#Ants plant tomorrows rainforesttropical montane rain forests are threatened highly and their remnants are surrounded often by deforested landscapes.
For the regeneration of these degraded areas seed dispersal of forest trees plays a crucial role
Most tree species are dispersed by birds and mammals but also by ants. A study published today in the Journal of Ecology by a team from the LOEWE Biodiversity
Ants promote the regeneration of these forests by dispersing seeds to safe sites for tree establishment.
In this context the team conducted experiments to find out to what extent ants contribute to the dispersal of a widespread primarily bird-dispersed tree (Clusia trochiformis)
The red lipid-rich aril a fleshy pulp surrounding the seeds of Clusia is highly attractive to many animals.
Birds are the primary dispersers. They feed on the nutritious part of the fruits the fleshy aril
Ants haul seeds which have fallen to the ground to their nests or leave them intact on their way.
The study reveals that ants reduce seed predation by rodents and increase germination success --which confirms the importance of this ecosystem function for forest regeneration.
To quantify the effect of rodents in addition to the impact of ants half of the depots where equipped with wire exclusion cages.
Well-concealed: ants reduce predation and increase germinationants readily approached and hauled away about 60 percent of all seeds says Silvia Gallegos lead author of the study
and a doctoral student at the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (Bik-F) and the University of Halle-Wittenberg. 48 hours and again one month after establishing the depots the team searched for the seeds within a 2. 5
In most cases the ants removed the aril which is a benefit for the plants due to a lower risk of fungal infestation and a higher germination rate.
But there are more positive effects of ants: Especially in the degraded habitats we found that seeds which had been removed by ants were predated less often
and germinated more frequently than the unmoved seeds explains Dr. Matthias Schleuning co-author and scientist at Bik-F. Quite often the ants removed the seed aril only in their nests
or on the way there--often leaving the seeds protected by the litter layer. Under the leaf litter the seeds were less likely to be detected by rodents
or other seed predators and benefited from the humid conditions favorable for germination. The effect in the deforested habitats was clearly visible:
one month after the experiment had started establishment of seedlings was about five times higher for dispersed than for non-dispersed seeds.
The farther the ants had transported the seeds the higher was the chance that Clusia seedlings had established.
Even more important services by ants in the futureants have a clearly positive impact on the dispersal
and establishment of the investigated tree species. This is particularly relevant as other animal and plant species may follow the species that facilitates the establishment of others.
Due to the ecosystem service provided by ants in the degraded areas a faster and sustainable establishment of tree seedlings like Clusia may be expected.
In the medium term this will enhance living conditions for a number of other animal
Under this scenario the dispersal function of ants may further increase in importance for the restoration of tropical mountain forests.
off Sonora Mexico in the Gulf of california sometime in the last millennium--specifically between the 6th and 19th centuries.
Introduction success was expected on Tiburã n Island given the suitable habitat lack of predators absence of domestic sheep
Indeed by the mid-1990s the Tiburã n herd had grown to a stable population of 500 animals one of the most successful large mammal introductions in the world.
and extinct herbivores to determine that bighorn sheep formed the dung mat. This determination was confirmed later by conservation geneticists at Oregon State university who used specialized techniques to extract
The ancient sequences differed substantially from other large herbivores that might have been present. Further the DNA sequences were not identical to the modern bighorn populations on Tiburã n Island giving confidence to the researchers'claim that the sequences do not derive from modern use of the cave by introduced bighorn sheep.
while females stay near their nests male orchid bees travel with one study concluding they roam as far as 7 kilometers per day.
They are one of the most important pollinators visiting many types of plants including some 700 species of orchids that are pollinated exclusively by these bees.
#Sometimes less is more for hungry dogshungry dogs would be expected to choose alternatives leading to more food rather than less food.
But just as with humans and monkeys they sometimes show a less is more effect. Thus conclude Kristina Pattison
and Thomas Zentall of the University of Kentucky in the US who tested the principle by feeding baby carrots and string cheese to ten dogs of various breeds.
The findings are published in Springer's journal Animal Cognition. The research was conducted on dogs that would willingly eat cheese
and baby carrots when offered but showed a preference for the cheese. However when given a choice between one slice of cheese
or the cheese together with a piece of carrot nine of the ten dogs chose the cheese alone.
It appears that the dogs averaged the quality of the cheese plus carrot rather than sum up the quantity of food.
This quick decision making was demonstrated first in humans and later in monkeys. People for instance tend to place greater value on a set of six baseball cards that are in perfect condition than on the same set of six perfect cards together with three more cards in fair condition.
A similar effect was reported also in studies of monkeys where the animals would eat both grapes and cucumbers but preferred one grape over one grape plus a slice of cucumber when given the option.
when members of the same species such as a pack of dogs feed together. The one that hesitates may lose food to faster-choosing competitors.
But the fact that one in ten dogs did choose the cheese -and-carrot combination suggests that levels of motivation may play a role in this effect.
The outlier dog for instance had a history of living in shelters and fending for himself.
and other primates but can occur in other mammalian species at least those that are organized socially such as carnivores like wolves dogs
and jackals says Pattison. She believes that further research is needed to find out if the less is more effect also occurs in less socially organized species such as rats or non-mammalian species such as birds.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Springer. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
They showed a smaller effect for small invertebrates such as termites that also contribute to decomposition of plant biomass.
We've looked at many other components namely the populations of animals in the area
The idea for the study emerged from modern animal conservation practices where landscape connectivity--the degree to
and humidity at roughly 20 points throughout the experimental landscape Seed traps sampled seed arrival at many points in
#Diversity in UK gardens aiding fight to save threatened bumblebees, study suggestsecologists at Plymouth University in a study published this week have shown the most common species of bumblebee are not fussy about a plant's origin when searching for nectar and pollen among the nation's urban gardens.
But other species--and in particular long-tongued bees--do concentrate their feeding upon plants from the UK and Europe for
In particular the presence of large densities and varieties of flowering plants supports a number of pollinating insects
By growing a variety of plants from around the world gardeners ensure that a range of food sources is available for many different pollinators.
But until now we have had very little idea about how the origins of garden plants actually affect their use by our native pollinators.
whether bumblebees preferentially visited plants with which they share a common biogeographical heritage with researchers conducting summer-long surveys along a typical residential street.
Among individual species however there were distinct preferences with the long-tongued'garden bumblebee'(Bombus hortorum) showing a strong preference for'native'Palaearctic-origin garden plants choosing them for 78%of its flower visits.
Meanwhile the UK's most common species--the'buff-tailed bumblebee'(Bombus terrestris)--favoured non-Palaearctic garden plants over species with
and cities the long-term survival of some of our common pollinators--like the'garden bumblebee'--could be in jeopardy.
In addition to growing truly native plants like foxgloves where possible gardeners can help native pollinators by setting aside a small area to allow native brambles vetches dead nettles
or other green spaces a combination of commonly-grown garden plants from all around the globe will help support our urban bumblebees for future generations.
It was developed within the monitoring of fauna recolonization developed in the burnt area after the fire.
After the fireit is the first time that a study compares different responses of a set of animal organisms to fire (snails spiders beetles ants grasshoppers bugs birds and reptiles.
Surprisingly the study also demonstrates that high-mobility species--such as birds that move to unburnt areas
Professor Eduardo Mateos affirms that postfire management practices must consider the strong relationship between animal and plant communities.
but bumblebees are capable of some remarkable learning feats especially when they might get a tasty reward according to two studies by University of Guelph researchers.
Social learning in animals usually involves one individual observing and imitating another although other kinds of communication can also be involved said Mirwan.
In a final test Mirwan placed experienced bees in a hive with naive bees. When the naive bees were allowed to forage on the artificial flowers they gained the syrup in just 3. 5 minutes.
but social insects such as bees can also transmit information through touch vibration and smell. The researchers said the communication method used by the bees is still a mystery.
but clearly some in-hive communication took place said Kevan. It suggests that social learning in bumblebees is even more complex than we first expected.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Guelph. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Insect pests in the makingof thousands of known species of Drosophila fruit flies just one is known as a crop pest depositing eggs inside ripening fruit
and crucial differences between this pest and its close relatives--and that one related fly has potential to also become a pest.
Drosophila flies found worldwide lay their eggs in rotting fruit. Drosophila suzukii also referred to as spotted-wing Drosophila
because the male has large black blotches on his wings (as do males of several other closely related species) is able to penetrate the skins of ripening fruit
when D. suzukii was identified as a pest said Joel Atallah a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis who carried out the work with Artyom Kopp professor of evolution and ecology and undergraduate researchers Lisa Teixeira Raul
Previously it was thought that Drosophila would just lay eggs on rotting fruit. D. suzukii apparently originated in Asia
However it wasn't identified as a pest in North america until 2008 when a UC Cooperative Extension specialist sent samples of infested strawberries to Kopp's laboratory at UC Davis asking for help in identification.
They also offered lab-raised flies different fruits and observed whether they were able to lay eggs in them.
while the other flies have much smaller ovipositors similar to those of other Drosophila. They do have the same pattern of bristles
In the lab both D. suzukii and D. subpulchrella flies could penetrate the skins of cherries and raspberries and deposit eggs in them.
D. suzukii flies but not D. subpulchrella made holes in grape skins although they laid relatively few eggs there.
when the Drosophila flies could penetrate fruit they were not very good at it taking several minutes and multiple attempts.
Laying eggs inside ripening fruit is probably a recent development for Drosophila. Kopp speculated that as flies compete for good food sources in
which to lay their eggs there would be an advantage in being able to colonize fresher and firmer fruit.
Controlling the flies will be said challenging Kopp. Unlike the notorious Mediterranean fruit fly or Medfly Drosophila flies are generalists with a wide range of food sources and breeding sites and a generation time of less than two weeks.
We want to identify which flies are dangerous and which are said not Atallah. D. subpulchrella has not yet been identified as a pest in the western world
but it may have the potential to become one. The work was published Feb 26 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by University of California-Davis. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
and say we need to develop a better mouse trap--to develop better storage. Our point is that
and economic incentives the best mouse trap still won't help. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Illinois College of Agricultural Consumer and Environmental sciences (ACES.
James Cook University Cairns Australia; U s. Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry Puerto rico; EMBRAPA Satellite Monitoring Center Campinas Brazil;
#Reintroduction experiments give new hope for plant on brink of extinctiona critically endangered plant known as marsh sandwort (Arenaria paludicola) is inching back from the brink of extinction thanks to the efforts of a UC
Water parsley (Oenanthe sarmentosa) is a native plant that grows in wet areas along the west coast of North america.
Arenaria cuttings root easily making it relatively straightforward to propagate large numbers of plants in the UCSC greenhouses.
Greenhouses director Jim Velzy will continue to maintain the collection of Arenaria plants to preserve the genetic diversity of the original population
#Nineteen new speedy praying mantis species discovered that hide and play dead to avoid capturea scientist has discovered 19 new species of praying mantis from Central and South america.
The new species of bark mantises were discovered in tropical forests and also found among existing museum collections.
Dr. Gavin Svenson curator of invertebrate zoology at The Cleveland Museum of Natural history described the new species
Svenson collected the insects from eight countries in Central and South america as well as gathered hundreds of specimens from 25 international museums in North america South america and Europe.
This group the Neotropical bark mantises are incredibly fast runners that live on the trunks and branches of trees said Svenson of The Cleveland Museum of Natural history.
This violates the common perception of praying mantises being slow and methodical hunters. Like most praying mantises they are highly camouflage.
However this group is flattened in appearance and is very difficult to locate because of their adept mimicry of bark moss and lichen.
They often evade discovery by running to the opposite side of the tree before being noticed an escape tactic also seen in many tree dwelling lizards.
This is an amazing behavior for an insect because it shows that they are not only relying on camouflage like most insects
but are constantly monitoring their environment and taking action to run and hide said Svenson.
As highly visual predators the bark mantis species appear to be active hunters that pursue prey as opposed to ambush hunters that wait for prey to come close.
Also like a similar bark mantis group from Australia (Ciulfina) this Neotropical group does not appear to exhibit cannibalism
which is an often misunderstood characteristic exhibited by some praying mantis species. The research brings to light a previously unknown diversity of bark mantises.
Based on this study we can predict that mantis groups with similar habitat specialization in Africa Asia
This is exciting because enormous potential exists for advancing our understanding of praying mantis diversity just by looking within our existing museum collections and conducting a few field expeditions.
The conservation status of some of the new mantises found in museum collections is known not
Svenson's research is focused on the evolutionary patterns of relationship distribution and complex features of praying mantises.
and other features to create a new and accurate classification system for praying mantises that reflects true evolutionary relationships.
and two genes probably came from a wild bird isolate he says. We felt a major knowledge gap in the outbreak was that we didn't know which poultry species was maintaining the virus
Pigeons were notably resistant to becoming infected. In additional experiments quail transmitted virus efficiently while pekin ducks and pigeons did not.
None of the poultry species became sick when infected with H7n9 making detection of the virus that much more difficult in the birds says Suarez.
This work supports the need for better surveillance in animal species for avian influenza says Suarez.
The Chinese correctly closed the live bird markets where they had human infections and that reduced the number of cases for a while.
and the animals they carried with them. The study led by the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD)
Domestic animals such as chickens carried on these early voyages have left behind a genetic record that can solve some of these long standing mysteries.
despite the introduction of European domestic animals across the Pacific in the last couple of hundred years Professor Cooper says.
#Reindeer grazing may counteract effects of climate warming on tundra carbon sinklocal reindeer grazing history is an important determinant in the response of an ecosystem's carbon sink to climate warming say researchers at the Arctic
A major portion of the Arctic is grazed by reindeer. In northernmost Europe the reindeer was domesticated a few centuries ago.
In a field experiment in northern Norway the effects of experimental warming were compared between lightly and heavily grazed tundra.
The significance of reindeer grazing history to tundra carbon balances has not been studied previously. The present results may modify climate models that predict the effects of global warming on global carbon cycles.
Different tundra systems possess highly varying grazing histories as a result of past and present reindeer management practices.
#Do elephants call human!?Low rumble alarm call in response to the sound of human voicesafrican elephants make a specific alarm call in response to the danger of humans according to a new study of wild elephants in Kenya.
Researchers from Oxford university Save the Elephants and Disney's Animal kingdom carried out a series of audio experiments in
which recordings of the voices of the Samburu a local tribe from North Kenya were played to resting elephants.
The elephants quickly reacted becoming more vigilant and running away from the sound whilst emitting a distinctive low rumble.
When the team having recorded this rumble played it back to a group of elephants they reacted in a similar way to the sound of the Samburu voices;
running away and becoming very vigilant perhaps searching for the potentially lethal threat of human hunters.
The new research recently reported in PLOS ONE builds on previous Oxford university research showing that elephants call'bee-ware
Whilst the'bee'and'human'rumbling alarm calls might sound similar to our ears there are important differences at low (infrasonic) frequencies that elephants can hear
but humans can't.'Elephants appear to be able to manipulate their vocal tract (mouth tongue trunk and so on) to shape the sounds of their rumbles to make different alarm calls'said Dr Lucy King of Save the Elephants
and Oxford university who led the study with Dr Joseph Soltis a bioacoustics expert from Disney's Animal kingdom and colleagues.'
'We concede the possibility that these alarm calls are simply a by-product of elephants running away that is just an emotional response to the threat that other elephants pick up on'Lucy tells me.'
and that elephants voluntarily and purposefully make those alarm calls to warn others about specific threats.
Our research results here show that African elephant alarm calls can differentiate between two types of threat
'Elephant'human'alarm call rumblesignificantly the reaction to the human alarm call included none of the head-shaking behaviour displayed by elephants hearing the bee alarm.
When threatened by bees elephants shake their heads in an effort to knock the insects away as well as running
--despite their thick hides adult elephants can be stung around their eyes or up their trunks whilst calves could potentially be killed by a swarm of stinging bees as they have yet to develop a thick protective skin.
''Elephants use similar vowellike changes in their rumbles to differentiate the type of threat they experience
and so give specific warnings to other elephants who can decipher the sounds.''This collaborative research on how elephants react to
and communicate about honeybees and humans is being used to reduce human-elephant conflict in Kenya.
Armed with the knowledge that elephants are afraid of bees Lucy and Save the Elephants have built scores of'beehive fences'around local farms that protect precious fields from crop-raiding elephants.'
'In this way local farmers can protect their families and livelihoods without direct conflict with elephants and they can harvest the honey too for extra income'says Lucy.'
'Learning more about how elephants react to threats such as bees and humans will help us design strategies to reduce human-elephant conflict
and protect people and elephants.''Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Oxford.
The original article was written by Pete Wilton. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Honey offers new approach to fighting antibiotic resistancehoney that delectable condiment for breads and fruits could be one sweet solution to the serious ever-growing problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics
researchers said in Dallas*today. Medical professionals sometimes use honey successfully as a topical dressing
but it could play a larger role in fighting infections the researchers predicted. The unique property of honey lies in its ability to fight infection on multiple levels making it more difficult for bacteria to develop resistance said study leader Susan M. Meschwitz Ph d. That is it uses a combination of weapons including hydrogen peroxide
and other cellular detritus pulling them in through one ring which closes like the shutter of a camera and traps the proteins.
or darting up a tree to avoid a predator. And until now scientists believed the inner workings of movement were pretty much the same--the nerves send a message to the muscles
But in a first-of-its-kind study on wild green anole lizards biologists at the University of California Riverside have discovered that the link between muscle function
We were trying to understand how animals move in trees; how muscle in general deals with something as complex as climbing a tree with its horizontal and vertical inclines the tiny little branches
Now we have new questions about how animals work. No one has looked ever at this before said Timothy Higham an assistant professor of biology and Foster's graduate adviser.
A lot of people study anoles and a lot of people remove muscles and study them in a lab as opposed to measuring the muscles in the animal as it's moving.
Our work brings the lab into the forest and it can help us answer questions about how these animals are doing
what they're doing and why they're so diverse. Foster and Higham's findings were published March 12 in The british biology journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B a journal from the same publisher that featured papers by Isaac newton and Charles darwin.
modulation and decoupling Foster surgically inserted electrodes into the forelimbs and hind limbs of seven male green anole lizards.
She then tracked the lizard movements on a flat and 90-degree incline and a broad and narrow perch using high-speed video to record movements
while the lizard movements changed considerably when they were running along narrow perches (compared to broad perches) there were few significant changes in muscle activity.
And when the lizards were running up an incline they noted more changes in muscle activity than movement.
This has unearthed a lot of questions about ecology evolution how parts of animals evolve and how they respond to their environment.
Though these 2-inch-long green anoles weigh just 5 grams--about the same as a U s. nickel--their muscles work the same way as every other vertebrate.
The study found that muscle activity in the green anoles was most consistent on broad vertical surfaces such as tree trunks suggesting that
And the bark beetle is putting spruces all over Switzerland under increasing pressure because an additional generation of pests could hatch each year due to the rising temperatures.
These are two of many statements from the report CH2014-Impacts which deals with the quantitative consequences of climate change for Switzerland.
and comes under increased pressure from bark beetles. This also reduces the protective effect against avalanches and rockfalls.
There will be a high turnover in the species composition of bird and plant-life. By the end of the century increasingly unsuitable climatic conditions will for example be endangering the survival of spruce and beech
and pest control--and in water supply. Due to the changing streamflow in the rivers it will in future be necessary to be more economical with the use of water.
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