Good Nutrition

What does aerobic exercise strenghthen?

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Birds: Feather Color Is More Than Skin Deep

Where do birds get their red feathers from? According to Esther del Val, from the National History Museum in Barcelona, Spain, and her team, the red carotenoids that give the common crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) its red coloration are produced in the liver, not the skin, as previously thought.

Their findings, published online in Springer’s journal Naturwissenschaften, have implications for understanding the evolution of color signaling in bird species.

Carotenoids have important physiological functions, including antioxidant, immunomodulating, and photoprotectant properties. Carotenoid pigments are also used by many bird species as colorants, and are responsible for most of their red, orange and yellow coloration. In particular, carotenoid-red coloration in birds has been shown to act as an ornament, signaling the nutritional and health status of the individual and its ability to locate high quality resources. Recent studies have suggested that the transformation of carotenoid pigments takes place directly in the follicles during feather growth.

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Field Stations Foster Serendipitous Discoveries In Environmental, Biological Sciences

North America’s biological field stations have long been home to a rich legacy of research results, scientists say, making them important places for serendipitous discoveries in the biological and environmental sciences.

In a paper published in the April issue of the journal BioScience, researchers affiliated with the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network and other groups state that few people realize the value of the data and specimens held at field stations–until an event such as a disease outbreak or environmental disaster triggers their use.

“At a time when we are reinvesting in our nation’s academic infrastructure, it’s critical that we also invest in one of our greatest treasures–America’s biological field stations,” said William Michener, a biologist at the University of New Mexico and co-author of the paper.

Peter McCartney, program director in NSF’s Division of Biological Infrastructure, agrees. “Support for field stations is an important part of NSF’s overall investments in biological infrastructure,” he said. “They provide scientists with research opportunities, while fostering the regional and continental scale sampling provided through the LTER Network and the National Ecological Observatory Network [NEON].”

The paper, “Biological Field Stations: Research Legacies and Sites for Serendipity,” cites three examples in which major serendipitous discoveries occurred at field stations:

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