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Ecology News Archive
2008 [ 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 ]
Here are all the featured articles for Blackwell Ecology.
Networks of small habitat patches can preserve urban biodiversity
A recent study published in Ecography has found that sets of small and seemingly insignificant habitat patches that are within reach for mobile species may under certain circumstances, as a group, provide an acceptable alternative to larger and contiguous habitats. This finding can make preservation of important ecological functions possible even in urban and other heavily exploited areas.
13 November 2008
The 2009 Per Brinck Oikos Award Winner Announced
Congratulations to Prof. John Thompson - the winner of the 2009 Per Brinck Award.
27 October 2008
Opening a can of worms: serendipitous discovery reveals earthworms more diverse than first thought
Scientists have found that the UK’s common or garden earthworms are far more diverse than previously thought, a discovery with important consequences for agriculture. BBSRC-funded scientists at Cardiff University, led by Dr Bill Symondson and performed in the laboratory by postdoctoral scientist Dr Andrew King and undergraduate student Ms Amy Tibble, have found that many of the common earthworm species found in gardens and on agricultural land are actually made up of a number of distinct species that may have different roles in food chains and soil structure and ecology. This discovery was made when efforts to develop better tools to identify earthworm DNA in the guts of slug and worm-eating beetles produced some very unexpected results. The research is published online in Molecular Ecology.
17 October 2008
A Century of Evolution: Ernst Mayr (1904 – 2005)
A special section recently published in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society commemorates the work of Ernst Mayr.
20 September 2008
Water: stressed-out and overheated
Water is the basis of all life on earth, yet freshwater animals and plants are being lost faster than in any other ecosystem. Now, to initiate a series of scientific ‘summits’, some of the world’s leading freshwater scientists will meet at the Freshwater Biological Association’s (FBA) HQ to consolidate evidence, raise awareness, launch an international call for action and influence those with responsibility for safeguarding the future of global fresh waters.
01 September 2008
Racing cane toads reveals they get cold feet on Southern Australia invasion
Cane toads weren’t allowed to compete in the Olympics, but scientists have raced cane toads in the laboratory and calculated that they would not be able to invade Melbourne, Adelaide or Hobart and are unlikely to do well in Perth or Sydney, even with climate change.
26 August 2008
New research shows Great White Shark has the strongbest bite
A team of researchers led by Stephen Wroe (University of Sydney) have shown that the Great White Shark has a bite force of over 1.8 tonnes, more powerful than the African Lion's bite and 20 times greater than the human bite. Their research also showed that the ancient extinct ancestor of the great white, the Carcharodon megalodon, could have produced a bite with between 10.8 and 18.2 tonnes of force, making it potentially the hardest biting carnivore of all time.
19 August 2008
For Good Or Ill Ireland Gains Another Mammal Species
A recent study, soon to be published in Mammal Review, details the discovery of a mammal which has never been seen before in Ireland. The shrew, which has been spotted in Tipperary and Limerick, is only the third new mammal to be found on the island in almost 60 years.
30 April 2008
Variety is the spice of life: too many males, too little time…
Recent reseach in Etholgy sheds light on the promiscuity of painted dragon lizards.
23 April 2008
Spotting the next GM-like controversy before it happens
Environmental scientists and policy makers have drawn up a list of the 25 new and most pressing issues likely to affect biodiversity in the UK between now and 2050. As well as highlighting areas where research effort should be focused, the exercise shows how "horizon scanning" could help us foresee issues that have taken scientists and policy makers by surprise in the past, such as the UK public's response to genetically modified crops.
20 March 2008
A Fossilized Giant Rhino Bone Questions the Isolation of Anatolia, 25 million Years Ago
The discovery of a fossilized giant rhinocerotoid bone has led researchers to the discovery that, contrary to the generally accepted belief, Anatolia was not geographically isolated 25 million years ago. The excavation of the fossil suggests that animals were able to migrate from Europe to Asia during the Oligocene era.
10 March 2008
Pioneering book on biological invasions commemorated
2008 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of the Charles Elton book “The ecology of invasions by animals and plants”. This highly acclaimed book is commemorated in a special issue of Diversity and Distributions entitled “Fifty years of invasion ecology – the legacy of Chales Elton”. Papers in the issue cover all major themes of invasion ecology.
11 February 2008
New mammal species discovered in Tanzanian highlands
Scientists have discovered a new species of elephant-shrew, or sengi, in the Tanzanian Udzungwa Mountains. This is the first new species of sengi to be observed by scientists in over 126 years, and until recently only 15 species of the mammal were known to exist. This new species of grey-faced sengi has been named Rhynchocyon udzungwensis, and is the largest elephant-shrew discovered to date. The first description of this mammal is published in Journal of Zoology Issue 274:2 (February 2008).
04 February 2008
Conservation Letters to launch in 2008
Conservation science, like the biodiversity it seeks to understand and safeguard, is evolving rapidly: building in urgency, crossing political and disciplinary boundaries, changing and being changed by the human environment. It is our intention that this new journal reflects those changes. Fast, global and policy-relevant, Conservation Letters will draw on knowledge, tools and interactions from many disciplines - geography, ecology, evolution, mathematics, economics, psychology, sociology and anthropology among them. We want to ensure managers and policy makers are armed with the best information that research has to offer and foreknowledge of the culture of intervention
28 January 2008
New Genus of Self-destructive Palm found in Madagascar
A gigantic palm that flowers itself to death has been discovered in Madagascar. This previously unknown genus is entirely new to science and has been named Tahina spectabilis in the latest issue of the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, which is Malagasy for "blessed" or "to be protected", and is also one of the given names of Anne-Tahina Metz, the daughter of the discoverer of the palm.
17 January 2008
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