All Ecology articles – Page 3
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NewsNew study: Powerboats can impact lakes below the surface, stimulating algaL growth
Large surface waves produced by powerboats are a mainstay for recreational watersports. A new study shows that beneath the surface, factors such as propeller thrust and other types of waves can impact delicate lakebed ecosystems.
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NewsBacterial signaling molecule that choreographs flip between biofilm and motility could transform biotechnology and medical applications
A bacterial signaling molecule involved in flipping the switch between sessile and motile forms could offer huge potential in improving probiotics, boosting wastewater treatment and producing therapeutic compounds.
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NewsResearchers discover cause of sea star wasting disease
Researchers have revealed the cause of sea star wasting disease (SSWD). The marine epidemic has killed billions of sea stars—representing more than 20 different species from Alaska to Mexico. SSWD is considered the largest marine epidemic ever documented in the wild.
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NewsHelping me, inhibiting you: Analysis of interactions between intestinal microbiota
Researchers have analyzed the interactions between two bacteria that make up intestinal microbiota. While Faecalibacterium prausnitzii inhibits the growth of Fusobacterium varium, F. varium promotes the growth of F. prausnitzii.
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NewsTwo new solutions for coral protection: a conductive biopaste and a natural healing patch
A research group in Italy has developed two new coral protection technologies for healing and restoring coral reefs: a biopaste and a natural patch, both successfully tested on real corals.
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NewsTurning biodiversity upside down: Conservation maps miss fungal hotspots by focusing on plants
For decades, scientists and conservationists have been using aboveground plant biodiversity as a metric for conserving ecosystems. Now a new study finds that there is a major mismatch between aboveground plant diversity and Earth’s underground fungal biodiversity.
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NewsHow bacteria use a protein associated with Alzheimer’s to fight off threats
Amyloids are perhaps best known as a key driver of Alzheimer’s disease. According to new research, these oft-maligned proteins also serve a critical role for bacteria in our environment, enabling them to fight off other “predatory bacteria.”
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NewsNew research reveals diverse survival strategies of reef-building corals in response to ocean acidification
A research paper has revealed diverse survival strategies of reef-building corals in response to ocean acidification, providing a new perspective for understanding and protecting this fragile marine ecosystem.
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NewsDelicious but damaging invasive golden oyster mushrooms are decreasing fungal community richness
The golden oyster mushroom has spread rapidly throughout the US since escaping from cultivation into the wild. Ecosystems invaded by the golden oyster support less diversity of fungal species and smaller numbers of native fungal species.
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NewsForest trees and microbes choreograph their hunt for a ‘balanced diet’ under elevated CO2
Oak trees change their fine roots and ‘energise’ soil microbes by supplying them with a cocktail of small organic compounds, all to supplement the trees’ supply of essential nutrients when exposed to higher levels of carbon dioxide.
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NewsIlluminated sugars show how microbes eat the ocean’s carbon
A team of scientists have designed a molecular probe that lights up when a sugar is consumed. They described how the probe helps to study the microscopic tug-of-war between algae and microbial degraders in the ocean.
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NewsFecal samples from bowhead whales link ocean warming to rising algal toxins in Arctic waters
Rising toxins found in bowhead whales, harvested for subsistence purposes by Alaska Native communities, reveal that ocean warming is causing higher concentrations of algal toxins in Arctic food webs.
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NewsScientists receive $1M grant to study gulf’s mesophotic coral habitats
Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute has received a $999,664 grant from FLRACEP for a three-year project titled, “Influences of Upwelling and Riverine Nutrient Plumes on the Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems of the West Florida Shelf.”
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NewsNew insights into divergent nitrogen fixation in subtropical forests
This study focuses on two primary forms of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF): symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF), which occurs within the root nodules of nitrogen-fixing plants, and asymbiotic nitrogen fixation (ANF), carried out by free-living microorganisms in soil and litter.
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NewsDrones reveal extreme coral mortality after bleaching
New research has revealed alarming coral mortality rates of 92 per cent after last year’s bleaching event at Lizard Island on Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, marking one of the highest coral mortality rates ever documented globally.
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NewsMultiresistant intestinal bacteria: Displacement through food competition
Researchers made use of food competition to figure out how potentially dangerous multi-resistant bacteria could be effectively removed from the gut before reaching the bloodstream and causing serious problems.
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NewsNew study highlights neglected dynamics of coral and algae energy use
A new study has challenged a long-standing oversight in coral reef science, revealing that respiration in corals and algae varies significantly throughout the day, rather than remaining constant. It reveals that respiration rates in reef organisms are highly dynamic, peaking in the afternoon several hours after the height of photosynthesis.
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News New collaboration harnesses COVID methods to combat multi-billion threat to UK forests
Harnessing methods used to successfully predict and understand the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic, a new project aims to combat the impact of forest diseases that can cost the UK economy billions.
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NewsRain showers can dramatically impact fungal communities in urban lakes
Rainfall can have dramatic effects on the microbial communities living in urban lakes, a new paper published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology reveals.
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NewsNorthward jet stream shift hits phytoplankton in the Mediterranean Sea
In just over 20 years, the northward shift of the subtropical jet stream — a high-altitude airflow — caused by climate change has reduced primary production in the northwestern Mediterranean by about 40%, affecting the base of the marine food web.