores more carbon than plants and the atmosphere combined, and soil microbes are largely responsible for putting it there. However, the increasing frequency and severity of drought, such as those that have been impacting California, could disrupt this delicate ecosystem. Microbial ecologists warn that soil health and future greenhouse gas levels could be impacted if soil microbes adapt to drought faster than plants do.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Earth Science
Published

British flower study reveals surprise about plants' sex life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study of Britain's native flowering plants has led to new insights into the mysterious process that allows wild plants to breed across species -- one of plants' most powerful evolutionary forces.  When wild flowering plants are sizing up others they may often end up in a marriage between close relatives rather than neighbors, a new study has revealed.

Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
Published

Study predicts poor survival rates if Ebola infects endangered mountain gorillas      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If infected with the Ebola virus, less than 20 percent of Africa's endangered mountain gorillas would be expected to survive more than 100 days, finds a new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Early crop plants were more easily 'tamed'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Borrowing a page from what we know about animal behavior, archaeologists say that we should reassess our understanding of the process of plant domestication.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Rooting out how plants control nitrogen use      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nitrogen is such a crucial nutrient for plants that vast quantities of nitrogen-containing fertilizers are spread on farmlands worldwide. However, excess nitrogen in the soil and in drainage run-off into lakes and rivers causes serious ecological imbalances. A recent study has uncovered the regulatory mechanisms at work when plants utilize nitrogenous fertilizers in their roots, a positive step in the quest to generate crops that require less fertilizer while still producing the yields needed to feed the world.

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

Scientists show how we can anticipate rather than react to extinction in mammals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Most conservation efforts are reactive. Typically, a species must reach threatened status before action is taken to prevent extinction, such as establishing protected areas. A new study shows that we can use existing conservation data to predict which currently unthreatened species could become threatened and take proactive action to prevent their decline before it is too late.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Sierra squirrels find their niche amid a changing climate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study of squirrels in California's Sierra Nevada mountains finds that climate is just one factor impacting where species make their homes in a changing world.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

AI-equipped eyeglasses read silent speech      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a silent-speech recognition interface that uses acoustic-sensing and artificial intelligence to continuously recognize up to 31 unvocalized commands, based on lip and mouth movements.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Detecting, predicting, and preventing aortic ruptures with computational modeling      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

According to some estimates, up to 80% of patients who experience a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm will die before they reach the hospital or during surgery. But early intervention can prevent rupture and improve outcomes. Researchers have now made a computational model of the cardiovascular system in order to predict early AAA rupture and monitor patients' blood vessel conditions. They mimicked specific health conditions and investigated various hemodynamic parameters using image-based computational blood dynamics.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
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.