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Categories: Environmental: Ecosystems, Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published Earth's first animals had particular taste in real estate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Even without body parts that allowed for movement, new research shows -- for the first time -- that some of Earth's earliest animals managed to be picky about where they lived.
Published Can a city store as much carbon as a forest?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new tool helps show how growing cities can remain carbon neutral.
Published Exploring the underground connections between trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fungal networks interconnecting trees in a forest is a key factor that determines the nature of forests and their response to climate change. These networks have also been viewed as a means for trees to help their offspring and other tree-friends, according to the increasingly popular 'mother-tree hypothesis'. An international group of researchers re-examined the evidence for and against this hypothesis in a new study.
Published Tooth enamel provides clues to hunter-gatherer lifestyle of Neanderthals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study has given an intriguing glimpse of the hunting habits and diets of Neanderthals and other humans living in western Europe.
Published Small wildlife surveys can produce 'big picture' results
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Small-scale wildlife surveys can reveal the health of entire ecosystems, new research shows.
Published Viruses could reshuffle the carbon cycle in a warming world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The roles microbes play in ecosystems are changing with global warming. Microbes are also affected by infection by viruses, but scientists know relatively little about how these viral infections could change how microbes react to warming. In this study, scientists describe different ways that increasing temperatures could affect viruses and their microbial hosts. Their preliminary models show that viruses could alter carbon balance, causing some ecosystems to switch from net carbon sources to net carbon sinks.
Published Cleanup of inactive Gulf of Mexico wells estimated at $30 billion
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new article examines the cost to plug 14,000 wells that are inactive, have not produced for five years and are unlikely to be reactivated in the Gulf of Mexico region, which is the epicenter of U.S. offshore oil and gas operations.
Published First observational evidence of beaufort gyre stabilization, which could be precursor to huge freshwater release
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study provides the first observational evidence of the stabilization of the anti-cyclonic Beaufort Gyre, which is the dominant circulation of the Canada Basin and the largest freshwater reservoir in the Arctic Ocean.
Published Archaea in a warming climate become less diverse, more predictable
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using a long-term multifactor experimental field site researchers showed that experimental warming of a tallgrass prairie ecosystem significantly altered the community structure of soil archaea and reduced their taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity.
Published Single approach on wild horses
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Because contrasting societal views have created an approach that simultaneously manages horses on the range as wildlife, livestock and pets, current U.S. government programs are incapable of succeeding, according to researchers.
Published Scientists begin to unravel global role of atmospheric dust in nourishing oceans
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research begins to unravel the role dust plays in nourishing global ocean ecosystems while helping regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
Published How seaweed has been misleading scientists about reef health
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For decades, scientists have used the amount of seaweed at the ocean's surface as a proxy for the health of coral reefs below. However, a new global study of more than 1,200 marine locations over a 16-year period reveals that this approach has been misleading -- and may even have hidden signs of reef stress.
Published Vanishing glaciers threaten alpine biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source With glaciers melting at unprecedented rates due to climate change, invertebrates that live in the cold meltwater rivers of the European Alps will face widespread habitat loss, warn researchers. Many of the species are likely to become restricted to cold habitats that will only persist higher in the mountains, and these areas are also likely to see pressures from the skiing and tourism industries or from the development of hydroelectric plants.
Published Marine seagrass meadows show resilience to 'bounce back' after die-offs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study in Florida Bay, one of the largest global contiguous seagrass systems, examined if a phytotoxin that accumulates as seagrass ecosystems become more enriched in nutrients prevents a marine seagrass, turtlegrass, from recruiting into open bare sediment following die-off events. While they do 'bounce back,' long-term monitoring indicates the timeframe for recovery after major die-off events is at least a decade. Turtlegrass can successfully recruit into open bare sediment following die-off events due to biomass partitioning.
Published New tusk-analysis techniques reveal surging testosterone in male woolly mammoths
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Traces of sex hormones extracted from a woolly mammoth's tusk provide the first direct evidence that adult males experienced musth, a testosterone-driven episode of heightened aggression against rival males, according to a new study.
Published Indo-Pacific corals more resilient to climate change than Atlantic corals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the face of global warming and other environmental changes, corals in the Atlantic Ocean have declined precipitously in recent years, while corals in the Pacific and Indian Oceans are faring better. By describing several species of symbiotic algae that these corals need to grow, an international team has found that these mutualistic relationships from the Indo-Pacific may be more flexible and ultimately resilient to higher ocean temperatures than those in the Atlantic.
Published Researchers discover that the ice cap is teeming with microorganisms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Greenlandic ice is teeming with life, both on the surface and underneath. There are microscopic organisms that until recently science had no idea existed. There is even evidence to suggest that the tiny creatures color the ice and make it melt faster.
Published The science behind the life and times of the Earth's salt flats
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have characterized two different types of surface water in the hyperarid salars -- or salt flats -- that contain much of the world's lithium deposits. This new characterization represents a leap forward in understanding how water moves through such basins, and will be key to minimizing the environmental impact on such sensitive, critical habitats.
Published Machine learning helps scientists identify the environmental preferences of microbes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A machine-learning approach can give scientists insight into the environmental preferences of microbes, based only on their genes. The approach has practical research implications: it could help researchers more efficiently grow bacteria in the laboratory. It could also lead to smarter use of microbes in agriculture, ecological restoration, and even probiotics.
Published New research redefines mammalian tree of life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists from around the globe are using the largest mammalian genomic dataset in history to determine the evolutionary history of the human genome in the context of mammalian evolutionary history. Their ultimate goal is to better identify the genetic basis for traits and diseases in people and other species.