Nature News

September 9, 2016

Not One, but Four Giraffe Species

A Tenth of World's Wilderness Lost Since 1990s

Largest Reforestation Program: Harm Wildlife?

Grasslands Will Suffer in a Warmer Future

Latest Headlines

updated 12:23am EDT

Yellow or Black, Large or Small? Ant Color and Body Size Respond Strongly to Environment

Sep. 8, 2016 — A study of ants across three continents has revealed that their color and size is strongly influenced by their environment, ... read more

Newly Described Amphipod Species Already Under Threat

Sep. 8, 2016 — Biologists have described a new amphipod species which is endemic to the Alps. While alpine lakes provide relatively undisturbed habitats for Gammarus alpinus, this species ... read more

Pushing a Parasite from Land to Sea

Sep. 6, 2016 — Higher levels of rainfall and coastal development increase the risk of disease-causing organisms flowing to the ocean, according to a study. The work advances earlier work by tracking the parasite T. ... read more

Thrive or Fail: Examining Forest Resilience in the Face of Fires

Sep. 7, 2016 — Scientists outline a framework to help scientists better test, understand and predict when forests are resilient enough to recover from fire or when a combination of ... read more

How Fungi Help Trees Tolerate Drought

Sep. 7, 2016 — Specific adaptations in the transcriptome of the most common ectomycorrhizal fungus could help their hosts be more resistant to drought stress, a finding that could be useful ... read more

In Eastern Tibetan Forest, Signs of Tree Growth Amid Climate Change

Sep. 7, 2016 — Word of mouth from nomadic herders led Lucas Silva into Tibetan forests and grasslands. What his team found was startling: rapid forest growth in tune with what scientists ... read more

Farming Adaptations Needed to Combat Climate Change to Impact Crop Yields in 2050

Sep. 6, 2016 — As the globe continues to spin toward a future with higher temperatures, crop yields will likely decrease if farmers do not ... read more

Flycatcher Genome Sheds Light on Causes of Mutations

Sep. 6, 2016 — A research team has determined the complete genetic code of 11 members of a flycatcher pedigree. Doing this, they have for the first time been able to estimate the rate of ... read more

Study Demonstrates Seasonality of Bird Migration in Response to Environmental Cues

Sep. 6, 2016 — For the first time, a study shows that remote sensing data from weather surveillance radar and on-the-ground data from the ... read more

Age Before Youth: Older Cranes Lead the Way to New Migration Patterns

Sep. 6, 2016 — Whooping cranes are changing migration patterns in response to climate and land use change, and these new patterns are being determined by the older, more experienced, ... read more

Tiger Sounds Could Help Save Population

London Zoo's Animals Have Annual Weigh in

Expert: S. African Great White Sharks Threatened

Vienna Zoo Hails Rare Birth of Tiny Giant Panda Twins

Nutrient Pollution Is Changing Sounds in the Sea

Sep. 6, 2016 — Nutrient pollution emptying into seas from cities, towns and agricultural land is changing the sounds made by marine life -- and potentially upsetting navigational cues for fish and other sea ... read more

European Earthworms Decrease Species Diversity in North America

Sep. 6, 2016 — European earthworms invading the forests of North America are responsible for a decline in species diversity in the forest understory. Scientists have now been able to demonstrate this general ... read more

Browsing Antelope Turned Ancient African Forests Into Grassy Savanna Ecosystems

Sep. 6, 2016 — By comparing the timing of the evolution of thorns on about 2,000 woody tree species in southern Africa and the time that antelopes arrived in Africa, a group of scientists found that trees like ... read more

Global Warming Data Not Enough to Predict Animal Extinction, Lizard Study Finds

Sep. 6, 2016 — Current models used to predict the survival of species in a warming world might be off target because they ignore the spatial distribution of shade, report ... read more

During Drought, Dry Air Can Stress Plants More Than Dry Soil

Sep. 5, 2016 — Newly published research finds that low relative humidity in the atmosphere is a significant, growing and often under-appreciated cause of plant stress in hot, dry weather conditions. The finding ... read more

Future Drought Will Offset Benefits of Higher CO2 on Soybean Yields

Sep. 5, 2016 — An eight-year study of soybeans grown outdoors in a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere like that expected by 2050 has yielded a new and worrisome finding: Higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations will boost ... read more

Four out of Six Great Apes One Step Away from Extinction, Experts Say

Sep. 4, 2016 — The Eastern gorilla -- the largest living primate -- has been listed as Critically Endangered due to illegal hunting, according to the latest update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened ... read more

Critically Endangered Whales in Russia Recovering

Sep. 6, 2016 — The critically endangered western gray whale population that feeds in Russia's Far East waters is slowly showing signs of recovery, but their numbers and range are still at risk from industry ... read more

The Great Tit, Parus Major, Does Better in the Countryside

Sep. 2, 2016 — A new study shows that birds in an urban environment have fewer and smaller offspring than in rural ... read more

A New Tool for Wetland Management

Sep. 2, 2016 — A team of environmental engineers and a wetland ecologist have created a computer model that can help wetland managers increase the size of migratory bird habitat and combat invasive vegetation using ... read more

Species Conservation Profile of a Critically Endangered Endemic for the Azores Spider

Sep. 1, 2016 — Subject to continuing population decline due to various factors, an endemic cave-dwelling spider from the Azores is considered as Critically Endangered. To provide a fast output potentially ... read more

Subantarctic Seabed Creatures Shed New Light on Past Climate

Sep. 1, 2016 — It takes thousands of years for seabed communities to recover from major glaciation events, new research suggests. The study focused on the seas around South Georgia in the south ... read more

Multiple Resources Jointly Control Plant Diversity

Sep. 1, 2016 — It is well-established that the addition of nutrients in grassland ecosystems -- both through farming and atmospheric deposition -- reduces plant diversity. Now, an international study is shedding ... read more

Habitat Is a Crucial Factor in Survivability of Released Tortoises

Aug. 31, 2016 — A team of wildlife experts has analyzed the effect of habitat quality on the survival and dispersal of released desert tortoises. Juvenile tortoises used in this study originated from eggs produced ... read more

Bird Bugs Shed New Light on Malaria Infection

Aug. 31, 2016 — A study into bird malaria could provide important clues about the causes of parasite co-infections in animals, including people, report investigators. They found that not only the bird's habitat ... read more

A Lost Century for Forest Elephants

Aug. 30, 2016 — Because forest elephants are one the slowest reproducing mammals in the world, it will take almost a century for them to recover from the intense poaching they have suffered since ... read more

Fossil Pollen 'Sneeze' Caught by Research Team

Aug. 30, 2016 — Researchers have recorded the only known example of prehistoric pollen caught in explosive mid-discharge from a fossil flower. The team describes this "freeze-frame" fossilized pollen ... read more

When It Comes to Climate Change and Stream Flow, Plants Play an Important Role

Aug. 30, 2016 — In California's Sierra Nevada mountains, as more precipitation falls in the form of rain rather than snow, and the snowpack melts earlier in spring, it's important for water managers to ... read more

Study on Diversity of Microbial Groups Demonstrates the Effects of Human-Caused Changes in Climate, Land Use and Other Factors

Aug. 30, 2016 — Research shows the diversity of soil bacteria, fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria all are better predicted by variation in environmental temperature rather than ... read more

Monkeys in Zoos Have Human Gut Bacteria

Aug. 30, 2016 — Monkeys in captivity lose much of their native gut bacteria diversity and their gut bacteria ends up resembling those of humans, new research shows. The results suggest that switching to a low-fiber, ... read more

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