By University of Florida 5/16/19 In the wide world of tropical flora, insects often take up the mantle of protecting the plants that shelter them, each mutually satisfied in a happy marriage of nature’s making. This is particularly true for acacia trees that tower over the African savanna. Their tiny protectors are carnivorous ants that dissuade animals from browsing on…
By Tufts University 5/14/19 When it comes to wildlife conservation efforts, urban environments could be far more helpful than we think, according to new research.  A study published today in Ecology shows that animals move faster through ‘low quality’ habitats – evidence that could change the way conservationists think about managing landscapes to help species move in response to climate…
By National Science Foundation 5/14/2019 An ecosystem is made up of species, populations, communities, and a network of communities across a region. A team led by NSF-funded researchers at the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) has published a paper in the journal Ecology showing how these different levels combine to form an ecosystem. The research was conducted in an underwater giant kelp…
By University of Southampton 5/9/2019 Observations of Herring Gulls by scientists from the University of Southampton have shown how the coastal birds have developed complicated behaviour to ‘skin’ sea creatures to make them safe to eat. Researchers think this feeding habit may be a response to urbanisation and changes in food availability. The gulls (Larus argentatus) of Dún Laoghaire Marina…
By University of Minnesota 5/6/2019 (Minneapolis/St. Paul)–Recent research by a team of scientists reveals that walleye decline in Mille Lacs is linked to loss of habitat and indicates that by adapting harvest policies to account for changing environmental conditions, walleye fisheries may be sustained. The study focuses on Mille Lacs, Minnesota, where walleye populations have dramatically declined since the 1990s….
By UC Santa Barbara 5/2/2019 An ecosystem arises from the effects of many different levels of organization. There are the species, their populations, the communities they live in, and the network of these communities over the entire region. But scientists are still exploring how the dynamics at different levels combine to determine the properties of the ecosystem as a whole….
By University of Rhode Island 4/30/2019 KINGSTON, R.I. – April 30, 2019 – As the Trump Administration prepares to cut in half the budget for the National Invasive Species Council, a group of invasive species experts led by a University of Rhode Island professor has issued a warning about the growing peril of biological invasions and the increasing threat they…
By Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research 4/29/2019 In 2012, a truffle dog named Giano made a spectacular discovery: In a city park in Geneva, he unearthed a White Truffle, also known as an Alba Truffle – the first to ever be found north of the Alps. The White Truffle is the most aromatic and valuable truffle;…
By Florida International University 4/27/2019 Large numbers of dugongs, sea snakes and other marine animals disappeared from the UNESCO World Heritage Site Shark Bay, Western Australia, after a heat wave devastated seagrass meadows, according to recently released research. The reasons for the population losses, however, differed among species, according to Rob Nowicki, an FIU alumnus and postdoctoral research fellow at…
By Duke University 4/23/2019 DURHAM, N.C. — The discovery of dozens of pregnant giant devil rays accidentally caught in fishing nets in a village along Mexico’s northern Gulf of California could mean the endangered species has a previously unknown birthing zone in nearby waters, a new Duke University study suggests. If further research confirms the possibility, authorities and local fishers…
By University of Essex 4/1/2019 Mid-teenagers feel less connected to nature than any other age group, according to new research from the RSPB and the University of Essex. At a time when there are growing concerns over the mental health of today’s youngsters it is important to highlight the positive wellbeing benefits of enjoying the natural environment and the worrying…
By Stockholm Resilience Centre 4/17/2019 Centre researchers Oonsie Biggs, Timon McPhearson, Albert Norström, Per Olsson, Garry Peterson and Victor Galaz are part of the team that won the 2019 ESA Innovation in Sustainability Science Award for their 2016 study Bright spots: seeds of a good Anthropocene which was published in 2016 in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. The Innovation…
By FIU 4/3/2019 Larger plants may be the first sign sea levels are rising in the Everglades, according to an FIU study. Beneath the surface, however, the roots of these now larger, moderately salt-tolerant plants like sawgrasses will begin to wither and die if the water gets too salty. If there’s no time for mangroves or other plants to take…
By UMass Amherst 4/1/2019 UMass Amherst, Smithsonian, Florida research reports wider ecological benefits In a new analysis of the effectiveness of marine protected areas worldwide, University of Massachusetts Amherst marine ecologist Brian Cheng and colleagues report that reserves not only replenish target fish populations, they also restore ecological functioning. However, not all reserves performed equally well. Ecological functioning is a…
By UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences 4/4/2019 Tracking changes in diseases over time is an increasingly important topic given changes in global temperature. Put simply, is a warmer world a sicker world? Reported rates of disease may increase over time but it is difficult to distinguish between better reporting of disease, and true increases in disease prevalence. A new…
By The Cornell Lab of Ornithology 4/1/2019 An estimated 600 million birds die from building collisions every year in the United States. Scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have published new research highlighting artificial light at night as a contributing factor. They’ve ranked metropolitan areas where, due to a combination of light pollution and geography, birds are at the greatest…
By University of Alberta 3/26/2019 Tracking animals using DNA signatures are ideally suited to answer the pressing questions required to conserve the world’s wildlife, providing benefits over invasive methods such as ear tags and collars, according to a new study by University of Alberta biologists. Genetic tagging, or the identification and tracking of individual animals using DNA, is a non-invasive…
By Center for Biological Diversity 3/20/2019 Big Cats’ Habitat Fragmentation Highlights Need for Wildlife Crossings LOS ANGELES— Mountain lions in California’s Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountains are heading rapidly toward extinction, a new study in Ecological Applications finds. Researchers with UCLA, UC Davis and the National Park Service found that habitat loss and fragmentation have driven the populations to dangerously low levels of…
By UC Davis 3/20/2019 Two isolated mountain lion populations in Southern California’s Santa Ana and Santa Monica Mountains are at risk of local extinction, perhaps as soon as within 50 years, according to a study published in the journal Ecological Applications. The study showed the extinction risk is due to low genetic diversity and mortality that affects the stability of the…
By UMass Amherst 3/19/2019 UMass Amherst, Canadian researchers identify blackpoll warbler migration routes Blackpoll warblers that breed in western North America may migrate up to 12,400 miles roundtrip each year, some crossing the entire North American continent before making a nonstop trans-ocean flight of up to four days to South America. Now a new study led by first author Bill…