Related topics: plant species · species

Unprecedented worldwide biodiversity study

Humans depend on high levels of ecosystem biodiversity, but due to climate change and changes in land use, biodiversity loss is now greater than at any time in human history. Five University of Alberta researchers, including ...

Creepy crawlers play key role in structure of grasslands

When asked to describe a forest or a meadow, most people would probably begin with the plants, the species diversity, or the color of the foliage. They probably wouldn't pay much attention to the animals living in the soil.

Flowering plants revolutionised life on Earth

New evidence from liverworts and beetles shows how the rise of flowering plants 100 million years ago created ideal conditions for a boom in terrestrial life.

A 'smoking gun' on the Ice Age megafauna extinctions

It was climate that killed many of the large mammals after the latest Ice Age. But what more specifically was it with the climate that led to this mass extinction? The answer to this is hidden in a large number of sediment ...

An arms-race with mutual benefits

When you hear the word "mutations", you probably think of something negative like heritable diseases. But mutations also mean genetic diversity and are at the centre of evolution. Researchers have now uncovered a surprisingly ...

Feeding the future using seed banks

Better use of the world's seed banks could help provide a practical solution to future food shortages, according to an article in Nature, co-authored by a Natural History Museum scientist.

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