Pacific Northwest 'dead zone' hypoxic events unprecedented

A review of all available ocean data records concludes that the low-oxygen events which have plagued the Pacific Northwest coast since 2002 are unprecedented in the five decades prior to that, and may well be linked to the stronger, persistent winds that are expected to occur with global warming. In a new study to be […]

Grizzly bears move into polar bear habitat in Manitoba, Canada

ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2010) — Biologists affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History and City College of the City University of New York have found that grizzly bears are roaming into what was traditionally thought of as polar bear habitat — and into the Canadian province of Manitoba, where they are officially listed as […]

Extinct animals are quickly forgotten: the baiji and shifting baselines

Even megafauna can be quickly forgotten: the baiji and shifting baselines By Jeremy Hancewww.mongabay.comFebruary 23, 2010 In 2006 a survey in China to locate the endangered Yangtze River dolphin, known as the baiji, found no evidence of its survival. Despondent, researchers declared that the baiji was likely extinct. Four years later and the large charismatic […]

Penguins in Antarctica to be replaced by jellyfish due to global warming

Rising temperatures in the oceans around Antarctica could lead to the continent’s penguins being replaced by jellyfish, scientists have warned. The results of the largest ever survey of Antarctic marine life reveal melting sea ice is decimating krill populations, which form an integral part of penguins’ diets. The six-inch-long invertebrates, also eaten by other higher […]

Deep-sea trawling is destroying coral reefs and pristine marine habitats

A survey of the world’s reefs and submerged mountains has revealed widespread damage from deep-sea trawling By Ian Sample, San Diegowww.guardian.co.uk, Thursday 18 February 2010 22.00 GMT Deep-sea trawling is devastating corals and pristine marine habitats that have gone untouched since the last ice age, a leading marine biologist has warned. A survey of the […]

Great white sharks more threatened than tigers

  By Steve Connor Saturday, 20 February 2010 The number of great white sharks may have fallen below the number of tigers, one of the world’s most endangered terrestrial species that benefits from a huge effort to save it from extinction. Like tigers, great whites are a top predator and, like tigers, they have suffered […]

Deadly white-nose syndrome still spreading among East Coast bats

The bat-killing fungal infection known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) has spread into Tennessee for the first time. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has confirmed that infected bats were found in Worley’s cave in Sullivan County, where they had been hibernating. Most Tennessee caves were closed to visitors last spring to try to prevent WNS […]

Warmer seas may rob corals and rainforests of clouds

Just 2 °C more and reefs stop producing a cloud-seeding gas, which could leave corals hotter still and rainforests drier Rising ocean temperatures might leave coral reefs in seriously hot water – without clouds for protection. Five years ago Graham Jones and his team at Southern Cross University in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, demonstrated […]

What is sickening and killing California's brown pelicans?

By John Platt Hundreds of brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) have been found sick or dead off the coasts of California in the past month, the victims of a mysterious ailment that has scientists baffled. When found alive, the birds appear hungry and disoriented. But necropsies performed on dead pelicans found that they had been eating, […]

Cold snap killing Florida's coral reefs

By Staff WritersMiami (AFP) Feb 15, 2010 Miami (AFP) Feb 15, 2010 – The polar snap enveloping much of the United States in record cold has been killing off coral reefs in the normally balmy warm waters off the Florida Keys, experts said Monday. The unusually chilly weather so far this year has seen sea […]

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