University of Toronto biologists find higher mortality among dragonflies exposed to undue stress
The mere presence of a predator causes enough stress to kill a dragonfly, even when the predator cannot actually get at its prey to eat it, say biologists at the University of Toronto. (more…)
EAST LANSING, Mich. — As the world’s biodiversity hotspots are increasingly stressed by their human neighbors, zoning is becoming a common strategy to balance environmental protection and human needs. But a recent study conducted by Michigan State University researchers shows zoning for conservation demands reality checks. (more…)
Smithsonian scientists have discovered two new, closely related bee species: one from Coiba Island in Panama and another from northern Colombia. Both descended from of a group of stingless bees that originated in the Amazon and moved into Central America, the ancestors of Mayan honeybees. The presence of one of these new species on Coiba and Rancheria Islands, and its absence from the nearby mainland, is a mystery that will ultimately shed light on Panama’s history and abundant biodiversity. (more…)
Researchers at the University of Montreal have developed a computer programme that enables regulators to evaluate the ecological and economic tradeoffs between marine mammal conservation, whale watching and marine transportation activities in the Saint Lawrence Estuary. (more…)
The long-standing consensus of why insects stick together after mating has been turned on its head by scientists from the University of Exeter.
Published in Current Biology, their study shows that, contrary to previous thinking, females benefit from this arrangement just as much as males.
Instead of dominating their female partners through bullying and aggressive behaviour, males were revealed to be protective, even laying their lives on the line when their mates faced danger.
Previously, scientists assumed that male insects stay close to females after mating to stop them from taking other partners. Female insects have multiple mates and the last mate is most likely to fertilise her eggs. Therefore, by preventing females from taking other mates a male is most likely to father her offspring. (more…)
*Sea turtles face an uncertain future as a warming climate threatens to reduce their reproductive viability.*
*However, new research led by the University of Exeter and published this week in Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows that some turtles are naturally heat-tolerant.*
The study focused on green turtles nesting on Ascension Island, a UK overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Scientists from the Universities of Exeter and Groningen found that eggs laid by turtles nesting on a naturally hot beach withstand high temperatures better than eggs from turtles nesting on a cooler beach just a few kilometres away. (more…)
The world’s only bioluminescent millipedes use their glow as a warning signal to nocturnal predators, a UA-led research team has discovered
As night falls in certain mountain regions in California, a strange breed of creepy crawlies emerges from the soil: millipedes that glow in the dark. The reason behind the glowing secret has stumped biologists until now. (more…)
*Global sampling of 48 sites on five continents yields unprecedented data set*
For decades, ecologists have toiled to nail down principles explaining why some habitats have many more plant and animal species than others.
Much of this debate is focused on the idea that the number of species is determined by the productivity of the habitat.
Shouldn’t a patch of prairie contain a different number of species than an arid steppe or an alpine tundra? (more…)
