ecosystem

Early Warning Signs of Ecosystems at Risk

harminka — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:34:46 -0500

Scientists have unearthed striking evidence for a sudden ancient collapse in plant biodiversity. A trove of 200 million-year-old fossil leaves collected in East Greenland tells the story, carrying its message across time to us today.

Host shift triggers cascading effect on ecosystem, research finds

harminka — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:12:38 -0600

A major cause for biodiversity may be biodiversity itself, says evolutionary ecologist Andrew Forbes of the University of California, Davis, whose newly published research shows that when the apple maggot shifted hosts from the hawthorn to the apple, that triggered a cascading effect on the ecosystem.

Slight changes in climate may trigger abrupt ecosystem responses

harminka — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:45:41 -0600

Some of these responses, including insect outbreaks, wildfire, and forest dieback, may adversely affect people as well as ecosystems and their plants and animals.

Maping ecosystem services

harminka — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:52:42 -0500

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is collaborating with the National Geographic Society and the World Resources Institute to develop tools that will help to fully account for the value of ecosystem services.

Ecosystem-level consequences of frog extinctions

harminka — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:08:31 -0500

Streams that once sang with the croaks, chirps and ribbits of dozens of frog species have gone silent. They’re victims of a fungus that’s decimating amphibian populations worldwide.

Wetlands Restoration Not a Panacea for Louisiana Coast

harminka — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:23:54 -0500

Counting on wetlands restoration projects to protect storm buffeted infrastructure along the Louisiana Coast is likely to be a "losing battle" that provides "false hope" and prevents endangered communities from clearly planning for their future, says a researcher from Western Carolina University (WCU).

Are fires more important than rain for savannah ecosystem

harminka — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 06:46:43 -0500

Natural grass fires are evidently more important for the ecology of savannahs than has previously been assumed. This is the finding of a study carried out in Etosha National Park in the north of Namibia.

Evolving designer ecosystem sheds light on unintended consequences

harminka — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:52:48 -0500

Amidst the semi-arid stretches of Phoenix, a visitor might blink twice at the sight of a sailboat cutting across the horizon. Tempe Town Lake, on the northern edge of Arizona State University (ASU), is just one of a multitude of lakes, small ponds, canals and dams combining flood control, water delivery, recreational opportunities and aesthetics, and altering perception of water availability and economics in the area.

Austral Ecology Examines Tropical Cyclones

aboey — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:49:45 -0500

In light of Cyclone Larry and Cyclone Monica, Austral Ecology has launched a special issue spotlighting tropical cyclones and northern Australian ecosystems.

New ways to understand ecosystem services

harminka — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:39:50 -0500

A new partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) and the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont will help decision makers more accurately determine the costs and benefits of actions that alter ecosystem services -- the goods and services of nature such as clean air and water, erosion and flood control, soil enrichment, and food and fiber.

New ballast treatment could protect Great Lakes fish

harminka — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:30:46 -0500

A Michigan Technological University professor has developed a new water treatment that could help keep a deadly fish disease out of Lake Superior.

Logging road threatens rare peat dome, tigers

harminka — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:45:09 -0500

In an investigative report published today by Eyes on the Forest, evidence shows that a new logging road in Riau Province -- strongly indicated as illegally built by companies connected to Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) -- is cutting into the heart of Sumatra’s largest contiguous peatland forest, a rare hydrological ecosystem that acts as one of the planet’s biggest carbon stores.