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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Geoscience: Oceanography

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A new study highlights the sustainable, cultural and ecosystem benefits of offshore removal or decomposition of whale remains. The study tracked the remains of a humpback whale that was intercepted before washing up on the shoreline, then repositioned 30km offshore and fitted with a satellite tag that tracked its position as it drifted with the wind and currents for 6 days before falling to the seabed.

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A new study reveals that the rare Desertas Petrels (Pterodroma deserta), a wide-ranging seabird in the North Atlantic, exhibit unique foraging behaviors during hurricane season. Contrary to other pelagic seabirds, these petrels do not avoid intense tropical cyclones but instead exploit the dynamic conditions for their benefit, providing new insights into the impact of cyclones on open ocean marine life.

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From sifting through topsoil for native truffles to cracking open hard shells of seeds and nuts to munch on the tasty kernels, Australia bettongs and potoroos are described as 'ecosystem engineers' in a two-way relationship between their rich diet and environmental health. However, with native ecosystems and potoroid marsupial numbers in decline, ecology and evolution experts are working to understand how difficult it is to bite into the foods these leading foragers seek out.

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A newly discovered ancestor of Thescelosaurus shows evidence that these animals spent at least part of their time in underground burrows. The new species contributes to a fuller understanding of life during the mid-Cretaceous -- both above and below ground.

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New research predicts significant shifts in marine fish communities in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans as a result of climate warming.

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Researchers have taken a leap forward in understanding how we might fight back against the potentially deadly MRSA bacterium. They have shown in an animal model that targeting a key suppressive immune molecule (IL-10) during the delivery of a vaccine improves the ability of the vaccine to protect against infection.

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Oysters sanctuaries in Chesapeake Bay are working for more than just oysters. Compared to nearby harvest areas, sanctuaries contain more abundant populations of oysters and other animal life--and the presence of two common parasites isn't preventing that.

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Scientists may have to rethink the relationship between the ocean's circulation and its long-term capacity to store carbon, new research suggests. As the ocean gets weaker, it could release more carbon from the deep ocean into the atmosphere -- rather than less, as some have predicted.

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The largest animals do not have proportionally bigger brains -- with humans bucking this trend -- a new study has revealed.

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Young, na ve starlings are looking for their wintering grounds independently of experienced conspecifics. Starlings are highly social birds throughout the year, but this does not mean that they copy the migration route from each other. By revisiting a classic 'displacement' experiment and by adding new data, a team of researchers have settled a long-lasting debate.

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In recent years global warming has left its mark on the Antarctic ice sheets. The 'eternal' ice in Antarctica is melting faster than previously assumed, particularly in West Antarctica more than East Antarctica. The root for this could lie in its formation, as an international research team has now discovered: sediment samples from drill cores combined with complex climate and ice-sheet modelling show that permanent glaciation of Antarctica began around 34 million years ago -- but did not encompass the entire continent as previously assumed, but rather was confined to the eastern region of the continent (East Antarctica).

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Melting Arctic glaciers are in rapid recession, and microscopic pioneers colonize the new exposed landscapes. Researchers revealed that yeasts play an important role in soil formation in the Arctic.

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Researchers found no infectious virus in the sampled pasteurized milk products tested for H5N1.

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Blue and great tits recall what they have eaten in the past, where they found the food and when they found it, a new study shows. In the first experiment of its kind to involve wild animals, blue and great tits demonstrated 'episodic-like' memory to cope with changes in food availability when foraging. The same study may suggest that humans leaving out seeds and nuts for garden birds could be contributing to the evolution of these memory traits.

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Meet Gaiasia jennyae, the swamp creature with a toilet seat-shaped head. It lived 40 million years before the first dinosaurs, and it was the top predator in its ecosystem.

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A new study of coral reefs in Papua New Guinea shows ocean acidification simplifies coral structure, making crucial habitat less appealing to certain fish species.

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Domesticated animals play a prominent role in our society, with two-thirds of American families enjoying the companionship of pets and many others relying on animal products for their nutritional needs. But the process of domestication remains a bit of a mystery.

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A team of researchers have identified unexpected ways coral reef fish living in the warmest waters on earth, in the Arabian Gulf, have adapted to survive extreme temperatures.

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Hydrothermal vents can be found around the world at the junctions of drifting tectonic plates. But there are many hydrothermal fields still to be discovered. During a 2022 expedition of the MARIA S. MERIAN, the first field of hydrothermal vents on the 500-kilometer-long Knipovich Ridge off the coast of Svalbard was discovered.

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Atmospheric scientists predict that unchecked carbon emissions will force tropical rains to shift northward in the coming decades, which would profoundly impact agriculture and economies near the Earth's equator. The northward rain shift would be spurred by carbon emissions that influence the formation of the intertropical convergence zones that are essentially atmospheric engines that drive about a third of the world's precipitation.