Ecology / Conservation posts
- September 20, 2016
- 04:31 PM
- 13 views
Potentially harmful chemicals widespread in household dust
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Household dust exposes people to a wide range of toxic chemicals from everyday products, according to a new study. A multi-institutional team conducted a first-of-a-kind meta-analysis, compiling data from dust samples collected throughout the United States to identify the top ten toxic chemicals commonly found in dust.
... Read more »
Mitro, S., Dodson, R., Singla, V., Adamkiewicz, G., Elmi, A., Tilly, M., & Zota, A. (2016) Consumer Product Chemicals in Indoor Dust: A Quantitative Meta-analysis of U.S. Studies. Environmental Science . DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b02023
- September 18, 2016
- 07:03 AM
- 70 views
5 Things We Learned This Week | Open-Access Science | Week 37, 2016
by TakFurTheKaffe in Tak Fur The Kaffe
New theories in ocean circulation and acidification, shorter sea ice season in polar bear habitats, and new tools to track bird migrations and hair protein analysis in forensic IDs. Here are five of the latest scientific studies published open-access this week.... Read more »
Klockmann, M., Mikolajewicz, U., & Marotzke, J. (2016) The effect of greenhouse gas concentrations and ice sheets on the glacial AMOC in a coupled climate model. Climate of the Past, 12(9), 1829-1846. DOI: 10.5194/cp-12-1829-2016
Sutton, A., Sabine, C., Feely, R., Cai, W., Cronin, M., McPhaden, M., Morell, J., Newton, J., Noh, J., Ólafsdóttir, S.... (2016) Using present-day observations to detect when anthropogenic change forces surface ocean carbonate chemistry outside preindustrial bounds. Biogeosciences, 13(17), 5065-5083. DOI: 10.5194/bg-13-5065-2016
Stern, H., & Laidre, K. (2016) Sea-ice indicators of polar bear habitat. The Cryosphere, 10(5), 2027-2041. DOI: 10.5194/tc-10-2027-2016
Shamoun-Baranes, J., Farnsworth, A., Aelterman, B., Alves, J., Azijn, K., Bernstein, G., Branco, S., Desmet, P., Dokter, A., Horton, K.... (2016) Innovative Visualizations Shed Light on Avian Nocturnal Migration. PLOS ONE, 11(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160106
Parker, G., Leppert, T., Anex, D., Hilmer, J., Matsunami, N., Baird, L., Stevens, J., Parsawar, K., Durbin-Johnson, B., Rocke, D.... (2016) Demonstration of Protein-Based Human Identification Using the Hair Shaft Proteome. PLOS ONE, 11(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160653
- September 17, 2016
- 01:50 PM
- 75 views
Largest-ever study reveals environmental impact of genetically modified crops
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
According to new research, widespread adoption of genetically modified crops has decreased the use of insecticides, but increased the use of weed-killing herbicides as weeds become more resistant. This is the largest study of genetically modified crops and pesticide use to date. The team of economists studied annual data from more than 5,000 soybean and 5,000 maize farmers in the U.S. from 1998 to 2011, far exceeding previous studies that have been limited to one or two years of data.
... Read more »
Perry, E., Ciliberto, F., Hennessy, D., & Moschini, G. (2016) Genetically engineered crops and pesticide use in U.S. maize and soybeans. Science Advances, 2(8). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1600850
- September 16, 2016
- 07:00 AM
- 81 views
Friday Fellow: Samambaiaçu
by Piter Boll in Earthling Nature
by Piter Kehoma Boll It’s more than time to bring a fern as a Friday Fellow, and I decided to start with one of my favorites, the Neotropical tree fern Dicksonia sellowiana, known in Brazil as Samambaiaçu or Xaxim. The samambaiaçu … Continue reading →... Read more »
Schmitt, J., Schneider, P., & Windisch, P. (2009) Crescimento do cáudice e fenologia de Dicksonia sellowiana Hook. (Dicksoniaceae) no sul do Brasil. Acta Botanica Brasilica, 23(1), 283-291. DOI: 10.1590/S0102-33062009000100030
- September 14, 2016
- 03:48 PM
- 123 views
Food waste could store solar and wind energy, or there's the obvious...
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Saving up excess solar and wind energy for times when the sun is down or the air is still requires a storage device. Batteries get the most attention as a promising solution although pumped hydroelectric storage is currently used most often. Now researchers are advancing another potential approach using sugar alcohols—an abundant waste product of the food industry—mixed with carbon nanotubes.
... Read more »
Zhang, H., Rindt, C., Smeulders, D., & Nedea, S. (2016) Nanoscale Heat Transfer in Carbon Nanotubes - Sugar Alcohol Composite as Heat Storage Materials. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b05466
- September 9, 2016
- 09:55 AM
- 130 views
The deep history of barley breeding
by Luigi in Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog
A recent paper reported on the discovery of a bit of the barley genome where an allele from the wild relative, when homozygous, confers a 30% yield advantage over a popular German variety under saline conditions.1 That of course is very interesting in its own right, but I want here to delve a bit into the methods, rather than the results.... Read more »
Saade, S., Maurer, A., Shahid, M., Oakey, H., Schmöckel, S., Negrão, S., Pillen, K., & Tester, M. (2016) Yield-related salinity tolerance traits identified in a nested association mapping (NAM) population of wild barley. Scientific Reports, 32586. DOI: 10.1038/srep32586
- September 9, 2016
- 07:00 AM
- 126 views
Friday Fellow: Helicopter Damselfly
by Piter Boll in Earthling Nature
by Piter Kehoma Boll Damselflies are usually delicate versions of dragonflies, but some species challenge their place among the odonates. The most extreme example comes from the moist forests of Central and South America and is known as Megaloprepus caerulatus or … Continue reading →... Read more »
Feindt, W., Fincke, O., & Hadrys, H. (2013) Still a one species genus? Strong genetic diversification in the world’s largest living odonate, the Neotropical damselfly Megaloprepus caerulatus. Conservation Genetics, 15(2), 469-481. DOI: 10.1007/s10592-013-0554-z
- September 8, 2016
- 12:00 PM
- 146 views
Fertility Campaigns: It’s A Kid-a-strophe!
by Chiara Civardi in United Academics
Are fertility campaigns the right way to face an ageing population?... Read more »
Jos G.J. Olivier, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Jeroen A.H.W. Peters, & Julian Wilson. (2011) Long-term trend in global CO2 emissions: 2011 report. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, . info:other/978-90-78645-68-9
Tinker A. (2002) The social implications of an ageing population. Introduction. Mechanisms of ageing and development, 123(7), 729-35. PMID: 11869730
Hertel, T. (2015) The challenges of sustainably feeding a growing planet. Food Security, 7(2), 185-198. DOI: 10.1007/s12571-015-0440-2
Bloom DE, Chatterji S, Kowal P, Lloyd-Sherlock P, McKee M, Rechel B, Rosenberg L, & Smith JP. (2015) Macroeconomic implications of population ageing and selected policy responses. Lancet (London, England), 385(9968), 649-57. PMID: 25468167
Hamza, N., & Gilroy, R. (2011) The challenge to UK energy policy: An ageing population perspective on energy saving measures and consumption. Energy Policy, 39(2), 782-789. DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2010.10.052
- September 7, 2016
- 06:17 PM
- 132 views
Girls only, literally: global warming and sea turtle sex ratios
by Emily Makowski in Sextraordinary!
The sex of sea turtle offspring is largely dependent on temperature, and global warming could lead to problems where populations are mostly/all female. However, sea turtles have a trick up their sleeve (in their shells?) that may make them more resilient to the effects of global warming than previously thought.... Read more »
Standora, E., & Spotila, J. (1985) Temperature Dependent Sex Determination in Sea Turtles. Copeia, 1985(3), 711. DOI: 10.2307/1444765
Hays, G., Mazaris, A., & Schofield, G. (2014) Different male vs. female breeding periodicity helps mitigate offspring sex ratio skews in sea turtles. Frontiers in Marine Science. DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2014.00043
- September 7, 2016
- 02:15 PM
- 147 views
Antimicrobial chemicals found with antibiotic-resistance genes in indoor dust
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Researchers have found links between the levels of antimicrobial chemicals and antibiotic-resistance genes in the dust of an aging building used for athletics and academics. One of the antimicrobials seen in the study is triclosan, a commonly used antibacterial ingredient in many personal care products.
... Read more »
Hartmann, E., Hickey, R., Hsu, T., Betancourt Román, C., Chen, J., Schwager, R., Kline, J., Brown, G., Halden, R., Huttenhower, C.... (2016) Antimicrobial Chemicals Are Associated with Elevated Antibiotic Resistance Genes in the Indoor Dust Microbiome. Environmental Science . DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b00262
- September 7, 2016
- 03:16 AM
- 81 views
The recent history of summer squashes
by Jeremy in Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog
So you’re telling me that sixteenth century Italian gardeners selected long, thin squashes from among those brought back to Europe from the Americas (actually two different places in the Americas) in conscious imitation of the bottle gourds they had used for centuries? And somehow kept them separate from other cucurbits so that they bred true? […]... Read more »
Lust, T., & Paris, H. (2016) Italian horticultural and culinary records of summer squash (Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbitaceae) and emergence of the zucchini in 19th-century Milan. Annals of Botany, 118(1), 53-69. DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcw080
- September 6, 2016
- 01:26 PM
- 146 views
Body heat as a power source
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Electronics integrated into textiles are gaining in popularity: Systems like smartphone displays in a sleeve or sensors to detect physical performance in athletic wear have already been produced. The main problem with these systems tends to be the lack of a comfortable, equally wearable source of power. Chinese scientists are now aiming to obtain the necessary energy from body heat by introducing a flexible, wearable thermocell based on two different gel electrolytes.
... Read more »
Yang, P., Liu, K., Chen, Q., Mo, X., Zhou, Y., Li, S., Feng, G., & Zhou, J. (2016) Wearable Thermocells Based on Gel Electrolytes for the Utilization of Body Heat. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201606314
- September 6, 2016
- 03:30 AM
- 50 views
Home is where conservation begins
by Jeremy in Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog
Thanks to Jade Philips (see her on fieldwork below) and Åsmund Asdal, two of the authors, for contributing this post on their recent paper on the conservation of crop wild relatives in Norway. Norway may be an unlikely spot in which to look for agrobiodiversity, but seek and ye shall find. A recent paper discusses […]... Read more »
Phillips, J., Asdal, A., Magos Brehm, J., Rasmussen, M., & Maxted, N. (2016) In situ and ex situ diversity analysis of priority crop wild relatives in Norway. Diversity and Distributions. DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12470
- September 5, 2016
- 02:34 PM
- 126 views
Drugs in the water? Don't blame the students
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
With nearly sixty percent of American adults now taking prescription medications--from antidepressants to cholesterol treatments--there is growing concern about how many drugs are flowing through wastewater treatment facilities and into rivers and lakes. Research confirms that pharmaceutical pollution can cause damage to fish and other ecological problems--and may pose risks to human health too.
... Read more »
Vatovec, C., Phillips, P., Van Wagoner, E., Scott, T., & Furlong, E. (2016) Investigating dynamic sources of pharmaceuticals: Demographic and seasonal use are more important than down-the-drain disposal in wastewater effluent in a University City setting. Science of The Total Environment. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.07.199
- September 3, 2016
- 03:04 PM
- 190 views
The Genesis Project: New life on exoplanets
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Can life be brought to celestial bodies outside our solar system, which are not permanently inhabitable? A new essay that has been published is trying to deal with this question. Over the last several years, the search for exoplanets has shown that very different types exist leading to new questions and a variety of possible answers.
... Read more »
Claudius Gros. (2016) Developing Ecospheres on Transiently Habitable Planets: The Genesis Project. Astrophysics and Space Science. arXiv: 1608.06087v2
- September 2, 2016
- 07:00 AM
- 155 views
Friday Fellow: Gold-and-Brown Rove Beetle
by Piter Boll in Earthling Nature
by Piter Kehoma Boll It’s time for our next beetle. Today the fellow I chose is Ontholestes cingulatus or gold-and-brown rove beetle. Rove beetles are the second most numerous family of beetles after weevils. Their more remarkable feature is that their … Continue reading →... Read more »
Alcock, J. (1991) Adaptive mate-guarding by males of Ontholestes cingulatus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae). Journal of Insect Behavior, 4(6), 763-771. DOI: 10.1007/BF01052230
- September 1, 2016
- 05:30 PM
- 172 views
War against poaching: African Elephants
by Anonymous in Think, Ask and Resolve
The first ever survey of African Elephants, spanning many nations, just concluded, and it gave forth a dismal picture. We’re losing the war against poachers.... Read more »
Chase, M., Schlossberg, S., Griffin, C., Bouché, P., Djene, S., Elkan, P., Ferreira, S., Grossman, F., Kohi, E., Landen, K.... (2016) Continent-wide survey reveals massive decline in African savannah elephants. PeerJ. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2354
- September 1, 2016
- 03:32 PM
- 31 views
Can Dogs Understand Speech?
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
A paper just published in Science has given rise to some astonishing headlines:
Dogs can understand human speech, scientists discover
Dogs process language like us
Dogs understand both words and intonation of human speech
But is the media's excitement justified, or are they barking up the wrong tree?
Here's the paper, from Hungarian neuroscientists Atilla Andics and colleagues. It was a canine fMRI study: dogs were trained to lie still in the MRI scanner and were played voice reco... Read more »
Andics A, Gábor A, Gácsi M, Faragó T, Szabó D, & Miklósi Á. (2016) Neural mechanisms for lexical processing in dogs. Science (New York, N.Y.). PMID: 27576923
- September 1, 2016
- 10:19 AM
- 181 views
Responsible resurrection: The ecology of de-extinction
by gdw in FictionalFieldwork
March of the mammoths Improvements in our genetic tinkering capabilities have led several people to suggest potential uses for our newfound powers. Although we ought to add some nuance and note that those powers are still in development. In any case, one of those powers is quite impressive. De-extinction, or the process of bringing back […]... Read more »
Seddon PJ, Griffiths CJ, Soorae PS, & Armstrong DP. (2014) Reversing defaunation: restoring species in a changing world. Science, 345(6195), 406-12. PMID: 25061203
McCauley, D., Hardesty-Moore, M., Halpern, B., & Young, H. (2016) A mammoth undertaking: harnessing insight from functional ecology to shape de-extinction priority setting. Functional Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12728
- August 31, 2016
- 10:58 AM
- 180 views
Why do we hate coriander?
by Alice Breda in la-Plumeria
In the morning you get up, trudge all the way to the sink, grab a bar of soap and rub it on your face. Sometimes, after you rinsed, you realize that some soap got into your mouth. The taste is nasty, pungent, more in your nose than on your tongue and it persists until you eat or drink something.
This sickening feeling doesn’t hit me only in my brightest mornings, but also every time in an ethnic restaurant or during a trip the cook decides to decorate my tacos or my curry with some chop........ Read more »
Eriksson, N., Wu, S., Do, C., Kiefer, A., Tung, J., Mountain, J., Hinds, D., & Francke, U. (2012) A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference. Flavour, 1(1), 22. DOI: 10.1186/2044-7248-1-22
Callaway, E. (2012) Soapy taste of coriander linked to genetic variants. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature.2012.11398
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