Insects are essential for ecosystems, but mounting evidence suggests many populations are collapsing under modern pressures. A new study used cutting-edge genomic techniques on museum specimens to track centuries of ant biodiversity across Fiji. The results reveal that nearly 80% of native ants are in decline, with losses intensifying in the past few hundred years as human activities expanded.
Read moreResearchers have identified a structural protein that is essential for the coordinated beating of millions of tiny cilia on the surface of comb jellies. When the protein was eliminated, the cilia began beating out of formation, stalling the locomotion of the jellies. These findings will help uncover how various organisms have adapted to life in different aquatic environments.
Read moreA group of snorkelling grandmothers is helping scientists better understand marine ecology by photographing venomous sea snakes in waters off the city of Noumea, New Caledonia.
Read moreA group of scientists have developed a new technology that makes it possible to rapidly identify viruses in wheat fields with a significantly higher accuracy. They collected four wheat samples from western Kansas and used a new harmonica-sized DNA sequencer and a computer program to quickly detect three different viruses in the samples. Furthermore, their results suggested that the samples contained a new virus strain.
Read moreResearchers are working to identify less error-prone methods for performing wildlife surveys.
Read moreAmazonia is home to the greatest number of species on earth, many now threatened, but a new study hammers home Amazonia's importance, showing that it is not only a place with many species, but one where it has taken an exceptionally long time for new species to form.
Read moreImagine you're getting ready to fly to your favorite vacation destination when suddenly a volcano erupts, sending massive amounts of volcanic ash into the atmosphere, and forcing the cancellation of your flight. That's exactly what happened in April 2010 when Eyjafjallajokull, a volcano in Iceland, erupted and disrupted air travel in Europe for 6 days. Scientists are now using plasma physics to predict the characteristics of these hazardous ash plumes.
Read moreFirst the sea stars wasted to nothing. Then purple urchins took over, eating and eating until the bull kelp forests were gone. The red abalone starved. Their fishery closed. Red sea urchins starved. Their fishery collapsed. And the ocean kept warming. This ecological horror story movie took place between 2013-2017, with lasting impacts. This study chronicles the catastrophic shift in 2014 from a robust bull kelp forest to a barren of purple sea urchins.
Read moreDespite their important ecological role as decomposers, termites are often overlooked in research. Evolutionary biologists have constructed a new family tree for this unassuming insect brood, shedding unexpected light on its evolutionary history.
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