Biodiversity

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Unraveling relationship between nutrients and biodiversity

The level of nutrients in soil determines how many different kinds of plants and trees can thrive in an ecosystem, according to new research published by biologists and mathematicians today (10 September) in Nature.

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Rosella research could re-write ring theory

New research has uncovered how different crimson rosella populations are related to each other – a discovery which has important implications for research into how climate change may affect Australia’s biodiversity.

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Scientists find new clues to explain Amazonian biodiversity

Ice age climate change and ancient flooding—but not barriers created by rivers—may have promoted the evolution of new insect species in the Amazon region of South America, a new study suggests.

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Nature reserves attract humans, but at cost to biodiversity

Rather than suppressing local communities in developing nations, nature reserves attract human settlement, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

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Looming tropical disaster needs urgent action

A major review by University of Adelaide researchers shows that the world is losing the battle over tropical habitat loss with potentially disastrous implications for biodiversity and human well-being.

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Otters reveal their identity

Researchers of the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research have developed two new methods, in order to be able to better estimate the numbers of European Otters (Lutra lutra) and their effects on the fish farming industry.

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Biodiversity as a natural resource

What will the loss of biodiversity cost us in the long term? How much do national economies need to invest now in order to stop the trend? And what price will we have to pay if we do not act? These are the questions the TEEB – The Economics of Eco-systems and Biodiversity – project is seeking to answer.

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Model successfully predicts large river system fish diversity

While scientists have developed methods to predict aspects of fish diversity in specific river locations, a model to understand what factors may drive a comprehensive suite of fish biodiversity patterns in a large and complex system of rivers has been elusive.

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Rainfall and river networks prove accurate predictors of fish biodiversity

Princeton researchers have invented a method for turning simple data about rainfall and river networks into accurate assessments of fish biodiversity, allowing better prediction of the effects of climate change and the ecological impact of man-made structures like dams.

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Biodiversity, it's in the water

What if hydrology is more important for predicting biodiversity than biology" Research published in the May 8th issue of the journal Nature challenges current thinking about biodiversity and opens up new avenues for predicting how climate change or human activity may affect biodiversity patterns.

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New species discovered in Brazil

Researchers discovered a legless lizard and a tiny woodpecker along with 12 other suspected new species in Brazil’s Cerrado, one of the world’s 34 biodiversity conservation hotspots.

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Biodiversity is crucial to ecosystem productivity

In the first experiment involving a natural environment, scientists at Brown University have shown that richer plant diversity significantly enhances an ecosystem's productivity. The finding underscores the benefits of biodiversity, such as capturing carbon dioxide, a main contributor to global warming.

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