Whaling worsens carbon release, scientists warn

By Victoria GillScience reporter, BBC News, Portland A century of whaling may have released more than 100 million tonnes – or a large forest’s worth – of carbon into the atmosphere, scientists say. Whales store carbon within their huge bodies and when they are killed, much of this carbon can be released. US scientists revealed […]

Extinct animals are quickly forgotten: the baiji and shifting baselines

Even megafauna can be quickly forgotten: the baiji and shifting baselines By Jeremy Hancewww.mongabay.comFebruary 23, 2010 In 2006 a survey in China to locate the endangered Yangtze River dolphin, known as the baiji, found no evidence of its survival. Despondent, researchers declared that the baiji was likely extinct. Four years later and the large charismatic […]

Arctic climate change ‘is happening much faster than our most pessimistic models expected’

By Rod NickelWINNIPEG, ManitobaFri Feb 5, 2010 7:32pm EST WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – Climate change is transforming the Arctic environment faster than expected and accelerating the disappearance of sea ice, scientists said on Friday in giving their early findings from the biggest-ever study of Canada’s changing north. The research project involved more than 370 scientists […]

Record number of manatee, Florida panther deaths in 2009

By John Platt 2009 was the deadliest year on record for Florida panthers (Felis concolor coryi) and manatees (Trichechus manatus), two endangered species that most often lose their lives when their habitats collide with that of humans. A record high 17 panthers were struck by vehicles and killed in Florida last year, two deaths above […]

Argentine whales attacked by seagulls

Whales living off the coast of Argentina are being attacked by seagulls. The birds pick at and eat the backs of the endangered mammals forcing them to dive deep into the ocean. Now scientists are calling for the gulls to be culled. Candace Piette reports. Argentine whales attacked by seagulls Technorati Tags: marine mammal,mammal decline,endangered […]

East Africa: ‘Carnivore starvation in the coming weeks is inevitable’

By Jeremy Hancewww.mongabay.comJanuary 05, 2010 Members with the conservation group Lion Guardians stumbled on a rare site in the Amboseli area of Kenya recently: six hyenas and a number of jackals were attacking and eating a 12-foot-long python. On their blog at WildlifeDirect, Lion Guardians describe the attack: “[the hyenas and jackals] tore into its […]

Gone: a look at extinction over the past decade

A survey of twelve species lost to extinction over the past ten years. By Jeremy Hancewww.mongabay.comJanuary 03, 2010 No one can say with any certainty how many species went extinct from 2000-2009. Because no one knows if the world’s species number 3 million or 30 million, it is impossible to guess how many known species—let […]

Manatee death rate seven times sustainable level — boat strikes preventing species' recovery

SAN FRANCISCO- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized new stock assessments for manatees that puts the population of Florida manatees at about 3,800 and a Puerto Rico population at 72. The stock-assessment reports resulted from settlement of a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity that sought updated assessments, since the Service […]

Five whales die after ‘extremely rare’ beaching off Italy

By Deepa Babington ROME (Reuters) – At least five whales have died after nine beached themselves off Italy’s southern coast, in what experts called a highly unusual event in Mediterranean waters. The whales, measuring up to 10 meters long and weighing several tones each, were found stranded off the coast of Puglia on Thursday, the […]

Ocean acidification rates pose disaster for marine life, major study shows

Report launched from leading marine scientists at Copenhagen summit shows seas absorbing dangerous levels of CO2 By Severin Carrellwww.guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 December 2009 10.52 GMT The world’s oceans are becoming acidic at a faster rate than at any time in the last 55m years, threatening disaster for marine life and food supplies across the globe, […]

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