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Categories: Archaeology: General, Environmental: Biodiversity
Published AI models identify biodiversity from animal sounds in tropical rainforests



Animal sounds are a very good indicator of biodiversity in tropical reforestation areas. Researchers demonstrate this by using sound recordings and AI models.
Published Coffee and cocoa plants at risk from pollinator loss



Tropical crops such as coffee, cocoa, watermelon and mango may be at risk due to the loss of insect pollinators, finds a new study.
Published Tens of thousands of endangered sharks and rays caught off Congo



Tens of thousands of endangered sharks and rays are caught by small-scale fisheries off the Republic of the Congo each year, new research shows.
Published Remains of artificial turf is an important source of pollution of the aquatic environment



Every year, around 1,200 and 1,400 artificial turf sports fields are installed in the European Union. These fields are made up of synthetic fibers, mainly plastics, that mimic the appearance of natural grass. Recently, scientists conducted a study that characterizes and quantifies the presence of artificial turf fibers in samples collected from surface waters of the Catalan coast and the Guadalquivir River. The findings indicate that artificial turfs can be an important source of pollution in the aquatic environment, accounting for up to 15% of the plastics larger than 5 mm in length that are found floating in the aquatic environment.
Published Epiphytes, amazing plants like moss and bromeliads found in trees, face growing threats



Epiphytes, plants such as orchids and mosses that grow in trees, draw nutrients from the air and create refuge for all sorts of other life forms. They are the foundation of forest canopy ecosystems, but they are facing threats from human and natural disturbances.
Published Shining a light on tiny, solar-powered animals



Acoels have been found to host a wide diversity of symbiotic, photosynthetic microalgae.
Published Invertebrate biodiversity is improving in England's rivers, long-term trends show



Rivers across England have seen a significant improvement in river invertebrate biodiversity since 1989, shows a new study.
Published Carbon-capture tree plantations threaten tropical biodiversity for little gain, ecologists say



The increasingly urgent climate crisis has led to a boom in commercial tree plantations in an attempt to offset excess carbon emissions. However, authors argue that these carbon-offset plantations might come with costs for biodiversity and other ecosystem functions. Instead, the authors say we should prioritize conserving and restoring intact ecosystems.
Published Improved mangrove conservation could yield cash, carbon, coastal benefits



A shift in the way we think about the benefits mangroves provide to coastal regions could yield significant economic and biodiversity gains and protect millions from flooding, research has revealed.
Published Scientists investigate Grand Canyon's ancient past to predict future climate impacts



A team explores relationship between warming post-Ice Age temperatures and intensifying summer monsoon rains on groundwater reserves.
Published A turtle time capsule: DNA found in ancient shell



Paleontologists discover possible DNA remains in fossil turtle that lived 6 million years ago in Panama, where continents collide.
Published Plastic cloud: New study analyzes airborne microplastics in clouds



Plastic waste that accumulates on land eventually ends up in the ocean as microplastics. However, it is now speculated that microplastics are also present in the atmosphere, contained in clouds. In a new study, researchers analyzed cloud water samples from high-altitude mountains in Japan to ascertain the amount of microplastics in them. They also shed light on how these airborne particles influence cloud formation and their negative impact on the climate.
Published Protecting lands slows biodiversity loss among vertebrates by five times



Protecting large swaths of Earth's land can help stem the tide of biodiversity loss -- especially when those protected areas are in less disturbed landscapes and in countries with effective national governance. A new study looked at how amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds fared in protected versus unprotected areas worldwide. Vertebrate abundance decreased five times more slowly inside protected areas, offering much-needed support for the United Nations' '30 by 30' conservation initiative.
Published Ocean acidification makes ecologically important seaweed species fragile



Ocean acidification will likely almost triple by the end of the century -- a drastic environmental change that could impact important marine species like fleshy seaweeds, algae that grow vertically and promote biodiversity in more than a third of the world's coastline. To get a better idea of how seaweeds might fare in a rapidly acidifying ocean, a team of marine scientists subjected a common fleshy seaweed species to the acidification levels expected by the end of the century. They report that increased acidification impacted the seaweed's chemical balance, made both its structure and its tissues weaker, and reduced its overall chances of survival.
Published Pollen analysis suggests peopling of Siberia and Europe by modern humans occurred during a major Pleistocene warming spell



A new study appearing in Science Advances compares Pleistocene vegetation communities around Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia, to the oldest archeological traces of Homo sapiens in the region. The researchers use the 'remarkable evidence' to tell a compelling story from 45,000-50,000 years ago with new detail: how the first humans migrated across Europe and Asia.
Published Probing the deep genetic structure of Africa



Using ancestry decomposition techniques an international research team has revealed a deeply divergent ancestry among admixed populations from the Angolan Namib desert. This unique genetic heritage brings the researchers closer to understanding the distribution of genetic variation in the broader region of southern Africa before the spread of food production.
Published Greenwashing a threat to a 'nature positive' world



Researchers have identified the threat greenwashing poses to a 'nature positive' world, one where environmental decline halts and biodiversity outcomes improve.
Published New study reveals a long history of violence in ancient hunter-gatherer societies



Violence was a consistent part of life among ancient communities of hunter-gatherers, according to a new study that looked for signs of trauma on 10,000-year-old skeletal remains from burial sites in northern Chile.
Published Understanding the sex life of coral gives hope of clawing it back from the path to extinction



Scientists have mapped the reproductive strategies and life cycle of an endangered coral species, the purple cauliflower soft coral Dendronephthya australis. Lab-grown larvae have been successfully introduced back into the wild.
Published New study finds that sewage release is worse for rivers than agriculture



Sewage pollution, whether treated or untreated, was found to be the primary driver of increased nutrients, algae, and sewage fungus in rivers. Sewage discharge also radically altered plant, animal, and microbe communities, increasing the abundance of harmful species. Run-off from agriculture was also found to lower water quality and be particularly harmful for sensitive insect groups.