ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

The most pristine parts of the Amazon rainforest devoid of direct human contact are being impacted by human-induced climate change, according to new research. New analyses of data collected over the past four decades show that not only has the number of sensitive resident birds throughout the Amazon rainforest declined, but the body size and wing length have changed for most studied species. These physical changes in the birds track increasingly hot and dry conditions in the dry season, from June to November.

A new study suggests that enlargement of stem cells contributes to age-related decline in function. The researchers found that blood stem cells, which are among the smallest cells in the body, lose their ability to perform their normal function -- replenishing the body's blood cells -- as they grow larger. When the cells were restored to their usual size, they behaved normally again.

Ancient Indigenous fishing practices can be used to inform sustainable management and conservation today, according to a new study. Working with the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and using new palaeogenetic analytical techniques, the results of a new study provides strong evidence that prior to European colonization, Coast Salish people were managing chum salmon by selectively harvesting males.

Previous studies evaluated aspen recovery in Yellowstone by measuring the five tallest young aspen within a stand, but sampling only the tallest young aspen estimated a rate of recovery that was significantly faster than was estimated by random sampling of all young aspen within the stand.

In a new study designed to better understand and combat these structures, scientists identified some of the key proteins in biofilms of the fungus Candida albicans that control both how they resist antifungal drugs and how they become dispersed throughout the body.