Department News

NBC News: Critters evolve rapidly to cope with environmental change

2013-04-09
Critters can evolve over just a handful of generations to survive whatever environmental maladies humans toss their way, from climate change to over fishing, suggests a new study. "That is the first take-home message, and it is a positive message," Thomas Cameron, a biologist at Umea University in...

Environmental change triggers rapid evolution

2013-04-09
Environmental change can drive hard-wired evolutionary changes in animal species in a matter of generations. A study by Umeå University ecologist Tom Cameron and a research team at University of Leeds overturns the common assumption that evolution only occurs gradually over hundreds or thousands of ...

New research centre for metabolomics research in Umeå

2013-03-14
The Swedish Metabolomics Centre, which is located at KBC, was inaugurated last week by Marianne Sommarin, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research at Umeå University, and Johan Schnürer, Deputy Vice- Chancellor for Cooperation vid Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences.

Inauguration of Swedish Metabolomics Centre in Umeå

2013-03-04
On 11 & 12 March, the official opening of the Swedish Metabolomics Centre - a technical resource for metabolomics research – will be held in Umeå, Sweden. It is collaboration between Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå, established with the support of the Knut...

New York Times: Traces of Anxiety Drug May Affect Behavior in Fish

2013-02-28
Traces of a common psychiatric medication that winds up in rivers and streams may affect fish behavior and feeding patterns, according to a study in the journal Science published Thursday.

River regulation influences land-living animals

2013-02-28
Forest-living insects and spiders become less abundant and birds are adversely affected along regulated rivers. Three different studies by ecologists at Umeå University show that river regulation has a negative effect also on land-living animals.

Controversial dam removals founded on value conflicts

2013-02-22
Researchers at Umeå University conclude that public opposition to dam removal is not based on knowledge deficiency, as is sometimes argued in dam removal science. It is instead a case of different understandings and valuation of the environment and the functions it provides. The findings are now pub...

News on fish behaviour gets major international coverage

2013-02-18
In an article in the journal Science released on 14 February, researchers at Umeå University described how anti-anxiety drugs that reach waterways via wastewater alters the behaviour of fish. The news is now spreading among prominent international media sources.

New species appear to arise from sudden changes

2013-02-18
Folmer Bokma, researcher at Umeå University, explains that living species have a limited ability to adapt to the environment. His results suggest that species do not change gradually, as the modern evolutionary theory assumes, but suddenly when a new species arises.

Fish become bolder and more gluttonous from drug residue

2013-02-14
Anxiety-moderating drugs that reach waterways via wastewater create fearless and asocial fish that eat more quickly than normal. These behavioral changes can have serious ecological consequences. This is shown by Umeå University researchers in the prestigious journal Science.

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