ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2011) — Lodgepole pine, a hardy tree species that can thrive in cold temperatures and plays a key role in many western ecosystems, is already shrinking in range as a result of climate change — and may almost disappear from most of the Pacific Northwest by 2080, a new study concludes. Including […]
Eradication programme aims to save millions of seabirds from invasive rats on South Georgia By Lewis Smith, guardian.co.uk24 February 2011 14.57 GMT Testing for the biggest rat eradication programme in history is beginning on a remote UK island in the south Atlantic. Scientists are preparing to drop poison in a limited area of South Georgia […]
Contact: Beth King, kingb@si.edu, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 14 Feb 2011 Sleeping Beauty’s kingdom was overgrown by vines when she fell into a deep sleep. Researchers at the Smithsonian in Panama and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee received more than a million dollars from the U.S. National Science Foundation to discover why real vines […]
By Yereth Rosen; editing by Steve Gorman and Greg McCuneSat Feb 12, 2011 12:43pm EST ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – Thawing permafrost is triggering mudslides onto a key road traveled by busloads of sightseers. Tall bushes newly sprouted on the tundra are blocking panoramic views. And glaciers are receding from convenient viewing areas, while their rapid […]
A warmer Antarctica makes a hospitable home for these crabs, endangering an entire ecosystem that has no defenses against them. By Eric NiilerTue Feb 8, 2011 07:00 AM ET McMURDO STATION, Antarctica — Warming waters along the Antarctic peninsula have opened the door to shell-crushing king crabs that threaten a unique ecosystem on the seafloor, […]
Washington (AFP) Feb 3, 2011 – A survey of oyster habitats around the world released Thursday found that the succulent mollusks are disappearing fast and 85 percent of their reefs have been lost due to disease and over-harvesting. Most of the remaining wild oysters in the world, or about 75 percent, can be found in […]
By Greg AllenJanuary 19, 2011 Florida is a national leader in orange and grapefruit production. But in the past few years, landowners have given up on more than 100,000 acres of citrus groves, which have become a threat to producers of the state’s signature crop. The abandoned groves are breeding grounds for pests and diseases. […]
By Danny Vittore, Karl Smallwood Jan 06, 2011 Animals aren’t extremely ambitious. Sometimes, however, all they need is a little helpful prodding in the right direction to start conquering everything around them like warlords. As we first pointed out a couple of weeks ago, human stupidity is always there to give them a helping hand. […]
By John Platt Jan 6, 2011 11:20 AM Six Australian birds that have not been seen in decades have been declared extinct by a team of scientists assessing the health of the country’s bird species. In most cases they could have been saved, says team leader Stephen Garnett, professor of tropical knowledge at Charles Darwin […]
Here are 2010’s most-viewed stories on Desdemona. A few have had further developments since they were posted, and I’ve noted this where appropriate. Not surprisingly, the most popular event was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with seven entries (that’s why this post is about the top twenty stories, instead of the top ten). Six of […]
