Nature News Articles Archive Page 14 from Wed 06 Jul 2011 to Fri 05 Aug 2011

Could flirting make males age faster?

Posted Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:41:00 GMT by Kieran Ball

Scientists looking at the sex lives of birds have concluded that attracting members of the opposite sex through mating rituals could cause males to age faster. The scientists put forward the theory that because the birds lived in a habitat with many predators, they evolved a mechanism by which they put more energy into mating in early life - a form of biological trade-off that resulted in premature aging.

Could flirting make males age faster?

Track the prey, miss the whale

Posted Tue, 02 Aug 2011 23:00:01 GMT by Martin Leggett

A novel way to avoid the tragedy of boats and right whales colliding is being suggested by new research into the feeding habits of the North Atlantic right whales - by tracking their prey. These endangered whales may number as few as four hundred, and inadvertent ship strikes account for worryingly high number of deaths each year.

Track the prey, miss the whale

The siren call of the vine - how plants lure bats in for supper

Posted Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:00:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

Plants can use more than scent and flowers to attract pollinators - an upcoming paper in Science describes how a Cuban vine uses the sound reflected off a dish-shaped leaf to pull in echo-sounding bats. Experiments show the bats are twice as likely to find nectar-laden flowers adorned with the 'echo-beacon', giving the dispersed vine more chance of a successful pollination.

The siren call of the vine - how plants lure bats in for supper

Fight to battle amphibian fungus

Posted Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:58:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Chytridiomycosis, a fungal infection which has caused 200 amphibian species to disappear is coming under renewed attack from scientists looking at combining previously used methods to tackle it.

Fight to battle amphibian fungus

Olive orchards a threat to Mediterranean soil

Posted Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:18:46 GMT by Mario Balzan

Researchers in Spain have measured and modelled the soil erosion rates in olive groves starting from 1752. Through their model they managed to reproduce patterns in time for soil erosion rates. Their results suggest that agronomical practices in olive orchards considerably increase erosion rates, though this does not appear to reduce yield loss.

Olive orchards a threat to Mediterranean soil

The road to 'pollination heaven' is narrow - not broad

Posted Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:00:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

A paper out in today's Current Biology has described how the path lined with gold - rich in natural resources - can distract animals from completing their journeys between fragments of endangered habitat. Sometimes it is better to lay paths narrow and rocky, to encourage pollinators, such as hoverflies, to keep moving between stranded natural habitats.

The road to 'pollination heaven' is narrow - not broad

Rare northern white-cheeked crested gibbons discovered in Vietnam

Posted Mon, 18 Jul 2011 21:11:00 GMT by Ruth Hendry

Exciting find of northern white-cheeked gibbons in southeast Asia. Across the hoots, rustles and chirrups sounding through Vietnam's remote Pu Mat National Park, a dawn chorus can be heard. One haunting sound represents a new hope for a critically endangered primate, the northern white-cheeked crested gibbon.

Rare northern white-cheeked crested gibbons discovered in Vietnam

Snow Leopard spotted in Afghanistan

Posted Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:01:23 GMT by Kieran Ball

The Wildlife Conservation Society takes steps to protect a newly discovered population of snow leopards in Afghanistan. Snow leopards are doing well in a wild corner of war-torn Afghanistan according to the Wildlife Conservation Society published in the Journal of Environmental Studies.

Snow Leopard spotted in Afghanistan

Our Rivers campaign launches survey to identify best UK rivers for wildlife

Posted Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:33:01 GMT by John Dean

A survey has been launched to identify the best rivers in the UK for wildlife, with support coming from a wide range of environmentalists including television broadcaster Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. The Our Rivers campaign, run by WWF, the RSPB, the Angling Trust and the Salmon & Trout Association, aims to assess the damage done to wildlife by the poor state of many rivers.

Our Rivers campaign launches survey to identify best UK rivers for wildlife

New research suggests dinosaurs were warm blooded and active

Posted Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:09:01 GMT by Julian Jackson

Tiny holes in bones show creatures were not sluggish as often thought. New Research at Australia's Adelaide University suggests that contrary to some beliefs, dinosaurs were active and even fast-moving creatures, not cold-blooded and sluggish.

New research suggests dinosaurs were warm blooded and active

Underwater volcanoes found under the Southern Ocean

Posted Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:17:01 GMT by Ruth Hendry

Active volcanoes discovered deep under cold waters. Previously unknown volcanoes have been discovered under the Southern Ocean around the remote South Sandwich Islands. Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) used sea-floor mapping technology to find 12 underwater volcanoes, some up to 3 kilometres high.

Underwater volcanoes found under the Southern Ocean

Plants bloom earlier in Canada

Posted Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:08:00 GMT by Gracie Valena

Researchers report that flowers are blooming up to two weeks earlier than they did 70 years ago in Alberta because of the weather has become substantially warmer, and this may put the species at risk. Researchers are wary that it may lead to problems for the plant species involved if they are exposed to late-spring frosts.

Plants bloom earlier in Canada

Dangerous liaisons - how Ireland's brown bears shaped polar bear evolution

Posted Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:00:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

Modern polar bear can trace their family tree back to brown bears from Britain and Ireland, says a team publishing in Current Biology today. Their extensive work on mitochondrial DNA shows that polar and brown bears have often 'gotten intimate' in the past - and such liaisons may be critical for the future survival of polar bars.

Dangerous liaisons - how Ireland's brown bears shaped polar bear evolution

Hotspots driving tectonic plate movement

Posted Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:15:00 GMT by Ruth Hendry

New research published in Nature shows that plumes of hot magma are responsible for the movement of whole continents. This movement is driven by the heat of the Earth's core, causing the viscous substance beneath the Earth's crust to flow and move the plates above, like pieces of toast floating in a massive bowl of hot beans.

Hotspots driving tectonic plate movement

Gray whales cruised through Ice Age on krill and herring

Posted Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:00:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

California gray whales may be able to quadruple their numbers to nearer 100,000, say paleontologists looking at how these encrusted denizens of the Pacific survived the last Ice Age. The paper, appearing online in today's edition of PloS ONE, shows that adaptable gray whales can shift their feeding to krill and herring; they could even thrive with rising sea-levels, the paper's authors suggest.

Gray whales cruised through Ice Age on krill and herring

Australian volcanoes overdue an eruption warn scientists

Posted Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:02:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

By using the latest dating techniques Australian scientists believe that parts of the country are at risk from overdue volcano eruptions and are calling for emergency plans to be put in place. There are concerns that no plans are in place to deal with eruptions or seismic activity.

Australian volcanoes overdue an eruption warn scientists

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