Author: zooplantman
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Genetically Identical but Functionally Different: A Tree’s Provenance Matters
Genetically identical forest trees raised in different environments react differently when exposed to drought conditions, a study has shown.
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Can viruses protect orchid species against climate change?
The work will open the floodgates on new virus discoveries in our region, with the techniques developed being applicable to a wide range of other biological systems worldwide
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Black Pepper Curbs Dengue fever
A trap that uses an extract from black pepper to kill mosquito eggs and larvae has dramatically cut rates of dengue fever
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Luminescent mushroom Reappears After 170 Year Absence
If you think glowing mushrooms are the figment of some trippy imagination, think again. After its initial discovery back in 1840, one of the most bioluminescent species of mushroom known to humans was not seen again until a pair of primatologists recently stumbled upon it in the Brazilian forests.
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Can Forests Migrate With Climate Change?
Predictions about where trees will grow in the future have been based primarily on climate models… but there are other factors, like the soil environment, that may limit whether a tree species will be able to move into a new area.
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Vehicles Disperse Seeds; How Invasive Plants Travel
The final study found that up to 99 percent of seeds stayed attached to a truck after traveling 160 miles
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Organic Farms Are Better For Pollinators
Insect-flower interaction networks on organic farms were larger, and that there were more flowers on organic farms which attracted a higher number of bees, compared with non-organic and conventional counterparts.
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When An Iconic Centuries-Old Plant Isn’t Welcome Anymore
Over the millennia, the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) has evolved to thrive in the dry and hot Southwestern desert conditions and barren soils that a less specialized plant species could not tolerate. Now, two recent papers detailing future climate scenarios for Joshua Tree National Park and the Joshua tree's natural range are projecting tough times for this venerable Southwest icon.
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Plants Engineered To Detect Bombs and Pollutants
We've 'taught' plants how to detect things we're interested in and respond in a way anyone can see, to tell us there is something nasty around.
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Endemic Fish Pay The Price For Farm Irrigation
This once highly diverse river has become, like most others in Madagascar, depauperate. We can only wonder if the years when the basins did not flow led to the demise of some species, and hope they will one day recolonize this stretch of river from refuges farther upstream.