By CNRS 9/4/2019 Gorillas are social animals, living in groups that females will migrate to join, becoming members of harems. Though some factors motivating these migrations were previously known, a research team affiliated with the CNRS and Université de Rennes 1 has just demonstrated that female gorillas are able to avoid conspecifics liable to transmit yaws, which leads to conspicuous…
By University of Connecticut 8/28/2019 Forests in the eastern United States that are structurally complex — meaning the arrangement of vegetation is varied throughout the physical space — sequester more carbon, according to a new study in Ecology, a journal of the Ecological Society of America. The study by researchers at the University of Connecticut, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Purdue University, demonstrates for…
By University of Wyoming 8/21/2019 For every acre of mule deer habitat taken by roads, well pads and other oil and gas development infrastructure in Wyoming’s Green River Basin, an average of 4.6 other acres of available forage is lost, according to new research by University of Wyoming scientists. That’s because deer avoid areas close to such human disturbance, even…
By Northern Arizona University 8/20/2019 When Jaime Yazzie began planning her research for her forestry thesis, her adviser asked her what species of trees she wanted to save. They would use a computer simulation to measure the effects of a warming, drying environment, and she needed to select which trees to preserve. “I was a little shocked,” Yazzie said. “In my…
By Pennsylvania State University 8/14/2019 LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A fisherman’s curiosity led to identification of the correlation between microbial communities in recreational freshwater locales and seasonal environmental changes, according to a team of researchers from Penn State. Zachary Weagly, a 2018 graduate of Penn State Berks and an avid fisherman, noticed that the quality of the water where he fished changed with…
By Pennsylvania State University 8/12/2019 LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Everywhere you go there are stormwater detention basins built near large construction projects intended to control the flow of rainwater and runoff. Now, those basins might help in controlling nitrogen runoff into rivers and lakes, according to Lauren E. McPhillips, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Penn State. Speaking today (Aug….
By Virginia Commonwealth University 8/12/2019 Forests in the eastern United States that are structurally complex — meaning the arrangement of vegetation is highly varied — sequester more carbon, according to a new study led by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University. The study demonstrates for the first time that a forest’s structural complexity is a better predictor of carbon sequestration potential than tree species…
By UC Riverside 8/8/2019 They outlived mammoths and saber-toothed tigers. But without dramatic action to reduce climate change, new research shows Joshua trees won’t survive much past this century. UC Riverside scientists wanted to verify earlier studies predicting global warming’s deadly effect on the namesake trees that millions flock to see every year in Joshua Tree National Park. They also…
By Center for Agriculture and Bioscience International 7/31/2019 CABI has led an international team of scientists who strongly suggest that the global trade of forest tree seeds is not as safe as previously believed, with insect pests and fungal pathogens posing a great risk to trees and forest ecosystems worldwide. Non-native insect pests and fungal pathogens present one of the…
By Ohio State University 7/25/2019 A consortium of coral experts today published new guidelines that could help corals in the Caribbean adapt to warmer, more acidic waters caused by climate change. The guidelines are the first of their kind to offer a definitive plan for collecting, raising and replanting corals in an attempt to maximize their chances for survival. The…
By Yale University 7/30/2019 Savannas cover about 40% of the area of the tropics, yet little is known about the effects of drought on their ecosystems. A new Yale-led study published in the journal Ecology shows that a severe drought between 2014 and 2016 in Kruger National Park in South Africa killed off a large number of trees, a finding that somewhat…
By Pennsylvania State University 7/22/2019 UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Plants may induce “leaky gut syndrome” — permeability of the gut lining — in insects as part of a multipronged strategy for protecting themselves from being eaten, according to researchers at Penn State. By improving our understanding of plant defenses, the findings could contribute to the development of new pest control…
By UC Berkeley 7/2/2019 Spotted owl populations are in decline all along the West Coast, and as climate change increases the risk of large and destructive wildfires in the region, these iconic animals face the real threat of losing even more of their forest habitat. Rather than attempting to preserve the owl’s remaining habitat exactly as is, wildfire management —…
By Pennsylvania State University 7/18/2019 New guidelines drafted by a consortium of concerned experts could enable corals to adapt to changing environments and help restore declining coral populations in the Caribbean. The guidelines provide a definitive plan for collecting, raising, and replanting corals that maximizes their potential for adaptation. A new paper outlining the guidelines, authored by the restoration genetics…
By University of Liverpool 7/19/2019 A study by the University of Liverpool and Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) has found that parasites reduced female seabirds’ reproductive success by 30%, whilst seeming to have little effect on male seabirds. A seven year study of European shags on the Isle of May off the East coast of Scotland sought to explore the impact…
By Florida State University 6/11/2019 Research by an evolutionary biologist from Florida State University has shown parasites have important and far-reaching effects on predatory fish and the ecosystems they inhabit. These findings, published this week in the journal Ecology, provide important evidence for the little-studied role of parasites in trophic cascades, which are powerful, indirect interactions that can affect entire…
By Manchester Metropolitan University 7/4/2019 A rare tree has been re-discovered in a remote area of Indonesia decades after it was thought to be extinct. Liam Trethowan, an ecology PhD student at Manchester Metropolitan University, spotted a cluster of ‘Kalappia’ trees some 200 km from where it was last seen in the 1970s while conducting fieldwork in the Indonesian rain…
By Villanova University 6/19/2019 Three Villanova University researchers, part of a team that through a five-year study in Alberta, Canada determined the “critical load”—or recommended maximum amount of nitrogen that can enter the region’s peat bogs through precipitation without causing damage to its ecosystem—have released their findings in an article published June 18 in Ecological Monographs. Titled “Experimental Nitrogen Addition Alters…
By University of Göttingen 6/18/2019 For a long time, ecologists have relied on their senses when it comes to recording animal populations and species diversity. However, modern programmable sound recording devices are now the better option for logging animal vocalisations. Scientists lead by the University of Göttingen have investigated this using studies of birds as an example. The results were…
By São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) 5/15/2019 Plants in the Brazilian savanna, the Cerrado, have evolved to deal with fire. When fire is used intelligently as part of a carefully planned land management method, it is indispensable to the conservation of this superb ecosystem, the world’s most biodiverse savanna. Two months suffice for the Cerrado to burst into flower after…
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