Ecology & Zoology

Ant Life Isn't A Commune- It's More Like The Mafia

Ant colonies are always used as the model for working together rather than for individual gain but that isn't so, say researchers from the University of Leeds and the University of Copenhagen. Dr. Bill Hughes and Professor Jacobus Boomsma say they hav ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 11 2008 - 9:46pm

Ecologists Pursue The Secrets Of Successful Ecosystems

The productivity and biodiversity of an ecosystem is significantly affected by the rate at which organisms move between different parts of the ecosystem, according to new research. Ecologists and conservationists hope to use this knowledge to develop strat ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 12 2008 - 8:32pm

Genetic Modification- Gene Silencing Using Artificial MiRNAs Could Mean Better Rice

Genetic modification holds the promise of bringing locally grown food crops to climates where farming has been traditionally difficult. Doing that means optimizing the genetics of crops in some ways without impacting them in others. A new tool for rice gen ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 19 2008 - 10:46am

Meet Tuatara, The World's Fastest Evolving Animal

The tuatara, Sphendon punctatus, is found only in New Zealand and is the only surviving member of a distinct reptilian order Sphehodontia that lived alongside early dinosaurs and separated from other reptiles 200 million years ago in the Upper Triassic per ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 20 2008 - 11:33am

McAlgae- Coral's Addiction To 'Junk Food'

There's no McAlgae drive-through, but coral have their own addiction to 'junk food' and, say researchers, we may be in the position of needing to halt global warming in order to keep that fast food coming. 200 million humans depend on it for ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 24 2008 - 10:26am

Another Consequence Of Higher CO2- More Plants Get Eaten, Says Study

Some new research indicates that a key component of soybean plant defenses against leaf-eating insects go down as CO2 goes up. The new study, led by University of Illinoise entomology professor and department head May Berenbaum, used the Soybean Free Air C ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 24 2008 - 5:26pm

Organic Cropping Yields Close To Conventional- Study

As the planet's population continues to grow, optimal crops need to be planted and harvested in order to feed people. One concern about widespread use of 'organic' cropping is that it would raise the price of food and have lower yields. Righ ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 25 2008 - 9:58am

Disturbance And Recovery In Tropical Dry Forests

When people think about the destruction and degradation of tropical forests, they tend to focus on rainforests. Tropical dry forests tend to get overlooked. They aren’t as striking- no cathedral-like understorey, no mind-boggling biodiversity. But more imp ...

Article - Ian Ramjohn - Mar 26 2008 - 9:14pm

The Spider Solution To Energy Savings- Live Upside Down

Researchers from Spain and Croatia led an investigation into the peculiar lifestyle of numerous spider species, which live, feed, breed and ‘walk’ in an upside-down hanging position. According to their results, such ‘unconventional’ enterprise drives a sha ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 25 2008 - 7:41pm

Barbourula Kalimantanensis- The First Lungless Frog!

Researchers have confirmed the first case of a frog without lungs- the aquatic frog Barbourula kalimantanensis apparently gets all the oxygen it needs through its skin. Previously known from only two specimens, two new populations of the aquatic frog were ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 7 2008 - 12:39pm