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Researchers Could Predict Climate Changes Based on Arctic Ecosystems

Through reconstruction we are able to understand the ecological processes which took place in the past, extrapolate our results to the future, predicts the changes in biocenoses under specific ecological and climatic conditions, - explains Larissa Frolova, Research Associate at the Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology, and Paleomagnetism Lab of the Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology. - This is very important and is directly tied to the economy. Climatic changes influence biota, environment, and our lives.

18 Sep 2015

Agriculture and Tree Planting Could Harm Nonforest Ecosystems

The world's grassy biomes are key contributors to biodiversity and ecosystem services, and are under immense pressure from conversion to agriculture and tree planting, report Joseph W. Veldman, of Iowa State University, and his colleagues in an article for the October issue of BioScience.

10 Sep 2015

Low-Level Oil Exposure impacts Wild Fish Populations

For 25 years, methodical research by scientists has investigated the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 on Alaskan communities and ecosystems. A new study released today into the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska shows that embryonic salmon and herring exposed to very low levels of crude oil can develop hidden heart defects that compromise their later survival, indicating that the spill may have had much greater impacts on spawning fish than previously recognized.

9 Sep 2015

Hydroelectric Energy May Put More Methylmercury into Ecosystems than Climate Change, Finds Harvard Research

Methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin, is especially high in Arctic marine life but until recently, scientists haven't been able to explain why. Now, research from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health suggests that high levels of methylmercury in Arctic life are a byproduct of global warming and the melting of sea-ice in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.

8 Sep 2015

University of Leicester Researchers Show Trees Improve Dispersion of Pollution in Cities

University of Leicester researchers show how trees benefit pedestrians in city environments

4 Sep 2015

CNAP Team Unravels Mechanism of TNT Toxicity in Plants Enabling Novel Approach to Explosives Remediation Technology

Biologists at the University of York have taken an important step in making it possible to clean millions of hectares of land contaminated by explosives.

4 Sep 2015

New Survey Suggests 50% Bird Species to Lose Geographic Range Across Three Climate Change Scenarios

Over 50% of nearly 600 surveyed bird species may lose more than half of their current geographic range across three climate change scenarios through the end of the century in North America, according to a study published September 2, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Gary Langham and colleagues from the National Audubon Society.

4 Sep 2015

Study Suggests Solid Bacteria and Animal Species Below Ground Play Key Role in Regulating Ecosystem Functions

Although most of the world's biodiversity is below ground, surprisingly little is known about how it affects ecosystems or how it will be affected by climate change. A new study demonstrates that soil bacteria and the richness of animal species belowground play a key role in regulating a whole suite of ecosystem functions on Earth. The authors call for far more attention to this overlooked world of worms, bugs and bacteria in the soil.

4 Sep 2015

Study on Ancient Cooling Period, Younger Dyras Could Throw Light on Future Climate Change

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have found that a well-known period of abrupt climate change 12,000 years ago occurred rapidly in northern latitudes but much more gradually in equatorial regions, a discovery that could prove important for understanding and responding to future climate change.

4 Sep 2015

Biomass of Fish Plays an Important Role in Protecting Coral Reef Ecosystems

A new study by WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) has found that coral reef diversity 'hotspots' in the southwestern Indian Ocean rely more on the biomass of fish than where they are located, a conclusion that has major implications for management decisions to protect coral reef ecosystems.

3 Sep 2015