#Ecosystem degradation could raise risk of pandemics

“#Ecosystem degradation could raise risk of pandemics” Credit: CC0 Public Domain Environmental destruction may make pandemics more likely and less manageable, new research suggests. The study, by the University of the West of England and the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter, presents the hypothesis that disease risks are “ultimately interlinked” with biodiversity…

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#Australian outback station turned into national park

“#Australian outback station turned into national park” This undated handout photo from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service shows Narriearra Station A slice of the Australian outback almost the size of greater London will be turned into a national park to help protect threatened species, authorities said Saturday, in a move welcomed by green…

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#International team of scientists warns of increasing threats posed by invasive species

“#International team of scientists warns of increasing threats posed by invasive species” Credit: CC0 Public Domain In a new study, scientists from around the world—including a professor at the University of Rhode Island—warn that the threats posed by invasive alien species are increasing. They say that urgent action is required to prevent, detect and control…

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#Pattern analysis of phylogenetic trees could reveal connections between evolution, ecology

“#Pattern analysis of phylogenetic trees could reveal connections between evolution, ecology” A simulated phylogenetic tree. Time runs from top to bottom, and nodes represent species, lines represent the mutations in DNA associated with the gene that is being studied. Bifurcations signify speciation events. This tree has a complex structure but is also fractal in a…

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#Old pine trees witness the rewilding in Mediterranean mountain forests in consequence of late-medieval pandemics

“#Old pine trees witness the rewilding in Mediterranean mountain forests in consequence of late-medieval pandemics” Old Pinus heldreichii trees in the Pollino National Park (southern Italy) Credit: Gianluca Piovesan Subalpine ecosystems are natural laboratories to study the evolution of global warming, since their dynamics are particularly sensitive to temperature changes. However, the impacts of past…

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#Maryland offshore wind farm could become stop-over region for migrating striped bass and Atlantic sturgeon

“#Maryland offshore wind farm could become stop-over region for migrating striped bass and Atlantic sturgeon” Researcher Ellie Rothermel configures an acoustic receiver off coast of Ocean City, Maryland, to monitor to the movement of Atlantic sturgeon and striped bass off the Delmarva coastline. Credit: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science/Mike O’Brien For the endangered…

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