How brain and body size evolved in mammals over the last 150 million years
Brain size in mammals shows variation and similarities despite intelligence levels.
Scientists at Stony Brook University and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior have pieced together a timeline of how brain and body size evolved in mammals over the last 150 million years. The findings, published in Science Advances, show that brain size relative to body size long considered an indicator of animal intelligence –has not followed a stable scale over evolutionary time.
The team of scientists, including biologists, evolutionary statisticians and anthropologists, compared the brain mass of 1,400 living and extinct mammals. For the 107 fossils examined among them ancient whales and the most ancient Old World monkey skull ever found they used endocranial volume data from skulls instead of brain mass data. The brain measurements were then analyzed along with body size to compare
Next-generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized genetic data
A new, automated process will revolutionize the way biologists acquire data from museum specimens.
May 10, 2021
In the past decade, next-generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized the way in which genetic data are generated and analyzed. In the field of phylogenetics, this has meant that researchers are rapidly reconstructing the genealogical tree of life, a goal biologists have been working toward since Darwin sketched the first phylogeny in 1837.
Despite the relative ease with which DNA can now be sequenced in large quantities, scientists must first extract that DNA from an organism, often relying on vast numbers of specimens in museums and herbaria, or collections of plant specimens. With more than 250,000 species in the plant kingdom alone, the acquisition and documentation of specimen material is the most time-consuming and error-prone process in large studies.
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Biodiversity loss increases exposure to new and established pathogens
Wildlife biodiversity is good for human health, NSF-funded scientists have found.
A growing body of evidence suggests that biodiversity loss increases exposure to both new and established zoonotic pathogens. Restoring and protecting nature is essential to preventing future pandemics.
So reports a new Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper that synthesizes current understanding about how biodiversity affects human health and provides recommendations for future research to guide management. The research is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Lead author Felicia Keesing of Bard College and the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies says, “There’s a persistent myth that wild areas with high levels of biodiversity are hotspots for disease. More animal diversity must equal more dangerous pathogens. But that turns out to be wrong. Biodiversity isn’t a threat to us; i
Analyzing weather surveillance radar data in June and July 2019, Tielens and colleagues found that some 45 million grasshoppers a biblical plague took flight during the peak time, concentrating over city lighting such as the Las Vegas strip. The researchers also found daily movement cycles of ascent at dusk toward lit urban areas.
This study is novel, Tielens said, because the effects of artificial lights at night on insects at large scales have not been documented in a quantitative way. It shows how insects are interacting with the landscape, including with human-made environments. Since people continue to influence the environment, it s important to understand the effects of artificial light on insect populations, the researchers said. The knowledge can help scientists conserve the diverse world of insects, as well as manage important pest species.