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 […]
continue reading
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 […]
continue reading
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 […]
continue reading
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 […]
continue reading
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 […]
continue reading
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) […]
continue reading
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 […]
continue reading
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 […]
continue reading
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 […]
continue reading
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 […]
continue reading