ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Rapid adaptation is purple sea urchins' weapon against ocean acidification
• Altitude may affect the way language is spoken
• Turtles watch for, snack on gelatinous prey while swimming
• Fossil kangaroo teeth reveal mosaic of Pliocene ecosystems in Queensland
• Iron fertilization, process of putting iron into ocean to help capture carbon, could backfire
• Male guppies reproduce long after death
• World's deepest ERT imaging system for CO2 sequestration developed
• Breakthrough allows fast, reliable pathogen identification
• When will the next megathrust hit the west coast of North America?
• Water in Earth's crust and upper mantle may not lubricate plate tectonics as much as previously assumed
• Deep biosphere harbors active, growing communities of microorganisms
• Chalking up a marine blooming alga: Genome fills a gap in the tree of life
• Fingernails reveal clues to limb regeneration
• A critically endangered beauty: The passion flower Passiflora kwangtungensis
• Harbor porpoises can thank their worst enemy, the killer whale, for their success
• Luminous bacterial proteins detect chemicals in water
• High diversity of flying reptiles in England 110 million years ago

Rapid adaptation is purple sea urchins' weapon against ocean acidification Posted: 12 Jun 2013 03:40 PM PDT In the race against climate change and ocean acidification, some sea urchins may still have a few tricks up their spiny sleeves, suggesting that adaptation will likely play a large role for the sea creatures as the carbon content of the ocean increases.

Altitude may affect the way language is spoken Posted: 12 Jun 2013 02:33 PM PDT Until recently most linguists believed that the relationship between the structure of language and the natural world was mainly the influence of the environment on vocabulary. Now, a new study shows that there is a link between geographical elevation and the way language is spoken. Ejectives are sounds made, and incorporated into language, only at higher altitudes.

Turtles watch for, snack on gelatinous prey while swimming Posted: 12 Jun 2013 02:33 PM PDT Loggerhead turtles use visual cues to find gelatinous prey to snack on as they swim in open waters, according to new research.

Fossil kangaroo teeth reveal mosaic of Pliocene ecosystems in Queensland Posted: 12 Jun 2013 02:33 PM PDT The teeth of a kangaroo and other extinct marsupials reveal that southeastern Queensland 2.5-5-million-years ago was a mosaic of tropical forests, wetlands and grasslands and much less arid than previously thought.

Iron fertilization, process of putting iron into ocean to help capture carbon, could backfire Posted: 12 Jun 2013 11:48 AM PDT A study suggests that iron fertilization, the process of putting iron into the ocean to encourage the growth of carbon dioxide capturing alga blooms, could backfire.

Male guppies reproduce long after death Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:34 AM PDT Performing experiments in a river in Trinidad, evolutionary biologists have found that male guppies -- small freshwater fish -- continue to reproduce for at least ten months after they die, living on as stored sperm in females, who have much longer lifespans than males. While it is well known that guppies store sperm, biologists had never before thought of the extent of the storage.

World's deepest ERT imaging system for CO2 sequestration developed Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:34 AM PDT Researchers have broken the record for tracking the movement and concentration of carbon dioxide in a geologic formation using the world's deepest Electrical Resistance Tomography system.

Breakthrough allows fast, reliable pathogen identification Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:33 AM PDT Researchers may have developed a way to quickly and reliably diagnose life-threatening bacterial infections and pinpoint the right antibiotics to clear the infections.

When will the next megathrust hit the west coast of North America? Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:31 AM PDT A new study presents our first glimpse back in geologic time of the recurrence interval of large and megathrust earthquakes impacting the vulnerable BC outer coastline.

Water in Earth's crust and upper mantle may not lubricate plate tectonics as much as previously assumed Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:31 AM PDT Water in olivin mineral reveals less important role.

Deep biosphere harbors active, growing communities of microorganisms Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:30 AM PDT The deep biosphere -- the realm of sediments far below the seafloor -- harbors a vast ecosystem of bacteria, archaea, and fungi that are actively metabolizing, proliferating, and moving, according a new study. The finding of so much activity in the deep biosphere has implications for our understanding of global biogeochemical cycles.

Chalking up a marine blooming alga: Genome fills a gap in the tree of life Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:30 AM PDT Carbon dioxide is released when the calcium carbonate "armor" of the photosynthetic alga Emiliania huxleyi forms, but Ehux can trap as much as 20 percent of organic carbon derived from carbon dioxide in some marine ecosystems. Its versatility in either contributing to primary production or adding to carbon dioxide emissions makes Ehux a critical player in the marine carbon cycle. The Ehux genome sequence has now been compared with other algal sequences.

Fingernails reveal clues to limb regeneration Posted: 12 Jun 2013 10:25 AM PDT Mammals possess the remarkable ability to regenerate a lost fingertip, including the nail, nerves and even bone. In humans, an amputated fingertip can sprout back in as little as two months, a phenomenon that has remained poorly understood until now. Biologists now shed light on this rare regenerative power in mammals, using genetically engineered mice to document for the first time the biochemical chain of events that unfolds in the wake of a fingertip amputation.

A critically endangered beauty: The passion flower Passiflora kwangtungensis Posted: 12 Jun 2013 07:19 AM PDT The Chinese passion vine species Passiflora kwangtungensis strikes with the beauty of its clusters of white-greenish flowers and its small round fruit. Feared extinct for a long period of time, this engaging plant has been rediscovered in Hunan Province, but it remains highly endangered. A recent study discusses the conservation status of P. kwangtungensis, raising concerns about the future preservation of the species.

Harbor porpoises can thank their worst enemy, the killer whale, for their success Posted: 12 Jun 2013 07:19 AM PDT The harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is a whale species that is doing quite well in coastal and busy waters. They are found in large numbers throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Mauritania to Alaska, and now researchers explain why these small toothed whales are doing so well: The harbor porpoise can thank their worst enemy, the killer whale, for their success.

Luminous bacterial proteins detect chemicals in water Posted: 12 Jun 2013 07:18 AM PDT Scientists have developed a simple color sensor principle which facilitates the detection of residual medications, trace metals from industrial process waters, and many other substances. This is the concept: If the analyzed sample shines red, then the water is 'clean;' if its color turns green, however, then it contains the substances the scientists wish to detect.

High diversity of flying reptiles in England 110 million years ago Posted: 12 Jun 2013 07:18 AM PDT Pterosaurs are an extinct group of flying reptiles that are only abundant in very few deposits. One of these is situated in England, where hundreds of fossils of these animals, that covered the skies some 110 million years ago, have been unearthed. Paleontologists have re-analyzed these fossils and discovered that they had a much higher diversity of groups than previously thought.

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