Biology News Net - Environment

New report confirms almost half of Africa's lions facing extinction

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 18:43:00 -0500

This shows lions in Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa.
A new report published today concludes that nearly half of Africa's wild lion populations may decline to near extinction over the next 20-40 years without urgent conservation measures. The plight of many lion populations is so bleak, the report concludes that fencing them in - and fencing humans out - may be their only hope for survival.

Antarctic ice core contains unrivaled detail of past climate

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:43:06 -0500

Donald Voigt, chief scientist at the WAIS Divide Camp, examines an ice core. A team of U.S. ice-coring scientists and engineers in Antarctica, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), have recovered from the ice sheet a record of past climate and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that extends back 68,000 years.

Climate change clues from tiny marine algae -- ancient and modern

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:06:59 -0500

Microscopic ocean algae called coccolithophores are providing clues about the impact of climate change both now and many millions of years ago. The study found that their response to environmental change varies between species, in terms of how quickly they grow.

Polar bear researchers urge governments to act now and save the species

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:06:58 -0500

A University of Alberta polar bear researcher along with eleven international co-authors are urging governments to start planning for rapid Arctic ecosystem change to deal with a climate change catastrophe for the animals.

As Amazon urbanizes, rural fires burn unchecked

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 04:39:28 -0500

Farmers in many parts of the world, like this one in the Peruvian Amazon, routinely use fire to clear land. Over past decades, many areas of the forested Amazon basin have become a patchwork of farms, pastures and second-growth forest as people have moved in and cleared land--but now many are moving out, in search of economic opportunities in newly booming Amazonian cities. The resulting depopulation of rural areas, along with spreading road networks and increased drought are causing more and bigger fires to ravage vast stretches, say researchers in a new study. The study, focusing on the Peruvian Amazon, is the latest to suggest that land-use changes and other factors, including possibly climate change, are driving increasingly destructive wildfires in many parts of the earth. An interdisciplinary team at Columbia University's Earth Institute will publish the paper this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Historic coral collapse on Great Barrier Reef

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:17:18 -0500

Australian marine scientists have unearthed evidence of an historic coral collapse in Queensland's Palm Islands following development on the nearby mainland.

The collapse of Classic Maya civilization linked to drought

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:17:17 -0500

The Classic Maya culture thrived in rainy times and then collapsed in turmoil as the weather turned to drought, according to new research.

Genetic patterns of deep-sea coral provide insights into evolution of marine life

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:04:57 -0500

Paragorga arborea, also known as bubblegum coral, is a conspicuous and locally abundant coral species that can grow massive colonies, which can reach up to 8 meters in height The ability of deep-sea corals to harbor a broad array of marine life, including commercially important fish species, make these habitat-forming organisms of immediate interest to conservationists, managers, and scientists. Understanding and protecting corals requires knowledge of the historical processes that have shaped their biodiversity and biogeography.

Sweden's only coral reef at risk of dying

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:59:47 -0500

Sweden's only remaining cold-water coral reef, the Säcken reef in the Koster Fjord, is under threat of extinction. Because of that, researchers from the University of Gothenburg have started a restoration project where healthy corals from nearby reefs in Norway are being removed and placed on the Säcken reef.

The Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its coral in the last 27 years

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 17:21:43 -0500

Outbreaks of the coral eating crown of thorns starfish have been responsible for 42 percent of the over 50 percent decline in coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its coral cover in the last 27 years. The loss was due to storm damage (48%), crown of thorns starfish (42%), and bleaching (10%) according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today by researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in Townsville.