Biodiversity

Biochemical workaround makes pigment that tunes light to the exact shade of a green leafCredit: Santiago R. Ron DURHAM, N.C. -- Frogs and toads are green for a very good reason - it makes them harder to see in their leafy…

Credit: ©Science China Press The Taxaceae are a distinct conifer family widely used in ornamental horticulture and are an important source of chemotherapeutic drugs (e.g., Paclitaxel). Fossil evidence of Taxaceae is based mainly on…

Harnessing the ecological data revolution The sessions and events on this curated list delve into 2020 meeting theme: Harnessing the Ecological Data Revolution. These presentations will be available for registered meeting attendees to view…

A new study warns that the last remaining habitat for several endangered bird species in Europe could reduce by up to 50 per cent in the next century as farmers convert land to more profitable crops and meet increased demand for products…

Credit: Greg Asner Global average sea surface temperatures have risen at unprecedented rates for the past three decades, with far-reaching consequences for coral reefs. Today, the majority of coral reefs are surviving at their…

Decentralized approach more cost-effective and efficient than current systems The emergence of COVID-19 is a powerful reminder of how unchecked wildlife trade can lead to the spillover spread of viruses between wildlife and humans.…

Move over, murder hornets. There's a new bee killer in town. CU Boulder researchers have found there is growing evidence that another "pandemic," as they call it, has been infecting bees around the world for the past two decades and is…

Wits researchers find that aardvarks feeding in the daytime during droughts might be starvingCredit: Nora Weyer/Wits University Aardvarks occur across most of sub-Saharan Africa, but very few people have seen one, because…

Credit: Drazen, et al. (2020). Interest in deep-sea mining for copper, cobalt, zinc, manganese and other valuable metals has grown substantially in the last decade and mining activities are anticipated to begin soon. A new study, led…

Credit: The Bromeliad Working Group/UBC. An expansive, multi-site ecology study led by UBC has uncovered new insights into the effects of climate change on the delicate food webs of the neotropics. In research recently…

Credit: Christian Voolstra Coral death is impacting oceans worldwide as a consequence of climate change. The concern is that corals cannot keep pace with the rate of ocean warming. In particular, because a temperature increase…

In an independent report published today, an analysis from over 100 experts finds the benefits of protecting 30% of the planet outweigh the costs by a factor of at least 5:1. The report entitled, "Protecting 30% of the planet for nature:…

Large blocks of 'plug and play' genes play a super-sized role in adaption-and may help fill lingering gaps in Darwin's theoriesCredit: Credit: Nolan C. Kane, University of Colorado Boulder. Massive blocks of…

Credit: Karen Vaughan When it comes to soils, proper identification is key. Identification allows scientists to determine the story behind the soil: how it formed, how it behaves in different scenarios, and how valuable it may be to…

Credit: Frank E. Zachos A paper published July 7, 2020 in the open access journal PLOS Biology outlines a roadmap for creating, for the first time, an agreed list of all the world's species, from mammals and birds to plants, fungi…

How butterfly caterpillars sustain their association with cocktail antsCredit: Krushnamegh Kunte The spectacular leaps of gazelles, group living in deer and monkeys, and fast flight in many insects are all linked by a…

Credit: ARS-USDA BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, July 6, 2020--Puerto Rico's population of African-European hybrid honey bees (AHB) are famously known for being much gentler than their continental counterparts. Now Agricultural Research…

Credit: Miao Sun GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- In a surprise twist, a major group of flowering plants is evolving twice as quickly in temperate zones as the tropics. The finding runs counter to a long-held hypothesis that tropical regions,…

Credit: Erik Meijaard Coconut oil production may be more damaging to the environment than palm oil, researchers say. The issue of tropical forests being cut down for palm oil production is widely known, but the new study says…

Credit: William J. Baker Characteristics of palm trees differ from those of other tropical trees in many ways. In a major new study led by scientists at Uppsala University, Sweden, and University of Campinas, Brazil, they…