Victoria’s native animals and natural landscapes are in a state of serious decline, as population growth and land clearance put ecosystems under pressure and climate change causes more extreme natural disasters such as bushfires. An extended state government inquiry into the health of Victoria’s environment found that the clearing of native vegetation and the creep […]
Tag Archives: climate change
29
Nov
Nov
Bleached kelp on San Juan Island, Washington during this summer’s heat dome. (Courtesy of Robin Fales) During this summer sweltering heat wave, Robin Fales patrolled the same stretch of shoreline on Washington’s San Juan Island every day at low tide. The stench of decaying sea life increased as temperatures hit triple digits – around 30 […]
Plants and animals
How many Minnesota plants and animals can survive in small pockets of old growth forests?
27
Nov
Nov
Minnesota’s great lime and sugar maple forests have been cut into smaller and smaller pockets over the past 150 years. The “Big Woods” that once ruled the state are long gone, divided into hundreds of parks and reserves. There are still vestiges of the old forest that have never been mined, or at least have […]
26
Nov
Nov
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 […]
01
Nov
Nov
Warming temperatures, stronger storms and rising seas present a cascade of challenges that researchers are working to understand. Scientists have reminded us once again that when it comes to climate change, we are all in this together. A to study published last month in Natural climate change concluded that at least 85% of the world’s […]
27
Oct
Oct
Photo: Pixabay/Nordseher The upcoming COP26, which is due to take place from October 31 to November 12, will focus on global carbon emissions and the daunting challenges of keeping the global temperature rise to a manageable level. It’s already a lofty goal, but delegates gathered in Glasgow, Scotland, and their British hosts are also expected […]
18
Oct
Oct
Mercedes Bustamante – professor at the University of Brasilia, member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and lead scientist of the Scientific Panel for the Amazon – says the world must announce a “red code” for the Amazon due to growing threats against the largest rainforest in the world. Bustamante cites evidence gathered in a […]
12
Oct
Oct
Editor’s note: Arizona State University photographer and videographer Deanna Dent recently joined researchers from the Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center on a trip to southern Arizona, where they collected insects after a heavy monsoon. Here’s what she learned. This year may well be one of the wettest southern Arizona monsoons in recorded history, and that has […]
Ecosystems
A new method for predicting the response of ecosystems to marine heat waves developed by an international collaboration — ScienceDaily
08
Oct
Oct
Marine heat waves, driven by climate change, are becoming more frequent and intense around the world. Although we know that heat waves kill marine organisms and have devastating effects on ecosystems, there is currently no way to predict these effects or to help ecosystems adapt. An international team of marine scientists from Hong Kong, Japan […]
30
Sep
Sep
An international research group led by Bev Law, a researcher from Oregon State University, discovers three variables that determine the health of an earth’s ecosystem. Variables include the ability of vegetation to absorb carbon and its efficiency in using carbon and water. Metolius Stream Tower. Image credit: Oregon State University The study is important because […]
29
Sep
Sep
The Poʻouli (Melamprosops phaeosoma) is one of 8 Hawaiian birds to be declared extinct this week. In … [+] 2004, 2 females and a male remained; the male died in captivity and females were last seen during this same period. US Fish and Wildlife Service (photographer Paul E. Baker?) In a rare case, the US […]
Ecosystems
UofSC Professor: Human-induced climate change is devastating ocean ecosystems – UofSC News & Events
28
Sep
Sep
Erin Meyer-Gutbrod studies the movement of right whales, reef fish in response to climate change Published on: September 28, 2021; Updated on: September 28, 2021By Rose Cisneros and Bryan Gentry, cisneror@mailbox.sc.edu, 803-576-7239 Warming oceans are pushing some marine populations out of their habitats and putting them at risk, according to a new study by Professor […]
28
Sep
Sep
The research has shed new light on the impact of humans on the biodiversity of the islands. The results show how human colonization has altered the forest across the islands of Macaronesia, including the loss of landscape authenticity. Ocean island ecosystems are unique and often contain species restricted to specific islands or groups of islands. […]
27
Sep
Sep
Image credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Media When it comes to climate change, nature hasn’t had the luxury of waiting for dragging politicians, evasive corporations or science deniers. Countless species are already on the move. “Just as the planet is changing faster than expected, so are the plants and animals that inhabit it,” writes the biologist […]
17
Sep
Sep
The government has confirmed that it will introduce legislation in the near future to speed up the use of gene editing as a way to improve both crops and livestock. While a full government response to the consultation it conducted earlier in the year is still awaited, a statement from Cabinet Minister Lord Frost said […]
03
Sep
Sep
A new study, conducted with the support of eight universities and seven Australian environmental organizations, has identified the continent’s most endangered plants and animals. This is the most comprehensive nationwide dataset describing threats to Australia’s flora and fauna. Researchers have identified 1,339 species of plants and 456 species of animals that are listed as threatened […]
03
Sep
Sep
Aerial view of deforestation in Daly River, Northern Territory in 2008. Credit: Julian Murphy / WWF-Aus The first comprehensive list of threats to Australia’s most endangered plants and animals reveals brutal news about the future of some of the country’s favorite species. The study led by the University of Queensland compiled a dataset, listing threats […]
30
Aug
Aug
California’s ecosystems underpin the state’s economy: they nurture and protect the state’s water supply, shorelines, agriculture, fisheries and wildlife. But many of these ecosystems are in very poor health, and climate change is now accelerating the loss of biodiversity already underway. Ecosystem degradation is having ripple effects across the state. Serious water supply problems, dwindling […]
Ecosystems
Guest Opinion: To restore California’s ecosystems, we need to embrace smarter permits | News
29
Aug
Aug
California’s ecosystems underpin the state’s economy: they nurture and protect the state’s water supply, shorelines, agriculture, fisheries and wildlife. But many of these ecosystems are in very poor health, and climate change is now accelerating the loss of biodiversity already underway. Ecosystem degradation is having ripple effects across the state. Serious water supply problems, dwindling […]
22
Aug
Aug
A few days ago, I opened a jar of honey that I hadn’t touched in months. The thick golden molasses was strewn with black spots – ants that had died after gorging on nectar. It was something I hadn’t seen in years. It now seems far away that a forgotten candy bar, a piece of […]
Ecosystems
Both a research entity and a tourist attraction, Biosphere 2 is home to unique ecosystems
14
Aug
Aug
Biosphere 2 rises from the desert in Arizona. (Glen Rosales/For the Albuquerque Journal) ORACLE, Ariz. — Decades ago, the thought of a group of humans locked in a life-cycle experiment was pure science fiction — until a group of visionaries realized this on a pristine 40-acre slice of the Sonoran Desert north of Tucson. For […]
01
Jul
Jul
A team of scientists have developed a more accurate way to predict the effects of climate change on plants and animals, and whether some will survive. Frequently, environmentalists assess an organism’s fitness for climate by quantifying its functional traits. Trees and other organisms facing the flow of air or water will experience forces that could […]
01
Jul
Jul
image: Trees and other organisms facing air or water flow will experience forces that could bend, break, or dislodge them. By understanding the variables that help resist these forces, as well as air or water speeds, scientists can use an ecomechanical model to make predictions about survival. see Following Credit: (Tim Higham / UCR) A […]
01
Jul
Jul
A team of scientists have developed a more accurate way to predict the effects of climate change on plants and animals, and whether some will survive. Frequently, environmentalists assess an organism’s fitness for climate by quantifying its functional traits. “These are physical properties that you can measure – the height, the diameter, the thickness of […]
23
Apr
Apr
Grassland in Uganda. Credit: Luke Dunning, author provided little did biologist Gregor Mendel know that his experiments with sweet peas in the garden of a monastery in Brno, Czech Republic, will lay the foundation for our understanding of modern genetics and heredity. His work in the 19th century helped scientists establish that parents transmit their […]
21
Apr
Apr
Thanks to warming climates and habitat destruction, ‘invasive species’ narratives have begun to shift JMrocek/iStock/Getty Images Plus Feral pigs are considered an invasive species in Ontario. As human activity continues to heat the planet and destroy wildlife habitat, plants and animals are responding based on their genetic makeup and ability to adapt to changed environments. […]
24
Mar
Mar
As the Earth’s climate changes, a significant number of plant and animal species are moving to new places, which is equivalent to what researchers in 2017 called “a universal redistribution of life on Earth.” A new review article in the journal Biology of global change looks at the northward march of a variety of tropical […]
Plants and animals
To save endangered plants and animals, restore habitat on farms, ranches and other working lands
29
Oct
Oct
The research summary is a brief overview of interesting scholarly work. The big idea According to a recently published study conducted by a team of environmental scientists including us. Our analysis revealed that this can be done in a way that minimize trade-offs and might even make farms more productive helping to control pests, improving […]
26
Mar
Mar
Research News When it comes to climate, plants and animals are not that different Plants, animals remarkably similar in their responses to changing environmental conditions Tropical plants, animal species, like this leaf frog, live in a narrower range than temperate species March 26, 2020 Despite fundamental differences in their biology, plants and animals are strikingly […]
24
Mar
Mar
By Daniel Stolte, University Communications March 24, 2020 A Mexican leaf frog, photographed near Alamos, Mexico. Plant and animal species from the tropics, like this frog, have been found to occur in a narrower temperature range than temperate species, which may make tropical species much more vulnerable to climate change. (Photo: John J. Wiens) Despite […]
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