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Ecosystems
Logging may destabilize carbon in forest soils
June 14, 2013 03:01 PM - Rhett Butler, MONGABAY.COM
Logging in temperate zones may release more greenhouse gases than previously thought by destabilizing carbon stored in forest soils, argues a new paper published in the journal Global Change Biology-Bioenergy. The research involved analysis of carbon released from forest management practices in the northeastern United States. It found that while most models assume carbon stored in mineral soils to be relatively stable, in fact intensive logging operations, like clear-cutting, trigger release of carbon from various pools above and below ground.
Some Invasive Species may be Judged Unfairly
June 14, 2013 06:02 AM - Allison Winter, ENN
Non-native species are organisms that have been purposely or accidently introduced to an area outside its original geographic range. Often, these non-native species become invasive where they thrive in their new habitat and can aggressively start to take over the environment by outcompeting some of the native species. This alteration can not only cause harm to the environment, but to the economy as well.
Better Land Use May Help Protect Coral Reefs
June 13, 2013 02:21 PM - Editor, ENN
According to new research, for nations that have outlying coral reefs, better land use of the mainland is crucial in order to prevent further damage to these ocean habitats. A recent study reveals important implications for Madagascan and Australian reefs based on deforestation scenarios.
11,000 barrels of oil spill into the Amazon's Coca River
June 13, 2013 09:02 AM - Jeremy Hance, MONGABAY.COM
On May 31st, a landslide ruptured an oil pipeline in Ecuadorean Amazon, sending around 11,000 barrels of oil (420,000 gallons) into the Coca River. The oil pollution has since moved into the larger Napo River, which borders Yasuni National Park, and is currently heading downstream into Peru and Brazil. The spill has occurred in a region that is notorious for heavy oil production and decades of contamination, in addition to resistance and lawsuits by indigenous groups.
Ocean acidification pushing young oysters into 'death race'
June 12, 2013 08:51 AM - Jeremy Hance, MONGABAY.COM
Scientists have long known that ocean acidification is leading to a decline in Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) in the U.S.'s Pacific Northwest region, but a new study in the American Geophysical Union shows exactly how the change is undercutting populations of these economically-important molluscs. Caused by carbon dioxide emissions, ocean acidification changes the very chemistry of marine waters by lowering pH levels; this has a number consequences including decreasing the availability of calcium carbonate, which oysters and other molluscs use to build shells.
Panama expects benefits from world's first GM salmon
June 11, 2013 03:45 PM - Eva Aguilar, SciDevNet
Panama's researchers have played a key role in creating a rapidly growing salmon that may soon become the world's first commercially sold genetically modified (GM) animal. The US's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ruled the consumption of GM salmon to be as safe as conventional Atlantic salmon, and is now analyzing public comments on its environmental impact as the final part of the approval process. If the FDA permits the transgenic salmon to be imported for human consumption — which the firm that developed the fish hopes will be granted this year — the research station in Panama that is studying the GM salmon would switch to growing it for the US market.
Tibetan monks partner with conservationists to protect the snow leopard
June 10, 2013 05:26 PM - Jeremy Hance, MONGABAY.COM
Tibetan monks could be the key to safeguarding the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) from extinction, according to an innovative program by big cat NGO Panthera which is partnering with Buddhist monasteries deep in leopard territory. Listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, snow leopard populations have dropped by a fifth in the last 16 years or so. Large, beautiful, and almost never-seen, snow leopards are the apex predators of the high plateaus and mountains of central Asia, but their survival like so many big predators is in jeopardy. Tom McCarthy the head of the Snow Leopard Program at Panthera told mongabay.com that the high-altitude predators are facing three major threats: poaching for illegal snow leopard skins, fur, and parts; decline in natural prey; and revenge killing by locals over livestock losses.
Volcanic Eruptions Linked to Cold Weather Events
June 10, 2013 03:06 PM - Allison Winter, ENN
When a volcano erupts, it's not just the local area and weather that will be affected. In fact, weather and climate around the world can be influenced, as large eruptions throw volcanic ash particles into the stratosphere. Locally, these particles attract water droplets and therefore cause rain events. In addition, higher occurrences of thunder and lightening are observed in the area. But the release of sulphur dioxide gas into the stratosphere, which converts into sulphate aerosol particles, reflects incoming sunlight and creates an overall temporary cooling effect of a much larger area on Earth's surface.
Salt Maps
June 10, 2013 08:57 AM - Andy Soos, ENN
Salinity is an ecological factor of considerable importance, influencing the types of organisms that live in a body of water and perhaps the climate as well. Salinity influences the kinds of plants that will grow either in a water body, or on land fed by a water (or by a ground water. So salt is a vital ecological restraint. Contrary to common perception, salinity is hardly uniform in the world's oceans. "It's apparent when you look at a surface salinity map of the Indian Ocean," said Subrahmanyam Bulusu, the director of the Satellite Oceanography Laboratory in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Carolina. "In the northern part of the Arabian Sea, the salinity is considerably higher than in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal."
200 Year Old Mystery Solved: Why Do Corals Pulsate?
June 10, 2013 08:44 AM - Maya Yarowsky, NoCamels
If you have ever been scuba diving and seen pulsating coral, you may have wondered why such a simple specimen would engage in such an intense activity. Marine biologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology have now begun to discover the biological processes that make the pulsating coral, or Heteroxenia coral, move the way they do.