Did forest survive the cold in a hotspot?

Article Abstract:

European palaeoecologists who have been working in the highland region of east-central Africa believe that existing biodiverse hotspots may not always have been so rich in different species. The oldest sediments taken from five sites along the highlands on the eastern side of the Western Rift Valley contained pollen closely associated with dry ericaceous scrub and grassland. This indicates that the area had little forest during the peak of the cold episode. There may have been a core refigium of forest in this region, but it did not extend east of the Western Rift Valley.

Natural history, East Africa, Forest ecology

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Bog standards in Minnesota

Article Abstract:

Raised bogs are wet, spongy soil composed mainly of sphagnum moss as an outcome of the infilling of lake sites, estuarine sites, or swamps. Peat deposits of bogs offer a supply for horticultural needs and for energy use. The mechanism of formation of these bogs were analyzed and the studies revealed that water is retained by means of difference in the water gradient subject to climatic control.

Analysis, Bog ecology, Peat-bogs, Peat bogs

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Bats about the Arctic

Article Abstract:

Speakman and colleagues have studied night flying among bats within the Arctic circle. They conclude that avoidance of competition for food is the most likely explanation for night flying.

Bats, Bats (Animals), Animal flight

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