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Categories: Environmental: Biodiversity, Paleontology: Fossils
Published Nature at risk in the hunt for the perfect selfie
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The need for a dramatic selfie or the perfect landscape photo is proving detrimental to nature, a new research collaboration has found.
Published Early mammals lived longer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What distinguishes the growth and development patterns of early mammals of the Jurassic period? Paleontologists have been able to gauge the lifespan and growth rates of these ancient animals, and even when they reached maturity, by studying growth rings in fossilized tooth roots.
Published Elephants on the move: Mapping connections across African landscapes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Elephant conservation is a major priority in southern Africa, but habitat loss and urbanization mean the far-ranging pachyderms are increasingly restricted to protected areas like game reserves. The risk? Contained populations could become genetically isolated over time, making elephants more vulnerable to disease and environmental change.
Published The race to discover biodiversity: 11 new marine species and a new platform for rapid species description
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new paper describes a ground-breaking experiment that united 25 independent taxonomists from 10 countries. The initiative boasts the discovery of 11 new marine species from all over the globe, occurring at depths from 5.2 to 7081 meters. It also represents a significant step forward in accelerating the pace at which new marine species are described and published.
Published A new way of thinking about the economy could help protect the Amazon, and help its people thrive
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To protect the Amazon and support the wellbeing of its people, its economy needs to shift from environmentally harmful production to a model built around the diversity of indigenous and rural communities, and standing forests.
Published Carvings at ancient monument may be world's oldest calendars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Markings on a stone pillar at a 12,000 year-old archaeological site in Turkey likely represent the world's oldest solar calendar, created as a memorial to a devastating comet strike, experts suggest.
Published Smallest arm bone in human fossil record sheds light on the dawn of Homo floresiensis
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study reports the discovery of extremely rare early human fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores, including an astonishingly small adult limb bone. Dated to about 700,000 years old, the new findings shed light on the evolution of Homo floresiensis, the so-called 'Hobbits' of Flores whose remains were uncovered in 2003 at Liang Bua cave in the island's west.
Published Fossil shows how penguins' wings evolved
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A tiny fossil penguin plays a huge role in the evolutionary history of the bird, an international study shows.
Published Sea level changes shaped early life on Earth, fossil study reveals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Shifts in the Earth's continental plates that drove long-term changes in sea level set the stage for the evolution of the earliest animals on Earth, a study suggests.
Published Half a billion-year-old spiny slug reveals the origins of mollusks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Exceptional fossils with preserved soft parts reveal that the earliest mollusks were flat, armored slugs without shells. The new species, Shishania aculeata, was covered with hollow, organic, cone-shaped spines. The fossils preserve exceptionally rare detailed features which reveal that these spines were produced using a sophisticated secretion system that is shared with annelids (earthworms and relatives).
Published Scientists devise method to secure Earth's biodiversity on the moon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research led proposes a plan to safeguard Earth's imperiled biodiversity by cryogenically preserving biological material on the moon. The moon's permanently shadowed craters are cold enough for cryogenic preservation without the need for electricity or liquid nitrogen.
Published North Sea oil and gas extraction spikes pollution by 10,000 percent, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source North Sea oil and gas extraction can cause pollution to spike by more than 10,000 percent within half a kilometer around off-shore sites, a study has found. The research has uncovered the true impact on Britain's seabed life -- with the number of species plummeting nearly 30 percent near platforms.
Published California a botanical and climate change hot spot
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Climate-driven shifts in California's biodiversity call for innovation and continued environmental stewardfship, says a new study. California's 30x30 Initiative and efforts to harmonize biodiversity with renewable energy are promising steps, while wildfire strategies need to further adapt.
Published Scientists untangle interactions between the Earth's early life forms and the environment over 500 million years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The atmosphere, the ocean and life on Earth interacted over the past 500-plus million years in ways that improved conditions for early organisms to thrive. Now, an interdisciplinary team of scientists has produced a perspective article of this co-evolutionary history.
Published Thousands of birds and fish threatened by mining for clean energy transition, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Our increasing demand for metals and minerals is putting over four thousand vertebrate species at risk, with the raw materials needed for clean energy infrastructure often located in global biodiversity hotspots, a study has found.
Published Great Salt Lake a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Newly announced research examining greenhouse gas emissions from the drying lake bed of Great Salt Lake, Utah, calculates that 4.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were released in 2020. This research suggests that drying lake beds are an overlooked but potentially significant source of greenhouse gases, which may further increase due to climate change.
Published How well does tree planting work in climate change fight? It depends
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using trees as a cost-effective tool against climate change is more complicated than simply planting large numbers of them, an international collaboration has shown.
Published Scientists assess how large dinosaurs could really get
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study looks at the maximum possible sizes of dinosaurs, using the carnivore, Tyrannosaurus rex, as an example. Using computer modelling, experts produced estimates that T. Rex might have been 70% heavier than what the fossil evidence suggests.
Published Taco-shaped arthropod fossils gives new insights into the history of the first mandibulates
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Palaeontologists are helping resolve the evolution and ecology of Odaraia, a taco-shaped marine animal that lived during the Cambrian period. Fossils reveal Odaraia had mandibles. Palaeontologists are finally able to place it as belonging to the mandibulates, ending its long enigmatic classification among the arthropods since it was first discovered in the Burgess Shale over 100 years ago and revealing more about early evolution and diversification.
Published Nanoscopic imaging aids in understanding protein, tissue preservation in ancient bones
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A pilot study shows that nanoscopic 3-D imaging of ancient bone not only provides further insight into the changes soft tissues undergo during fossilization, it also has potential as a fast, practical way to determine which specimens are likely candidates for ancient DNA and protein sequence preservation.