Study findings could have major impact on wildlife control and agriculture production
One of the most debated hypotheses in evolutionary biology received new support today, thanks to a study by a scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno. Elissa Cameron, a mammal ecologist in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, has helped to disprove critics of a scientific theory developed in 1973.
At that time, ecologist Bob Trivers and mathematician Dan
A better understanding of the ground beneath our feet may be the key to improved seasonal weather forecasts, say an international team of environmental scientists in the journal Science today.
Researchers investigating the impact of soil moisture on rainfall have found that, across the globe, there are at least three hotspots where rainfall seems to be directly influenced by the amount of moisture in the soil, leading to the tantalising possibility of more accurate long-term weat
More frequent and more economically costly storms, floods, droughts and other extreme weather. Wetter conditions in northern Europe but drier weather in the south that could threaten agriculture in some areas. More frequent and more intense heatwaves, posing a lethal threat to the elderly and frail. Melting glaciers, with three-quarters of those in the Swiss Alps likely to disappear by 2050. Rising sea levels for centuries to come.
These are among the impacts of global climate
Deep-sea ecosystems (at depths of >1000 m) comprise more than 60% of the Earth surface, and are the main reservoirs of global biodiversity.
Climate changes are expected to induce significant modifications in biodiversity on the global scale, yet little is known on the impact of recent climate changes on the deep-sea biodiversity. In the forthcoming issue of Ecology Letters, Danovaro, Dell’Anno and Pusceddu demonstrate that an extensive climate anomaly, which occurred in the Easter
A toxic chemical used in hand soaps, cleaners and other personal care products to kill germs is deposited and remains in the environment long after the products are used, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The chemical—3,4,4’-trichlorocarbanilide (triclocarban), marketed under the trademark TCC™—is a non-agricultural polychlorinated phenyl urea pesticide that has been widely used for decades to kill bacteria. The researchers were among the first to d
In 1991, an exotic bivalve called the zebra mussel moved into the Hudson River. Over the past two decades, the prolific species has colonized habitats with hard sediments, becoming the most abundant animal in the river’s freshwater reaches. As competitors in the aquatic food chain, scientists have long speculated that zebra mussels may impact fish. A recent Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences article, written by Dr. David L. Strayer of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies (IES) and
Mercury is a toxic trace metal and its presence in the environment has been linked to human illness and ecological damage.
A 1997 Congressional report, which provided a quantitative human health risk assessment of mercury, estimated that between one and three percent of women of childbearing age in the United States eat sufficient amounts of fish for their fetuses to be at risk from mercury exposure.
“Over the last two decades, industrial activities have resulted in subs
Professor John Raven of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee has just been appointed chair of the Royal Society’s working group on ocean acidification. The task of the working group is to assess the available evidence on the extent of acidification in oceans and its impact on marine life.
The Royal Society, the UK’s academy of science is launching the working group and study because of concerns that the world’s oceans are becoming increasingly acidic, due to
Smoke from giant Siberian forest fires pushed one measure of Seattle’s air quality past federal environmental limits on at least one day in 2003, new research shows.
And the rapidly changing climate in northern latitudes makes it likely such fires will have increasingly serious ramifications for air quality all along the West Coast of North America, said Dan Jaffe, an environmental scientist at the University of Washington, Bothell.
“In the past, we haven’t considered tha
Heat waves in Chicago, Paris, and elsewhere in North America and Europe will become more intense, more frequent and longer lasting in the 21st century, according to a new modeling study by two scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. In the United States, heat waves will become most severe in the West and South. The findings appear in the August 13 issue of the journal Science.
Gerald Meehl and Claudia Tebaldi, both of NCAR, examined Earth
Clemson University students are in Florida, where they will hunt Hurricane Charley to gather research that may improve building techniques and codes to secure homes in the face of disaster.
Cos Gardner and Brian Dick, graduate students in Clemson’s civil engineering department, will meet with researchers from the University of Florida, Gainesville, and Florida International University to assemble a rapidly deployable 33-foot tall wind tower.
Each steel-reinforced platfor
Farm-raised salmon contain much higher levels of flame retardants than most wild salmon, and some wild Chinook have the highest levels of all, according to new research. Building on an earlier study of chemicals in the two types of fish, the findings suggest that consumers should choose their salmon carefully.
The report appeared online Aug. 10 in Environmental Science & Technology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
It’s like a scene out of a Stephen King novel, begun in the nineties and continued at a more rapid pace in the oughts: scores of deformed frogs flopping around as best they can, found often near cattle ponds and other wetlands throughout North America.
Researchers looked for chemical pollutants or hormonal changes in the frogs as culprits. But recent evidence linked the deformities – missing, extra, or deformed limbs – to the presence of Ribeiroia ondatrae, a frog parasite that h
Authors say results could have major impacts on ’green’ certification programs
A study by a scientist from the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society has revealed how Africa’s giant mahoganies, the ancient trees driving the tropical logging industry, require specialized, poorly understood soil conditions – results that could have huge implications on how Africa’s tropical forests are managed.
The study, appearing in the latest issue of the journal Ecology, looked at
For the second time in three years, a hypoxic “dead zone” has formed off the central Oregon Coast. It’s killing fish, crabs and other marine life and leading researchers to believe that a fundamental change may be taking place in ocean conditions in the northern Pacific Ocean.
The event appears similar to one in 2002, when an area of ocean water with low oxygen content formed in the nearshore Oregon coast between Newport and Florence, causing a massive die-off of fish and inver
NASA will extend operation of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) through the end of 2004, in light of a recent request from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The extension, to be undertaken jointly with NASA’s TRMM partner, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will provide data during another storm season in the U.S. and Asia.
TRMM has yielded significant scientific research data over the last seven years to users around the globe. In
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