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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Ecology: Sea Life

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Whales Around the World Play With Kelp Clumps      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new article has analyzed another understudied behavior in baleen (filter-feeding) whales such as humpback whales in different populations across the northern and southern hemispheres. They appeared to roll around and 'play' with clumps of kelp and seaweed at the water's surface. The research also emphasizes that the behavior was similar in different individuals, regardless of where in the world it occurred.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Atlantic walrus more vulnerable than ever to Arctic warming      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Past cycles of climate change, along with human exploitation, have led to only small and isolated stocks of Atlantic walrus remaining. The current population is at high risk of the same issues affecting them severely, according to a new study.

Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Researchers build and test a framework for achieving climate resilience across diverse fisheries      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What makes for a successful climate-resilient fishery, one that sustainably produces resources for human benefit despite increasing climate stressors and human impacts? It's a question that faces present and future fisheries, their practitioners and fishing communities as the world turns to the ocean to feed its growing population.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature
Published

Caribbean parrots thought to be endemic are actually relicts of millennial-scale extinction      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For the first time, researchers have extracted ancient DNA from Caribbean parrot fossils and archaeological specimens, showing that species thought to be endemic to particular islands were historically more widespread and diverse.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water
Published

Theories about the natural world may need to change to reflect human impact      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research has validated at scale, one of the theories that has underpinned ecology for over half a century. In doing so, the findings raise further questions about whether models should be revised to capture human impacts on natural systems.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Rivers contain hidden sinks and sources of microplastics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research represents the first combined analysis of microplastics in water, sediment and air around a major river system. It found significant quantities of microplastics trapped in riverbed sediments, and also found they were being transported through the air and the flow of the river.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Ocean acidification makes ecologically important seaweed species fragile      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ocean acidification will likely almost triple by the end of the century -- a drastic environmental change that could impact important marine species like fleshy seaweeds, algae that grow vertically and promote biodiversity in more than a third of the world's coastline. To get a better idea of how seaweeds might fare in a rapidly acidifying ocean, a team of marine scientists subjected a common fleshy seaweed species to the acidification levels expected by the end of the century. They report that increased acidification impacted the seaweed's chemical balance, made both its structure and its tissues weaker, and reduced its overall chances of survival.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Developmental Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Jellyfish, with no central brain, shown to learn from past experience      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Even without a central brain, jellyfish can learn from past experiences like humans, mice, and flies, scientists report for the first time. They trained Caribbean box jellyfish (Tripedalia cystophora) to learn to spot and dodge obstacles. The study challenges previous notions that advanced learning requires a centralized brain and sheds light on the evolutionary roots of learning and memory.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals
Published

Colorful primates don't have better color vision, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Primate species with better color vision are not more likely to have red skin or fur coloration, as previously thought.

Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
Published

AI increases precision in plant observation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help plant scientists collect and analyze unprecedented volumes of data, which would not be possible using conventional methods. Researchers have now used big data, machine learning and field observations in the university's experimental garden to show how plants respond to changes in the environment.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Researchers' analysis of perching birds points to new answers in evolutionary diversification      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When Charles Darwin traveled to the Galapagos Islands almost 200 years ago as a gentleman naturalist, he used the power of observation to develop his theory that species evolve over time.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

This parasitic plant convinces hosts to grow into its own flesh--it's also an extreme example of genome shrinkage      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Balanophora shed one third of its genes as it evolved into a streamlined parasitic plant -- an extreme degree of genome shrinkage even among parasites. Along the way this subtropical plant developed the ability to induce the host plant to grow into the parasite's own flesh -- forming chimeric organs that mix host and parasite tissues.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Understanding the sex life of coral gives hope of clawing it back from the path to extinction      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have mapped the reproductive strategies and life cycle of an endangered coral species, the purple cauliflower soft coral Dendronephthya australis. Lab-grown larvae have been successfully introduced back into the wild.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research
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Monkeys cause a stink in response to human noise      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has found that monkeys increase their use of scent markings to compensate for human noise pollution. The study has investigated how primates change their communication strategies in response to noise pollution. The researchers studied endangered pied tamarins (Saguinus bicolor), which use both vocal calls and scent markings. The researchers found that the frequency of scent marking directly increased in line with noise decibel levels.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Mussels able to adjust heart rate to cope with marine heatwaves      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows that mussels are pretty crafty sea creatures: able to withstand marine heatwaves by adjusting their heart rate and other physiological functions, boding well for their survival in future decades as the world heats up.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Slow growth in crocodile ancestors pre-dated their semi-aquatic lifestyle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A groundbreaking study is reshaping our understanding of crocodile evolution by pinpointing the onset of slow growth rates to the Late Triassic period, much earlier than the previously assumed Early Jurassic timeline. The research highlights newly discovered fossil crocodile ancestors (known as crocodylomorphs) that exhibited slow growth rates, similar to modern-day crocodilians. Intriguingly, these early crocodylomorphs were not the lethargic, semi-aquatic creatures we are familiar with today; they were small, active, and fully terrestrial. The study also suggests that this slow-growth strategy was not a mere evolutionary quirk but a survival mechanism, as only the slow-growing crocodylomorphs managed to survive the End-Triassic mass extinction. This stands in stark contrast to the fast-growing dinosaurs of the same era, setting the stage for the divergent evolutionary paths that would later define their modern descendants.