Showing 20 articles starting at article 981
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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Ecology: Extinction
Published Do hummingbirds drink alcohol? More often than you think
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Animals that eat fruit or sip nectar often ingest alcohol because naturally occurring yeasts turning sugar into ethanol. But how do animals feel about that? A new study details an experiment to determine whether hummingbirds are turned off by alcohol in sugar water. At 1% by volume, no. At 2% by volume, they consume much less. The implication is that hummingbirds have adjusted to small amounts of alcohol likely present in flowers and backyard feeders.
Published Conservation policies risk damaging global biodiversity, researchers argue
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Rewilding, organic farming and the 'nature friendly farming' measures included in some government conservation policies risk worsening the global biodiversity crisis by reducing how much food is produced in a region, driving up food imports and increasing environmental damage overseas.
Published Monarchs' white spots aid migration
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source If you've ever wondered how the monarch butterfly got its spots, University of Georgia researchers may have just found the answer. The new study suggests that the butterflies with more white spots are more successful at reaching their long-distance wintering destination. Although it's not yet clear how the spots aid the species' migration, it's possible that the spots change airflow patterns around their wings.
Published Worms use electricity to jump
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In nature, smaller animals often attach themselves to larger ones to 'hitch a ride' and save energy migrating large distances. Researchers show how microscopic Caenorhabditis elegans worms can use electric fields to 'jump' across Petri plates or onto insects, allowing them to glide through the air and attach themselves, for example, onto naturally charged bumblebee chauffeurs.
Published Caribbean seagrasses provide services worth $255B annually, including vast carbon storage, study shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Caribbean seagrasses provide about $255 billion in services to society annually, including $88.3 billion in carbon storage, according to a new study. The study has put a dollar value on the many services -- from storm protection to fish habitat to carbon storage -- provided by seagrasses across the Caribbean, which holds up to half the world's seagrass meadows by surface area and contains about one-third of the carbon stored in seagrasses worldwide.
Published Pangolin, the inspiration for a medical robot
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have developed a magnetically controlled soft medical robot with a unique, flexible structure inspired by the body of a pangolin. The robot is freely movable despite built-in hard metal components. Thus, depending on the magnetic field, it can adapt its shape to be able to move and can emit heat when needed, allowing for functionalities such as selective cargo transportation and release as well as mitigation of bleeding.
Published Supersized fruit eater database on climate change frontline
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To conserve precious and fragile biodiversity hotspots, a crucial step is knowing how the fruit eaters are doing. To assist in that, scientists and students have supersized a database to keep track of such animals and birds.
Published Completing genome of rusty patched bumble bee may offer new approach to saving endangered bee
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A detailed, high-resolution map of the rusty patched bumble bee's genome has been released, offering new approaches for bringing the native pollinator back from the danger of extinction. Putting together the rusty patched bumble bee genome is part of the Beenome 100 project, a first-of-its-kind effort to create a library of high-quality, highly detailed genome maps of 100 or more diverse bee species found in the United States.
Published Cryo conservation: A cool solution to saving species from extinction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the face of the biodiversity crisis, and alarming data showing a 69% decline in global animal populations since 1970, researchers are banking on a cool solution to help save species from extinction. Much like egg-freezing is used to preserve human fertility options for a later date, the cryo-freezing of genetic samples taken from animals may play an essential role in curbing species extinctions. A new study sheds light on the immense potential of living cell banks, also known as cryobanks, to contribute to global conservation priorities.
Published These long-necked reptiles were decapitated by their predators, fossil evidence confirms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the age of dinosaurs, many marine reptiles had extremely long necks compared to reptiles today. While it was clearly a successful evolutionary strategy, paleontologists have long suspected that their long-necked bodies made them vulnerable to predators. Now, after almost 200 years of continued research, direct fossil evidence confirms this scenario for the first time in the most graphic way imaginable.
Published New dinosaur discovered: Ankylosaurs may have been far more diverse than originally thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source First armoured dinosaur to be described from the Isle of Wight in 142 years, shows Ankylosaurs may have been far more diverse than originally thought
Published Study shows ancient Alaskans were freshwater fishers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A scientific team has discovered the earliest-known evidence of freshwater fishing by ancient people in the Americas. The research offers a glimpse at how early humans used a changing landscape and could offer insight for modern people facing similar changes.
Published Change food choices to increase chances of tackling global warming
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Action to protect the planet against the impact of climate change will fall short unless we reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the global food system, which now makes up a third of human-made GHG emissions, a new study reveals.
Published Researchers find high risk to amphibians if fungal pathogen invades North America
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research indicates the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) could be devastating to amphibian biodiversity if introduced to North America.
Published Hotter sand from microplastics could affect sea turtle development
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has found that extreme concentrations of microplastics could increase the temperature of beach sand enough to threaten the development of incubating sea turtles.
Published Scientists investigate the evolution of animal developmental mechanisms, show how some of Earth's earliest animals evolved
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Lacking bones, brains, and even a complete gut, the body plans of simple animals like sea anemones appear to have little in common with humans and their vertebrate kin. Nevertheless, new research shows that appearances can be deceiving, and that a common genetic toolkit can be deployed in different ways to drive embryological development to produce very different adult body plans. It is well established that sea anemones, corals, and their jellyfish relatives shared a common ancestor with humans that plied the Earth's ancient oceans over 600 million years ago. A new study from the Gibson Lab, published in Current Biology on June 13, 2023, illuminates the genetic basis for body plan development in the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. This new knowledge paints a vivid picture of how some of the earliest animals on earth progressed from egg to embryo to adult.
Published New method traces ancestry of hybrid plants and animals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hybrid plants and animals have complicated genomes. A biologist has discovered a way to reveal their parent species.
Published Skipping evolution: Some kangaroos didn't hop
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Extinct kangaroos used alternative methods to their famous hop according to comprehensive analysis.
Published Vaccine against deadly chytrid fungus primes frog microbiome for future exposure
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study found that a new vaccine against the deadly chytrid fungus in frogs can shift the composition of the microbiome, making frogs more resilient to future exposure to the fungus.
Published Which came first: The reptile or the egg?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The earliest reptiles, birds and mammals may have borne live young, researchers have revealed.