Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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New study reveals surprising insights into feeding habits of carnivorous dinosaurs in North America      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research sheds light on the dining habits of ancient carnivorous dinosaurs from Jurassic rocks of the USA. A recent study explores the bite marks left on the ancient bones of the giant long-necked sauropod dinosaurs like Diplodocus and Brontosaurus by carnivorous theropod dinosaurs.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
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Some of today's earthquakes may be aftershocks from quakes in the 1800s      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In the 1800s, some of the strongest earthquakes in recorded U.S. history struck North America's continental interior. Almost two centuries later, the central and eastern United States may still be experiencing aftershocks from those events, a new study finds.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
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No scientific evidence for cognitively advanced behaviors and symbolism by Homo naledi      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study casts doubt on claims that Homo naledi, a small-brained hominin dating to between 335-241,000 years ago, deliberately buried their dead and produced rock art in Rising Star Cave, South Africa. Recent articles suggested the recent excavations at the Rising Star Cave system provided evidence of at least three burial features, two in the Dinaledi Chamber and a third in the Hill Antechamber cavity. The group of experts have now called for a deeper dig into the science behind the findings.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Endangered turtle population under threat as pollution may lead to excess of females being born      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers find exposure to heavy metals cadmium and antimony and certain organic contaminants, accumulated by the mother and transferred to her eggs, may cause embryos to be feminized in green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), a species already at risk of extinction from a current lack of male hatchlings.

Biology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: General
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Palaeo-CSI: Mosasaurs were picky eaters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mosasaurs, those large marine reptiles from the long-gone Cretaceous world, were quite picky in their choice of diet. Researchers came to this conclusion after studying the wear marks on mosasaur teeth.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
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Zooplankton in ocean and freshwater are rapidly escalating the global environmental threat of plastics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A collaborative research team has recently revealed that rotifers, a kind of microscopic zooplankton common in both fresh and ocean water around the world, are able to chew apart microplastics, breaking them down into even smaller, and potentially more dangerous, nanoplastics -- or particles smaller than one micron. Each rotifer can create between 348,000 -- 366,000 per day, leading to uncountable swarms of nanoparticles in our environment.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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A different take on phosphorus: Bacteria use organic phosphorus and release methane in the process      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some bacteria are able to tap into unusual sources of nutrients in the surface water of the oceans. This enables them to increase their primary production and extract more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In doing so, however, they release the potent greenhouse gas methane.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: General Biology: Marine Chemistry: Biochemistry Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Engineering: Robotics Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Oceanography
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Device 'smells' seawater to discover, detect novel molecules      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Under the ocean's surface, marine organisms are constantly releasing invisible molecules. Some of the chemical clues reveal which creatures are nearby, while others could be used someday as medications. Now, researchers report a proof-of-concept device that 'sniffs' seawater, trapping dissolved compounds for analyses. The team showed that the system could easily concentrate molecules that are present in underwater caves and holds promise for drug discovery in fragile ecosystems, including coral reefs.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Paleontology: General
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Why a surprising discovery, warming seas and the demise of the 'Meg' may spell trouble for more and more sharks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some unexpected shark strandings and subsequent surprises following autopsies have, ironically, taken marine biologists millions of years back in time as they look to the future with concern. Adding chapters to an evolutionary tale involving the infamous megalodon shark (the 'Meg'), they think their work suggests there are more warm-blooded sharks out there than previously believed, and -- based on the Meg's demise -- these species may be at great risk from warming seas.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
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French love letters confiscated by Britain finally read after 265 years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Over 100 letters sent to French sailors by their fianc es, wives, parents and siblings -- but never delivered -- have been opened and studied for the first time since they were written in 1757-8.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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New algae species rewrites understanding of reef systems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of marine scientists has identified and officially named four species of algae new to science, challenging previous taxonomical assumptions within the Porolithon genus. The discovery has far-reaching implications for our understanding of the ecological role of these algae in the coral reef ecosystem. 

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Chemistry: Biochemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Two fins are better than one: Fish synchronize tail fins to save energy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

They say two heads are better than one. But in the world of fish, it appears two fins are better than one. Researchers have produced a theoretical model that demonstrates the underlying mechanisms behind how fish will synchronize their fin movements to ride each other's vortices, thereby saving energy.

Anthropology: Cultures Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
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Long-distance weaponry identified at the 31,000-year-old archaeological site of Maisières-Canal      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The hunter-gatherers who settled on the banks of the Haine, a river in southern Belgium, 31,000 years ago were already using spearthrowers to hunt their game. The material found at the archaeological site of Maisières-Canal permits establishing the use of this hunting technique 10,000 years earlier than the oldest currently known preserved spearthrowers. This discovery is prompting archaeologists to reconsider the age of this important technological innovation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Crust-forming algae are displacing corals in tropical waters worldwide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Over the past few decades, algae have been slowly edging corals out of their native reefs across the globe by blocking sunlight, wearing the corals down physically, and producing harmful chemicals. But in recent years, a new type of algal threat has surfaced in tropical regions like the Caribbean -- one that spreads quickly and forms a crust on top of coral and sponges, suffocating the organisms underneath and preventing them from regrowing. Marine biologists report that peyssonnelioid alga crusts, or PACs, are expanding quickly across reefs worldwide, killing off corals and transforming entire ecosystems.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems
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Adult coral can handle more heat and keep growing thanks to heat-evolved symbionts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Adult fragments of a coral species can better tolerate bleaching and recover faster when treated with tougher heat-evolved symbionts, new research indicates. The study also found that treatment with the heat-evolved symbionts did not compromise the coral's ability to grow. This differs from previous studies on Great Barrier Reef corals which found that naturally heat tolerant symbionts could enhance heat resistance in adult corals, but at a cost to its growth.