Showing 20 articles starting at article 781

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Ecology: Nature, Geoscience: Earth Science

Return to the site home page

Biology: Botany Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees
Published

New reptile on the block: A new iguana species discovered in China      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified a new iguana species, Wang's garden lizard (Calotes wangi), in southern China and northern Vietnam. This species, part of the Calotes versicolor complex, was discovered through extensive surveys conducted from 2009 to 2022. Measuring less than 9 cm with an orange tongue, it inhabits subtropical and tropical forests, thriving in various landscapes including urban areas.

Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

How national policies affect forests in border regions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How do national policies impact deforestation? Researchers have looked into this question at the global scale and have found that, contrary to common assumptions, national strategies have a significant -- and visible -- influence on efforts to protect forest heritage.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Tree plantations can get better with age -- but original habitats are best      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Older tree plantations can be more attractive to animals who are looking for a new home than younger plantations, according to a new study. In the tropics, older plantations also welcome a greater variety of different plants and animals -- though sadly, Christmas tree plantations do not become more biodiverse over time.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature
Published

Common insect species are suffering the biggest losses      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Insect decline is being driven by losses among the locally more common species, according to a new study. The meta-analysis of 923 locations around the world notes two significant trends: 1) the species with the most individuals (the highest abundance) are disproportionately decreasing in number, and 2) no other species have increased to the high numbers previously seen. This likely explains the frequent observation that there are fewer insects around now than ten, twenty, or thirty years ago. 

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Scientists uncover link between the ocean's weather and global climate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists outline the first direct evidence linking seemingly random weather systems in the ocean with climate on a global scale. The team's work creates a promising framework for better understanding the climate system.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

World's smallest 'fanged' frogs found in Indonesia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified a species of frog new to science. The Indonesian amphibian is the size of a quarter, unlike its two-pound cousins, and has tiny fangs. Nearly uniquely among amphibians, they lay their eggs on the leaves of trees, and the males guard and tend to the nests. 

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Low economic growth can help keep climate change within the 1.5 °C threshold      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows that economic growth rates make a big difference when it comes to prospects for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, as per the Paris Agreement. A recent study shows that pursuing higher economic growth may jeopardize the Paris goals and leave no viable pathways for humanity to stabilize the climate. On the contrary, slower growth rates make it more feasible to achieve the Paris goals.  

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research
Published

Study uncovers major hidden human-driven bird extinctions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Humans have wiped out around 1,400 bird species -- twice as many as previously thought -- with major implications for the ongoing biodiversity crisis, a new study has found. The estimated extinctions would mean almost 12 per cent of bird species have died out over modern human history, since the Late Pleistocene around 130,000 years ago, with the vast majority of them becoming extinct directly or indirectly due to human activity.

Anthropology: Cultures Archaeology: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Mesopotamian bricks unveil the strength of Earth's ancient magnetic field      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ancient bricks inscribed with the names of Mesopotamian kings have yielded important insights into a mysterious anomaly in Earth's magnetic field 3,000 years ago, according to a new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Researchers invent 'methane cleaner': Could become a permanent fixture in cattle and pig barns      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a spectacular new study, researchers have used light and chlorine to eradicate low-concentration methane from air. The result gets us closer to being able to remove greenhouse gases from livestock housing, biogas production plants and wastewater treatment plants to benefit the climate.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Exoplanets' climate -- it takes nothing to switch from habitable to hell      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Earth is a wonderful blue and green dot covered with oceans and life, while Venus is a yellowish sterile sphere that is not only inhospitable but also sterile. However, the difference between the two bears to only a few degrees in temperature. A team of astronomers has achieved a world's first by managing to simulate the entirety of the runaway greenhouse process which can transform the climate of a planet from idyllic and perfect for life, to a place more than harsh and hostile. The scientists have also demonstrated that from initial stages of the process, the atmospheric structure and cloud coverage undergo significant changes, leading to an almost-unstoppable and very complicated to reverse runaway greenhouse effect. On Earth, a global average temperature rise of just a few tens of degrees, subsequent to a slight rise of the Sun's luminosity, would be sufficient to initiate this phenomenon and to make our planet inhabitable.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

15 most pressing issues for conservation, including invertebrate decline and changing marine ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Since 2009, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative has coordinated an annual horizon scan, a well-established method for predicting which threats, changes, and technologies will have the biggest impact on biological conservation in the following year. This year, the 15th horizon scan included 31 scientists, practitioners, and policymakers who developed a list of 96 issues, which they eventually narrowed down to the fifteen most novel and impactful. Their findings include topics related to sustainable energy, declining invertebrate populations, and changing marine ecosystems.

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

Coral atoll islands may outpace sea-level rise with local ecological restoration, scientists say      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ecological restoration may save coral atoll islands from the rising seas of climate change, according to an international team of scientists, conservationists, and an indigenous leader.