A team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen has identified three new species within the genus Nectophrynoides from Tanzania’s East Arc Mountains.
Nectophrynoides luhomeroensis seen here as an adult. Image credit: Slane et al., doi: 10.3897/vz.75.e167008.
The genus Nectophrynoides belongs to the family Nudibranchidae and currently comprises 13 recognized species that are endemic to the wet forests and grasslands of Tanzania.
Commonly referred to as tree toads, Nectophrynoides species exhibit viviparous reproduction, a feature that is quite rare among frogs.
All known species of Nectophrynoides inhabit the East Ark Mountains, with Nectophrynoides biviparus also found in the southern highlands of neighboring Tanzania.
“The three newly identified frog species are part of a rare group in the genus Nectophrynoides,” said Dr. Christian Slane and his colleagues at the University of Copenhagen.
“Instead of laying eggs that develop into tadpoles, female toads carry their young inside their bodies, giving birth to small, fully-formed toads.”
“This adaptation makes these amphibians among the few worldwide capable of internal fertilization and true live birth.”
“While it is widely recognized that frogs usually develop from tadpoles, this represents just one of many reproductive strategies within the diverse frog population,” noted Dr. Mark D. Schatz from the Natural History Museum of Denmark.
“In fact, around 8,000 frog species exhibit various reproductive modes, many of which differ significantly from the classic narrative.”
“Only a select number of frog species in South America and Southeast Asia have developed a similar reproductive strategy, rendering these toads unique in the animal kingdom.”
“Live births in frogs and toads are exceedingly rare, with less than 1% of frog species exhibiting this trait, making these new species particularly fascinating,” remarked Dr. H. Christoph Liedtke from Spain’s National Research Council.
In this study, the authors examined 257 specimens of Nectophrynoides and identified three new species: Nectophrynoides luhomeroensis, Nectophrynoides hehehe, and Nectophrynoides saliensis.
“The introduction of these three new species raises the total number of known viviparous anurans globally to 20, with 16 belonging to the genus Nectophrynoides,” stated the researchers.
“The distinct reproductive and ecological characteristics displayed by these bufonids underscore the potential loss of ecological function should these species face extinction.”
“Given the risk of losing these species and their contributions to amphibian biodiversity, there is a significant need to intensify conservation efforts to safeguard them.”
“Further research is crucial to fully comprehend the behavior and ecology of these remarkable arboreal toads.”
This discovery is detailed in the following article: paper published in Vertebrate Zoology.
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C. Slane et al. 2025. Museology and integrated taxonomy reveal three new species of glandular viviparous tree toads (Nectophrynoides) from the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania (Anura: Bufonidae). Vertebrate Zoology 75: 459-485; doi: 10.3897/vz.75.e167008
The average size of trees in the Amazon Rainforest is gradually increasing as carbon dioxide levels rise. This means that these larger trees play a crucial role in determining whether the forest acts as a carbon sink.
How forests adapt to changing climates remains a significant question. One theory suggests that larger trees are more vulnerable to reductions as they face challenges from climate-related phenomena, such as droughts and high winds. Understanding how forests respond to these changes is crucial for future climate models.2 It’s essential to address atmospheric issues to mitigate global warming.
Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert from Cambridge University and her team at the Rainfor Amazon Forest Inventory Network have measured tree diameters in 188 plots averaging 12,000 square meters across the Amazon Basin. The monitoring period varied, with some plots observed for around 30 years. Meanwhile, 2 atmospheric concentrations are reaching near record levels.
“We monitor certain areas in the forest where the average tree size has increased over time. This indicates that these trees are capable of storing more carbon than they did in the past,” researchers noted, highlighting an average diameter increase of about 3.3% every decade.
“The structural composition of the Amazon forest is continually changing throughout the basin,” says team member Rebecca Bunberry Morgan from the University of Bristol, UK. “There are more sizable trees and fewer smaller ones, indicating a shift in average size towards larger trees.”
She adds that the average diameter of trees in mature, undisturbed forest areas remains relatively constant as they replace and grow larger trees where seedlings have fallen. Researchers believe that Amazon trees are responding positively to the increasing atmospheric 2 levels, resulting in enhanced growth and biomass accumulation. “Larger trees tend to thrive as they compete more effectively for light and water,” remarks Esquivel-Muelbert.
This implies that large trees are disproportionately vital for the carbon storage capacity of the forest, meaning their loss would have significantly adverse effects, she concludes.
“A key finding is that 2 wood serves as a globally significant carbon sink, functioning as a fertilizer that promotes tree growth while being influenced by many factors.” Peter Etchells at Durham University, UK, states, “However, this could change as climate continues to evolve, potentially impacting the balance of growth, nutrient availability, temperature, and CO.2?”
Flammability assessments on western juniper trees (Juniperus occidentalis)
Rebecca Koll
In a laboratory at the University of Exeter, UK, Rebecca Koll is examining conifer species to explore critical questions related to future forest fire dynamics.
Wildfire severity is on the rise globally as temperatures continue to increase. This is largely attributed to heightened heat, prolonged drought, and stronger winds, all of which elevate the risk of igniting timber when sparks occur.
Yet, Koll is among a team of researchers who believe that factors beyond drought are influencing fire risk. “Is climate change actually altering the properties of the plants? I’m quite certain it is,” she shares.
She posits that climate stress factors could be modifying leaf chemistry. With an increase in UV radiation, plants may produce more volatile compounds as a stress response.
While global initiatives aimed at restoring the ozone layer may mitigate UV radiation risks, studies indicate that climate change, especially the uptick in hot, clear days in Northern and Eastern Europe, has resulted in rising ground-level UVB levels in recent years. Models predict that this may escalate later in the century.
Koll is currently engaged in a project examining changes in leaf chemistry and flammability by exposing 87 conifer species to elevated UVB levels. Using climate-controlled chambers with optimal temperature and moisture regimens, they simulate exposure levels tripled compared to current conditions. After 4 to 8 weeks, the trees undergo analysis and combustion tests to evaluate their flammability.
“It’s designed to be an ideal environment. These plants are in a very favorable climate, except we bombard them with radiation,” Koll explains. “We’re observing early signs of yellowing in areas that should remain green. Their biochemical reactions during various tests are altering the chemistry of their leaves,” she elaborates.
The pivotal question remains whether these biochemical shifts will lead to heightened flammability and if they elucidate the increasing intensity of forest fires. “We’re already elevating UV levels in our natural settings,” Koll notes. “This may imply that the risk extends beyond drought to include the direct impacts on plant biology.”
Uncovering these insights could provide scientists with a clearer understanding of wildfire risks in the predominantly coniferous regions of the Northern Hemisphere. “This is fundamentally what leads to severe home destruction,” Koll states. “The natural surroundings are becoming increasingly flammable.”
This project is among the initial experiments conducted at the University of Exeter’s Global Weather Simulator, a newly established facility dedicated to plant research that opened this year. The climate control chambers can recreate variations in wind, precipitation, heat, and atmospheric variables to analyze how plants and insects respond to rapid climatic shifts.
Matthew Robson of the University of Cumbria emphasizes that this research may confirm the significance of leaf compound changes in determining certain tree species’ flammability. “The relative impact of these climatic factors on volatile and combustible carbon-rich compounds has not been thoroughly explored, which makes the current research at Exeter particularly intriguing,” he states.
Paleontologists have extracted ancient enamel protein sequences from fossilized teeth of epiacaratherium sp., a nasal bacteria that thrived in the High Arctic of Canada between 240 and 21 million years ago (early Miocene). This recovered sequence enabled researchers to ascertain that this ancient rhino diverged from other syoxidants during the mid-Eocene Oligocene period, approximately 410-250,000 years ago. Additionally, the findings illuminate the distinctions between two principal subfamilies of rhinocerotinae and Rhinocerotinae, indicating a more recent division of bone development around 340-22 million years ago.
Reconstruction of three extinct rhinoceros species: foreground features a Siberian unicorn (Elasmotherium sibiricum), accompanied by two Merck rhinos (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis); In the distant background is a wooly rhino (Coelodonta antiquitatis). Image credit: Beth Zaiken.
Dr. Mark Dickinson and his team from York University investigated the teeth of epiacaratherium sp. They utilized a method known as chiral amino acid analysis, which aids in understanding how these proteins were preserved over time.
By assessing the degree of proteolysis and comparing it with previously studied rhino material, they confirmed that the amino acids originated from the teeth themselves, not from subsequent contamination.
“It’s astounding that these techniques allow us to revisit the past and delve deeper,” Dr. Dickinson remarked.
“Armed with our understanding of ancient proteins, we can now pose intriguing new questions regarding the evolution of ancient life on Earth.”
The rhinoceros holds particular significance as it is currently categorized as an endangered species. Exploring its extensive evolutionary history offers vital insights into how past environmental shifts and extinctions have influenced present biodiversity.
Historically, scientists have depended on the morphology of fossils or, more recently, ancient DNA (aDNA) to reconstruct the evolutionary narratives of long-extinct species.
Nonetheless, aDNA typically does not last more than a million years, constraining its utility in unraveling deep evolutionary history.
Although ancient proteins have been detected in Miocene fossils, previous samples extending back over 4 million years had been constrained to roughly the last 10 million years—full sequences were necessary for robust reconstructions of evolutionary lineages.
The latest research significantly broadens this temporal scope, indicating that proteins may endure across extensive geological timescales under optimal conditions.
“Success in analyzing ancient proteins from such old specimens provides fresh perspectives for scientists globally, who possess remarkable fossils in their collections,” stated Dr. Fazeera Munier of York University.
“This crucial fossil aids our understanding of the distant past.”
The results were published in the journal Nature this week.
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RS Patterson et al. Phylogenetically significant proteins from the early Miocene era. Nature Published online on July 9, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09231-4
Afforestation Initiative in British Columbia, Canada
James McDonald/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Achieving sufficient tree planting to counterbalance the climate effects of fossil fuel combustion is nearly unfeasible. The land required to offset around 182 billion tonnes of carbon contained in the reserves of the world’s leading fossil fuel companies exceeds the available area of North and Central America combined.
In a study, Alain Naef from France’s Essec Business School, along with his team, assessed the economic viability of offsetting the carbon emissions originating from the oil, gas, and coal reserves owned by the top 200 fossil fuel firms.
The research indicates that newly planted trees must cover an area greater than 24.75 million square kilometers, equivalent to all land in North, Central, and South America, to mitigate the effects of burning these fossil fuel reserves.
Such a scale of afforestation is impractical, necessitating significant relocations of communities, agricultural lands, and other existing ecosystems.
“There isn’t enough available land to accommodate the requisite planting needed to offset emissions tied to fossil fuels,” states Rich Collet White, a British energy analyst at Carbon Tracker. “Attempting to achieve such extensive planting could drive food prices up due to farmland being converted to forest, or lead to deforestation elsewhere.”
Simultaneously, the financial implications of implementing such widespread planting initiatives are staggering. The cost to plant trees is approximately $16 per tonne equivalent of carbon offset. At this rate, it was calculated that offsetting emissions from fossil fuel reserves using trees could negate the entire market value of 64% of the largest fossil fuel corporations, excluding the costs associated with land acquisition.
If higher carbon prices highlight the adverse social and economic effects of burning fossil fuels, the results indicate that many companies might face bankruptcy.
Naef and his associates recognize the slim probability of fossil fuel companies opting to voluntarily offset reserve emissions. They assert that their study is more of a thought experiment aimed at indicating why offsets shouldn’t be leveraged to allow the fossil fuel industry to persist. “The crucial takeaway from this paper is that oil and gas should remain untapped underground,” Naef emphasized during a press briefing on June 18th.
Tim Leyden, representing Trillion Trees, a UK-based tree planting initiative, concurs. “Tree planting should not serve as a substitute for the urgent cessation of fossil fuel use nor as a strategy for decarbonizing our economy,” he asserts.
Fossils of the giant rainforest tree Dryobalanops rappa have been found in Brunei (officially known as Brunei Darussalam), an island nation in Borneo. This discovery marks the first fossil evidence of a living, endangered tropical tree species, opening up new avenues for fossil research and underscoring the importance of Southeast Asian heritage and its preservation.
Leaf architecture from living (C, D, FH) compared to fossils (A, B, E) of Dryobalanops. Image credit: Wang et al, doi: 10.1002/ajb2.70036.
Locally referred to as Kapur Paya, Dryobalanops rappa is a tall tree species that exists today but is threatened with extinction in Borneo’s carbon-rich peatlands, including Brunei.
Fossil leaves estimated to be 2 million years old were uncovered in Kampong Rugh within the Chuton district of Brunei.
“This discovery provides a unique glimpse into the ancient history of Asian tropical wet forests,” noted researchers from Pennsylvania.
“We now have fossil evidence that this remarkable tree species has been integral to Borneo’s forests for millions of years, emphasizing its ecological significance and the urgency to protect its remaining habitats.”
According to Professor Peter Wilf of Pennsylvania, “Fossil records of wet tropical forests in Asia have been surprisingly limited compared to those in the Amazon and Africa.”
Paleontologists identified these fossils by examining the microscopic features of the preserved leaf cuticles, down to the cellular level of Dryobalanops rappa.
“Our findings underscore that these forests are not only thriving with biodiversity today but are also home to iconic tree species that have existed for millions of years,” Wang stated.
“Conservation efforts should not only focus on current species but also aim to preserve the ecological legacy that has endured over millennia.”
“The dominant tree family in Asian rainforests, the bi-pterocarps, plays a crucial role in carbon storage and biodiversity,” the researchers highlighted.
“However, these trees face increasing threats from deforestation and habitat loss.”
“By unveiling the deep historical roots of these trees, this discovery offers a fresh perspective on conservation strategies,” Wang added.
“These findings add a new dimension to conservation, as we strive to protect not only modern species but also ancient survivors that are pivotal to our ecosystem,” Wang concluded.
“This historical context makes both the endangered tree species and their habitats even more critical for conservation efforts.”
“Our research demonstrates how fossil evidence can inform conservation strategies for endangered species and ecosystems, grounded in their historical importance,” Professor Wilf remarked.
“Understanding the history of tropical forests is vital for conservation, especially as numerous key species face rapid decline.” Professor Wilf emphasized.
“Our discovery lays an essential historical foundation for the conservation of keystone trees in tropical Asia, particularly the rapidly diminishing bi-ptery species.”
Details of these findings are documented in a paper published in the American Journal of Botany.
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Teng-Xiang Wang et al. Fossils of the endemic giant dual-pterocarp species open a historic portal into Borneo’s disappearing rainforest. American Journal of Botany, published online on May 8, 2025. doi:10.1002/ajb2.70036
The entire forest explodes as lightning hits a tree in the tropical region.
“To the most extreme, the bombs look like they’ve disappeared,” said Evan Gola, a forest ecologist at the Carrie Ecosystem Institute in Millbrook, New York, who is a forest ecologist with dozens of trees around what was touched. Within a few months, a considerable forest ring will die.
For some reason, there is one survivor standing there who looks healthier than ever. New research Dr. Gora was published last week in the New Phytologist journal, revealing that some of the rainforest’s biggest trees will not survive the lightning attack. They thrive.
The tropical rainforest at the Baro Colorado Nature Monument in Panama is a great place to study whether some trees are immune to lightning. It is home to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and is one of the world’s most studied tropical forests. Dr. Gola tried to study whether individual trees in the forest would benefit from being hit by lightning. And if so, does that help species populations survive on a large scale?
Early on, he spent a lot of time climbing trees, searching for signs of lightning damage. However, making critical observations is painful and inefficient. Dr. Gola began climbing one tree, convinced that it was the trunk struck, and went up 50 feet and wanted him to actually be the tree next to him. The bees also crowd Dr. Gora’s eyes and ears.
“Your whole life is just bustling,” he said. “That’s scary.”
Dr. Gola needed a more efficient way to find the trees he attacked, so he and his collaborators developed a method to monitor lightning strikes and triangulate electromagnetic signals. This technique led him to the correct tree more quickly and could be evaluated using a drone.
From 2014 to 2019, the system captured 94 lightning strikes on trees. Dr. Gola and his team visited the site to see which species were hit. They were looking for dead trees and “flashover points.” There, the leaves are sung as lightning jumps between the trees. From there, the canopy dies and the tree eventually dies.
Eighty-five species were hit, seven survived, while one literally stood out figically. The DipteryxOleifera is a towering species hit nine times, including one tree that has hit twice and appears to be more active. D. oleifera has a crown about 30% higher than the remaining trees and about 50% larger than the other trees.
“It appears there is an architecture that can be attacked more frequently,” Dr. Gola said.
All D. oleifera trees struck survived the lightning attack, but 64% of the other species died within two years. The trees surrounding D. oleifera could be 48% higher than those around other species. In one notable break, one strike killed 57 trees around D. oleifera. Lightning also D. Blowing out parasite trees from the oleifera tree.
Cleaning adjacent trees and choking grapes, D. This meant that the oleifera tree would have less competition from the light and make it easier to produce more seeds. A computer model is a D when it is hit multiple times. We estimated that the lifespan of oleifera trees could be extended by almost 300 years.
“It seemed impossible for lightning to be good for trees,” Dr. Gola said before the study. However, the evidence is D. It suggests that oleifera will benefit from each impact.
“Trees are constantly competing with each other, so you need an edge compared to what surrounds you,” said Gabriel Arellano, a forest ecologist at the University of Michigan, who was not involved in the research.
The physical mechanisms that help trees survive the intense lightning strike remain unknown. Dr. Gora suggested that different trees may be more conductive and conductive, or that there may be an architecture that will escape damage.
This study was only in Panama, but similar patterns have been observed in other tropical forests. “It’s very common,” said Adrian Esquibel Muerbert, a forest ecologist at the University of Birmingham in the UK who worked with Dr. Gola but was not involved in the research. “It’s very clear when that will happen.”
Climate change is set to increase the frequency and severity of tropical thunderstorms. It appears that some trees may be more suited to the future of storms than others.
A team of scientists has unveiled a baby mammoth that has been almost perfectly preserved for 50,000 years in the thawing permafrost of eastern Siberia.
Anatoly Nikolayev, head of the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory at Northeastern Federal University in Yakutsk, eastern Siberia, described the mammoth as a “unique research discovery” and highlighted its extraordinary state of preservation. He mentioned that there were no signs of injury to the head, torso, ears, or mouth.
NEFU scientists called the mammoth, named Yana, the best-preserved specimen in the world in a press release on Monday.
The carcass of the baby mammoth Yana was unveiled after its discovery in the Yana River basin in eastern Siberia, marking the seventh baby mammoth found in the world. It is 4 feet tall, weighs around 400 pounds, and is less than 6.6 feet long.
Maxim Cheprasov, head of the university’s Mammoth Museum, expressed that the discovery of Yana is expected to provide valuable insights into mammoth development, adaptive characteristics, Ice Age habitats, and other essential aspects of mammoth life.
Yana was found by local residents in the Batagaika Crater, the world’s largest permafrost crater, as it continues to expand due to climate change.
Researchers Gavril Novgorodov and Erel Struchkov pose next to the remains of a baby mammoth discovered in June. Gavril Novgorodov/Reuters file
The mammoth was estimated to be about 1 year old at the time of its death. Scientists at the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Research Institute are currently conducting further experiments to confirm Yana’s exact age at the time of its death.
The institute is collaborating with genetic researchers from other parts of the Russian Federation to gain more insights into Yana’s life and environment.
Due to climate change, Russia’s permafrost is thawing, leading to surprising prehistoric discoveries in recent years.
In 2020, scientists in Yakutia in northeastern Siberia uncovered a 32,000-year-old saber-toothed tiger mummy. The following year, in 2021, researchers found a 44,000-year-old wolf carcass in the same area.
Named after the otherworldly sounds these tree frogs make, Boufis The rainforests of Madagascar are expanses, some of which remind us of the sounds of technological equipment from fictional works. Star Trek Scientists have named seven new species in honor of the fictional captain of a spaceship. Bufis Khaki, bofis picardi, Bofis Siskoi, Boufis Janeyae, bofis archery, bofis pickay and bofis barnamae.
bofis picardi a male paratype from Anara, Madagascar. Image credit: Vences others., doi: 10.3897/vz.74.e121110.
There are currently 80 described species. Boufis It is the most unique genus of the Malagasy Comoran endemic family. Mantelidae.
Members of this genus are tree frogs with relatively generalized reproductive behavior, usually laying eggs in stream or pond water where tadpoles develop.
Many Boufis species are very vocal, with males emitting loud and clear advertising calls.
“Seven newly discovered species of Hyla genus” Boufis “Frogs, which are found throughout the rainforests of Madagascar, use a special bird-like whistle to communicate with other frogs,” said Professor Miguel Wences of the Technical University of Braunschweig and colleagues.
“The sound of these whistles reminded our team: Star Trek similar whistle-like sound effects are frequently used. ”
“That’s why we named our frogs after Kirk, Picard, Cisco, Janeway, Archer, Burnham and Pike – seven of the most iconic captains of science fiction.”
“These frog calls don’t just sound like movie sound effects. Star Trek But finding them often requires quite a trek,” said Dr. Mark Schaerts, a researcher at the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen.
“While some species are found in areas accessible to tourists, finding some of these species requires extensive expeditions to remote forest fragments and mountain peaks. It was.”
“We believe that here lies the true meaning of scientific discovery and exploration, and that it is based in the spirit of: Star Trek”
For fans of Star Trek, Boufis The call may remind you of the so-called “Boardsman’s Whistle” or the sound from a device called a “tricorder.” To others, it may sound like a bird or an insect.
Dr. Jörn Köhler, senior curator of vertebrate zoology at the Hesse State Museum in Darmstadt, said: “If the frog is just croaking like the European frogs we’re familiar with, it’s likely that it’s coming from a nearby river. “It might not have been audible over the sound of the rushing water.”
“Their high-pitched trills and whistles stand out above all the noise.”
“Due to their appearance, these frogs have traditionally been confused with similar species, but each species produces a distinctive high-pitched whistle, which helps distinguish them from each other and from other frogs. I did.”
This finding is reported in the following article: paper in diary vertebrate zoology.
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M. Vances others. 2024. The Communicator’s Whistle: A Journey Through Taxonomy Bufis mallogesensis This complex reveals seven new morphologically enigmatic tree frogs (Amphibians: Anura: Mantelidae) from Madagascar. vertebrate zoology 74: 643-681;doi: 10.3897/vz.74.e121110
Artificial lighting at night can affect tree leaves
Shutterstock/Patrick Kosmider
Urban trees lit by streetlights tend to have tougher leaves and be less eaten by insects than those that spend the dark nights, a pattern the researchers say could disrupt the flow of energy up the food chain and have negative effects on urban biodiversity.
Zhang Shuang Zhang and his colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences studied the Japanese five-story pagoda (Styphnolobium japonicum) and Green Ash (AshBeijing’s street trees appear to be relatively free of insect damage compared to other trees in the city.
The researchers collected around 5,500 leaves from 180 trees at 30 locations in Beijing, including near the distinctive orange glow of sodium streetlights and in dark areas at night, and measured the leaves’ size, firmness, moisture content, and nutrient levels. They also recorded any evidence of insect damage.
Leaves taken from under streetlights were stronger and less affected by insects: for Chinese sophora trees, 2.1% of leaves were damaged in the lit areas and 5.3% in the dark, while for ash trees, 2% of leaves were damaged near streetlights and 4.1% in the dark.
The researchers couldn’t answer that question, but they did say in their paper that with fewer leaves for insects to eat, less energy flows up the food chain to insects and birds, which could have a knock-on effect of further reducing biodiversity.
The researchers acknowledge that the mechanisms by which leaf damage is reduced are still unclear and require further investigation — for example, increased light could make insects more visible to predators, reducing their numbers and their impact on trees.
Owen Lewis The Oxford University researcher says the study is intriguing but doesn’t prove causation, and he suggests future studies should take plants from areas with and without street lighting, place them in a controlled environment, and observe the insects’ behavior to see whether they prefer trees that grow in dark conditions.
Lewis also notes that measuring herbivores is complicated. Heavy damage can mean leaves are less nutritious, forcing insects to eat more of them. Holes caused by insect damage can also get bigger as leaves get bigger, he says.
“My intuition is that this may be a fairly subtle effect,” he says. “In central Beijing, the impact of light pollution on insect feeding will be more pronounced as urbanization progresses.” [the area is]”It’s probably trivial how much pollution there is, how much semi-natural habitat there is, etc. It’s important, but it’s probably not the main threat to insect diversity and ecosystem function.”
The pink lapacho tree is one of approximately 300,000 species of flowering plants
Roberto Okamura Tetsuo/Shutterstock
Botanists have used genome data from more than 9,500 species to map evolutionary relationships among flowering plants. The newly compiled Tree of Life will help scientists piece together the origins of flowering plants and inform future conservation efforts.
Approximately 90 percent of plants that live on land are flowering and fruiting plants called angiosperms. These flowering plants are essential to maintaining Earth's ecosystems, including storing carbon and producing oxygen, and they make up a large portion of our diet.
“Our very existence depends on them,” he says. william baker At the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England. “That's why we need to really understand them.”
For the past eight years, Baker and his colleagues have been working to complete the Tree of Life, which describes the evolutionary relationships between all genera of plants and fungi.
Starting with flowering plants, the researchers designed molecular probes to search for 353 specific genes found in the nucleus of all angiosperms. “The nuclear genome is huge,” Baker says. “So we needed to focus on a specific set of genes.”
Researchers have so far sequenced the genes of 9,506 species of flowering plants, primarily using specimens from collections and public databases around the world. This represents nearly all known angiosperm families and approximately 8,000 of the 13,400 recorded genera.Some of the specimens collected in the analysis are more than 200 years old; Arenaria globifloraand many Guadalupe Island olives (Espererea Palmeri).
By comparing the similarities in the gene sequences of different flowering plants, researchers were able to figure out where they fit on the tree of life.
Baker says this is the most comprehensive survey of angiosperms to date. “We often liken it to the periodic table of elements,” he says. “It's the basic framework for life.”
angiosperm tree of life
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Angiosperms emerged about 140 million years ago and have rapidly flourished, overtaking flowerless gymnosperms to become the world's dominant plant species. The sudden appearance of the diversity of flowering plants in the fossil record has baffled scientists for the past few centuries, and Charles Darwin called it “a hideous mystery.”
Now, the Tree of Life confirms that about 80 percent of the major flowering plant lineages that still exist today were part of this early boom in angiosperm diversity. “We can't say we've solved this 'damn mystery,' but at least we can say it really does exist,” Baker said.
The tree of life also highlights a further surge in diversity that occurred around 40 million years ago, possibly caused by a drop in global temperatures at the time.
In the future, he says, the Tree of Life could also help in the search for plants with pharmaceutical properties for new drugs. Ilia Leech, another member of Cue's team. It also helps scientists identify new species and assess which species are most vulnerable to climate change.
“This is the latest and greatest evolutionary framework for conducting new research that approaches the mechanisms that have allowed flowering plants to take over the world,” he says. ryan falk at Mississippi State University.
The latest genealogy is detailed in two supplementary papers published today. journal Nature And that Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers have uncovered patterns in the evolutionary history of birds after the massive mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. The authors observed rapid increases in effective population size, replacement rate, and relative brain size in early birds, and found that new adaptive mechanisms that drove bird diversification in the aftermath of this pivotal event. Shined a light. The researchers also took a closer look at one branch of the new family tree and found that flamingos and pigeons are more distantly related than previous genome-wide analyzes had shown.
The latest bird family tree outlining 93 million years of evolutionary relationships among 363 bird species. Image credit: Jon Fjeldså / Josefin Stiller.
“Our goal is to reconstruct the entire evolutionary history of all birds,” said Professor Siavash Milarab, a researcher at the University of California, San Diego.
This work is part of that Bird 10,000 Genomes (B10K) ProjectThis is a multi-institutional effort led by the University of Copenhagen, Zhejiang University, and the University of California, San Diego, with the aim of producing draft genome sequences for approximately 10,500 extant bird species.
At the heart of these studies is a suite of algorithms known as ASTRAL, developed by Professor Miralove and colleagues to infer evolutionary relationships with unprecedented scalability, accuracy, and speed.
By harnessing the power of these algorithms, we integrated genomic data from over 60,000 genomic regions and provided a robust statistical foundation for our analysis.
The researchers then examined the evolutionary history of individual segments across the genome.
From there, they pieced together a mosaic of gene trees and compiled them into a comprehensive species tree.
This meticulous approach has allowed researchers to construct new and improved bird genealogies that depict complex divergence events with remarkable accuracy and detail, even in the face of historical uncertainty. I did.
“We found that our method, which adds tens of thousands of genes to the analysis, is indeed necessary to unravel the evolutionary relationships between bird species,” Professor Miralove said.
“We really need all the genomic data to reconstruct with a high degree of confidence what happened during this period of time, 65 to 67 million years ago.”
The scientists also looked at the impact of different genome sampling methods on the accuracy of the tree.
They showed that to reconstruct this evolutionary history, it is important to combine two strategies: sequence many genes in each species and sequence many species. Ta.
“Because we used both strategies in combination, we were able to test which approach has a stronger impact on phylogenetic reconstructions,” said Professor Josephine Stiller from the University of Copenhagen.
We found that it is more important to sample many gene sequences from each organism than to sample from a wider range of species, but the latter method does not allow us to determine when different groups evolved. It was helpful to know. ”
mira love other. They took a closer look at one branch of the updated bird family tree and found that groups including flamingos and pigeons are more distantly related than previous genome-wide analyzes had shown. We attributed the results to an abnormal region on chromosome 4.Image credits: Ed Braun / Daniel J. Field / Siavash Miarab
With the help of advanced computational techniques, the researchers were also able to shed light on anomalies discovered in previous studies. The theory is that a particular part of a chromosome in the bird's genome remained unchanged and blank for millions of years. Description of expected genetic recombination patterns.
“Ten years ago, we put together a family tree. Neo Avesthe group that includes the vast majority of bird species,” said Professor Edward Brown of the University of Florida.
“Based on the genomes of 48 species, we divided neoabees into two broad categories: pigeons and flamingos in one group, and all the rest in the other.”
“This year, when we repeated the same analysis with 363 species, a different family tree emerged that divided pigeons and flamingos into two distinct groups.”
“Given two mutually exclusive family trees, I looked for an explanation that would allow me to determine which family tree was correct.”
“When we looked at individual genes and which trees they supported, it suddenly dawned on us that all the genes that support old trees were all in one place. That's how it all started. “It was,” he explained.
“When we investigated this site, we realized that it was a place where sexual reproduction had been occurring for millions of years, but it wasn't as mixed.”
“Just like humans, birds combine the genes of their father and mother to create the next generation.”
“But in birds and humans alike, when creating sperm and eggs, we first mix together genes inherited from both parents.”
“This process, called recombination, maximizes the genetic diversity of a species by ensuring that no two siblings are exactly alike.”
The authors found evidence that parts of bird chromosomes suppressed this recombination process for millions of years after the dinosaurs went extinct.
It is unclear whether extinction events and genomic abnormalities are related.
They found that flamingos and pigeons resemble each other in this frozen chunk of DNA.
However, when the complete genomes were considered, it became clear that the two groups were more distantly related.
“What is surprising is that this period of recombination suppression can mislead the analysis,” says Professor Brown.
“And because that can mislead the analysis, it was actually detectable more than 60 million years in the future. That's the cool thing about it.”
“Such mysteries may also be hidden in the genomes of other organisms.”
“We discovered this misleading region of birds because we put a lot of energy into deciphering their genomes.”
“I think there are similar cases in other species that are unknown at this time.”
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J. Stiller other. 2024. The complexity of bird evolution revealed by family-level genomes. Naturein press.
Refugio State Beach, Calif. — Severe storms that hit California have caused damage in some parts of the state. the most iconic tree.
A majestic palm tree that normally flanks Refugio State Beach just north of Santa Barbara has fallen over the past few days. Images show how a huge 100-year-old tree fell into the sea and was completely uprooted.
Local officials say multiple factors caused the trees to fall. Years of coastal erosion were combined with powerful storm surges and supersaturated soil from a series of atmospheric rivers that brought heavy rain and high winds across the state.
“When the ground becomes saturated, the trees begin to fall, and both eucalyptus and palm trees fall over because the ground becomes too wet for their roots to hold in the ground.” Santa Barbara Craig Vanderswag, chief of the County Fire Battalion, told NBC News.
California State Parks Channel Coast District Superintendent Dena Bellman said officials have tagged several more trees on the coast as at high risk of falling, especially with the new heavy rains hitting California. Ta.
Due to this threat, the park is currently temporarily closed to the public.
The dramatic footage is a symbol of the power of these atmospheric rivers, which climate experts say is growing stronger as the planet's temperature rises.
Los Angeles received 75% of its annual average precipitation in the first three weeks of February alone. The city has received more rainfall than Seattle, New Orleans and Miami, and is about 2 inches away from setting a record for the wettest February.
Sanphodiacaulis densifolia is an extinct tree species that existed in what is now New Brunswick, Canada, between 359 and 347 million years ago (Carboniferous period). The structure consisted of an unbranched 16 cm diameter trunk and compound leaves arranged in a 13 cm spiral and compressed to a vertical trunk length of 14 cm. The compound leaves in the upper 0.75 m of the trunk were over 1.75 m long, with preserved alternating secondary collaterals starting 0.5 m from the trunk. In the lower region of the trunk there were only persistent leaf bases. Sanphodiacaulis densifolia shows that the early Carboniferous vegetation was more complex than expected, indicating that this was an experimental, perhaps transitional, period of diverse growth structures.
Sanphodiacaulis densifolia. Image credit: Tim Stonecipher.
Trees first appeared during the Middle Devonian period (393 to 383 million years ago), but modern woody plants did not appear until about 10 million years later.
Evidence for dendritic structures (tree-like structures) is primarily based on mud moldings, sand moldings, or calcified stumps, or extensive root structures in fossilized soils.
Under unique preservation conditions, these early trees fossilized with roots and crown structures attached to their trunks.
“The method is Sanphodiacaulis densifolia “It has very long leaves around its slender trunk, and it's amazing how many leaves there are on such a short trunk,” said Dr. Robert Gastaldo, a paleontologist at Colby College. he said.
“The morphology of these 350-million-year-old trees looks like ferns or palms, even though palms arose 300 million years ago.”
“However, the functional leaves of ferns and palm trees are clustered at the top and are relatively few in number.”
“in contrast, Sanphodiacaulis densifolia More than 250 leaves have been preserved around the trunk, with each partially preserved leaf extending 1.75 meters from the trunk. ”
“We estimate that each leaf grew at least another meter before it finished.”
“This means that ‘bottlebrush’ had a dense canopy of leaves that were not woody and spread for at least 5.5 meters around a trunk that was only 16 cm in diameter. Amazing to say the least. .”
Sanphodiacaulis densifolia It has compound leaves arranged in a spiral.Image credit: Gastaldo other., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.011.
Dr. Gastaldo and his colleagues examined five fossil specimens. Sanphodiacaulis densifolia.
The fossil was excavated from the Sanford Quarry, part of the Albert Formation in New Brunswick, Canada.
“These fossils were preserved when an earthquake destroyed trees and other vegetation along the edge of a rift lake,” Gastaldo said.
“The first fossil wood was unearthed from a quarry about seven years ago, but it contained only one partial sample.”
“It took several years to find four other specimens of the same plant in close spatial proximity.”
“One of the specimens reveals how the leaves separate from the top of the tree, which makes this tree quite unique.”
“This is one of the few preserved trunks with crown leaves still attached in a fossil record spanning more than 400 million years.”
Actual and reconstructed heights and biostratigraphic ranges of Pennsylvanian trees from the Middle Devonian. Image credit: Gastaldo et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.011.
Sanphodiacaulis densifolia It probably relied on its unusual growth form to maximize the amount of light it could capture and reduce competition with other plants above ground.
This discovery provides important insights into the evolution of plants and arboreal growth, that is, plants that grow to the height of a tree, or at least 4.5 m, at maturity.
They also remind us that throughout the history of life on Earth, there have been trees that look like nothing we've ever seen before.
“We all have a mental concept of what a tree looks like, depending on where we live on the planet, and we all have a vision of something familiar,” Dr. Gastaldo said. Ta.
“The fossils we report are unique and represent some of the strangest growth forms in the history of life.”
“This is an evolutionary experiment during a period of forest plant biodiversity, and it appears to be a short-lived form.”
“The history of life on land consists of plants and animals that are different from those that live today,” he added.
“The evolutionary mechanisms that operated in the distant past allowed organisms to survive for long periods of time, but their shape, morphology, growth structure, and life history followed different trajectories and strategies.”
“Rare and unusual fossils like the New Brunswick tree are just a few examples of failed experiments that have colonized our planet.”
a paper The survey results were published in a magazine current biology.
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Robert A. Gastaldo other. A mysterious fossil plant with a three-dimensional tree-like growth structure from the earliest Carboniferous period in New Brunswick, Canada. current biology, published online on February 2, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.011
One of my favorite activities while scuba diving or snorkeling on a tropical reef is to gently approach a coral rock and observe the colorful Christmas tree worms without startling them.
These tiny creatures resemble miniature fir trees, resembling the man-made variety made of brightly colored plastic and tinsel. They come in a variety of colors such as red, yellow, orange, and blue, but they all belong to the same species, Spirobranchis giganteus.
If you get too close, these reclusive creatures quickly retreat into a tube in the coral, closing the small gill opercula behind them before eventually reemerging when it’s safe.
Christmas tree worms can grow up to 3.5 cm in length, with most of their bodies concealed within the tube. They have feather-like spiral tentacles known as radiozoa that are used for breathing and feeding.
These tentacles, which act as gills, absorb oxygen and filter out food particles and plankton, transporting them towards the worm’s mouth. Close relatives of Christmas tree worms, including feather dusters and peacock worms, are part of the same family, Sabellidae.
Both female and male Christmas tree worms release their eggs and sperm into the seawater, where they fuse to form larvae that drift for 9-12 days before settling on a suitable coral to begin their lives. These worms are known to be picky about their coral hosts and can live up to 30 years.
Christmas tree worms have hundreds of bright orange eye spots between their tentacles, which contain light-sensitive opsin pigments that send signals to the worm’s brain to alert them to potential predators overhead. Interestingly, worms in crowded colonies tend to hide in their nests for longer periods of time, possibly due to the safety of blending in with a larger group.
For more interesting information, check out our ultimate science pages.
The Christmas Tree Cluster, NGC 2264, is a young star cluster in the Milky Way galaxy, about 2,500 light-years from Earth. Enhanced by specific color selection and rotation, this composite image depicts these stars of varying sizes as part of a cosmic Christmas tree. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO. Optics: TA Rector (NRAO/AUI/NSF and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA) and BA Wolpa (NOIRLab/NSF/AURA). Infrared: NASA/NSF/IPAC/CalTech/University of Massachusetts. Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L.Frattare & J. Major
NGC 2264, also known as the “Christmas Tree Cluster,” milky way depicted with a new enhanced image to resemble a cosmic Christmas tree.
NGC 2264 is a cluster of young stars that has been colored and rotated to emphasize its nickname, the “Christmas Tree Cluster.”
This composite image includes X-rays from Chandra (blue and white), optical data from WIYN (green gas), and infrared data from 2MASS (white star).
The stars in this cluster are between 1 and 5 million years old, while the Sun is 5 billion years old.
Young stars are volatile and produce strong flares of X-rays and other types of light, but not in the coordinated way shown in the animation.
A cosmic Christmas tree: NGC 2264’s starscape
This new image of NGC 2264, also known as the “Christmas Tree Cluster,” shows the shape of a cosmic tree with a glow of starlight. In fact, NGC 2264 is a cluster of young stars, about 1 million to 5 million years old, located in the Milky Way about 2,500 light-years from Earth. The stars in NGC 2264 are smaller and larger than the Sun, ranging from those with masses less than a tenth of the Sun’s mass to those containing about 7 solar masses.
Festive composite image: color and rotation
This new composite image enhances the resemblance of a Christmas tree through color and rotation choices. The blue and white light (flashing in the animated version, see video below) is a young star that emits X-rays, and the X-rays are detected. NASAChandra X-ray Observatory. Optical data from his National Science Foundation-supported WIYN 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak shows gas nebulae in green star clusters that correspond to the “pine needles” of trees. Finally, the infrared data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey shows foreground and background stars as white. The image has been rotated 160 degrees clockwise from astronomers’ standard north-up orientation, so the tops of the trees appear to be toward the top of the image.
This composite image shows a Christmas tree cluster. The blue and white light (blinking in the animated version of this image) is her X-ray-emitting young star detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Optical data from the National Science Foundation’s WIYN 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak shows gas in the nebula in green, corresponding to the “pine needles” of trees, and infrared data from the 2-micron all-sky survey shows foreground and background shows the stars. White. The image has been rotated about 160 degrees clockwise with astronomers’ standard of north at the top, so the tops of the trees appear to be near the top of the image.
Star dynamics and observation techniques
Young stars like NGC 2264 are highly volatile, causing strong flares in X-rays and other types of fluctuations seen in different wavelengths of light. However, the coordinated blinking variation shown in this animation was done artificially to emphasize the position of the star seen in the X-rays and to emphasize the resemblance of this object to a Christmas tree. . In reality, the changes in the stars are not synchronized.
The fluctuations observed by Chandra and other telescopes are caused by several different processes. Some of these are associated with activity involving magnetic fields, such as flares like those experienced by the Sun (but much more powerful), and hot spots and spots on the star’s surface that move in and out of view as the star rotates. dark areas etc. Other possibilities include changes in the thickness of the gas obscuring the star, and changes in the amount of material falling onto the star from the surrounding gas disk.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center manages scientific operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
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