By Jeremy Hance The state of Idaho has set a quota of 220 individuals for the wolf hunting season which begins on September 1st. If the quota holds, a quarter of Idaho’s estimated 880 wolves will be killed. The 220 quota is actually a reduction from an earlier proposal that called for a quota of […]
By ANNA M. TINSLEY As the hot days in Texas get even hotter, it may just be too much for some birds and fish. From the American goldfinch to the gray snapper, some species have been moving north for years, searching for cooler ground. And their quest may someday lead them to migrate out of […]
Half of all weeds come to dominate the ocean island habitats they invade, a new analysis reveals. By Matt Walker, Editor, Earth News Almost 400 invasive plant species have set up home as weeds on some of the world’s most distant oceanic islands. About half now dominate their new habitat, and hundreds more species are […]
At least 45% of Indian land is environmentally “degraded”, air pollution is rising and flora and fauna is diminishing, according to a report. The State of Environment Report is the first to be published for eight years and is the first to use satellite imagery to support its findings. It focuses on water, energy, food, […]
ScienceDaily (Aug. 11, 2009) — 21st century British woodlands are less distinctive than those of the early 20th century due to environmental change. Native woodland plants have re-organized over the last 70 years in response to increased soil fertility and loss of light related to increased canopy shading. The research was carried out by a […]
Climate change could result in the catastrophic loss of wildlife, a report says. The National Park Service is called on to create a system to manage animals and plants. By Margot Roosevelt The federal government must take decisive action to avoid “a potentially catastrophic loss of animal and plant life” in national parks, according to […]
British woodlands are less biologically distinctive than they were 70 years ago, says a team of UK researchers. The use of fertilisers in farming had increased soil fertility, while tree canopies had grown thicker and cut light levels, they explained. As a result, the woodlands were becoming home to the same species, resulting in the […]
ScienceDaily (July 28, 2009) — When the magnitude 8 Sichuan earthquake struck southern China in May 2008, it left more than 69,000 people dead and 4.3 million homeless. Now ecologists have added to these losses an assessment of the earthquake’s impact on biodiversity. Researchers show that more than 23 percent of the pandas’ habitat […]
‘On left: microscopic photo of the spring diatom bloom with large organisms dominating. On right: warming of six degrees with smaller flagellates dominating.’ Image credit:IFM-GEOMAR, via PhysOrg.com I want to be careful not to exaggerate the significance of this work. That said, I find it disturbing to learn that a warming ocean selects for […]
By Peter Lord A new study by researchers at Brown University finds that climate change is reducing the diversity of plants in New England salt marshes by causing a decline in small, flowering plants and allowing the spread of salt marsh grasses such as Spartina patens. The study, called “Experimental warming causes rapid loss of […]
