Nature – PossibleThreat Articles

US corn yields get boost from a global warming 'hole'

October 24, 2019 0 Comments Agriculture and Food, Climate, Endangered Plants, Environmental Awareness, Environmental Issues, Food and Agriculture, Global Warming, Nature

The global average temperature has increased 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 100 years. In contrast, the Corn Belt of the U.S., one of the most agriculturally productive regions of the world, has experienced a decrease in temperatures in the summer during the growing season. Known as the 'US warming hole,' this anomalous cooling phenomenon, which occurred in tandem with increasing rainfall, was responsible for boosting corn yields by 5 to 10 percent per year, according to a new study.

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Higher local earthworm diversity in temperate regions than in the tropics

October 24, 2019 0 Comments Biodiversity, Ecology, Ecology Research, Environmental Awareness, Nature, New Species, Rainforests, Soil Types

In any single location, there are typically more earthworms and more earthworm species found in temperate regions than in the tropics. Global climate change could lead to significant shifts in earthworm communities worldwide, threatening the many functions they provide.

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Massive fangs and a death crush: How a 370 million year old tetrapod hunted and killed

October 24, 2019 0 Comments Charles Darwin, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Fish, Fossils, Invasive Species, Nature, Origin of Life

The habits of a needle-toothed tetrapod which lived more than 370 million years ago have filled in a piece of the evolutionary puzzle after an international team of palaeontologists pieced together fossilized skeletons and found unusual characteristics such as a crocodile-like skull with high positioned eyes would have been used to 'keep an eye' on prey before it used its slender needle-like teeth and elastic jaw to snatch its kill and crush it to death.

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Why are bald eagles such great gliders? It's all in the wrist

October 24, 2019 0 Comments Bird Flu Research, Birds, Charles Darwin, Early Birds, Environmental Awareness, Evolution, Nature, Rainforests, Weather

Birds come in an astounding array of shapes and colors. New research helps explain why bird species with similar flight styles or body sizes don't have consistent wing shapes. Bird species tend to reshape the range of motion of their wings — rather than wing shape or size itself — as they evolve new ways of flying.

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Marmoset monkeys can learn a new dialect

October 23, 2019 0 Comments Animal Learning and Intelligence, animals, Behavioral Science, Mating and Breeding, Monkeys, Nature, New Species, Wild Animals

Monkeys and other animals communicate through calls that can differ depending on region. The common marmoset is one such animal that communicates using regional dialects. Researchers have now found out that they even adapt their dialect when they move to a different area.

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Understanding local attitudes to snow leopards vital for their ongoing protection

October 23, 2019 0 Comments Environmental Awareness, Environmental Policy, Mammals, Nature, Perception, Psychology, Snow and Avalanches, Social Psychology, Wild Animals

Local people in the Nepal Himalayas value snow leopards as much for the potential personal benefits they gain from the animals' conservation as they do for the intrinsic value of this charismatic species.

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New data on the evolution of plants and origin of species

October 23, 2019 0 Comments Botany, Charles Darwin, Endangered Plants, Evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Human Evolution, Nature, Origin of Life

There are over 500,000 plant species in the world today. They all evolved from a common ancestor. How this leap in biodiversity happened is still unclear. Researchers now present the results of a unique project on the evolution of plants. Using genetic data from 1,147 species the team created the most comprehensive evolutionary tree for green plants to date.

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