Climate change threatens migratory birds

By JAY ROOT, Associated Press Writer Jay Root, Associated Press Writer   – Thu Mar 11, 6:50 pm ET AUSTIN, Texas – Global climate change poses a significant threat to migratory bird populations, which are already stressed by the loss of habitat and environmental pollution, according to a report released Thursday. U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar […]

Alaska lawmakers line up against whale habitat as beluga population plummets

By Erika Bolstad | McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON — If there’s one thing Alaska’s congressional delegation can agree on, it’s a distrust of the Endangered Species Act and a belief it could ruin the state’s economy. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Democrat Sen. Mark Begich and Republican Rep. Don Young met Friday to express their concerns with […]

Starving sea lion pups washing ashore on California beaches

By Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 03.12.10 Sea lions are having a hard time finding food this spring, and pups are feeling the squeeze. Marine mammal experts report that dozens of sick and hungry sea lion pups have washed up on California shores this winter, many not making it even with the help they […]

Mysterious cancer kills California sea lions

By INGFEI CHENPublished: March 4, 2010 For 14 years, since they first reported that a disturbing proportion of deaths among rescued California sea lions were caused by metastatic cancer, researchers have been trying to pinpoint the source of the illness. In 1996, Dr. Frances Gulland, the director of veterinary science at the Marine Mammal Center […]

Coastal erosion threatens evolutionary hotspots in Gulf Region

By Karin Kloosterman on March 5, 2010 – 12:09 pm Coastal waters are evolutionary hotspots, says Jerry Berne, a shoreline expert from the NGO Sustainable Shorelines in the US. Based in Charlotte, NC, USA, Berne is concerned about the toll construction and shoreline projects are having on the world’s marine ecosystems. Looking at the intensive […]

Graph of the Day: Methane Fluxes Venting to the Atmosphere from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf

Summertime observations of dissolved CH4 in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) (21). … (D) Fluxes of CH4 venting to the atmosphere over the ESAS. Remobilization to the atmosphere of only a small fraction of the methane held in East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) sediments could trigger abrupt climate warming, yet it is believed that […]

Huge iceberg ‘threatens sea-life’

A vast iceberg that broke off eastern Antarctic earlier this month could disrupt marine life in the region, scientists have warned. They say the iceberg, which is 78km long and up to 39km wide, could have consequences for the area’s colonies of emperor penguins. The emblematic birds may be forced to travel further afield to […]

New floating garbage patch found in Atlantic Ocean

Researchers have found a high concentration of plastic debris is floating in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Caribbean, months after concerns were raised over a vast patch of rubbish floating in the Pacific Ocean. The study’s principal investigator said that the findings were based on more than 64,000 tiny bits of plastic collected over […]

Warmer seas may rob corals and rainforests of clouds

Just 2 °C more and reefs stop producing a cloud-seeding gas, which could leave corals hotter still and rainforests drier Rising ocean temperatures might leave coral reefs in seriously hot water – without clouds for protection. Five years ago Graham Jones and his team at Southern Cross University in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, demonstrated […]

What is sickening and killing California's brown pelicans?

By John Platt Hundreds of brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) have been found sick or dead off the coasts of California in the past month, the victims of a mysterious ailment that has scientists baffled. When found alive, the birds appear hungry and disoriented. But necropsies performed on dead pelicans found that they had been eating, […]

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