Feature Channels: Nature

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Researchers studying the origin of Earth’s first breathable atmosphere have zeroed in on the major role played by some very unassuming creatures: plankton.

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A report issued today, co-authored by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) working in conjunction with the Turtle Conservation Coalition, lists the 25 most endangered turtle species from around the world – some of which currently number less than five individuals.

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For 30 years, two General Electric facilities released about 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into New York’s Hudson River, devastating and contaminating fish populations. Some 50 years later, one type of fish—the Atlantic tomcod—has not only survived but appears to be thriving in the hostile Hudson environment.

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In a clever use of GPS technology, UMass Amherst biologists mapped the topography of bat teeth as if they were mountain ranges, in order to better understand how toothy ridges and valleys have evolved in relation to diet in species that eat everything from hard-shelled insects to blood and nectar.

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Jamie Rotenberg, UNC Wilmington assistant professor of environmental studies, along with researchers at the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE), is studying what is thought to be the first active Harpy Eagle nest ever recorded in Belize, where the predatory birds were previously thought to be extinct.

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Finding cause for the steady decline in student interest in natural resource related degree fields was the focus of a Michigan State University study, published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education.

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Birds living near the site of the Chernobyl nuclear accident have on average 5 percent smaller brains, according to research led by a University of South Carolina scientist.

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A new study by a Stony Brook University professor shows that structures that have been evolutionarily lost for hundreds of millions of years can be regained.

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Novel 3D imaging technology has provided an unparalleled view of the legs of an ancient snake. The study suggests that snakes lost their legs by growing them more slowly or for a shorter period of time. Researchers hope the new data will help resolve a heated debate about the snake origins: whether they evolved from a lizard that burrowed on land or swam in the oceans.

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Complexity ever in the eye of its beholders, the animal with the most genes -- about 31,000 -- is the near-microscopic freshwater crustacean Daphnia pulex, or water flea. By comparison, humans have about 23,000 genes. Daphnia is the first crustacean to have its genome sequenced.

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A new study by an international team including professor Mark Luckenbach of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows that the decline of oyster reefs is a global problem. The team's analysis shows that oyster reefs are at less than 10% of their prior abundance in 70% of the 144 bays studied around the world.

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Wolverine habitat in the northwestern United States is likely to warm dramatically if society continues to emit large amounts of greenhouse gases, according to new computer model simulations carried out at NCAR. The study found that climate change is likely to imperil the wolverine in two ways: reducing or eliminating the springtime snow cover that wolverines rely on to protect and shelter newborn kits, and increasing August temperatures well beyond what the species may be able to tolerate.

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An international team of scientists, led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has decoded the DNA of a Sumatran and Bornean orangutans. The research, published in Nature, reveals intriguing clues about the evolution of great apes, including humans, and provides opportunities to aid conservation efforts in the wild, where the orangutans are endangered.

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Future queen or tireless toiler? A paper wasp’s destiny may lie in the antennal drumbeats of its caretaker. While feeding their colony’s larvae, a paper wasp queen and other dominant females periodically beat their antennae in a rhythmic pattern against the nest chambers, a behavior known as antennal drumming.

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Fast development is often perceived as an advantage. However, research conducted on salamanders at the University of Haifa and the University of California, found that the acceleration of developmental rates increases mortality. "Our findings are consistent with research findings on other animals and call for further research on rates of development in humans," said Asaf Sadeh who led the study.

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“To do science is to search for repeated patterns, not simply to accumulate facts.” The renowned ecologist Robert MacArthur went on to apply this observation specifically to the science of geographical ecology, or “the search for patterns in plant and animal life that can be put on a map.” Thanks to a renewed effort by three U.S. government agencies, the search for patterns in our Nation’s ecosystems can lead to better land management.

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An international research team working with NIST scientists has suggested for the first time that mercury cycling in the flora and fauna of the Arctic may be linked to the amount of ice cover present.

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Male splendid fairy-wrens, a sexually promiscuous small bird native to Australia, are known to sing a special song each time they hear the call of one of their predators, the butcherbirds. New research from the University of Chicago finds that this seemingly dangerous behavior actually serves as a call to potential mates – a flirtation using fear.

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The newly discovered crocodile ancestor came on the scene about the same time as dinosaurs began evolving.

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When engineers restore rivers, one Kansas State University professor hopes they'll keep a smaller engineer in mind: the North American beaver.

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To survive in a tumultuous environment, sea urchins literally eat through stone, using their teeth to carve out nooks where the spiny creatures hide from predators and protect themselves from the crashing surf on the rocky shores and tide pools where they live.

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Researchers from the University of Washington say the Mariana crow, a forest crow living on Rota Island in the western Pacific Ocean, will go extinct in 75 years. The extinction could happen almost twice as soon as previously believed.

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Increasingly, Americans are choosing packaged, processed foods over a healthier diet. And our foxes, raccoons, and opossums, too, are now consuming fast food of a different variety, finding leftovers from drive-thrus rather than chasing down mice, rats, and birds. The rapid spread of urbanization has humans and animal species living closer together and interacting more than ever before. This is evidenced by kit foxes in urban environments eating the same things as humans—particularly corn syrup.

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Scientists expect the Arctic Ocean to be ice-free in summer by century’s end. Now a trio of researchers say losing this continent-sized natural barrier between species such as bears, whales and seals, could mean extinction of some rare marine mammals and the loss of many adaptive gene combinations.

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New research indicates that if humans reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly in the next decade or two, enough Arctic ice is likely to remain intact during late summer and early autumn for polar bears to survive.

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Jeff Wells, a conservation scientists and visiting fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is warning that reindeer, the beloved animals of Christmas lore, are in severe decline thanks to global warming and industrial development in their boreal forest homes.

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When their razor-sharp mandibles wear out, leaf-cutter ants change jobs, remaining productive while letting their more efficient sisters take over cutting, say researchers from two Oregon universities. Their study provides a glimpse of nature's way of providing for its displaced workers.

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The 20-odd species of living alligators and crocodiles are nearly all that remains of what was once an incredibly diverse group of reptiles called crocodyliforms. Recent fossil discoveries have revealed that some of these reptiles possessed a dazzling array of adaptations that resulted in unique and sometimes bizarre anatomy.

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We all know that crocodiles are reptiles with long snouts, conical teeth, strong jaws and long tails. But according to researchers at Stony Brook University in New York, we don’t know what we thought we knew. Rather, some crocodiles possessed a dazzling array of adaptations that resulted in unique and sometimes bizarre anatomy, including blunt, pug-nosed snouts, pudgy bodies and short tails.

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The number of people admitted to the hospital because of dog bites increased by 86 percent – from 5,100 to 9,500 hospital stays – between 1993 and 2008.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is excluding significant research findings about human threats to protected species, researchers argue, even when the law governing the agency’s actions requires the use of all relevant data in determining whether species need protection from extinction.

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Biomarkers for contamination highest in animals near Galapagos Island’s marine reserve.

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A brand-new bacterial species has been found aboard the RMS Titanic, which is contributing to its deterioration. The discovery by a team led by researchers at Dalhousie University reveals a potential new microbial threat to the exterior of ships and underwater metal structures such as oil rigs.

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Sperm whales throughout the Pacific carry evidence of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and persistent organic pollutants including the pesticide DDT, according to a study published online December 6 ahead of print in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). The broad study provides a baseline for future research on ocean pollution and health.

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Design features such as overpasses keep drivers moving safely on our highways, letting cars pass in different directions without interacting with other cars or trains. Allowing wildlife to move from one side of the road to the other without encountering vehicle traffic is a challenge for transportation planners and wildlife managers.

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Don’t get between a salamander and her eggs. The concept usually applies to a mother bear and her cubs, but it rings true for this small amphibian as well—particularly as the eggs get closer to hatching.

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Harmful algal blooms, which negatively affect coastal ecosystems, public health, economies and fisheries around the world, may be promoted by vitamins B-1 and B-12 according to Stony Brook University scientists, whose findings were published in an early online edition (Nov. 10) and in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS ) in an article entitled "Most harmful algal bloom species are vitamin B1 and B12 auxotrophs."

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The UofU library provides an audio journey to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge--a unique preserve of American wilderness--in commemoration of its 50th anniversary.

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“Of the 675 fish species found in southeastern waters, more than 25 percent are considered imperiled,” Donald J. Orth of Virginia Tech said during his keynote address at the Southeastern Fishes Council annual meeting.

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Its venom-filled claw at the ready, it waits for prey to amble by it.

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Research article, 'The Impact of Conservation on the Status of World’s Vertebrates' recognized as one of the largest collaborations in the study of ecology.

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New research from the University of South Florida suggests that one of the evolutionary secrets of the shark hides in one of its tiniest traits -- flexible scales on their bodies that allow them to change directions while moving at full speed. This work presented today at the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) annual meeting in Long Beach, CA.

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A team of Australian researchers has identified a new, critically endangered species of ground parrot in Western Australia.

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New video analysis and mathematical modeling by engineers at Virginia Tech reveals how certain types of snakes can "fly" by flinging themselves off their perches, flattening their bodies, and sailing from tree to tree -- work presented today at the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) meeting in Long Beach, CA.

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A team of scientists at Harvard University has reproduced many of the characteristics of real bird song with a simple physical model made of a rubber tube -- work presented today at the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting in Long Beach, CA.

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Hummingbirds rank among the world’s most accomplished hovering animals, but how do they manage it in gusty winds? A team of researchers has built a robotic hummingbird wing to discover the answer, which they describe today at the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting in Long Beach, CA.

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As predators, cougars tend to select prey animals that are weaker and easier to attack during certain seasons, according to results of a new study.

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Dalhousie researchers are studying and learning more about the endangered species of the Northern Bottlenose Whale. This population is important to study because of the potential for negative impacts on the species from offshore oil and gas exploration. The Northern Bottlenose Whale is somewhat elusive due to their habitat and behaviors.

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The most widely adopted measure for assessing the state of the world’s oceans and fisheries led to inaccurate conclusions in nearly half the ecosystems where it was applied according to new analysis by an international team.

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Researchers at MIT, Virginia Tech and Princeton University analyzed the way domestic and big cats lap and found that felines of all sizes take advantage of a perfect balance between two physical forces. The results will be published in the November 11 online issue of the journal Science.