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As Forests Are Cut Down, Butterflies Are Losing Their Colours

2 weeks 3 days ago
Deforestation is draining color from butterfly populations in Brazil. Researchers studying butterflies in the state of EspÃrito Santo found 31 species in natural forests but only 21 in eucalyptus plantations. The plantation communities were dominated by brown-colored species. Roberto GarcÃa-Roa, part of the research project, said the colors on butterfly wings have been designed over millions of years. Lead researcher Maider Iglesias-Carrasco from the University of Copenhagen observed a general feeling of emptiness in the plantations. Ricardo Spaniol from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul discovered in 2019 that the most colorful Amazonian species often disappear first after deforestation, probably because of the loss of native vegetation and increased exposure to predators. Eucalyptus plantations cover at least 22 million hectares around the world. Spaniol's research found that forested Amazon habitats regenerating for 30 years after use as cattle pasture showed a remarkable increase in butterfly color diversity.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

msmash

Did AMD Use ChatGPT To Come Up With Its OpenAI Partnership Deal?

2 weeks 3 days ago

In early 2024, we all had been wondering how OpenAI was going to pay for its $100 billion Stargate datacenter infrastructure project it was rumored to be planning with Microsoft. …

Did AMD Use ChatGPT To Come Up With Its OpenAI Partnership Deal? was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.

Timothy Prickett Morgan

OpenAI IP promises ring hollow to Sora losers

2 weeks 3 days ago
Altman promises copyright holders a cut of video revenue, if he ever figures out how to make some.

analysis  OpenAI's new Sora 2 video generator has become the most popular free app in Apple's App Store since launching last week. It has also drawn ire from Hollywood studios and anyone whose characters and storylines appear in the user-generated content without their explicit permission. Now CEO Sam Altman says rightsholders will be getting greater control over how their properties are used - and may even be paid. …

Brandon Vigliarolo