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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Paleontology: Dinosaurs
Published Stormwater biofiltration increases coho salmon hatchling survival
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A relatively simple, inexpensive method of filtering urban stormwater runoff dramatically boosted survival of newly hatched coho salmon in an experimental study. That's the good news for the threatened species. The bad news: unfiltered stormwater killed almost all of them. The findings are consistent with previous research on adult and juvenile coho that found exposure to untreated roadway runoff that typically winds up in waterways during storms resulted in mortality of 60% or more. For the coho hatchlings in this study, mortality from runoff exposure was even higher at 87%. When the stormwater was run through a biofiltration method -- essentially layers of mulch, compost, sand and gravel -- nearly all the coho hatchlings survived, though many of resulting fish had smaller eyes and body sizes than a control group.
Published Fungi-eating plants and flies team up for reproduction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fungi-eating orchids were found for the first time to offer their flowers to fungi-eating fruit flies in exchange for pollination, which is the first evidence for nursery pollination in orchids. This unique new plant-animal relationship hints at an evolutionary transition towards mutualistic symbiosis.
Published Loss of Antarctic sea ice causes catastrophic breeding failure for emperor penguins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Emperor penguin colonies experienced unprecedented breeding failure in a region of Antarctica where there was total sea ice loss in 2022. The discovery supports predictions that over 90% of emperor penguin colonies will be quasi-extinct by the end of the century, based on current global warming trends.
Published National parks support wildlife inside and outside their borders
(via sciencedaily.com) Fresh research suggests that national parks enhance bird diversity inside their borders. Large parks also support higher diversity of both birds and mammals in nearby unprotected areas.
Published Researchers target lifecycle of parasite behind Chagas disease
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are studying the signaling pathway that leads the parasite responsible for Chagas disease to transform and reproduce. They follow that pathway from the beginning when an uninfected kissing bug acquires the parasite by biting an infected mammal host all the way to the time the parasite develops in the insect's gut to be spread to people or animals through the bug's poop.
Published Deforestation limits nesting habitat for cavity-nesting birds
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study of cavity-nesting birds in Ecuador shows the influence of deforestation on their habitat and reproductive success. Nest boxes could help.
Published Barnacles may help reveal location of lost Malaysia Airlines flight MH370
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Geoscientists have created a new method that can reconstruct the drift path and origin of debris from flight MH370, an aircraft that went missing over the Indian Ocean in 2014 with 239 passengers and crew.
Published Biologist gets the scoop on squash bug poop
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A discovery about how a common insect acquires a microbe that is essential for its growth may help in the control of an agricultural pest.
Published Newly discovered 'primitive cousins of T rex' shed light on the end of the age of dinosaurs in Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered the fossils of two new abelisaurs in Morocco, showing the diversity of dinosaurs in this region at the end of the Cretaceous period.
Published Fungus gnats as pollinators not pests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Many plants and crops rely on insects to pollinate them so they can reproduce. A new study has shown that several flowering plants from the group Euonymus are pollinated by fungus gnats, a dipteran insect. Specifically, they pollinate Euonymus plants which have red-petaled flowers with short stamens and yogurt-like scent. Although fungus gnats are known to pollinate hundreds of plant species, this study shows that the particular traits of red Euonymus flowers were likely to have been acquired via pollination syndrome, evolving over a process of natural selection to be pollinated specifically by fungus gnats. This research highlights the important role of Diptera, which are commonly regarded as pests, in plant diversity and evolution.
Published This fish doesn't just see with its eyes -- it also sees with its skin
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Without a mirror, it can be hard to tell if you're blushing, or have spinach in your teeth. But one color-changing fish has evolved a clever way to keep watch on the parts of itself that lie outside its field of view -- by sensing light with its skin.
Published Small urban greening projects can dramatically increase number of insect species in cities
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source By increasing the diversity of indigenous plants in urban areas, researchers have seen a seven times increase in the number of insect species in just three years, confirming the ecological benefits of urban greening projects.
Published Researchers extract ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick, revealing a time capsule of plant life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For the first time, a group of researchers have successfully extracted ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick. The analysis provides a fascinating insight into the diversity of plant species cultivated at that time and place, and could open the way to similar studies on clay material from other sites and time periods.
Published Scientists explore dinosaur 'Coliseum' in Denali National Park
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered and documented the largest known single dinosaur track site in Alaska. The site, located in Denali National Park and Preserve, has been dubbed 'The Coliseum' by researchers.
Published New archosaur species shows that precursor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs was armored
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have described a new species of armored reptile that lived near the time of the first appearance of dinosaurs. With bony plates on its backbone, this archosaur fossil reveals that armor was a boomerang trait in the story of dinosaur and pterosaur evolution: the group's ancestors were armored, but this characteristic was lost and then independently re-evolved multiple times later among specialized dinosaurs like ankylosaurs, stegosaurs, and others.
Published Unusual fossil shows rare evidence of a mammal attacking a dinosaur
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have described an unusual fossil from around 125 million years ago in China that shows a dramatic moment in time when a carnivorous mammal attacked a larger plant-eating dinosaur. The two animals are locked in mortal combat, and it's among the first evidence to show actual predatory behavior by a mammal on a dinosaur. The fossil's presence challenges the view that dinosaurs had few threats from their mammal contemporaries during the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs were the dominant animals.
Published Fossils reveal how ancient birds molted their feathers -- which could help explain why ancestors of modern birds survived when all the other dinosaurs died
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Birds are the only group of dinosaurs that survived the asteroid-induced mass extinction 66 million years ago. But not all the birds alive at the time made it. Why the ancestors of modern birds lived while so many of their relatives died has been a mystery that paleontologists have been trying to solve for decades. Two new studies point to one possible factor: the differences between how modern birds and their ancient cousins molt their feathers.
Published Specialization in sheep farming, a possible strategy for Neolithic communities in the Adriatic to expand throughout the Mediterranean
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The specialization in sheep in the early Neolithic populations of Dalmatia, Croatia, may have been related to the rapid expansion of these communities and the spread of agriculture throughout the central and western Mediterranean.
Published Newly discovered Jurassic fossils in Texas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have filled a major gap in the state's fossil record -- describing the first known Jurassic vertebrate fossils in Texas. The weathered bone fragments are from the limbs and backbone of a plesiosaur, an extinct marine reptile.
Published Orangutans can make two sounds at the same time, similar to human beatboxing, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Orangutans can make two separate sounds simultaneously, much like songbirds or human beatboxers, according to a new study.