ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Parrots imitate individuals when addressing them
• Emperor penguins budget time for short rests on ice during chick-rearing season
• Call that a ball? Dogs learn to associate words with objects differently than humans do
• 9.2-million-year-old rhino skull preserved by instant 'cooking to death' in volcanic ash
• Eating right key to survival of whales and dolphins
• New strain of bird virus sweeps across Britain
• Bornean Elephant: Genomics helps with conservation
• Neural interaction in silence: Neurophysiologists study widespread networks of neurons responsible for memory
• Unexpected microbes fighting harmful greenhouse gas
• Ocean currents play a role in predicting extent of Arctic sea ice
• New evidence on dinosaurs' role in evolution of bird flight
• Handaxes of 1.7 million years ago: 'Trust rather than lust' behind fine details
• Darkened fjord waters mean fewer fish, more jellyfish

Parrots imitate individuals when addressing them Posted: 21 Nov 2012 06:02 PM PST Whether living with pirates or in the wild, parrots have exceptional abilities to mimic the sounds they hear. One species, the orange-fronted conure, may have evolved this ability in order to communicate with specific individuals in other flocks, according to new research.

Emperor penguins budget time for short rests on ice during chick-rearing season Posted: 21 Nov 2012 06:02 PM PST For the first time, researchers tracking the behavior of emperor penguins near the sea have identified the importance of sea ice for the penguins' feeding habits. The research describes emperor penguin foraging behavior through the birds' chick-rearing season.

Call that a ball? Dogs learn to associate words with objects differently than humans do Posted: 21 Nov 2012 06:02 PM PST Dogs learning to associate words with objects form these associations in different ways than humans do, according to new research.

9.2-million-year-old rhino skull preserved by instant 'cooking to death' in volcanic ash Posted: 21 Nov 2012 06:02 PM PST Less than two percent of the earth's fossils are preserved in volcanic rock, but researchers have identified a new one: the skull of a rhino that perished in a volcanic eruption 9.2 million years ago.

Eating right key to survival of whales and dolphins Posted: 21 Nov 2012 06:02 PM PST In the marine world, high-energy prey make for high-energy predators. And to survive, such marine predators need to sustain the right kind of high-energy diet. Not just any prey will do, suggests a new study.

New strain of bird virus sweeps across Britain Posted: 21 Nov 2012 06:02 PM PST Scientists report on the impact avian pox is having on great tit populations.

Bornean Elephant: Genomics helps with conservation Posted: 21 Nov 2012 06:01 PM PST Studying the genetic variability of endangered species is becoming increasingly necessary for species conservation and monitoring. But, endangered species are difficult to observe and sample, and typically harbour very limited genetic diversity. Until now, the process of finding genetic markers was time consuming and quite expensive. Scientists have now contributed to change the odds when looking for diversity. Taking advantage of cutting edge DNA sequencing methodology they were able to identify the genetic markers for the Bornean elephant, an endangered species, using blood from very few animals.

Neural interaction in silence: Neurophysiologists study widespread networks of neurons responsible for memory Posted: 21 Nov 2012 11:55 AM PST While in deep dreamless sleep, our hippocampus sends messages to our cortex and changes its plasticity, possibly transferring recently acquired knowledge to long-term memory. But how exactly is this done? Scientists have now developed a novel multimodal methodology called "neural event-triggered functional magnetic resonance imaging" and presented the very first results obtained using it in experiments with both anesthetized and awake, behaving monkeys.

Unexpected microbes fighting harmful greenhouse gas Posted: 21 Nov 2012 10:09 AM PST The environment has a more formidable opponent than carbon dioxide. Another greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide, is 300 times more potent and also destroys the ozone layer each time it is released into the atmosphere through agricultural practices, sewage treatment and fossil fuel combustion.

Ocean currents play a role in predicting extent of Arctic sea ice Posted: 21 Nov 2012 10:08 AM PST Researchers have developed a new method to accurately simulate the seasonal extent of Arctic sea ice and the ocean circulation beneath.

New evidence on dinosaurs' role in evolution of bird flight Posted: 21 Nov 2012 10:08 AM PST A new study looking at the structure of feathers in bird-like dinosaurs has shed light on one of nature's most remarkable inventions -- how flight might have evolved.

Handaxes of 1.7 million years ago: 'Trust rather than lust' behind fine details Posted: 21 Nov 2012 04:57 AM PST Trust rather than lust is at the heart of the attention to detail and finely made form of handaxes from around 1.7 million years ago, according to a researcher.

Darkened fjord waters mean fewer fish, more jellyfish Posted: 19 Nov 2012 06:38 AM PST The seawater in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and Norway's coastal waters and fjords is gradually getting darker. Researchers are observing signs similar to those from overproduction of organic compounds. The result may be fewer marine areas with fish, and more jellyfish.

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