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,

Using satellite and other data, scientists have discovered that sea surface temperatures and sea level pressure in the North Pacific have undergone unusual changes over the last five years. These changes to the North Pacific Ocean climate system are different from those that dominated for the past 50-80 years, which has led scientists to conclude that there is more than one key to the climate of that region than previously thought.

According to a study by Nicholas Bond, J.E. Overland and P.

Large-scale, long-lasting droughts in the United States – such as the present one in the West — tend to be linked to warmer than normal sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean, and not just cooling in the tropical Pacific, according to a USGS study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study statistically associates the patterns of U.S. droughts during the last century to multi-decade variations in North Pacific and North Atlantic sea sur

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

Triticale is a hardy and new winter cereal crop created in a laboratory environment by crossing wheat with rye. After years of effort over a 30-year period, plant breeders, in particular those at INRA (France’s National Institute for Agronomic Research), have succeeded in making this species very attractive to farmers. Indeed, Triticale is today producing yields equivalent to, or better than, those for wheat.

Annaig Bouguennec, INRA’s researcher in charge of the triticale programme, explain

To the grand surprise of the investigators, when they removed that apparently normal and unremarkable rock, they found the remains of some three hundred persons. It was a communal grave from the end of the Neolithic, some 5,000 years ago. The bones are in a very good state of conservation, because the rock covering them most probably having protected them from the outside elements.

In Europe there are few archaeological sites containing such a large quantity of bones. Thus, the remains found

Average desktop system requires 10 times its weight in fossil fuels and chemicals to make; authors call for governments worldwide to help slow growth of high-tech trash

Government incentives are quickly needed worldwide to extend the life of personal computers and slow the growth of high-tech trash, according to a new United Nations University (UNU) report into the environmental consequences of the information technology revolution.

The average 24 kg (53 lbs) desktop compute

Using data from NASA’s Aqua satellite, agency scientists found heavy smoke from burning vegetation inhibits cloud formation. The research suggests the cooling of global climate by pollutant particles, called “aerosols,” may be smaller than previously estimated.

During the August-October 2002 burning season in South America’s Amazon River basin, scientists observed cloud cover decreased from about 40 percent in clean-air conditions to zero in smoky air.

Until recently, sci

Early life may have lived very differently than life today

As two rovers scour Mars for signs of water and the precursors of life, geochemists have uncovered evidence that Earth’s ancient oceans were much different from today’s. The research, published in this week’s issue of the journal Science, cites new data that shows that Earth’s life-giving oceans contained less oxygen than today’s and could have been nearly devoid of oxygen for a billion years longer than previously thought. T

The latest trials of a Graingene-bred water-efficient wheat variety have shown it has the potential to add millions of dollars to the value of the NSW wheat crop. In 12 independent field trials held across New South Wales in 2003, Drysdale wheat yielded an average of 23 per cent more grain than the current recommended variety Diamondbird, despite very dry conditions.

“If Drysdale was sown throughout southern and central New South Wales, it could add hundreds of millions of dollars to the ave

Fossilised remains of sea creatures are commonly found in rocks in the mountains of the Basque Country. So, at some time in the past, Euskal Herria was under the sea. For example, during the Palaeocene period, some 65-55 million years ago. The region was then subtropical, and similar in appearance to the Australian Coral Reef.

Along the Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa coast, around Eibar, in Irati and in Urbasa, for example, we can see Palaeocene outcrops at the surface. During that period there were

Mt Gambier’s Blue Lake will be the Australian focus of an international study to ensure future drinking water for towns and cities dependent on ground water. As well as Mt Gambier, the study will include Doncaster in England, Rastatt in Germany, and Ljubljana in Slovenia.

In Australia, the AISUWRS (Assessing and Improving the Sustainability of Urban Water Resources and Systems) project is expected to have immediate benefits for other towns and cities such as Perth, Newcastle and Wagga