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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Space: Structures and Features
Published Blind cavefish have extraordinary taste buds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A biologist studies blind cavefish, a species of fish that dwell in cave ponds in Mexico. He looked at the timeline for when the cavefish develop additional taste buds on the head and chin, finding the taste bud expansion starts at five months and continues into adulthood.
Published As human activities expand in Antarctica, scientists identify crucial conservation sites
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Establishing Key Biodiversity Areas in the Southern Ocean will be vital for safeguarding the ecosystem from the impact of human activities, researchers say.
Published Galaxies in dense environments tend to be larger, settling one cosmic question and raising others
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has found galaxies with more neighbors tend to be larger than their counterparts that have a similar shape and mass, but reside in less dense environments. The team, which used a machine-learning algorithm to analyze millions of galaxies, reports that galaxies found in denser regions of the universe are as much as 25% larger than isolated galaxies. The findings resolve a long-standing debate among astrophysicists over the relationship between a galaxy's size and its environment, but also raise new questions about how galaxies form and evolve over billions of years.
Published Lake Erie walleye growth is driven by parents' size, experience
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Parent size and the conditions in which actively spawning adults lived are the most influential factors affecting growth of Lake Erie walleye, a new study has found.
Published A belly full of jelly
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For a long time, scientists assumed that jellies (commonly known as jellyfish) were a dead-end food source for predatory fish. However, a team has now discovered that fish in Greenland waters do indeed feed on jellyfish. In two of the analyzed species, they even made up the majority of the food. The results suggest that the role of jellyfish as prey in marine food webs should be reconsidered, especially in regards to the fact that they could be profiting from climate change and spreading farther and farther north.
Published Decoding the world's largest animal genome
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have sequenced the largest genome of all animals, the lungfish genome. Their data help to explain how the fish-ancestors of today's land vertebrates were able to conquer land.
Published Ecologists put an insect group on century-old map of biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The distribution of species around the globe is not a random process but an outcome resulting from several evolutionary mechanisms as well as past and current environmental limitations. As a result, since the mid-19th century, biologists have identified several main regions, called biogeographic realms, that depict these large ensembles of species around the world. These biogeographic realms represent one of the most fundamental descriptions of biodiversity on Earth and are commonly used in various fields of biology.
Published Giant fossil seeds from Borneo record ancient plant migration
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ancient fossil beans about the size of modern limes, and among the largest seeds in the fossil record, may provide new insight into the evolution of today's diverse Southeast Asian and Australian rainforests, according to researchers who identified the plants.
Published Scientists condition crocodiles to avoid killer cane toads
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have trialled a new way to protect freshwater crocodiles from deadly invasive cane toads spreading across northern Australia.
Published SwRI-led team finds evidence of hydration on Asteroid Psyche
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have confirmed hydroxyl molecules on the surface of the metallic asteroid Psyche. The presence of hydrated minerals suggests a complex history for Psyche, important context for the NASA spacecraft en route to this interesting asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.
Published Pit-building venom mixers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers show that the adaptation of antlions to their ecological niche has also changed their venom. They compared the venom system of antlion and closely related green lacewing larvae. Antlions produce a much more complex venom from three different venom glands than lacewing larvae do. All the venom proteins identified come from the insects themselves, not from symbiotic bacteria. Some of the toxins are new and appear to be unique to antlions. Waiting for their victims in pitfall traps in the sand, antlions can use their venom to immobilize larger prey. The venom therefore plays an important ecological role in adapting to their barren habitat.
Published Rewriting the evolutionary history of critical components of the nervous system
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has rewritten the conventionally understood evolutionary history of certain ion channels -- proteins critical for electrical signaling in the nervous system. The study shows that the Shaker family of ion channels were present in microscopic single cell organisms well before the common ancestor of all animals and thus before the origin of the nervous system.
Published Reduce, reuse, 're-fly-cle'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Black soldier flies are now commercially used to consume organic waste -- but genetic modifications proposed by bioscientists could see the insects digesting a wider variety of refuse, while also creating raw ingredients for industry.
Published A new mechanism for shaping animal tissues
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A key question that remains in biology and biophysics is how three-dimensional tissue shapes emerge during animal development. Research teams have now found a mechanism by which tissues can be 'programmed' to transition from a flat state to a three-dimensional shape.
Published Nature at risk in the hunt for the perfect selfie
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The need for a dramatic selfie or the perfect landscape photo is proving detrimental to nature, a new research collaboration has found.
Published Researchers make breakthrough in understanding species abundance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The key finding was that temperature and genome size, not body size, had the greatest influence on the maximum population growth rate of the diatoms. Yet body size still mattered in colder latitudes, conserving Bermann's Rule.
Published Giant prehistoric flying reptile took off using similar method to bats, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The pterosaur likely used all four limbs to propel itself in the air, as seen in bats today, researchers have found.
Published Fishing is causing frightened fish to flee when they should flirt
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Populations of squaretail grouper face an uncertain future as new research shows fishing that targets their spawning sites is causing males to be repeatedly scared away from their territories during their short mating meet-ups. By fleeing for safety, individuals are losing valuable time to catch the eye and court female fish.
Published Plants offer fruit to insects to disperse dust-like seeds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fruit exist to invite animals to disperse the swallowed seeds. A research team found that plants targeting insects rather than birds or mammals for this service are more common than previously thought. These plants produce dust-like seeds and fruit suitable for the minute, ground-dwelling animals.
Published Elephants on the move: Mapping connections across African landscapes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Elephant conservation is a major priority in southern Africa, but habitat loss and urbanization mean the far-ranging pachyderms are increasingly restricted to protected areas like game reserves. The risk? Contained populations could become genetically isolated over time, making elephants more vulnerable to disease and environmental change.