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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Ecology: Endangered Species

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Protected natural areas of the UK are struggling to halt declines in insects and spiders that have occurred over the past 30 years, according to a new study.

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There are often too few flowering plants in agricultural landscapes, which is one reason for the decline of pollinating insects. Researchers ave now investigated how a mixture of crops of faba beans (broad beans) and wheat affects the number of pollinating insects. They found that areas of mixed crops compared with areas of single crops are visited equally often by foraging bees.

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In order to meet climate protection goals, renewable energies are booming -- often wind power. More than 30,000 turbines have already been installed on the German mainland so far, and the industry is currently scrambling to locate increasingly rare suitable sites. Thus, forests are coming into focus as potential sites. A scientific team has now demonstrated that wind turbines in forests impair endangered bat species: Common noctules (Nyctalus noctula), a species with a high risk of colliding with rotor blades, are attracted to forest wind turbines if these are located near their roosts. Far from roosts, common noctules avoid the turbines, essentially resulting in a loss of foraging space and thus habitat for this species.

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The red junglefowl -- the wild ancestor of the chicken -- is losing its genetic diversity by interbreeding with domesticated birds, according to a new study.

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Seeking to better understand more about the origins and movement of bubonic plague, in ancient and contemporary times, researchers have completed a painstaking granular examination of hundreds of modern and ancient genome sequences, creating the largest analysis of its kind.

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Scientists have deciphered a comprehensive, continuous genome for a parasite responsible for transmitting Lyme disease and other serious infections to hundreds of thousands of Americans yearly. With their newly described genome for the black-legged tick, or deer tick, the researchers identified thousands of novel genes and new protein functions, including proteins associated with tick immunity, disease transmission and developmental stages.

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African rhino numbers are declining at unsustainable rates in core state-run parks which is why more than half the continent's remaining rhinos are now on private land.

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Even without hunting rifles, humans appear to have a strong negative influence on the movement of wildlife. A study of Glacier National Park hiking trails during and after a COVID-19 closure adds evidence to the theory that humans can create a 'landscape of fear' like other apex predators, changing how species use an area simply with their presence. Researchers found that when human hikers were present, 16 out of 22 mammal species, including predators and prey alike, changed where and when they accessed areas. Some completely abandoned places they previously used, others used them less frequently, and some shifted to more nocturnal activities to avoid humans.

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A new study shows that North American bird communities containing functionally diverse species have changed less under climate change during the past 50 years than functionally simple communities.

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Flooding in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin is creating ideal breeding conditions for many native species that have evolved to take advantage of temporary flood conditions. Scientists have now developed virtual models of the Murray River to reveal a crucial link between natural flooding and the extinction risk of endangered southern bell frogs (Litoria raniformis; also known as growling grass frogs). Southern bell frogs are one of Australia's 100 Priority Threatened Species. This endangered frog breeds during spring and summer when water levels increase in their wetlands. However, the natural flooding patterns in Australia's largest river system have been negatively impacted by expansive river regulation that in some years, sees up to 60% of river water extracted for human use.

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An internal circadian clock controls the distinctive concentric rings of flowering in sunflowers, maximizing visits from pollinators, a new study from plant biologists shows.

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Is the inside of a plant cell more like a liquid or a solid? While this may sound like an odd question, new research demonstrates it can be either, depending on how much light you shine on it. Chloroplasts within plant cells constitute an active form of matter that undergoes dramatic phase transitions.

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Madagascar is home to a unique biodiversity with a large number of endemic species, among those many lemur species, including the mouse lemurs. This diversity is also found in their retroviruses. Biologists analyzed the mouse lemur genome and identified viruses of two classes that represent ancient infections of the mouse lemur germline. The viruses now behave similarly to lemur genes and are thus called endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). It was surprising that some of the identified retroviruses are closely related to viruses found in other, very different mammals such as polar bears or domestic sheep. This suggests an intriguing and complex pattern of host switching of retroviruses, much more complex than previously thought.

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The crocodilian edition of hemoglobins -- the scuba tanks of the blood -- work so well that crocs can go hours without air. The hyper-efficiency of that adaptation has led some biologists to wonder why, of all the jawed vertebrates, crocodilians were the lone group to hit on such an optimal solution to making the most of a breath. After resurrecting the hemoglobin of ancient crocodilian ancestors, a team may have an answer.

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A chemical used in the production of toilet paper and 'forever chemicals' have been found in the bodies of orcas in B.C. , including the endangered southern resident killer whales. Scientists analyzed tissue samples from six southern resident killer whales and six Bigg's whales stranded along the coast of B.C. from 2006 to 2018, according to a recent study. They discovered that chemical pollutants are prevalent in killer whales, with a chemical often found in toilet paper one of the most prevalent in the samples studied, accounting for 46 per cent of the total pollutants identified.

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Researchers describe five new deep-sea squat lobster species. Combining molecular data and microCT their findings show a wider species distribution range and shallower genetic diversity, calling for a revision of the current classification of squat lobsters.

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Plant biochemists have discovered a new level of regulation in the biochemical 'machinery' that plants use to convert organic carbon derived from photosynthesis into a range of ring-shaped aromatic molecules. The research suggests new strategies for controlling plant biochemistry for agricultural and industrial applications.

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An international team has succeeded in propagating a commercial hybrid rice strain as a clone through seeds with 95 percent efficiency. This could lower the cost of hybrid rice seed, making high-yielding, disease resistant rice strains available to low-income farmers worldwide.

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90% of the plants and animals on Madagascar are found nowhere else on Earth, but this treasure trove of evolution is under serious threat due to habitat loss, over-hunting, and climate change. In this study, researchers examined how long it took Madagascar's unique modern mammal species to emerge and estimated how long it would take for a similarly complex set of new mammal species to evolve in their place if the endangered ones went extinct: 23 million years, far longer than scientists have found for any other island.

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In one of the few studies to directly investigate the mechanism underlying the effect of essential elements on plant disease resistance, scientists demonstrate that nutrient elements activate immune responses in tomato plants through different defense signaling pathways.