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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News


Why timing of bird migration is changing

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 05:06 PM PST

Researchers have found out why birds are migrating earlier and earlier each year. Experts have long suspected climate change is somehow driving this advancing migration pattern. But new research reveals that individual birds migrate like clockwork -- arriving at the same time each year. However, climate warming is resulting in earlier nesting and hatching earlier each year, and this appears to be linked to the advancing migration.

Evidence of 3.5-billion-year-old bacterial ecosystems found in Australia

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 01:32 PM PST

Reconstructing the rise of life during the period of Earth's history when it first evolved is challenging. Earth's oldest sedimentary rocks are not only rare, but also almost always altered by hydrothermal and tectonic activity. A new study has revealed the well-preserved remnants of a complex ecosystem in a nearly 3.5 billion-year-old sedimentary rock sequence in Australia.

Botany: The secret of short stems

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 09:37 AM PST

Arabidopsis plants that only reach half their normal height have a mutation in the biosynthesis of the plant growth factor gibberellin.

Ticks kill sheep

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 06:10 AM PST

In some lamb herds, a mortality rate of 30 percent has been recorded, with no predators involved in these losses. The situation is so serious that the sheep industry could be under threat. It is therefore crucial to identify the causes and implement preventative measures. The answer may be found somewhere within the genetics of the sheep and the course of the disease, assessment and control of tick populations and biological control of ticks.

Endangered limpets (sea snail) change sex to improve their chances of survival

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 06:10 AM PST

The Ribbed Mediterranean Limpet is one of the most endangered invertebrates of the Mediterranean Sea and is classed as being in danger of extinction. Researchers have discovered their reproductive strategy, consisting in changing sex from male to female and vice versa, which improves their ability to adapt to changes in their environment.

Fungus kills ticks

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 06:10 AM PST

Ticks may be facing a dangerous fate. In Norway, research efforts are hoping to determine whether fungus can kill ticks in sheep pastures. This would also benefit future hikers, and benefit the sheep population, which is threatened by ticks.

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