All Ecology articles
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NewsNew giant virus isolated in Jyväskylä for the first time in Finland
For the first time in Finland, researchers have isolated a giant virus, which was named Jyvaskylavirus. The discovery shows that giant viruses are more common in northern regions than researchers have thought.
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NewsDeadly rodent-borne hantavirus is an emerging disease with pandemic potential
Researchers have found three hotspots of hantavirus circulation in wildlife in the US – Virginia, Colorado, and Texas – and identified 15 rodent species as carriers, including six species that had not previously been identified as hosts of the virus.
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NewsReduced movement of starlings with parasite infections has a negative impact on offspring
Researchers have shown for the first time that the impaired reproductive success in individuals with parasites is connected to altered movement behaviour. Infected starlings have a smaller action radius, which limits their access to high-quality foraging habitats.
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NewsSpinning into resistance: the flagella’s hidden role
New research uncovers a direct connection between the rotation of bacterial flagella—structures used for movement—and the activation of genes that enable bacteria to transfer DNA to one another.
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NewsScientists link a phytoplankton bloom to starving dolphins in Florida
In 2013, 8% of the bottlenose dolphins living in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon died. Investigations have now revealed that the dolphins may have starved because key habitats for nutritious prey were destroyed by a phytoplankton bloom driven by the accumulation of fertilizer, effluent from septic tanks, and other by-products of human activity.
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NewsNew carrier birds brought avian flu to Europe, Americas
Unexpected wild species, from pelicans to peregrine falcons, are transporting the virus from poultry farms to new places around the world and changing where the risk of outbreaks is highest.
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NewsMuseum collections reveal worldwide spread of butterfly disease
A new study of museum butterfly collections explore how these specimens can be used to track the spread of disease. Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) is a protozoan parasite that can hamper a butterfly’s growth and flight.
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NewsChemical radar enables bacteria to detect and kill predators
Researchers have identified a previously unknown defense mechanism of Pseudomonas syringae. They were able to show how the bacterium uses a chemical radar to recognize and eliminate hostile amoebae.
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NewsDistinct patterns of soil bacterial and fungal communities in the treeline ecotone
A study was carried out to understand the biodiversity of the microbial communities in the treeline ecotone that might affect alpine ecosystems and other potential ecological effects in response to climate change.
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NewsRed coral colonies survive a decade after being transplanted in the Medes Islands
The red coral colonies that were transplanted a decade ago on the seabed of the Medes Islands have survived successfully. They are very similar to the original communities and have contributed to the recovery of the functioning of the coral reef.
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NewsMetagenomic analysis of tick-borne viruses in Inner Mongolia
A new study maps the landscape of TBVs in Inner Mongolia, but also highlights the potential spillover risk of TBVs. These findings underscore the urgent need for One Health strategies for monitoring emerging TBVs at the tick-human-livestock interface in northern China.
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NewsThe key role of soil micro-food web complexity in agricultural productivity
Soils inoculated with micro-food webs have significantly higher levels of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), microbial biomass, and plant nitrogen and phosphorus compared to the control and untreated (unsterilized) soil, a new study shows.
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NewsNew method uncovers dynamic microbial community in coastal sediments
Scientists utilises single celll genomics and cell staining approaches to investigate the respiratory rates and metabolic activities of the diverse microbial communities in low biomass aqautic environments, such as Maine’s coastal sediments.
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NewsClimate affects microbial life around Antarctica
Bacteria and other microbes in the seas around Antarctica are strongly influenced by water temperature and the amount of sea ice. This is shown by coordinated measurements taken off the coast of the west Antarctic Peninsula, scientists say.
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NewsSwRI receives $3 million NASA astrobiology grant to study microbial life in Alaska’s arctic sand dunes
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has received a three-year, $2,999,998 million grant from NASA to identify and characterize life and its biosignatures in frozen sand dunes in Alaska, under conditions similar to dune fields on early Mars and Saturn’s moon Titan. Source: Southwest Research Institute The Great Kobuk Sand ...
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NewsGreat whale pee funnel carries nutrients thousands of miles, boosting phytoplanktons
A new study shows that whales carry huge quantities of nutrients horizontally, across whole ocean basins, from rich, cold waters where they feed to warm shores near the equator where they mate and give birth.
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NewsTen new species of Leucoagaricus and Leucocoprinus from Beijing
A systematic survey of large fungi in urban green spaces in Beijing collected 88 specimens of Leucoagaricus and Leucocoprinus for morphological and multi-gene phylogenetic analysis. It found that 10 represent new species.
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NewsGenetic switch controlling microbiota impact could help control leaf growth in poor soils
A new study has identified a genetic circuit in plants that controls individual leaf growth and allows the plants to adapt to their environment. The findings could help the development of more drought-resistant crops.
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NewsFungi more vulnerable than bacteria in degrading alpine ecosystems
A new study provides the first evidence that alpine pioneer community degradation led to declines of 27% in fungal richness, 8% in bacterial richness and about 50% of endemic microorganisms.
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NewsBackyard poultry face HPAI risk when migrating mallards stop to rest
Knowing where, when and for how long mallard ducks – natural carriers of avian influenza – stop and rest as they migrate can help predict the probability that they will spread bird flu to backyard poultry flocks, according to a new study.