and Fish led by the Kenya-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The program aims to increase the availability
Then the amoebas gather by the tens of thousands to form a multicellular slug which transforms itself into a fruiting body:
#Genetics of how and why fish swim in schools: Research sheds light on complex social behaviorhow
and why fish swim in schools has fascinated long biologists looking for clues to understand the complexities of social behavior.
and how well fish do it--map to different genomic regions in the threespine stickleback a small fish native to the Northern hemisphere.
if researchers can identify the genes that influence the fishes'interest in being social they may be closer to understanding how genes drive human social behavior.
The motivation to be social is common among fish and humans said Greenwood a staff scientist in the Human biology Division at Fred Hutch.
Some of the same brain regions and neurological chemicals that control human social behavior are involved probably in fish social behavior as well.'
'Some kind of genetic factor'controlling behavior Greenwood and several colleagues in the Peichel Lab at Fred Hutch have been studying sticklebacks for several years to understand the genesis of natural variation.
In a previous study they found that a group of marine sticklebacks from the Pacific ocean in Japan schooled strongly
This time around the researchers used lab-raised hybrids of the strongly schooling saltwater-dwelling marine sticklebacks and the schooling-averse sticklebacks that live in freshwater.
Old bicycle wheel and lab motor used in experiment Fish school primarily for protection from predators
Schools of fish in the wild are dynamic and fluid but for both studies the Fred Hutch researchers had to create an environment in
which they could observe the fish in unchanging conditions. Building the device used for both experiments proved a challenge The researchers suspended an old bicycle wheel above a circular acrylic tank
They made a mold to create model fish from resin tinted with grey pigment dabbing on eyes with black paint to make them look more realistic.
The eight models (they found that eight is the minimum number to get fish to school in a lab setting) were suspended from the bike wheel with wire.
Beyond its findings connecting specific behaviors with genomic regions the study also found that the same regions of the genome appear to control both the stickleback's ability to school as well as the anatomy of its lateral line a system of organs that detect movement
That suggests a single gene could cause fish to detect their environment differently Greenwood said
and Fred Hutch researchers are now working on manipulating the gene they think causes changes in the stickleback's lateral line to see
if that alters the fishes'schooling behavior. Research on schooling behavior in fish may seem an odd fit for a cancer research center
but Greenwood said natural variation can influence not just behavior but also susceptibility to illness and disease.
The work was supported by the U s. Fish and Wildlife Service Asian Elephant Conservation Fund and the Rufford Small Grants Foundation.
and therefore first to manufacture leather laces and soles protecting feet of rough ground. The result was unexpected
#Progress and challenges for reinventing food packaging for sustainabilitynature has provided the food industry with the perfect packages to imitate in the drive to embrace a new genre of boxes bottles fast-food clam shells and other sustainable packaging material for the 21st century
Sulforaphane may be an excellent candidate for use in the prevention of skin cancer caused by exposure to ultraviolet rays.
A Mediterranean diet typically consists of higher levels of olive oil vegetables fruit and fish. A higher adherence to the diet means higher daily intakes of fruit and vegetables and fish and reduced intakes of meat and dairy products.
The study was led by researcher Iliana Lourida. She said: Mediterranean food is both delicious and nutritious and our systematic review shows it may help to protect the ageing brain by reducing the risk of dementia.
and cereals) and fish with olive oil as the primary source of monounsaturated fat (MUSF) and low to moderate intake of wine as well as low intake of red meat poultry
In Northwest Montana for example the Montana Department of transportation built 41 fish and wildlife crossing structures 16 miles of wildlife fencing 39 jump outs
#Genetic treasure hunting in sorghum may benefit crop improvementa consortium of researchers from The University of Queensland the Queensland Department of agriculture Fisheries
and algae and fish can be sensitive to alkalinity changes. Alkalinity has risen over the past several decades in rivers that provide water for Washington D c. Philadelphia Baltimore Atlanta and other major cities the researchers reported.
Also affected are rivers that flow into water bodies already harmed by excess algae growth such as the Chesapeake bay.
and successes. A proof of principleas a proof of principle Pakrasi and his colleagues plan to develop the synthetic biology tools needed to excise the nitrogen fixation system in one species of cyanobacterium (a phylum of green bacteria formerly considered to be algae)
and a dozen other crocodile species enjoy an occasional taste of fruit along with their normal meat-heavy diets of mammals birds and fish.
Ruth M. Elsey of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; Hong Liu of Florida International University and the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden;
Thomas R. Rainwater of the U s. Fish and Wildlife Service; James C. Nifong of the University of Florida;
The study found that Blakiston's fish owl relies on old-growth forests along streams for both breeding
salmon. The large trees provide breeding cavities for the enormous bird which has a two-meter (six-foot) wingspan.
a combination of deep slow-moving backwaters and shallow fast-moving channels that provide important microhabitats critical to salmon in different developmental stages.
and nesting characteristics of Blakiston's fish owl in Primorye Russia where they looked at nesting habitat over 20213 square kilometers (7804 square miles).
including eight salmon and trout species that spawn there; some of the 12 other owl species found in Primorye;
Listed as Endangered by IUCN Blakiston's fish owl is restricted to riparian areas in Russia China Japan and possibly North korea.
Blakiston's fish owl is a clear indicator of the health of the forests rivers
and salmon populations said lead author Jonathan Slaght of the Wildlife Conservation Society. Retention of habitat for fish owls will also maintain habitat for many other species associated with riparian old-growth forests in the Russian Far east.
Logistical and financial support for this study was provided by the Amur-Ussuri Centre for Avian Diversity with additional funding from the Bell Museum of Natural history Columbus Zoo Conservation Fund Denver Zoological Foundation
A paper on the research appears in the journal Physical Review Letters written by Nicholas Fang the Brit and Alex d'Arbeloff Career Development Associate professor in Engineering Design;
#Vegetarian diet for fish: Scientists discover key to easing aquacultures reliance on wild-caught fishfor the first time scientists have been able to develop a completely vegetarian diet that works for marine fish raised in aquaculture the key to making aquaculture a sustainable industry as the world's need for protein increases.
The findings led by Aaron Watson and Allen Place at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental science's Institute for Marine and Environmental Technology are published in the August issue of the journal Lipids.
Aquaculture cannot sustainably grow and expand to meet growing global population and protein demand without developing
Supported by another paper published in the Journal of Fisheries and Aquaculture the team has proven that a completely plant-based food combination can support fast-growing marine carnivores like cobia
and gilthead sea bream in reaching maturity just as well as--and sometimes better than--conventional diets of fish meal and fish oil made from wild-caught fish.
Nearly half of the world's fish and shellfish supply is supplied by aquaculture--growing fish in tanks
or ponds instead of catching them from the oceans or streams--and scientists have been trying to figure out how to make growing fish sustainable.
Many high-value fish such as cobia sea bream and striped bass are predators and eat other fish to survive
and grow. As a result their food in captivity is made of a combination of fishmeal
and fish oil and must be caught from the wild to feed them. This is expensive (for example it can take 5 pounds of wild fish to produce one pound of fish)
and it further depletes the world's fisheries. This makes aquaculture completely sustainable said Dr. Allen Place.
The pressure on natural fisheries in terms of food fish can be relieved. We can now sustain a good protein source without harvesting fish to feed fish.
The replacement of fishmeal and fish oil in aquaculture diets has been a goal for researchers for decades
but has met with limited success. The team's research centered on evaluating fishmeal-free plant protein-based diets originally developed for rainbow trout by the USDA-Agricultural research service
and modifying them to replace the fish oil for cobia and potentially other high-value high-value marine carnivores.
Fish meal was replaced with a food made of corn wheat and soy. Fish oil--expensive and scarce thanks in part to its popularity as a health supplement for people--was replaced with soybean
or canola oil supplemental lipids from algae sources and amino acid supplements such as taurine. An amino acid used in energy drinks taurine plays a critical role in the metabolism of fats stress responses
and muscle growth and is found in high levels in carnivorous fish and their prey.
In addition to the potential to turn aquaculture into a more profitable enterprise and ease the pressure on catching wild fish raising fish on a vegetarian diet also means cleaner fish to eat with levels of PCBS and mercury as much as 100-fold lower.
Right now you are supposed only to eat striped bass once every two weeks said Place. You can eat aquaculture-raised fish twice a week
because levels are so low. The study Taurine Supplementation of Plant Derived Protein and n-3 Fatty acids are Critical for Optimal Growth
and Development of Cobia Rachycentron canadum authored by Aaron Watson and Allen Place of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental science's Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology and Frederic Barrows of the U s. Department of agriculture's Agricultural research service is published in the August issue of Lipids.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Maryland Center for Environmental science.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Illinois scientists put cancer-fighting power back into frozen broccolithere was bad news then good news from University of Illinois broccoli researchers this month.
In the first study they learned that frozen broccoli lacks the ability to form sulforaphane the cancer-fighting phytochemical in fresh broccoli.
But a second study demonstrated how the food industry can act to restore the frozen vegetable's health benefits.
and food webs that did not sustain the abundance of large sharks whales seabirds and seals of the modern ocean.
Indeed large marine animals--sharks tunas whales seals even seabirds--mostly became abundant when algae became large enough to support top predators in the cold oceans of recent geologic times.
The tiny algae of the greenhouse world were just too small to support big animals said Norris. It's like trying to keep lions happy on mice instead of antelope;
lions can't get by on only tiny snacks. Within the greenhouse world there were rapid warming events that resemble our projected future.
Diets lacking omega-3 fatty acids--found in foods like wild fish eggs and grass-fed livestock--can have worsened effects over consecutive generations especially affecting teens according to a University of Pittsburgh study.
and algae much of today's grain-fed cattle contain less of these essential fatty acids.
and the U s. Fish & Wildlife Service and is a continuation of pioneering research initiated by Canadian researchers at the University of Alberta
For this study in particular USGS and Fish & Wildlife Service partners played critical roles collecting the fungi used in these studies.
#Color patterns in fish larvae may reveal relationships among speciessimilarities in how different organisms look can indicate a close evolutionary relationship.
Conversely great differences in appearance can suggest a very distant relationship as in many adult marine fish species.
For the first time however a Smithsonian scientist has found that color patterns of different fish species in the larval stage can be very similar revealing a closer evolutionary relationship than their adult forms would suggest.
Many marine fish species spend their larval stage near the ocean's surface#n environment completely different than the one they are in as adults.
and appearances resulting in fish in their larval stage that bear little to no resemblance to their adult counterparts.
Carole Baldwin a zoologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural history examined more than 200 species of marine fishes in their larval stage primarily from the western Caribbean.
Biologists artists and tropical fish aquarists have described illustrated or photographed color patterns in adult marine fishes for centuries
but color patterns in marine fish larvae have largely been neglected said Baldwin. Yet the larval stages of many marine fishes have subtle to striking ephemeral color patterns that can potentially tell us a lot about a species'place on the taxonomic family tree.
Adult mullets for instance are very different in appearance than adult flying fish yet when Baldwin examined these fishes in the larval stage she noticed that they share a unique transformation of color pattern that supports the idea that they could be related closely.
Larvae of some species in the order Tetraodontiforme like the pufferfish and those in the order Lophiiforme like the anglerfish are strikingly similar in having the trunks of their bodies enclosed in an inflated yellow sac.
Their appearance as adults however would not hint at a close relationship. More investigation of larval color patterns in marine fish is needed to fully assess their value in phylogenic reconstruction said Baldwin.
But the evidence I've found so far is promising that this will be an important taxonomic resource in the future.
Color information on many more marine fish larvae is needed to fully use this new suite of evolutionary information
and Baldwin will encourage colleagues to obtain color photographs of larvae when possible. And studies on the formation of pigment such as those conducted on the model freshwater zebrafish (Danio species) are needed.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Smithsonian. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
if the gestation period is said 12 months Tim Cole lead author and a biologist at the Woods Hole Laboratory of NOAA's Northeast Fisheries science Center (NEFSC).
In addition to Cole study authors included Allison Glass Henry Peter Duley and Richard Pace from NOAA's Northeast Fisheries science Center;
The above story is provided based on materials by NOAA Northeast Fisheries science Center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Much of the data analyzed for this study was collected with the support of the US Fish & Wildlife Service and USAID's Central africa Regional Program for the Environment.
These included fruit vegetables fish and meat as well as high-energy snack foods like chocolates nuts and chips and fruit drinks including fruit squash.
This study was conducted by the Texas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in collaboration with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Plus Consulting Grasslans Charitable Foundation the Kansas Cooperative Fish
#Grazing slugs hinder grassland restorationselective grazing by slugs may prevent key grassland species from taking hold
Work by scientists at Newcastle University UK has looked at the impact slugs have on grassland biodiversity
or strawberry patch still relatively little is known about the effect these munching molluscs have on large scale grassland conservation projects.
But for the first time this latest research shows that some of the most ecologically important species--such as the red clover--are particularly tasty to slugs
--and drawbacks--of grazing by larger vertebrates such as cows and sheep but we haven't studied in detail the impact slugs might have particularly on very young plants in meadows that we are trying to restore
Only around 5%of the slug pop u la tion is actually above ground at any one time.
The team looked at slug feeding damage to seedling monocultures of 23 meadow species. The severity
and each species ranked for their acceptability--and hence potential vulnerability--to slugs in meadows.
Drawing up a'hierarchy of acceptability'the team found the slugs'favourite five were: yarrow;
On the bright side said Dr Barlow the slugs did not like the seedlings of some of the desirable wildflowers such as wood cranesbill rough hawkbit and greater burnet.
Just like us slugs have their favourites and will eat some plants in preference to others.
We have to cope with native slugs in our gardens and crops but this research shows they can be equally damaging in natural systems.
If invasive species like the Spanish slug establish in the UK it will move the battle against slugs to a much higher level.
the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; and The Nature Conservancy. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Kansas State university.
and cling to each other like the scales on a fish when pulled into a fiber. The wet-spinning process is similar to one recently used to create highly conductive fibers made of nanotubes but in this case Xiang just used water as the solvent rather than a super acid.
#Flipping fish adapt to land livingresearchers have found that the amphibious mangrove rivulus performs higher force jumps on land than some other fishes that end up on land.
This new study shows that unlike the largemouth bass which makes very few excursions on land the mangrove rivulus
A team of researchers headed by Benjamin Perlman at Wake Forest University in the United states filmed juvenile largemouth bass
and amphibious mangrove rivulus jumping off a force plate when startled with the end of a stick
The largemouth bass uses a common jumping technique to return to the water when stranded on land a c-jump
The mangrove rivulus on the other hand does a tail flip whereby it flips its head over its body towards the tail end to jump away from a stimulus. The researchers found striking differences in these fish's jumping forces:
the bass generates forces mostly in the vertical direction which means that it basically just goes up without moving sideways;
the mangrove rivulus generates the greatest forces in the antero-posterior (front-back) and medio-lateral (side-to-side) dimensions
which allows it to effectively move in a particular direction. Benjamin Perlman said: Bass are very poor performers at jumping on land as expected
The amphibious rivulus is adapted better to land living and capable of directing its jumps on land using more forceful jumps.
Mangrove rivulus which can live out of the water for extended periods of time (days or weeks as long as the conditions are moist) uses its specialised jumping technique
Bass are stranded only temporarily on land when chased out of the water by a predator caught in a current and washed onto land
#Nuke test radiation can fight poachers who kill elephants, rhinos, hipposuniversity of Utah researchers developed a new weapon to fight poachers who kill elephants hippos rhinos and other wildlife.
By measuring radioactive carbon-14 deposited in tusks and teeth by open-air nuclear bomb tests the method reveals the year an animal died
Cosmic rays do that naturally at a low level but open-air nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s sharply increased atmospheric plant
They saw tiny tentacles like a little octopus in the bottom of the box rising up
They saw tiny tentacles like a little octopus in the bottom of the box rising up
while lesser black-backed gulls in particular were attracted by the fish waste that was put overboard at sea. Now that the majority of landfills are covered
and the fishing fleets are shrinking both gull species are finding it more difficult to find food.
It turned out that gulls especially during chick care rely heavily on fish waste thrown overboard from fishing boats.
at the weekend the fishing fleet is largely in the harbour. This weekly rhythm is a problem especially in the second half of the chick care period (in July)
Lesser black-backed gulls also went oftener and further onto the North sea following fishing boats. One lesser black-backed gull which had three youngsters that were not growing well took a desperate measure
in order to follow a fishing boat far out at sea. The next day her young had grown properly again. http://www. youtube. com/watch?
journal PLOS ONE by research associate Deepak Ray and colleagues from the Institute on the Environment (Ione) at the University of Minnesota.
and food production trajectories are at substantial odds Ray says for example in Guatemala where the corn-dependent population is growing at the same time corn productivity is declining.
and is now with the Wisconsin Department of Natural resources and Julian Olden a UW associate professor of aquatic and fishery sciences.
Andr s Viã a assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife; and former CSIS doctoral students Wei Liu now a postdoctoral fellow at IIASA in Laxenburg Austria Mao-Ning Tuanmu now a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
and dragonflies and are important members of the food chain right up to fish and birds. Biological diversity in such aquatic environments can only be sustained by them
For decades researchers have struggled to understand why many different organisms--trees fish corals insects--from various habitats reproduce synchronously
or carnivores if they were eating fish which leave a tooth signal that looks like grass-eating
If they ate fish that ate algae it would give a false appearance of grass-eating because of the way algae takes up carbonate from water Cerling says.
Grant Harris chief of biological sciences (Southwest region) U s. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Jessica Schnell recently graduated now at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Germany.
Nuts game poultry and fish are included also as well as whole grains rapeseed oil and low-fat dairy products.
The compounds we're using are not very toxic to honeybees fish and mammals but we need to refine them further make them more toxic to mosquitoes
Also slithering it way onto this year's top 10 is a snail-eating false coral snake as well as flowering bushes from a disappearing forest in Madagascar a green lacewing that was discovered through social media
A beautiful new species of snail-eating snake has been discovered in the highland rainforests of western Panama.
and hunts soft-bodied prey including earthworms and amphibian eggs in addition to snails and slugs. This harmless snake defends itself by mimicking the alternating dark and light rings of venomous coral snakes.
It captures the title of'smallest living vertebrate'from a tiny Southeast Asian cyprinid fish that claimed the record in 2006.
and injection molding of parts of a sneaker's sole which expend large amounts of energy in the manufacture of small lightweight parts.
In this study native freshwater shrimps (gammarids) were exposed to pulsed high and to constant low concentrations of imidacloprid.
or of snails on the tree of mollusks said Antonis Rokas Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological sciences at Vanderbilt University.
This significant work will certainly challenge the community of evolutionary biologists to rethink how best to reconstruct phylogeny said Michael F. Whiting program director of systematics
or of snails on the tree of mollusks said Antonis Rokas Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological sciences at Vanderbilt University.
This significant work will certainly challenge the community of evolutionary biologists to rethink how best to reconstruct phylogeny said Michael F. Whiting program director of systematics
and Institute for Genomic Biology professor Ray Ming who led the analysis with Jane Shen-Miller a plant
Without the shade provided by eastern hemlock stream temperatures could rise threatening aquatic animals like eastern brook trout that require cold water for survival.
Antimatter is rare in the known universe flitting briefly in and out of existence in cosmic rays solar flares and particle accelerators like CERN's Large Hadron Collider for example.
Ray W. Daniel a biomedical engineering graduate student and Stefan M. Duma professor and head of the Virginia Tech--Wake Forest School of Biomedical engineering published today online ahead of print in the Journal
Other precautions include treating irrigation water with chemicals toxic to fish and amphibians and setting poisoned bait for rodents.
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.
At the same time patients consumed plenty of leafy greens shellfish and fish olive oil and grass-fed animal protein
while taking supplements containing the antioxidant polyphenol from fish oil grape seed extract and vitamins. Antioxidants are thought to slow cell aging.
or other healthy foods from their diets said the American Heart Association which recommends consuming a diet with plenty of fruits vegetables whole grains and fish.
or threatened species the U s. Environmental protection agency National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) should use a common scientific approach says a new report from the National Research
The study was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration U s. Environmental protection agency U s. Fish and Wildlife Service and U s. Department of agriculture.
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