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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Ecology: Endangered Species
Published Diverse habitats help salmon weather unpredictable climate changes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Restored salmon habitat should resemble financial portfolios, offering fish diverse options for feeding and survival so that they can weather various conditions as the climate changes, a new study shows.
Published Tropical birds could tolerate warming better than expected, study suggests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source We expect tropical animals to handle a certain degree of heat, but not wild swings in temperature. That seems to be true for tropical ectotherms, or 'cold-blooded' animals such as amphibians, reptiles, and insects. However, in a new study of 'warm-blooded' endotherms, a research team found tropical birds can handle thermal variation just fine.
Published Sleep-wake rhythm: Fish change our understanding of sleep regulation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered that some fish -- unlike humans -- do not need orexin to stay awake. This molecule was thought to be necessary for normal wake and sleep rhythms in vertebrates. Humans without orexin suffer from narcolepsy.
Published Training dairy cows with positive reinforcement can turn otherwise stressful events into play
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dairy cows receive a huge amount of care during their lives on a farm, but procedures, especially restraining during procedures, can be stressful for some animals. Positive reinforcement training -- or training with a reward to achieve a desired behavior -- has shown promise to reduce this fear in other species.
Published Interactions with dogs can increase brainwaves associated with stress relief and heightened concentration
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Spending quality time with dogs reduces stress and increases the power of brain waves associated with relaxation and concentration, according to a new study.
Published Menopause explains why some female whales live so long
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Females of some whale species have evolved to live drastically longer lives so they can care for their families, new research shows.
Published With discovery of roundworms, Great Salt Lake's imperiled ecosystem gets more interesting
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biologists announce the discovery of numerous species of roundworm in the highly saline waters of Great Salt Lake, the vast terminal lake in northwestern Utah that supports millions of migratory birds. Previously, brine shrimp and brine flies were the only known multicellular animals living in the water column. The scientists found nematodes, belonging to a family known for inhabiting extreme environments, in the lake's microbialites, reef-like structures covering about a fifth of the lakebed.
Published Marine heat waves disrupt the ocean food web in the northeast Pacific Ocean
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Marine heat waves in the northeast Pacific Ocean create ongoing and complex disruptions of the ocean food web that may benefit some species but threaten the future of many others, a new study has shown.
Published Rope entanglement cause of low breeding rates in right whales, analysis finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New findings show the severe impact of fishing gear entanglements on the survival of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, with every injury from entanglements impacting population recovery.
Published High resolution imagery advances the ability to monitor decadal changes in emperor penguin populations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Emperor penguin populations have been exceedingly difficult to monitor because of their remote locations, and because individuals form breeding colonies on seasonal sea ice fastened to land (known as fast ice) during the dark and cold Antarctic winter. New research that incorporates very high-resolution satellite imagery with field-based validation surveys and long-term data has provided the first multi-year time series that documents emperor penguin global population trends.
Published Simple trick could improve accuracy of plant genetics research
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have published a simple trick that improves the accuracy of techniques that help us understand how external variables -- such as temperature -- affect gene activity in plants.
Published New study shows how AI can help us better understand global threats to wildlife
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers used AI to scour information from websites and social media to map bat hunting and trade. Research found evidence of bat exploitation in 22 countries that had not previously been identified by traditional academic research. Following concerns about the reliability of the IUCN Red List, new research demonstrates how AI's ability to filter vast amounts of online data can support wildlife conservation.
Published Study brings scientists a step closer to successfully growing plants in space
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New, highly stretchable sensors can monitor and transmit plant growth information without human intervention. The polymer sensors are resilient to humidity and temperature, can stretch over 400% while remaining attached to a plant as it grows and send a wireless signal to a remote monitoring location, said a chemical and biomolecular engineering professor.
Published Alaska dinosaur tracks reveal a lush, wet environment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A large find of dinosaur tracks and fossilized plants and tree stumps in far northwestern Alaska provides new information about the climate and movement of animals near the time when they began traveling between the Asian and North American continents roughly 100 million years ago.
Published Tsetse fly fertility damaged after just one heatwave, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The fertility of both female and male tsetse flies is affected by a single burst of hot weather, researchers have found.
Published Who knew that coprophagy was so vital for birds' survival?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research explains how eating feces (known as coprophagy) shapes wild birds' digestive tracts (gut biota), enabling them to absorb lost or deficient nutrients and adjust to seasonal variations in food sources.
Published Exploring arctic plants and lichens: An important conservation baseline for Nunavut's newest and largest territorial park
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A comprehensive study of the floristic diversity of Agguttinni Territorial Park, Nunavut's newest and largest Territorial Park, has documented 141 vascular plant, 69 bryophyte, and 93 lichen species from this unique protected area on northern Baffin Island. Through a combination of extensive fieldwork in 2021 and examination of hundreds of existing herbarium specimens, the authors have documented species newly reported for Baffin Island and have crafted a biodiversity baseline important for park management and conservation.
Published History repeats as Coral Bay faces mass loss of coral and fish life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A perfect storm of environmental factors has seen a monumental loss of fish and coral life at a popular area of Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia's Gascoyne region -- however research into the event shows there is hope it will recover. In March 2022, during the annual coral spawning event, calm weather and limited tidal movement combined to trap the coral's eggs within Bills Bay, at the town of Coral Bay. This led to an excess of nutrients in the water which consumed more oxygen than usual -- causing massive numbers of fish and corals to die from asphyxiation.
Published Range-shifting fishes are climate-change losers, according to new research
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fish populations that experience rapid-range shift decline noticeably, up to 50 per cent over a decade. The populations affected most are those living on the northern poleward edges of their species' range. Researchers combined data from two large databases to examine the population numbers of range-shifting species. Their analysis revealed that extremely fast poleward shifting species, defined as upward of 17 kilometers per year, show marked declines in population, compared to negligible increases in populations that did not shift.
Published Pronghorn population declining due to human development
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new article looked at 40 years of data collected on 40 pronghorn herds residing in the Wyoming Basin Shrub Steppe. Overall, 80% of the herds saw a decrease in productivity, and nearly 43% saw a significant decrease. After looking at a number of variables that could potentially contribute to the decline, the researchers identified the two most strongly associated: development of oil and gas resources and woody encroachment.