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Categories: Ecology: Endangered Species
Published Why are bees making less honey? Study reveals clues in five decades of data
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Honey yields in the U.S. have been declining since the 1990s, with honey producers and scientists unsure why, but a new study has uncovered clues in the mystery of the missing honey.
Published Researchers improve seed nitrogen content by reducing plant chlorophyll levels
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Chlorophyll plays a pivotal role in photosynthesis, which is why plants have evolved to have high chlorophyll levels in their leaves. However, making this pigment is expensive because plants invest a significant portion of the available nitrogen in both chlorophyll and the special proteins that bind it. As a result, nitrogen is unavailable for other processes. In a new study, researchers reduced the chlorophyll levels in leaves to see if the plant would invest the nitrogen saved into other process that might improve nutritional quality.
Published Early primates likely lived in pairs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Primate social organization is more flexible than previously assumed. According to a new study, the first primates probably lived in pairs, while only around 15 percent of individuals were solitary.
Published Electronic 'soil' enhances crop growth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Barley seedlings grow on average 50% more when their root system is stimulated electrically through a new cultivation substrate. Researchers have now developed an electrically conductive 'soil' for soil-less cultivation, known as hydroponics.
Published How technology and economics can help save endangered species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A lot has changed in the world since the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted 50 years ago in December 1973. Experts are now discuss how the ESA has evolved and what its future might hold.
Published Discovery: Plants use 'Trojan horse' to fight mold invasions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered that plants send tiny, innocuous-seeming lipid 'bubbles' filled with RNA across enemy lines, into the cells of the aggressive mold. Once inside, different types of RNA come out to suppress the infectious cells that sucked them in.
Published Common insect species are suffering the biggest losses
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Insect decline is being driven by losses among the locally more common species, according to a new study. The meta-analysis of 923 locations around the world notes two significant trends: 1) the species with the most individuals (the highest abundance) are disproportionately decreasing in number, and 2) no other species have increased to the high numbers previously seen. This likely explains the frequent observation that there are fewer insects around now than ten, twenty, or thirty years ago.
Published Wildflowers increasingly doing without insect pollinators
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered that flowering plants growing in farmland are increasingly doing without insect pollinators. As reproduction becomes more difficult for them in an environment depleted in pollinating insects, the plants are evolving towards self-fertilization.
Published Research offers a reason why diversity in plant species causes higher farming yield, solving 'a bit of a mystery'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study appearing in Nature Communications based on field and greenhouse experiments at the University of Kansas shows how a boost in agricultural yield comes from planting diverse crops rather than just one plant species: Soil pathogens harmful to plants have a harder time thriving. While crop rotation and other farming and gardening practices long have reflected benefits of a mix of plants, the new research puts hard data to one important mechanism underpinning the observation: the numbers of microorganisms in the soil that eat plants.
Published Genetics of host plants determine what microorganisms they attract
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Plants often develop communities with microorganisms in their roots, which influences plant health and development. Although the recruitment of these microbes is dictated by several factors, it is unclear whether the genetic variation in the host plants plays a role.
Published Study uncovers major hidden human-driven bird extinctions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Humans have wiped out around 1,400 bird species -- twice as many as previously thought -- with major implications for the ongoing biodiversity crisis, a new study has found. The estimated extinctions would mean almost 12 per cent of bird species have died out over modern human history, since the Late Pleistocene around 130,000 years ago, with the vast majority of them becoming extinct directly or indirectly due to human activity.
Published How forests smell -- a risk for the climate?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Plants emit odors for a variety of reasons, such as to communicate with each other, to deter herbivores or to respond to changing environmental conditions. An interdisciplinary team of researchers carried out a study to investigate how biodiversity influences the emission of these substances. For the first time, they were able to show that species-rich forests emit less of these gases into the atmosphere than monocultures. It was previously assumed that species-rich forests release more emissions. The Leipzig team has now been able to disprove this assumption experimentally.
Published Saving endangered species: New AI method counts manatee clusters in real time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Accurately counting manatee aggregations within a region is crucial yet challenging. Harnessing the power of AI, researchers are using a deep learning-based crowd counting approach to automatically count the number of manatees in a designated region, using images captured from CCTV cameras, which are readily available, as input. The pioneering study not only addresses the technical challenges of counting in complex outdoor environments but also offers potential ways to aid endangered species.
Published Best areas for rewilding European bison
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Simulations integrate historical records, fossils, and ancient DNA to reveal why the European bison nearly went extinct, and pinpoint optimal areas for conservation. Since the near-extinction of the European bison, enormous conservation efforts have helped to restore wild populations, and its numbers are on the rise. However, the study authors argue that ensuring the species's long-term protection and recovery requires understanding why they nearly went extinct in the first place. 'Our study also suggests areas where rewilding attempts are most likely to be successful,' said lead author July Pilowsky, currently a disease ecologist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Pilowsky completed the research while working on their PhD at University of Adelaide and University of Copenhagen.
Published A new brew: Evaluating the flavor of roasted, lab-grown coffee cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source It may soon be time to wake up and smell the lab-grown coffee made from cultured plant cells. But it's not clear whether drinks from this product replicate coffee beans' complex flavors. Now, a study found that some of the comforting aromas and tastes of a conventional cup of coffee could be reproduced by roasting and brewing coffee cell cultures.
Published Urbanization increases seasonal differences in plant-pollinator networks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Increasing urbanization worldwide is a growing threat to biodiversity. At the same time, flowering plants are often more diverse in cities than in the countryside. This is due to flowering plants and agricultural crops, which are increasingly being grown in cities. A recent study shows that the interactions between plants and pollinators, which are important for agricultural production, are surprisingly dynamic. For example, the plant and bee species involved in pollination vary greatly between the seasons.
Published It turns out, this fossil 'plant' is really a fossil baby turtle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers re-examined a plant fossil found decades ago in Colombia and realized that it wasn't a plant at all: it's a fossilized baby turtle. It's a rare find, because juvenile turtles' shells are soft and often don't fossilize well.
Published Plant nurseries are exacerbating the climate-driven spread of 80% of invasive species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have provided detailed maps of how 144 common invasive plants species will react to 2° Celsius of climate change in the eastern U.S., as well as the role that garden centers currently play in seeding future invasions.
Published Sugar permeation discovered in plant aquaporins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Aquaporins, which move water through membranes of plant cells, were not thought to be able to permeate sugar molecules, but researchers have observed sucrose transport in plant aquaporins for the first time, challenging this theory.
Published In hotter regions, mammals seek forests, avoid human habitats
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As the climate warms, preserving forest cover will be increasingly important for wildlife conservation, finds a study of North American mammals.