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Ocean Acidification Will Worsen and Affect Marine Organisms, Ecosystems

NERC-funded scientists at Heriot-Watt University have led a major new international report showing unequivocally that ocean acidification will have significant consequences for marine life, and in turn human society.

9 Oct 2014

Little is Known About ‘Center of Marine Biodiversity’ in the Indo-Pacific Ocean

Research on zoantharians, a group of animals related to corals and anemones, by researchers James Reimer of the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan, Angelo Poliseno of Universita Politecnica delle Marche in Italy, and Bert Hoeksema from Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Netherlands, has demonstrated how little we know about marine diversity in the so-called "center of marine biodiversity" located in the central Indo-Pacific Ocean. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

9 Oct 2014

Species Diversity Does Not Improve Tree Resistance to Drought in Forest Ecosystems

Due to climate change, parts of the world will face droughts that will affect forest health. Scientists from INRA, in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and European colleagues, studied the resistance of forests to drought according to the diversity of tree species.

7 Oct 2014

NOAA, NASA Fund Foundation Projects for National Operational Marine Biodiversity Observation Network

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA are funding three demonstration projects that will lay the foundation for the first national network to monitor marine biodiversity at scales ranging from microbes to whales. The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) also plans to contribute.

7 Oct 2014

Researchers Study Resistance of Forests to Drought According to Diversity of Tree Species

Scientists from INRA, in collaboration with WSL (Switzerland) and European colleagues, studied the resistance of forests to drought according to the diversity of tree species.

1 Oct 2014

NASA Satellite Provides New Insights into How Climate and Ecosystem Affect Phytoplankton

The greens and blues of the ocean color from NASA satellite data have provided new insights into how climate and ecosystem processes affect the growth cycles of phytoplankton—microscopic aquatic plants important for fish populations and Earth’s carbon cycle.

1 Oct 2014

Pollution, Global Warming and Ocean Acidification Threaten Coral Ecosystem

An expedition from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Carnegie Institute of Science has measured a roughly 40% reduction in the rate of calcium carbonate deposited in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in the last 35 years — a scenario that could damage the reef framework and endanger the entire coral ecosystem.

30 Sep 2014

Conversion of Forests to Cropland Changes Carbon Cycle of Terrestrial Ecosystem

The conversion of forests, grasslands, shrublands and wetlands to cropland over the course of three centuries profoundly changed the surface of the Earth and the carbon cycle of the terrestrial ecosystem in Northeast China.

30 Sep 2014

Wood Frogs Breed Earlier and Produce Fewer Eggs Due to Climate Change

Scientists have found amphibians worldwide are breeding earlier due to climate change, but how that affects species is just now being answered.

29 Sep 2014

Precipitation Found to be an Important Climate Factor in the Carbon Cycle

Plants play a crucial role in the global climate system, removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the air and converting it into carbohydrates. Carbon can be stored for several years or even many decades in the ecosystem before it is converted back into CO2 and returned to the atmosphere.

26 Sep 2014