A new database cataloging the maximum body size of marine animals looks set to be crucial in conservation efforts 

In a paper published in National Science Review, a Chinese team of scientists highlights the discovery of well-preserved blue-stain fungal hyphae within a Jurassic fossil wood from northeastern China, which pushes back the earliest known fossil record of this fungal group by approximately 80 million years. The new finding provides crucial fossil evidence for studying the origin and early evolution of blue-stain fungi and offers fresh insights into understanding the ecological relationships between the blue-stain fungi, plants, and insects during the Jurassic period.

Two major environmental shifts have triggered global transformations in large herbivore communities. A new study with researchers from the University of Gothenburg show how these ecosystems remained remarkably resilient despite extinction and upheaval.

Scientists with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History have discovered that a bacterial probiotic helps slow the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) in already infected wild corals in Florida. The findings, published today in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, reveal that applying the probiotic treatment across entire coral colonies helped prevent tissue loss. The new treatment provides a viable alternative to antibiotics, which only offer temporary protection and also run the risk of creating resistant strains of SCTLD.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers observed medaka raised in a close-to-natural environment for 24 hours straight and found out when the fish’s spawning and courtship behavior peaked.

University of Auckland evolutionary biologist and his colleagues applied a probabilistic model to three cases of evolution: cephalopods (including octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, and vampire squids), the Indo-European languages, and enzymes from billions of years ago. They say the results support the theory that evolution predominantly involves long periods of stasis punctuated by bursts of rapid activity.