At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, it’s impossible to see all that research in the same way scientists do. Here are some images that showcase some of the newest findings published in the last month.

Sunken WWII hospital ship turns nursery and resting site for diverse marine life

A World War II hospital ship, known as Po, that sank in 1941 is now a thriving biodiversity hotspot for a multitude of marine life, a new Frontiers in Ocean Sustainability study has shown. Researchers investigated the ecological and geomorphological interactions between the wreck and the surrounding underwater environment. They found the wreck changes how water and sediment move around it, which creates characteristics similar to those described for artificial reefs. The site houses non-indigenous species such as Pterois miles, also known as the devil firefish, as well as squid spawning grounds. Critically endangered Mediterranean monk seals have also been sighted close by.

Read and download the original article

Watch these puppies to lower your blood pressure and stress levels

Lowering your blood pressure in an office setting could be achieved by simple means, suggests a new Frontiers in Public Health study. Researchers showed participants several puppy videos totaling 15 minutes, including ones where puppies played in a pool or in a rural yard. They measured blood pressure, variations in blood pressure over time, and pulse rates before and after the intervention. Because these scientifically structed videos lowered participants' blood pressure and pulse rate, they may present a low-cost, scalable, and medication-free solution for workplace stress – an ever-increasing public health issue – the authors wrote.

Video: Footage used in the intervention. It asked whether video could replicate the calming benefits of live animals — without the barriers of allergies, hygiene, smell, or no-pets policies. The puppy videos significantly lowered office workers’ blood pressure and stress, suggesting an even more widely usable alternative to live-animal interaction. Credit: Happy Dog TV Ltd.

Read and download the original article

Beavers help fix artificial dams that reverse decades of damage to natural world

Coho salmon need cool habitats in warm regions – which often presents a challenge as extensive beaver trapping in the past centuries removed the engineers that built dams to create these habitats. Researchers in California – where temperatures are rising and droughts are becoming more frequent – have reconstructed beaver dams in the north of the state, where beavers were historically abundant. They published their findings in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. Beaver dam analogue restoration replicated the habitat needed by coho salmon and increased its capacity, supporting thousands of coho salmon juveniles. It also drastically improved chances of survival, from 8% before the intervention to 60% and 55% respectively at two sites after the intervention.

Video: Beaver working on a beaver dam analogue while coho rest in the pool above. Salmon and beaver have evolved together for millions of years. Salmon – especially coho salmon – need the unique slow-water and riparian wetland habitat beaver create to survive and thrive. Credit: Scott River Watershed Council.

Read and download the original article

Pumas and jaguars in Peruvian Amazon coexist peacefully by eating different prey

Pumas are South America’s most widely distributed cat, but their habitats are undergoing rapid land-use change, mostly due to human encroachment. A recent Frontiers in Conservation Science study has examined puma density, space use, and temporal overlap with prey and jaguars in the lowland forests of southeastern Peru by using camera traps. The results showed the pumas preferred to traipse on trails in areas with greater prey availability. They were also more present in habitats where jaguars – a species that is built heavier and is stronger overall but still poses no real danger to pumas – live. This works because they have different food habits, with jaguars relying mostly on large- and medium-bodied prey, and pumas on medium- and small-bodied prey.

Read and download the original article

REPUBLISHING GUIDELINES: Open access and sharing research is part of Frontiers’ mission. Unless otherwise noted, you can republish articles posted in the Frontiers news site — as long as you include a link back to the original research. Selling the articles is not allowed.