Natural History
-
6.9KGlobal habitat loss still rampant across much of the Earth
A University of Queensland-led study involving researchers from three continents has found habitat destruction still far outstrips habitat protection across many parts...
-
8.7KTibetan Mastiff gained high altitude adaptation after domestication by wolf interbreeding
The Tibetan Mastiff is famed for its high-altitude prowess, showing a remarkable strength and endurance to 3-mile elevations and even higher. Evolutionary...
-
7.2KPredation on pollinating insects shaped the evolution of the orchid mantis
A team of scientists at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Australia, and Germany discovered that the orchid mantis looks like a...
-
6.0KStudy explains evolution phenomenon that puzzled Darwin
Why do some animals have extravagant, showy ornaments -- think elk and deer antlers, peacock feathers and horns on dung beetles --...
-
8.0KEndangered Australasian marsupials are ancient survivors of climate change
In a new paper, published in Scientific Reports, an international team of researchers has analysed fossils and DNA from living and recently...
-
7.7KClimate, human influence conspired in Lake Urmia’s decline
The dramatic decline of Iran's Lake Urmia--once the second-largest hypersaline lake in the world--has both direct human and climatic causes, according to...
-
6.3KPeat bog reveals more than 1,000 years of Tanzanian history
Scientists at the University of York have charted more than 1,000 years of Tanzanian environmental history using sediments extracted from a peat...
-
5.1KUncovered: the tiny killer triffids that dominate life in our oceans
Have you ever wondered where the foam in the ocean comes from? Or why the sea can look clear on some days...
-
7.0KOn a wet British Columbia island, historical fires likely were human products
Fire-scarred trees on isolated Hecate Island off British Columbia have helped researchers from two Pacific Northwest universities isolate patterns of wildfires over...
-
6.8KHow the chicken crossed the Red Sea
The discarded bone of a chicken leg, still etched with teeth marks from a dinner thousands of years ago, provides some of...
-
4.1KScientists trace plant hormone pathway back 450 million years
Purdue scientists got a glimpse into more than 450 million years of evolution by tracing the function of a hormone pathway that...
-
4.7KGenome of African clawed frog reveals exciting evolution
The well-known laboratory animal Xenopus laevis, also known as the African clawed frog, has an exciting history.
-
3.7KMonkeys are seen making stone flakes so humans are ‘not unique’ after all
Researchers have observed wild-bearded capuchin monkeys in Brazil deliberately break stones, unintentionally creating flakes that share many of the characteristics of those...
-
8.7KGenome of fiercely protective Fonni’s Dog reflects human history of Sardinia
A genomic analysis of 28 dog breeds has traced the genetic history of the remarkable Fonni's Dog, a herd guardian endemic to...
-
7.1KHow gecko feet got sticky
How do key innovations in the animal kingdom arise? To explore this question, gecko expert Timothy Higham, an associate professor of biology...
-
5.8KDecoding of tarsier genome reveals ties to humans
Small enough to fit into the palm of your hand, with enormous eyes and an appetite for meat, tarsiers are an anomaly...
-
6.1KAncient DNA traces extinct Caribbean ‘Island Murderer’ back to the dawn of mammals
From skeletal remains found among ancient owl pellets, a team of scientists has recovered the first ancient DNA of the extinct West...
-
9.0KOne-tenth of the world’s wilderness lost in 2 decades
A research team including Professor William Laurance from James Cook University has discovered there has been a catastrophic decline in global wilderness...
-
9.0KThroughout history humans have preferred their pigs to be black, suggests study
New research suggests the Polynesians, Europeans and the Chinese have had a penchant for black pigs because of the novelty of their...
-
6.5KBrowsing antelope turned ancient African forests into grassy savanna ecosystems
Millions of years ago, Africa's savannas were covered with thick, ancient forests, which disappeared and turned into the grassy ecosystems that they...
-
8.8KPeople enhanced the environment, not degraded it, over past 13,000 years
Human occupation is usually associated with deteriorated landscapes, but new research shows that 13,000 years of repeated occupation by British Columbia's coastal...
-
6.6KIsotope study determines fish were more prominent in early Alaskans’ diets
Ice age inhabitants of Interior Alaska relied more heavily on salmon and freshwater fish in their diets than previously thought, according to...
