ScienceDaily (Oct. 6, 2010) — A study by a USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station scientist shows the numbers of nonnative Chinese tallowtree in Louisiana, Mississippi and east Texas grew by about 370 percent over a 16-year period. The spread of the invasive plant may create problems for plants and wildlife along the Gulf coast. […]
According to the The National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), satellite data taken from September this year indicates that Arctic sea ice is continuing a long-term decline. The report, published this week, shows how sea ice coverage was recorded at a summer low of 1.84 million square miles, indicating a continuing trend of decreasing […]
Contact: Brian Laghi, laghib@nrtee-trnee.ca October 5, 2010 The physical effects of climate change on Canada in the next century could touch everything from human health and community infrastructure to water resources and even tourism and recreation activities, according to a newly-compiled presentation of scientific research published today. Called Degrees of Change, the diagram is the […]
By Rhett A. Butler, www.mongabay.comOctober 06, 2010 A new global assessment of forest stocks by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows a sharp acceleration of primary forest loss since 2005 despite gains in the extent of protected areas. FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 reveals some 13 million hectares of forest were cleared […]
By John Platt Oct 5, 2010 04:00 PM One of the world’s most critically endangered birds, Kenya’s taita apalis (Apalis fuscigularis), has suddenly and inexplicably become much, much rarer, according to BirdLife International. The organization, which has funded research into the species through its Preventing Extinctions Program, says that field work conducted in 2009 and […]
(PhysOrg.com) — The first detailed measurements of current extinction rates for a specific region have shown that birds are the best group to use to track the losses. The study also reveals Britain may be losing species over ten times faster than records suggest, and the speed of loss is probably increasing: the losses from […]
By Michael McCarthyMonday, 4 October 2010 Forty British wild bird species need special protection to help them survive, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says today. They range from the once-familiar house sparrows of Central London to the enigmatic and mournful-sounding black-throated divers of the lochs of the Scottish Flow Country, and […]
Contact: Matthias Obst, University of Gothenburg 4-Oct-2010 Having survived for more than 400 million years, the horseshoe crab is now under threat – primarily due to overharvest and habitat destruction. However, climatic changes may also play a role. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg reveal how sensitive horseshoe crab populations are to natural climate change […]
www.wildmadagascar.org September 30, 2010 One thousand endangered tortoises are being illegally collected each week in southern Madagascar, reports WWF. The trade, driven by international demand for the endemic radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) and the spider tortoise (Pyxis arachnoids) as well as local consumption, is driving the slow-to-reproduce species toward extinction in the wild. Additionally, tortoise […]
By Ken Ward Jr.September 30, 2010 CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An independent science advisory team has issued a draft report [pdf] that supports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusion that mountaintop removal is causing serious damage to Appalachian streams. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s independent Science Advisory Board earlier this week issued a draft of its […]
