Nitrogen, an essential plant nutrient, is most readily absorbed by plants in its ammonium and nitrate forms. Because of the very low nitrate levels found in arctic tundra soil, scientists had assumed that plants in this biome do not use nitrate. But a new study co-authored by four Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) Ecosystems Center scientists challenges this notion. The study has important implications for predicting which arctic plant species will dominate as the climate warms, as well as how much carbon tundra ecosystems can store.
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Human activities are causing an “alarming” decline in biodiversity that is endangering food security, clean water, energy supplies, economies, and livelihoods for billions of people worldwide, according to a new United Nations-backed study by 550 scientists, conservationists, and policy experts from over 100 countries.
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Internationally recognized plant scientist Leon Kochian, Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Food Systems and Security at the University of Saskatchewan, has been granted $800,000 by Innovation Saskatchewan to equip a new research laboratory that will improve crop productivity and resiliency.
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Could glowing salamanders hold the key to long-standing evolutionary questions?
Carleton University Prof. Hillary Maddin in the Department of Earth Sciences wants to find out. Maddin recently acquired four pairs of axolotls, an aquatic salamander species, to assist in research on the evolutionary changes of skull development from the prehistoric era to today.
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