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Categories: Ecology: Endangered Species, Space: Exploration
Published Invasive species are animals, too: Considering a humane approach
(via sciencedaily.com) Invasive alien species are animals that may pose a threat to biodiversity, but it's time to deal with that threat in a more ethical way.
Published Three out of four populations of rare butterflies have been lost
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In just 26 years, the distribution of rare butterflies has plummeted by 72% in Eastern Denmark. Several species are threatened with extinction, yet the conservation actions aiming to safeguard species have proved unsuccessful.
Published Wood modification boosts biomass conversion
(via sciencedaily.com) By adding a naturally-occurring polymer that makes wood more porous, scientists have engineered trees easier to disassemble into simpler building blocks.
Published Pioneering research sheds surprising new light on evolution of plant kingdom
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has uncovered intriguing insights into the evolution of plant biology, effectively rewriting the history of how they evolved over the past billion years.
Published Large herbivores keep invasive plants at bay
(via sciencedaily.com) Elephants, buffaloes and other heavy herbivores are effective against invasive plants. This is the conclusion of a new study that used Indian data, including data from the world's largest survey of wildlife based on camera traps. But smaller animals can do the same: you don't need elephants to get the same effect, the researchers point out.
Published Hot Jupiter blows its top
(via sciencedaily.com) The planet HAT-P-32b is losing so much of its atmospheric helium that the trailing gas tails are among the largest structures yet known any planet outside our solar system. Three-dimensional (3D) simulations helped model the flow of the planet's atmosphere. The scientists hope to widen their planet-observing net and survey 20 additional star systems to find more planets losing their atmosphere and learn about their evolution.
Published Webb reveals new structures within iconic supernova
(via sciencedaily.com) NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has begun the study of one of the most renowned supernovae, SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). Located 168,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, SN 1987A has been a target of intense observations at wavelengths ranging from gamma rays to radio for nearly 40 years, since its discovery in February of 1987. New observations by Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) provide a crucial clue to our understanding of how a supernova develops over time to shape its remnant.
Published A global observatory to monitor Earth's biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source At a time of unparalleled rates of biodiversity loss, a new interconnected system to monitor biodiversity around the world is needed to guide action quickly enough to target conservation efforts to where they are most needed.
Published Evolutionary imbalance explains global plant invasions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Plant species from certain geographic regions are more successful in spreading outside their native ranges than others -- but why? Ecologists provide answers by exploring how the ecological and evolutionary histories of plants can influence their relationships with humans and their success as invaders.
Published Algae provide clues about 600 million years of plant evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers generated large scale gene expression data to investigate the molecular networks that operate in one of the closest algal relatives of land plants, a humble single-celled alga called Mesotaenium endlicherianum.
Published Telescopes help unravel pulsar puzzle
(via sciencedaily.com) With a remarkable observational campaign that involved 12 telescopes both on the ground and in space, including three European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, astronomers have uncovered the strange behavior of a pulsar, a super-fast-spinning dead star. This mysterious object is known to switch between two brightness modes almost constantly, something that until now has been an enigma. But astronomers have now found that sudden ejections of matter from the pulsar over very short periods are responsible for the peculiar switches.
Published Neptune's disappearing clouds linked to the solar cycle
(via sciencedaily.com) Astronomers have uncovered a link between Neptune's shifting cloud abundance and the 11-year solar cycle, in which the waxing and waning of the Sun's entangled magnetic fields drives solar activity.
Published Want to fight climate change? Don't poach gorillas (or elephants, hornbills, toucans, etc.)
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new article found that overhunting of gorillas, elephants, and other large fruit-eating seed-dispersers make tropical forests less able to store or sequester carbon.
Published Male crested macaques more likely to respond to offspring screams recruiting support
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When infants are involved in agonistic conflicts, male crested macaques (Macaca nigra) are more likely to respond to screams from their own offspring. This is the conclusion of a recent study led by behavioral ecologists. The researchers studied the behavior of crested macaques in the Tangkoko Nature Reserve on Sulawesi, Indonesia, over a 24-month period (2008 to 2010).
Published Saving species from extinction -- high-quality kakapo population sequencing provides breakthrough in understanding key conservation genetics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source High-quality sequencing of nearly the entire kakapo population is helping New Zealand to manage the health of this critically endangered species.
Published Wastewater pipe dig reveals 'fossil treasure trove'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new article describes the 266 fossil species as one of the richest and most diverse groups of three-million-year-old fauna ever found in New Zealand. At least ten previously unknown species will be described and named in future research. Fossils of the world's oldest known flax snails, an extinct sawshark spine, and great white shark teeth have all been found in a mound of sand excavated from beneath Mangere Wastewater Treatment Plant in 2020.
Published How being in space impairs astronauts' immune system
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has examined how T cells of the immune system are affected by weightlessness. The results could explain why astronauts' T cells become less active and less effective at fighting infection.
Published Soils forming on the branches of trees are an overlooked forest habitat
(via sciencedaily.com) A study on 'canopy soils' on old trees in Costa Rica shows they are important habitats and carbon stores that cannot easily be replaced.
Published Mysterious Neptune dark spot detected from Earth for the first time
(via sciencedaily.com) Using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have observed a large dark spot in Neptune's atmosphere, with an unexpected smaller bright spot adjacent to it. This is the first time a dark spot on the planet has ever been observed with a telescope on Earth. These occasional features in the blue background of Neptune's atmosphere are a mystery to astronomers, and the new results provide further clues as to their nature and origin.
Published Fungi-eating plants and flies team up for reproduction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fungi-eating orchids were found for the first time to offer their flowers to fungi-eating fruit flies in exchange for pollination, which is the first evidence for nursery pollination in orchids. This unique new plant-animal relationship hints at an evolutionary transition towards mutualistic symbiosis.