> | KB | > | Results |
Two new studies published today (January 6, 2022) in the journal Current Biology show that environmental DNA (eDNA) collected from air can be used to detect a wide range of animal species and offers a novel, non-invasive approach to monitoring biodiversity.
A research team from Oregon State University has recently developed an automated method that can reliably identify calls from a family of fish living among coral reefs. This method uses data collected by hydrophones and offers an efficient and cheap way of understanding changes in marine environ ...
An international team of researchers reports evidence that a warmer ocean leads to decreases in fish size. In their study, published in the journal Science, the group analyzed a sediment sample from the ocean floor providing evidence of ocean life going back 130,000 years, to a time when the pla ...
Many South Africans will be familiar with bushbabies—or, at least, with their distinctive call. The small animal, more formally known as the thick-tailed greater galago, takes its common name from that call; it sounds like a crying baby.
Have you recently spotted a spider peeking out from a brown, curled-up leaf in your garden? Chances are you're sharing your yard with the leaf-curling spider, Phonognatha graeffei (pronounced fon-og-natha greef-e-i), a fascinating member of the orb-weaving spider family Araneidae (pronounced ara ...
The hotspots that created volcanic islands such as those of Hawaii, Iceland and the Galapagos Islands may often prove surprisingly cool, a new study finds.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels today are higher than at any point in the past 800,000 years or more. During a year when terms like carbon neutrality and net zero have become more and more commonly used, it appears the world is waking up to the imperative underscored in every high-level climate asse ...
Researchers found that Azteca alfari ants found inside trees that they are frequently able to repair damage to their quarter. The ant repairs were repeated within time to time again. The trials were then written up and published as a part of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's (STRI) v ...
Ocean acidification—which is mainly caused by carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere dissolving into the ocean—is a significant threat to the structure and function of marine life.
The sweetness of sugar is one of life's great pleasures. People's love for sweet is so visceral, food companies lure consumers to their products by adding sugar to almost everything they make: yogurt, ketchup, fruit snacks, breakfast cereals and even supposed health foods like granola bars.
Evidence arguing for a "whiff of oxygen" before the Earth's Great Oxygenation Event 2.3 billion years ago are chemical signatures that were probably introduced at a much later time, according to research published in Science Advances.
According to a 2009 study, U.S. adults look at weather forecasts nearly 300 billion times a year. Reliable forecasts can predict hazardous weather―such as blizzards, hurricanes, and flash floods―as early as 9–10 days before the event. Estimates value these forecasts at $31.5 billion per year.
What gets birds in the mood to knock feathers? It's the unexpected question ecologists and researchers in central Kimberley have been faced with after witnessing an increase in purple-crowned fairy wrens breeding outside of their traditional season.
All living organisms use proteins, which encompass a vast number of complex molecules. They perform a wide array of functions, from allowing plants to use solar energy for oxygen production to helping your immune system fight against pathogens to letting your muscles perform physical work. Many ...
The world faces an increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and a shortage of carbon in the soil. However, bioenergy sorghum can provide meaningful relief from both problems, according to a new study by Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists.
It all started with a grand claim: scientists had discovered the first known four-legged snake fossil from Brazil. The specimen, named Tetrapodophis amplectus, was small—about the size of a pencil—with tiny limbs. It was considered a significant discovery that offered paleontologists a major clu ...
Accounting for air pollution impacts reduces climate mitigation costs without increasing inequality and increases global and regional welfare. A comprehensive integrated assessment modeling framework capturing the most critical interactions between air pollution, climate mitigation and the econo ...
Our planet is teeming with life — and it leaves traces everywhere it goes. These include conspicuous markings such as pawprints or abandoned nests, but also other traces invisible to the naked eye such as DNA.
University of Maryland biologists developed the first mathematical simulations of bacterial communities that incorporate the complex interactions and rapid evolution among bacteria and reflect the tremendous species diversity seen in real life.
Once a rarity, cows with light blue or dark ultramarine hides may again be glimpsed grazing on the Latvian countryside among the regular brown, black or white spotted cattle.
During long portions of the past 2.4 billion years, the Earth may have been more inhospitable to life than scientists previously thought, according to new computer simulations.
The rhythms of activity in all biological organisms, both plants and animals, are closely linked to the gravitational tides created by the orbital mechanics of the sun-Earth-moon system.
The study, published in the journal Science, found that the waters in the region absorbed roughly 0.53 more petagrams (530 million metric tons) of carbon than they released each year, with stronger summertime uptake and less wintertime outgassing than other recent observations have indicated.
Adding just the right amount of sediment to the surface of a Connecticut salt marsh protects coastlines by promoting rapid plant growth, scientists from the University of Connecticut report in a new study published recently in Environmental Engineering.
Higher biomass, less water and more fruit are the results of the first year in a Texas A&M AgriLife Research study comparing mobile drip irrigation, MDI, to low-elevation sprinkler application, LESA, irrigation systems.
When forecasting how storms may change in the future, it helps to know something about their past. Judging from historical records dating back to the 1850s, hurricanes in the North Atlantic have become more frequent over the last 150 years.
A study of the correlation between temperature and mortality in the Indian city of Pune has found that cold, rather than heat, is by far the bigger killer. This is at odds with warnings and mitigating measures authorities have been taking in anticipation of climate change.
The Earth's surface is ever incrementally moving and changing shape, breaking apart and forming new land masses and oceans. In the billions of years of history of planet Earth there have been 10 supercontinents, the most famous and recent being Pangaea breaking apart about 175 million years ago.
Parents are more likely to take action against climate change if observed by their children, a study reveals. The study, carried out in Innsbruck, Austria, looked at how to motivate 'voluntary climate action' across the generations, focusing on parents and children.
It literally took a lot of sweat and some worrying about a possible snake in the grass, but it paid off for a scientist from Wyoming, whose research beefs up evidence that conservation of migratory insect pollinators hinges as much on the ecological integrity of pit stops during their journey as ...
A “social forestry” program administered by the Indonesian government to grant land rights to communities has not been effective in preventing deforestation, and in some cases has even seen the problem get worse, a new study shows.
Flanders Moss bog is slumped on the flat, farmed landscape of the Carse of Stirling in Scotland like a jelly fungi. It wobbles when you walk on it, and a metal pole goes down eight metres before reaching hard ground.
In a new study published in Science Advances, University of Montana researchers found that climate change drives native trout declines by reducing stream habitat and facilitating the expansion of invasive trout species.
One of the most comprehensive studies conducted on beavers has conclusively demonstrated that beavers are essential for freshwater conservation and ecosystem stability by creating and preserving aquatic and wetland environments in Minnesota.
An international team of researchers led by the University of Adelaide, suggest a change in climate is the likely cause of the mysterious disappearance of ancient lions and bears from parts of North America for a thousand years or more prior to the last Ice Age.
Neonicotinoids and other systemic insecticides can contaminate honeydew, which is an important food source for beneficial insects in agroecosystems, according to an international team of researchers.
Soil health refers to the ability of soils to perform vital living system functions in accordance with their potential and over time, and is the foundation of productive, sustainable agriculture.
A new synthesis conducted by a group of international scientists including Madhav P. Thakur from the University of Bern reveals mismatches between above and belowground plant phenology due to climate change. These findings are important to understand the consequences of climate change on terrest ...
Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka this year’s Champion of the Earth for Science and Innovation, has spent three decades helping to safeguard some of the world’s rarest primates, including endangered mountain gorillas.
The mosquitofish is wreaking havoc on native Australian marine life. In a new study, scientists tried to frighten it with a look-alike of its natural foe.
PANJIM: With climate change emerging as a major concern, the State Forest Department is looking to ensure real time mapping and monitoring of various weather parameters to ascertain the impact on biodiversity.
New research shows that physics measurements of just a small portion of reef can be used to assess the health of an entire reef system. The findings may help scientists grasp how these important ecosystems will respond to a changing climate.
The heat dome over Canada’s Pacific Northwest that killed hundreds of humans and “cooked” one billion sea creatures; Europe’s catastrophic floods; and the worst wildfires in almost a decade could become our new normal.
The United States should immediately move to create a collection of strategic forest reserves in the Western U.S. to fight climate change and safeguard biodiversity, according to a scientific collaboration led by an Oregon State University ecologist.
Surprising discovery shows scale of plastic pollution and reveals enzymes that could boost recycling
The campaign to preserve half the Earth’s surface is being criticized for failing to take account of global inequality and human needs. But such protection is essential not just for nature, but also for creating a world that can improve the lives of the poor and disadvantaged.
Scientists are already able to ascertain what species are present in aquatic environments, by analyzing the cast-off DNA which is present in the water. Now, for the first, a team has conducted an insect survey by analyzing DNA found in the air.
Scientists at Lund University have discovered for the first time that it is possible to detect insect DNA in the air. Using air from three sites in Sweden, insect DNA from 85 species could be identified. This offers scope for exploring a whole new way to monitor terrestrial biodiversity.
Butterflies—in contrast to their dainty name and fragile appearance—are a hardy species. And their presence tells us a lot about the surrounding ecosystem, feels Dr Mantha Ramamurthy.
The United States should undertake a major research program into how the oceans could be artificially harnessed to remove carbon dioxide from the air, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.