Plant diversity in Germany on the decline

In the last 60 years, plant diversity across Germany decreased by an average of 15% in over 70% of the more than 2000 species examined. This most comprehensive analysis of plant data from Germany ever conducted involved researchers ...

More plant diversity, less pesticide

Increasing plant diversity enhances the natural control of insect herbivory in grasslands. Species-rich plant communities support natural predators and simultaneously provide less valuable food for herbivores. This was found ...

Study: Why unique finches keep their heads of many colors

There appears to be an underlying selection mechanism at work among Gouldian Finches—a mechanism that allows this species to produce and maintain individuals with red heads, black heads, and yellow heads. Research by scientists ...

New chimpanzee culture discovered

Chimpanzees have a more elaborate and diversified material culture than any other nonhuman primate. Their behavior varies across tropical Africa in a way that does not always correspond to ecology. For instance, only West ...

Genome duplication drives evolution of species

Many wild and cultivated plants arise through the combination of two species. The genome of these so-called polyploid species often consists of a quadruple set of chromosomes—a double set for each parental species—and ...

When one reference genome is not enough

Much of the research in the field of plant functional genomics to date has relied on approaches based on single reference genomes. But by itself, a single reference genome does not capture the full genetic variability of ...

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