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Dr Daniel Montesinos is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Tropical Herbarium, at James Cook University in Cairns. He is studying weeds to better understand (among other things) how they might respond to climate change.
He said most invasive plants are characterised by their rapid pace when it comes to taking up nutrients, growing, and reproducing - and they re even faster in the regions they invade. New experiments comparing populations from distant regions show a clear trend for already-fast invasive plants to rapidly adapt even faster traits in their non-native regions, Dr Montesinos said.
This is further pronounced in the tropics and sub-tropics.
Sun-grown coffee is no Eden for birds zmescience.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from zmescience.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Doñana Biological Station press release.
A new model published in
Journal of Ecology shows that gulls can disperse weeds over large distances and between different habitats, causing the exchange of weed and alien plant species between agricultural crops and natural areas.
Weed seeds are moved on machinery, but Martin-Velez et al. show these weeds in ricefields are also dispersed by gulls into other fields and other suitable habitats. Credit: Andy J. Green.
A study from the Doñana Biological Station has developed a seed dispersal model based on the movement of gulls monitored by GPS telemetry, while feeding in rice fields in Andalusia, South-West Spain.
The projects must be achievable, and meet one or more of the Aspire values:
Positively impact society especially within the local community.
Promote equality and inclusion for people from underrepresented groups.
Broaden your opportunities for education.
Enhance cultural development.
Enhances the lives of those involved.
£1000 will be given to the winners to make their goals a reality. There are thirty awards available thanks to a partnership between the University of Southampton and Santander.
On 22nd February, applications for the awards opened. The deadline for applications is 19th March.
Winners will be decided by a panel of judges who will consider whether the proposed project is realistic and corresponds to one or more of the Aspire values. The judges will also consider the impact it could have on the community. Successful applicants will be asked to write a short impact report with photos explaining how the money helped them achieve their aspirations.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and the University of San Diego press release. Study tracking the U.S. population of soupfin sharks.