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Categories: Ecology: Animals, Ecology: Endangered Species

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Water
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Sparrows uniquely adapted to Bay Area marshes are losing their uniqueness      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How does loss of habitat affect the animals still living there? A genetic study of saltwater-adapted Savannah sparrows around the San Francisco Bay Area shows that the 90% loss of tidal marsh habitat has led to more interbreeding with freshwater-adapted Savannah sparrows, diminishing their genetic adaptation to saltwater, such as enlarged kidneys and larger beak. This could lessen their ability to live in a saltwater habitat.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography
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Microplastics may be accumulating rapidly in endangered Galápagos penguins' food web      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Model predictions showed a rapid increase in microplastic accumulation and contamination across the penguins' prey organisms resulting in Galapagos penguin showing the highest level of microplastics per biomass, followed by barracuda, anchovy, sardine, herring, and predatory zooplankton.

Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Ancient brown bear genomes sheds light on Ice Age losses and survival      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The brown bear is one of the largest living terrestrial carnivores, and is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike many other large carnivores that went extinct at the end of the last Ice Age (cave bear, sabretoothed cats, cave hyena), the brown bear is one of the lucky survivors that made it through to the present. The question has puzzled biologists for close to a century -- how was this so?

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species
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'Talking' tomatoes: How their communication is influenced by enemies and friends      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plants produce a range of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds that influence their interactions with the world around them. In a new study, researchers investigated how the type and amount of these VOCs change based on different features of tomato plants.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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New study unveils how plants control the production of reactive oxygen species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), though generally regarded as toxic byproducts of biological processes, serve many important functions in plants. However, the precise mechanism that plants use to regulate the production of ROS remains elusive. In a recent study, researchers clarified how an important ROS-generating enzyme is activated, revealing mechanisms likely conserved across all land plants. Their findings could pave the way for breakthroughs in agricultural and environmental remediation tools.

Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature
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When conditions cool down, a bacterial prey species becomes the predator      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new study, two species of bacteria grown in a lab reversed their predator-prey relationship after one species was grown at a lower temperature.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature
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Three-year population study supports fight to save Cameroon's Kordofan giraffe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Crucial new data about the numbers of Critically Endangered Kordofan giraffe living within Cameroon's B nou National Park has been released, supporting conservation efforts to save the subspecies from extinction.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems
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Blue tit population booms with moths on the menu      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers found that years when moth numbers were up resulted in increased population growth for the blue tit.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Gulls swap natural for urban habitats, machine-learning study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The study is the first of its kind to compile a three-year dataset using a citizen science-based, opportunistic research method to include a large sample of gulls and other sub-Arctic birds in urban Alaska. The study provides a current snapshot of the habitat shift to an urban landscape.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals
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New research into hedgehogs injured by robotic lawn mowers discovers a significant but solvable animal welfare and conservation problem      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists analyzed 370 documented cases of hedgehogs being injured (cut) by electric gardening tools in Germany. Almost half of the hedgehogs found between June 2022 and September 2023 did not survive the injuries. The data reveal a serious animal welfare and conservation issue for these specially protected animals, as most hedgehogs were only found hours or even days after the accidents.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Paleontology: Fossils
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Complex green organisms emerged a billion years ago      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Of all the organisms that photosynthesize, land plants have the most complex form. How did this morphology emerge? A team of scientists has taken a deep dive into the evolutionary history of morphological complexity in streptophytes, which include land plants and many green algae. Their research allowed them to go back in time to investigate lineages that emerged long before land plants existed.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Paleontology: General
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A window into plant evolution: The unusual genetic journey of lycophytes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of researchers has uncovered a remarkable genetic phenomenon in lycophytes, which are similar to ferns and among the oldest land plants. Their study reveals that these plants have maintained a consistent genetic structure for over 350 million years, a significant deviation from the norm in plant genetics.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Sea otters helped prevent widespread California kelp forest declines over the past century      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The study reveals dramatic regional kelp canopy changes along the California coast over a 100-year period. During this time there was a significant increase in kelp forest canopy along the central coast, the only region of California where southern sea otters survived after being hunted nearly to extinction for their fur in the 1800s. Contrastingly, kelp canopy decreased in northern and southern regions. At the century scale, the species' favorable impact on kelp forests along the central coast nearly compensated for the kelp losses along both northern and southern California resulting in only a slight overall decline statewide during this period.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General
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Scientists, farmers and managers work together to avoid the decline of the little bustard, an endangered steppe bird      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The collaboration between scientists, farmers and managers is crucial to improve the protection of the little bustard, an endangered steppe-land bird in Spain due to human activity. The reduction of natural habitats, the increase in irrigation and the urbanization of the land have led to having less surface areas that guarantee the survival of this vulnerable species.

Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate
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The heat is on: Scientists discover southern Africa's temps will rise past the rhinos' tolerance      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Southern Africa contains the vast majority of the world's remaining populations of both black and white rhinoceroses (80% and 92%, respectively). The region's climate is changing rapidly as a result global warming. Traditional conservation efforts aimed at protecting rhinos have focused on poaching, but until now, there has been no analysis of the impact that climate change may have on the animals. A research team has recently reported that, though the area will be affected by both higher temperatures and changing precipitation, the rhinos are more sensitive to rising temperatures, which will quickly increase above the animals' acceptable maximum threshold.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Endangered Species
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Nearly dead plants brought back to life: Keys to aging hidden in the leaves      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have known about a particular organelle in plant cells for over a century. However, scientists have only now discovered that organelle's key role in aging.

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Males of newly described Australian burrowing scorpions have a big tail to tell      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study has found some surprising features in two new species of burrowing scorpions, including a very strangely shaped 'tail tip' and some 'sexy' anatomy features. Terrestrial biologists have taken a closer look at two new species of the mysterious Urodacus genus of burrowing scorpions endemic to Australia -- only to find a big difference in their tails compared to other species.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life
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Tiny AI-based bio-loggers revealing the interesting bits of a bird's day      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a bio-logger for seabirds that enables long-term observation of rare behaviors. The bio-logger employs low-power depth sensors and accelerometers to identify rare behavior using a light-weight outlier detection model and records the behavior in a 5-min video. Observations using the bio-loggers on Streaked Shearwaters revealed novel aspects of head-shaking and foraging strategies. This approach will enable a wider range of animal behaviors in various environments to be observed.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals
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Surprise discovery: For most animals, sperm quality does not reduce with age      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In humans, male fertility and sperm fitness decline with age, but scientists have made the surprising discovery that this pattern is not consistent in other animals. The team assessed the results of 379 studies which covered a wide range of animals, including mammals, insects, birds, and fish.