Tropical forests are under increasing pressure from human activity such as agriculture. However, in order to put effective conservation measures in place, local decision-makers must be able to precisely identify which areas of forest are most vulnerable. A new analysis method spearheaded by researchers from the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the University of Rennes-2 could hold the key.

A report published in PLOS ONE describes key roles of various microorganisms in the development of the larvae of Scaptotrigona depilis. Researchers warn that this symbiotic relationship is threatened by the indiscriminate use of pesticides.

A new octocoral species was recently discovered in a biodiversity hotspot and World Heritage Site in Pacific Panama. It inhabits an unexplored and understudied marine ecosystem, under increasing need for protection: the mesophotic coral communities.

Smithsonian scientists and colleagues working to identify coral reef organisms analyzed more than 4.7 million animal DNA sequences from GenBank, the most commonly used tool used to identify environmental DNA, and discovered that animal identification errors are surprisingly rare--but sometimes very funny.

Ugandans and Kenyans in poor urban households are willing to pay a premium for more nutritious flour, new research shows. The study, led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), addresses huge knowledge gaps on consumers in urban slums and their interest in buying motivated nutritionally enriched foods.

Research presents the detection of energy transfer from excited electrons to the crystal lattice on the femtosecond timescale. Knowledge could contribute to the development of materials that prolong the coherence time.

To better deal with climate stress, farmers in Colombia's maize-growing region of Córdoba needed information services that would help them decide what varieties to plant, when they should sow and how they should manage their crops. A consortium formed with the government, Colombia's National Cereals and Legumes Federation (FENALCE), and big-data scientists at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). The researchers used big-data tools, based on the data farmers helped collect. Yields increased substantially.

Two new symbiotic porcelain crab species have been described. One of them, from the South China Sea of Vietnam, inhabits the compact tube-like shelters built by the polychaete worm with other organisms. The other inhabits the intertidal vermetid snail formations in the Colombian Caribbean.

Researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the University of Virginia School of Medicine, USA, identified for the first time the initial steps of alpha-synuclein protein aggregates related to early onsets of hereditary Parkinson cases. The results may help the understanding of the early stages of the disease and how it develops over time.