Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Reforestation schemes are not enough to recover the carbon created by harvesting wood      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Forests have a critical role to play in capturing and storing carbon from the Earth's atmosphere -- but some models exaggerate their carbon removal potential by almost three-fold, according to a leading professor of forest economics.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geography
Published

Birds and bee lessons as Pacific field trips also solve 'Michener's mystery'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Eight new Pacific bee species and new insights into Fijian bird behaviour on Viti Levu Island have been described in new scientific studies. The research highlights the potential for species discovery, ecological and conservation knowledge and cultural engagement from Asia-Pacific research collaborations.

Biology: Microbiology Computer Science: General Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Robots, monitoring and healthy ecosystems could halve pesticide use without hurting productivity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Smarter crop farming that combats weeds, insect pests and plant diseases by integrating modern technologies like AI-based monitoring, robotics, and next-generation biotechnology with healthy and resilient agricultural ecosystems.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Predatory fish use rapid color changes to coordinate attacks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Striped marlin are some of the fastest animals on the planet and one of the ocean's top predators. When hunting in groups, individual marlin will take turns attacking schools of prey fish one at a time. Now a new study helps to explain how they might coordinate this turn-taking style of attack on their prey to avoid injuring each other. The key, according to the new work, is rapid color changes.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Lab-spun sponges form perfect scaffolds for growing skin cells to heal wounds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new technique for electro-spinning sponges has allowed scientists to directly produce 3D scaffolds -- on which skin grafts could be grown from the patient's own skin.

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

Streams connected to groundwater show improved detoxification and microbial diversity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Streams with ample connections to shallow groundwater flow-paths have greater microbial diversity and are more effective at preventing toxic forms of metals -- often products of upstream mining -- from entering and being transported downstream.

Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires
Published

Cooler, wetter parts of Pacific Northwest likely to see more fires, new simulations predict      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Forests in the coolest, wettest parts of the western Pacific Northwest are likely to see the biggest increases in burn probability, fire size and number of blazes as the climate continues to get warmer and drier.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Carbon emissions from the destruction of mangrove forests predicted to increase by 50,000% by the end of the century      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The annual rate of carbon emissions due to the degradation of carbon stocks in mangrove forests is predicted to rise by nearly 50,000% by the end of the century, according to a new study. Mangroves in regions such as southern India, southeastern China, Singapore and eastern Australia are particularly affected.

Ecology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Landslides Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Stronger storms free more nutrients from mud flats      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If storms become stronger in the future due to climate change, more nitrogen may be released from the bottom of coastal seas.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Scientists can tell where a mouse is looking and located based on its neural activity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have paired a deep learning model with experimental data to 'decode' mouse neural activity. Using the method, they can accurately determine where a mouse is located within an open environment and which direction it is facing, just by looking at its neural firing patterns. Being able to decode neural activity could provide insight into the function and behavior of individual neurons or even entire brain regions.

Biology: Botany Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Modeling tree masting      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The effects of a phenomenon called tree masting on ecosystems and food webs can be better understood thanks to new theoretical models validated by real world observations.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

High resolution techniques reveal clues in 3.5 billion-year-old biomass      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To learn about the first organisms on our planet, researchers have to analyze the rocks of the early Earth. These can only be found in a few places on the surface of the Earth. The Pilbara Craton in Western Australia is one of these rare sites: there are rocks there that are around 3.5 billion years old containing traces of the microorganisms that lived at that time. A research team has now found new clues about the formation and composition of this ancient biomass, providing insights into the earliest ecosystems on Earth.

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

Does Russia stand to benefit from climate change?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There exists a narrative about climate change that says there are winners and losers -- with Russia being one of the countries that stand to benefit from its effects. In a new study, researchers found that Russia is suffering from a variety of climate change impacts and is ill-prepared to mitigate or adapt to those climate impacts. And, as the rest of the world transitions to renewable energy sources, Russia's fossil-fuel-dependent government is not willing or ready to make alternative plans for the country, changes that could potentially benefit the whole of their society.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Butterfly and moth genomes mostly unchanged despite 250 million years of evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Comparison of over 200 high-quality butterfly and moth genomes reveals key insights into their biology, evolution and diversification over the last 250 million years, as well as clues for conservation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Citizen science to mitigate the environmental crisis in the marine environment      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Citizen science can help to improve conservation and management strategies for Mediterranean marine ecosystems, and to mitigate the impact of the environmental crisis.

Ecology: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Converting rainforest to plantation impacts food webs and biodiversity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Every day, new areas of rainforests are converted into plantations, drastically changing tropical biodiversity and the way the ecosystem functions. Yet, the current understanding of the consequences is fragmentary: previous studies tended to examine either biodiversity or the ecosystem. An international research team brings these threads together in this study. They analyzed organisms ranging from microscopic mites and earthworms in the soil, to beetles and birds in tree canopies, comparing tropical rainforest with rubber and oil palm plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

An awkward family reunion: Sea monsters are our cousins      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The sea lamprey, a 500-million-year-old animal with a sharp-toothed suction cup for a mouth, is the thing of nightmares. A new study discovered that the hindbrain -- the part of the brain controlling vital functions like blood pressure and heart rate -- of both sea lampreys and humans is built using an extraordinarily similar molecular and genetic toolkit.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Low oxygen in lakes may breathe new life into conservation efforts for water quality      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team analyzed 656 lakes across five continents to provide empirical evidence supporting a long-held theory regarding low deep-water oxygen concentrations, or anoxia.