Biodiversity News :: ScienceDailyInvasive species in an ecosystem harm native organisms but aid other invasive species
~ The presence of an invasive species in an ecosystem makes native organisms more susceptible to pollutants and may encourage the spread of additional invasive species, according to new research. Find out more...
Working lands play a key role in protecting biodiversity
~ Diversifying working lands -- including farmland, rangeland and forests -- may be key to preserving biodiversity in the face of climate change, says a new review article. These changes could extend the habitat of critters like bats, but also much larger creatures like bears, elk and other wildlife, outside the boundaries of protected areas, while creating more sustainable, and potentially more productive, working lands. Find out more...
New tool helps align investment with objectives in biodiversity conservation
~ Researchers developed a tool, called the Recovery Explorer, that can be used to help guide conservation scientists in making decisions on how to best use limited funds to conserve the greatest number of species. The tool was developed in collaboration with US Fish & Wildlife Services scientists in a two-year project supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center. Find out more...
Biodiversity can also destabilize ecosystems
~ According to the prevailing opinion, species-rich ecosystems are more stable against environmental disruptions such as drought, hot spells or pesticides. The situation is not as simple as it seems, however, as ecologists have now discovered. Under certain environmental conditions, increased biodiversity can also lead to an ecosystem becoming more unstable. Find out more...
Massive organism is crashing on our watch
~ Researchers have conducted the first complete assessment of the Pando aspen clone and the results show continuing deterioration of this 'forest of one tree.' While a portion of the famed grove is recovery nicely as a result of previous restoration, the majority of Pando (Latin for 'I Spread') is diminishing by attrition. Find out more...
Why tropical forests are so ecologically diverse
~ The population of a tropical tree increases mostly in places where it is rare, a new study found. Find out more...
Mammals cannot evolve fast enough to escape current extinction crisis
~ The sixth mass extinction is underway, this time caused by humans. A team of researchers have calculated that species are dying out so quickly that nature's built-in defense mechanism, evolution, cannot keep up. If current conservation efforts are not improved, so many mammal species will become extinct during the next five decades that nature will need 3-5 million years to recover to current biodiversity levels. And that's a best-case scenario. Find out more...
PPR virus poses threat to conservation
~ Researchers have reviewed the threat of the virus peste des petits ruminants (PPR) to conservation. Find out more...
Tropical moths in the mountains are larger
~ Researchers have measured more than 19,000 tropical moths from 1,100 species to find out whether their size varies with elevation. The researchers found clear patterns: moths increase in size significantly at higher elevations. Find out more...
Indigenous fire practice protecting the Gibson Desert's biodiversity
~ Traditional indigenous burning practices are protecting plant biodiversity in Australia's Gibson Desert, according to new research. The study analyzed how environments dominated by flammable spinifex grasses and fire-sensitive desert myrtle shrubs reacted to wildfires, and to the low-intensity burning practices of the Pintupi people. Find out more...