New Zealand’s moa, a group of giant flightless birds including the largest birds ever to have lived, died out because they grew almost ten times slower than living species, reveals a study by researchers at the Zoological Society of London’s Institute of Zoology (IoZ) in London.
The new study published today in the journal Nature, in collaboration with the University of Oxford and the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, analysed moa leg bones and discovered up to nine growt
The world’s largest and most species rich forests are changing faster than we thought. We know the Amazonian rainforests are disappearing – around a fifth has been lost to logging and cattle ranging – but University geographers have discovered that the forests are changing at a remarkable rate. Their findings suggest we still don’t understand exactly how long the rainforests can continue to be the planet’s ‘lung’ or even how they really work.
Geographers and earth scientists h
Too many sheep in Britain’s uplands could be responsible for the decline of some native birds according to research published today in the journal Biology Letters.
The research, led by Dr Darren Evans from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in Banchory, provides the first hard evidence of a link between increased sheep grazing and the breeding patterns of the meadow pipit, Britain’s most common upland bird.
The researchers examined the effects of sheep grazing on egg s
Twenty-eight years after intense selective logging stopped in the region now known as Uganda’s Kibale National Park, the red-tailed guenon (Cercophithecus ascanius) is a primate still in decline. The logging practice, scientists report in a new study, changed the ecological balance for these monkeys, leading to behavioral changes and opening the door for multiple parasitic infections.
The researchers focused on three primate species, collecting 1,076 fecal samples from the
Reliance on just one model no better than flipping a coin!
A new study published in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography represents the first real test of the performance of models used to forecast how species will change their geographic ranges in response to the Earth’s changing climate
Despite the weight of scientific evidence that the Earth is warming and that this is already affecting wildlife, many people – and a few scientists – still refuse to believe it
Chesapeake Bay Restoration
The Chesapeake Bay has been the focus of one of the most high-profile restoration programs ever undertaken in North America. With some 250 types of fish, crabs, clams, and oysters, the Bay is rich in species and also represents a commercial value of more than $1 billion annually. In “Restoring watersheds project by project: trends in Chesapeake Bay tributary restoration,” Brooke Hassett (University of Maryland, College Park) and colleagues compiled t
The influence of biodiversity on the functioning of ecosystems has been a focus for extensive research over the last decade. Most studies have, however, examined the effects of diversity changes within only one level of the food chain (e.g. plants), while the consequences of losing links across levels are unknown.
In the July issue of Ecology Letters, Gamfeldt, Hillebrand and Jonsson show that changes in consumer species richness within a simple food chain of microbial organisms affect
Scientists at the University of York are warning that dramatic changes may soon occur in Africa’s vegetation in response to global warming.
They believe the effect may be on a similar scale to the climatic disruption in the last Ice Age and the African forest decline 2,500 years ago.
Scientists in the University’s Environment Department studied the likely impact of future climate fluctuations on the continent by modelling the responses of more than 5000 plant species to
Earth’s oceans are what make this a Blue Planet. Our seas influence the climate, produce most of the oxygen we breathe, serve as a means of transport and a major source of food and resources. Today’s World Ocean Day is a chance to learn more about the seas that surround us – and how satellite monitoring helps protect them.
Wednesday 8 June is the 13th annual World Ocean Day. Created in 1992 at the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, World Ocean Day is an opportunity to c
Vast genetic treasure on sea beds
Vast genetic resources – “blue gold” on the international deep sea floor – need protection from unfettered commercial exploitation, warns a new report from the Japan-based United Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS). Increasingly recognized as important to humankind for their potential medical and other uses, deep sea resources are now more accessible and vulnerable than ever because of rapid advances in exploration technolo
Accidental capture in fishing nets pushes several species to the brink
Leading marine scientists for the first time have assessed dolphin and porpoise populations around the world which are severely threatened by entanglement in fishing gear and recommended nine urgent priorities for action in a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund. These nine projects highlight species threatened by bycatch that will most likely benefit from immediate action and will continue to langui
Nitrogen oxides produced by huge fires and fossil fuel combustion are a major component of air pollution. They are the primary ingredients in ground-level ozone, a pollutant harmful to human health and vegetation.
But new research led by a University of Washington atmospheric scientist shows that, in some regions, nitrogen oxides emitted by the soil are much greater than expected and could play a substantially larger role in seasonal air pollution than previously believed.
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), held a Water Access workshop between 9 and 12 May. The aim of the event, bringing together specialists from Africa and France, was to set up a network of African Centres of Excellence in Water Science and Technology. It was supported by the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD). An action plan is to be put forward to decision makers anxious to meet the many challenges that face efforts to provide access to water resources a
The Agami Heron has a height of just 70 cm. It can be distinguished from other herons especially by its predominantly chocolate-coloured plumage and its very long beak (2). The bird is described as solitary, grouping together only in the reproductive period, in small colonies. They are sometimes associated with other bird species The Agami heron is observed in Central and South America. However, its rarity and discreet behaviour mean that little is known about its biology or ecologica
Researchers at the University of Southampton’s School of Biological Sciences have discovered that inbreeding in threatened bumblebee species results in female worker bees changing sex.
Many bumblebee species have become rare in recent years, and their last populations are confined to nature reserves, which effectively act as islands amidst a sea of intensively farmed land. In small, isolated bumblebee populations where there are very few individuals, relatives may mate with each
A multibeam Doppler radar that can scan tornadic storms every 5 to 10 seconds is prowling the Great Plains through June 30 in search of its first close-up tornado. Engineers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder helped build the Rapid-Scan Doppler on Wheels (DOW).
Together with a powerful analysis technique pioneered by NCAR scientist Wen-Chau Lee, the radar–newly enhanced for its first full spring of thunderstorm tracking–promises the most complete picture
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