ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Research reveals bottom feeding techniques of tagged humpback whales in Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary
• Steroids may persist longer in the environment than expected
• Tick tock: Marine animals with at least two internal clocks
• Warm summers coincide with less frequent flooding
• Anthropologists confirm link between cranial anatomy and two-legged walking
• Do beetles have maternal instincts?
• Singing mice protect their turf with high-pitched tunes
• Analgesic molecule discovered in its natural state in Africa
• Can bacteria combat oil spill disasters?
• New mechanism for protein misfolding may link to ALS
• Hope for halting incurable citrus disease
• Torrent frogs use toes, belly, thighs to hold tight under waterfall-like conditions
• Missouri ponds provide clue to killer frog disease
• How the gut got its villi: Comparing species, researchers investigate a process they dub 'villification'

Research reveals bottom feeding techniques of tagged humpback whales in Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT New research on tagged humpback whales in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary reveals a variety of previously unknown feeding techniques along the seafloor. Rather than a single bottom feeding behavior, the whales show three distinct feeding approaches: Simple side-rolls, side-roll inversions, and repetitive scooping.

Steroids may persist longer in the environment than expected Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:28 AM PDT Certain anabolic steroids and pharmaceutical products last longer in the environment than previously known, according to a new study. The researchers found that the steroid trenbolone acetate, along with some other pharmaceutical products, never fully degrade in the environment, and in fact can partially regenerate themselves.

Tick tock: Marine animals with at least two internal clocks Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:33 AM PDT Animals living in marine environments keep to their schedules with the aid of multiple independent -- and, in at least some cases, interacting -- internal clocks. The findings, suggest that multiple clocks -- not just the familiar, 24-hour circadian clock -- might even be standard operating equipment in animals.

Warm summers coincide with less frequent flooding Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:32 AM PDT Over the past 2,500 years, flooding in the Alps has been less frequent during warm summers than during cool summers. This research suggests that the frequency of flooding can be expected to wane in the central Alps.

Anthropologists confirm link between cranial anatomy and two-legged walking Posted: 26 Sep 2013 08:19 AM PDT Anthropologists confirm a direct link between upright two-legged (bipedal) walking and the position of the foramen magnum, a hole in the base of the skull that transmits the spinal cord.

Do beetles have maternal instincts? Posted: 26 Sep 2013 07:30 AM PDT A new study of the natural history of Neotropical leaf beetles in the subfamily Chrysomelinae reveals that females in two genera and multiple species show indisputable signs of maternal instincts. Mothers were caught actively defending eggs and larvae, with tactics ranging from quite aggressive to more passive between the species.

Singing mice protect their turf with high-pitched tunes Posted: 26 Sep 2013 07:30 AM PDT Two species of tawny brown singing mice that live deep in the mountain cloud forests of Costa Rica and Panama set their boundaries by emitting high-pitched trills, researchers have discovered.

Analgesic molecule discovered in its natural state in Africa Posted: 26 Sep 2013 07:28 AM PDT A team of researchers has discovered that an African medicinal plant produces large quantities of molecules with analgesic properties.

Can bacteria combat oil spill disasters? Posted: 26 Sep 2013 07:24 AM PDT Scientists have decrypted the effectiveness of two types of bacteria, which could be used in the future to help combat oil spill disasters. Alcanivorax borkumensis converts hydrocarbons into fatty acids which then form along the cell membrane. New insights on the bacteria Oleispira antarctica are important to understand their adaptation to low temperatures and could help in mitigation strategies for oil spills in polar seas or the deep sea.

New mechanism for protein misfolding may link to ALS Posted: 25 Sep 2013 03:54 PM PDT A recently identified link between a toxic amino acid found in blue-green algae and several motor neuron diseases could help researchers devise a therapy for the fatal conditions.

Hope for halting incurable citrus disease Posted: 25 Sep 2013 03:54 PM PDT Using DNA sequencing technologies, a plant scientist has painted a broad picture of how the devastating disease Huonglongbing, or citrus greening, impacts citrus trees before they even show signs of infection.

Torrent frogs use toes, belly, thighs to hold tight under waterfall-like conditions Posted: 25 Sep 2013 03:54 PM PDT Torrent frogs use their toes, belly, and thighs to attach to rough, wet, and steep surfaces. In a multipart study, researchers compared the attachment abilities of two species: torrent frogs (Staurois guttatus) and tree frogs (Rhacophorus pardalis). They found that the torrent frog is better able to attach to extremely wet, steep, and rough surfaces due to its superior attachment abilities.

Missouri ponds provide clue to killer frog disease Posted: 25 Sep 2013 03:54 PM PDT In Missouri, about a third of the ponds are infected with chytrid, the notorious skin fungus that has sickened and killed amphibians in other parts of the world. Why only a third, scientists wondered? A comprehensive study of the ponds suggests there are hidden constraints on the survival of the fungus. One possibility is that invertebrates present in some ponds but not others allow the fungus to persist by acting as alternative hosts or reservoirs.

How the gut got its villi: Comparing species, researchers investigate a process they dub 'villification' Posted: 24 Sep 2013 02:44 PM PDT The principles guiding the growth of intestinal structures called villi are surprisingly similar across chickens, frogs, mice, and snakes. The wrinkling of the inner gut, the researchers found, is intimately linked to the stages of muscle layer differentiation, which produce a series of different physical stresses.

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