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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Geoscience: Geography
Published Rock steady: Study reveals new mechanism to explain how continents stabilized
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ancient, expansive tracts of continental crust called cratons have helped keep Earth's continents stable for billions of years, even as landmasses shift, mountains rise and oceans form. A new mechanism may explain how the cratons formed some 3 billion years ago, an enduring question in the study of Earth's history.
Published New record holder for smallest dispersers of ingested seeds: Woodlice
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Even bugs as small as woodlice can disperse seeds they eat, setting a new record for smallest animal recorded to do so. The discovery underscores the crucial yet often overlooked role that small invertebrates play in ecosystems.
Published Acceptance of animals in urban environments
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source How do city residents feel about animals in their immediate surroundings? A recent study shows how different the acceptance of various wild animals in urban areas is. Important factors are the places where the animals are found and their level of popularity -- squirrels and ladybugs come out on top here. The results have important implications for urban planning and nature conservation.
Published It flickers, then it tips -- study identifies early warning signals for the end of the African humid period
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tipping points in the climate system can be the result of a slow but linear development. However, they can also be accompanied by a 'flickering', with two stable climatic states that alternate before a final transition occurs -- and the climate tips permanently.
Published Efficacy of solar panels boosted
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Solar energy is a crucial asset in the fight against climate change, and researchers have now devised a smart approach to optimize its effectiveness. Their innovative method includes incorporating artificial ground reflectors, a simple yet powerful enhancement.
Published Researchers show that slow-moving earthquakes are controlled by rock permeability
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research group explores how the makeup of rocks, specifically their permeability -- or how easily fluids can flow through them -- affects the frequency and intensity of slow slip events. Slow slips' role in the earthquake cycle may help lead to a better model to predict when earthquakes happen.
Published Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source How well bees tolerate temperature extremes could determine their ability to persist in a changing climate. But heat tolerance varies between and within populations, so entomologists examined bee physical traits to understand how these traits interact with environmental conditions, pathogens and other factors.
Published Millions in costs due to discharge of scrubber water into the Baltic Sea
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Discharge from ships with so-called scrubbers cause great damage to the Baltic Sea. A new study shows that these emissions caused pollution corresponding to socio-economic costs of more than EUR 680 million between 2014 and 2022. At the same time, the researchers note that the shipping companies' investments in the much-discussed technology, where exhaust gases are 'washed' and discharged into the sea, have already been recouped for most of the ships. This means that the industry is now making billions of euros by running its ships on cheap heavy fuel oil instead of cleaner fuel.
Published DDT pollutants found in deep sea fish off Los Angeles coast
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As the region reckons with its toxic history of offshore dumping off the California coast, new findings raise troubling questions about whether the banned pesticide remains a threat to wildlife and human health.
Published Turbid waters keep the coast healthy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To preserve the important intertidal areas and salt marshes off our coasts for the future, we need more turbid water. That is one of the striking conclusions from a new study.
Published Lake tsunamis pose significant threat under warming climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The names might not be familiar -- Cowee Creek, Brabazon Range, Upper Pederson Lagoon -- but they mark the sites of recent lake tsunamis, a phenomenon that is increasingly common in Alaska, British Columbia and other regions with mountain glaciers. Triggered by landslides into small bodies of water, most of these tsunamis have occurred in remote locations so far, but geologists say it may just be a matter of time before a tsunami swamps a more populated place.
Published Birdwatching can help students improve mental health, reduce distress
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study finds people who have nature-based experiences report better well-being and lower psychological distress than those who do not. Birdwatching in particular yielded promising results, with higher gains in subjective well-being and more reduction in distress than more generic nature exposure, such as walks. Because birdwatching is an easily accessible activity, the results are encouraging for college students -- who are among those most likely to suffer from mental health problems.
Published Did a magnetic field collapse trigger the emergence of animals?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified and thrived. Their study raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth's ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago.
Published Ice shelves fracture under weight of meltwater lakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Heavy pooling meltwater can fracture ice, potentially leading to ice shelf collapse.
Published In medieval England, leprosy spread between red squirrels and people, genome evidence shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Evidence from archaeological sites in the medieval English city of Winchester shows that English red squirrels once served as an important host for Mycobacterium leprae strains that caused leprosy in people, researchers report.
Published For microscopic organisms, ocean currents act as 'expressway' to deeper depths
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some of the ocean's tiniest organisms get swept into underwater currents that act as a conduit that shuttles them from the sunny surface to deeper, darker depths where they play a huge role in affecting the ocean's chemistry and ecosystem, according to new research.
Published Wildfires in wet African forests have doubled in recent decades
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Climate change and human activities like deforestation are causing more fires in central and west Africa's wet, tropical forests, according to the first-ever comprehensive survey there. The fires have long been overlooked.
Published Wild orangutan treats wound with pain-relieving plant
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A wild orangutan was observed applying a plant with known medicinal properties to a wound, a first for a wild animal.
Published Artificial intelligence enhances monitoring of threatened marbled murrelet
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Artificial intelligence analysis of data gathered by acoustic recording devices is a promising new tool for monitoring the marbled murrelet and other secretive, hard-to-study species.
Published Feathers, cognition and global consumerism in colonial Amazonia
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Amazonia is the home of the largest variety of birds in the world. In such a unique environment, craft cultures have flourished by translating the beauty and creativity of environmental materials like feathers into stunning pieces of art. A new article examines artisanal featherwork within the context of early modern colonialism and globalization.