Showing 20 articles starting at article 901
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Ecology: Endangered Species, Environmental: Biodiversity
Published With rapidly increasing heat and drought, can plants adapt?


As deserts expanded their range over the past 5-7 million years, many plants invaded the new biome and rapidly diversified, producing amazing adaptations to drought and heat. Can plants continue to adapt to increasing aridity caused by climate change? A new study that addressed the origins of desert adaptation concluded that one group of desert plants, rock daisies, came preadapted to aridity, likely helping them survive desert conditions. Not all plants may be so lucky.
Published Understanding plants can boost wildland-fire modeling in uncertain future


A new conceptual framework for incorporating the way plants use carbon and water, or plant dynamics, into fine-scale computer models of wildland fire provides a critical first step toward improved global fire forecasting.
Published Mixing between species reduces vulnerability to climate change


New research provides rare evidence that natural hybridization can reduce the risk of extinction of species threatened by climate change. Researchers have identified genes that enable Rainbowfish to adapt to climate variations across the Australia using environmental models to work out how much evolution will likely be required for populations to keep pace with future climate change.
Published UK's Overseas Territories at ongoing risk from wide range of invasive species


A new study has for the first time predicted which invasive species could pose a future threat to the UK's ecologically unique Overseas Territories.
Published A fairy-like robot flies by the power of wind and light


The loss of pollinators, such as bees, is a huge challenge for global biodiversity and affects humanity by causing problems in food production. Researchers have now developed the first passively flying robot equipped with artificial muscle. Could this artificial fairy be utilized in pollination?
Published Characterization of an emergent plant virus


High throughput sequencing (HTS) data is set to improve our knowledge of Physostegia chlorotic mottle virus biology, epidemiology, and genetic diversity.
Published Ancestral variation guides future environmental adaptations


The speed of environmental change is very challenging for wild organisms. When exposed to a new environment individual plants and animals can potentially adjust their biology to better cope with new pressures they are exposed to -- this is known as phenotypic plasticity. New research shows that early plasticity can influence the ability to subsequently evolve genetic adaptations to conquer new habitats.
Published Discovery advances biofuel crop that could curb dependence on fossil fuel


Researchers have solved a puzzle that could help switchgrass realize its full potential as a low-cost, sustainable biofuel crop and curb our dependence on fossil fuels.
Published Rapid plant evolution may make coastal regions more susceptible to flooding and sea level rise, study shows


Evolution has occurred more rapidly than previously thought in the Chesapeake Bay wetlands, which may decrease the chance that coastal marshes can withstand future sea level rise, researchers at the University of Notre Dame and collaborators demonstrated in a recent publication in Science.
Published Ancient mint plants may lead to new medicines/products


The mint family of herbs, which includes sage, rosemary, basil, and even woody plants like teak, offers an invigorating jolt to our senses of smell and taste. Researchers have found that these plants have diversified their specialized natural characteristics through the evolution of their chemistry, which could lead to potential future applications that range from medicine to pesticide production.
Published Economics trump environment to save big cats, say ecologists


Rapid economic growth has pushed rare species of big carnivores to the brink of extinction, but ecologists have suggested our appetite to once again live alongside big cats is increasing.
Published Botany: Chloroplast from the father


Under cold conditions, not only the mother plant but also the father plant can pass on its chloroplasts to the offspring.
Published Environment law fails to protect threatened species in Australia


Federal environmental laws are failing to mitigate against Australia's extinction crisis, according to new research.
Published Can elephants save the planet?


Researchers report that elephants play a key role in creating forests which store more atmospheric carbon and maintaining the biodiversity of forests in Africa. If the already critically endangered elephants become extinct, rainforest of central and west Africa, the second largest rainforest on earth, would lose between six and nine percent of their ability to capture atmospheric carbon, amplifying planetary warming.
Published New discovery: Endangered Amami rabbit disperses seeds for non-photosynthetic plant


Seed dispersal is an essential process for the evolution and ecology of terrestrial plants, making discoveries of uncommon seed dispersal agents particularly interesting. Scientists now reveal that the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) is a major seed dispersal agent for the non-photosynthetic plant Balanophora yuwanensis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first known instance of rabbits serving as seed dispersal agents in Asia.
Published More effective protected areas needed to halt biodiversity loss


Protected natural areas of the UK are struggling to halt declines in insects and spiders that have occurred over the past 30 years, according to a new study.
Published Mixture of crops provide ecological benefits for agricultural landscapes


There are often too few flowering plants in agricultural landscapes, which is one reason for the decline of pollinating insects. Researchers ave now investigated how a mixture of crops of faba beans (broad beans) and wheat affects the number of pollinating insects. They found that areas of mixed crops compared with areas of single crops are visited equally often by foraging bees.
Published Collision risk and habitat loss: Wind turbines in forests impair threatened bat species


In order to meet climate protection goals, renewable energies are booming -- often wind power. More than 30,000 turbines have already been installed on the German mainland so far, and the industry is currently scrambling to locate increasingly rare suitable sites. Thus, forests are coming into focus as potential sites. A scientific team has now demonstrated that wind turbines in forests impair endangered bat species: Common noctules (Nyctalus noctula), a species with a high risk of colliding with rotor blades, are attracted to forest wind turbines if these are located near their roosts. Far from roosts, common noctules avoid the turbines, essentially resulting in a loss of foraging space and thus habitat for this species.
Published At least half of Africa's rhinos are now in private hands; New paths for rhino conservation are needed


African rhino numbers are declining at unsustainable rates in core state-run parks which is why more than half the continent's remaining rhinos are now on private land.
Published Low-impact human recreation changes wildlife behavior


Even without hunting rifles, humans appear to have a strong negative influence on the movement of wildlife. A study of Glacier National Park hiking trails during and after a COVID-19 closure adds evidence to the theory that humans can create a 'landscape of fear' like other apex predators, changing how species use an area simply with their presence. Researchers found that when human hikers were present, 16 out of 22 mammal species, including predators and prey alike, changed where and when they accessed areas. Some completely abandoned places they previously used, others used them less frequently, and some shifted to more nocturnal activities to avoid humans.