Mindzilla – Ecology

Ecology

New Cyanobacteria Species Spotlights Early Life

May 17, 2021
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Ithaca, NY — Cyanobacteria are one of the unsung heroes of life on Earth. They first evolved to perform photosynthesis about 2.4 billion years ago, pumping tons of oxygen into the atmosphere –...

History of Giants in the Gene: Scientists Use DNA to Trace the Origins of Giant Viruses

May 12, 2021
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Deinze, Belgium — 2003 was a big year for virologists. The first giant virus was discovered in this year, which shook the virology scene, revising what was thought to be an established understanding...

Could Wider Use of Gene Reserves Protect Rare Species?

May 11, 2021
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York, UK — UK landowners and conservationists welcome wider-spread use of Gene Conservation Units (GCUs) to help protect some of the rarest plants and insects, research at the University of York has...

New Study Reveals Biodiversity Important at Regional Scales

February 12, 2021
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Gloucester Point, VA — New research shows that biodiversity is important not just at the traditional scale of short-term plot experiments–in which ecologists monitor the health of a single meadow,...

How Climate Change is Disrupting Ecosystems

December 18, 2020
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Zürich, Switzerland — The world is getting warmer and warmer – and many organisms native to lower latitudes or elevations are moving higher. However, novel organisms moving into a new habitat...

Salt-Tolerant Bacteria with an Appetite for Sludge Make Biodegradable Plastics

December 15, 2020
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College Station, TX — The United States generates seven million tons of sewage sludge annually, enough to fill 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. While a portion of this waste is repurposed for manure...

Academy Scientists Describe 213 Species in 2020

December 11, 2020
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San Francisco, CA — This past year, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 213 plant and animal species to the tree of life, providing deeper insight into the rich biodiversity of...

Boost to Develop Microalgae into Health Foods

October 15, 2020
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Adelaide, South Australia — Dietary supplementation of fatty acids produced from microalgae have wide-reaching health benefits for humans, including the ability to reduce obesity, diabetes and fatty...

To Protect Nature’s Benefits, Focus on People

October 13, 2020
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Stanford, CA — To calculate the true value of a forest, we need to know how people benefit from it, according to new research published in Nature Sustainability. A healthy forest holds a treasure trove...

Sea Otters, Opossums and the Surprising Ways Pathogens Move From Land to Sea

March 20, 2020
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Davis, CA — A parasite known only to be hosted in North America by the Virginia opossum is infecting sea otters along the West Coast. A study from the University of California, Davis, elucidates the...

Satellite Data Boosts Understanding of Climate Change’s Effects on Kelp

March 6, 2020
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Corvallis, OR — Tapping into 35 years of satellite imagery, researchers at Oregon State University have dramatically enlarged the database regarding how climate change is affecting kelps, near-shore...

Reconstructing the Diet of Fossil Vertebrates

February 21, 2020
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Leipzig, Germany — Information on what our ancestors ate is based mainly on carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of the structural protein collagen in bones and dentin. Nitrogen isotope analysis, in...

Fifty Years of Data Show New Changes in Bird Migration

February 21, 2020
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Chicago, IL — A growing body of research shows that birds’ spring migration has been getting earlier and earlier in recent decades. New research from The Auk: Ornithological Advances on Black-throated...

East African Fish in Need of Recovery

February 7, 2020
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New York, NY — A study of East African coral reefs has uncovered an unfolding calamity for the region: plummeting fish populations due to overfishing, which in turn could produce widespread food insecurity....

New Study Identifies Bumble Bees’ Favorite Flowers to Aid Bee Conservation

January 29, 2020
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Annapolis, MD — Many species of North American bumble bees have seen significant declines in recent decades. Bumble bees are essential pollinators for both native and agricultural plants, and their...

Bats Don’t Rely on Gut Bacteria the Way Humans Do, Says Study

November 13, 2019
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Chicago, IL — Right now, there are trillions of bacteria living in your gut, making up about one percent of your body weight. They’re supposed to be there–we need them to help us digest...

Facebook and Instagram Gave Away the Presence of the ‘Japan Pig’ Seahorse in Taiwan, Research Reports

October 30, 2019
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Sofia, Bulgaria — While monitoring of cryptic and elusive tiny creatures, such as pygmy seahorses that measure only 13 to 27 mm, might be too costly and time-consuming for research teams and institutions,...

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