Two teams of British scientists have produced the best evidence yet that our planet is experiencing a mass extinction. Two separate papers, published in Science 19 March and funded largely by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) highlight the serious concerns that have been growing among the world’s scientists for over ten years. John Lawton, chief executive of NERC and co-author of one of the papers said, ’Fossil records show five major extinctions. Current ext
New analyses from KTH in Stockholm are creating order in the uncertainty that has prevailed for the last four years about how plutonium dioxide, one of the most important radioactive compounds in nuclear waste, behaves when it comes into contact with water. The findings are being published in the latest issue of Nature Materials.
In January 2000 an article was published in the American scientific journal Science. A research team had discovered that plutonium dioxide, PuO2, quite unexpectedly
For species such as corals the dispersal of their larvae and restocking of damaged reefs is critical to their ability to survive the changes produced by global warming.
In the latest issue of Ecology Letters, David Ayre and Terry Hughes from the Australia’s Wollongong and James Cook Universities have for the first time used genetic data to show that individual coral reefs within the world’s largest tropical reef system (the Great Barrier Reef) must be buffered against such change
In light-contrasted ecosystems, ambient light and background colours influence the evolution of animal coloration. Because maximal conspicuousness is achieved for signals which are rich in the colours of ambient light but poorly reflected by background, different signals will be cryptic or conspicuous at different heights in tropical rainforest.
In the forthcoming issue of Ecology Letters, Gomez and Théry compare plumages of 40 species living in French Guiana. They demonstrate that predator
Invasive alien species are one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity. Part of their success may be due to rapid evolutionary changes when invaders adapt to the novel conditions in their invaded habitats.
Invasive plants, in particular, are believed to double-profit from a loss of their natural enemies and subsequent evolution of less chemically defended but more competitive genotypes which then take over their new habitats.
A recent study soon to appear in Ecology Letters
A chemical once used in pesticides in Asia has accumulated thousands of miles away in Canada, according to a University of Toronto study.
High concentrations of alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) were detected in the atmosphere of Sable Island off the coast of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, says Professor Frank Wania of chemistry. The chemical was last used about 15 years ago in countries such as China and India but followed atmospheric and water flows across the Pacific, Arctic and Atl
In the March issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Max Moritz (University of California, Berkeley), Jon Keeley (US Geological Survey and University of California, Los Angeles), Edward Johnson (University of Calgary) and Andrew Schaffner (Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo) present research that challenges some of the assumptions for managing fire-prone regions. With “Testing a basic assumption of shrubland fire management: how important is fuel age?,” the authors suggest natural
Flame retardants have been showing up in some surprising places, from human breast milk to peregrine falcon eggs. Now this growing list can be expanded to include dietary supplements based on cod liver oil, according to a new study.
European scientists have found that flame retardant levels have increased significantly during the past four years in products containing cod liver oil, a common component of dietary supplements. The report appears in the April 7 edition of the Journal of Agricu
Researchers of the Kola Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, have developed an efficient method for sewage water purification from fluorine ions. Fine purification of water can be achieved through utilisation of sorbents containing titanium. In addition, the method solves the problem of recycling spent sorbents saturated with fluorine.
The majority of contemporary toothpastes contain sodium fluoride as a fluoridiser agent to reinforce enamel. In the natural environment, this subs
Tennessee could become a model for the nation when it comes to protecting the public from chemical, biological or radiological releases.
Already, sensors that are part of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s SensorNet are deployed in Nashville, Knoxville and Oak Ridge, and in other parts of the nation. Additional sensors are planned for Memphis, Chattanooga and Sullivan County in Upper East Tennessee. ORNL project managers envision more being added in the next few years, eventually spanning
Inland lakes in Michigan that have been invaded by zebra mussels, an exotic species that has plagued bodies of water in several states since the 1980s, have higher levels of algae that produce a toxin that can be harmful to humans and animals, according to a Michigan State University researcher.
In a paper published in the recent issue of Limnology and Oceanography, Orlando “Ace” Sarnelle, an associate professor in MSU’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, and colleagues report that lakes
A research team of U.S. and Brazilian scientists has shown that rainforests in central Amazonia are experiencing striking changes in dynamics and species composition. Although the cause of these changes – in what are believed to be completely undisturbed, old-growth forests – is uncertain, a leading explanation is that they are being driven by rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide levels have risen by 30% in the last 200 years as a result of industrial emissions,
Scientists from the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups working in the Russian Far East released a Siberian tiger last week, after rescuing it from a snare set out by poachers.
The eight-to-10-year-old male tiger, estimated to weigh almost 400 pounds, was discovered by two Russian students hiking in the woods after they heard it roaring in distress. After they found the snare wrapped around the tiger’s body, they quickly notified forest guards staying in a cabin a
One of the world’s great centers of primate diversity is now a national park, created in one of Africa’s smallest and most densely populated nations. With the help of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the government of Rwanda has recently established Nyungwe National Park, a rich landscape that contains 13 different types of primate, along with 260 bird species, and more than 260 species of trees and shrubs.
“This is an important achievement for Rwanda and for conservation
Ninety per cent of the lakes surveyed in a new study of Ontario’s “cottage country” north of Toronto have seen a significant rise in taste and odour-causing algae – most dramatically in the past 20 years, the researchers report.
One of the most frequent complaints voiced by cottagers to local officials is that water in their lakes periodically tastes or smells bad.
A common cause of such problems is blooms of small algae (microscopic plants) that thrive in some of these lakes. Altho
More than 250,000 loggerhead and 60,000 leatherback turtles are estimated to be inadvertently snared each year by commercial longline fishing, with up to tens of thousands dying, according to the first global assessment of the problem. The researchers who conducted the assessment said that, although their numbers are estimates, they are firm enough to warrant the development of rules for fishing equipment and practices to reduce or avoid such losses.
The study, by researchers from Duke Unive
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