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Categories: Environmental: Ecosystems, Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds

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Scientists have confirmed their previous observations that rising temperatures increase the sound of snapping shrimp, a tiny crustacean found in temperate and tropical coastal marine environments around the world.

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Comprehensive data from several seasons of field research in the Alaskan Arctic will address uncertainties in Earth-system and climate-change models about snow cover across the region and its impacts on water and the environment.

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New research based on an expedition to the icy waters off Greenland reveals soaring levels of antifreeze proteins in a species of tiny snailfish, underlying the importance of this unique adaptation to life in sub-zero temperatures. The study also warns that warming oceanic temperatures in the Arctic could pose a threat to these highly specialized fishes.

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Thawing Arctic hillsides release a significant amount of organic carbon that has been locked in frozen ground for thousands of years but which now can contribute to an already warming climate, according to new research. The finding comes from the study of hillsides in a far north region of Russia, where the researchers also found a significant and rapid increase of collapsed hillsides. The collapses feature landslides that gradually expose more of the permafrost for thawing -- and more carbon for release.

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A new study shows that 87 genes have been affected by deletions or short insertions during the course of the mammoth's evolution. The researchers note that their findings have implications for international efforts to resurrect extinct species, including the woolly mammoth.

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Researchers successfully captured CT images of an entire woolly mammoth tusk. Researchers were able to do a full scan of the tusk in its entirety -- or in toto -- using a newer clinical CT scanner. The new technology allows for large-scale imaging without having to do multiple partial scans.

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The restoration of grassland ecosystems may need more of a guided, hands-on approach over time, according to a new review of global conservation efforts.

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Tropical coastal ecosystems are among the most biodiverse areas on Earth. And they're also on the front lines of effects caused by human activity. That's why it's becoming increasingly important, especially as human populations increase, to manage the impacts of runoff and wastewater that flow into the sea.

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The northern and central Great Barrier Reef have recorded their highest amount of coral cover since the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) began monitoring 36 years ago. However, average coral cover in the southern region decreased due to ongoing crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks. While the Reef experienced its fourth major bleaching event in the past seven years this year, it didn't reach the intensity of earlier events and was not expected to lead to mass coral mortality.

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As warming ocean temperatures threaten the existence of coral reefs, scientists have successfully used an extremely high-resolution computer simulation of ocean circulation to identify possible 'thermal refugia' where these biodiverse ecosystems are more likely to survive.

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A research team has created a computer modelling program to help scientists predict the effect of climate damage and eventual restoration plans on coral reefs around the globe. This is a critical objective because climate change is killing many coral species and can lead to the collapse of entire coral reef ecosystems, according to researchers.

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A new study reveals that introduced donkeys and indigenous pumas are helping to resurrect extinct food webs in Death Valley.

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Sea ice and wildfires may be more interconnected than previously thought, according to new research.

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Whether by the spear or the plow, humans have been homogenizing the mammal communities of North America for 10,000-plus years, says a new analysis of 8,831 fossils representing 365 species.

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Globally, dairy producers face increasing challenges regarding sustainability, including declining numbers of workers in the agricultural sector, while continuing to meet increasing demand for nutritious and affordable food. Dairy systems must now focus on more sustainable production that reflects economic, environmental, and social goals. A new report explores labor time-use on Irish pasture-based dairy farms in the busy spring and summer seasons.

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Which group of mammals has the more 'primitive' reproductive strategy -- marsupials, with their short gestation periods, or humans and other placental mammals, which have long gestation periods? For decades, biologists viewed marsupial reproduction as 'more primitive.' But scientists have discovered that a third group of mammals, the long-extinct multituberculates, had a long gestation period like placental mammals. Since multituberculates split off from the rest of the mammalian lineage before placentals and marsupials had even evolved, these findings question the view that marsupials were 'less advanced' than their placental cousins.

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A new lab study on garden eels shows how these shy creatures use their burrows, and change their movement and posture, when feeding in strong currents.

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Rising annual temperatures and dwindling yearly precipitation across the mid-latitudes of Central Asia have extended its desert climate 60 miles northward since the 1980s, says a recent study.

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Warm-bloodedness is a key mammal trait, but it's been a mystery when our ancestors evolved it. A new study points to an unlikely source for telling a fossil animal's body temperature: the size of tiny structures in their inner ears. The fluid in our ears becomes runnier at higher temperatures, so animals with warm bodies don't need as big of canals for it to flow through. Turns out, mammal ancestors became warm-blooded nearly 20 million years later than previously thought.

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Scientists investigating the growth of Arctic vegetation have found that seed dispersal and fire will slow its land expansion in the long term, despite more favorable conditions from a warming planet.