Category: Ecosystems
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Disappearing Birds Mean Forest Failure
The differences between the distributions of the seeds on Guam and Saipan can be attributed to the differences in their bird populations… In the bird-less forests of Guam, however, fruits ripen, fall off of the tree and settle at tree bases without being eaten or moved by birds.
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Where The Trees Are Dying
Trees in western U.S. forests are dying at twice the rate they were a few decades ago, a new study finds. Researchers think the most likely culprit is the regional impacts of global warming.
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Even Biofuel Production Threatens Wetlands
If we don't plan and invest properly now, the cost to recreate artificially the services wetlands provide will dwarf the cost of preserving and protecting them in the first place.
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Take Me To The Treetops Pt. 1
The Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop walkway, crafted from over 400 tons of weathered steel, rises 18 metres high (59ft) to allow visitors the opportunity to walk among the highest parts of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.
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Bushmeat Crisis Threatens Trees
Recent research shows that in those regions of the South American rain forests where monkey species have been exterminated, certain tree species have little chance of survival.
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Benefits of Invasive Plants
According to the research, the existence of invasive plants in invaded sites can increase visits from insects to the majority of native plants. In this way the ‘floral market’ hypothesis in which only the invasive flowers are seen to benefit and the native flowers are no longer visited by insects is contradicted.
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Seed dispersal and Extinct dispersers in Island Communities – A Complex Mix
Thus, dispersal away from the maternal tree – or probably any adult conspecific – is apparently crucial for this species. We demonstrate that Aldabra giant tortoises could be used as ecological analogues to provide seed dispersal services, and thus resurrect the functional component of some of the extinct endemic frugivores in Mauritius.
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Three Centuries Of Draining Wetlands
Standard notions of the natural eastern US landscape with its meandering ribbon-like streams may be misguided, suggests historical research.
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How Could You Not Notice?
Botanists have discovered a new species of giant self-destructing palm on the island of Madagascar.
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Saving Trees Can Kill Them
…as the beasts have been kept away, the whole ecology of the fenced areas has changed. The trees growth patterns slowed; many sickened, and their death rate doubled; they produced fewer thorns for the ants to use as homes and less nectar for the ants to eat.