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Categories: Ecology: Endangered Species, Environmental: Biodiversity
Published Madagascar hippos were forest dwellers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Extinct dwarf hippos that once roamed Madagascar lived in forests rather than open grasslands preferred by common hippos on mainland Africa. The findings suggest grasslands that now cover much of the enormous island off the eastern coast of southern Africa were a relatively recent change facilitated by people rather than a natural habitat sustained in part by these famously large vegetarians.
Published Queensland native forestry can help achieve global environment goals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research has revealed that Queensland native forestry, including timber harvesting, could actually help conserve biodiversity and mitigate climate risks.
Published Why there are no kangaroos in Bali (and no tigers in Australia)
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are using a new model to clarify why millions of years ago more animal species from Asia made the leap to the Australian continent than vice versa. The climate in which the species evolved played an important role.
Published World's most threatened seabirds visit remote plastic pollution hotspots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Analysis of global tracking data for 77 species of petrel has revealed that a quarter of all plastics potentially encountered in their search for food are in remote international waters -- requiring international collaboration to address.
Published Amazon dolphins at risk from fishing, dams and dredging
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Amazon river dolphins are under threat from fishing and proposed new dams and dredging, research shows.
Published Estimating the long-term effects of whale shark feeding practices
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Increasing opportunities for up-close encounters with sharks and other animals are making wildlife tourism one of the fastest growing tourism sectors -- leading ecology experts to venture to one of the world's main sites to investigate the effects of tourism on endangered whale sharks. At Oslob in the Philippines, Flinders University's Southern Shark Ecology Group and Global Ecology Lab joined local Filipino researchers to measure how the daily feeding regimes for resident whale shark population might have affected their behaviour and physiology by assessing their activity and metabolic requirements.
Published European bird communities move to cooler areas, but mountain ranges and coastlines 'control the traffic'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A recent study shows that European bird communities have shifted northeastward in the past 30 years. These shifts are faced with obstacles such as mountain ranges and coastlines. Overall, bird communities are moving towards cooler areas but not fast enough to keep up with increasing temperatures.
Published Humans' ancestors survived the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A Cretaceous origin for placental mammals, the group that includes humans, dogs and bats, has been revealed by in-depth analysis of the fossil record, showing they co-existed with dinosaurs for a short time before the dinosaurs went extinct.
Published How coral reefs can survive climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Similar to the expeditions of a hundred or two hundred years ago, the Tara Pacific expedition lasted over two years. The goal: to research the conditions for life and survival of corals. The ship crossed the entire Pacific Ocean, assembling the largest genetic inventory conducted in any marine system to date. The team's 70 scientists from eight countries took around 58,000 samples from the hundred coral reefs studied.
Published Dry days trigger leaves to send a surprising growth signal telling roots to keep growing
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered a new molecular signalling pathway, triggered when leaves are exposed to low humidity, that ensures plant roots keep growing towards water. A new study has found that when the leaves of a plant are exposed to dry air (low humidity), they send a shoot-to-root signal, using abscisic acid (ABA), to tell the roots to keep growing. This is a surprising finding as ABA is usually thought to be a growth inhibitor, not a growth promoter.
Published Human impact on wildlife even in protected areas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The largest long-term standardized camera-trap survey to date finds that human activity impacts tropical mammals living in protected areas and sheds light on how different species are affected based on their habitat needs and anthropogenic stressors.
Published The clue is in the glue -- Nature's secret for holding it together
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An obscure aquatic plant has helped to explain how plants avoid cracking up under the stresses and strains of growth.
Published Traditional methods cannot give us the insights we need to understand changing ecosystems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source If we want to face up to the challenges posed by climate change and other global environmental changes, we need to bring complexity science into the mix with ecology and biodiversity conservation.
Published Global analysis on pollinators in cities: Wild bees and butterflies are at particular risk
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Butterflies are being hit hardest by urban growth. Shrinking habitats and food availability are causing their populations to decline. The same applies to many wild bees that fly early in spring. According to a new study, pollination has not yet been impacted by this because honeybees, for example, can compensate for the reduction of urban pollinators. The study is the first comprehensive analysis of the subject and includes data from 133 studies. The results underline the importance of nature conservation measures in urban areas.
Published Conservation policies risk damaging global biodiversity, researchers argue
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Rewilding, organic farming and the 'nature friendly farming' measures included in some government conservation policies risk worsening the global biodiversity crisis by reducing how much food is produced in a region, driving up food imports and increasing environmental damage overseas.
Published A roadmap for gene regulation in plants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For the first time, researchers have developed a genome-scale way to map the regulatory role of transcription factors, proteins that play a key role in gene expression and determining a plant's physiological traits. Their work reveals unprecedented insights into gene regulatory networks and identifies a new library of DNA parts that can be used to optimize plants for bioenergy and agriculture.
Published Climate change could lead to 'widespread chaos' for insect communities
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research explores how a warming world could impact ecosystems and derail the development of new species.
Published The speed of life: A zoo of cells to study developmental time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have used an unprecedented stem cell zoo to compare six different mammalian species and their developmental time.
Published New research reveals the impact of different species and their traits on human wellbeing
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has revealed that well-functioning ecosystems are crucial to human health and wellbeing, with human-biodiversity interactions delivering wellbeing gains equating to substantial healthcare cost-savings, when scaled-up across populations.
Published Supersized fruit eater database on climate change frontline
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To conserve precious and fragile biodiversity hotspots, a crucial step is knowing how the fruit eaters are doing. To assist in that, scientists and students have supersized a database to keep track of such animals and birds.