Improving Watermelons by Harvesting Genes From Wild Species
An international team of researchers has taken a comprehensive look at the genomes of all seven species of watermelon, creating a resource that could help…
Biodiversity News
Presence of Cryptic and Elusive Tiny Creatures Betrayed by Facebook and Instagram
While monitoring of cryptic and elusive tiny creatures, such as pygmy seahorses that measure only 13 to 27 mm, might be too costly and time-consuming…
New Deep-Water Coral Discovered in Part of Unexplored Marine Ecosystem
Pax, Latin for ‘peace’ made its way into the scientific name of a new coral discovered off Pacific Panama and described in the journal Bulletin…
1 Billion Years of Evolution Illuminated by Genetic Sequencing of 1,100 Plants
Plants are evolutionary champions, dominating Earth’s ecosystems for more than a billion years and making the planet habitable for countless other life forms, including us….
Helping Save Pumas From Inbreeding With Whole Genome Sequencing
The first complete genetic sequences of individual mountain lions point the way to better conservation strategies for saving threatened populations of the wild animals. When…
Toad Disguises Itself As Deadly Viper to Avoid Being Eaten – Mimics Both Appearance and Behavior
Decades of fieldwork uncover hissing and strike-warning impersonations by toad. The first study of a toad mimicking a venomous snake reveals that it likely imitates…
GPS Tracking Reveals Rare ‘Itinerant Breeding’ Behavior in California Bird
Reproduction and migration are the two most demanding tasks in a bird’s life, and the vast majority of species separate them into different times of…
New Study of Species That Mate for Life Shows How Investing in Love and Affection Pays Off
New research from the University of Chicago and University of North Carolina shows how species of birds form long-term bonds to raise their young more…
Gigantic Collision in the Asteroid Belt – Boost for Biodiversity on Earth?
An international study led by researchers from Lund University in Sweden has found that a collision in the asteroid belt 470 million years ago created…
The Unexpected Role Ant-Plant Partnerships May Play in Ant Evolution
Partnerships between ant and plant species appear to arise from—but not drive—the rapid diversification of ants into new species. Katrina Kaur of the University of…
Phenological Index – Tool to Understand How Ecosystems Are Responding to a Changing Climate
As climate change accelerates, recording shifts in plant flowering times is critical to understanding how changes in climate will impact ecosystem interactions. Currently, when researchers…
Colorful New Bee Species Discovered in Fiji, but Extinction From Climate Change Feared
Bee biodiversity barometer on Fiji — New species described as environment changes The biodiversity buzz is alive and well in Fiji, but climate change, noxious…
Guppies Unlock a Key Question About Evolution
Guppies, a perennial pet store favorite, have helped a UC Riverside scientist unlock a key question about evolution: Do animals evolve in response to the…
‘Earth’s Heartbeat’ – Do Animals Control Earth’s Oxygen Level?
For the first time, researchers have measured how the production of algae and the Earth’s oxygen level affect each other – what you might call…
Earth’s Stunning Biodiversity is a Puzzle Worth Exploring
Life on Earth is amazingly diverse, and exhibits striking geographical global patterns in biodiversity. A pair of companion papers published September 13th in Science reveal…
Earth Is Teeming With Strange Life Forms—With Many Species at the Equator
UChicago scientists investigate biodiversity question with innovative approach. Earth is teeming with strange life forms—crabs with 12-foot-long legs scuttling off the Japanese coast, mushrooms that…
New Research Reveals Scale is a Key Ingredient When Tracking Biodiversity
To fully understand biodiversity and how it is changing, you need to look near, far, and in-between, according to a new study. Researchers at Yale…
Ants Help Researchers Understand Why Biodiversity is Higher in Tropical Regions
It’s a puzzle that has confounded biologists for centuries: the earth’s tropical regions are home to an enormous variety of plant and animal species, but…
