Bee decline linked to falling biodiversity

By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website  The decline of honeybees seen in many countries may be caused by reduced plant diversity, research suggests. Bees fed pollen from a range of plants showed signs of having a healthier immune system than those eating pollen from a single type, scientists found. Writing in the journal […]

California butterfly populations declining rapidly; ‘There is nowhere to go except heaven’

(University of California – Davis) California butterflies are reeling from a one-two punch of climate change and land development, says an unprecedented analysis led by UC Davis butterfly expert Arthur Shapiro.The new analysis, scheduled to publish online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, gives insights on how a major […]

Beetle infestation threatens monarch butterfly sanctuary in Mexico

Environmental officials in Mexico are battling an unprecedented beetle infestation that threatens to destroy the forests of the monarch butterfly’s winter home. After decades of battling illegal logging in the monarch sanctuary, biologists and park workers have been forced to selectively cut down infected trees in an attempt to stop the beetles from spreading. Bark […]

Pennsylvania blames mine discharges for massive fish kill

By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Tuesday, October 13, 2009 A heretofore undisclosed underground flow of mine pool water between Consol Energy’s Blacksville No. 1 and No. 2 mines may have contributed to the highly salty, polluted discharges that caused the massive, month-long fish kill on Dunkard Creek. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said stream […]

9 ways climate change has animals running (and flying and swimming) for their lives

From TreeHugger:   From the Arctic to the Rockies to the Mediterranean, species large and small are changing their migratory patterns and seeking more hospitable homes. Why? Climate change affects weather conditions, hunting grounds, and the availability of water and favored food supplies. Those that can up and move are the lucky ones–for now–but each […]

One fifth of Mediterranean dragonflies threatened with extinction

29 September 2009 | News – Press Release One fifth of Mediterranean dragonflies and damselflies are threatened with extinction at the regional level as a result of increasing freshwater scarcity, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Climate change and habitat degradation, due to the way land is managed, are also affecting the […]

Hornet army plotting invasion of UK

An army of deadly Chinese hornets is heading north through France towards Britain after attempts to trap and poison them failed.  By Ian JohnstonPublished: 10:59AM BST 26 Sep 2009 The hornets, Vespa velutina, are thought to have arrived in Bordeaux on a container ship from China in 2004 and have been rapidly expanding their population […]

Bird mutations in the Chernobyl exclusion zone

By Sanjida O’Connell …According to a UN report in 2005, long-term cancers caused by Chernobyl will eventually kill about 4,000 people: an alarming total, but less than predicted. In fact, in an age of “dirty bombs” and nuclear proliferation, Chernobyl functions as a grim experiment into the consequences of extensive nuclear fallout. Although radiation levels […]

Vietnam eats one million wild animals per year, many species near extinction

Prosperous middle class contributing to a growing appetite for ‘forest food’ By Andrew Buncombe, Asia correspondent As any visitor to Vietnam can confirm, its people have a remarkable taste for meals made from each and every creature. From snakes and spiders to monkeys and rats, there are few wild animals not prized when it comes […]

Bee-eating Chinese hornets spread through France

PARIS (Reuters) – France is facing an invasion of bee-eating Chinese hornets which could hasten the mysterious decline in the honey-bee population and threaten bee-keepers’ livelihoods, researchers said on Tuesday. Colonies of Asian hornets, or Vespa velutina, have spread rapidly in southwestern France, a region popular with tourists, and are likely to reach other European […]

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