Nature – Page 95 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Researchers Give Long Look at Who Benefits From Nature Tourism

By Guest PostApril 28, 2012Environment, Naturebeauty, change, China, christine vogt, governmental official, guangming he, habitat management, junyan luo, kenneth frank, michigan state university, Nature, nature based tourism, panda preserve, social connection, southwestern china, tourist, wei liu, wolong nature reserve

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Using nature’s beauty as a tourist draw can boost conservation in China’s valued panda preserves, but it isn’t an automatic ticket out of poverty for the human inhabitants, a long-term study at Michigan State University shows.

The policy hitch: Often those who benefit most from nature-based tourism endeavors are people who already have resources. The truly impoverished have a harder time breaking into the tourism business. (more…)

Blood Samples Show Deadly Frog Fungus at Work in the Wild

By Guest PostApril 27, 2012Naturechytrid fungus, deadly dehydration, electrolyte balance, frog population, fungal infection, vance vredenburg, wild frogs, wildlife diseases

Pathogen leads to dehydration, other ill effects

The fungal infection that killed a record number of amphibians worldwide leads to deadly dehydration in frogs in the wild, according to results of a new study. (more…)

MU Veterinary Surgeons Use Advanced MRI Technology to Locate Dangerous Tumor

By Guest PostApril 23, 2012Health, Naturebrain during surgery, brainsight mri, callies tumor, neuro navigation device, remove dangerous tumor, therapy dog

Procedure saves therapy dog, beloved pet from cancerous brain tumor

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Using a special piece of MRI equipment, doctors from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine were able to remove a dangerous tumor from a beloved pet and therapy dog. (more…)

New ’Bumblebee’ Gecko Discovered in Papua New Guinea

By Guest PostApril 22, 2012Naturebook of life, bumblebee gecko, forest ecosystem, nactus kunan, new guinea, pacific lizard biodiversity, sohoniliu village

WASHINGTON – Biologists from the Papua New Guinea National Museum and the U.S. Geological Survey have discovered a new species of gecko, adorned like a bumblebee with black-and-gold bands and rows of skin nodules that enhance its camouflage on the tropical forest floor. (more…)

Study Amplifies Understanding of Hearing in Baleen Whales

By Guest PostApril 21, 2012Naturebaleen whale hearing, whale auditory system, whale hearing mechanisms, whale skull vibrations

For decades, scientists have known that dolphins and other toothed whales have specialized fats associated with their jaws, which efficiently convey sound waves from the ocean to their ears. But until now, the hearing systems of their toothless grazing cousins, baleen whales, remained a mystery. (more…)

Promiscuous Queen Bees Maintain Genetic Diversity

By Guest PostApril 18, 2012NatureChina, coast, csds, diploid male, entomologist, female workforce, fertile male, flavor, gene, genetic diversity, hainan island, infertile male, island queen, isolated island, malaysia, Philippines, plos one, promiscuous, queen bees, sex, voila moment, zachary huang

EAST LANSING, Mich. — By mating with nearly 100 males, queen bees on isolated islands avoid inbreeding and keep colonies healthy.

The results, published in the current issue of PLoS ONE, focused on giant honey bee colonies on Hainan Island, off the coast of China. Since these bees have long been separated from their continental cousins, it was thought that the island bees would be prime candidates for inbreeding as well as having very different genes, said Zachary Huang, Michigan State University entomologist. (more…)

Escalating Arms Race: Predatory Sea Urchins Drive Evolution

By Guest PostApril 18, 2012Natureasymmetrical, central europe, co evolution, escalation, escalation hypothesis, evolutionary arms race, evolutionary concept, fossil, geerat vermeij, lizard, macroevolutionary trend, mariusz a salamon, mesozoic crinoids, mesozoic diversity, mesozoic era, Nature, palaeontologist, paleobiology database, plankton, poland, predator, predator prey relationship, prey, przemyslaw gorzelak, sea lilies, sea urchins, sessile, tomasz baumiller, tug of war, university of michigan, university of silesia

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Nature teems with examples of evolutionary arms races between predators and prey, with the predator species gradually evolving a new mode of attack for each defensive adaptation that arises in the prey species.

These adaptations are often portrayed as reciprocal, with prey and predator acting as two sides in an endless evolutionary tug of war known as co-evolution. (more…)

Scientists Trace Evolutionary History of What Mammals Eat

By Guest PostApril 17, 2012Nature, Scienceanimal ecology, antelope, bats, big cats, carnivory, cows, darwin, davis, deer, duke university, environmental biology, evolutionary race, evolutionary time, extinct, feeding habit, george gilchrist, herbivory, louise roth, macroevolutionary diversification, mammal, meat, national science foundation, omnivore, plant eater, primates, rabbits, rodents, samantha hopkins, samantha price, ungulates, university of california, university of oregon

*Feeding habits haven’t always been what they are today*

The feeding habits of mammals haven’t always been what they are today, particularly for omnivores.

Some groups of mammals almost exclusively eat meat–take lions and tigers and other big cats as examples.

Other mammals such as deer, cows and antelope are predominantly plant-eaters, living on a diet of leaves, shoots, fruits and bark. (more…)

Category Archives: Nature