Biologist tracks walruses forced ashore as ice melts – ‘Unheard of five years ago’

By Annie FeidtSeptember 26, 2010 from APRN Earlier this month, tens of thousands of walruses crowded onto a sandy stretch of beach on Alaska’s northwest coast. The animals were forced to swim to shore after the Arctic Sea ice they usually live on disappeared from the Chukchi Sea. It’s a phenomenon that was unheard of […]

Degraded oil from BP spill coats Gulf seafloor

By Brett Israel, www.LiveScience.com  Tue Sep 21, 8:31 pm ET NEW YORK – Now that BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil well has been sealed, the long, hard work of assessing the damage begins even as the oil is dispersing throughout the Gulf. A research team from Columbia University in New York returned this past weekend (Sept. […]

BP oil spill: Disaster by numbers

The scale of the BP oil spill can be hard to take in. Now, five months on, these shocking figures reveal the extent of the devastation. Compiled by Alice-Azania Jarvis14 September 2010 11 platform workers were killed when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded on 20 April. Their bodies have never been found, despite a […]

Tens of thousands of walruses concentrating along Alaska’s shore as sea ice vanishes

By Nick Sundt 11 September 2010 Alaska Dispatch in Anchorage reported yesterday (10 September 2010) in Massive walrus haulout observed near Point Lay, Alaska that USGS researchers were estimating that “anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000” walruses now have hauled out along Alaska’s Chukchi coastline.  “Walruses have been known to haul out onto land in large […]

Critically endangered whales fleeing Russia oil and gas exploration

ScienceDaily (Sep. 6, 2010) — Russian oil and gas company Rosneft is conducting oil and gas exploration work that may have caused the critically endangered western gray whale to flee its main feeding ground. Tests and offshore installment of equipment by Rosneft for a major seismic survey began in late August, despite repeated calls from […]

Fears for wildlife in UK waters

BBC30 August 2010 Last updated at 02:48 ET The Firth of Clyde in Scotland was once known for its stocks of cod, halibut and herring, but scientists have warned that it faces ecological meltdown. The decline is echoed in many other seas around the UK that have suffered as a result of over-fishing. Richard Bilton […]

Sea otter numbers take a turn for the worse

By Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff WriterMonday, August 16, 2010 (08-16) 12:22 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — The California sea otter – which fought back from near extinction after a century or so of wholesale slaughter – appears to again be hitting the skids, and nobody can figure out the reason. It is the second consecutive year […]

Increase in ‘warm water’ dolphins

BBC15 August 2010 Warmer seas could be responsible for a change in the type of dolphins spotted off the coast of the North East of England, a survey has suggested. The Northeast Cetacean Project found an increase in sightings of common, bottlenose and Risso’s dolphins – species associated with warmer waters. There have also been […]

Another symbol of the Arctic’s complex ecosystem finds itself on thin ice

By LAUREN MORELLO of ClimateWireAugust 10, 2010 For generations, Yupik and Inupiat hunters have depended on the Pacific walrus. They ate the walrus’ meat and whittled its bones into tools. Walrus skin covered their boats, and walrus intestines, stitched into raincoats, covered their backs. Today, the walrus is still an important part of the subsistence […]

Crabs provide evidence oil tainting Gulf food web

By JOHN FLESHER, AP Environmental Writer Mon Aug 9, 5:33 am ET BARATARIA, La. – To assess how heavy a blow the BP oil spill has dealt the Gulf of Mexico, researchers are closely watching a staple of the seafood industry and primary indicator of the ecosystem’s health: the blue crab. Weeks ago, before engineers […]

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