News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
When ThankGod Echezona Ebenezer left southeast Nigeria to start a biochemistry Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in 2013, he soon realized little information on the genomes of plants and animals from Africa were in existing global sequencing databases. To help protect the continent’s biodiversity and aid its agriculture, he and colleagues founded the African … Read more
The COP15 summit on the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework, due to be held at Kunming in China during April and May, will now be held in August instead, New Scientist understands Environment 8 March 2022 , updated 8 March 2022 By Adam Vaughan Kunming Botanical Garden in Kunming, China, where COP15 is due to take place … Read more
As rodents called agoutis avoid areas where ocelots prowl, they spread fewer of the palm seeds they eat, which could lead to a cascade of changes in biodiversity throughout Panama’s forests Life 8 March 2022 By Jake Buehler An agouti gnawing on a palm seed Steven Paton A game of cat and mouse is playing … Read more
How is a lost tale of chivalry from medieval Europe like an unknown species of animal? According to a new study, the number of both items can be tallied using exactly the same mathematical model. The findings align with existing estimates of lost literature—and suggest that ecological models can be applied to a surprising variety … Read more
In May 2020, as the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic chewed through Texas, I went to an Austin nature store and bought several bird feeders. The birds, drawn by seed and suet slabs, came soon afterward. They flitted down from the pecan trees and telephone wires: bold Tufted Titmice, bouncing Northern Cardinals and bullying … Read more
Urban noise pollution is getting worse. Wildfires are growing more severe. And climate change is disrupting the timing of natural events and the life cycles of plants and animals all over the world. These are the major threats highlighted in a new United Nations report on emerging environmental concerns. The report, released today, is the … Read more
Dogs’ urine and faeces bring large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus into suburban nature reserves, which could be harmful to plant biodiversity Life 7 February 2022 By Chen Ly A dog in a wildflower patch at St Abbs Head Nature Reserve, UK Rebecca Cole / Alamy Stock Photo Taking your dog for a walk in … Read more
Oregon endured the third-largest wildfire in its recorded history last summer. The Bootleg Fire tore through the Upper Klamath Basin, an ecologically sensitive area that is home to multiple threatened and endangered species including the northern spotted owl and two fish—the koptu and c’waam (shortnose sucker and Lost River sucker)—that are culturally vital to the … Read more
The world’s forests may hold more secrets than previously thought: a new global estimate of tree biodiversity suggests that there are about 9,200 tree species yet to be discovered. Most of these species are likely in the tropics, according to the new research, which was published on Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of … Read more
Small-scale gold mining has been going on in the Amazon for decades, with huge expansion of this activity since the early 2000s. It is often done via river dredging, in which miners excavate sediments in search of small pieces of gold. To separate the gold, miners mix liquid mercury into the sediment, which forms a … Read more