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Border Fences Pose Threats to Wildlife on U.S.-Mexico Border, Study Shows

By Guest PostJuly 19, 2011Nature, Sciencearroyo toad, biological diversity, border fences, california coasts, california red legged frog, conservation, department of homeland security, fire, harmful mutations, human impacts, human migration barriers, human population growth, hurricane, impacts on the ecosystem, inbreeding depression, jesse lasky, landscape, species in california, texas gulf, the jaguarondi, the university of texas at austin, threats to wildlife populations, tim keitt, unforeseen disturbances, us mexico border, walter jetz

AUSTIN, Texas — Current and proposed border fences pose significant threats to wildlife populations, with those animals living in border regions along the Texas Gulf and California coasts showing some of the greatest vulnerability, a new study from The University of Texas at Austin shows.

“Our study is the first comprehensive analysis of threats to species across the entire U.S.-Mexico border,” says Jesse Lasky, a graduate student in the laboratory of Tim Keitt, associate professor of integrative biology. “The scale at which these fences stretch across the landscape is large, so it’s important for us to also have a large-scale view of their effects across the continent.” (more…)

Dupont’s Imprelis Could be Turning Evergreens Brown

By Guest PostJuly 16, 2011Natureconifer insect, evergreen trees, herbicide exposure, herbicide imprelis, herbicide injury, imprelis damage, imprelis injuries

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Browning shoots and needles, twisting and stunted shoots – especially near the tops of evergreen trees and shrubs – are signs that plants may have injuries associated with the herbicide Imprelis, according to a Michigan State University researcher. (more…)

Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs Knotted Together

By Guest PostJuly 10, 2011Environment, Naturearctic breeding grounds, atlantic loggerhead sea turtles, chesapeake bay, conor mcgowan, crabs, delaware bay, ecological links, ecosphere, horseshoe crab, james hines, james lyons, james nichols, mid atlantic region, migrating shorebirds, new jersey, nutrient rich eggs, red knot, scorpions, sea turtle, shorebird species, spiders, ticks, U.S. Geological Survey, usgs, virginia

*Research Bolsters Importance of Horseshoe Crab Spawning for Migrating Shorebirds*

LAUREL, Md. – Speculation that the welfare of a small, at-risk shorebird is directly tied to horseshoe crab populations is in part supported by new scientific research, according to a U.S. Geological Survey- led study published in Ecosphere, a journal of the Ecological Society of America.

Population health of the red knot, a shorebird species whose population has plummeted over the last 15 years, has been directly tied to the number of egg-laying horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay — between Delaware and New Jersey — during the red knot’s northward migration each spring. (more…)

Being Small Has Its Advantages, If You Are a Leaf

By Guest PostJuly 8, 2011Natureeffects of embolism, leaf veins, leaves venation systems, patterns of veins, size of leaves, smaller leaves, vein systems

The size of leaves can vary by a factor of 1,000 across plant species, but until now, the reason why has remained a mystery. A new study by an international team of scientists led by UCLA life scientists goes a long way toward solving it. (more…)

Genetic Analysis Splits Desert Tortoise into Two Species

By Guest PostJune 29, 2011Environment, Natureagassiz desert tortoise, arizona, army physician, california, california state university dominguez hills, colorado river, desert tortoise, dna evidence, endangered species act, fish and wildlife service, fws, genetic evidence, gopherus agassizii, gopherus morafkai, habitat preferences, j g cooper, kristin berry, Mexico, morafka desert tortoise, nevada, northern arizona, robert murphy, roy averill murray, san francisco earthquake, Smithsonian, species, us army fort irwin, usaf edwards air force base, usgs, utah

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A new study shows that the desert tortoise, thought to be one species for the past 150 years, now includes two separate and distinct species, based on DNA evidence and biological and geographical distinctions.

This genetic evidence confirms previous suspicions, based on life history analysis, that tortoises west and east of the Colorado River are two separate species. (more…)

Rare Deep-Water Giant Squid from South Florida Brought to UF for Research

By Guest PostJune 29, 2011Naturechromatophores, color bearing cells, deep water dwellers, deep water squid, giant squid, pigment cells

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers received a rare 25-foot-long, deep-water giant squid Monday, the only one of its kind in the collections of the Florida Museum of Natural History. (more…)

A Century of Bird Study in Northern Michigan

By Guest PostJune 23, 2011Natureautumnal migration, bird skins, bird study, michigan birds, nesting activities, northern michigan, singing birds

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— This year marks a full century that instructors at the University of Michigan Biological Station on Douglas Lake near Pellston have been teaching students about northern Michigan’s birds. The station was established in 1909, and two years later a course titled “The Natural History of Birds” first appeared in the summer bulletin. (more…)

‘Lost’ Bats Found Breeding on Scilly

By Guest PostJune 19, 2011Naturebat detectors, brown long eared bat, fiona mathews, ios bat group, islands, isles of scilly, lost species of bat, mike gurr, monterey pine tree, pipistrelle colony, plecotus auritus, radiotracking, scilly area of outstanding natural beauty, soprano pipistrelles, st mary, the whispering bat, university of exeter, wiltshire bat group, woodland

*A University of Exeter biologist has discovered a ‘lost’ species of bat breeding on the Isles of Scilly.*

*A pregnant female brown long-eared bat is the first of its species to be found on the islands for at least 40 years.*

It was discovered by Dr Fiona Mathews, Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter, a postgraduate student and a team from the Wiltshire Bat Group.

The Scilly Isles Bat Group called in Dr Mathews and her team to help them find out more about bats on the islands. The researchers set up a radiotracking study, with funding from the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, to monitor the islands’ bat activity. (more…)

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