"Remarkable" marine animal forests found around Wellington"s coast in central New Zealand
Marine animal forests rich in sea life have been found in the shallow waters around Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington......»»
Counting Uganda"s lions: We found that wildlife rangers do a better job than machines
Lions are a symbol of Africa's last wild places. It's a species central to many of the continent's cultures and religions. But lion populations have reportedly declined over the past 50 years, especially in parts of west and east Africa......»»
Image analysis highlights Aldabra Atoll"s remarkable shoreline resilience over 51 years
Despite sea level rise in the Western Indian Ocean, more than 60% of Aldabra Atoll's shoreline remained unchanged from 1960 to 2011, based on aerial and satellite image analysis. On average, the shoreline changed at a rate of 0.25 ± 0.36 meters per.....»»
Nanopatterned graphene enables infrared "color" detection and imaging
University of Central Florida (UCF) researcher Debashis Chanda, a professor at UCF's NanoScience Technology Center, has developed a new technique to detect long wave infrared (LWIR) photons of different wavelengths or "colors.".....»»
How "thirsty" trees may make forests more vulnerable to climate change
A new study suggests that increased maple populations may leave forests in western North Carolina more vulnerable to extreme weather conditions like flooding and drought......»»
Mediterranean coral gardens may inevitably be compromised
Based on vast experience at sea and in the laboratory over the last 10 years, the latest study by the Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research at the University of Porto (CIIMAR-UP), Portugal, in collaboration with the Institute.....»»
Ghost crabs devour nearly 30% of flatback turtle hatchlings on Thevenard Island
Ghost crabs were responsible for the loss of nearly 30% of flatback turtle hatchlings at Thevenard Island, near Onslow on the northwest coast of Australia, according to new research published in Marine Biology from Edith Cowan University (ECU) and th.....»»
Apple expands Tap to Pay on iPhone to users in the United Arab Emirates
A few weeks after launching Tap to Pay on iPhone in New Zealand, Apple on Tuesday announced another expansion of the feature. As of today, merchants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can accept contactless payments directly on their iPhones, without.....»»
Recycling human and animal excreta could help meet nutrient supply for global crops
It might not be a pleasant image, but recycling all the human and livestock feces and urine on the planet would contribute substantially to meeting the nutrient supply for all crops worldwide, thereby reducing the need to mine fertilizers such as pho.....»»
Plankton study investigates how marine food webs respond to increasing alkalinity
The ocean naturally absorbs a quarter to a third of man-made CO2 emissions, but this process also leads to the acidification of seawater. By increasing the alkalinity of seawater through the addition of certain minerals (e.g., carbonates and silicate.....»»
A nature conservation paradox: Invasive species are often threatened in their native habitat
Non-native species introduced by humans are among the main causes of global species decline—they were partly responsible for 60% of the species that have become extinct worldwide in recent decades. Non-native mammals in Central Europe include speci.....»»
Shape-changing polymer resembles animal movements with temperature shifts
A team of scientists has created a new shape-changing polymer that could transform how future soft materials are constructed. Made using a material called a liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE), a soft rubber-like material that can be stimulated by ext.....»»
Bad weather led Dutch East India Company ship into Western Australian coast, archaeologists find
The Dutch East India Company ship, the Zuytdorp, likely crashed into the shore of Western Australia in 1712 due to a storm and not bad navigation, new research has found......»»
Quake prompts brief tsunami warning on the West Coast. Here"s what to know about tsunamis
The powerful earthquake that struck in Northern California on Thursday prompted a brief tsunami warning affecting about 5 million people along a stretch of the West Coast—from Northern California to Oregon—before being canceled. Here are some thi.....»»
Environmental pollutant decreases by half after passing through digestive tract of marine worm in Japan, study finds
Dr. Atsuko Nishigaki and their research team from Toho University, discovered that the marine worm Marphysa sp. E, an annelid living in the tidal flat sediments of Tokyo Bay, rapidly decreased the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PA.....»»
Meta-analysis of hunter–gatherer societies shows remarkable physical abilities of both genders
A trio of archaeologists at the University of Cambridge, in the U.K. conducted a study of hundreds of papers outlining research into hunter–gatherer societies, finding that people in such groups engage in a variety of physical activities. George Br.....»»
Not too warm and not too cold—finding the Goldilocks Zone of the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia is the largest living coral reef system on Earth, about 300 times larger than the next largest reef, found off the coast of Belize. This unique UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to a wide variety of.....»»
Peer-brokered sales central to illegal drug trade
The thought of illegal drug sales evokes images of deals done on shady street corners. But a new study from Case Western Reserve University exposes a critical but underreported element of the illegal drug market: so-called "peer-brokered" sales......»»
After decades of plantation agriculture, coconut palms dominate over half of Pacific atoll forests
Coconut palms are king throughout the tropics, serving as the foundation for human lives and cultures across the Pacific Ocean for centuries. However, 200 years of planting by colonial interests transformed the palm from the revered "Tree of Life" to.....»»
The dual role of insects in parasitic plant reproduction solves a long-standing botanical mystery
In the dark and moist understories of the subtropical forests of Shimoshima Island in Japan grow parasitic plants that feed on the roots of other plants. They are called Balanophora, and for over a century, the mechanism of their seed dispersal has r.....»»
Biologist explores why humans have sex—and sexes—in a world where life requires neither
University of Maryland biology Professor Eric Haag has spent his career studying animal reproduction, but people's sex lives never factored into his research. That changed in 2014 when a cancer diagnosis prompted Haag to take stock of his career......»»