University of South Australia ecologist Joan Gibbs describes the day that fires tore through her property in the Adelaide Hills, leaving a trail of devastation. One month on, there are signs of recovery.
Tag: Ecology
Native Americans did not make large-scale changes to environment prior to European contact
Contrary to long-held beliefs, humans did not make major changes to the landscape prior to European colonization, according to new research conducted in New England featuring faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York. These new insights into the past could help to inform how landscapes are managed in the future.
Human-caused biodiversity decline started millions of years ago
The human-caused biodiversity decline started much earlier than researchers used to believe. According to a new study published in the scientific journal Ecology Letters the process was not started by our own species but by some of our ancestors.
Hummingbirds’ rainbow colors come from pancake-shaped structures in their feathers
Hummingbirds are some of the most brightly-colored things in the entire world.
Connector fungi offer new clues to fate of nitrogen in warming tundra
Northern Arizona University professors Rebecca Hewitt and Michelle Mack authored the study, published this week in New Phytologist, which could have implications for researchers and computer models that predict where nitrogen and carbon go at both regional and global levels.
New ‘umbrella’ species would massively improve conservation
The protection of Australia’s threatened species could be improved by a factor of seven, if more efficient ‘umbrella’ species were prioritised for protection, according to University of Queensland research.
Study shows animal life thriving around Fukushima
Nearly a decade after the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, researchers from the University of Georgia have found that wildlife populations are abundant in areas void of human life.
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Coral Genomics Paper
New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 6, 2020) – By combining a range of biological data with the first successful genome editing experiments in corals, scientists are poised for rapid advancements in understanding how coral genes function, according to a paper in…
Droughts Spell Changes for Soil Microbes
Scientists predict a warming Earth will cause more droughts that are more severe in the grasslands of the central United States. This research found that soil drying affects the microbial community in several ways.
UCI biologists spearhead creation of Microbiome Centers Consortium
Irvine, Calif., Dec. 23, 2019 — From probing the ocean depths to deciphering human health mysteries, researchers across scientific disciplines are increasingly including microbiomes in their work. The Microbiome Centers Consortium has been launched by two University of California, Irvine School of Bioscience faculty members to advance growth in this life science field, increasingly recognized as relevant to many other disciplines and industrial applications.
An Urbanized Florida Means More Stormwater Ponds, Invasive Plants
In their first attempt to quantify stormwater ponds, researchers with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences found about 76,000 such ponds statewide. Many master-planned communities, especially in Florida, rely on stormwater ponds for flood control and water treatment. But the ponds also can be homes to many invasive plant species, which are costly to control.
Tweaking the approach to save the desert tortoise
“Increase the size, increase the survival” is the premise behind head-starting tortoises, but new research reveals larger size alone is not enough to save the desert tortoise from predator attacks.
Susan Packard, Doug Meijer to speak at MSU commencement
The co-founder of HGTV and the co-chairperson of Meijer will speak at Michigan State University’s fall commencement ceremonies, which will take place Dec. 13-14 at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center.
A deadly fungus is wiping out North American bats while Eurasian bats have learned to live with it. An international team wants to know why.
Wildlife disease ecologist Jeff Foster of Northern Arizona University is partnering with researchers throughout the world to study the spread of white-nose syndrome, which was discovered in North America in 2006. Researchers believed it migrated from Europe and has continued moving west.
Preserved pollen tells the history of floodplains
Fossil pollen can help reconstruct the past and predict the future
Red Algae Thrive Despite Ancestor’s Massive Loss of Genes
You’d think that losing 25 percent of your genes would be a big problem for survival. But not for red algae, including the seaweed used to wrap sushi. An ancestor of red algae lost about a quarter of its genes roughly one billion years ago, but the algae still became dominant in near-shore coastal areas around the world, according to Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Debashish Bhattacharya, who co-authored a study in the journal Nature Communications.
Online tool helps guide wildlife repopulation efforts
A multidisciplinary team with the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab has created StaPOPd, an interactive online tool that tells users exactly how many plants or animals they need to introduce into a habitat in order to establish a stable population.
How Many Copies Does It Take to Change a Trait?
New research shows that the number of copies of genes in a poplar tree affects its traits. Scientists developed a group of poplar trees in which different plants have DNA segments that are repeated or deleted.
Mosquitoes more likely to lay eggs in closely spaced habitats
Patches of standing water that are close together are more likely to be used by mosquitoes to lay eggs in than patches that are farther apart, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.
Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Indonesian Fires Threatening Orangutans
New Brunswick, N.J. (Sept. 23, 2019) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Erin R. Vogel, an expert on endangered orangutans, is available to comment on tropical forest fires threatening the Tuanan Orangutan Research Station in the Mawas Conservation Area on the…
Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Fires in Amazon Rainforests
New Brunswick, N.J. (Aug. 27, 2019) – With numerous fires raging in ecologically priceless Amazon rainforests, Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Laura C. Schneider can comment on current fire patterns (the number of fires and their location), linkages to tropical rain…
U-M-led team selected for second $20M federal agreement to manage national estuary research
A collaborative, multisector team, led by the University of Michigan’s Water Center at the Graham Sustainability Institute and the School for Environment and Sustainability, has been awarded a five-year, $20 million cooperative agreement to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in overseeing research at a nationwide network of 29 coastal reserves.
Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists Announces 2019 National Laureates
An ecologist from Stony Brook University, a theoretical physicist from University of Colorado Boulder and a chemical biologist from Harvard University Three female scientists have been named Laureates of the Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, each receiving $250,000, the…