Ecosystems News

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Using Organic Manure Instead of Chemical Fertilizer Can Help Decrease Emission of Greenhouse Gases

Approximately 35% of global greenhouse gases (GHGs) come from agriculture. Some argues that human can reverse global worming by sequestering several hundred billion tons of excess CO2 through regenerative, organic farming, ranching and land use.

30 Apr 2015

Overfishing Increases Threat of Fast-Growing Sponges to Endangered Corals

For reef-building corals, sponges do not make good neighbors. Aggressive competitors for space, sponges use toxins, mucus, shading, and smothering to kill adjacent coral colonies and then grow on their skeletons.

30 Apr 2015

Light Pollution from Coastal Communities Affect Marine Ecosystems

Marine ecosystems can be changed by night-time artificial lighting according to new research published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. The results indicate that light pollution from coastal communities, shipping and offshore infrastructure could be changing the composition of marine invertebrate communities.

29 Apr 2015

Salty Aquifer Below Antarctica's Dry Valleys May Retain Evidence of Ancient Climate Change

Using a novel, helicopter-borne sensor to penetrate below the surface of large swathes of terrain, a team of researchers supported by the National Science Foundation, or NSF, has gathered compelling evidence that beneath the Antarctica ice-free McMurdo Dry Valleys lies a salty aquifer that may support previously unknown microbial ecosystems and retain evidence of ancient climate change.

29 Apr 2015

Research Shows Biodiversity Enhances Multitasking in Ecosystems

A new study of the complex interplay between organisms and their environment shows that biodiversity--the variety of organisms living on Earth--is even more important to the healthy functioning of ecosystems than previously thought.

27 Apr 2015

Loss of Species Diversity Affects Productivity of Remaining Plants

When plant biodiversity declines, the remaining plants face diminishing productivity, say scientists in study published April 20 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

21 Apr 2015

Rapid Climate Change Affected Marine Ecosystems Tens of Thousands of Years Ago

In common parlance, the phrase "global climate change" is often used to describe how present-day climate is changing in response to human activities. But climate has also varied naturally and sometimes quite rapidly in the past, with implications for the ocean and its ecosystems.

16 Apr 2015

Study: Ocean Acidification Caused the Earth's Greatest Mass Extinction

Changes to the Earth's oceans, caused by extreme volcanic activity, triggered the greatest extinction of all time, a study suggests.

13 Apr 2015

Lake Erie's Dead Zones Greatly Affect Fish Distributions, Catch Rates

New research shows that Lake Erie's dead zones are actually quite active, greatly affecting fish distributions, catch rates and the effectiveness of fishing gear.

13 Apr 2015

British Columbia and Alberta Could Lose 70% of Glacier Ice by the End of the 21st Century

Seventy per cent of glacier ice in British Columbia and Alberta could disappear by the end of the 21st century, creating major problems for local ecosystems, power supplies, and water quality, according to a new study by University of British Columbia researchers.

7 Apr 2015