News by Subject Biology

Despite being a protected high conservation value habitat, the Atlantic coastal dunes are severely impacted by invasive species. In the Belgian coastal dunes, Oregon grape is one of the worst invaders, so Belgian scientists conducted an experiment to provide recommendations for all affected countries. By publishing their discovery in the open-access journal NeoBiota, the research team aims to boost international collaboration on the development of methods for invasive species control in conservation habitats.

Researchers evaluated the performance of a Hyb-Seq (hybrid capture with high-throughput sequencing) probe set designed for the large and diverse sunflower family (Asteraceae) and found it effective in reconstructing relationships at multiple taxonomic levels. As part of the study, an optimized pipeline is presented for the preparation and analysis of Hyb-Seq data. These findings are important both for evolutionary studies in Asteraceae and to demonstrate the broad use of phylogenetic studies using Hyb-Seq.

Sergey Ermilov, a researcher from Tyumen State University, discovered and described a new species of oribatid mites that lives on the forest floors in Malaysia. The species was named Trachyoribates viktortsoii after Viktor Tsoi, a Soviet rock musician, songwriter, and artist who had a great influence both on the Russian culture in general and the discoverer of the new species in particular.

A study in Pacific Panama identifies 11 potential nursery areas of locally common and migratory sharks, which could support shark conservation efforts in the region.

The UK's first citizen science project focusing on solitary, ground-nesting bees has revealed that they nest in a far broader range of habitats than previously thought.

Researchers of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology have investigated how the illumination of bat caves affects the animals' behaviour and whether the colour of light makes a difference on their flight. Although red light irritates the small mammals somewhat less than white light, from the researchers' point of view neither the entrance nor the interior of bat caves should be illuminated if bats are present.

QUT researchers have used a combination of virtual reality (VR), aerial thermal-imaging and ground surveys to build a better statistical model for predicting the location of koalas and, ultimately, protecting their habitat.

A new study in the journal PLOS ONE says Glacier National Park's iconic mountain goats are in dire need of air conditioning.