Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Innovative field experiments shed light on biological clocks in nature      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has used a series of innovative field experiments to show how plants combine circadian clock signals with environmental cues under naturally fluctuating conditions.

Ecology: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Scientists call for an update in environmental decision making that takes human rights into account      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers argue that to protect human wellbeing global decisions with the potential to impact the environment must be guided by our understanding of the inseparable connection between humans and nature. The article's authors are aiming to support fair and inclusive decision-making for a healthy ocean for people and planet.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Fighting coastal erosion with electricity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has systematically demonstrated that a mild zap of electricity can strengthen a marine coastline for generations -- greatly reducing the threat of erosion in the face of climate change and rising sea levels. The new process forms natural cement between grains of sand, transforming it into solid, immoveable rock. Mollusks use a similar process to turn naturally occurring minerals into shells.

Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

A deep dive for environmental data on coastal oceans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study addresses the lack of data on how much human-generated carbon dioxide is present in coastal oceans -- the saltwater ecosystems that link the land and sea. Capturing this data is crucial to calculating how much emissions must be cut in the future.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Human-wildlife overlap expected to increase across more than half of land on Earth by 2070      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human-wildlife overlap could increase across about 57% of the global lands by 2070 and could lead to more conflict between people and animals. Understanding where the overlap is likely to occur -- and which animals are likely to interact with humans in specific areas -- will be crucial information for urban planners, conservationists and countries that have pledged international conservation commitments.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Highest prediction of sea-level rise unlikely      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study challenges as highly unlikely an alarming prediction of sea-level rise that -- while designated as low likelihood --earned a spot in the latest UN climate report for its projection that the collapse of polar ice sheets could make the world's oceans up to 50 feet higher by 2300. But researchers found that the model is based on inaccurate physics of how ice sheets retreat and break apart, though they stress that the accelerating loss of ice from Greenland and Antarctica is still dire.

Archaeology: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Landslides Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

New study reveals devastating power and colossal extent of a giant underwater avalanche off the Moroccan coast      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has revealed how an underwater avalanche grew more than 100 times in size causing a massive trail of destruction as it traveled 2000km across the Atlantic Ocean seafloor off the North West coast of Africa. Researchers provide an unprecedented insight into the scale, force and impact of one of nature's mysterious phenomena, underwater avalanches.

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Pilot study uses recycled glass to grow plants for salsa ingredients      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tortilla chips and fresh salsa are tasty, but they could be even more appealing if you grow the ingredients yourself. Now, researchers report that some salsa ingredients -- cilantro, bell pepper and jalapeno -- can be more sustainably cultivated with recycled glass. Their pilot study found that partially substituting soil in a planter with recycled glass fragments speeds up plant development and reduces unwanted fungal growth.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Researchers uncover the secrets of 'plant puberty'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified the genetic changes linked to why plants go through a developmental change similar to 'puberty' at different rates, a discovery which could lead to better crop nutrition.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Preservation of organic carbon in the ocean floor      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The preservation of organic carbon in marine sediments has long been a key question remaining unclear in understanding the long-term carbon cycling on Earth. Recently, scientists have gained new insights into the dynamic cycling of iron-bound organic carbon in subseafloor sediments.

Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science
Published

Will climate change lead to the extinction of a newly discovered tarantula species?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biologists have discovered a new species of tarantula from the Madrean Sky Island biodiversity hotspot in southeastern Arizona. This remarkable new species is endemic to the Chiricahua Mountains and is predominately distributed in mid- to high-elevation forests, which are increasingly threatened due to climate change.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Why do plants wiggle? New study provides answers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Decades after his voyage on the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin became fascinated by why plants move as they grow -- spinning and twisting into corkscrews. Now, more than 150 years later, a new study may have solved the riddle.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Earth Science
Published

Ecologists put an insect group on century-old map of biodiversity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The distribution of species around the globe is not a random process but an outcome resulting from several evolutionary mechanisms as well as past and current environmental limitations. As a result, since the mid-19th century, biologists have identified several main regions, called biogeographic realms, that depict these large ensembles of species around the world. These biogeographic realms represent one of the most fundamental descriptions of biodiversity on Earth and are commonly used in various fields of biology.

Biology: Botany Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Giant fossil seeds from Borneo record ancient plant migration      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ancient fossil beans about the size of modern limes, and among the largest seeds in the fossil record, may provide new insight into the evolution of today's diverse Southeast Asian and Australian rainforests, according to researchers who identified the plants.

Ecology: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Protecting surf breaks mitigates climate change, helps coastal communities      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Safeguarding places to hang ten and shoot the curl is an opportunity to simultaneously mitigate climate change, fuel tourism and help surrounding ecosystems, research has shown.