By Yadigar Sekerci and Sergei Petrovskii12 November 2015 (Bulletin of Mathematical Biology) – We have studied the oxygen–plankton dynamics using a mathematical model that takes into account oxygen production in photosynthesis, plankton respiration, and the effect of zooplankton predation on phytoplankton. The model is described by a system of three coupled ODEs in the nonspatial […]
1 December 2015 (University of Leicester) – Falling oxygen levels caused by global warming could be a greater threat to the survival of life on planet Earth than flooding, according to researchers from the University of Leicester. A study led by Sergei Petrovskii, Professor in Applied Mathematics from the University of Leicester’s Department of Mathematics, […]
25 November 2015 (SSCS) – A pod of pilot whales driven into the infamous killing cove on Nov. 19 (Japan time) was traumatized and held without food or shelter for three days; one was later taken captive, the remainder were killed or dumped at sea. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s Cove Guardian volunteers have captured extremely […]
By Damian Carrington20 November 2015 (The Guardian) – More than half the myriad tree species in the Amazon could be heading for extinction, according to a study that makes the first comprehensive estimate of threatened species in the world’s largest rainforest. Among the species expected to suffer significant falls in numbers are the Brazil nut, […]
[cf. 60,000 antelopes died in 4 days, and no one knows why and Saiga antelope population declines 95% in 15 years] By Emma Howard3 November 2015 (The Guardian) – More than half of the world’s population of an endangered antelope died within two weeks earlier this year, in a phenomenon that scientists are unable to […]
By Farai Mutsaka26 October 2015 HARARE, Zimbabwe (Associated Press) – Cyanide poisoning has killed 22 elephants in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said on Monday. This brings to 62 the number of elephants poisoned by poachers in this southern Africa country in October. Rangers found the carcasses of […]
By Callum Roberts19 September 2015 (The Observer) – Sardines were once extraordinarily abundant in the south-west of England, leading one 19th-century guidebook to say: “Pursued by predaceous hordes of dogfish, hake and cod, and greedy flocks of seabirds, they advance towards the land in such amazing numbers as actually to impede the passage of vessels […]
By Chris Mooney8 October 2015 (The Washington Post) – For just the third time on record, scientists say they are now watching the unfolding of a massive worldwide coral bleaching event, spanning the globe from Hawaii to the Indian Ocean. And they fear that thanks to warm sea temperatures, the ultimate result could be the […]
5 October 2015 (AFP) – Thirty-one percent of cacti, some 500 species, face extinction due to human encroachment, according to the first global assessment of the prickly plants, published Monday. The finding places the cactus among the most threatened taxonomic groups on Earth, ahead of mammals and birds and just behind corals, according to the […]
By Fergus Ryan, with additional reporting by Amber Ziye Wang26 September 2015 Beijing (The Guardian) – While differences on cyber security and talk of sanctions dominated the headlines for Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to the US, the two countries also signed up to a major agreement to end the global trade in ivory. In […]
