Category Archives: Ecosystems

Ask any advisor and they’ll tell you that the biggest complaint they have about their technology solutions is that they don’t work well together and therefore require manual intervention throughout their processes and workflow. For this reason, many businesses lack capacity, cannot scale, and leave growth opportunities on the table. It’s not a new phenomenon […]

After the Northwest’s “heat dome” this summer, scientists are looking for signs of ecological ruin – or resilience. A kelp bed on San Juan Island photographed a month before the heat dome. Courtesy of Robin Fales A kelp bed on San Juan Island photographed on the second day of the heat dome. Courtesy of Robin […]

We tend to think of Antarctica as remote and remote – biologically speaking, that’s true. But the continent is busier than you probably imagine, with many national programs and tour operators criss-crossing the globe to get there. And every ship, every cargo, and every person could harbor non-native species, hitchhiking to head south. This threat […]

Ecosystems such as forests and peatlands are vital stores of carbon, but less than a quarter of these areas globally have protected status Earth November 18, 2021 By Chen Ly A map from a new study showing the locations of ‘sunk carbon’ around the world Monica L. Noon et al. (2021) Only 23% of Earth’s […]

Natural stores of climate-warming carbon are crammed into a small percentage of Earth’s land, according to a new study that identifies the ecosystems humanity must protect to avoid climate catastrophe. The study, published today in the journal Nature Sustainability, found that half of Earth’s ‘unrecoverable carbon’ – defined as carbon that, if emitted into the […]

By Cacee Hilliard @FlaFarmOffice Environmental stewardship is the beating heart of Florida’s Suwannee Valley. Home to the most freshwater springs in the nation, the Suwannee Valley encompasses more than 15 Florida counties and includes the largest agricultural area in the state. For more than 20 years, the Florida Farm Bureau, in cooperation with the Suwannee […]

MOSCOW – Researchers at the University of Idaho are studying the influence of Tasmanian devils on ecosystems. As an apex predator and scavenger, and one of the world’s few bone-consuming carnivores, devils play a vital role in Tasmania’s island ecosystem by recycling essential nutrients back into the soil. These nutrients, including phosphorus and nitrogen, would […]

More rain falling on weathered landscapes. As climate change brings ever-increasing rainfall, the changes people have made to the environment (paving of surfaces, draining of wetlands and clearing of forests) are causing low-lying areas to flood and rivers to overflow. streams, rivers and sounds. Riparian ecosystems that could naturally handle smaller amounts of water are […]

The trend for most of us when it comes to human wastewater is out of sight, out of mind. We rarely consider what happens after we flush the toilet or turn off the tap. However, researchers at UC Santa Barbara have turned their attention and considerable computing power to the subject and its impacts on […]

A high-resolution mapping analysis, the first of its kind, estimates the amounts of nitrogen and pathogens released to coastal ecosystems from human sewage sources worldwide. Cascade Tuholske (now affiliated with the Columbia Climate School) and colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara present this research in the open access journal PLOS ONE November 10, […]

From 1910 to 1970, humans killed an estimated 1.5 million baleen whales in the freezing waters surrounding Antarctica. They were hunted for their fat, their baleen – the filtering fringe they have in place of their teeth – and their meat. One would assume that from the standpoint of krill – the tiny shrimp-like creatures […]

Biological research has repeatedly demonstrated that the relationship between producer and consumer is governed by a law of scale. An international research team has now looked into the possibility of replicating this law of nature in the relationship between the production of plants in an area and the number of large herbivores that browse on […]

AAlong with our thirst for fossil fuels, the destruction of nature by man has triggered the climatic and ecological crises that today threaten our life on this planet. A major goal for COP26 delegates is to improve the relationship of humans with nature: restore forests and wetlands to absorb more carbon; slow the loss of […]

According to new research, more than 1,500 of Australia’s unique terrestrial and marine ecosystems are not represented in any of the country’s protected areas. The study, by WWF-Australia, comes as countries gather this week for the first leg of the UN biodiversity conference, hosted by China in Kunming. The talks aim to set new goals […]

Many people are completely repelled by parasites, and few would intentionally share their bodies with one. The word “parasite” alone – which comes from the Greek for “to feed on the side” – is enough to give you goosebumps. But parasitism deserves more respect as an “exceptionally successful form of life,” says Jimmy Bernot, an […]

The center will be devoted to the study of the microscopic world of the oceans The University of Georgia, along with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, will co-lead a new National Science Foundation science and technology center that will pursue and foster a deeper understanding of the microbial worlds and chemical processes that swirl through […]

To find out what’s happening below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico, Steven Scyphers often begins by turning to those who know it best: the fishermen. An assistant professor of marine and environmental science at Northeastern, he helps conduct studies rooted in what he calls “collaborative science,” or the process of partnering with people […]

As California ponders water storage, a new study adds nuance to cold water conservation. As drought-stricken California considers construction of new damsa new study reveals that many existing state structures— despite efforts to prioritize healthy water temperatures— are lacking in the cold-water ecosystems that depend on them. The study, Posted in PLOS A, analyzed data […]

August 20, 2021 — Walking along the shore of the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River, the beaches can seem picturesque and pristine. However, on closer inspection, a barely perceptible form of pollution is encroaching on the natural ecosystem. Small blue and white plastic foam particles accumulate along the sand, become entangled in plant […]

In the middle of hurricane season, most people dread hearing of an oncoming storm, but Kelly Kibler, an associate professor of water resources engineering at UCF, says storms actually benefit people. our state in some respects. Kibler spoke to News 6 anchors Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate podcast about the positive […]

In addition to being visually stunning, schools of herring, herds of wildebeest and countless other groups of organisms acting in concert can help complex ecosystems maintain their diversity and stability, according to new research from the Oregon State University. Published today in Nature Ecology and Evolution, the study demonstrates that when individuals come together to […]

How a multi-stakeholder project, MOCUPP, is moving Costa Rica towards sustainable practices to protect the country’s biodiversity Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse places in the world, containing nearly 6 percent of global biodiversity. As a result, its ecosystem provides a range of services, including wood and timber, plants and fruits, among many […]

A lush canopy is a defining characteristic of most forests on the planet. But canopy-forming species can be particularly vulnerable to disturbance and environmental change – even forests that lie under the sea. But what is a forest without its trees? Researchers from the University of Virginia and the University of California, Santa Barbara are […]

Paleontologist François Therrien measures the jaws of a Gorgosaurus. Royal Tyrrell Museum tyrannosaurus rex may be the most perfect dinosaur name ever invented. What else would you call a carnivorous, bipedal reptile that could grow to over 40 feet in length and weigh over nine tons? The size and apparent ferocity of T. rex was […]

Bob Shriver, assistant professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, focuses his teaching and research on understanding and predicting how local plant population demographics, such as survival and growth, respond to climate, disturbance and human management. As part of the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources, Shriver’s work centers on restoration […]

Minnesota authorities have called on aquarium owners to stop releasing pet fish into waterways, after several huge goldfish were pulled from a local lake. Officials in Burnsville, about 15 miles south of Minneapolis, said released goldfish can grow several times their normal size and wreak havoc on native species. “Please don’t release your goldfish into […]

It’s “our last chance to avert climate catastrophe, reverse the deadly tide of pollution, and halt species loss.” The planet’s ecosystems, from forests to grasslands to coral reefs, are in a precarious state. If we continue to cut down trees, turn grasslands into farmland and decimate coral reefs, many ecosystems will soon reach a point […]

Summary This policy brief highlights how human health is directly linked to the state of biodiversity and climate change in the Asia-Pacific region. Improving human health and mitigating future health disasters requires addressing these causal factors simultaneously in an integrated manner. The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) coronavirus is a zoonotic disease, transmitted from animals to humans. Zoonotic […]

By Ayesha Tandon New research shows that lake “stratification periods” – a seasonal separation of water into layers – will last longer in a warmer climate. These longer stratification periods could have “far-reaching implications” for lake ecosystems, according to the article, and can lead to toxic algal blooms, fish kills and increased methane emissions. The […]

According to a study, only 3% of the world’s land remains ecologically intact with healthy populations of all its native animals and undisturbed habitat. These fragments of wilderness undamaged by human activities are mainly found in parts of the rainforests of the Amazon and Congo, the forests and tundra of eastern Siberia and northern Canada […]

Smoke rises from an illegally lit fire in the Amazon rainforest reserve, south of Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil, August 15, 2020. Photo: Carl De Souza (Getty Images) Only 3% of land on Earth still qualifies as ‘ecologically intact’, with undisturbed habitats and healthy populations of its native animal species, according to grim new […]

By Charlie Shield After the novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China in late December 2019, it didn’t take long for conspiracy theorists to claim it was made in a nearby lab. The scientific consensus, on the other hand, is that the virus – SARS-CoV-2 – is a zoonotic disease that jumped from animals to humans. […]

Global warming is about to tear big holes in Earth’s delicate web of life, pushing temperatures beyond the tolerance of thousands of animals at once. As some key species disappear, entire ecosystems like coral reefs and forests will collapse, and some will collapse abruptly, starting this decade, a new study in the journal Nature warns. […]

Oil-coated water droplets are mini-ecosystems for microbes by Timothy Oleson Tuesday December 9th, 2014 Oil rising from underground is solidifying into asphalt over much of Pitch Lake on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. In places, it also reaches the surface in liquid form. Credit: Rainer Meckenstock. Dark, muddy oil may not seem like a suitable […]