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Categories: Anthropology: Early Humans, Ecology: Nature
Published Earliest-known fossil mosquito suggests males were bloodsuckers too
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have found the earliest-known fossil mosquito in Lower Cretaceous amber from Lebanon. What's more, the well-preserved insects are two males of the same species with piercing mouthparts, suggesting they likely sucked blood. That's noteworthy because, among modern-day mosquitoes, only females are hematophagous, meaning that they use piercing mouthparts to feed on the blood of people and other animals.
Published Crocodile family tree mapped: New light shed on croc evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Around 250 million years ago, 700 species of reptiles closely related to the modern-day crocodile roamed the earth, now new research reveals how a complex interplay between climate change, species competition and habitat can help explain why just 23 species of crocodile survive today.
Published Public gardens contribute to invasives problem
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some nonnative plants cultivated in public gardens or arboretums are escaping to become invasive in wild forests.
Published Botany must feature more prominently on the school curriculum to promote awareness of climate change, study warns
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Children must be taught more about the importance of plants if education about climate change and sustainability is to be effective, experts have warned.
Published Paleolithic humans may have understood the properties of rocks for making stone tools
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research suggests that Paleolithic humans in the Middle East selected flint for their cutting tools based on differences in the mechanical properties of the rock. They seem to have purposefully selected the most suitable rocks for fashioning into tools, even being able to distinguish rocks that were unsuitable.
Published Genomic study sheds light on how carnivorous Asian pitcher plants acquired signature insect trap
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists sequenced the genome of the East Asian pitcher plant, Nepenthes gracilis, a species of carnivorous plant related to Venus flytraps, as well as sundews, beets and spinach.
Published Snake skulls show how species adapt to prey
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source By studying the skull shapes of dipsadine snakes, researchers have found how these species of snakes in Central and South America have evolved and adapted to meet the demands of their habitats and food sources.
Published A mixed origin made maize successful
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Maize is one of the world's most widely grown crops. It is used for both human and animal foods and holds great cultural significance, especially for indigenous peoples in the Americas. Yet despite its importance, the origins of the grain have been hotly debated for more than a century. Now new research shows that all modern maize descends from a hybrid created just over 5000 years ago in central Mexico, thousands of years after the plant was first domesticated.
Published Rare ant species rediscovered in North Carolina trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There's a species of ant that is so rare, only a handful of records exist from across the entire eastern United States. North Carolina State University researcher Michelle Kirchner not only found these ants in the Triangle region of North Carolina, she is the first to document an entire colony for scientists, taxonomists and ant-thusiasts everywhere. It is the first time males of the species have been collected or photographed.
Published how far can the wind can carry a plant's seeds? New model
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Playing an essential foundational role in an ecosystem, plants contribute to the well-being of human health by helping create resources like food and medicine. Therefore, to better understand how plants can maintain resiliency in the face of challenges like climate change, researchers recently developed an innovative mathematical model that can provide fast and reliable predictions of how far wind can carry a plant's seeds.
Published Dishing the dirt on human evolution: Why scientific techniques matter in archaeology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists should seek answers hidden in the dirt using proven and state-of-the-art archaeological science techniques to support new discoveries about human evolution following recent controversies at a cave site in Africa, says a group of international experts. Their recommendations follow claims published in June of this year that Homo naledi --a small-brained human species -- buried their dead in Rising Star Cave, South Africa, between 335,000 and 241,000 years ago, and may also have decorated the cave walls with engravings.
Published Identifying Australia's most elusive birds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have analyzed more than 3.8 million volunteer hours of birdwatching data to identify Australia's most elusive species.
Published Unknown animals were leaving bird-like footprints in Late Triassic Southern Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ancient animals were walking around on bird-like feet over 210 million years ago, according to a new study.
Published Landscape dynamics determine the evolution of biodiversity on Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A landmark study into the geological timescale distribution of sediment and nutrients over 500 million years shows that species biodiversity on Earth is driven by landscape dynamics.
Published Slash-and-burn agriculture can increase forest biodiversity, researchers find
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by many Indigenous societies across the world can actually have a positive impact on forests, according to a new study done in Belize. Researchers found that in areas of the rainforest in which Indigenous farmers using slash-and-burn techniques created intermediate-sized farm patches -- neither too small nor too large -- there were increases in forest plant diversity.
Published Fish ecologist's research indicates need to conserve iconic migratory snook in Mexico
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biologists investigated the snook’s almost 400-mile migration up into the rainforest habitat of the Usumacinta River. They have found that the snook, which connect aquatic food webs and support fisheries, spawn and start their lives in coastal nursery habitats before moving into river habitats that offer an array of food resources.
Published Sensitive ecosystems at risk from mine waste
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nearly a third of the world's mine tailings are stored within or near protected conservation areas, new research has found.
Published Deoxygenation levels similar to today's played a major role in marine extinctions during major past climate change event
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have made a surprising discovery that sheds new light on the role that oceanic deoxygenation (anoxia) played in one of the most devastating extinction events in Earth's history. Their finding has implications for current day ecosystems -- and serves as a warning that marine environments are likely more fragile than apparent. New research, published today in leading international journal Nature Geosciences, suggests that oceanic anoxia played an important role in ecosystem disruption and extinctions in marine environments during the Triassic--Jurassic mass extinction, a major extinction event that occurred around 200 million years ago. Surprisingly however, the study shows that the global extent of euxinia (an extreme form of de-oxygenated conditions) was similar to the present day.
Published Pioneering research method reveals bluefin tuna's fate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Mediterranean spawning grounds of Bluefin tuna -- the largest tuna and one of the most powerful fish in the sea -- are under threat, due to rising sea temperatures. A pioneering research method to decode bluefin 'otoliths' (a stony tissue found in their ear) has determined the threshold sea temperature at which bluefin thrive to be 28 degrees Celsius.
Published Predicting the fate of shallow coastal ecosystems for the year 2100
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study of shallow-water ecosystems estimates that, by 2100, climate change and coastal land usage could result in significant shrinkage of coral habitats, tidal marshes, and mangroves, while macroalgal beds remain stable and seagrass meadows potentially expand.