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Unpredictable Weather Patterns Lead to Decline in Ecosystem Productivity

Fluctuations in extreme weather events, such as heavy rains and droughts, are affecting ecosystems in unexpected ways -- creating "winners and losers" among plant species that humans depend upon for food.

29 Sep 2015

Mercury Concentrations Uncovered in Reptiles in Remote Amazon Basin

Mercury contamination in water and on land is of worldwide concern due to its toxic effects on ecosystems and human health. Mercury toxicity is of particular concern to reptiles because they are currently experiencing population declines.

22 Sep 2015

Study Reveals Methane Emissions from Arctic Tundra Increase When Sea Ice Melts

Methane emissions from Arctic tundra increase when sea ice melts, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden. This connection has been suspected before, but has lacked strong evidence until now.

18 Sep 2015

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