Category Archives: Nature

UF Study Finds Cats No. 1 Predator to Urban Mockingbird Nests

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new University of Florida study shows cats are the dominant predator to mockingbird eggs and nestlings in urban areas, prompting conservationists to urge pet owners to keep felines indoors at night.

The findings challenge assumptions that urban areas are places of refuge for nesting mockingbirds, a species researchers say plays an important role in controlling insect pests and serving as environmental indicators for metropolitan areas. (more…)

Read More

Prey-tell: Why Right Whales Linger in the Gulf of Maine

As they might with most endangered animals, scientists consider the whereabouts and activities of right whales extremely important.  “It is helpful to know where they go, why they go there and what they do when they’re there,” says Mark F. Baumgartner of the biology department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

Baumgartner and his colleagues studied the behavior of right whales and sei whales—both endangered species of baleen whales—in the waters of the Gulf of Maine to the east of Nantucket. They found that the location, the length of stay, and perhaps the very abundance of the whales may be dependent on an interesting vertical migration pattern by the copepods on which the whales feed. It seems to be a case, he said, of “how the behavior of the prey influences the behavior of the whales.” (more…)

Read More

Uncertain Future for Joshua Trees Projected with Climate Change

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Temperature increases resulting from climate change in the Southwest will likely eliminate Joshua trees from 90 percent of their current range in 60 to 90 years, according to a new study led by U.S. Geological Survey ecologist Ken Cole.

The research team used models of future climate, an analysis of the climatic tolerances of the species in its current range, and the fossil record to project the future distribution of Joshua trees. The study concludes that the species could be restricted to the northernmost portion of its current range as early as the end of this century. Additionally, the ability of Joshua trees to migrate via seed dispersal to more suitable climates may be severely limited. (more…)

Read More

MU Researcher Works to Save One of the World’s Most Endangered Birds

COLUMBIA, Mo. ­— The Tuamotu Kingfisher is a multicolored, tropical bird with bright blue feathers, a dusty orange head, and a bright green back. The entire population of these birds – less than 125 – lives on one tiny island in the south Pacific, and without serious intervention, they will no longer exist. One University of Missouri researcher is trying to stop the birds’ extinction by working with farmers and residents on the island inhabited by the kingfishers.

“If we lose these birds, we lose 50,000 years of uniqueness and evolution,” said Dylan Kesler, assistant professor in fisheries and wildlife at the University of Missouri’s School of Natural Resources in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “Because it has lived in isolation for a very long time, it’s unlike any other bird. There is no other bird like this on the planet.” (more…)

Read More

Think Globally, but Act Locally When Studying Plants, Animals, Global Warming, Researchers Advise

AUSTIN, Texas — Global warming is clearly affecting plants and animals, but we should not try to tease apart the specific contribution of greenhouse gas driven climate change to extinctions or declines of species at local scales, biologists from The University of Texas at Austin advise.

Camille Parmesan, Michael C. Singer and their coauthors published their commentary online this week in Nature Climate Change.

“Yes, global warming is happening. Yes, it is caused by human activities. And yes, we’ve clearly shown that species are impacted by global warming on a global scale,” says Parmesan, associate professor of integrative biology. (more…)

Read More