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Establishing healthy shrubs not the water-consuming task many think, UF research shows

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Good news for your utility bills and the environment: New University of Florida research shows that landscape shrubs need much less water to establish healthy roots than you might expect.

Filed under Agriculture, Environment, Florida, Research on Thursday, September 24, 2009.

Statewide study shows algae toxin a minor threat, say UF experts

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A toxin produced by freshwater algae has garnered plenty of media coverage in recent years, but a new University of Florida study shows there’s little cause for concern about its presence in Florida lakes.
Researchers analyzed water taken from 187 lakes in 38 counties during a one-year period, and found that almost three-quarters [...]

Filed under Environment, Florida, Health, Research on Tuesday, September 22, 2009.

New water-depth evaluation system will aid Everglades research, UF study shows

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When scientists discuss Everglades restoration, one phrase pops up again and again — “getting the water right.”

Filed under Environment, Florida, Research on Thursday, September 17, 2009.

Study of isolated snakes could help shed light on venom composition

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — While studying a way to more safely and effectively collect snake venom, University of Florida researchers have noticed the venom delivered by an isolated population of Florida cottonmouth snakes may be changing in response to their diet.

Filed under Environment, Health, Research on Tuesday, September 15, 2009.

UF, Old Dominion launch project to restore sponges in barren parts of Florida Bay

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Marine sponges may not look like apartment buildings, but to shrimps, juvenile lobsters and other animals in Florida Bay, the puffy filter-feeders provide one of the few safe places to live.
In 2007, harmful algae blooms killed sponges in large tracts of the shallow lagoon, where fresh water draining from the Everglades meets [...]

Filed under Economic Impact, Environment, Florida, Research on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

New UF-housed wildfire ‘strike team’ teaches safe burning techniques

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When it comes to fighting fires, it’s usually the guy with the hose that gets all the hero worship. But as ever-increasing temperatures and droughts bring a greater threat from wildfires, sometimes it’s the guy with a torch who can do the most good.

Filed under Agriculture, Environment, Florida, Research on Wednesday, August 12, 2009.

UF team finds ‘alligator tree’ bacteria might improve cellulosic ethanol production

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Most would identify the tree by its often troublesome, spiky “gumballs,” but what many call the sweetgum tree also goes by another name, thanks to its distinctive, reptilian bark: the alligator tree.
So it may be fitting that researchers from the University of Florida, home of the Gators, have found that bacteria growing [...]

Filed under Agriculture, Environment, Florida, Research on Monday, July 27, 2009.

UF researchers receive $643,000 federal grant to study wood-quality gene for fuel production

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A newly discovered gene may be the key to producing fuel ethanol more efficiently from trees, and the University of Florida researchers who identified it have received a prestigious federal grant to investigate further.
The gene, which helps regulate wood growth and the composition of wood fiber, could also lead to improved tree [...]

Filed under Agriculture, Business, Environment, Florida, Research on Thursday, July 23, 2009.

Cold weather may reduce Cuban tree frogs’ impact as they move north, UF researchers say

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Invasive Cuban tree frogs are spreading through Florida, but a new University of Florida study suggests their impact could weaken as they move farther north, because colder weather seems to reduce their average size.

Filed under Environment, Florida, Research on Thursday, July 16, 2009.

UF study finds ancient mammals shifted diets as climate changed

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new University of Florida study shows mammals change their dietary niches based on climate-driven environmental changes, contradicting a common assumption that species maintain their niches despite global warming.

Filed under Environment, Natural History, Research, Sciences on Tuesday, June 2, 2009.