Tag Archive | "biodiversity"

Earthworms to blame for decline of Ovenbirds in northern Midwest forests, study reveals

Earthworms to blame for decline of Ovenbirds in northern Midwest forests, study reveals

A recent decline in Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapilla), a ground-nesting migratory songbird, in forests in the northern Midwest United States is being linked by scientists to a seemingly unlikely culprit: earthworms. [...more]

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Boom and bust cycle of marine biodiversity every 60 million years linked to uplifting of continents

Boom and bust cycle of marine biodiversity every 60 million years linked to uplifting of continents

A mysterious cycle of booms and busts in marine biodiversity over the past 500 million years could be tied to a periodic uplifting of the world's continents, scientists report [...more]

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Video: Meet our Scientist–Mark Torchin tracks invasive marine species and their parasites in Panama

Video: Meet our Scientist–Mark Torchin tracks invasive marine species and their parasites in Panama

Mark Torchin, a marine ecologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, talks about how he studies the parasites of invasive marine animals such as snails. Much of his research focuses on biological invasions and the dynamics between the host, the parasites and the surrounding ecosystem. [...more]

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Fungi-filled forests are critical if endangered orchids are to thrive

Fungi-filled forests are critical if endangered orchids are to thrive

Older forests with just the right fungi may be secret to saving these vulnerable plants. [...more]

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New Book: “Fishes: The Animal Answer Guide”

New Book: “Fishes: The Animal Answer Guide”

In this fun, accessible and informative book, ichthyologists Gene Helfman, professor emeritus at the University of Georgia, and Bruce Collette, of the Division of Fishes at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, provide accurate, entertaining, and sometimes surprising answers to more than 100 common and not-so-common questions. [...more]

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Smithsonian scientists help build first frozen repository of Great Barrier Reef coral

Smithsonian scientists help build first frozen repository of Great Barrier Reef coral

Researchers from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and other partnering organizations spent two weeks at the end of November collecting sperm and embryonic cells during spawning from two species of coral and have built the first frozen repository for the Great Barrier Reef. [...more]

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North Atlantic deep sea acorn worm – Purple species

North Atlantic deep sea acorn worm – Purple species

This image shows one of three newly discovered North Atlantic deep sea acorn worms–Purple species–recently captured by scientists from deep in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. These worms are members of the family Torquaratoridae. DNA analysis conducted by Karen Osborn of the Department of Invertebrate Zoology of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History confirmed their identity. [...] [...more]

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Strange deep sea creatures confirmed as three new species

Strange deep sea creatures confirmed as three new species

DNA analysis has established that creatures captured during a voyage to the mid-Atlantic are members of the Torquaratoridae; a recently discovered family of acorn worms. [...more]

New Acquisitions, zoology Comments (1)

Meet our Scientists—Videos!

Science Spotlight

Scientists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center have found that fledgling catbirds living in the suburbs are extremely vulnerable. Almost 80 percent are killed by predators before they reach adulthood. Nearly half of the deaths are connected to domestic cats. The team studied catbird nests in 3 suburban neighborhoods in Maryland: Spring Park, Opal Daniels Park, and Bethesda. Learn more about this 2011 study by clicking here. (Catbird photo by Gerhard Hofmann)

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