News
Global study shows how marine species respond as oceans warm
27 March 2020
A global analysis of over 300 marine species spanning more than 100 years, shows that mammals, plankton, fish, plants and seabirds have been changing in abundance as our climate warms.
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Global study shows how marine species respond as oceans warm
27 March 2020
A global analysis of over 300 marine species spanning more than 100 years, shows that mammals, plankton, fish, plants and seabirds have been changing in abundance as our climate warms.
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Emerald botanical jewels emerge in Bristol
11 March 2020
Turquoise jade vine flowers have appeared for the first time in the tropical glasshouse at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden.
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Tropical forests’ carbon sink is already rapidly weakening
5 March 2020
The ability of the world’s tropical forests to remove carbon from the atmosphere is decreasing, according to a study tracking 300,000 trees over 30 years, published today in Nature.
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Deaf moths evolved noise-cancelling scales to evade prey
26 February 2020
Some species of deaf moths can absorb as much as 85 per cent of the incoming sound energy from predatory bats — who use echolocation to detect them. The findings, published in Royal Society Interface today [26 February], reveal the moths, who are unable to hear the ultrasonic calls of bats, have evolved this clever defensive strategy to help it survive.
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Gene loss more important in animal kingdom evolution than previously thought
25 February 2020
Scientists have shown that some key points of animal evolution — like the ones leading to humans or insects — were associated with a large loss of genes in the genome. The study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution [today 24 February], compared over 100 genomes to investigate what happened at the gene level during the evolution of animals after their origin.
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Mya-Rose Craig becomes youngest Briton to be awarded honorary degree
20 February 2020
A 17-year-old birder, conservationist and environmental campaigner became the youngest British person to be awarded an honorary degree today [20 February].
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CT scanning an ancient armoured reptile
17 February 2020
The aetosaurs were heavily armoured reptiles that lived in many parts of the world in the Triassic period, some 225 million years ago. For the first time, a student at the University of Bristol has CT scanned a specimen to understand how the armour worked.
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Boom and bust for ancient sea dragons
13 February 2020
A new study by scientists from the University of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences, shows a well-known group of extinct marine reptiles had an early burst in their diversity and evolution - but that a failure to adapt in the long-run may have led to their extinction.
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Sheep know the grass isn’t always greener when it comes to their health
6 February 2020
Sheep appear to forage and avoid parasites differently depending on how healthy they are, according to new University of Bristol research published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The study, which used remote GPS sensing data to monitor the foraging patterns of sheep, revealed less healthy animals chose to avoid high-quality vegetation due to a higher prevalence of ticks.
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How the development of skulls and beaks made Darwin’s famous finches one of the most diverse species of birds
4 February 2020
Darwin’s finches are among the most celebrated examples of adaptive radiation in the evolution of modern vertebrates and now a new study, led by scientists from the University of Bristol, has provided fresh insights into their rapid development and evolutionary success.