Study measures methane release from Arctic permafrost
Fairbanks AK (SPX) Aug 23, 2016 -
A University of Alaska Fairbanks-led research project has provided the first modern evidence of a landscape-level permafrost carbon feedback, in which thawing permafrost releases ancient carbon as climate-warming greenhouse gases.
The project, led by UAF researcher Katey Walter Anthony, studied lakes in Alaska, Canada, Sweden and Siberia where permafrost thaw surrounding lakes led to lake ...
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Logged rainforests can be an 'ark' for mammals, extensive study shows
London, UK (SPX) Aug 23, 2016 -
Research reveals that large areas of 'degraded' forest in Southeast Asia can play an important role in conserving mammal diversity. Mammals can be one of the hardest-hit groups by habitat loss, and a lot of research has been carried out to find the best ways to conserve mammal diversity.
Much of this research has focused on very large-scale changes in land use and the impacts this will hav ...
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In the ocean, clever camouflage beats super sight
Durham NC (SPX) Aug 23, 2016 -
In a matchup of animal superpowers, a clever form of camouflage might beat super sight - at least in the ocean. There's nowhere to hide in the open ocean, far from the shore or the seafloor. But some fish have a clever disappearing trick. The silvery skin of fish like herring, sardines, mackerel and tuna act like mirrors, reflecting their watery surroundings to better blend in. The effect serves ...
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Beetles pollinated orchids millions of year ago, fossil evidence shows
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 23, 2016 -
When most people hear the word "pollinator," they think of bees and butterflies. However, certain beetles are known to pollinate plants as well, and new fossil evidence indicates that they were doing so 20 million years ago. A new study in American Entomologist by George Poinar, Jr. (Oregon State University) describes beetles found in fossilized amber with orchid pollen in their mouthparts.
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Better understanding seismic hazards
Tempe AZ (SPX) Aug 23, 2016 -
The April 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal killed more than 8,000 people and injured more than 21,000. With a magnitude of 7.8, it was the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal since the 1934 Nepal-Bihar earthquake.
Researchers Kelin Whipple, Manoochehr Shirzaei, Kip Hodges, and Ramon Arrowsmith of ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration were quick to begin analyzing the data from this ...
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Sick animals limit disease transmission by isolating themselves from their peers
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Aug 23, 2016 -
When animals get sick, they may change their behaviour, becoming less active, for example. The study's lead author, Patricia Lopes from the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich, says that previous research in wild animals has generally ignored how this change in behaviour may affect social contacts in a group and how, in turn, these changes can ...
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'Sniffer plasmons' could detect explosives
Moscow, Russia (SPX) Aug 17, 2016 -
Physicists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) have found that the two-dimensional form of carbon, known as graphene, might be the ideal material for manufacturing plasmonic devices capable of detecting explosive materials, toxic chemicals, and other organic compounds based on a single molecule, says an article published in Physical Review B.
Scientists have long bee ...
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