Nature : Science World Report

Feb 29, 2012 03:36 PM EST

Study Shows Earthworms to Blame for Decline of Ovenbirds in Northern Midwest Forests

A recent decline in ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapilla), a ground-nesting migratory songbird, in forests in the northern Midwest United States is being linked by scientists to a seemingly unlikely culprit: earthworms.

Feb 29, 2012 02:12 PM EST

UF Scientists Name New Ancient Camels from Panama Canal Excavation

The discovery of two new extinct camel species by University of Florida scientists sheds new light on the history of the tropics, a region containing more than half the world's biodiversity and some of its most important ecosystems.

Feb 29, 2012 01:58 PM EST

Studying the Importance of Biological Rhythms for the Ecological Performance of Plants

The central question of the 5-year project starting in April 2012 is whether these "arrhythmic" plants whose circadian clocks no longer work can survive in the wild. In other words, much like the night-shifted dysfunctional character in the movie Clockwork Orange whose behavioral abnormalities could...

Feb 29, 2012 10:05 AM EST

China's Urbanization Unlikely to Lead to Fast Growth of Middle Class: UW Geographer

The number of people living in China's cities, which last year for the first time surpassed 50 percent of the national population, is considered a boon for the consumer goods market. That is based on the assumption that there will be more families with more disposable income when poor farmers from C...

Feb 29, 2012 09:54 AM EST

Genetics of Endangered African Monkey Suggest Troubles from Warming Climate

A rare and endangered monkey in an African equatorial rainforest is providing a look into our climatic future through its DNA. Its genes show that wild drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus), already an overhunted species, may see a dramatic population decline if the forest dries out and vegetation becomes...

Feb 29, 2012 08:35 AM EST

Notre Dame Researchers are Providing Insights into Elephant Behavior and Conservation Issues

Last year, Kenya lost 278 elephants to poachers, as compared to 177 in 2010. On the continent of Africa as whole, elephants have declined from an estimated 700,000 in 1990 to 360,000 today due to the demands of the ivory trade. Spend some time with University of Notre Dame researchers Elizabeth A...

Feb 28, 2012 04:32 PM EST

Land-ocean connections

Scientists from the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawaii â€“ Manoa (UHM) and colleagues recently discovered that land-based plant material and coastal macroalgae indirectly support the increased abundances of bottom fish in submarine canyons, like...

Feb 28, 2012 01:49 PM EST

Indigenous Peoples at Forefront of Climate Change Offer Lessons on Plant Biodiversity

Humans are frequently blamed for deforestation and the destruction of environments, yet there are also examples of peoples and cultures around the world that have learned to manage and conserve the precious resources around them. The Yanesha of the upper Peruvian Amazon and the Tibetans of the Himal...

Feb 28, 2012 01:29 PM EST

Coral Reef Study Traces Indirect Effects of Overfishing

A study of the tropical coral reef system along the coastline of Kenya has found dramatic effects of overfishing that could threaten the long-term health of the reefs. Led by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the study was published in the journal Coral Reefs (online publicatio...

Feb 28, 2012 12:54 PM EST

Polysternon Isonae, a New Species of Turtle that Lived with Dinosaurs in Isona

Researchers at the Institut CatalÃ de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), the Museu de la Conca DellÃ (MCD) and the Universitat AutÃ²noma de Barcelona (UAB) have published this week in the online edition of the journal Cretaceous Research the discovery and description of a turtle from the ...

Feb 28, 2012 10:23 AM EST

Researchers Get First Full Look at Prehistoric New Zealand Penguin

After 35 years, a giant fossil penguin has finally been completely reconstructed, giving researchers new insights into prehistoric penguin diversity. The bones were collected in 1977 by Dr. Ewan Fordyce, a paleontologist from the University of Otago, New Zealand. In 2009 and 2011, Dr. Dan Ksepka,...

Feb 28, 2012 09:16 AM EST

Some Bacteria Attack Using Spring-loaded Poison Daggers

Bacteria have evolved different systems for secreting proteins into the fluid around them or into other cells. Some, for example, have syringe-like exterior structures that can pierce other cells and inject proteins. Another system, called a type VI secretion system, is found in about a quarter of a...