Global Seed Banking Milestone Celebrated by Wildflower Center, 122 Other Organizations
An international partnership of 54 countries led by the United Kingdom's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is celebrating a decade of work to set aside seeds for future generations from 10 percent of the world's wild flowering species. view more (2009-10-16)
Drug Related Death Risk Greater for Older Injectors
Research published today suggests older drug injectors in Scotland could be up to six times more likely to die from drug-related causes than younger ones. A team of researchers led by Professor Sheila Bird from the Medical Research Council (MRC) also found that Scottish women who inject drugs are less likely to die from drugs-related causes than... view more... (2003-09-18)
Did pterosaurs feed by skimming?
In order to envisage the behaviors and lifestyles of now extinct animals, palaeontology often relies on extrapolating from modern species. Scientists identify shared anatomical features and infer from these shared ways of life. view more (2007-07-24)
Arctic oil: A boon for nest predators
A new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other groups reveals how oil development in the Artic is impacting some bird populations by providing "subsidized housing" to predators, which nest and den around drilling infrastructure and supplement their diets with garbage - and nesting birds. view more (2009-09-09)
Ecological significance of tool-use in the woodpecker finch Cactospiza pallida
The Woodpecker finch, one of 14 Darwin`s finches of the Galapagos Islands, uses twigs or cactus spines to pry insects and spiders out of tree-holes. The advantage of using tools may seem evident, but empirical evidence is scarce. In a paper soon to appear in Ecology Letters, Tebbich and colleagues present the first study on the ecological... view more... (2002-09-09)
Polygamy, paternal care in birds linked to dinosaur ancestors
Sure, they're polygamous, but male emus and several other ground-dwelling birds also are devoted dads, serving as the sole incubators and caregivers to oversized broods from multiple mothers. view more (2008-12-19)
Animal magnetism provides a sense of direction
They may not be on most people's list of most attractive species, but bats definitely have animal magnetism. Researchers from the Universities of Leeds and Princeton have discovered that bats use a magnetic substance in their body called magnetite as an 'internal compass' to help them navigate. view more (2008-02-27)
Lemurs' fur color may not define species
Different coat colour might not correspond to different species for nocturnal lemurs. In a study published today in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, researchers find that lemurs that appeared to belong to different species because they have strikingly different coat colours, are in fact genetically related and belong to the same... view more... (2006-11-16)
New animal and plant species found in Vietnam
World Wildlife Fund scientists said today that the discovery of 11 new animal and plant species in a remote area in central Vietnam underscores the importance of conservation efforts in the ancient tropical forests of the region. view more (2007-09-26)
Researchers studying how singing bats communicate
Bats are the most vocal mammals other than humans, and understanding how they communicate during their nocturnal outings could lead to better treatments for human speech disorders, say researchers at Texas A&M University. view more (2007-10-19)
Animals that seem identical may be completely different species
Animals that seem identical may belong to completely different species. This is the conclusion of researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, who have used DNA analyses to discover that one of our most common segmented worms is actually two types of worm. The result is one of many suggesting that the variety of species on the earth could... view more... (2009-04-23)
Sharks in danger
There are 370 species of shark, each with their own particular habitats and behaviours. Most sharks are slow to reproduce and do not have large numbers of young. They are therefore particularly sensitive to predation or large losses. Caught as accidental by-catch (estimated at 3000 per day), sharks are also fished for their fins (for food),... view more... (2002-06-07)
Toxic molecule may help birds 'see' north and south
Researchers at the University of Illinois report that a toxic molecule known to damage cells and cause disease may also play a pivotal role in bird migration. view more (2009-06-23)
Duke To Test Bird Flu Vaccine Dosing
A clinical trial to test different strengths of a vaccine designed to fight avian influenza will begin this month at Duke University Medical Center. view more (2006-03-31)
Why does species diversity vary so much?
The diversity of life varies predictably with climate and is greatest where it is warm and wet (the humid tropics). But the question "why" has puzzled biologists for over a century. In the December issue of Ecology Letters, Currie and colleagues examine three hypotheses about the origin of climatic gradients of diversity. The... view more... (2005-01-11)
Manipulating biotope space can enhance beneficial biodiversity effects
Using diverse plant mixtures instead of monocultures can increase yield and other ecosystem goods and services on which humans depend. Recent studies showed that such beneficial effects of biodiversity depend on complementarity between species in resource use, as is the case if species root in different soil depths. This knowledge led to the... view more... (2004-06-10)
Looking beyond biodiversity to explain community invasibility
Most existing experimental and theoretical studies suggest that diversity is an effective barrier to plant invasion. However, these studies may be limited in their generality, because they involve relatively small numbers of species or examine only short time periods. To evaluate how invasions are controlled in more realistic situations, Meiners,... view more... (2004-02-05)
Avian influenza virus in mammals spreads beyond the site of infection to other organ systems
Researchers at Erasmus Medical Center have demonstrated systemic spread of avian influenza virus in cats infected by respiratory, digestive, and cat-to-cat contact. view more (2006-01-16)
Common garden plant threatened by climate change
Cyclamen, a common, pretty garden flower, is at risk of extinction because of climate change. In a study published today in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology (http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcevolbiol/), researchers show, using mathematical modelling, that the ideal climate for Cyclamen will become increasingly rare and might have... view more... (2006-09-20)
Height or flight?
Paleontologists have long theorized that miniaturization was one of the last stages in the long series of changes required in order for dinosaurs to make the evolutionary "leap" to take flight and so become what we call birds. view more (2007-09-07)
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