The only natural habitat of the polar bear is under increasing threat as a consequence of the dramatic thinning of the Arctic sea ice. The link between the thinning of the ice and rising temperatures has been discovered by scientists at UCL and the Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, whose findings are due to be published in the 30th October edition of Nature.
The thinness of the ice covering the Arctic Ocean, approximately three metres deep, makes it far more vulne
The reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park may be the key to maintaining groves of cottonwood trees that were well on their way to localized extinction, and is working to rebalance a stream ecosystem in the park for the first time in seven decades, Oregon State University scientists say in two new studies.
The data show a clear and remarkable linkage between the presence of wolves and the health of an entire streamside ecosystem, including two species of cottonwoods and the
Cornell University microbiologists, looking for bioremediation microbes to “eat” toxic pollutants, report the first field test of a technique called stable isotopic probing (SIP) in a contaminated site. And they announce the discovery and isolation of a bacterium that biodegrades naphthalene in coal tar contamination.
Although naphthalene is not the most toxic component in coal tar, the microbiologists say their discovery might eventually help to speed the cleanup of hundreds of 19th and 20
Recently observed change in Arctic temperatures and sea ice cover may be a harbinger of global climate changes to come, according to a recent NASA study. Satellite data — the unique view from space — are allowing researchers to more clearly see Arctic changes and develop an improved understanding of the possible effect on climate worldwide.
The Arctic warming study, appearing in the November 1 issue of the American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Climate, shows that compared to the 19
Researchers from the Physics Department and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have detected concentrations of radioactive plutonium and americium in plankton from the coast of Palomares (south-east coast of Spain), with an activity level five times higher than the average of other samples taken from the Mediterranean. This is residual contamination from the air accident that occurred on 17 January 1966, when two US military aircraft
Research at the University of Kent has revealed a remarkable phenomenon among tadpoles of the Mallorcan midwife toad, one of Europe’s most threatened species. The researchers, from the University’s Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, (DICE) have discovered that the toad tadpoles can change shape when they smell snakes swimming nearby. Tadpoles found in pools where there are no snakes tend to be short and fat, whereas tadpoles in pools which attract snakes are long and thin.
Dr Ri
Science study reveals that habitat loss imperil one of the world’s most promising source of new drugs
In a letter published in the October 17th issue of Science, three scientists warn that biodiversity loss could have devastating consequences for drug discovery and the development of new medicines. “Tropical cone snails may contain the largest and most clinically important pharmacopoeia of any genus in Nature” says lead author of the study, Eric Chivian from the Harvard Medical S
A global treaty focusing on intercontinental air pollution could be a better approach to controlling climate change than the Kyoto Protocol, according to a new scientific study. By cooperating to reduce pollutants like ozone and aerosols, countries could address their own regional health concerns, keep their downwind neighbors happy and reduce the threat of global warming in the process, claim the researchers.
The report appears in the Oct. 13 edition of Environmental Science & Technology,
Beaches and recreational waters could be much safer
Hundreds of thousands of drownings could be prevented each year through simple preventive tools. To minimize deaths, illness and injuries at the beach, in oceans, lakes and rivers, the World Health Organization (WHO) is today launching Guidelines for safe recreational water environments. Beaches and bodies of water failing to meet safety standards are a worldwide public health problem, and can make people ill, cause disability and d
Previous year’s drought might predict following year’s mosquito population
So you think you know mosquitoes?
Consider the venerable law that rainy weather is the cause of increased mosquito populations.
An ecologist at Washington University in St. Louis says if you believe that, youre all wet.
Jon Chase, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University, and his wife Tiffany Knight, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at the
Marine researchers and scientists have long sought a practical way to track the position and migration of fish in the world’s oceans in order to provide research data for stock management and fish conservation.
Sigmur Gudbjornsson, Managing Director of Stjornu-Oddi, the Icelandic lead partner in EUREKA project E! 2326 GPSFISH, describes how they solved the problem by having ships “transmit by sonar GPS (global positioning satellite) data which is then stored on any fish that has been previo
Biological invasions have well-known direct effects on native ecosystems but may also unleash forces with complex, unexpected consequences. These ecological surprises may be especially common in simple systems, like islands, following introduction of ’megainvaders,’ like tramp ants.
In the September issue of Ecology Letters, O’Dowd, Green, and Lake show that impacts of invasion by the crazy ant Anoplolepis gracilipes ramify through the food web in rainforest on Christm
Floods are one of Europe’s most widespread disasters. Major flooding has occurred nearly every year somewhere on our continent during the last few decades. Today, European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin is visiting the city of Dresden (Germany), which was hit very hard last year by one of the worst flood catastrophes to occur in Central Europe since the Middle Ages. During this visit, the European Commission has organised a media briefing at Dresden’s Ständehaus to present the results of
According to Dutch researcher Liesbeth Bakker, rabbits prefer grassland grazed by cows. The rabbits benefit from grass that has been grazed short by the cows as this is of a good quality. Furthermore, this grazing relationship leads to a greater diversity of plant species.
The researchers studied a number of plots in the Junner Koeland, a floodplain grassland along the river Overijsselse Vecht. Staatsbosbeheer uses cows to manage the grassland vegetation. However, the numerous rabbits and me
After surviving for thousands of years in the lakes of Southeast Asia, the East Asian giant softshell turtle may finally be faced with extinction, as the last member of the species lingers on in Vietnam’s Hoan Kiem Lake. Reptile specialists from the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society recently observed the reptile in its last known habitat and fear it may live out its final years without a mate.
“This individual could very well be the last of its kind,” said John Behler, Cura
A new, all-natural, pollutant-busting microbe has been discovered by scientists in Germany. Research published in the October 2003 issue of Microbiology, a Society for General Microbiology journal, describes a new strain of bacterium, which could be used in the near future to clean up polluted land.
Over the years, many harsh and highly toxic chemicals have built-up in the environment. Dr Rapp and his colleagues at the National Research Centre for Biotechnology in Braunschweig, Germany, have
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