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Top Headlines

Area Burned by Severe Fire Increased 8-Fold in Western US Over Past Four Decades

Nov. 30, 2020 — The number of wildfires and the amount of land they consume in the western US has substantially increased since the 1980s, a trend often attributed ...

Warbler Coloration Shaped by Evolution Via Distinct Paths

Nov. 30, 2020 — Two genes that are important for the diverse colors and patterns of warbler plumage have evolved through two very different processes, according to a new study. These evolutionary processes could ...

Autumn leaves (stock | (c) (c) Gennadiy Poznyakov / Adobe

Which Factors Trigger Leaf Die-Off in Autumn?

Nov. 30, 2020 — Researchers have identified a self-regulating mechanism in European deciduous trees that limits their growing-season length: Trees that photosynthesize more in spring and ...

Guam's Most Endangered Tree Species Reveals Universal Biological Concept

Nov. 30, 2020 — Newly published research has used a critically endangered species to show how trees modify leaf function to best exploit prevailing light conditions. The findings revealed numerous leaf traits that ...

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Future Brahmaputra River Flooding as Climate Changes May Be Underestimated, Study Says

Nov. 30, 2020 — A new study looking at seven centuries of water flow in south Asia's mighty Brahmaputra River suggests that scientists are underestimating the ...

Some Amazon Rainforest Regions More Resistant to Climate Change Than Previously Thought

Nov. 20, 2020 — A new observational study demonstrates that increasing air dryness does not reduce photosynthesis in certain very wet regions of the Amazon ...

Health Trade-Offs for Wildlife as Urbanization Expands

Nov. 18, 2020 — City living appears to improve reproductive success for migratory tree swallows compared to breeding in more environmentally protected areas, a new five-year study suggests. But urban life comes with ...

Abundance of Prey Species Is Key to Bird Diversity in Cities

Nov. 17, 2020 — A team of scientists collaborated to analyze breeding bird data gathered by citizen scientists. They found that the abundance of invertebrates such as insects or spiders as prey is a key factor ...

What Type of Forest to Choose for Better CO2 Storage?

Nov. 13, 2020 — An international team has studied which types of forest are the most effective in storing carbon. Inventory data from natural forests on five continents show that species diversity is optimal for ...

Virtual Reality Forests Could Help Understanding of Climate Change

Nov. 11, 2020 — The effects of climate change are sometimes difficult to grasp, but now a virtual reality forest, created by geographers, can let people walk through a simulated forest of today and see what various ...

Tree rings (stock | (c) (c) CrispyMedia / Adobe

Tree Rings May Hold Clues to Impacts of Distant Supernovas on Earth

Nov. 11, 2020 — Massive explosions of energy happening thousands of light-years from Earth may have left traces in our planet's biology and geology, according to ...

Chemical Clues in Leaves Can Reveal Ash Tree Resistance to Deadly Disease

Nov. 11, 2020 — Naturally occurring compounds in ash leaves could be linked to susceptibility of individual trees to the fungal disease ash dieback (ADB). But selecting trees with lower levels of these compounds and ...

Scientists Unravel How and Why Amazon Trees Die

Nov. 9, 2020 — The capacity of the Amazon forest to store carbon in a changing climate will ultimately be determined by how fast trees die - and what kills them. Now, a huge new study has unravelled what factors ...

Ancient Crocodiles' Family Tree Reveals Unexpected Twists and Turns

Nov. 6, 2020 — Despite 300 years of research, and a recent renaissance in the study of their biological make-up, the mysterious, marauding teleosauroids have remained enduringly elusive. Scientific understanding of ...