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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Environmental: Biodiversity

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Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Naturally regrowing forests are helping to protect the remaining old forests in the Amazon      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Secondary forests that have regrown naturally on land abandoned from agriculture  are important in counteracting the effects of forest fragmentation across the Amazon basin, according to new findings.

Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Diverse forests hold huge carbon potential, as long as we cut emissions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New study estimates that natural forest recovery could capture approximately 226 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon, but only if we also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving these results requires community-driven efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity. In brief: Forests have the potential to capture 226 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon in areas where they would naturally exist. This forest potential can only be achieved alongside emissions cuts. Sixty-one percent of the forest potential can be achieved by protecting existing forests and allowing them to regrow to maturity. Thirty-nine percent can be achieved by reconnecting fragmented landscapes through community-driven ecosystem restoration and management. A natural diversity of species is needed to maximize the forest carbon potential.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Found at last: Bizarre, egg-laying mammal finally rediscovered after 60 years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A long-beaked echidna named after Sir David Attenborough and last seen by scientists in 1961 has been photographed for the first time in an Indonesian tropical forest. An international team of researchers worked with local communities to deploy over 80 camera traps to film the elusive animal. Besides rediscovering the echidna, the team uncovered a wealth of species completely new to science, including beetles, spiders, and a remarkable tree-dwelling shrimp.

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

Scientists caution against a reliance on mechanical devices to clear water bodies of plastic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international group of scientists has called for the United Nations Treaty on Plastic Pollution to focus more on measures to reduce the production and consumption of plastics and the prevention of future plastic waste, rather than on the unselective removal of waste already in the water.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Bacteria-virus arms race provides rare window into rapid and complex evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Rather than a slow, gradual process as Darwin envisioned, biologists can now see how evolutionary changes unfold on much more accelerated timescales. Using an accelerated arms race between bacteria and viruses, researchers are documenting rapid evolutionary processes in simple laboratory flasks in only three weeks.

Chemistry: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Plastics treaty must tackle problem at source      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The new Global Plastics Treaty must tackle the problem at source, researchers say. They say the treaty must prioritize 'upstream' issues: cutting total production and consumption of plastics, phasing out hazardous chemicals and tackling fossil fuel subsidies.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology
Published

Poison dart frogs: Personality determines reproductive strategies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Unlike their relatives, individuals of the poison frog Allobates femoralis are not poisonous but are captivating due to their different behavioral profiles: They successfully reproduce with different strategies depending on whether they are bold, aggressive or explorative. In addition, certain character traits are already present in this species at the tadpole stage.

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

'Alien' wasps thriving in tropical forests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers say they have discovered high diversity of Darwin wasps in a tropical rainforest in Brazil, wasps which were previously thought to thrive more in cooler habitats.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Animals Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Yeast with an over half synthetic genome is created in the lab      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have combined over seven synthetic chromosomes that were made in the lab into a single yeast cell, resulting in a strain with more than 50% synthetic DNA that survives and replicates similarly to wild yeast strains. A global consortium is working to develop the first synthetic eukaryote genome from scratch. The team has now synthesized and debugged all sixteen yeast chromosomes.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Scientists take major step towards completing the world's first synthetic yeast      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of Scientists has completed construction of a synthetic chromosome as part of a major international project to build the world's first synthetic yeast genome. The work represents completion of one of the 16 chromosomes of the yeast genome, which is part of the biggest project ever in synthetic biology; the international synthetic yeast genome collaboration. The collaboration, known as 'Sc2.0' has been a 15-year project involving teams from around the world (UK, US, China, Singapore, UK, France and Australia), working together to make synthetic versions of all of yeast's chromosomes. Alongside this paper, another 9 publications are also released today from other teams describing their synthetic chromosomes. The final completion of the genome project -- the largest synthetic genome ever -- is expected next year.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Nature
Published

Cracking the code: Genome sequencing reveals why songbirds are larger in colder climates      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have unlocked the genetic basis underlying the remarkable variation in body size observed in song sparrows, one of North America's most familiar and beloved songbirds. This discovery also provides insights into this species' capacity to adapt to the challenges of climate change. The study used genomic sequencing to successfully pinpoint eight genetic variants, or DNA mutations, largely responsible for the nearly threefold difference in body size observed across the song sparrow range from Mexico to Alaska. 

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Chemistry: Biochemistry
Published

Video technology could transform how scientists monitor changes in species evolution and development      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research combines microscope and video technology to analyze how different species develop, and how changes in the timings of any developments can be tracked. A detailed analysis of the Energy Proxy Traits (EPTs) that result from these processes has provided researchers with the first evidence that traditionally measured timings of developmental events are associated with far broader changes to the full set of an embryo's observable characteristics.