Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have shown that the environment-driven evolution of a unique ovipositor in the female fruit fly Drosophila suzukii may have caused coevolution of the male genitalia; new features were found to cause mechanical incompatibility during reproduction with similar species, impeding crossbreeding and isolating the species. The dual role of the female...
Plastic microfibers found for first time in wild animals' stool, from S. A. fur seals
For the first time, plastic microfibers have been discovered in wild animals' stool, from South American fur seals. The findings were made by a team of Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers at the University of Georgia, who suggest examining scat from pinnipeds can be an efficient way to monitor environmental levels of microfibers and microplastics in...
Transmission of antibiotic resistant E. coli mapped in wild giraffe social networks
A team from the University of Minnesota has shown that antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli bacteria in wild giraffes most likely come from anthropogenic sources, such as local cattle herds and humans. The research is published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
"We found that the majority of antibiotic resistance genes identified in giraffe E. coli had been previously...
Pollution in cities damaging insects and ecosystems
High levels of pollution found in many of the world's major cities are having negative effects on plants and insects, according to new research from the University of Sheffield.
The study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that plants exposed to high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) -- similar to levels recorded in major urban centres --...
