Showing 20 articles starting at article 961
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Ecology: Nature, Environmental: Biodiversity
Published Plant roots fuel tropical soil animal communities
(via sciencedaily.com) A research team has shed new light on the importance of plant roots for below-ground life, particularly in the tropics. Millions of small creatures toiling in a single hectare of soil including earthworms, springtails, mites, insects, and other arthropods are crucial for decomposition and soil health. For a long time, it was believed that leaf litter is the primary resource for these animals. However, this recent study is the first to provide proof that resources derived from plant roots drive soil animal communities in the tropics.
Published An internal thermometer tells the seeds when to germinate
(via sciencedaily.com) Germination is a crucial stage in the life of a plant as it will leave the stage of seed resistant to various environmental constraints (climatic conditions, absence of nutritive elements, etc.) to become a seedling much more vulnerable. The survival of the young plant depends on the timing of this transition. It is therefore essential that this stage be finely controlled. Botanists have now discovered the internal thermometer of seeds that can delay or even block germination if temperatures are too high for the future seedling. This work could help optimize plant growth in a context of global warming.
Published Drones detect moss beds and changes to Antarctica climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers are using drones with highly advanced sensors and AI to map large areas and to study changes to Antarctica's climate.
Published Scientists use satellites to track earth 'greening' amid climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers found changes in 'greening,' or the amount of leaves plants are able to produce, will play a significant role in how much carbon dioxide plants capture and store.
Published Case study of rare, endangered tortoise highlights conservation priorities for present, future World Wildlife Days
(via sciencedaily.com) Though wildlife trafficking has been effectively disrupted since the first World Wildlife Day -- established 50 years ago today via the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora -- a newly published case study on one of the world's rarest tortoise species, the ploughshare tortoise, highlights how much room for improvement still exists.
Published Earlier take-off could lead to fewer bumblebees and less pollination
(via sciencedaily.com) With the arrival of spring, bumblebee queens take their first wing beat of the season and set out to find new nesting sites. But they are flying earlier in the year, as a result of a warmer climate and a changing agricultural landscape, according to new research.
Published U.S. birds' Eastern, Western behavior patterns are polar opposites
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have established what could be considered a baseline map of annual avian functional and species diversity patterns in the U.S., finding that functional diversity patterns in the West, where species and functional richness are both highest during the breeding season, are the polar opposite of what is seen in the East, where functional diversity is lowest when species richness is high.
Published Mulching time of forest meadows influences insect diversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have examined how mulching at different times affects insect flower-visitors and larvae.
Published On a warming planet, these Arctic geese rapidly found (and shared) a new migratory route
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As the planet warms, animals that breed in the Arctic are at particular risk. But a new study offers some encouraging news: in an apparent reaction to pressures along their former migratory route, a population of Arctic geese has rapidly adjusted, forming a new migration route and breeding location almost 1,000 kilometers from their original stomping grounds.
Published Deforestation in the tropics linked to a reduction in rainfall
(via sciencedaily.com) Deforestation is resulting in reduced rainfall across large parts of the tropics, according to new research. People living in tropical forest communities have often complained that the climate gets hotter and drier once trees are cleared but until now, scientists have not been able to identify a clear link between the loss of tree cover and a decline in rainfall.
Published The counting of nine billion trees could help manage climate credits and nature restoration
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a method that has now mapped several billion trees and their carbon uptake in Africa's Sahel. In the future, the method could be used to monitor whether climate credit purchases have a positive effect on the number of trees and whether nature restoration is working.
Published Seabirds in the eye of the storm
(via sciencedaily.com) Hurricanes are becoming more intense due to the climate crisis. Therefore, researchers have studied the wind speeds that different seabird species can withstand. The team was able to show that the individual species are well adapted to the average wind conditions in their breeding grounds, but use different strategies to avoid flying through the storm. Within their research, one behavior of the albatrosses particularly surprised the scientists.
Published Blue whale foraging and reproduction are related to environmental conditions, study shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study of New Zealand blue whales' vocalizations indicates the whales are present year-round in the South Taranaki Bight and their behavior is influenced by environmental conditions in the region.
Published Better metric for prioritizing conservation of 'evolutionarily distinctive' species
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have published an updated metric for prioritizing species' conservation that incorporates scientific uncertainty and complementarity between species, in addition to extinction risk and evolutionary distinctiveness.
Published Jurassic shark: Shark from the Jurassic period was already highly evolved
(via sciencedaily.com) Cartilaginous fish have changed much more in the course of their evolutionary history than previously believed. Evidence for this thesis has been provided by new fossils of a ray-like shark, Protospinax annectans, which demonstrate that sharks were already highly evolved in the Late Jurassic.
Published Flower power: The role of ants in forest regeneration
(via sciencedaily.com) Ants play a key role in forest regeneration, according to a new article.
Published Australia's rarest bird of prey disappearing at alarming rate
(via sciencedaily.com) Australia's rarest bird of prey -- the red goshawk -- is facing extinction, with Cape York Peninsula now the only place in Queensland known to support breeding populations.
Published Breathing is going to get tougher
(via sciencedaily.com) Not all pollution comes from people. When global temperatures increase by 4 degrees Celsius, harmful plant emissions and dust will also increase by as much as 14 percent, according to new research.
Published Rare insect found in Arkansas sets historic record, prompts mystery
(via sciencedaily.com) A giant insect found in Arkansas has set historic records. The Polystoechotes punctata or giant lacewing is the first of its kind recorded in eastern North America in over 50 years. The giant lacewing was formerly widespread across North America, but was mysteriously extirpated from eastern North America by the 1950s. This discovery suggests there may be relic populations of this large insect yet to be discovered.
Published Who are the first ancestors of present-day fish?
(via sciencedaily.com) What is the origin of the ancestors of present-day fish? What species evolved from them? A 50-year-old scientific controversy revolved around the question of which group, the 'bony-tongues' or the 'eels', was the oldest. A study has just put an end to the debate by showing through genomic analysis that these fishes are in fact one and the same group, given the rather peculiar name of 'Eloposteoglossocephala'. These results shed new light on the evolutionary history of fish.