Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

'Teacher Toads' can save native animals from toxic cane toads      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists from Macquarie University have come up with an innovative way to stop cane toads killing native wildlife by training goannas to avoid eating the deadly amphibians.

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

Impact of climate change on marine life much bigger than previously known      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fish and invertebrate animals are far more affected by warmer and more acidic seawater than was previously known. The big gain of the new method is that more details become known about effects of climate change on species.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography
Published

Humans converted at least 250,000 acres of estuaries to cities, farms in last 35 years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Worldwide over the past 35 years, dams and land reclamation activities converted 250,000 acres of estuary -- an area roughly 17 times the size of Manhattan -- to urban land or agricultural fields, with most land conversion and estuary loss in rapidly developing countries, a new study finds. The findings could help developing countries avoid problems faced by countries that have already lost or degraded their estuaries.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

A natural touch for coastal defense      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Common 'hard' coastal defenses, like concrete sea walls, might struggle to keep up with increasing climate risks. A new study shows that combining them with nature-based solutions could, in some contexts, create defenses which are better able to adapt.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Deep parts of Great Barrier Reef 'insulated' from global warming -- for now      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some deeper areas of the Great Barrier Reef are insulated from harmful heatwaves -- but that protection will be lost if global warming continues, according to new research.

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

Boreal forest and tundra regions worst hit over next 500 years of climate change, study shows      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Modelling climate change over a 500 year period shows that much of the boreal forest, the Earth's northernmost forests and most significant provider of carbon storage and clean water, could be seriously impacted, along with tundra regions, treeless shrublands north of the boreal forest that play a significant role in regulating the Earth's climate.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Inexplicable flying fox found in Hydra galaxy cluster      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

High sensitivity radio observations have discovered a cloud of magnetized plasma in the Hydra galaxy cluster. The odd location and shape of this plasma defy all conventional explanations. Dubbed the Flying Fox based on its silhouette, this plasma will remain a mystery until additional observations can provide more insight.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Dinosaur study challenges Bergmann's rule      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study calls into question Bergmann's rule, an 1800s-era scientific principle stating that animals in high-latitude, cooler climates tend to be larger than close relatives living in warmer climates.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

eDNA methods give a real-time look at coral reef health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The study underscores the crucial role of microbes in maintaining coral reef health, akin to the human gut microbiome. Hurricanes and disease outbreaks affect coral reef water microbial communities, leading to changes that may support further reef decline. Microbial analysis enables prompt assessment of disturbances' impacts on coral reefs, facilitating timely interventions to support reef ecosystems. Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis offers a noninvasive approach to study coral microbial communities and diagnose reef health.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers has shown that molecules can be as formidable at scrambling quantum information as black holes by combining mathematical tools from black hole physics and chemical physics and testing their theory in chemical reactions.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Neutron stars are key to understanding elusive dark matter      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists may be one step closer to unlocking one of the great mysteries of the universe after calculating that neutron stars might hold a key to helping us understand elusive dark matter.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomy: How do brown dwarfs form?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New observations provide insights into whether the birth of the giant planets takes a similar course to that of stars.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
Published

Four in five bird species cannot tolerate intense human pressures      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a recent study, researchers found that 78% of the world's bird species do not thrive in the most modified human-dominated environments. These species are also most likely to have declining populations.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

CHEOPS detects a 'rainbow' on an exoplanet      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The CHEOPS space telescope is providing new information on the mysterious exoplanet WASP-76b. This ultra-hot giant is characterized by an asymmetry between the amount of light observed on its eastern terminator -- the fictitious line that separates its night side from its day side -- and that observed on its western terminator. This peculiarity is thought to be due to a 'glory', a luminous phenomenon similar to a rainbow, which occurs if the light from the star -- the 'sun' around which the exoplanet orbits -- is reflected by clouds made up of a perfectly uniform substance. If this hypothesis is confirmed, this would be the first detection of this phenomenon outside our solar system.

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

Ocean floor a 'reservoir' of plastic pollution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New science has taken a deep dive into plastic waste, providing the first estimate of how much ends up on the sea floor.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Stellar collisions produce strange, zombie-like survivors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Densely packed, fast-moving stars at the Milky Way's center can collide with each other. New research uses simulations to explore the outcomes of these collisions. Some collisions are more like 'violent high fives' while others are full-on mergers.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

What four decades of canned salmon reveal about marine food webs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have shown that levels of anisakid worms -- a common marine parasite -- rose in two salmon species in the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay over a 42-year period. The team discovered this by studying salmon caught, killed and canned from 1979 to 2021. Since anisakid worms have a complex life cycle involving multiple types of hosts, the researchers interpret their rising numbers as a potential sign of ecosystem recovery, possibly driven by rising numbers of marine mammals thanks to the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General
Published

'Diverse' agriculture benefits people and the environment at the same time      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new analysis from 2,655 farms on five continents suggests that moving away from industrial, monoculture farming could benefit both the planet and people.

Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

First results from DESI make the most precise measurement of our expanding universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have used the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to make the largest 3D map of our universe and world-leading measurements of dark energy, the mysterious cause of its accelerating expansion.