Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

'A history of contact': Geneticists are rewriting the narrative of Neanderthals and other ancient humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using genomes from 2,000 living humans as well as three Neanderthals and one Denisovan, an international team mapped the gene flow between the hominin groups over the past quarter-million years.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species
Published

Wild plants and crops don't make great neighbors, research finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Native plants and non-native crops do not fare well in proximity to one another, attracting pests that spread diseases in both directions, according to two new studies.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees
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Study examines tree adaptability to climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Many trees could expand their ranges by more than 25 percent based on their potential temperature tolerances.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Ecology: Research Paleontology: Fossils
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Ancient dingo DNA shows modern dingoes share little ancestry with modern dog breeds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study of ancient dingo DNA revealed that the distribution of modern dingoes across Australia, including those on K'gari (formerly Fraser Island), pre-dates European colonization and interventions like the dingo-proof fence.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Projected loss of brown macroalgae and seagrasses with global environmental change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers predict that climate change will drive a substantial redistribution of brown seaweeds and seagrasses at the global scale. The projected changes are alarming due to the fundamental role seaweeds and seagrasses in coastal ecosystems and provide evidence of the pervasive impacts of climate change on marine life.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature
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Invasive ants spread by hitchhiking on everyday vehicles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ants might spread to new locations by stowing away on everyday vehicles. Previously, this was thought to occur mostly on agricultural equipment.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General
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First case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals documented in new study      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study documents the first case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals and reveals that they were capable of providing altruistic care and support for a vulnerable member of their social group.

Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires
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Fuel treatments reduce future wildfire severity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There is a common belief that prescribed burning, thinning trees, and clearing underbrush reduce risks of the severity of future fires. But is that true? A new project analyzing 40 studies where wildfire burned into different vegetation treatments, spanning 11 western states. Researchers found overwhelming evidence that in seasonally dry mixed conifer forests in the western U.S., reducing surface and ladder fuels and tree density through thinning, coupled with prescribed burning or pile burning, could reduce future wildfire severity by more than 60% relative to untreated areas.

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Non-native plants and animals expanding ranges 100 times faster than native species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists has recently found that non-native species are expanding their ranges many orders of magnitude faster than native ones, in large part due to inadvertent human help. Even seemingly sedentary non-native plants are moving at three times the speed of their native counterparts in a race where, because of the rapid pace of climate change and its effect on habitat, speed matters. To survive, plants and animals need to be shifting their ranges by 3.25 kilometers per year just to keep up with the increasing temperatures and associated climactic shifts -- a speed that native species cannot manage without human help.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Oceanography
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Restored rat-free islands could support hundreds of thousands more breeding seabirds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Archipelago case-study shows that removing invasive rats and restoring native vegetation could help bring back hundreds of thousands of breeding pairs of seabirds lost to tropical islands. Calculating that there are enough fish to sustain restored seabird populations should be an important consideration for restoration projects, scientists say. Restored seabird populations also provide huge boost to the health of surrounding coral reef ecosystems through restored nutrient cycles.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General
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Origins of cumulative culture in human evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Cumulative culture -- the accumulation of technological modifications and improvements over generations -- allowed humans to adapt to a diversity of environments and challenges. But, it is unclear when cumulative culture first developed during hominin evolution. A new study concludes that humans began to rapidly accumulate technological knowledge through social learning around 600,000 years ago.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species
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Nile perch invasion triggered genetic bottlenecks in Lake Victoria's endemic cichlids      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Newfound evidence reveals that the upsurge of the exotic Nile perch in Lake Victoria had long-lasting effects on the genetic diversity of various local cichlid species, report scientists. Through large-scale comparative genomic analyses, the researchers found concrete proof in the collective genome of multiple species that this artificially introduced perch decimated many local fish populations, causing a 'bottleneck effect.'

Anthropology: Early Humans Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Paleontology: General
Published

Early Homo sapiens facilitated the establishment of the Bonelli's eagle in the Mediterranean 50,000 years ago      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have unraveled the ancestral history of one of the most iconic birds of prey in the current Iberian fauna: the Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata). The study combines evidence from several disciplines, including palaeontology, genetics and ecology, to answer questions about when and why the Bonelli's eagle, a species primarily found in tropical and subtropical areas, colonized the Mediterranean Basin.