(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 […]
By John PlattSep 13, 2010 05:20 PM Populations of a bumblebee species living on remote Scottish islands have a lack of genetic diversity because of many generations of inbreeding, a situation that could put the region’s bumblebees at risk of extinction, according to a new study by scientists from the University of Stirling in Scotland. […]
By Tom Spears, The Ottawa Citizen September 7, 2010 OTTAWA — Common plants in eastern Ontario from blueberries to roses to apple trees are already in danger of not being able to pollinate because of a bee shortage, new Canadian research suggests. A long-term University of Toronto study on bees and pollination shows evidence that […]
A decline in bees and global warming are having a damaging effect on the pollination of plants, new research claims. By Richard Alleyne, Science CorrespondentPublished: 5:30AM BST 06 Sep 2010 Researchers have found that pollination levels of some plants have dropped by up to 50 per cent in the last two decades. The “pollination deficit” […]
As climate warms, many species in the United States are shifting their ranges northward and to higher elevations. The map shows the response of Edith’s checkerspot butterfly populations to a warming climate over the past 136 years in the American West. Over 70 percent of the southernmost populations (shown in yellow) have gone extinct. The […]
By Debra JopsonAugust 18, 2010 It is the migrant we cannot live without. The wild European honey bee helps to create one in every three mouthfuls we eat by pollinating plants, but some of our favourite foods are at risk because of a bee-killing mite which is ”more than likely” to reach Australia, a new […]
From the Ecologist, part of the Guardian Environment NetworkFriday 6 August 2010 09.49 BST Environmental groups including the Soil Association and Buglife are making a renewed call for an end to the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, which are among the most commonly used pesticides worldwide, after a new study linked them to a decline in […]
By Katia MoskvitchScience reporter, BBC News Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in honeybees could be caused by a “synergy” between groups of fungi and viruses. US researchers claim to have identified a new potential cause for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in honeybees. The disease is responsible for wiping out many beekeepers’ entire colonies over the […]
By Michael McCarthy, Environment EditorSaturday, 22 May 2010 A report showing that Britain is failing to halt the declines of many of its highest-priority wildlife species and habitats, from the red squirrel, the juniper and the common skate to chalk rivers and coastal salt marshes, was “sneaked out” this week by the Government with […]
