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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Paleontology: General
Published Echoes of extinctions: Novel method unearths disruptions in mammal trait-environment relationships
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research explores the historical shifts in mammal traits and biodiversity loss in eastern Africa. The study reveals how environmental changes disrupted mammal communities and highlights the urgent need for targeted conservation efforts to protect vulnerable species.
Published First U.S. study of nest temperature impacts on leatherback hatchlings
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study shows nest temperatures affect leatherback hatchling shape, performance and nest success. Lower temperatures produced longer hatchlings; highest temperatures produced hatchlings with thicker body depths. Hatchlings from the highest nest temperatures had shorter flippers. Righting response (ability to flip over) scores were significantly lower in hatchlings from hotter nests. Hatchlings that were smaller and/or had a larger body depth struggled to right themselves. The leatherback turtle nests in this study also had an overall lower hatching success (45 percent) than loggerhead (73 percent) and green sea turtles (70 percent).
Published Disease affects blackbirds more than previously thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When humans are ill, we tend to be less active. This also applies to wild animals, but so far, it has not been known how long the reduced activity lasts or which activities are affected the most. New research shows that birds' activity decreases for up to three weeks when they become ill -- something that could mean the difference between life and death.
Published Fossil spines reveal deep sea's past
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Right at the bottom of the deep sea, the first very simple forms of life on earth probably emerged a long time ago. Today, the deep sea is known for its bizarre fauna. Intensive research is being conducted into how the number of species living on the sea floor have changed in the meantime. Some theories say that the ecosystems of the deep sea have emerged again and again after multiple mass extinctions and oceanic upheavals. Today's life in the deep sea would thus be comparatively young in the history of the Earth. But there is increasing evidence that parts of this world are much older than previously thought.
Published Pioneering research sheds surprising new light on evolution of plant kingdom
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has uncovered intriguing insights into the evolution of plant biology, effectively rewriting the history of how they evolved over the past billion years.
Published Farms that create habitat key to food security and biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Diversified farming is an important complement to forest protections for reversing tropical biodiversity declines.
Published Most species are rare, but not very rare
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More than 100 years of observations in nature have revealed a universal pattern of species abundances: Most species are rare but not very rare, and only a few species are very common. These so-called global species abundance distributions have become fully unveiled for some well-monitored species groups, such as birds. For other species groups, such as insects, however, the veil remains partially unlifted. A new study demonstrates how important biodiversity monitoring is for detecting species abundances on planet Earth and for understanding how they change.
Published Invasive spotted lanternfly may not damage hardwood trees as previously thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In 2012, when the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) arrived in the U.S. from its home in China, scientists, land managers, and growers were understandably concerned that the sap-feeding insect would damage native and commercial trees. New long-term research has discovered that hardwood trees, such as maple, willow and birch, may be less vulnerable than initially thought.
Published Mutation rates in whales are much higher than previously reported
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of marine scientists has studied the DNA of family groups from four different whale species to estimate their mutation rates. Using the newly determined rates, the group found that the number of humpback whales in the North Atlantic before whaling was 86 percent lower than earlier studies suggested.
Published Control of behavioral decisions is similar in insects and mammals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team identifies the mushroom body as a center for behavioral decisions in the insect brain.
Published Nearly half of dog owners are hesitant to vaccinate their pets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study found that more than half of people who own dogs expressed some level of canine vaccine hesitancy -- i.e. skepticism about vaccinating their pets against rabies and other diseases. An estimated 45 percent of US households own a dog; according to the survey results, nearly 40 percent of dog owners believe that canine vaccines are unsafe, more than 20 percent believe these vaccines are ineffective, and 30 percent consider them to be medically unnecessary.
Published Coastal fisheries show surprising resilience to marine heat waves
(via sciencedaily.com) New research found that marine heat waves -- prolonged periods of unusually warm ocean temperatures -- haven't had a lasting effect on the fish communities that feed most of the world. The finding is in stark contrast to the devastating effects seen on other marine ecosystems cataloged by scientists after similar periods of warming, including widespread coral bleaching and harmful algal blooms.
Published Thrush nightingales, territoriality and testosterone
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Study highlights the interplay of song development and territorial behavior in winter quarters.
Published Europe's very own dinosaurs -- the enigmatic Late Cretaceous rhabdodontids
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study brings together intriguing details about the little-known Rhabdodontidae dinosaurs of Late Cretaceous Europe. These gregarious herbivores, characterized by robust builds and beaks specialized for tough vegetation, inhabited the European archipelago. Despite being widespread and abundant, they vanished in Western Europe due to environmental changes around 69 million years ago, while surviving longer in Eastern Europe. Their fossil record offers valuable insights into their evolution and lifestyle, although its limited nature still challenges comprehensive understanding.
Published Bat study reveals how the brain is wired for collective behavior
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers used wireless neural recording and imaging devices to 'listen in' on the hippocampal brain activity of groups of Egyptian fruit bats as they flew freely within a large flight room. The researchers were surprised to find that, in this social setting, the bat's 'place' neurons encoded not only the animal's location, but also information about the presence or absence of other bats, and even the identity of bats in their path.
Published Want to fight climate change? Don't poach gorillas (or elephants, hornbills, toucans, etc.)
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new article found that overhunting of gorillas, elephants, and other large fruit-eating seed-dispersers make tropical forests less able to store or sequester carbon.
Published Three-eyed distant relative of insects and crustaceans reveals amazing detail of early animal evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists use cutting edge scanning technology to reconstruct 'fossil monster' that lived half a billion years ago. The creature's soft anatomy was well-preserved, allowing it to be imaged almost completely: It fills a gap in our understanding of the evolution of arthropods such as insects and crustaceans.
Published Curious and cryptic: New leaf insects discovered
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team has described seven previously unknown species of leaf insects, also known as walking leaves. The insects belong to the stick and leaf insect order, which are known for their unusual appearance: they look confusingly similar to parts of plants such as twigs, bark or -- in the case of leaf insects -- leaves. This sophisticated camouflage provides excellent protection from predators as well as presenting a challenge to researchers. Genetic analysis enabled the researchers to discover 'cryptic species', which cannot be distinguished by their external appearance alone. The findings are not only important for the systematic study of leaf insects, but also for the protection of their diversity.
Published Which radio waves disrupt the magnetic sense in migratory birds?
(via sciencedaily.com) Many songbirds use the earth's magnetic field as a guide during their migrations, but radiowaves interfere with this ability. A new study has found an upper bound for the frequency that disrupts the magnetic compass.
Published Wastewater pipe dig reveals 'fossil treasure trove'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new article describes the 266 fossil species as one of the richest and most diverse groups of three-million-year-old fauna ever found in New Zealand. At least ten previously unknown species will be described and named in future research. Fossils of the world's oldest known flax snails, an extinct sawshark spine, and great white shark teeth have all been found in a mound of sand excavated from beneath Mangere Wastewater Treatment Plant in 2020.