https://phys.org/biology-news/plants-animals en-us The latest science news on plants and animals Insecticide use is a major factor causing a decrease in the size and diversity of butterfly populations across the US Midwest, reports Braeden Van Deynze of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and colleagues in a study published June 20 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-insecticides-contribute-butterfly-species-midwest.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 20 Jun 2024 14:00:02 EDT news638093342 Chimpanzees appear to consume plants with medicinal properties to treat their ailments, according to a study published on June 20 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Elodie Freymann from the University of Oxford, UK, and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-wild-chimpanzees-medicinal-illness-injuries.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 20 Jun 2024 14:00:02 EDT news638092921 A devastating hurricane transformed a monkey society by changing the pros and cons of interacting with others, new research shows. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-hurricane-game-monkey-society.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 20 Jun 2024 14:00:02 EDT news638090481 A new study presents video evidence that at least one species of terrestrial leech can jump, behavior that scientists have debated for more than a century. Researchers from the American Museum of Natural History, Fordham University, and City University of New York (CUNY)'s Medgar Evers College published the footage and corresponding analysis in the journal Biotropica. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-conclusive-video-evidence-terrestrial-leech.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 20 Jun 2024 10:00:01 EDT news638090881 An international team of scientists has recently found that non-native species are expanding their ranges many orders of magnitude faster than native ones, in large part due to inadvertent human help. Even seemingly sedentary non-native plants are moving at three times the speed of their native counterparts in a race where, because of the rapid pace of climate change and its effect on habitat, speed matters. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-native-animals-ranges-faster-species.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 19 Jun 2024 12:15:03 EDT news638018101 A study published in the journal BioScience sheds light on the importance of gray wolves in the western United States. Led by William Ripple, a scientist at Oregon State University and the Conservation Biology Institute, the research delves into the implications of large predator absence on plant and animal communities, and ecosystem functions. It calls attention to "shifting baselines" wherein increasingly degraded conditions are viewed as reflecting the historical state of a system. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-illuminates-ecological-importance-gray-wolves.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 19 Jun 2024 10:33:54 EDT news638012027 A team of zoologists and marine biologists affiliated with several institutions in Indonesia, working with a colleague from Germany, has discovered previously unknown instances of fluorescence in 27 marine creatures. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-team-biologists-fluorescence-marine-creatures.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:50:01 EDT news637933494 While there is an increasing consensus among humans that corporal discipline of children does more harm than good, fish may disagree. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-fish-offspring.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 11:53:03 EDT news637930382 The iconic marsupial can regulate its temperature to a greater degree than previously thought—but this could prove troublesome as global warming bites. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-koalas-hottest-days-summer.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 11:35:03 EDT news637929301 Most of us are aware that climate change is altering our world. But it can also make certain natural disasters, like hurricanes, more likely in places where susceptible species reside. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-global-natural-hazards-threaten-species.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 10:38:03 EDT news637925881 Beneath the surface, bacterivorous nematodes are key players in the nutrient cycle, consuming bacteria that decompose organic matter. Traditionally, these nematodes are studied in laboratory environments where isolated bacterial strains are used to monitor interactions on petri dishes. However, such settings do not accurately mimic the complex microbial ecosystems found in natural environments. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-nematode-microbe-interactions-lab-simulated.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 09:34:13 EDT news637922050 A multidisciplinary, multi-institutional team of researchers in the U.S. has found that starlings that fly in a follower position expend 25% less energy than when they fly solo. In their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group designed complex experiments to learn more about the amount of energy savings for birds following another bird in flight rather than going it alone. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-starlings-expend-energy-position-flying.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 09:30:01 EDT news637921650 Hundreds of thousands more breeding pairs of seabirds could return to remote island archipelagos if invasive rats were removed and native vegetation restored, a new paper finds. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-rat-free-islands-hundreds-thousands.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 04:00:01 EDT news637858108 A group of scientists has released the first comprehensive list of birds that haven't been seen in more than a decade, with the help of Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-lost-birds-aid-species.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:49:02 EDT news637847267 As organisms diversified on planet Earth, some branches of the tree of life became exceptionally diverse, others far less so. Still others went extinct. Why evolution favored certain groups over others is a long-standing question in evolutionary science. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-beetles-conquered-earth-evolving-biochemical.html Plants & Animals Evolution Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:36:08 EDT news637846564 Solitary bees have a shorter lifespan compared to honeybees, usually lasting the spring or summer season. These bees have limited time to perform a lot of pollination work and they can use all the help they can get. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-size-maximize-pollination-capabilities-solitary.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:19:08 EDT news637845545 A collaborative research team has developed a plant gene drive system called CRISPR-Assisted Inheritance utilizing NPG1 (CAIN), which, according to the researchers, uses a toxin-antidote mechanism in the male germline to override Mendelian inheritance in plants. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-overriding-mendel-laws-gene-trait.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 11:19:03 EDT news637841941 University of Minnesota researchers have successfully mapped the complete genome of the endangered Przewalski's horse. Once extinct in the wild, the species now has a population of around 2,000 animals thanks to conservation efforts. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-genome-wild-horse-species.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 14 Jun 2024 11:16:03 EDT news637582561 Parrots, songbirds, and hummingbirds can learn to make new sounds. No-one knew, but New Zealand's smallest bird, the rifleman or titipounamu, may have a rudimentary version of the same talent. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-tiny-zealand-bird-lesson-birdsong.html Plants & Animals Evolution Fri, 14 Jun 2024 10:32:04 EDT news637579921 Psychologists Benjamin Jones and Josep Call at the University of St Andrews, in the U.K., have found via behavioral experiments that chimpanzees know that they rely on luck when making guesses about certain things. Their paper is published in the journal Biology Letters. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-chimpanzees-luck.html Plants & Animals Fri, 14 Jun 2024 10:00:01 EDT news637577624 Magnesium compounds are a common ingredient of many remedies designed to help people wind down and escape the stresses of modern life. However, a new study has shown it is not only humans that are using forms of the chemical as a way to help them survive challenging conditions. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-magnesium-potion-enables-sandhoppers-survive.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 14 Jun 2024 09:17:03 EDT news637575421 Worldwide, a majority of babies—approximately 75%—drink infant formula in their first six months of life, either as a sole source of nutrition or as a supplement to breastfeeding. But while formula provides essential food for growing babies, it currently does not replicate the full nutritional profile of breast milk. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-human-sugars-healthier-baby-formula.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Thu, 13 Jun 2024 15:04:04 EDT news637509842 In a transdisciplinary study, a research team led by IGB has developed insect-friendly street lighting and tested it in the Dark Sky Reserve Westhavelland as well as in three German municipalities. Tailored and shielded road lights make the light source almost invisible outside the illuminated area and significantly reduces the lethal attraction for flying insects in different environments. The researchers see this as an important technical solution to reduce insect mortality. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-road-dead-insects-insect-friendly.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:44:50 EDT news637505085 Plants are highly versatile organisms that have developed remarkable strategies to adapt to different environments. One such strategy is seed dormancy, an adaptation that temporally prevents viable seeds from germinating even under optimal conditions, when the subsequent seedling development is of high risk. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-summer-slumber-seeds-dormant-combat.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 13 Jun 2024 12:51:04 EDT news637501862 Wild bumblebees are capable of logical reasoning, new research by a University of Stirling psychologist has found. The pioneering study tasked bees with spontaneously finding corresponding sugar-coated strips of paper. The paper, "Spontaneous relational and object similarity in wild bumblebees," was published in the journal Biology Letters. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-wild-bumblebees-capable-logical.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 13 Jun 2024 11:02:03 EDT news637495322 Global warming is projected to lengthen the ice-free period in the Hudson Bay, reducing the length of the resident polar bears' hunting season, according to research published in Communications Earth & Environment. Under a temperature rise of more than 2.1 degrees Celsius, the authors suggest that the duration of the ice-free period in the majority of Hudson Bay may be longer than the maximum fasting period adult polar bears can survive. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-longer-ice-free-periods-smaller.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 13 Jun 2024 11:00:01 EDT news637486442 We may go to the woods seeking peace and quiet, but are we taking our noise with us? A study published in the journal, Current Biology, led by scientists from the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station indicates that the answer is yes—and that this noise can trigger a fear response, as if escaping from predators. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-outdoor-recreation-noise-affects-wildlife.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 13 Jun 2024 11:00:01 EDT news637486141 Michigan State University researchers have discovered that honeybees can detect biomarkers or chemical concentrations associated with lung cancer in human breath. The researchers have also shown that the honeybees can distinguish between different lung cancer cell types using only the 'smell' of the cell cultures. These findings could be used as a model for developing new tests to diagnose lung cancer early. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-honeybees-lung-cancer.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Thu, 13 Jun 2024 09:56:05 EDT news637491362 Scientists have discovered the world's oldest, inhabited termite mounds along the Buffels River in Namaqualand. These mounds, dating back a staggering 34,000 years, are rewriting our understanding of prehistoric life, climate and carbon storage. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-uncovering-ancient-world-oldest-inhabited.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 13 Jun 2024 09:56:01 EDT news637491358 Gray whales that spend their summers feeding in the shallow waters off the Pacific Northwest coast have undergone a significant decline in body length since around the year 2000, a new Oregon State University study has found. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-pacific-coast-gray-whales-shorter.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 12 Jun 2024 15:21:04 EDT news637424461