When Hosts Go Extinct, What Happens to Their Parasites?
Hands wring and teeth gnash over the loss of endangered species like the panda or the polar bear. But what happens to the parasites hosted by endangered species? view more (2009-06-02)
Reliance on unverifiable observations hinders successful conservation of wildlife species
Nearly any evidence of the occurrence of a rare or elusive wildlife species has the tendency to generate a stir. Case in point: in February 2008, remote cameras unexpectedly captured the images of a wolverine in the central Sierra Nevada, an area from which the species was believed to be extinct since 1922. view more (2008-06-23)
Indigenous water frogs under threat
Indigenous water frogs can be crowded out by immigrant or imported species. This is the finding of a Franco-German study. The scientists investigated water frog populations in France and Northern Spain and noticed that the marsh frog (Rana ridibunda), which normally occurs only in Eastern Europe, has the potential to crowd out indigenous species... view more... (2007-11-30)
Mixed dolphins and the impact of tourism
Dolphins off the coast of East Africa are exposed to a number of threats, like indirect catching, hunting, and environmental impact. In her dissertation at the Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Sweden, Eva Stensland has studied behavioral ecology in Indo-Pacific bottlenose and humpback dolphins, off Zanzibar, Tanzania. For the last... view more... (2004-05-07)
Global map shows new patterns of extinction risk
The most detailed world map of mammals, birds and amphibians ever produced shows that endangered species from these groups do not inhabit the same geographical areas, says new research published today. view more (2006-11-02)
Poison dart frog mimics gain when birds learn to stay away
Studying neotropical poison dart frogs, biologists at the University of Texas at Austin uncovered a new way that the frog species can evolve to look similar, and it hinges on the way predators learn to avoid the toxic, brightly colored amphibians. view more (2006-03-09)
Sensorial evaluation of the freshness of fish
AZTI has drawn up some 40 tables for freshness specific for the most important commercial species in southern Europe, including fish and shellfish. The sensorial method, known as QIM (Quality Index Method) and introduced into Europe some years ago, is being applied to a greater number of species, including some in the frozen state. Concretely, for... view more... (2005-04-18)
Do we need a paradigm change? Disputing coevolution in herbivorous insects
Coleoptera (beetles) are one of the most successful groups of organisms on Earth. Their success in evolutionary terms is recognised by their extreme adaptive diversity (occupying almost every possible ecological niche) and their longevity (fossils from the Palaeozoic, 280 million years ago). view more (2007-04-11)
Jungle yeast
A new species of yeast has been discovered deep in the Amazon jungle. In a paper published on-line in FEMS Yeast Research, IFR scientists and colleagues from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador describe the novel characteristics of Candida carvajalis sp. nov. view more (2009-05-21)
Media invitation: How many species in Noah's Arc?
Scientists gather in Mallorca (Spain) to assess the role of biodiversity in ecosystem function. The remarkable increase, towards the end of 20th Century in the rate of species extinctions and the loss of biological diversities in the planet's ecosystems have generated considerable concern on the consequences that, beyond the severe damage of the... view more... (2004-05-11)
Elevated Water Temperature and Acidity Boost Growth of Key Sea Star Species, UBC Researchers
New research by UBC zoologists indicates that elevated water temperatures and heightened concentrations of carbon dioxide can dramatically increase the growth rate of a keystone species of sea star. view more (2009-06-02)
3D birds on internet
The Zoological Museum of the Universiteit van Amsterdam (ZMA), Netherlands, is now presenting 3D images of part of the bird collection on the internet. This is a completely new technology and never before a part of the collection has been presented in this way. The database contains 151 images of 50 species. By using the mouse, the 3D images can... view more... (2004-04-29)
Invasive plant outcompeted by its native ancestors
Invasive alien species are one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity. Part of their success may be due to rapid evolutionary changes when invaders adapt to the novel conditions in their invaded habitats. Invasive plants, in particular, are believed to double-profit from a loss of their natural enemies and subsequent evolution of less... view more... (2004-03-18)
Study suggests past climate changes may have promoted the formation of new species in the Amazon
The results of a new study suggest that past climate changes and sea level fluctuations may have promoted the formation of new species in the Amazon region of South America. view more (2008-07-23)
Hearing is believing
Novel developments in electronics which are giving ecologists important new tools to quickly and easily measure biodiversity will be described at the British Ecological Society's Winter Meeting, being held at the University of York on 18-20 December 2002. Speaking at the meeting, electronics expert and entomologist Dr David Chesmore from the... view more... (2002-12-09)
Cows as unravellers
Long-term conservation of biodiversity may depend not only on the maintenance of its component parts but also on their interactions. Human-aided species introductions stand out as a major anthropogenic modification of ecological systems, and there is increasing concern that such introductions can modify interactions among species in the invaded... view more... (2003-11-24)
DNA barcodes put to the test
With species around the world disappearing faster than biologists can identify them, many scientists pinned their hopes on DNA barcoding, a recently proposed strategy that treats a short fragment of DNA as a sort of universal product code to identify species. view more (2005-11-29)
Multiple genes permit closely related fish species to mix and match their color vision
Vision, like other biological attributes, is shaped by evolution through environmental pressures and demands, and even closely-related species that are in other ways very similar might respond to their particular environments by interpreting the visual world slightly differently, using photoreceptors that are attuned to particular wavelengths of... view more... (2005-10-11)
Attack of the invasive garden ants
An ant that is native to Eurasia is threatening to become the latest in a procession of species to invade Europe, as a result of inadvertent human introduction. Research published in the online open access journal BMC Biology demonstrates that the invasive garden ant, Lasius neglectus, which is a threat to native species, may already be more... view more... (2008-02-26)
Richness of Marine Life is Under Threat
Future potential for the production of new wonder drugs - including anti-cancer agents - from marine animals and plants, is under threat according to biodiversity expert Professor Carlo Heip, speaking at the European marine science and ocean technology conference EurOCEAN 2004 in Galway, today. According to Professor Heip, marine biodiversity -... view more... (2004-05-11)
|
|
