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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Ecology: Sea Life

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Through DNA sequencing of Tasmanian devils and their tumors, researchers have tracked the genomic interactions between the animals and the cancer.

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How coral populations expand into new areas and sustain themselves over time is limited by the scope of modern observations. Going back thousands of years, a study provides geological insights into coral range expansions by reconstructing the composition of a Late Holocene-aged subfossil coral death assemblage in an unusual location in Southeast Florida and comparing it to modern reefs throughout the region. Findings offer a unique glimpse into what was once a vibrant coral reef assemblage and discover if history can repeat itself in the face of climate change.

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Researchers have recovered remarkably preserved microbiomes from two teeth dating back 4,000 years, found in an Irish limestone cave. Genetic analyses of these microbiomes reveal major changes in the oral microenvironment from the Bronze Age to today. The teeth both belonged to the same male individual and also provided a snapshot of his oral health.

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Researchers warn that today's hunting quotas of about 3,000 animals pose a risk to the long-term survival of the grey seal in the Baltic Sea. The conclusions of this new study are based on statistics from 20th century seal hunting and predictions of future climate change.

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This unusual, subterranean mammal with extreme longevity shows genetic adaptations to low oxygen environments which could offer opportunities for advancing other areas of physiological and medical research in humans, including the development of novel therapeutic approaches.

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A study is the first to evaluate substrate recolonization by sponges in the U.S. Virgin Islands after two catastrophic storms using genetic analyses to understand how much clonality verses sexual recruitment occurs on coral reefs post-storms. Results show that populations of clonal marine species with low pelagic dispersion, such as A. cauliformis, may benefit from increased frequency and magnitude of hurricanes to maintain genetic diversity and combat inbreeding, enhancing the resilience of Caribbean sponge communities to extreme storm events.

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Two red-tailed coral snakes have been observed competing over a caecilian in the first documented wild case of kleptoparasitism within the family Elapidae.

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Thanks to diligent observers, seahorses, those enigmatic and charismatic fish, are not only being discovered in new habitats and expanded geographic ranges, they are also being found at new ocean depths. While their capacity for male pregnancy has long fascinated people, new information on sex ratio and pregnancy seasonality has been discovered.

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Humans pass on more viruses to domestic and wild animals than we catch from them, according to a major new analysis of viral genomes.

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Biologists use a novel method of simultaneous acoustic tagging to gain insights into the link between whale communication and behavior

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Scientists have found a 'tipping point' in the evolution of fungi that throttles their growth and sculpts their shapes. The findings demonstrate how small changes in environmental factors can lead to huge changes in evolutionary outcomes.

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How was complex life able to develop on the inhospitable early Earth? At the beginning there must have been ribonucleic acid (RNA) to carry the first genetic information. To build up complexity in their sequences, these biomolecules need to release water. On the early Earth, which was largely covered in seawater, that was not so easy to do.

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Scientists have explored the puzzling world of rays that lived 150 million years ago and discovered a previously hidden diversity -- including a new ray species. This study significantly expands the understanding of these ancient cartilaginous fish and provides further insights into a past marine ecosystem.

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The first study of humpback whale entanglements in B.C. aquaculture facilities found eight over 13 years, with the curiosity of young whales a potential contributing factor.

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Tropical Heliconius butterflies are well known for the bright colour patterns on their wings. These striking colour patterns not only scare off predators -- the butterflies are poisonous and are distasteful to birds -- but are also important signals during mate selection. Evolutionary biologists have now exploited the diversity of warning patterns of various Heliconius species to investigate the genetic foundations of these preferences. In the process, the scientists identified a gene that is directly linked to evolutionary changes in a visually guided behavior.

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Forests and streams are separate but linked ecosystems, existing side by side, with energy and nutrients crossing their porous borders and flowing back and forth between them. For example, leaves fall from trees, enter streams, decay and feed aquatic insects. Those insects emerge from the waters and are eaten by birds and bats. An international team has now found that these ecosystems appear to keep the energy exchanges in balance -- a finding that the scientists called surprising.

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The largest living animal, the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) which averages about 27 meters in length, has slowly recovered from whaling only to face the rising challenges of global warming, pollution, disrupted food sources, shipping, and other human threats. In a major new study, biologists have taken a stock of the number, distribution and genetic characteristics of blue whale populations around the world and found the greatest differences among the eastern Pacific, Antarctic subspecies and pygmy subspecies of the eastern Indian and western Pacific.

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Killer whales foraging in deep submarine canyons off the coast of California represent a distinct subpopulation that uses specialized hunting techniques to catch marine mammals, researchers report.

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Measuring between 3 to 3.5 meters, 16 million years old: Paleontologists have announced the discovery of a new species of freshwater dolphin in the Peruvian Amazon region. Surprisingly, its closest living relatives can be found in the river dolphins of South Asia.

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Scientists found that farmed salmon production leads to an overall loss of essential dietary nutrients. They say that eating more wild 'feed' species directly could benefit our health while reducing aquaculture demand for finite marine resources.