News tagged with aquatic life

A small step for lungfish, a big step for the evolution of walking

The eel-like body and scrawny "limbs" of the African lungfish would appear to make it an unlikely innovator for locomotion. But its improbable walking behavior, newly described by University of Chicago scientists, ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 12, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (16) | comments 11 | with audio podcast

World phosphorous use crosses critical threshold

(PhysOrg.com) -- Recalculating the global use of phosphorous, a fertilizer linchpin of modern agriculture, a team of researchers warns that the world's stocks may soon be in short supply and that overuse in the industrialized ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Feb 14, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (24) | comments 38 | with audio podcast

How plants drove animals to the land

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of ancient oxygen levels presents the first concrete evidence that after aquatic plants evolved and boosted the levels of oxygen aquatic life exploded, leading to fierce competition ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Sep 30, 2010 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (11) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Report casts world's rivers in 'crisis state'

(PhysOrg.com) -- The world's rivers, the single largest renewable water resource for humans and a crucible of aquatic biodiversity, are in a crisis of ominous proportions, according to a new global analysis.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 29, 2010 | popularity 4 / 5 (12) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A Zen discovery: Unrusted iron in ocean

Iron dust, the gold of the oceans and rarest nutrient for most marine life, can be washed down by rivers or blown out to sea or - a surprising new study finds - float up from the sea floor. The discovery, ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Feb 08, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (17) | comments 16

Unexpected crustacean diversity discovered in northern freshwater ecosystems

Freshwater ecosystems in northern regions are home to significantly more species of water fleas than traditionally thought, adding to evidence that regions with vanishing waters contain unique animal life.

Biology / Ecology

created Mar 02, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists developing poison pill for Asian carp

Biologist Jon Amberg has spent the last two years obsessed with fish guts, laboring over a singular challenge: Develop a poison pill that will kill Asian carp and leave other fish unscathed.

Biology / Ecology

created Apr 03, 2012 | popularity 2.3 / 5 (4) | comments 0

New gene discovered: Sheds light on the evolution of life on Earth

A chance discovery of a genetic mutation in wild barley that grows in Israel's Judean Desert, in the course of a doctoral study at the University of Haifa, has led to an international study deciphering evolution of life on ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 25, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Study shows climate change makes some chemicals more toxic to aquatic life

Some areas of the southern United States are suffering from the longest dry spell since 1887 and a new Baylor University study shows that could prove problematic for aquatic organisms.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jun 28, 2011 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Conewago Creek may hold key for cleaning up Chesapeake

(PhysOrg.com) -- As Pennsylvania streams go, Conewago Creek in Dauphin, Lebanon and Lancaster counties is really nothing special. But remember the name, because it could hold the key to cleaning up the Chesapeake ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Apr 01, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists look deeper for coal ash hazards

(PhysOrg.com) -- As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency weighs whether to define coal ash as hazardous waste, a Duke University study identifies new monitoring protocols and insights that can help investigators ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 29, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Climate change reduces nutritional value of algae

Micro-algae are growing faster under the influence of climate change. However, the composition of the algae is changing, as a result of which their nutritional value for other aquatic life is decreasing. And because algae ...

Biology / Ecology

created Mar 11, 2009 | popularity 2.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1