https://phys.org/biology-news/plants-animals en-us Phys.org provides the latest news on plants and animals A deep-sea soft coral garden habitat has been discovered in Greenlandic waters by scientists from UCL, ZSL and Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, using an innovative and low-cost deep-sea video camera built and deployed by the team. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-soft-coral-garden-greenland-deep.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 29 Jun 2020 03:30:09 EDT news512620185 As the "king of beasts," majestic lions have been used as a symbol of courage, nobility and strength by rulers for over 6000 years. A lion became the symbol of a Norwegian king at least as early as 1280. It still stands proudly on Norway's Coat of Arms. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-pantera-leo-family-tree.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 26 Jun 2020 11:03:17 EDT news512388192 As the world wrestles with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which arose after the virus jumped from an animal species to the human species, University of Delaware researchers are learning about new ways other pathogens are jumping from plants to people. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-bacteria-ways-immune-defenses.html Plants & Animals Cell & Microbiology Fri, 26 Jun 2020 09:06:37 EDT news512381190 Dogs play an important role in human life all over the world—whether as a family member or as a working animal. But where the dog comes from and how old various groups of dogs are is still a bit of a mystery. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-sledge-dogs-year-old-ancient-dog.html Plants & Animals Evolution Thu, 25 Jun 2020 13:43:38 EDT news512308324 Paper wasps eavesdrop on fighting rivals to rapidly assess potential opponents without personal risk. This new finding adds to mounting evidence that even mini-brained insects have an impressive capacity to learn, remember and make social deductions about others. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-tiny-brains-big-eavesdropping-wasps.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 25 Jun 2020 11:00:02 EDT news512286999 A new study demonstrates for the first time that dolphins can learn foraging techniques outside the mother-calf bond—showing that they have a similar cultural nature to great apes. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-shelling-dinner-dolphins-foraging-skills.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 25 Jun 2020 11:00:02 EDT news512286911 Climate change leads to longer growing seasons in the Arctic. A new study, which has just been published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, show that predators like wolf spiders respond to the changing conditions and have been able to produce two clutches of offspring during the short Arctic summer. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-spider-baby-boom-warmer-arctic.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 25 Jun 2020 10:12:39 EDT news512298746 New research has revealed for the first time that shield bugs use a variety of colors throughout their lives to avoid predators. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-bugs-resort-colours-predators.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 25 Jun 2020 09:21:10 EDT news512295664 The world's forests play an important role in mitigating climate change. They are carbon sinks, meaning they absorb more carbon dioxide than they emit. But according to new research, the most prolific tree in North America—the Douglas fir—will absorb less atmospheric carbon dioxide in the future and therefore do less to slow climate change than once thought. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-trees-absorb-carbon-dioxide-world.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 25 Jun 2020 08:32:04 EDT news512292719 Barn swallows live almost everywhere on the planet, recognizable by their forked tail and agility in the air. Yet while they share these characteristics, these little birds often look slightly different in each place they live—with some so distinct they're splitting off to become new species. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-resident-parasites-evolution-barn-swallows.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 24 Jun 2020 15:54:04 EDT news512232841 Researchers have been surprised to find that Adélie penguins in Antarctica prefer reduced sea ice conditions, not just a little bit, but a lot. As climate models project rapid reduction of the continent's sea ice over the rest of the century, this iconic polar predator could be a rare global warming winner. Their research findings are published on June 24, 2020 in Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-antarctic-penguins-happier-sea-ice.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 24 Jun 2020 14:00:02 EDT news512209605 Brown-headed cowbirds show a bias in the sex ratio of their offspring depending on the time of the breeding season, researchers report in a new study. More female than male offspring hatch early in the breeding season in May, and more male hatchlings emerge in July. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-cowbirds-eggs-sex-ratio-based.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 24 Jun 2020 13:42:25 EDT news512224942 Two new genera and four new species of giant, single-celled xenophyophores (protozoans belonging to a group called the foraminifera) were discovered in the deep Pacific Ocean during a joint project between scientists at the National Oceanography Centre, UK (NOC), the University of Hawai'i, and the University of Geneva. 'Moana' has inspired the name Moanammina for one of the new genera, while the second has been named Abyssalia in recognition of its abyssal habitat. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-species-giant-single-celled-pacific-seafloor.html Plants & Animals Wed, 24 Jun 2020 10:50:37 EDT news512214633 We humans have unique cooperative systems allowing us to cooperate in large numbers. Furthermore, we provide help to others, even outside the family unit. How we developed these cooperative abilities and helping behavior during our evolutionary past remains highly debated. According to one prominent theory, the interdependence hypothesis, the cognitive skills underlying unique human cooperative abilities evolved when several individuals needed to coordinate their actions to achieve a common goal, for example when hunting large prey or during conflict with other groups. This hypothesis also predicts that humans who rely more on each other to achieve such goals, will be more likely to provide help and support to one another in other situations. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-wild-chimpanzees-cooperate-bonobos.html Plants & Animals Evolution Wed, 24 Jun 2020 10:06:01 EDT news512211956 Human impacts on the environment are changing many biological responses, with effects on rare species and human health, but predicting such responses is complicated, according to a new paper by a University of Canterbury ecologist. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-human-impact-tree-seeding-sync.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 24 Jun 2020 09:23:16 EDT news512209391 The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) takes only 100 milliseconds to trap its prey. Once their leaves, which have been transformed into snap traps, have closed, insects can no longer escape. Using biomechanical experiments and virtual Venus flytraps a team from Freiburg Botanical Garden and the University of Stuttgart has analyzed in detail how the lobes of the trap move. Freiburg biologists Dr. Anna Westermeier, Max Mylo, Prof. Dr. Thomas Speck and Dr. Simon Poppinga and Stuttgart structural engineer Renate Sachse and Prof. Dr. Manfred Bischoff show that the trap of the carnivorous plant is under mechanical prestress. In addition, its three tissue layers of each lobe have to deform according to a special pattern. The team has published its results in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-biomechanical-analyses-simulations-reveal-venus.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 23 Jun 2020 14:04:26 EDT news512139863 Long-tailed tits actively avoid harmful inbreeding by discriminating between the calls of close family members and non-family members, according to new research from the University of Sheffield. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-long-tailed-tits-incest-recognising-relatives.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 23 Jun 2020 12:10:04 EDT news512132607 A study involving Arabian horses from 12 countries found that some populations maintained a larger degree of genetic diversity and that the breed did not contribute genetically to the modern-day Thoroughbred, contrary to popular thought. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-genetic-arabian-horses-common-beliefs.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Tue, 23 Jun 2020 11:49:00 EDT news512131723 A Western Sydney University researcher has contributed to the first global and comprehensive assessment of the world's turtle and tortoise species. The study found half of all 360 turtle and tortoise species worldwide face imminent extinction, but action undertaken now could reverse the decline and save many species. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-global-turtle-highlights-extinction-roadmap.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 23 Jun 2020 10:00:58 EDT news512125251 A team of researchers from the Danube Research Institute and the National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, both in Hungary, and Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in Spain reports that is it possible for fish eggs to survive the trip through the bird digestive tract and subsequently to hatch. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their experiments with birds and fish eggs and what they found. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-fish-migrate-ingestion-birds.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 23 Jun 2020 09:58:13 EDT news512125089 Female great tits (Parus major) stay clear of territories with better singing males while competing males are attracted to the territories with better singers. This unexpected conclusion was reached by researchers of Wageningen University & Research in collaboration with the Netherlands Instituut for Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). This conclusion is diametrically opposed to the current assumption that male birds use their song to impress females and repel males to stay away from their territory. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-dawn-song-male-great-tit.html Plants & Animals Evolution Tue, 23 Jun 2020 09:35:24 EDT news512123722 In an article just published in Conservation Physiology, Macquarie University's Simon Clulow and colleagues reveal a new sperm freezing and revival technique that shows considerable promise—and involves a surprising ingredient. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-lizards-coffee-caffeine-threatened-species.html Plants & Animals Cell & Microbiology Tue, 23 Jun 2020 09:05:15 EDT news512121911 A team of scientists, led by Natural History Museum postdoctoral researcher Dr. Anne-Claire Fabre, have conducted the first study on how metamorphosis has influenced the evolution of salamanders. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-reveals-metamorphosis-evolution-salamanders.html Plants & Animals Evolution Tue, 23 Jun 2020 08:48:09 EDT news512120886 How do plants know when it is time to flower? Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have studied this question and identified two genes that are key to this process. They were able to show that the ELF3 and GI genes control the plants' internal clock, which monitors the length of daylight and determines when it is the right time to flower. The findings could help to breed plants that are better adapted to their environments. The study was published in The Plant Journal. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-chronobiology-genes.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Tue, 23 Jun 2020 06:44:43 EDT news512113478 A recent study, led by the University of Helsinki, used a novel combination of statistical methods and an exceptional data set collected by hunters to assess the role of protected areas for carnivore conservation in Finland. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-areas-effective-large-carnivore-populations.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 22 Jun 2020 13:13:28 EDT news512050362 In an article published in Nature Ecology & Evolution today, the leaders of a new global initiative explain how research during this devastating health crisis can inspire innovative strategies for sharing space on this increasingly crowded planet, with benefits for both wildlife and humans. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-covid-lockdown-reveals-human-impact.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 22 Jun 2020 12:29:14 EDT news512047724 Sturgeon, a long-lived, bottom-dwelling fish, are often described as "living fossils," owing to the fact that their form has remained relatively constant, despite hundreds of millions of years of evolution. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-million-year-old-fish-resembles-sturgeon-evolutionary.html Plants & Animals Evolution Mon, 22 Jun 2020 12:24:45 EDT news512047481 The artificial lighting which lines the world's coastlines could be having a significant impact on species that rely on the moon and stars to find food, new research suggests. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-artificial-night-sky-poses-threat.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 22 Jun 2020 11:00:07 EDT news512023217 Plant experts at UC Davis have defined the genetic basis of sex determination in grapevines, one of the oldest and most valuable crops worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-uncovering-genetic-basis-hermaphroditism-grapes.html Plants & Animals Evolution Mon, 22 Jun 2020 10:38:11 EDT news512041089 A research team led by Professor Jerome Hui Ho Lam from the School of Life Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has decoded for the first time the high-quality genomes of two jellyfish commonly found in Asian waters, including the edible flame jellyfish. Further studies have revealed many unexpected biological findings, including the identification of hormones which are thought to be only contained in arthropods like insects. The findings, just published in Nature Communications, provide references for further studies on the evolution, ecological roles and population bloom of jellyfish. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-decode-jellyfish-genomes-unveil-ecological.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 22 Jun 2020 08:27:58 EDT news512033275