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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Environmental: Biodiversity

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Trees
Published

New larks revealed in Africa      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have studied the relationships between five closely related species of larks that occur in Africa south of the Sahara. Two of these have not been observed for decades, so the researchers analyzed DNA from museum specimens, some of which were over 100 years old.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

World's smallest 'fanged' frogs found in Indonesia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified a species of frog new to science. The Indonesian amphibian is the size of a quarter, unlike its two-pound cousins, and has tiny fangs. Nearly uniquely among amphibians, they lay their eggs on the leaves of trees, and the males guard and tend to the nests. 

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology Environmental: Water
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The evolutionary timeline of diminished boric acid and urea transportation in aquaporin 10      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Aquaporin (Aqp) 10 water channels in humans allow the free passage of water, glycerol, urea, and boric acid across cells. However, Aqp10.2b in pufferfishes allows only the passage of water and glycerol and not urea and boric acid. Researchers sought to understand the evolutionary timeline that resulted in the variable substrate selection mechanisms among Aqp10s. Their results indicate that Aqp10.2 in ray-finned fishes may have reduced or lost urea and boric acid permeabilities through evolution.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Animals Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Genetic diversity of wild north American grapes mapped      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Wild North American grapes are now less of a mystery after researchers decoded and catalogued the genetic diversity of nine species of this valuable wine crop.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Genetics of host plants determine what microorganisms they attract      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plants often develop communities with microorganisms in their roots, which influences plant health and development. Although the recruitment of these microbes is dictated by several factors, it is unclear whether the genetic variation in the host plants plays a role.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

15 most pressing issues for conservation, including invertebrate decline and changing marine ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Since 2009, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative has coordinated an annual horizon scan, a well-established method for predicting which threats, changes, and technologies will have the biggest impact on biological conservation in the following year. This year, the 15th horizon scan included 31 scientists, practitioners, and policymakers who developed a list of 96 issues, which they eventually narrowed down to the fifteen most novel and impactful. Their findings include topics related to sustainable energy, declining invertebrate populations, and changing marine ecosystems.

Ecology: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Coral atoll islands may outpace sea-level rise with local ecological restoration, scientists say      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ecological restoration may save coral atoll islands from the rising seas of climate change, according to an international team of scientists, conservationists, and an indigenous leader.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Ancient DNA reveals how a chicken virus evolved to become more deadly      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists led by geneticists and disease biologists has used ancient DNA to trace the evolution of Marek's Disease Virus (MDV). This global pathogen causes fatal infections in unvaccinated chickens and costs the poultry industry over $1 billion per year. The findings show how viruses evolve to become more virulent and could lead to the development of better ways to treat viral infections.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

How can Europe restore its nature?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Early 2024, the European Parliament will take a final vote on the 'Nature Restoration Law' (NRL), a globally unique but hotly debated regulation that aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in Europe. An international team of scientists has investigated the prospects of the new regulation.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Move over Blitzen: Geese outpace reindeer impacts on Arctic ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team is studying how expanding populations of two local herbivores -- reindeer and geese -- on Svalbard will impact the future of the ecosystem on the islands. 

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Research Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

AI provides more accurate analysis of prehistoric and modern animals, painting picture of ancient world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study of the remains of prehistoric and modern African antelopes found that AI technology accurately identified animals more than 90% of the time compared to humans, who had much lower accuracy rates depending on the expert.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

New understanding of ancient genetic parasite may spur medical breakthroughs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have determined the structure of the most common material in our genomes. New treatments for autoimmune diseases, cancer and neurodegeneration may follow.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

How forests smell -- a risk for the climate?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plants emit odors for a variety of reasons, such as to communicate with each other, to deter herbivores or to respond to changing environmental conditions. An interdisciplinary team of researchers carried out a study to investigate how biodiversity influences the emission of these substances. For the first time, they were able to show that species-rich forests emit less of these gases into the atmosphere than monocultures. It was previously assumed that species-rich forests release more emissions. The Leipzig team has now been able to disprove this assumption experimentally.

Biology: Zoology Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Aquatic insects in restored streams need more rocks to lay their eggs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Likening it to providing more runways at busy airports, researchers at North Carolina State University found in a new study that adding protruding rocks to restored streams can help attract female aquatic insects that lay their eggs on the rock bottoms or sides. 

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology
Published

Cell types in the eye have ancient evolutionary origins      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a comparative analysis across vertebrates of the many cell types in the retina -- mice alone have 130 types -- researchers concluded that most cell types have an ancient evolutionary history. Their remarkable conservation across species suggests that the retina of the last common ancestor of all mammals, which roamed the earth some 200 million year ago, must have had a complexity rivaling the retina of modern mammals.

Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Twenty-year study confirms California forests are healthier when burned -- or thinned      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A 20-year experiment in the Sierra Nevada confirms that different forest management techniques -- prescribed burning, restoration thinning or a combination of both -- are effective at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire in California. These treatments also improve forest health, making trees more resilient to stressors like drought and bark beetles, and they do not negatively impact plant or wildlife biodiversity within individual tree stands, the research found.