https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. In research published in the American Journal of Botany, University of Connecticut Department of Earth Sciences Assistant Professor in Residence Tammo Reichgelt has used citizen science data to show that while some ferns prefer to remain rural, others thrive in urban settings and could play a role in mitigating the urban heat island effect. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-city-fern-country-citizen-science.html Plants & Animals Mon, 01 Jul 2024 15:20:02 EDT news639065849 The end-Triassic mass extinction (ETME), one of the five most severe extinction events in Earth history, caused the disappearance of ~80 percent of all species. https://phys.org/news/2021-10-reveals-patterns-fern-turnover-late.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 20 Oct 2021 08:56:15 EDT news553938970 Ferns are the second most species-rich lineages of land plants and highly suitable to test the association between genome diversity and lineage diversification. Many studies have recovered substantial differences in genome diversity. However, less attention has been given to ferns. https://phys.org/news/2021-08-dynamics-genome-evolution-diversification-fern.html Plants & Animals Thu, 19 Aug 2021 10:23:47 EDT news548587425 A researcher from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) said in a floristic study that the majority of fern species in the forest habitat of Xishuangbanna of Yunnan province are locally rare. Two-thirds of terrestrial fern species and nearly all epiphytes are rare. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-fern-species-xishuangbanna-rare.html Plants & Animals Thu, 11 Mar 2021 08:30:29 EST news534673828 Earth is home to millions of known species of plants and animals, but by no means are they distributed evenly. For instance, rainforests cover less than 2 percent of Earth's total surface, yet they are home to 50 percent of Earth's species. Oceans account for 71 percent of Earth's total surface but contain only 15 percent of Earth's species. What drives this uneven distribution of species on Earth is a major question for scientists. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-reveal-biogeographical-patterns-fern-diversity.html Plants & Animals Tue, 16 Feb 2021 10:32:40 EST news532693953 With massive fronds creating a luxuriously green canopy in the understory of Australian forests, tree ferns are a familiar sight on many long drives or bushwalks. But how much do you really know about them? https://phys.org/news/2020-08-tree-ferns-older-dinosaurs.html Plants & Animals Fri, 14 Aug 2020 08:19:39 EDT news516611977 You have to fast-forward almost 80 years from the origins of Fauna & Flora International (FFI) before you find any formal acknowledgement of our interest in things botanical, but plant conservation was on our agenda long before 'Flora' featured in our actual name. https://phys.org/news/2019-03-seeds-future-ffi.html Plants & Animals Mon, 11 Mar 2019 11:00:03 EDT news471517570 On July 17, 2014, the world decided it wanted to learn the genomic secrets hidden in the beautiful little, floating water fern, Azolla filiculoides. Not only did they want to know, but they paid for it too—a whopping $22,160 from 123 backers—through a crowdfunding site called Experiment.com. https://phys.org/news/2018-07-fern-tastic-crowdfunded-fern-genomes-published.html Biotechnology Mon, 02 Jul 2018 11:00:02 EDT news449735406 Throughout the history of life, new groups of species have flourished at the expense of earlier ones and global biodiversity has varied dramatically over geologic time. A new study led by the University of Turku, Finland, shows that completely different factors regulate the rise and fall of species. https://phys.org/news/2017-07-fern-fossil-extinction-species.html Evolution Fri, 07 Jul 2017 06:31:54 EDT news418627903 A research team from the University of Lomé in Togo provide the first local scientific information on Togolese fern flora. They explored the largest family of the lower vascular plants in the country, Pteridaceae, and identified 17 species, including one recorded for the first time in the small African country. The scientists also present an identification key for the species. Their study can be found in the open-access Biodiversity Data Journal. https://phys.org/news/2015-07-hairs-maiden-pteridaceae-fern-family.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Jul 2015 10:45:02 EDT news356262295 In an article published in the March 2015 issue of The American Naturalist, a team of researchers report on a fern from the French Pyrenees that is a recently formed intergeneric hybrid between parental lineages that diverged from each other approximately 60 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2015-03-million-years-fern-genera-hybrid.html Plants & Animals Mon, 09 Mar 2015 13:25:15 EDT news345126307 Ferns are believed to be 'old' plant species – some of them lived alongside the dinosaurs, over 200 million years ago. However, a group of Andean ferns evolved much more recently: their completely new form and structure (morphology) arose and diversified within the last 2 million years. This novel morphology seems to have been advantageous when colonising the extreme environment of the high Andes. https://phys.org/news/2014-10-ferns-earth-extreme-environments.html Plants & Animals Thu, 23 Oct 2014 14:00:04 EDT news333290965 (Phys.org) —The earliest known cousin of Triceratops and Torosaurus—the best-known horned dinosaurs—has been identified based on fossils from north central Montana, further underscoring the diversity of large, plant-eating horned dinosaurs among the fauna of western North America 66 to 80 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2013-05-ancient-cousin-triceratops-highlights-turnover.html Archaeology Fri, 31 May 2013 06:54:49 EDT news289202083 Chromosome number is the most basic feature concerning the genome of a species, and it is known for about one third of higher plant species. In particular, for plants of Italy, Slovakia, and Poland, online chromosome number databases have been developed: 'Chrobase.it – Chromosome numbers for the Italian flora', 'Karyological database of ferns and flowering plants of Slovakia' and 'Chromosome number database – PLANTS', respectively. The three datasets account for about 35%, 60% and 40% of the whole floras, respectively. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-mediterranean-coasts-tatra-mountains-chromosome.html Biotechnology Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:43:53 EST news273239019 (PhysOrg.com) -- As flowering plants like giant trees quickly rose to dominate plant communities during the Cretaceous period, the ferns that had preceded them hardly saw it as a disappointment. https://phys.org/news/2009-07-ferns-trees.html Plants & Animals Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:37:01 EDT news165749781