Tag Archive | "plants"

First ever record of insect pollination captured in 100 million-year-old amber

First ever record of insect pollination captured in 100 million-year-old amber

Scientists have discovered several specimens of tiny insects covered with pollen grains in two pieces of amber, revealing the first record of pollen transport and social behavior in this group of animals. [...more]

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New invasive species database allows public to ID marine invaders with a home computer

New invasive species database allows public to ID marine invaders with a home computer

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center has created NEMESIS--National Estuarine and Marine Exotic Species Information System--an online public database that provides key information about the non-native marine species throughout the United States. [...more]

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Cool science is being carried out on a Smithsonian island in the Panama Canal

Cool science is being carried out on a Smithsonian island in the Panama Canal

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Smithsonian scientists to help identify and eradicate invasive species in Alaskan waters

Smithsonian scientists to help identify and eradicate invasive species in Alaskan waters

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md., and the Alaska Sea Grant Program of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, were recently identified as the recipients of a $400,000 grant from NOAA’s National Sea Grant College. The money will be used by the two collaborating organizations to create an early detection and rapid response system [...] [...more]

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Potential biofuel pest, the switchgrass moth, under renewed scrutiny of entomologists

Potential biofuel pest, the switchgrass moth, under renewed scrutiny of entomologists

For the first time researchers from the Smithsonian, South Dakota State University and the University of Nebraska described the immature stages of the switchgrass moth, first collected in Denver in 1910. [...more]

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Fossil reveals 48-million year history of zombie ants

Fossil reveals 48-million year history of zombie ants

A 48 million-year-old fossilized leaf has revealed the oldest known evidence of a macabre part of nature – parasites taking control of their hosts to turn them into zombies. [...more]

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Smithsonian ecologist John Parker discusses his work with white-tailed deer and invasive plant species

Smithsonian ecologist John Parker discusses his work with white-tailed deer and invasive plant species

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Study reveals hazards of the high-wire life for bromeliads

Study reveals hazards of the high-wire life for bromeliads

Botanists Gerhard Zotz of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Stefan Wester of the University of Oldenburg in Germany decided to take a closer look at these high-wire bromeliads. They were interested to find out how the growth and survival rates of these plants on electrical cables compared to the growth and survival of plants of the same species growing in trees--their natural environment. [...more]

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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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