ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Molecular mechanism links temperature with sex determination in some fish species
• Before sounding an alarm, chimps consider information available to their audience
• Debris scatters in the Pacific Ocean, possibly heading to US
• Great apes make sophisticated decisions
• Helping wild horses and livestock survive extreme weather in Gobi desert
• Pendant found at Irikaitz archaeological site in Spain may be 25,000 years old
• DNA mismatch repair happens only during a brief window of opportunity
• An ecosystem being transformed: Yellowstone 15 years after the return of wolves
• 'Head-first' diversity shown to drive vertebrate evolution
• Retreating glaciers threaten water supplies
• Why locusts swarm: Protein associated with learning implicated in causing grasshoppers to swarm
• Legumes give nitrogen-supplying bacteria special access pass
• Hatcheries change salmon genetics after a single generation
• What if if Virginia lifts ban on uranium mining? Report identifies health and environmental issues

Molecular mechanism links temperature with sex determination in some fish species Posted: 29 Dec 2011 05:30 PM PST Researchers have found the epigenetic mechanism that links temperature and gonadal sex in fish. High temperature increases DNA methylation of the gonadal aromatase promoter in females.

Before sounding an alarm, chimps consider information available to their audience Posted: 29 Dec 2011 10:12 AM PST Wild chimpanzees monitor the information available to other chimpanzees and inform their ignorant group members of danger.

Debris scatters in the Pacific Ocean, possibly heading to US Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:20 AM PST Debris from the tsunami that devastated Japan in March could reach the United States as early as this winter, according to new predictions. However, they warn there is still a large amount of uncertainty over exactly what is still floating, where it's located, where it will go, and when it will arrive. Responders now have a challenging, if not impossible situation on their hands: How do you deal with debris that could now impact US shores, but is difficult to find?

Great apes make sophisticated decisions Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:16 AM PST Chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans make decisions carefully. Great apes weigh their chances of success, based on what they know and the likelihood to succeed when guessing.

Helping wild horses and livestock survive extreme weather in Gobi desert Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:16 AM PST Winters in the Gobi desert are usually long and very cold but the winter of 2009/2010 was particularly severe, a condition Mongolians refer to as "dzud". Millions of livestock died in Mongolia and the re-introduced wild Przewalski's horse population crashed dramatically. Researchers have used spatially explicit loss statistics, ranger survey data and GPS telemetry to provide insights into the effect of a catastrophic climate event on wild horses, wild asses and livestock that share the same habitat but show different patterns of spatial use.

Pendant found at Irikaitz archaeological site in Spain may be 25,000 years old Posted: 27 Dec 2011 06:29 AM PST The recent discovery of a pendant at the Irikaitz archaeological site in Zestoa (in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa in Spain) has given rise to intense debate: it may be as old as 25,000 years, which would make it the oldest found to date at open-air excavations throughout the whole of the Iberian Peninsula. This stone is nine centimeters long and has a hole for hanging it from the neck although it would seem that, apart from being adornment, it was used to sharpen tools.

DNA mismatch repair happens only during a brief window of opportunity Posted: 22 Dec 2011 11:24 AM PST In eukaryotes-the group of organisms that include humans –- a key to survival is the ability of certain proteins to quickly and accurately repair genetic errors that occur when DNA is replicated to make new cells. Researchers have solved part of the mystery of how these proteins do their job, a process called DNA mismatch repair.

An ecosystem being transformed: Yellowstone 15 years after the return of wolves Posted: 21 Dec 2011 11:07 AM PST On the 15th anniversary of the return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park, a quiet but profound rebirth of life and ecosystem health is emerging, scientists conclude in a new report.

'Head-first' diversity shown to drive vertebrate evolution Posted: 21 Dec 2011 06:20 AM PST A new analysis of two adaptive radiations in the fossil record found that these diversifications proceeded "head-first." Head features diversified before body shapes and types. This suggests that feeding-related evolutionary pressures are the initial drivers of diversification.

Retreating glaciers threaten water supplies Posted: 20 Dec 2011 07:25 AM PST Glaciers are retreating at an unexpectedly fast rate according to research done in Peru's Cordillera Blanca. This may threaten water supplies.

Why locusts swarm: Protein associated with learning implicated in causing grasshoppers to swarm Posted: 19 Dec 2011 12:25 PM PST New research has found that a protein associated with learning and memory plays an integral role in changing the behavior of locusts from that of harmless grasshoppers into swarming pests.

Legumes give nitrogen-supplying bacteria special access pass Posted: 19 Dec 2011 12:25 PM PST A 125-year debate on how nitrogen-fixing bacteria are able to breach the cell walls of legumes has been settled. Scientists now report that plants themselves allow bacteria in. The fact that legumes themselves call the shots is a great finding but it also shows the complexity of the challenge to try to transfer the process to non-legumes.

Hatcheries change salmon genetics after a single generation Posted: 19 Dec 2011 12:25 PM PST The impact of hatcheries on salmon is so profound that in just one generation traits are selected that allow fish to survive and prosper in the hatchery environment, at the cost of their ability to thrive and reproduce in a wild environment. Researchers were surprised by the speed of evolution and natural selection.

What if if Virginia lifts ban on uranium mining? Report identifies health and environmental issues Posted: 19 Dec 2011 10:52 AM PST A number of health and environmental issues and related risks need to be addressed when considering whether to lift the almost 30-year moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia, a new report says.

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