Ecology news

Phragmites partners with microbes to plot native plants' demise

Biology / Ecology

created 9 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

University of Delaware researchers have uncovered a novel means of conquest employed by the common reed, Phragmites australis, which ranks as one of the world's most invasive plants.


Turtles' Christmas journey tracked by scientists

Turtles' Christmas journey tracked by scientists

Biology / Ecology

created 11 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The journeys of two marine turtles around the world's oceans will be available to view online this Christmas, thanks to a new research project launched by the University of Exeter.


Whiskers hold secrets of invasive minks

Biology / Ecology

created 11 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Details of the lifestyle of mink, which escaped from fur farms and now live wild in the UK, have been revealed through analysis of their whiskers. Research led by the University of Exeter reveals more about the diet of this ...


Salmon

Hatchery-raised salmon too crowded

Biology / Ecology

created 13 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Every year, large amounts of hatchery-raised young salmonids are released into Swedish rivers and streams to compensate for losses in natural production. Butthese fish generally survive poorly in the wild. ...


African leaf-eating monkeys are 'likely to be wiped out' by climate change

African leaf-eating monkeys are 'likely to be wiped out' by climate change

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 18, 2009 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (7) | comments 4

(PhysOrg.com) -- Monkey species will become 'increasingly at risk of extinction' because of global warming, according to new research published this week.


French scientist Herwan Amire shows two pink winkle in Xelha's Cove,  south of Cancun

Mexico's conch shells yield clues into effects of warming

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Divers plumb the turquoise depths of ocean waters some 100 kilometers south of this vacation paradise, in search of the distinctive queen conch shell prized by vacationers and souvenir-seekers.


New study finds catch shares improve consistency, not health, of fisheries

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Catch share programs result in more consistent and predictable fisheries but do not necessarily improve ecological conditions, according to a new study published online this week by the journal Proceedings of the National ...


Why don't robins get fat?

Why don't robins get fat?

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 21, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- New research by the School of Biosciences is shedding light on the reasons why the European robin doesn’t get fat -even though they are feeding for much longer.


Handout photo from the World Wildlife Fund in Malaysia shows a pangolin climbing a tree

Malaysian authorities rescue 130 pangolins

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 20, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Malaysian wildlife authorities said they have rescued 130 pangolins and arrested two men attempting to smuggle the protected species, destined to be sold to restaurants and medicine shops.


Study shows loss of 15-42 percent of mammals in North America

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 3.2 / 5 (9) | comments 5

If the planet is headed for another mass extinction like the previous five, each of which wiped out more than 75 percent of all species on the planet, then North American mammals are one-fifth to one-half the way there, according ...


Headwater stream nutrient enrichment disrupts food web

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Human activity is increasing the supply of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, to stream systems all over the world. The conventional wisdom -- bolstered by earlier research -- has held that these additional nutrients ...


New report underlines multiple benefits but also new challenges to biodiversity-rich sites

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

An agreement in Copenhagen to fund reduced emissions from deforestation may generate multiple environmental and economic benefits if investments simultaneously target sites that are both carbon and biodiversity-rich.


Zoning the ocean may help endangered whales to recover

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 16, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Scientists in Scotland, Canada and the US have proposed a new method to identify priority areas for whale conservation. The team's findings, published in Animal Conservation, suggest that even small protected areas, identi ...


Warming climate chills Sonoran Desert's spring flowers

Warming climate chills Sonoran Desert's spring flowers

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 16, 2009 | popularity 3.2 / 5 (9) | comments 3

Global warming is giving a boost to Sonoran Desert plants that have an edge during cold weather, according to new research.


Europe's flora is becoming impoverished

Europe's flora is becoming impoverished

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 11, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

With increasing species richness, due to more plant introductions than extinctions, plant communities of many European regions are becoming more homogeneous. The same species are occurring more frequently, ...