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Categories: Ecology: Endangered Species, Ecology: Sea Life
Published Does current shellfish anti-predator gear curb 'crunching' rays?
(via sciencedaily.com) It's not just humans who enjoy eating shellfish, so do marine rays. They like to 'crunch' on clams, which can sometimes take a big bite out of clammers' profits. Using aerial and underwater videos, researchers assessed the ability of the whitespotted eagle ray to interact with clams housed within a variety anti-predator materials. Whitespotted eagle rays have strong jaws, plate-like teeth and nimble pectoral fins, which make them formidable and highly maneuverable predators of clams.
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 Wheat's ancient roots of viral resistance uncovered
(via sciencedaily.com) The DNA sequence of a gene in wheat responsible for resisting a devastating virus has been discovered, providing vital clues for managing more resistant crops and maintaining a healthy food supply.
Published Mineral particles and their role in oxygenating the Earth's atmosphere
(via sciencedaily.com) Mineral particles played a key role in raising oxygen levels in the Earth's atmosphere billions of years ago, with major implications for the way intelligent life later evolved, according to new research.
Published Toothed whales catch food in the deep using vocal fry
(via sciencedaily.com) Toothed whales, such as dolphins, killer whales and sperm whales communicate and catch food exclusively with sound. Now researchers have for the first time found they evolved a new sound source in their nose that is functionally the same as the human larynx.
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 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 Prehistoric sea monster may have been shorter, stouter, than once believed
(via sciencedaily.com) A big fish story? Maybe so: The greatest sea monster of the Devonian Period (Dunkleosteus terrelli) may be getting downsized. A new article contents that the famous sea monster of the Age of Fishes may not have neared 30-feet in length, as long believed, but topped off at maybe 13 feet. The new assertion brings attention to a famously fierce looking armored fish from 360 million years ago -- and maybe a new debate.
Published Coral-friendly sunscreen provides better UV protection than existing options
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a prototype for coral-reef-friendly sunscreens by using polymerization to create large molecules that still block UV radiation but are too big to penetrate our skin, coral, and algae. The polymeric UV filter was more effective at preventing sunburn in mice than existing sunscreens.
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 Centuries of whaling data highlight likely climate change effect
(via sciencedaily.com) Centuries-old whaling records show how southern right whales are altering their feeding habits.
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 Mysterious new behavior seen in whales may be recorded in ancient manuscripts
(via sciencedaily.com) In 2011, scientists recorded a previously unknown feeding strategy in whales around the world. Now, researchers in Australia think they may have found evidence of this behaviour being described in ancient accounts of sea creatures, recorded more than 2,000 years ago. They believe that misunderstandings of these descriptions contributed to myths about medieval sea monsters. Whales are known lunge at their prey when feeding, but recently whales have been spotted at the surface of the water with their jaws open at right angles, waiting for shoals of fish to swim into their mouths. A clip of this strategy was captured in 2021 and went viral on Instagram. This strategy seems to work for the whales because the fish think they have found a place to shelter from predators, not realising they are swimming into danger. It's not known why this strategy has only recently been identified, but scientists speculate that it's a result of changing environmental conditions -- or that whales are being more closely monitored than ever before by drones and other modern technologies.
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 Sea urchin die-offs threaten Caribbean coral reefs
(via sciencedaily.com) The sustained loss of a once abundant species of sea urchin in the Caribbean could also result in the functional extinction of diverse coral species from the region's reefs, according to new research.
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.