Specifically the archaeological record at KJS shows that hominins acquired an abundance of nutritious animal remains through a combination of both hunting and scavenging behaviors.
These animals are represented well at the site by most or all of their bones from the tops of their head to the tips of their hooves indicating to researchers that they were transported to the site as whole carcasses.
In addition modern studies in the Serengeti--an environment similar to KJS two million years ago--have shown also that predators completely devour antelopes of this size within minutes of their deaths.
and could be scavenged as even the largest African predators like lions and hyenas were unable to break them open to access their nutrient-rich brains.
Tool-wielding hominins at KJS on the other hand could access this tissue and likely did so by scavenging these heads after the initial nonhuman hunters had consumed the rest of the carcass Ferraro said.
The hemlock woolly adelgid an exotic invasive insect has caused widespread hemlock mortality says Steven Brantley a postdoctoral researcher at Coweeta
Coweeta researchers estimated changes in transpiration at the forest-level since hemlock woolly adelgid infestation by monitoring tree water use
Without the shade provided by eastern hemlock stream temperatures could rise threatening aquatic animals like eastern brook trout that require cold water for survival.
The loss of eastern hemlock will not only affect the animal and plant communities in riparian habitats but ecosystem function throughout these areas.
In our study we used mice that were engineered genetically to develop an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
Even so half the animals that had consumed tomato and soy had no cancerous lesions in the prostate at study's End all mice in the control group--no soy no tomato--developed the disease said John Erdman a U of I professor of food science and nutrition.
From the time they were 4 to 18 weeks old the animals were fed one of four diets:(
1) 10 percent whole tomato powder;(2) 2 percent soy germ;(3) tomato powder plus soy germ;
Only 45 percent of mice fed both foods developed the disease compared to 61 percent in the tomato group and 66 percent in the soy group he said.
Soy isoflavone serum and prostate levels in the mice are similar to those found in Asian men who consume one to two servings of soy daily.
The results of the mouse study suggest that three to four servings of tomato products per week
#Differences between marathon mice and couch potato mice reveal key to muscle fitnessresearchers discovered that small pieces of genetic material called micrornas link the two defining characteristics of fit muscles:
The team used two complementary mouse models--the marathon mouse and the couch potato mouse--to make this discovery.
But what's more they also found that active people have higher levels of one of these micrornas than sedentary people.
To do this they turned to two different mouse models each specially engineered to produce distinct but related proteins that turn muscle-specific genes on and off.
The first model dubbed the marathon mouse has a muscle-gene regulator called PPARÎ/Î'.These mice can run much further than normal mice.
These mice are able to burn a lot of fuel but they can't run very far.
and muscle fiber type-switching Kelly's team compared the molecular differences between these two disparate mouse models.
First the team found that PPARÎ couch potato mice have the optimal metabolic switch but lack the muscle fiber switch.
In contrast PPARÎ/Î'marathon mice have the whole package necessary for muscle fitness. The two mouse models also differed in molecular profiling according to this study.
The team discovered that marathon mice produce certain micrornas that are capable of activating the fiber switch.
By comparison this same circuitry is suppressed in couch potato mice. Digging a little deeper Kelly's team determined that PPARÎ/Î'is connected to micrornas via an intermediary called estrogen-related receptor (ERRÎ.
This protein collaborates with PPARÎ/Î'to turn on micrornas. That's why marathon mice are fitter
and have more type I muscle fibers than couch potato mice--their PPARÎ/Î 'and ERRÎ induce the right micrornas.
Muscle-boosting potential for patientsto determine if their findings were relevant to human health Kelly
Sure enough ERRÎ and one of the micrornas elevated in PPARÎ/Î'marathon mice were increased also in active people but not the sedentary group.
Some studies have shown that trained dogs can detect cancerous tumours such as lung cancer by smelling a person's breath.
and an electronic nose can detect which substances the animals recognise then we could diagnose the disease earlier
Whiteflies Ambush a Climate-Resilient Cropinterest in cassava has intensified across Africa as rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns caused by climate change threaten the future viability of food staples such as maize and wheat.
because they appear to be one of several factors causing an explosion in whiteflies which carry the viruses that cause CMD
Compounding the effects of rising temperatures scientists also think that genetic changes have led to the emergence of super whiteflies.
This toxic mix of circumstances affecting a tiny fly threatens to shoot down the Rambo root bringing the misery of food insecurity to vast swathes of Africa.
We used to see only three or four whiteflies per plant; now we're seeing thousands said James Legg a leading cassava expert at the International Institute of Tropical agriculture (IITA.
You literally have a situation where human beings are competing for food--with whiteflies. Farmers also help spread the disease by planting new fields with infected stem cuttings.
while it would take several years for the disease to spread across the continent via whiteflies alone infected stem cuttings could spark outbreaks in new areas overnight.
and environmentally sustainable ways to control whiteflies as well as proposals for new surveillance systems that can better track
despite low risk from these animals said lead author Sasha Gennet. Check the back of your bag of spinach
and amphibians and setting poisoned bait for rodents. The California Leafy Green Hander agreement is transparent flexible
Although scant evidence exists of risk of food-borne disease spread by wildlife the risk of rejection of produce by major buyers is too much for most growers to bear say Gennet
Low barriers even kept out the frogs. Unlike the LGMA standards individual corporate requirements for farm produce are generally not transparent to the public.
Fallow strips along streams and rivers provide corridors for migrating animals and birds. This is an area that is already 95 percent altered--the habitat that remains is said critical Gennet.
The Salinas River and its tributaries are an important rest stop on the Pacific Flyway a major migration route for neotropical songbirds and home to raptors and shorebirds.
The waterways are also corridors for deer and other big animals moving between the high country of the Diablo Range and coastal Big sur mountains that flank the valley.
Wetlands and buffers of trees grasses and shrubs help to keep runoff from fields out of the waterways slowing erosion of soil and blooms of algae downstream.
and are highly attractive to beneficial native insects including the natural enemies of agricultural pests.
The approach foresees big changes for one of the planet's great carbon sponges. Boreal forests will likely shift north at a steady clip this century.
because most models don't account for random events such as fire drought and insects that kill already-stressed trees.
Its leaves are valued also a resource to feed animals and are used as a traditional pharmacopoeia.
But scientists now warn that other nerve agents targeting insect pests may also be harming bees and other pollinators.
But harm is only evident over a period of two weeks in bumblebees and is seen when you look at entire colonies.
He recently published a studyshowing neonicotinoids hit bumblebee colony growth and queen production. He also said:
beneficial insects such as ladybirds and bees are exposed to lots of different chemicals and we have a really poor understanding of
Julian Little spokesperson for Bayer Cropscience based in Norwich UK says the evidence against these pesticides has all been based lab essentially taking a social insect
But he also agrees more monitoring of pollinators is needed. Where you do get large-scale bee deaths not enough has been done to know exactly what has happened Little commented.
He says pests and loss of feeding sites and nesting sites are most likely behind bee declines.
The whole ethos of pest management has gone in the wrong direction Goulson argues. Whereas integrated pest management sought to use as few pesticides as possible the neonicotinoids are a preventive strike.
A simple analogy is that it's like taking antibiotics in case you get ill rather than
This is a great opportunity for farmers to adopt these practices to protect bees and other pollinators.
Indeed he believes farmers will benefit from healthy pollinator populations as they provide substantial economic benefits to crop pollination.
The map is composed of bird migration patterns and adding in estimations of poultry production and consumption
The map is based on the northwards migratory patterns of birds (from the 4th february to the end of April) using environmental and meteorological data over the same 12 weeks--from Zhejiang Shanghai and Jiangsu to Liaoning Jilin and Heilongjiang.
Prof Jiming Liu who led the study explained By basing our model on wild bird migration
In this study conducted at the University of Michigan Health System hypertensive heart failure-prone rats were fed a grape-enriched diet for 18 weeks.
The fig is an important food source for both humans and animals in both fresh and dried form.
Different species of fig bear fruit at different times so in areas where there are a large variety of fig species fruit can be available all year round.
#Midwestern frogs decline, mammal populations altered by invasive plant, studies revealresearchers at Lincoln Park Zoo and Northern Illinois University have discovered a new culprit contributing to amphibian decline and altered mammal distribution throughout the Midwest region--the invasive plant European
buckthorn. This nonnative shrub which has invaded two-thirds of the United states has long been known to negatively impact plant community composition
and Natural Areas Journal demonstrate how this shrub negatively impacts native amphibians and affects habitat use by mammals including increased prevalence of coyotes and other carnivores.
Amphibians are facing an extinction crisis worldwide with 165 species likely having gone extinct in recent years according to the Amphibian Ark a coalition of conservationists devoted to seeking solutions to the decline.
Lincoln Park Zoo Reintroduction Biologist Allison Sacerdote-Velat Ph d. and Northern Illinois University Professor of Biological sciences Richard King have identified European buckthorn as a contributor to amphibian
decline in the Chicagoland area. The plant releases the chemical compound emodin which is produced in the leaves fruit bark
This coincides with breeding activity of several early-breeding Midwestern amphibian species including western chorus frogs
and blue-spotted salamanders explained Sacerdote-Velat. Several amphibian species exhibit low hatching rates in sites that are infested heavily with European buckthorn.
The Chicago Wilderness 2004 Woodland Audit found that in the Chicagoland area alone more than 26 million stems of European buckthorn exist with a density of 558 stems per acre.
Whilst this study specifically found emodin to detrimentally impact development of two species of frogs Western chorus frogs and African clawed frog (a common test species for environmental toxicity studies) Sacerdote-Velat and King
hypothesize that emodin may impact the reproductive success of other frog species in regions where buckthorn is not native.
Western chorus frogs are quite common in the Midwest and people in Illinois who have seen never them have heard probably them in the springtime said King who has continued to conduct research with Sacerdote-Velat after having served as her Ph d. adviser at NIU.
Additionally new research from the zoo's Urban Wildlife Institute reveals how the presence of the invasive shrub in forest preserves and natural areas correlates to increased prevalence of carnivores.
Previous research by Ken Schmidt of Texas Tech University and Chris Whelan of Illinois Natural history Survey documented that these carnivores can prey more easily on native bird eggs
and nestlings such as robins when nests are built in buckthorn and honeysuckle compared to nests built in native shrubs or trees.
The relationship between invasive plants and wildlife is complex. This is the first study of its kind to investigate the association between buckthorn
and habitat use by mammal species explained Director of the Urban Wildlife Institute Seth Magle Ph d. We know based on prior research that birds which build nests in buckthorn are more susceptible to predation.
and attracts some carnivore species. We now know that there are significantly more coyotes raccoons and opossums in buckthorn invaded areas and significantly fewer white-tailed deer.
Magle hypothesizes that the carnivores could be drawn to buckthorn areas because birds and their nests are easier to prey upon.
He suggests that deer may be avoiding these areas because buckthorn is an undesirable food source and also due to the increased prevalence of coyotes.
Research shows that deer fawns are a relatively common food item for Chicago-area coyotes.
Both Magle and Sacerdote-Velat agree that these findings are significant. The studies demonstrate how the high-density prevalence of this nonnative plant is shifting population dynamics
and negatively impacting a variety of native animal populations. They suggest land owners and managers should consider invasive species management and habitat restoration.
In some areas like Lake County Forest Preserve District where Sacerdote-Velat works regularly ecologists and land managers have been committed to removing buckthorn from the area.
The above story is provided based on materials by Lincoln Park Zoo. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
#Amphibians living close to farm fields are more resistant to common insecticidesamphibian populations living close to agricultural fields have become more resistant to a common insecticide
In a study published today in Evolutionary Applications the Pitt researchers demonstrate for the first time that tadpoles from populations close to farm fields are more resistant to chlorpyrifos--one of the most commonly applied insecticides in the world often sold as Dursban or Lorsban.
In addition a related study published in February shows that tadpoles resistant to chlorpyrifos are also resistant to other insecticides.
While we've made a lot of progress in understanding the ecological consequences to animals that are exposed unintentionally to insecticides the evolutionary consequences are understood poorly said study principal investigator Rick Relyea Pitt professor of biological sciences and director of the University's Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology.
The Pitt researchers used newly hatched tadpoles collected from nine populations of wood frogs living at different distances from agricultural fields.
They tested the frogs'resistance when exposed to chlorpyrifos which is used against insects and Roundup Original MAX
which is a common herbicide used against weeds. Relyea and his Pitt collaborators exposed the tadpoles from each of the nine populations to environments containing either no pesticides chlorpyrifos or Roundup.
After 48 hours they measured how well the populations survived. Wood frogs living close to agricultural land were more likely to have been exposed to pesticides for many generations compared to those living far from agriculture;
the latter frog populations likely experienced little or no exposure to pesticides said Rickey Cothran the lead author of the study
and a postdoctoral researcher in Relyea's lab. Although populations differed in their resistance to Roundup populations closer to fields were not more resistant to the herbicide.
Wood frogs living close to agricultural land were more likely to have been exposed to pesticides for many generations compared to those living far from agriculture.
which may make it harder for animals to be exposed resistant when to different herbicides over many years.
whether wood frog populations that were resistant to chlorpyrifos might also be resistant to other insecticides.
This phenomenon said Relyea happens commonly in pest species when farmers switch pesticides from year to year but little is known about how this switching of pesticides affects amphibians.
Using three commonly applied pesticides that have similar chemical properties--chlorpyrifos carbaryl and malathion--the Pitt researchers exposed 15 populations of wood frog tadpoles to high concentrations of each insecticide.
They found that wood frog populations with resistance to one insecticide also had resistance to the other insecticides.
This has a beneficial outcome said Jessica Hua the lead author of the second study
and a graduate student in Relyea's lab. While it doesn't mean that pesticides are beneficial to amphibians our work does suggest that amphibians can evolve to resist a variety of pesticides
and a graduate student in Relyea's lab. In the future Relyea and his team plan to study the genetic mechanisms that underlie increased resistance in amphibians
and determine whether increased resistance occurs in additional animal species that are not the targets of pesticides.
The article published Feb 21 in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry is titled Cross-tolerance in amphibians: Wood frog mortality when exposed to three insecticides with a common mode of action.
Funding for both studies was provided by a National Science Foundation grant to Relyea. Funding for the second study was provided also by Pitt'S g. Murray Mckinley Research Fund to Hua and Stoler.
#Substances in honey increase honey bee detox gene expressionresearch in the wake of Colony Collapse Disorder a mysterious malady afflicting (primarily commercial) honey bees suggests that pests pathogens
Some components of the nectar and pollen grains bees collect to manufacture food to support the hive increase the expression of detoxification genes that help keep honey bees healthy.
However honey bees have relatively few genes dedicated to this detoxification process compared to other insect species she said.
which lines all of the cells and seals cracks within a hive. Propolis turns on immunity genes--it's not just an antimicrobial caulk or glue.
instead traditional ranching techniques in the African savanna enhance the local abundance of wild native animals.
They also found more insects and the particular focus of the study higher densities of a native species of gecko Lygodactylus keniensis.
The effect of these glades is clear said Colin Donihue the Yale university doctoral student who led the research
Previous research has shown that glades are preferred the grazing sites of many large African mammals. Donihue et al.'
Unexpectedly the area between two close glades had some of the lowest gecko lizard densities and tree growth rates of the entire study.
This project simply demonstrates that traditional corralling techniques in Kenya leave a landscape-scale legacy that can bolster local abundances of native plants and animals.
and pests increase salt and drought tolerance control water loss and store sugar can have profound implications for increasing the supply of food
Agricultural scientists in Australia headed by co-author Rana Munns and her colleagues have utilized now this type of sodium transporter in breeding research to engineer wheat plants that are more tolerant to salt in the soil boosting wheat yields by a whopping 25 percent in field trials.
Two other major goals in agriculture are increasing the carbohydrate content and pest-resistance of crops.
A recent discovery of protein transporters that move sugar throughout the plant has been used to develop rice plants that confer pest resistance to crops the biologists said providing a novel way to simplify the engineering of crops with high yields and pest resistance
Wolf Frommer of the Carnegie Institution of Science; Mary Lou Guerinot of Dartmouth College; Maria Harrison of the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in Ithaca NY;
Rana Munns of the University of Western australia in Perth; Naoko Nishizawa of Ishikawa Prefectural University in Japan;
To test their theory in an animal model first they injected Type 2 cells into injured muscle in healthy young mice to determine
and muscular dystrophy the researchers injected glycerol into healthy mice to induce fat accumulation in the muscle.
It turns out the white-lipped peccary--a piglike animal from Central and South america--will settle for fish
On that day Fernandes a researcher for the Instituto Arara Azul a partner organization observed a group of approximately 30 white-lipped peccaries at Caiman Lodge near the town of Miranda in the Pantanal one of the world's largest tropical wetlands.
and small invertebrates such as insect larvae worms and snails when fruits are said scarce Dr. Keuroghlian.
The species sometimes travels in herds of hundreds of individual animals the only Neotropical ungulate (hoofed mammal) known to do so.
and other habitats as a seed predator and disperser and it is a favorite prey of jaguars and pumas.
The researchers had intended to quantify results seen a few years ago by former Rice graduate student Brent Carey who subjected a nanotube-infused polymer to a process called repetitive dynamic compression.
The entanglements and knots between chains prevent it from changing shape. But when dynamically compressed for 16 hours the silicone held its new shape for weeks
but repetitive compression you can work out all the entanglements and knots to end up with a sample where all the polymer rods are aligned.
and this is the biggest map as yet assembled for any organism animal or plant Gill said.
and from Hessian fly in the eastern U s. The physical map developed by the research team provides a roadmap for the mapping of genes that make wheat resistant to diseases heat
In both cases plants are surrounded by numerous organisms such as weeds pollinating insects fungi blights and diseases and their natural enemies all engaged in the struggle for existence.
Another aim has been to collect animal bone material--or simply 5000 year old food remains.
'By studying the levels of isotopes in the bones we can for example find out where the animals were raised
Monkeys found to conform to social normsthe human tendency to adopt the behaviour of others when on their home territory has been found in nonhuman primates.
Researchers at the University of St andrews observed'striking'fickleness in male monkeys when it comes to copying the behaviour of others in new groups.
The findings could help explain the evolution of our human desire to seek out'local knowledge'when visiting a new place or culture.
when you visit a different culture is shared a disposition with other primates. The research was carried out by observing wild vervet monkeys in South africa.
The researchers originally set out to test how strongly wild vervet monkey infants are influenced by their mothers'habits.
But more interestingly they found that adult males migrating to new groups conformed quickly to the social norms of their new neighbours
In the initial study the researchers provided each of two groups of wild monkeys with a box of maize corn dyed pink and another dyed blue.
and the monkeys soon learned to eat only pink corn. Two other groups were trained in this way to eat only blue corn.
--and the adult monkeys present appeared to remember which colour they had preferred previously. Almost every infant copied the rest of the group eating only the one preferred colour of corn.
The one monkey who did not switch was the top ranking in his new group who appeared unconcerned about adopting local behavior.
Dr van de Waal conducted the field experiments at the Inkawu Vervet Project in the Mawana private game reserve in South africa.
She became familiar with all 109 monkeys making it possible for her to document the behaviour of the males who migrated to new groups.
and importance of social learning in these wild primates extending even to the conformity we know so well in humans.
Commenting on the research leading primatologist Professor Frans de Waal of the Yerkes Primate Center of Emory University said that the study is one of the few successful field experiments on cultural transmission
The study has been hailed by leading primate experts as rare experimental proof of'cultural transmission'in wild primates to date.
Climate change disrupts songbirds timing without impacting population size (yet) Songbird populations can handle far more disrupting climate change than expected.
The seasonal timing of trees and insects advance too but songbirds like Parus major or the great tit lag behind.
Yet without an accompanying decline in population numbers it seems as the international research team shows for the great tit population in the Dutch National park the Hoge Veluwe.
It's a real paradox explain Dr Tom Reed and Prof Marcel Visser of The netherlands Institute of Ecology.
Due to the changing climate of the past decades the egg laying dates of Parus major have become increasingly mismatched with the timing of the main food source for its chicks:
caterpillars. The seasonal timing of the food peak has advanced over twice as fast as that of the birds
and the reproductive output is reduced. Still the population numbers do not Go down on the short term that is as Reed Visser
and colleagues from Norway the USA and France have calculated now using almost 40 years of data from this songbird.
The solution to the paradox is that although fewer offspring now fledge due to food shortage each of these chicks has a higher chance of survival until the next breeding season.
We call this relaxed competition as there are fewer fledglings to compete with first author Reed points out.
The great tits that lay eggs earlier in spring are more successful nowadays than late birds
This leads to increasing selection for birds to reproduce early. But the total number of birds in the new generation stays the same.
That is the second paradox the researchers state. Why are population numbers hardly affected despite the stronger selection on timing caused by the mismatch?
which birds survive while for population size it only matters how many survive. Visser: The mortality in one group can be compensated for by the success in another.
and caterpillar peak in the woods will keep growing and so will the impact following the temporary rescue
The density dependence is only buying the birds time hopefully for evolutionary adaptation to dig in before population numbers are affected substantially according to Visser.
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