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Categories: Biology: Botany, Ecology: Animals

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Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Mutation rates in whales are much higher than previously reported      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of marine scientists has studied the DNA of family groups from four different whale species to estimate their mutation rates. Using the newly determined rates, the group found that the number of humpback whales in the North Atlantic before whaling was 86 percent lower than earlier studies suggested.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Ecology: Animals Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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The search for the super potato      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As climate change continues to pose severe challenges to ensuring sustainable food supplies around the world, scientists are looking for ways to improve the resilience and nutritional quality of potatoes. Scientists have assembled the genome sequences of nearly 300 varieties of potatoes and its wild relatives to develop more nutritious, disease-free, and weather-proof crop. A team has now created a potato super pangenome to identify genetic traits that can help produce the next super spud.

Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
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Algae provide clues about 600 million years of plant evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers generated large scale gene expression data to investigate the molecular networks that operate in one of the closest algal relatives of land plants, a humble single-celled alga called Mesotaenium endlicherianum.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Geography
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Rare 14-ft smalltooth sand tiger shark washes up on Irish coast      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists believe a huge 14ft smalltooth sand tiger shark, which washed up at Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford, earlier this year, represents the first of its species to have been found in Ireland's waters. Two other individuals of the same species also washed up on the UK coastline, suggesting this species' geographic range has shifted. The scientists believe these rare finds may offer a window into the future, with more and more species traditionally confined to more tropical waters expected to visit Irish and British waters.

Ecology: Animals Environmental: Ecosystems
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After Chernobyl nuclear accident: The wild boar paradox, finally solved      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While the contamination of deer and roe deer decreased over time as expected, the measured levels of radioactivity in the meat of wild boar remained surprisingly high -- higher than the half-life of cesium would suggest. For many years, this 'wild boar paradox' was considered unsolved. Now an explanation has been found: It is a late aftermath of the nuclear weapons tests from the 1960s.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Bat study reveals how the brain is wired for collective behavior      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers used wireless neural recording and imaging devices to 'listen in' on the hippocampal brain activity of groups of Egyptian fruit bats as they flew freely within a large flight room. The researchers were surprised to find that, in this social setting, the bat's 'place' neurons encoded not only the animal's location, but also information about the presence or absence of other bats, and even the identity of bats in their path.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
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Want to fight climate change? Don't poach gorillas (or elephants, hornbills, toucans, etc.)      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new article found that overhunting of gorillas, elephants, and other large fruit-eating seed-dispersers make tropical forests less able to store or sequester carbon.

Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Zoology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Curious and cryptic: New leaf insects discovered      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research team has described seven previously unknown species of leaf insects, also known as walking leaves. The insects belong to the stick and leaf insect order, which are known for their unusual appearance: they look confusingly similar to parts of plants such as twigs, bark or -- in the case of leaf insects -- leaves. This sophisticated camouflage provides excellent protection from predators as well as presenting a challenge to researchers. Genetic analysis enabled the researchers to discover 'cryptic species', which cannot be distinguished by their external appearance alone. The findings are not only important for the systematic study of leaf insects, but also for the protection of their diversity.

Biology: Botany
Published

Starch discovery reaps benefits for brewing, baking and milling industries      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research has brought clarity to the longstanding question of how starch granules form in the seeds of Triticeae crops -- wheat, barley, and rye -- unlocking diverse potential benefits for numerous industries and for human health.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Move over pythons: These snakes are the real champion eaters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Pythons have huge appetites, but which snake would win an eating contest? Surprisingly, it's a harmless little African snake that consumes eggs whole like an amuse-bouche.

Biology: Botany
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Sweet corn yield at the mercy of the environment, except for one key factor      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new analysis has identified the top factors accounting for yield variability in processing sweet corn (used for canned and frozen products), including one within the control of processors.

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Fungi-eating plants and flies team up for reproduction      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fungi-eating orchids were found for the first time to offer their flowers to fungi-eating fruit flies in exchange for pollination, which is the first evidence for nursery pollination in orchids. This unique new plant-animal relationship hints at an evolutionary transition towards mutualistic symbiosis.

Biology: Botany
Published

Blink and you'll miss these plants shooting their seeds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When witch hazel plants are ready to disperse their seeds, the woody seed capsules split open, pressure builds up, and eventually the seeds shoot out like a bullet fired from a rifle, hitting 30 feet per second in less than five milliseconds. In a new study, researchers looked into how witch hazels manage to fling heavier seeds just as fast as lighter ones. The secret lies in their spring-loaded fruits.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science
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National parks support wildlife inside and outside their borders      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Fresh research suggests that national parks enhance bird diversity inside their borders. Large parks also support higher diversity of both birds and mammals in nearby unprotected areas.

Biology: Evolutionary Ecology: Animals
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Natural selection can slow evolution, maintain similarities across generations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research suggests that natural selection, famous for rewarding advantageous differences in organisms, can also preserve similarities. The researchers worked with a plant called wild radish and its stamens, or pollen-producing parts, two of which are short and four are long. Roughly 55 million years ago, wild radish ancestors had stamens of equal length. The team selectively bred -- or artificially selected -- wild radish to reduce the difference in stamen length and return the plant to a more ancestral look. This shows that today's wild radish and, likely, its family members still have the requisite genetic variability to evolve, but natural selection is preserving its different stamen lengths.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
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Deforestation limits nesting habitat for cavity-nesting birds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study of cavity-nesting birds in Ecuador shows the influence of deforestation on their habitat and reproductive success. Nest boxes could help.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Tree mortality in the Black Forest on the rise -- climate change a key driver      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate impacts such as dry, hot summers reduce the growth and increase the mortality of trees in the Black Forest because they negatively influence the climatic water balance, i.e., the difference between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. That is the central finding of a long-term study of the influence of climate and climate change on trees in the Black Forest.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Biodiversity protects against invasions of non-native tree species      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers combined human and ecological factors to analyze the global scale of non-native tree species invasions. Human activity in hotspots of global trade, such as maritime ports, is linked to an increased likelihood of non-native tree species invasions. However, a high diversity of native tree species can help to curb the intensity of such invasions.