Biology News Net - Environment

Yellow-cedar are dying in Alaska: Scientists now know why

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:56:16 -0500

Yellow-cedar in West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness Area, a pristine area of coastal Alaska, faces intensive mortality. February 1, 2012. Yellow-cedar, a culturally and economically valuable tree in southeastern Alaska and adjacent parts of British Columbia, has been dying off across large expanses of these areas for the past 100 years. But no one could say why—until now.

Detecting detrimental change in coral reefs

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:39:35 -0500

Over dinner on R.V. Calypso while anchored on the lee side of Glover's Reef in Belize, Jacques Cousteau told Phil Dustan that he suspected humans were having a negative impact on coral reefs. Dustan—a young ocean ecologist who had worked in the lush coral reefs of the Caribbean and Sinai Peninsula—found this difficult to believe. It was December 1974.

Climate change invites alien invaders – Is Canada ready?

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:46:22 -0500

A comprehensive multi-disciplinary synthesis just published in Environmental Reviews reveals the urgent need for further investigation and policy development to address significant environmental, social and economic impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) and climate change. "Effects of climate change on the distribution of invasive alien species in Canada: a knowledge synthesis of range change prediction in a warming world" is the collaborative effort of a team of dedicated researchers at York University's Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS).

Does the La Niña weather pattern lead to flu pandemics?

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:54:40 -0500

Worldwide pandemics of influenza caused widespread death and illness in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 2009. A new study examining weather patterns around the time of these pandemics finds that each of them was preceded by La Niña conditions in the equatorial Pacific. The study's authors--Jeffrey Shaman of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Marc Lipsitch of the Harvard School of Public Health—note that the La Niña pattern is known to alter the migratory patterns of birds, which are thought to be a primary reservoir of human influenza. The scientists theorize that altered migration patterns promote the development of dangerous new strains of influenza.

Scientists refute Greenpeace claim that genetically modified corn caused new insect pest

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:31:29 -0500

An article in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Integrated Pest Management (JIPM) refutes claims by Greenpeace Germany that the western bean cutworm (WBC), Striacosta albicosta (Smith), is "a new plant pest" that was "caused by genetically engineered corn." The Greenpeace Germany report, which was written by author Richard Then of Testbiotech, offers a "surprisingly simplistic conclusion" regarding the spread of western bean cutworm over the last decade, according to the JIPM authors.

Blue marlin blues: Loss of dissolved oxygen in oceans squeezes billfish habitat

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:23:55 -0500

This is a blue marlin with a PSAT (Popoff Satellite Archival Transmitting) tag used to monitor horizontal and vertical habitat use in a new study The science behind counting fish in the ocean to measure their abundance has never been simple. A new scientific paper in Nature Climate Change shows that expanding 'ocean dead zones' (areas of low oxygen) driven in part by climate change makes that science even more complex.

Scientists assess radioactivity in the ocean from Japan nuclear power facility

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:48:22 -0500

With current news of additional radioactive leaks from the Fukushima nuclear power plants, the impact on the ocean of releases of radioactivity from the plants remains unclear.

Satellite data can help protect bluefin tuna

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:13:00 -0500

A new model developed by scientists of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) allows the potential presence of bluefin tuna to be tracked through daily updated maps, helping to protect endangered stocks and fight illegal fishing. The model, based on satellite remote sensing data, provides for the first time an overall view of the preferred bluefin tuna habitats in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as their changes over time. Satellite-based habitat mapping can help identify more precisely areas to be inspected or to be closed for fisheries and it can also help refine estimates of fish stocks, thus contributing to a more effective fisheries management. European Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, said: "This model will help to ensure sustainable management of bluefin tuna, actively contributing to two of the most pressing challenges for the future: food security and protection of the environment. Another good example of how science and research provide support to European Union policies."

'Fishy lawnmowers' help save Pacific corals

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:39:11 -0500

This is a crown-of-thorns sea star feeding on a coral. Can fish save coral reefs from dying? UC Santa Barbara researchers have found one case where fish have helped coral reefs to recover from cyclones and predators.

Tropical forests are fertilized by air pollution

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:11:52 -0500

Even remote tropical forests, like this forest in Panama, are affected by nitrogen pollution. Scientists braved ticks and a tiger to discover how human activities have perturbed the nitrogen cycle in tropical forests. Studies at two remote Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory sites in Panama and Thailand show the first evidence of long-term effects of nitrogen pollution in tropical trees.