Skip to main content

Public Affairs — Page 8

Birds, bats and nearby forest increase cacao yield

Researchers compared cacao productivity and arthropod diversity in the presence and in the absence of birds and bats in organically managed, native cacao agroforests from northwestern Peru. Their results showed that the presence of birds and bats increased cacao productivity by 118%.

Read More

Birds and bats ensure yields for cacao farmers in northern Peru

Healthy bat and bird populations don’t only help to keep the endangered tropical dry forests of northern Peru in equilibrium. For the regions’ farmers of cacao—the main ingredient in chocolate— these predators are worth almost $1,000 per hectare of annual production.

Read More

Ticks prove resilient to extreme temperatures

Tick season is here, along with the increased danger of Lyme disease, and it turns out the tiny arachnids are even tougher than scientists previously thought. A recent study in Ecological Monographs shows blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are actually really good at surviving extreme cold and heat in nature.

Read More

Study Reveals Way to Measure Role of Climate Change in Insect Decline

To learn more about the causes of recent seismic shifts in insect populations, scientists at Davidson College and Catawba College collaborated on a three-year research project with more than 50 other scientists to examine the impact of temperature variation on insects in North America. The research was published in the scientific journal Ecology in late March.

Read More

Less Ice, Fewer Calling Seals

When the sea ice vanishes, Antarctic seals become silent. This is the main conclusion of a new article just published by Dr Ilse van Opzeeland’s research group.

Read More