Large shifts in UV radiation at Lake Tahoe are associated with wet and dry climate extremes, finds a UC Davis study.

How do organisms adapt to climate change? A new study reveals the complex interplay between genetic diversity and temperature tolerance evolution.

Most plants form symbioses with mycorrhizal fungi since their emergence on land hundreds of millions of years ago. Depending on the availability of carbon (C), these symbioses employ two nutrient acquisition strategies: (i) via mycorrhizal fungi and (ii) via roots. While nutrient acquisition through symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi is C costly, it is fundamental for plant growth, community and ecosystem functioning.

A new study by University of Utah biologists taps data from 22,000 birds captured at Bonderman Field Station near Moab to reveal changes in how they replace their feathers. Climate change is not just disrupting songbirds’ breeding and migration schedules. The timing of their fall molt is occurring earlier every year.

As global warming alters ecosystems, the need to predict the reorganization of Earth’s biodiversity has become urgent. New research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America May 20, suggests that neglecting the ecological differences between male and female plants can lead to inaccurate biodiversity forecasts. The study led by Jacob Moutouama, a postdoctoral research associate at Rice University and lead author, highlights the need to refine biodiversity forecasts to account for the sex-specific responses to Earth’s rapidly changing climate.

New research could improve the efficiency of electrochemical carbon-dioxide capture and release by six times and cut costs by at least 20 percent. MIT researchers added nanoscale filtering membranes to a carbon-capture system, separating the ions that carry out the capture and release steps, and enabling both steps to proceed more efficiently.