Nature – Page 109 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Larger Female Hyenas Produce More Offspring

By Guest PostMarch 24, 2011Natureanimal body size, female hyenas, larger female hyenas, reproductive lifespan, reproductive success, spotted hyenas

EAST LANSING, Mich. — When it comes to producing more offspring, larger female hyenas outdo their smaller counterparts. (more…)

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

By Guest PostMarch 22, 2011Environment, Natureagriculture, air pollution, butterfly, camille parmesan, climate, climate change, climate change impacts, effects of climate change, extinctions, global scale, global warming, greenhouse gas, habitat fragmentation, human activities, invasive species, los angeles, mediterranean geraniums, michael singer, multiple factors, natural changes, nobel prize, plants and animals, policy makers, quino checkerspot butterfly, san diego, southern california, species, united states, urban sprawl

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…)

Extent and Speed of Lionfish Spread Unprecedented

By Guest PostMarch 15, 2011Environment, Natureatlantic coast, bermuda, caribbean, cayman islands, coast of florida, coastal systems, gulf of mexico, indo west pacific ocean, invasive lionfishes, lionfish, lionfish diets, native species, non native marine fish, pam schofield, species, u s eastern seaboard

*Invasive Marine Fish May Stress Reefs*

Gainesville, Fla. — The rapid spread of lionfishes along the U.S. eastern seaboard, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean is the first documented case of a non-native marine fish establishing a self-sustaining population in the region, according to recent U.S. Geological Survey studies.

“Nothing like this has been seen before in these waters,” said Dr. Pam Schofield, a biologist with the USGS Southeast Ecological Science Center here. “We’ve observed sightings of numerous non-native species, but the extent and speed with which lionfish have spread has been unprecedented; lionfishes pretty much blanketed the Caribbean in three short years.” (more…)

Researchers Discover New Wintering Grounds for Humpback Whales Using Sound

By Guest PostMarch 11, 2011Environment, Nature

Researchers at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), an organized research unit in the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology have made a remarkable new discovery.

In the thick of whale season, researchers from HIMB and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shed new light on the wintering grounds of the humpback whale. The primary breeding ground for the North Pacific was always thought to be the main Hawaiian Islands. However, a new study has shown that these grounds extend all the way throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago and into the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), also known as Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM). (more…)

She Flies On . . . and On . . . and On

By Guest PostMarch 8, 2011Natureadult albatross, bird banding, breeding life, laysan albatross, migratory game birds, oldest wild bird, seafaring legends

Oldest known wild bird in U.S. returns to Midway to raise chick

MIDWAY ATOLL — The oldest known U.S. wild bird – a coyly conservative 60 — is a new mother. (more…)

UF Study Traces Global Red Imported Fire Ant Invasions to Southern U.S.

By Guest PostFebruary 27, 2011Environment, Natureallergic, ant stings, australia, california, China, dewayne shoemaker, effective biological control agents, fire ant, global trade, globe, humans, invasive species, marina ascunce, molecular genetic markers, mound, new zealand, pesticides, pests, phorid flies, red fire ant invasions, solenopsis invicta, south america, southern u s, taiwan, travel network

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Red imported fire ant invasions around the globe in recent years can now be traced to the southern U.S., where the nuisance insect gained a foothold in the 1930s, new University of Florida research has found.

Native to South America, the ant had been contained there and in the southeastern U.S. before turning up in faraway places in the last 20 years — including California, China, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. (more…)

Bios for the Birds: USGS-Raised Whooping Crane Chicks Leave the Nest

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 20111 commentNaturebios for birds, louisianans, usgs, whoopers in captivity, whoopers in wild, whooping crane, whooping crane project

LAUREL, Md. — Imagine spending your time feeding, nurturing, and teaching the daily tasks of survival to a baby who could never know your true identity. (more…)

How Nature’s Patterns Form

By Guest PostFebruary 23, 2011Nature, Sciencealan newell, applied stress, bracts, d'arcy wentworth thompson, evolution, fingerprints, florets, flower arrangements, flowers, good poem, how plants grow, leopards, mari n jensen, mathematical biologist, mathematical models, mathematics, on growth and form, patterns, sand ripples, stickers, the universal nature of fibonacci patterns, universal features

*Alan Newell, a UA mathematics professor, studies patterns in nature, which he said have features that are universal*

When people on airplanes ask Alan Newell what he works on, he tells them “flower arrangements.”

He could also say “fingerprints” or “sand ripples” or “how plants grow.” (more…)

Category Archives: Nature