Environment

A pesticide thought to be a potential successor to banned neonicotinoids caused 100% mortality in mason bees in a recent test. A novel pesticide thought to be a potential successor to banned neonicotinoids caused 100% mortality in mason bees in a recent test. The novel pesticide, flupyradifurone, is thought to pose less risk to pollinators

A diverse and abundant flower planting that provides flowers in bloom all season may be more important to bees and other pollinators than whatever is surrounding the flower garden, according to a new study. A diverse and abundant flower planting that provides flowers in bloom all season may be more important to bees and other

Western animal behavior and cognition researchers tracked the spatial cognition and lifespan of 227 mountain chickadees for more than a decade. They found the birds with better spatial learning and memory abilities lived longer. While there is no denying 'survival of the fittest' still reigns supreme in the animal kingdom, a new study shows being

Severe drought in the American Southwest and Mexico and more severe wet years in the Northeast are the modern norm in North America, according to new research -- and the analysis suggests these seasonal patterns will be more extreme in the future. The middle of the United States, meanwhile, can expect bigger swings between wetter

Conservation efforts directed towards just 0.7% of the world's land mass could help protect one third of the world's threatened and unique tetrapod (four-limbed vertebrate) species. Conservation efforts directed towards just 0.7% of the world's land mass could help protect one third of the world's threatened and unique tetrapod (four-limbed vertebrate) species, new research by

Conservation needs to scale successfully to protect nature. A new paper takes lessons from around the world to show how that might be done. Conservation needs to scale successfully to protect nature. A new paper takes lessons from around the world to show how that might be done. To reverse biodiversity loss and meet ambitious

Virtually all multicellular organisms on Earth live in symbiotic associations with very large and complex microbial communities known as microbiomes. New research has just been published aimed at offering a complete understanding how those relationships form. Computational ecologists explore how associations between complex bacterial communities and multicellular hosts emerge in nature by combining theory with

Plant scientists have long known that phosphorus is a crucial component in plant growth. Biologists are now developing a better understanding of how plants detect and use that resource -- potentially leading to more efficient production of crops for food, fiber and fuel. Plant scientists have long known that phosphorus is a crucial component in

Bacteria use their internal 24-hour clocks to anticipate the arrival of new seasons, according to research carried out with the assistance of an 'ice bucket challenge.' Bacteria use their internal 24-hour clocks to anticipate the arrival of new seasons, according to research carried out with the assistance of an ‘ice bucket challenge.’  This discovery may

Some species of pterosaurs flew by flapping their wings while others soared like vultures, demonstrates a new study. Findings include a new pterosaur with a five-meter wingspan, which is one of the most complete pterosaurs ever recovered from Afro-Arabia. Some species of pterosaurs flew by flapping their wings while others soared like vultures, demonstrates a

Drought is a widespread concern in the Western U.S., and water managers across the region are developing groundwater management plans to conserve the essential resource. Groundwater is often pumped to the surface to irrigate crops, and meters that measure the flow of pumped water have historically offered the best information on groundwater use. These meters

Researchers now reveal how a bacterial parasite infects and reproduces in the nuclei of deep-sea mussels from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. They show how a single bacterial cell invades the mussel's nucleus where it reproduces to over 80,000 cells, while ensuring that its host cell stays alive. Most animals live in intimate relationships with