An international research team led by Senckenberg scientist Dr. Nadia Santodomingo and Dr. Guadalupe Bribiesca-Contreras from the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) have discovered a new species of deep-sea coral that lives attached to polymetallic nodules – the same mineral-rich rocks that are the focus of growing international interest for deep-seabed mining. The coral, Deltocyathus zoemetallicus – now […]
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Around 14,260 living and 810 fossil ant species are currently known – but this probably constitutes only a fraction of the actual number. A new study, published in the journal “Insect Systematics and Diversity,” shows how modern methods such as DNA sequencing have changed the systematics of ants. Ants colonize almost all habitats and play […]
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Move BON, a new international research network for studying animal movement, has now been officially endorsed by the overarching GEO BON network, which brings together global observations on biodiversity and makes them accessible for research and nature conservation. The new initiative, whose leadership includes researchers from the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center Frankfurt (SBiK-F) […]
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The IUCN Red List has officially declared Conus lugubris—a marine snail once found only on the north shore of São Vicente, Cape Verde—Extinct. The species, last seen alive in 1987, was driven to extinction by coastal development that destroyed its fragile habitat. While its loss is a sobering reminder of biodiversity’s vulnerability, the story of […]
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An international research team from the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center Frankfurt (SBiK-F) has investigated how quickly seed dispersal by animals in tropical forests recovers after deforestation. Their study, now published in the scientific journal “Current Biology,” shows that it takes decades for seed-dispersing animals to come back and interact with plants. A crucial […]
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For the first time, a research team from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen and the Schöningen Research Centre have reconstructed the genomes of an extinct horse species Equus mosbachensis from the archaeological site of Schöningen in Lower Saxony, approximately 300,000 years old. Thanks to exceptionally favorable preservation […]
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Genetic diversity – the diversity within species – is a crucial yet often underestimated basis for the protection of biodiversity. A recent publication in the journal “People and Nature,” co-led by Senckenberg researcher Deborah M. Leigh, emphasizes the central role of genetic diversity for a “nature-positive” future. This refers to a state in which the […]
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An international team led by Senckenberg researcher Prof. Dr. Simon Darroch has presented a new approach to understanding how living organisms fundamentally change their environment – and what this means in terms of the role of modern humans. In their study, now published in the scientific journal “Trends in Ecology & Evolution,” the researchers propose […]
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For the first time, researchers in Ecuador have discovered amber fossils from the Cretaceous period on the South American continent. The approximately 112-million-year-old find from the Hollín Formation in the Oriente Basin is one of the oldest known amber deposits in South America. Of particular note are the numerous insect species trapped in the amber, […]
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In the face of climate change and increasing droughts, the Amazon rainforest – one of the largest and most important ecosystems on Earth – is under ever-increasing pressure. A new study by Senckenberg researchers in the journal “Nature Communications” shows that it is not only the size or species diversity of the forest that is […]
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