Things are heating up.
Limiting global warming to 1.5 degree C would save most global species, new study concludes
… but if we keep on with the “business as usual” approach, things will be much worse.
Scientists successfully transplant coral into the devastated Great Barrier Reef
This successful first trial might one day save the reef.
Juice company dumped orange peels in Costa Rican national park in the 90s — it revived the forest
Orange is the new forest.
Pristine mountain habitats are also not safe from climate change
Incoming climate change will have a drastic effect on pristine mountain habitats, a new study has found.
Humanity is driving thousands of species extinct, but there’s a flip side — we also create new species
Humans — tyrants of creators? Two researchers explored this duality by studying both extinct species and those who had evolved as a direct influence of man.
Are cephalopods taking over the oceans?
Human activity has been wreaking havoc on ocean life. One group however seems to thrive where others struggle to survive: new evidence shows that cephalopods’ numbers have significantly increased over the last six decades.
Why don’t they just eat all of them – predator-prey study reveals new law governing ecosystems
The results of a new study offer insight into the workings of predator-prey mechanisms, more specifically how the number of herbivores and other animals that are preyed upon affect the number of carnivores.
Ecosystems still feel the pain of ancient extinctions
The more researchers study ecosystems, the more we learn that an ecosystem behaves, in many ways, just like a living organism: thousands of years after human hunters wiped out big land animals like giant ground sloths, the ecosystems they lived in are still suffering from the effects, much like a body suffers from past trauma. Humans wiping out species (directly
New study estimates 1 million marine species – one third still unknown
The world’s oceans are teeming with life, a new census estimating almost 1 million species out there; but marine life is declining, with the main causes being overfishing, ocean acidification and coastal damage. Avoiding a crisis The new numbers are just estimates, but they are much lower than previous studies, which put the number of species at around 10 million;
Earth took 10 million years to recover from biggest extinction
Some 250 million years ago, life on Earth passed through its toughest time so far, as 96% of all marine species and over three quarters of land vertebrates went extinct. According to British researchers, the mass extinction was so severe that it took life 10 million years to recover. With less than 10 percent of plants and animals surviving and
Seagrass on ocean coasts can store twice as much carbon as tropical rainforests, yet face destruction
A new research from a team of international marine geoscientists has found that seagrass meadows, found in coastal regions, can store up to twice as much carbon as temperate or tropical forests. The scientists involved in the study, thus, believe that seagrasses can potentially become a viable solution to climate change, if scaled and preserved through out the world. Data
Antarctic plant ecosystem threatened by ‘alien’ seeds
Antarctica is home to one of harshest environments in the world, but exactly because of this it exhibit a unique set of fauna to the world. As the local arctic climate warms, however, and an increasing number of tourists and scientists are bringing in thousands of seeds, once pristine ecosystems are now at risk. Seeds and plant materials, quite practically
Ocean life threatened by mass extinction
Climate change and over-fishing are held responsible for the swift collapse of coral reefs and the propagation of mass extinction among marine life. According to the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), which presented the study this Tuesday to the U.N., the Earth is faced with its biggest spate of mass extinctions in millions years. “We now
Fool’s gold is ocean’s fertilizer
Bacteria and small plants at the bottom of the ocean require significant quantities of iron to survive and grow, just like us humans do. But their situation is extremely different, and they can’t just opt for an iron rich diet. So where does their iron come from ? Pyrite, or fool’s gold (as it is sometimes called) is a
Underwater… lakes !
Boy I’ve gotta tell you, my jaw really dropped when I heard this one. There are actual lakes, on the bottom of oceans, especially in the Gulf of Mexico region; they’ve got their own shores and all. The brine water of these lakes actually hosts unique wildlife, creating an absolutely amazing environment. The fact that these are brine water means
Stunning variety of sea life found in Antarctica
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) published some quite awesome pictures showing that Antarctica isn’t the lifeless frozen wasteland most people believe it to be; ice fish, octopus, sea pigs, giant sea spiders, rare rays and gorgeous basket stars all thrive in the extreme temperatures in Antarctica’s waters. Well, thrive is perhaps a too strong word, but they’re doing just fine