https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from California Academy of Sciences Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 153 new animal, plant, and fungi species in 2023, enriching our understanding of Earth's biodiversity and strengthening our ability to regenerate the natural world. The new species include 66 spiders, 20 sea slugs, 18 plants, 13 sea stars, 12 geckos, 10 beetles, five fishes, four worms, two wasps, one sea snail, one scorpion, and one legless skink. More than a dozen Academy scientists—along with several international collaborators—described the new-to-science species. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-scientists-species.html Plants & Animals Thu, 21 Dec 2023 16:52:59 EST news622399975 In a paper published in Nature, researchers from the California Academy of Sciences, University of São Paulo, University of Oxford, University of Exeter, and other collaborators reveal the extent of plastic pollution on coral reefs, finding that debris increases with depth, largely stems from fishing activities, and is correlated with proximity to marine protected areas. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-plastic-pollution-coral-reefs-depth.html Ecology Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:06:04 EDT news608465161 In a paper published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, an international research team composed of scientists affiliated with more than a dozen institutions, including the California Academy of Sciences, propose a first-of-its-kind framework for governments around the world to evaluate their preparedness for—and guide future policies to address—ocean acidification, among the most dire threats to marine ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-framework-preparedness-ocean-acidification.html Environment Tue, 28 Mar 2023 09:19:04 EDT news599213941 In a paper published today in Current Biology, researchers from the California Academy of Sciences Hope for Reefs initiative, along with Brazilian collaborators from the University of São Paulo, Federal University of Espírito Santo, and the Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica, show that mesophotic coral reefs function much differently than their shallower counterparts and are unlikely to offer a refuge for shallow water fishes trying to escape climate-change driven warming on the ocean's surface. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-biodiversity-coral-reefs-world-depth.html Plants & Animals Mon, 13 Mar 2023 12:36:14 EDT news597929771 Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences, along with a collaborator at Denison University, have developed an innovative new model to assess how the California economy might have fared without economic closures to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-california-didnt-pandemic.html Economics & Business Thu, 09 Mar 2023 10:12:30 EST news597579146 The history of life on Earth has been punctuated by several mass extinctions, the greatest of these being the Permian-Triassic extinction event, also known as the Great Dying, which occurred 252 million years ago. While scientists generally agree on its causes, exactly how this mass extinction unfolded—and the ecological collapse that followed—remains a mystery. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-reveals-biodiversity-loss-drove-ecological.html Ecology Fri, 24 Feb 2023 11:00:04 EST news596452155 During 2022, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences have added 146 new animal, plant, and fungi species to the tree of life, enriching our understanding of Earth's biodiversity and strengthening our ability to regenerate the natural world. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-scientists-species.html Plants & Animals Tue, 20 Dec 2022 17:11:05 EST news590778661 For millions of years, the Steller's sea cow, a four-ton marine mammal and relative of the manatee, shaped kelp forests along the Pacific coast of North America by eating massive quantities of kelp fronds from the upper canopies, thus allowing light to spur productivity in the understory. https://phys.org/news/2022-11-reveal-extinct-steller-sea-cow.html Ecology Mon, 28 Nov 2022 16:39:03 EST news588875941 Corals bred in public aquaria provide novel research opportunities and a healthy stock for outplanting into the wild, essential components of a thriving future for coral reef ecosystems, which support around 25% of all life in Earth's oceans. But the long-term success of such efforts hinges in part on maintaining genetic diversity in aquarium-bred corals which leads to increased resilience to threats like ocean warming and acidification. https://phys.org/news/2022-11-first-ever-family-tree-aquarium-bred-corals.html Plants & Animals Mon, 14 Nov 2022 13:52:01 EST news587656317 California now has two new scorpions on its list of species, thanks to the efforts of two keen-eyed high school students from the Bay Area and the California Academy of Sciences. Harper Forbes and Prakrit Jain, avid users on the community science platform iNaturalist, discovered the new-to-science scorpions while trawling the thousands of observations uploaded by other users in the state. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-high-school-students-species-scorpions.html Plants & Animals Mon, 15 Aug 2022 14:47:03 EDT news579793621 Though there are hundreds of species of fish found off the coast of the Maldives, a mesmerizing new addition is the first-ever to be formally described—the scientific process an organism goes through to be recognized as a new species—by a Maldivian researcher. The new-to-science Rose-Veiled Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa), described today in the journal ZooKeys, is also one of the first species to have its name derived from the local Dhivehi language, 'finifenmaa' meaning 'rose', a nod to both its pink hues and the island nation's national flower. Scientists from the California Academy of Sciences, the University of Sydney, the Maldives Marine Research Institute (MMRI), and the Field Museum collaborated on the discovery as part of the Academy's Hope for Reefs initiative aimed at better understanding and protecting coral reefs around the world. https://phys.org/news/2022-03-stunning-new-to-science-fairy-wrasse-first-ever.html Plants & Animals Tue, 08 Mar 2022 11:00:04 EST news565959479 In 2021, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 70 new plant and animal species to the tree of life, enriching our understanding of Earth's complex web of life and strengthening our ability to make informed conservation decisions. The new species include 14 beetles, 12 sea slugs, nine ants, seven fish, six scorpions, five sea stars, five flowering plants, four sharks, three spiders, two sea pens, one moss, one pygmy pipehorse, and one caecilian. More than a dozen Academy scientists—along with several dozen international collaborators—described the new species discoveries.  https://phys.org/news/2021-12-species.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Dec 2021 13:26:16 EST news558883566 On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) petroleum drilling rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana, resulting in the world's worst oil spill in history with more than 4 million barrels of oil released into the Gulf of Mexico. Though the short-term impact of the oil spill on local wildlife was widely researched among scientists and discussed in the media, there has been relatively little research on the long-term effects of the disaster. In a paper published this week in PLOS ONE, researchers from the California Academy of Sciences, Nova Southeastern University (NSU), South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT), and Kent State University show that Eastern oysters from the Gulf Coast have significantly higher rates of metaplasia—a condition that can cause debilitating tissue abnormalities—than those from a region unaffected by the DWH oil spill, even several years after the event, raising concerns about the health of the economically and ecologically important species. https://phys.org/news/2021-09-tissue-abnormalities-oysters-years-deepwater.html Plants & Animals Thu, 09 Sep 2021 14:26:02 EDT news550416359 In recent years, community science—also known as citizen science—has become a global phenomenon, engaging millions of people through wildlife observation platforms like iNaturalist and contributing unparalleled amounts of data on the natural world. Despite this, however, community science data remains widely underutilized by the scientific community due to its perception as being less reliable than expert-collected data. In a paper published last week in Oikos, California Academy of Sciences researchers—with support from the California Ocean Protection Council—present a new framework for how community-generated data can be effectively used to monitor and protect our planet's biodiversity. Their findings show that community science data is not only useful, but necessary for uncovering the real-time impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss. https://phys.org/news/2021-06-aims-community-developed.html Ecology Mon, 14 Jun 2021 10:15:53 EDT news542884550 Since arriving to the northern Atlantic Ocean less than 30 years ago, lionfish have quickly become one of the most widespread and voracious invasive species, negatively impacting marine ecosystems—particularly coral reefs—from the northeast coast of the United States to the Caribbean Islands. In a new study, an international research team including the California Academy of Sciences presents four new records of lionfish off the coast of Brazil, confirming the invasion of the predatory fish into the South Atlantic for the first time. Their findings, published today in Biological Invasions, discuss how the lionfish may have arrived in the region, and hold important insights on how Brazil's diving and fishing communities can help manage the invasion before it potentially devastates local ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2021-06-invasive-lionfish-threaten-species-brazilian.html Plants & Animals Thu, 03 Jun 2021 10:11:56 EDT news541933912 The Gulf of Guinea islands harbor an abundance of species found nowhere else on Earth. But for over 100 years, scientists have wondered whether or not a population of limbless, burrowing amphibians—known as caecilians—found on one of the islands is a single or multiple species. Now, a team of researchers from the California Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has contributed the strongest evidence to date that there is not one, but two different species of caecilians on São Tomé island. Their findings, published today in Molecular Ecology, also suggest that volcanic activity may have led to the divergence of the species. https://phys.org/news/2021-05-tom-island-species-caecilians-earth.html Plants & Animals Mon, 10 May 2021 10:09:01 EDT news539860136 In recent years, advancements in DNA sequencing have exposed a large amount of hidden diversity in reef-building corals: species that appear identical to one another but are genetically distinct. Typically ignored as they are invisible to the naked eye, a team of researchers at the California Academy of Sciences and The University of Queensland, along with over a dozen international collaborators, is taking a more holistic approach to understand these hidden species by investigating overlooked ecological differences that have wide-ranging implications for the vulnerability and resilience of reef-building corals. The team hopes that their findings, published today in Current Biology, will lead to a more nuanced consideration of coral diversity, that incorporates more aspects than appearance alone, to drive more strategic conservation planning. https://phys.org/news/2021-04-hidden-diversity-coral-important-previously.html Plants & Animals Fri, 02 Apr 2021 11:00:02 EDT news536565816 Over the course of Earth's history, several mass extinction events have destroyed ecosystems, including one that famously wiped out the dinosaurs. But none were as devastating as "The Great Dying," which took place 252 million years ago during the end of the Permian period. A new study, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, shows in detail how life recovered in comparison to two smaller extinction events. The international study team—composed of researchers from the China University of Geosciences, the California Academy of Sciences, the University of Bristol, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences—showed for the first time that the end-Permian mass extinction was harsher than other events due to a major collapse in diversity. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-life-recovered-great-dying.html Ecology Wed, 17 Mar 2021 03:42:27 EDT news535171340 This past year, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 213 plant and animal species to the tree of life, providing deeper insight into the rich biodiversity of our planet and helping to inform global conservation strategies. The new species include 101 ants, 22 crickets, 15 fishes, 11 geckos, 11 sea slugs, 11 flowering plants, eight beetles, eight fossil echinoderms, seven spiders, five snakes, two skinks, two aphids, two eels, one moss, one frog, one fossil amphibian, one seahorse, one fossil scallop, one sea biscuit, one fossil crinoid (or sea lily), and one coral. More than two dozen Academy scientists—along with many more collaborators throughout the world—described the new species. https://phys.org/news/2020-12-california-academy-scientists-species.html Plants & Animals Thu, 10 Dec 2020 04:17:21 EST news526795412 From sea shores to salt flats, a high incidence of spiders spin a life in or around water. Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences and William Paterson University found that nearly one fifth of all spider families are associated with saltwater or freshwater aquatic habitats. Their findings—recently published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society and aptly titled "The Life Aquatic with Spiders"—address the common misconception that all spiders dwell on land, and reveal surprising evolutionary pathways of this group from a land-based existence back to a water-based existence. https://phys.org/news/2020-01-reveals-life-aquatic-spider-species.html Plants & Animals Tue, 21 Jan 2020 10:10:09 EST news498823806 In 2019, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 71 new plant and animal species to our family tree, enriching our understanding of Earth's complex web of life and strengthening our ability to make informed conservation decisions. The new species include 17 fish, 15 geckos, eight flowering plants, six sea slugs, five arachnids, four eels, three ants, three skinks, two skates, two wasps, two mosses, two corals, and two lizards. More than a dozen Academy scientists—along with many more international collaborators—described the new species discoveries. https://phys.org/news/2019-12-academy-scientists-species.html Plants & Animals Thu, 05 Dec 2019 16:39:54 EST news494786377 Africa has new purple-clad warriors more than 200 feet beneath the ocean's surface. Deep-diving scientists from the California Academy of Sciences' Hope for Reefs initiative and the University of Sydney spotted dazzling fairy wrasses—previously unknown to science—in the dimly lit mesophotic coral reefs of eastern Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania. The multicolored wrasses sport deep purple scales so pigmented, they even retain their color (which is typically lost) when preserved for research. The scientists name this "twilight zone" reef-dweller Cirrhilabrus wakanda (common name "Vibranium Fairy Wrasse") in honor of the mythical nation of Wakanda from the Marvel Entertainment comics and movie Black Panther. The new fish is described today in ZooKeys. https://phys.org/news/2019-07-wakanda-scientists-species-twilight-zone.html Plants & Animals Thu, 11 Jul 2019 11:43:41 EDT news482064208 Scientists are analyzing a rare snapshot in time of urban plants and animals. To better understand whether rapidly growing cities are hosting the same species, a concept known as urban homogenization, a team from the California Academy of Sciences analyzed an immense volume of data gathered by citizen scientists during the four-day global City Nature Challenge. The 14 U.S. cities included in the study amassed more than 65,000 wildlife observations identified to species level through the mobile app iNaturalist. Study findings suggest that despite similarities across cities, urban biodiversity still strongly reflects the species that are native to a region. However, observations of shared "cosmopolitan" species like pigeons, white-tailed deer, and dandelions were more numerous than locally occurring species. The study, published today in the journal PeerJ: Life & Environment, highlights the value of citizen science data in addressing complex questions about rapid changes in urban ecology. https://phys.org/news/2019-04-cities-host-regionally-unique-species.html Ecology Tue, 30 Apr 2019 10:26:14 EDT news475838767 One critically endangered species of smooth-shelled abalone is making a comeback in certain parts of its range along the California coast. To better understand the extent of black abalone recovery, a collaborative team led by scientists at the California Academy of Sciences, San Diego State University, University of Oregon, and Channel Islands National Park is turning to archeological sites on the Channel Islands. Their findings, published today in Ecology and Evolution, suggest that while the recent ecological rebound is encouraging, there's still work to do before the black abalone should be considered fully recovered. https://phys.org/news/2019-04-scientists-extent-recovery-critically-endangered.html Ecology Tue, 02 Apr 2019 10:52:03 EDT news473421043 Scientists are peeking into ancient oceans to unravel the complexities of mass extinctions, past and future. A new examination of Earth's largest extinction by scientists at the California Academy of Sciences and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee sheds light on how ecosystems are changed by such transformative events. The study, published today in Biology Letters, suggests that the extinction survivors shared many of the same ecological roles as their predecessors, with one catch—there was a surge in the number of individuals with modern traits like greater mobility, higher metabolism, and more diverse feeding habits. These hardy stand-outs did a better job of driving recovery, making ecological interactions more intense in the process: fish were more agile, diverse predators and marine invertebrates like mussels became more defensive. Insights into this system and its occupants can help guide modern conservation in identifying Earth's most resilient and best equipped species in the face of environmental stress. https://phys.org/news/2019-03-uncover-clues-surviving-extinction.html Ecology Thu, 14 Mar 2019 10:30:14 EDT news471778202 Scientists from the United States and Brazil warn that the current global progress toward United Nations (UN) sustainability goals is not fast enough to avert the biodiversity crisis. A scientific team led by the California Academy of Sciences evaluated progress toward current biodiversity targets put forth by the UN Convention for Biological Diversity specifically aimed at protecting the world's oceans and seas. In an essay published yesterday in Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, they argue that most signatory countries are not on track to achieve target goals, some of the targets are structured to give a false sense of conservation achievement, and that these targets must be restructured to incorporate adequate conservation incentives that instill valid hope for the future. https://phys.org/news/2018-12-scientists-nations-biodiversity.html Ecology Fri, 14 Dec 2018 10:13:38 EST news464004810 In 2018, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 229 new plant and animal species to our family tree, enriching our understanding of Earth's complex web of life and strengthening our ability to make informed conservation decisions. The new species include 120 wasps, 34 sea slugs, 28 ants, 19 fish, seven flowering plants, seven spiders, four eels, three sharks, two water bears, one frog, one snake, one seahorse, one moss, and one liverwort plant. More than a dozen Academy scientists—along with several dozen international collaborators—described the new species discoveries. https://phys.org/news/2018-12-species-california-academy-sciences.html Ecology Wed, 05 Dec 2018 13:24:34 EST news463238660 In an era of rapid ecological change, scientists are turning to historical periods of persistence to better understand what drives stability. A team from the California Academy of Sciences and the Field Museum of Natural History has examined the structural complexity of ancient ecosystems by looking at the number of species and how they're organized by function, such as top predators or decomposers. All stable ecosystems have species grouped by function, and the study found that these functional groupings are more important to an ecosystem's stability than the sheer number of species present. Surprisingly, the study also found that among simulated systems of equal but different complexity, those representing actual ancient ecosystems tended to be more stable. The team is now investigating why certain functional compositions are better than others and how those structures arise over time. Understanding the organization of stable ecosystems of the past allows scientists to better predict whether modern human impacts have pushed our current planetary system past a point of recovering to its original state. https://phys.org/news/2018-11-explores-ecosystem-stability.html Ecology Wed, 28 Nov 2018 13:16:14 EST news462633365 This National Sea Slug Day, celebrate the addition of 17 new species of nudibranch to the tree of life. Adorned in lavish patterns and colors that range from yellow polka dots to shades of mauve and neon blue, the new marine invertebrates hail from coral reefs across the Indo-Pacific region. Researchers from the California Academy of Sciences described the new-to-science sea slugs in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society last month. The team also identified a number of distant relatives that have independently evolved the same color pattern—a first-ever genetic confirmation that color mimicry is widespread in the sea slug world. Their findings reveal how much more there is to learn about what drives nature's styling of these flashy reef residents. https://phys.org/news/2018-10-scientists-california-academy-sciences-species.html Plants & Animals Mon, 29 Oct 2018 10:33:06 EDT news460027975 On a recent expedition to the remote Brazilian archipelago of St. Paul's Rocks, a new species of reef fish—striped a vivid pink and yellow—enchanted its diving discoverers from the California Academy of Sciences. First spotted at a depth of 400 feet beneath the ocean's surface, this cryptic fish inhabits rocky crevices of twilight zone reefs and is found nowhere else in the world. Upon discovery, the deep-diving team was so captivated by their finned find that they didn't notice a massive sixgill shark hovering above them in an exciting moment captured on camera. The new fish description published today in Zookeys. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-team-species-dazzling-neon-colored-fish.html Plants & Animals Tue, 25 Sep 2018 10:00:02 EDT news457073763