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UrduDigital innovations have the potential to bring people closer to nature, to help ensure there is the necessary strong public support for conservation measures. Examples below. Author Professor Les Firbank, from the University of Leeds’ School of Biology and Global…
Tag: Biodiversity
Pollinator friendliness can extend beyond early spring
Keeping lawns pretty and pollinators happy
Pollinator friendliness can extend beyond early spring
Keeping lawns pretty and pollinators happy
Almost a third of tropical Africa’s flora faces extinction
Given the anthropological and climate threats facing nature, the conservation of tropical biodiversity is a major challenge. To encourage the implementation of better biodiversity management practices, countries and international agreements on biodiversity refer to the assessments of species “at risk…
Dung beetle discovery revises biologists’ understanding of how nature innovates
The realization that thoracic horns are built by the same gene network as wings pushes traditional ideas about the emergence of ‘new’ traits
Simple model explains why different four-legged animals adopt similar gaits
Most mammals walk at slow speeds and run or trot at intermediate speeds because these movement strategies are energetically optimal, according to a study published in PLOS Computational Biology by Delyle Polet and John Bertram of the University of Calgary…
Only eat oysters in months with an ‘r’? Rule of thumb is at least 4,000 years old
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Foodie tradition dictates only eating wild oysters in months with the letter “r” – from September to April – to avoid watery shellfish, or worse, a nasty bout of food poisoning. Now, a new study suggests people…
Yeasts in nectar can stimulate the growth of bee colonies
Researchers from KU Leuven have found that the presence of yeasts can alter the chemical composition and thus the nutritional value of nectar for pollinators such as bees. Moreover, the study found that yeasts can even boost bee health and…
New species of seaweed uncovered by genetic analyses
Genetic analyses have revealed remarkably higher species diversity in common red seaweed than previously assumed. It was thought that there were only five related species of the Gloiopeltis genus (known as ‘funori’ in Japanese) worldwide. However, genetic analyses of historic…
Konstanz scientists among the world’s most influential
Two collective behaviour researchers, Professor Iain Couzin and Dr Damien Farine, have been named in the Highly Cited Researchers 2019 list from the Web of Science Group. The highly anticipated list identifies scientists and social scientists who produced multiple papers…
Bats in attics might be necessary for conservation
Buildings are vital summer roosting places for little brown bat maternity colonies in Yellowstone National Park
New species of seaweed uncovered by genetic analyses
Genetic analyses have revealed remarkably higher species diversity in common red seaweed than previously assumed. It was thought that there were only five related species of the Gloiopeltis genus (known as ‘funori’ in Japanese) worldwide. However, genetic analyses of historic…
Konstanz scientists among the world’s most influential
Two collective behaviour researchers, Professor Iain Couzin and Dr Damien Farine, have been named in the Highly Cited Researchers 2019 list from the Web of Science Group. The highly anticipated list identifies scientists and social scientists who produced multiple papers…
Bats in attics might be necessary for conservation
Buildings are vital summer roosting places for little brown bat maternity colonies in Yellowstone National Park
Saving ‘half Earth’ for nature would affect over a billion people
As the extinction crisis escalates, and protest movements grow, some are calling for hugely ambitious conservation targets. Among the most prominent is sparing 50% of the Earth’s surface for nature. ‘Half Earth’ and similar proposals have gained traction with conservationists…
Mantis shrimp vs. disco clams: Colorful sea creatures do more than dazzle
When Lindsey Dougherty was an undergraduate student at CU Boulder in 2011, she got the chance to visit North Sulawesi, Indonesia, on a research trip. There, in the clear tropical waters off the coast, she encountered an animal that would…
A century later, plant biodiversity struggles in wake of agricultural abandonment
Decades after farmland was abandoned, plant biodiversity and productivity struggle to recover, according to new University of Minnesota research. Published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, researchers examined 37 years of data tied to plant biodiversity (i.e., number of…
The little duck that could: Study finds endangered Hawaiian duck endures
The endangered Hawaiian duck, or koloa, the only endemic duck remaining on the main Hawaiian Islands, is threatened with genetic extinction due to interbreeding with feral mallards. This has led to the creation of hybrid forms of the koloa. But…
Antibiotics from the sea
International research team taps potential source of new antibiotics
The little duck that could: Study finds endangered Hawaiian duck endures
The endangered Hawaiian duck, or koloa, the only endemic duck remaining on the main Hawaiian Islands, is threatened with genetic extinction due to interbreeding with feral mallards. This has led to the creation of hybrid forms of the koloa. But…
Unlikely wasp enemy of a serious alien pest in North America named Idris elba
While a mention of the British movie and music star is missing in its description, the species might prove to be a Heimdall-like ‘protector’ for many crops
Antibiotics from the sea
International research team taps potential source of new antibiotics
Unlikely wasp enemy of a serious alien pest in North America named Idris elba
While a mention of the British movie and music star is missing in its description, the species might prove to be a Heimdall-like ‘protector’ for many crops
Lichens are way younger than scientists thought
You’ve probably seen a lichen, even if you didn’t realize it. If you’ve ever meandered through the forest and wondered what the crusty stuff on trees or rocks was, they’re lichens, a combination of algae and fungi living together almost…
The global distribution of freshwater plants is controlled by catchment characteristics
Globally, photosynthetic modes of terrestrial plants are influenced by climatic factors such as adaptations to variation in air temperature and water availability. In water, CO2 often limits photosynthesis because it moves 10,000-times slower than in air and, thus, rapid photosynthesis…
eDNA reveals where endangered birds of a feather flock together
For the first time, Australian scientists have shown that environmental DNA (eDNA) can be used to detect the presence of an endangered bird species simply by collecting a cupful of water from the pools where they drink. eDNA has emerged…
Pesticides: Improved effect prediction of low toxicant concentrations
UFZ researchers develop model for more realistic risk assessment
DNA data offers scientific look at 500 years of extramarital sex in Western Europe
These days it’s easy to resolve questions about paternity with over-the-counter test kits. Now, researchers have put DNA evidence together with long-term genealogical data to explore similar questions of biological fatherhood on a broad scale among people living in parts…
Two ocean studies look at microscopic diversity and activity across entire planet
Two papers publishing in the journal Cell use samples and data collected during the Tara Oceans Expedition to analyze current ocean diversity across the planet, providing a baseline to better understand the future impacts of climate change on the oceans.…
Bigger doesn’t mean better for hatchery-released salmon
Over 65 years, Chinook salmon hatcheries in the PNW have skewed towards releasing larger fish that are more easily preyed upon
FEFU scientists obtained new compounds with potential antitumor effect from sea sponge
Chemists from Far Eastern Federal University’s School of Natural Sciences (SNS FEFU) developed a new method to synthesize biologically active derivatives of fascaplysin — cytotoxic pigment of a sea sponge. For the first time, they got a sufficient amount of…
Is evolution predictable?
An international team of scientists working with Heliconius butterflies at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama was faced with a mystery: How do pairs of unrelated butterflies from Peru to Costa Rica evolve nearly the same wing-color patterns…
Stanford researchers explore how citizens can become agents of environmental change
A blueprint for how to educate people to maximize their impact
ASU study shows some aquatic plants depend on the landscape for photosynthesis
Runoff from soils and surrounding environments provide life-sustaining carbon
There are variations in plankton biodiversity and activity from the equator to the poles
New results from the Tara Oceans expedition, led by a collaboration between the Tara Ocean Foundation and teams from the CNRS, EMBL, CEA, Sorbonne Université and Université Paris Science Lettres between 2009 and 2013 – today united in the CNRS…
DNA data offers scientific look at 500 years of extramarital sex in Western Europe
These days it’s easy to resolve questions about paternity with over-the-counter test kits. Now, researchers have put DNA evidence together with long-term genealogical data to explore similar questions of biological fatherhood on a broad scale among people living in parts…
Two ocean studies look at microscopic diversity and activity across entire planet
Two papers publishing in the journal Cell use samples and data collected during the Tara Oceans Expedition to analyze current ocean diversity across the planet, providing a baseline to better understand the future impacts of climate change on the oceans.…
Bigger doesn’t mean better for hatchery-released salmon
Over 65 years, Chinook salmon hatcheries in the PNW have skewed towards releasing larger fish that are more easily preyed upon
FEFU scientists obtained new compounds with potential antitumor effect from sea sponge
Chemists from Far Eastern Federal University’s School of Natural Sciences (SNS FEFU) developed a new method to synthesize biologically active derivatives of fascaplysin — cytotoxic pigment of a sea sponge. For the first time, they got a sufficient amount of…
Is evolution predictable?
An international team of scientists working with Heliconius butterflies at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama was faced with a mystery: How do pairs of unrelated butterflies from Peru to Costa Rica evolve nearly the same wing-color patterns…
Stanford researchers explore how citizens can become agents of environmental change
A blueprint for how to educate people to maximize their impact
ASU study shows some aquatic plants depend on the landscape for photosynthesis
Runoff from soils and surrounding environments provide life-sustaining carbon
There are variations in plankton biodiversity and activity from the equator to the poles
New results from the Tara Oceans expedition, led by a collaboration between the Tara Ocean Foundation and teams from the CNRS, EMBL, CEA, Sorbonne Université and Université Paris Science Lettres between 2009 and 2013 – today united in the CNRS…
Genetics of species-specific birdsong revealed
Differences in gene expression led to different bird songs between species. Researchers have discovered the genetic mechanism that explains how birds sing different songs depending on their species. The team from Japan’s Hokkaido University and the National Institute of Advanced…
Predicting evolution
What survives, thrives and dominates over a thousand generations? The answer might be even more complex than previously thought
Oldest molecular information to date illuminates the history of extinct Gigantopithecus
Researchers from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) and the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen have retrieved the oldest molecular evidence on the evolution of hominids
Spot the difference: Two identical-looking bird species with very different genes
Scientists have identified a new bird species from the Southern coast of China, that diverged from its Northern relatives around half a million years ago.
How giant kelp may respond to climate change
In a changing ocean, giant kelp’s reproductive success depends on where it’s from
Oldest molecular information to date illuminates the history of extinct Gigantopithecus
Researchers from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) and the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen have retrieved the oldest molecular evidence on the evolution of hominids
Genetics of species-specific birdsong revealed
Differences in gene expression led to different bird songs between species. Researchers have discovered the genetic mechanism that explains how birds sing different songs depending on their species. The team from Japan’s Hokkaido University and the National Institute of Advanced…