GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Leisurely swims in warm, tropical waters fueled by the gaze of admiring fans and a healthy vegetarian diet. The life of a manatee hardly seems likely to prompt concerns about heart disease. But researchers at the University of Florida say the lumbering, loveable sea cow’s ticker deserves a closer look because of the animal’s endangered status.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers have found, for the first time, that crop models predicting yields for one of the world’s most important crops begin to disagree under climate change scenarios.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The fate of a species may rest upon a single butterfly captured in late May by University of Florida lepidopterists.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In malaria-ridden parts of Africa, mosquito netting protects people from being infected while they sleep; now, a University of Florida entomologist wants to improve the netting by coating it with insecticide toxic only to mosquitoes.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — There is no evidence that pollutants from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill contributed to the “unprecedented” decline in recent Apalachicola Bay oyster populations, according to a report released this week by the University of Florida.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Sea turtle populations may be increasing – or decreasing – but by using the most common method of simply counting nests or nesting females there is no way to know for sure, a University of Florida research team reports in the journal PLOS ONE today.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With ocean life facing unprecedented threat from climate change, overfishing, pollution, invasive species and habitat destruction, a University of Florida researcher is helping coordinate national efforts to monitor marine biodiversity.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Crops aren’t just for food, fiber and fuel. Researchers at the University of Florida are making new industrial applications possible for them as well.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A study co-authored by a University of Florida scientist adds critical new data for understanding caribou calving grounds in an area under consideration for oil exploration in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Floridians are buying more food grown locally or regionally and retail sales are higher here than in other states, according to a University of Florida study.