Forest diversity from Canada to the sub-tropics influenced by family proximity

How species diversity is maintained is a fundamental question in biology. Biologists have shown for the first time that diversity is influenced on a spatial scale of unparalleled scope, in part, by how well tree seedlings survive under their own parents.

Common fungicide wreaks havoc on freshwater ecosystems

A new study on chlorothalonil, one of the world's most common fungicides, shows it was lethal to a wide variety of freshwater organisms.

Population pressure impacts world wetlands

The area of the globe covered by wetlands (swamps, marshes, lakes, etc.) has dropped by 6% in fifteen years. This decline is particularly severe in tropical and subtropical regions, and in areas that have experienced the largest increases in population in recent decades.

Absence of elephants and rhinoceroses reduces biodiversity in tropical forests

The progressive disappearance of seed-dispersing animals like elephants and rhinoceroses puts the structural integrity and biodiversity of the tropical forest of South-East Asia at risk. Experts have confirmed that not even herbivores like tapirs can replace them. Megaherbivores act as the 'gardeners' of humid tropical forests: They are vital to forest regeneration and maintain its structure and biodiversity, researchers say.

First forecast calls for mild Amazon fire season in 2012

Forests in the Amazon Basin are expected to be less vulnerable to wildfires this year, according to the first forecast from a new fire severity model.

Logging of tropical forests needn't devastate environment

Harvesting tropical forests for timber may not be the arch-enemy of conservation that it was once assumed to be, according to a new study.

Bird color variations speed up evolution

Researchers have found that bird species with multiple plumage color forms within in the same population, evolve into new species faster than those with only one color form, confirming a 60-year-old evolution theory.

Encyclopedia of Life reaches historic one million species pages milestone

The Encyclopedia of Life has surged past one million pages of content with the addition of hundreds of thousands of new images and specimen data. Launched in 2007 with the support of leading scientific organizations around the world, the Encyclopedia of Life provides global access to knowledge about life on Earth by building a web page for each of the 1.9 million recognized species.

Rare glimpse of world's rarest gorilla

Conservationists working in Cameroon's Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary have collected the first camera trap video footage of the Cross River gorilla. With fewer than 250 individuals remaining, Cross River gorillas are the world's rarest gorilla and a notoriously elusive species rarely observed directly by field researchers.

Weed-eating fish 'help protect jobs, livelihoods'

Jobs, livelihoods and ecotourism industries can benefit from having a diverse supply of weed-eating fish on the world's coral reefs, marine researchers say. Despite their small size, relative to the sharks, whales, and turtles that often get more attention, herbivorous fish play a vital role in maintaining the health of coral reefs, which support the livelihoods of 500 million people worldwide, say researchers.

New species of lizard discovered in Central African minefield

Scientists have announced the discovery of a new species of lizard from remote, war-torn mountains in Central Africa. The new species is described from the Marungu Plateau, a montane area west of Lake Tanganyika in south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Biodiversity loss may cause increase in allergies and asthma

Declining biodiversity may be contributing to the rise of asthma, allergies, and other chronic inflammatory diseases among people living in cities worldwide, a Finnish study suggests.

Endangered species, languages linked at high biodiversity regions

Biodiversity hot spots -- the world's biologically richest and most threatened locations on Earth -- and high biodiversity wilderness areas -- biologically rich but less threatened -- are some of the most linguistically diverse regions on our planet, according to a team of conservationists.

Plant diversity is key to maintaining productive vegetation

Vegetation, such as a patch of prairie or a forest stand, is more productive in the long run when more plant species are present, results of a new study show.

Plant diversity is key to maintaining productive vegetation

Vegetation, such as a patch of prairie or a forest stand, is more productive in the long run when more plant species are present, a new University of Minnesota study shows. The unprecedented long-term study of plant biodiversity found that each species plays a role in maintaining a productive ecosystem, especially when a long time horizon is considered.

Ecosystem effects of biodiversity loss rival climate change and pollution

Loss of biodiversity appears to affect ecosystems as much as climate change, pollution and other major forms of environmental stress, according to results of a new study.

Ecosystem effects of biodiversity loss could rival impacts of climate change, pollution

Loss of biodiversity appears to impact ecosystems as much as climate change, pollution and other major forms of environmental stress, according to a new study. There has been growing concern that the very high rates of modern extinctions -- due to habitat loss, overharvesting and other human-caused environmental changes -- could reduce nature's ability to provide goods and services like food, clean water and a stable climate.

Were dinosaurs undergoing long-term decline before mass extinction?

Despite years of intensive research about the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs about 65.5 million years ago, a fundamental question remains: Were dinosaurs already undergoing a long-term decline before an asteroid hit at the end of the Cretaceous? A new study suggests that in general, large-bodied, "bulk-feeding" herbivores were declining during the last 12 million years of the Cretaceous. But carnivorous dinosaurs and mid-sized herbivores were not.

Impaired recovery of Atlantic cod: Forage fish or other factors?

Biologists suggest the delay in recovery of Atlantic cod on the eastern Scotian Shelf could be attributed to increased predation by grey seals or other governing factors and not the effect of forage fish as previously thought.

Science fair winner publishes new study on butterfly foraging behavior

A University of Florida lepidopterist has spent his life's work studying moths and butterflies. But it was his teenage daughter who led research on how color impacts butterflies' feeding patterns.