Deer hunters: Human role greater than that of predators in Europe's ecosystems
Scientists from Germany, Italy and the Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Białowieża checked whether large predators still mattered in ecosystems heavily dominated by humans. Human activity, such as hunting, may affect ungulate populations more than the presence of predators, they say.
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Study: Genetic diversity monitoring important as climate changes
For the protection of plants and animals, it becomes important to monitor changes that occur in the genomes of individual species with climate change, especially in the driest and warmest areas, believe researchers from an international team, including scientists from Poland.
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Shells attack! Amoebas' ‘hidden kiss of death’
Until recently, the consensus was that testate amoebae used their shells to defend themselves from enemies or from drying out. It now turns out that these shells are also useful as a weapon that makes it easier to get to the prey.
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Crabs and the Anthropocene: Bottle caps instead of shell houses
Many species of hermit crabs have started using plastic covers instead of 'traditional' shells of animal origin. Scientists from Poznań and Warsaw describe this phenomenon in Science of the Total Environment. They emphasise that this is one of the signs of the environmental changes of the Anthropocene: plastic pollution on a massive scale.
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Analyses of turtle bones help understand why the reptiles fled from land into water
The first species of turtles on Earth over time began to prefer the aquatic environment over the land one. Water helped them protect themselves from increasingly large, predatory dinosaurs. The analysis of the bones of these species, carried out by Polish scientists, helps understand the living environment of the oldest turtles.
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'Forgotten' marine reptile an important puzzle in plesiosaur evolution
The marine reptile Trematospondylus macrocephalus was described in 1858; it is one of the oldest plesiosaurs known to science. However, it was soon forgotten - until now. New research shows that it is an important piece in the evolutionary puzzle of this group.
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Biologists from Białystok to help reintroduce lynx in Poland
Polish scientists working on an international project will conduct genetic research on lynxes living in Poland. They will recommend animals for breeding at breeding farms and for release into the wild in a specific area. A database of lynx genotypes will also be created.
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Over 200,000 km of river fish habitats in Europe lost due to impoundments
Over 200,000 km of river fish habitats in European rivers have been altered due to man-made barriers and the creation of dam lakes. This fragmentation of a free-flowing rivers contributes to the loss of biodiversity in the aquatic environment.
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Remains of 240-million-year-old predators found in Miedary
Polish scientists have discovered the remains of over 1,000 specimens of extinct animals dating back approximately 240 million years. Among them are the bones of a reptile previously unknown to science.
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Teeth of Late Jurassic predatory fish under microscope
Scientists from the Jagiellonian University and the Polish Academy of Sciences examined the teeth of predatory fish from approximately 148 million years ago under the microscope. Based on their research, they have shown that differences in the structure of the teeth were one of the factors that enabled the coexistence of similar species in one area.
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Multifractal brain and early stages of multiple sclerosis
Electrical brain signals in patients with multiple sclerosis, a disease mainly associated with the slowing-down of information processing and a lack of motor coordination, show traces of multifractality, scientists from four Polish research institutions have found.
