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Tracing the Venom: Genetic Material of a Living Fossil Decoded
With the almost complete decoding of the genome of the rare earless monitor lizard, a Senckenberg team of taxonomists and genomicists is providing new, fundamental insights into the early evolutionary history of the scaled reptiles. The lizard, which is regarded as a “living fossil” and is found exclusively on Borneo, is considered a key genetic organism for understanding reptile evolution, and 93 percent of its genome of around 1.5 billion base pairs was reconstructed. In their study, published today in the journal “BMC Biology,” the researchers assign the earless monitor lizard to the Toxicofera family group, thus providing important milepost for understanding the early origins of venom systems in reptiles.…
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Tiny, Blind, and no Skull Roof: New Fish Species Discovered from a Well
An international team led by Senckenberg researcher Dr. Ralf Britz has made an extraordinary discovery in Northeast India when they found an as yet undescribed species of fish in a well. The blind loach with a length of just 20 millimeters, now described as Gitchak nakana in the journal “Scientific Reports,” is characterized by almost non-existent eyes, a transparent body, and a missing skull roof. Gitchak nakana is the first aquifer-dwelling fish species described from Northeast India and provides the first evidence of a previously unknown subterranean fauna in the region. Ever since the scientific description of the olm (Proteus anguinus) in the 18th century, subterranean animals have been a source of…
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Nature Conservation Must Not Stop at the Forest Edge: Grasslands are Vanishing Around the World
Along with forests, grasslands and wetlands are also being converted to cropland and pasture at an increasing rate around the world – often for livestock farming and the export of agricultural products. An international team led by Senckenberg researchers has now analyzed for the first time where, for what purpose, and how quickly natural non-forest ecosystems are being converted into agricultural land on a global scale. The results show that these ecologically highly valuable areas are converted at a rate almost four times faster than forests. In a study published today in the scientific journal “PNAS,” the scientists emphasize the need for more comprehensive conservation strategies that extend beyond forests…
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From Brown to Green: Ground Personnel on Permanent Duty
Soil food webs conduct most of the energy in terrestrial ecosystems. Temperate and tropical forests are home to different communities of soil animals, but to date it was not clear how these differences specifically affect the structure and functioning of soil food webs in these large climate zones. In a new study, published in the journal “Nature Communications,” an international research team led by Senckenberg scientist Prof. Dr. Anton Potapov has investigated the energy flows in forest soils. The scientists identified characteristic patterns of biomass and energy distribution in small, medium, and large soil animals – from Germany to Indonesia. The results show fundamental differences in soil food webs, from…
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More Species across Thousands of Kilometers: The Secret Life on the Deep-Sea Floor
Although the deep-sea floor represents around 70 percent of the Earth’s habitats, it is still poorly explored. Therefore, it is also unclear how animal species live in the deep sea, where they occur, and how far they spread. To find answers to these questions, Senckenberg researchers have studied tiny isopods measuring only a few millimeters in the North Pacific that were thought to have very limited mobility. In a study now published in the journal “Progress in Oceanography,” the research team concludes on the basis of morphological and genetic analyses that there is a significantly higher number of these isopod species than previously assumed, and that the range of some…
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Type Genomics: DNA Treasure in the Collections
In a joint appeal, an international research team, including Senckenberg scientist Prof. Dr. Steffen Pauls, advocates the targeted and comprehensive genome sequencing of type specimens – the reference specimens of individual species that are kept in natural history collections. In their article, published in the scientific journal “Systematic Biology,” the researchers, led by first author Dr. Harald Letsch (University of Vienna and State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe), emphasize the great importance of deciphering these genetic codes for biodiversity research and show how state-of-the-art technologies can be used to create “digital twins” of the often historical museum specimens. The joint initiative – supported by the three largest natural history museums…
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Tropical Time Machine: With a Teaspoon of Mud Back into the Past
For a long time, researchers believed that the warm and humid climate of the tropics and subtropics destroyed all traces of old genetic material. A new review, led by Senckenberg scientists, now disproves this dogma. Published in the journal “Trends in Ecology & Evolution,” the study shows how ancient environmental DNA can be preserved in tropical sediments for thousands – and in some cases even up to a million – years. The authors emphasize that this method provides a revolutionary tool to better understand biodiversity loss and climate resilience as well as human history. At the same time, they issue an urgent call for close cooperation and the development of…
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Tiny Archives: Metabolic Molecules Store the Prehistoric World
An international research team, including Senckenberg scientists, has developed a new method to investigate what the habitats of prehistoric animals and humans looked like. Their study, led by Prof. Timothy Bromage (New York University) and now published in the renowned scientific journal “Nature,” shows that fossil bones and teeth of animals preserve far more information than previously thought. The smallest traces of metabolic products are preserved in the hard tissues over millions of years. The analysis of these molecules – so-called metabolites – allows conclusions to be drawn about diet, climate, and landscapes at important sites of early human history in Africa. What did the environment of early humans look…
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Rivers: too little protection in the protected area
Protected areas are meant to preserve endangered species and stabilize ecosystems. But for many European rivers, this protection apparently falls short. This is the finding of a new study led by Senckenberg researchers Dr. James S. Sinclair and Prof. Dr. Peter Haase, which has now been published in the scientific journal "Nature Communications." The international research team examined the condition of rivers at over 1,700 locations in ten European countries across a period of almost four decades. The result: Existing protected areas have only brought about measurable improvements in a limited subset of rivers, even over decades. To protect rivers sustainably, conservation should be performed more holistically by considering the…
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Bears: Changing the Menu in a Warming Climate
Bears are true omnivores. This flexibility has enabled them to successfully survive in a wide variety of habitats. An international research team led by Senckenberg scientist Dr. Jörg Albrecht has now analyzed ecological and paleoecological data on seven bear species on a large scale for the first time. The results show that most bears can flexibly adapt their diet to climate and food availability, thereby shifting their ecological role. In the new study, published in the journal “Nature Communications,” the researchers propose that the changing role large omnivores play can strengthen the resilience of ecosystems to global environmental changes. Berries, roots, nuts, and grasses, but also insects, fish, and mammals…
