Round table at the Oetzi Congress in Bozen 2011 (photograph: EURAC)

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The rainforest harbours most of the as yet undescribed species. Photo taken by Thomas Hesselberg

How many species are found on Earth? You might think that this is a relatively simple question that would elicit a straightforward answer, but you would be wrong. It is very difficult to estimate the total number of species on our planet. Around 1.2 million species have been described by taxonomists, but all scientists agree that many more species remain to be discovered. Previous estimates range from 3 and up to 100 million species. However, a new study in PLoS Biology uses a newly develop method to estimate that a total number of 8.7 million eukaryotic species can be found on land and in the oceans.

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Queen, worker ants and eggs of the species Cardiocondyla mauritanica (courtesy: University of Regensburg, Germany)

In ant colonies queens live longer if they do not compete with other queens. Competition with other queens reduces the life span and the amount of eggs produced by each single animal. This amazing finding was recently revealed by zoologist from the University of Regensburg, Germany. The scientists compared ant states with one single, two and eight queens and used different colonies of the ant species Cardiocondyla obscurior.

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Billions of humans have their daily pot of coffee at breakfast or during the day at work. Coffee was brought to Europe (and thus to the New World) by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century and was first cultivated in Eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Coffee is now planted all over the world and  the most popular breakfast drink. The wild form of coffee however is now limited to some small areas in natural forests in Eastern Africa. Its habitat is endangered by growing deforestation. To maintain the genetic diversity of the coffee plants and their capability and resistance against diseases and parasites it is most important to protect and conserve the habitats and the biodiversity in it.

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The great tit (Parus major) shows consistent individual variation in problem solving abilities. Photo uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by Luc Viatour.

Older studies have shown that some animals in nature show an impressive ability to solve problems right from the jumping spider who solves complicated geometrical problems to ambush its prey to the chimpanzees that modify sticks to scoop out termites. Birds seem particularly ingenious with the Caledonian crow as virtual Albert Einsteins with their ability to modify wires into hooks to lift food out of small buckets. However, even more mundane birds, such as the great tit, show innovative foraging behaviour. The great tit for instance learned how to open milk bottles at the time when they were placed in front of houses in the mornings.

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In tropical and subtropical parts of the world malaria is a widespread disease which is transmitted by the malaria mosquito. When a mosquito carries the protozoa Plasmodium falciparum and bites a person it transmits the pathogen of the severe fever disease. Nearly half a billion human beings are affected worldwide and more than 1 Million die each year by malaria, especially infants and children are among the victims.

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