Got Science Animals, Wildlife Photography and News

Fire Management in California's Chaparal: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District conducted a controlled burn of central marine chaparral at Fort Ord, Calif., Oct. 15, to expose unexploded ordnance at the formerly utilized defense site. The burn, carefully coordinated with local agencies, lasted less than two hours and was timed so that prevailing winds would help blow the smoke away from population centers. The controlled burns are part of a comprehensive ordnance removal program at Fort Ord, which closed in 1994 under recommendation from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. (U.S. Army photo/Released)

Fire Management in California’s Chaparral Harms Birds

April 2, 2018April 5, 2018 Science Connectedbiodiversity, biology, birds, california, chaparral, ecology, fire, plant sciences

By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore California suffered its largest and most destructive wildfires in 2017. Victims included hundreds of wild animals. When the blazing fires were finally extinguished, the surviving animals—including birds—were forced to find new homes. Now, for the first time, researchers investigating the effect of fire management practices on birds in California’s chaparral have found that one practice known as mastication, which consists of mechanically crushing vegetation to remove fuel, threatens bird communities. “The best available science tells us that managing chaparral imperils wildlife and increases fire risk,” says…

Animals Environment

Honeybees Are Attracted to Fungicides and Herbicides

February 8, 2018February 9, 2018 Science Connectedagriculture, environment, food, glyphosate, honeybees, pesticides

By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore Whenever you eat fruits, vegetables, and nuts, take a moment to thank honeybees for their pollination services that contribute $17 billion to the US economy each year. In fact, almonds are almost solely dependent on honeybees for pollination. Populations of these much-needed pollinators have mysteriously plunged over the past decade, and many studies suggest a link to the use of neonicotinoid insecticides among other factors such as climate change and disease. Recently, scientists found that honeybees prefer sugar water laced with the fungicide chlorothalonil and the…

Do Humans Influence Jellyfish Populations along Coasts?

Animals Environment Oceanography

Do Humans Influence Jellyfish Coastal Populations?

January 11, 2018 Science Connectedacidification, climate change, coasts, human impacts, jellyfish

By Laura Treible @aqua_belle Jellyfish are a common nuisance to beachgoers in the summertime, but why certain years have massive jellyfish blooms while others do not is often a mystery. In recent years, some areas appear to have larger and more frequent blooms, so it is important to determine the causes of blooms in general, as well as whether jellyfish blooms are increasing. How humans impact jellyfish Human activities such as changing our global climate, fishing, and increasing pollution or nutrients entering waterways influence the oceans in many ways. Some…

Animals Environment

Sumatran Tigers Clinging to Survival

January 2, 2018January 2, 2018 Science Connectedendangered tigers, Sumatran tigers, tigers

By Kate Stone @GotScienceOrg For the past year, a research expedition has tracked endangered tigers through the Sumatran jungles and found the animals barely clinging to survival in low-density populations. The expedition findings have reawakened fears about the possible extinction of these elusive apex predators. What is the key to saving the Sumatran tigers? Protecting their habitat, researchers say. Tigers on the neighboring islands of Java, Bali, and Singapore went extinct in the twentieth century. Their extinction led to new antipoaching efforts by people hoping to help Sumatran tigers avoid…

Animals Paleontology

Vadasaurus Fossil Shows a Reptile in Transition

December 12, 2017December 11, 2017 Science Connectedaquatic reptile, archaeology, evolution, fossil

By Kate Stone @GotScienceOrg A small fossil—just a foot long—is revealing secrets of how some land-dwelling reptiles moved back into the water. After studying the 155-million-year-old reptile fossil, scientists at Johns Hopkins University and the American Museum of Natural History report they have filled in some important clues to the evolution of animals that once roamed land and transitioned to life in the water. Vadasaurus, the Latin term for “wading lizard,” was discovered in limestone quarries near Solnhofen, Germany. The area was once part of a shallow sea that has…

Animals Environment Oceanography

How Can Caribbean Corals Cope with Climate Change?

November 9, 2017November 9, 2017 Science ConnectedCaribbean corals, climate change, coral, coral reefs

By Justin Baumann @jbaumann3 The planet is warming. This is a fact we should all be comfortable with by now. As a result of this warming (and other human-caused stressors such as overfishing and nutrient pollution coupled with disease), coral reefs are in decline globally. Corals are animals that live in a symbiotic relationship with algae from the genus Symbiodinium. These symbionts are photosynthetic and transfer sugars to the coral host. While corals can also capture prey using their stinging cells and tentacles, most reef-building corals rely heavily on the…

Animals Biology Health

New Ways to Reduce Antibiotics in Food Animals by 2030

October 31, 2017October 31, 2017 Science Connectedanimals, antibiotic resistance, antibiotics, antimicrobial, food, meat

By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore In a new study, researchers in the United States and Europe propose three measures—capping antibiotic use in farm animals, imposing a fee for veterinary use of antibiotics, and limiting meat intake—that, together, can reduce the use of antibiotics in food animals by up to 80 percent by 2030. Antibiotic resistance results from antibiotics overuse Overuse of antibiotics, particularly in animals for food, is the main cause of the spread of resistance whereby antibiotics lose their effectiveness, and infections become untreatable, leading to what many scientists call…

Animals Biology Videos

Shelf Life Video: The Salamander-Algae Symbiotic Relationship

September 14, 2017September 14, 2017 Science Connectedalgae, spotted salamander, symbiosis

What happens inside a Salamander egg? How does the embryo interact with its environment? Find out in this video, which is another in the Shelf Life series from the American Museum of Natural History. Scientists collect Salamander egg masses to investigate the symbiotic relationship between embryos and algae. The two organisms exchange substances that help each other to thrive in their environment. Researchers are increasingly interested in how the microorganisms that are inside and on our bodies interact with us throughout the course of our lives and affect our physiology. GotScience…

Animals Paleontology Videos

Shelf Life Video: The Dinosaurs of Ghost Ranch

September 5, 2017September 5, 2017 Science ConnectedCoelophysis, dinosaurs, paleontology

Dinosaurs’ fossils have attracted paleontologists to the Badlands of Ghost Ranch, NM, since 1881. Here, they have found the best place to find early carnivorous dinosaurs in the world. This video is another in the Shelf Life series from the American Museum of Natural History. After being unearthed, dinosaurs’ bones are very delicate, and paleontologists need to take really good care of them. Once they are safely brought to the Museum of Natural History, they are ready to be analyzed. By looking at dinosaurs’ fossils, researchers can figure out…

Animals Citizen Science Environment Oceanography

Underwater Gardening: Coral Reefs and Aquaculture

August 31, 2017August 31, 2017 Science Connectedaquaculture, coral, coral farming, coral reefs, restoration

By Shayna Keyles Twitter @shaynakeyles Instagram @shaynakeyles Our oceans are home to most of the world’s biodiversity, and 25 percent of its diversity thrives in coral reefs—that’s about two million species that call the reefs their home. But as reefs suffer the effects of climate change and globalization (several Caribbean reef-building species are now considered endangered), their ecosystems suffer, too. Fish colonies that provide food for coastal communities dry up, and the natural barriers that the reefs create become less effective, leading to more destruction in the wake of tropical…