Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Island-inhabiting giants, dwarfs more vulnerable to extinction      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Island-dwelling mammal species often expand or contract in size, becoming giant or dwarf versions of their mainland counterparts. A new Science study from a global team shows that those giants and dwarfs have faced extreme risk of extinction -- an existential threat exacerbated by the arrival of humans.

Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Anthropogenic climate change poses systemic risk to coffee cultivation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Coffee is important to the economies of coffee producing regions. A new study suggests that climate change may significantly affect land where coffee is cultivated.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature
Published

eDNA holds the key to safeguarding pollinators amid global declines      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have uncovered new evidence of western pygmy possums interacting with native flowers, providing an eDNA study to simultaneously detect mammal, insect and bird DNA on flowers.

Biology: Botany Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Plant roots fuel tropical soil animal communities      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team has shed new light on the importance of plant roots for below-ground life, particularly in the tropics. Millions of small creatures toiling in a single hectare of soil including earthworms, springtails, mites, insects, and other arthropods are crucial for decomposition and soil health. For a long time, it was believed that leaf litter is the primary resource for these animals. However, this recent study is the first to provide proof that resources derived from plant roots drive soil animal communities in the tropics.

Computer Science: Encryption Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

New breakthrough enables perfectly secure digital communications      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have achieved a breakthrough to enable 'perfectly secure' hidden communications for the first time. The method uses new advances in information theory methods to conceal one piece of content inside another in a way that cannot be detected. This may have strong implications for information security, besides further applications in data compression and storage.

Biology: Botany Biology: Developmental Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
Published

An internal thermometer tells the seeds when to germinate      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Germination is a crucial stage in the life of a plant as it will leave the stage of seed resistant to various environmental constraints (climatic conditions, absence of nutritive elements, etc.) to become a seedling much more vulnerable. The survival of the young plant depends on the timing of this transition. It is therefore essential that this stage be finely controlled. Botanists have now discovered the internal thermometer of seeds that can delay or even block germination if temperatures are too high for the future seedling. This work could help optimize plant growth in a context of global warming.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Wheat's ancient roots of viral resistance uncovered      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The DNA sequence of a gene in wheat responsible for resisting a devastating virus has been discovered, providing vital clues for managing more resistant crops and maintaining a healthy food supply.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
Published

Scientists use satellites to track earth 'greening' amid climate change      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers found changes in 'greening,' or the amount of leaves plants are able to produce, will play a significant role in how much carbon dioxide plants capture and store.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Earlier take-off could lead to fewer bumblebees and less pollination      (via sciencedaily.com) 

With the arrival of spring, bumblebee queens take their first wing beat of the season and set out to find new nesting sites. But they are flying earlier in the year, as a result of a warmer climate and a changing agricultural landscape, according to new research.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Deforestation in the tropics linked to a reduction in rainfall      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Deforestation is resulting in reduced rainfall across large parts of the tropics, according to new research. People living in tropical forest communities have often complained that the climate gets hotter and drier once trees are cleared but until now, scientists have not been able to identify a clear link between the loss of tree cover and a decline in rainfall.

Biology: Evolutionary Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity
Published

Better metric for prioritizing conservation of 'evolutionarily distinctive' species      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have published an updated metric for prioritizing species' conservation that incorporates scientific uncertainty and complementarity between species, in addition to extinction risk and evolutionary distinctiveness.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

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.

Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Breathing is going to get tougher      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Not all pollution comes from people. When global temperatures increase by 4 degrees Celsius, harmful plant emissions and dust will also increase by as much as 14 percent, according to new research.

Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction
Published

Certain frogs more sensitive to climate change, not protected      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Amphibians worldwide are affected by climate change and potentially one of the most threatened. Biologists found that some species of amphibians are more likely to be sensitive to climate change because they are not protected by state or federal regulations. The team determined that approximately 11 percent of anuran species are sensitive to climate change, but are not currently listed as at-risk either at the state, federal, or international levels.

Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

The rediscovery of an ethereal fairy lantern brightly illuminates their mysterious past      (via sciencedaily.com) 

After more than 30 years, botanists have rediscovered Thismia kobensis, a type of mysterious-looking rare plant commonly referred to as 'fairy lanterns'. Thismia kobensis was presumed extinct and the surprise rediscovery of this Japanese variety has illuminated hidden aspects of fairy lanterns that have puzzled and fascinated botanists for centuries.

Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Research Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Insect bite marks show first fossil evidence for plants' leaves folding up at night      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Plants can move in ways that might surprise you. Some of them even show 'sleep movements,' folding or raising their leaves each night before opening them again the next day. Now, researchers offer convincing evidence for these nightly movements, also known as foliar nyctinasty, in fossil plants that lived more than 250 million years ago.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Marine heatwaves decimate sea urchins, molluscs and more at Rottnest      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers believe rising sea temperatures are to blame for the plummeting number of invertebrates such as molluscs and sea urchins at Rottnest Island off Western Australia, with some species having declined by up to 90 per cent between 2007 and 2021.

Biology: Botany Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Scientists unlock key to drought-resistant wheat plants with longer roots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Growing wheat in drought conditions may be easier in the future. Researchers found the right number of copies of a specific group of genes can stimulate longer root growth, enabling wheat plants to pull water from deeper supplies.