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‘Galapagos’ survived

By ShamsAugust 9, 2010Environment, Naturecharles darwin, endangered places, evolution, galapagos, island, un

The Galapagos Islands are no more ‘in danger’.

Shade-coffee farms support native bees that help maintain genetic diversity in remnant tropical forests

By Guest PostJuly 27, 20101 commentEnvironment, Natureafricanized honeybees, Berkeley, biodiverse tropical regions, biodiversity, biologist, buzz, canopy of trees, chiapas, christopher dick, ecology, evolutionary biology, m. affinis, Mexico, miconia affinis, migratory birds, native bees, native trees, pollination, role, saquiyac tree, shade-coffee farms, shade-grown coffee, shalene jha, tropical forest, university of california, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Shade-grown coffee farms support native bees that help maintain the health of some of the world’s most biodiverse tropical regions, according to a study by a University of Michigan biologist and a colleague at the University of California, Berkeley.

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Frog Killer Caught in the Act: Measuring Life’s Data Loss in Panama by Barcoding

By Guest PostJuly 20, 2010Nature1980, amphibian, andes in colombia, andrew crawford, barcoding, batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, central america, cerro piña, chytridiomycosis, costa rica, cryptic, DNA, el cope, eldredge bermingham, fungal disease, fungal pathogen, golden frogs, hemiphractus fasciatus, karen lips, library of alexandria, panama, panamanian marsupial frog, pristimantis adnus, smithsonian tropical research institute

The first before-and-after view of an amphibian die-off has just been published by scientists working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

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Sharks Sniff out Their Prey, One Nostril at a Time

By Guest PostJuly 19, 20103 commentsNatureboston university marine program, current biology, department of integrative biology, dogfish shark, gulf oil spill, jayne gardiner, jelle atema, mustelus canis, new england, nostril, plume, sharks, tom kleindinst, university of south florida, usf, whiff, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

It turns out the old saying is right — the nose really does know. And when it comes to sharks, the nostrils are particularly discriminating.

Combined with the ability to detect underwater vibrations, sharks are able to zero in on the location of their prey by smelling in stereo, according to a new study by researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

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Staggering tree loss from 2005 Amazon storm

By Guest PostJuly 16, 20102 commentsEnvironment, NatureAmazon, carbon cycling, central amazon, ecologist, geophysical research letters, inpa, jeffrey chambers, manaus region, NASA, negrón-juárez, new orleans, niro higuchi, rainforest, satellite images, tropical, tulane university

WASHINGTON — A single, huge, violent storm that swept across the whole Amazon forest in 2005 killed half a billion trees, a new study shows.

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Chimpanzee Gangs Kill for Land, New Study Shows

By Guest PostJuly 8, 2010Natureanthropology, behavioral ecologist, chimpanzees, david watts, detroit zoological institute, ecologist, james n spuhler, jane goodall, john mitani, kibale national park, little rock, little rock zoo, ngogo, primate, sylvia amsler, uganda, wenner-gren foundation

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Bands of chimpanzees violently kill individuals from neighboring groups in order to expand their own territory, according to a 10-year study of a chimp community in Uganda that provides the first definitive evidence for this long-suspected function of this behavior.

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2 new frog species discovered in Panama’s fungal war zone

By Guest PostJuly 5, 20101 commentNatureand, Central Panama, chytridiomycosis, colombian border, darien province, deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, el cope, frogs, fungal disease, karen lips, omar torrijos national park, pacific coast, panama, panama amphibian rescue conservation project, pristimantis adnus, pristimantis educatoris, p_adnus

Trying to stay ahead of a deadly disease that has wiped out more than 100 species, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute continue to discover new frog species in Panama: Pristimantis educatoris, from Omar Torrijos National Park, and P. adnus from Darien Province near the Colombian border.

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1200 Howler Monkeys on Panama’s Barro Colorado Island

By Guest PostJune 29, 20102 commentsNatureanita arcia mendoza, astrocaryum, barro Colorado, Berkeley, bot fly, bot fly lesion, claudio monteza, cuterebra baeri, darlene mitre, david natera, dawn chorus, department of environmental science and policy manageme, first howl, greg willis, howler monkey, island, jose alejandro ramirez silva, karis tunon, katie Milton, luis yepes, orlando ortiz castillo, panama, Smithsonian, stalwart volunteers, stri, triangulation, university of california, university of panama

The fifth Howler Monkey census at the Smithsonian’s Barro Colorado Island research station in Panama, organized by Katie Milton, professor in the department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management at the University of California, Berkeley, revealed that monkey numbers have not changed significantly since the first census 33 years ago.

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