ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Repeat act: Parallel selection tweaks many of the same genes to make big and heavy mice
• Plastic trash altering ocean habitats
• Ancient ballgame reveals more about early Mesoamerican society
• Volcanoes sound-off on the life-cycles of eruptions
• Bats, whales, and bio-sonar: New findings about whales’ foraging behavior reveal surprising evolutionary convergence
• Built-in ear plugs: Whales may turn down their hearing sensitivity when warned of an impending loud noise
• Beetle-fungus disease threatens crops and landscape trees in Southern California
• Geologists map prehistoric climate changes in Canada's Yukon Territory
• Rare glimpse of world's rarest gorilla
• Not always safety in numbers when it comes to extinction risk
• Challenges in genetically engineered crop regulatory process
• Weed-eating fish 'help protect jobs, livelihoods'
• First evidence of a cult in Judah at time of King David
• Refugees from the Ice Age: How was Europe repopulated?

Repeat act: Parallel selection tweaks many of the same genes to make big and heavy mice Posted: 08 May 2012 07:01 PM PDT Organisms are adapted to their environment through their individual characteristics, like body size and body weight. Such complex traits are usually controlled by many genes. As a result, individuals show tremendous variations and can also show subtle gradations. Researchers have now investigated how evolution alters such traits through selection. To do this, they examined the genomes of mouse lines that were selected independently of each other for extreme body size.

Plastic trash altering ocean habitats Posted: 08 May 2012 07:01 PM PDT A 100-fold upsurge in human-produced plastic garbage in the ocean is altering habitats in the marine environment, according to a new study.

Ancient ballgame reveals more about early Mesoamerican society Posted: 08 May 2012 12:21 PM PDT New research explores the importance of the ballgame to ancient Mesoamerican societies. Dr. Blomster's findings show how the discovery of a ballplayer figurine in the Mixteca Alta region of Oaxaca demonstrates the early participation of the region in the iconography and ideology of the game, a point that had not been previously documented by other researchers.

Volcanoes sound-off on the life-cycles of eruptions Posted: 08 May 2012 12:20 PM PDT Volcanoes emit a broad spectrum of sonic energy. In the case of basaltic eruptions, most of that acoustical energy in the infrasound range. A new study reveals that this low-frequency sound can give scientists an enhanced understanding of the behavior of volcanoes and a tool to monitor the lifecycles of their eruptions.

Bats, whales, and bio-sonar: New findings about whales’ foraging behavior reveal surprising evolutionary convergence Posted: 08 May 2012 12:19 PM PDT Though they evolved separately over millions of years in different worlds of darkness, bats and toothed whales use surprisingly similar acoustic behavior to locate, track, and capture prey using echolocation, the biological equivalent of sonar. Now researchers have shown that the acoustic behavior of these two types of animals while hunting is eerily similar.

Built-in ear plugs: Whales may turn down their hearing sensitivity when warned of an impending loud noise Posted: 08 May 2012 12:19 PM PDT Toothed whales navigate through sometimes dark and murky waters by emitting clicks and then interpreting the pattern of sound that bounces back. The animals' hearing can pick up faint echoes, but that sensitivity can be a liability around loud noises. Now researchers have discovered that whales may protect their ears by lowering their hearing sensitivity when warned of an imminent loud sound.

Beetle-fungus disease threatens crops and landscape trees in Southern California Posted: 08 May 2012 11:26 AM PDT A plant pathologist has identified a fungus that has been linked to the branch dieback and general decline of several backyard avocado and landscape trees in residential neighborhoods of Los Angeles County. The fungus, which caused avocado dieback in Israel, is a new species of Fusarium and is transmitted by the Tea Shot Hole Borer, a beetle no larger than a sesame seed.

Geologists map prehistoric climate changes in Canada's Yukon Territory Posted: 08 May 2012 09:45 AM PDT Scientists have analyzed sedimentary and geochemical records of water-level changes in Rantin Lake, located in the boreal forest of Canada's southeastern Yukon Territory.

Rare glimpse of world's rarest gorilla Posted: 08 May 2012 09:45 AM PDT Conservationists working in Cameroon's Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary have collected the first camera trap video footage of the Cross River gorilla. With fewer than 250 individuals remaining, Cross River gorillas are the world's rarest gorilla and a notoriously elusive species rarely observed directly by field researchers.

Not always safety in numbers when it comes to extinction risk Posted: 08 May 2012 08:28 AM PDT A basic tenet underpinning scientists' understanding of extinction is that more abundant species persist longer than their less abundant counterparts. A new study reveals a much more complex relationship. A team of scientists analyzed more than 46,000 fossils from 52 sites and found that greater numbers did indeed help clam-like brachiopods survive the Ordovician extinction. Surprisingly, abundance did not help brachiopod species persist for extended periods outside of the extinction event.

Challenges in genetically engineered crop regulatory process Posted: 08 May 2012 08:27 AM PDT A new innovation can completely reshape an industry -- inspiring both optimism and debate. The development of genetically engineered (GE) crops in the 1980's ignited a buzz in the agricultural community with the potential for higher crop yields and better nutritional content, along with the reduction of herbicide and pesticide use. GE crops grew to play a significant role in the U.S., with more than 160 million acres of farmland used to produce GE crops in 2011.

Weed-eating fish 'help protect jobs, livelihoods' Posted: 08 May 2012 07:39 AM PDT Jobs, livelihoods and ecotourism industries can benefit from having a diverse supply of weed-eating fish on the world's coral reefs, marine researchers say. Despite their small size, relative to the sharks, whales, and turtles that often get more attention, herbivorous fish play a vital role in maintaining the health of coral reefs, which support the livelihoods of 500 million people worldwide, say researchers.

First evidence of a cult in Judah at time of King David Posted: 08 May 2012 07:38 AM PDT Archaeologists have discovered objects that for the first time shed light on how a cult was organized in Judah at the time of King David. During recent archaeological excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, a fortified city in Judah adjacent to the Valley of Elah, Garfinkel and colleagues uncovered rich assemblages of pottery, stone and metal tools, and many art and cult objects.

Refugees from the Ice Age: How was Europe repopulated? Posted: 08 May 2012 06:43 AM PDT Scientists have used DNA analysis to gain important new insights into how human beings repopulated Europe as the Ice Age relaxed its grip.

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