Latest University of Montana Stories
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online A multinational team of conservationists from the University of Montana and the Wildlife Conservation Society recently counted nearly 1,000 wild yaks in a remote area of the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau. The species was nearly decimated in the mid-twentieth century by overhunting, and this find may indicate a significant comeback. The team of Americans and Chinese counted 990 yaks in a rugged nature reserve called Hoh Xil. The reserve is...
Sprinting performance isn’t a factor of conserving energy; rather, forces applied by the foot hitting the ground maximize all-out bursts of sprinting Sprinters competing in the 2012 Olympics might assume their championship performance is the result of their fuel-efficient physiology. But a new study disproves the classic scientific view that conserving energy maximizes performance in a sprinting event. The study by biomechanics researchers Matthew W. Bundle at the University of...
Researchers have found two new threats in the mysterious colony collapse disorder (CCD) that has affected honey bee populations across the country. The countrywide threat to bees has caused much concern because the insects play an important role in the pollination of crops. Researchers collected samples from beehives affected with the disorder and found the presence of a virus and a fungus. The two pathogens were not found in colonies not affected by CCD, the researchers said. "We truly don't...
SEATTLE, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Horizon Air announced today it will soon fly 76-seat Q400 turboprops with university colors and marks of three additional public universities: the University of Idaho, the University of Montana and Montana State University. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100917/SF67094LOGO) (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100917/SF67094LOGO) The aircraft will be painted one at a time starting in early November (in the order shown above). The...
REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Around the world, more and more higher education institutions and schools are clamoring for more effective ways to save money and provide an outstanding experience to students. Today, Microsoft Corp. announced higher education institutions using Microsoft's cloud services and Live@edu. New universities joining the Live@edu ranks include California State University schools including San Francisco State University; CSU, Long Beach; California State...
Earth has done an ecological about-face: Global plant productivity that once flourished under warming temperatures and a lengthened growing season is now on the decline, struck by the stress of drought.NASA-funded researchers Maosheng Zhao and Steven Running, of the University of Montana in Missoula, discovered the global shift during an analysis of NASA satellite data. Compared with a six-percent increase spanning two earlier decades, the recent ten-year decline is slight -- just one...
Conservation scientists say the wolverine, a predator renowned for its strength and tenacious character, may be dying out along with the snowpack upon which it lives, BBC News reported.Experts say wolverine numbers are falling across North America and their decline has been linked to less snow settling as a result of climate change. It is the first study to show a decline in the abundance of any land species due to vanishing snowpack.Wolverines typically thrive in boreal forests across...
A study released October 14th in the current issue of the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE will shed new light on oil and gas development potential in the Intermountain West. Maps accompanying the study show the impacts to greater sage-grouse populations in relation to potential energy development. If business as usual continues and more forward-thinking development strategies are not considered, sage-grouse populations will decline an additional 7 to 19 percent.Prepared by scientists from The...
Minuscule traces of cells can be detected in a mineral likely present on Mars, a new study shows. The results, obtained using a technique developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory, could help mission scientists choose Martian surface samples with the most promise for yielding signs of life.INL's instrument blasts off tiny bits of mineral and looks for chemical signatures of molecules commonly found in cells. While other methods require extensive sample handling,...
By Cramer, John Scientists, economists, land managers and others will gather Thursday in Missoula to discuss the worsening infestation of bark beetles across the West. "Red Tree," a one-day public symposium, is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the University of Montana's University Center Ballroom. The symposium is free, but registration is required at 542-4300. Mountain pine beetles and other bark beetles have killed millions of acres of trees from Alaska to the Southwest in recent...
