Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Rivers may not recover from drought for years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lack of rainfall is not the only measure of drought. New research shows that despite a series of storms, the impact of drought can persist in streams and rivers for up to 3.5 years.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Killer whales' diet more important than location for pollutant exposure      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Both elegant and fierce, killer whales are some of the oceans' top predators, but even they can be exposed to environmental pollution. Now, in the largest study to date on North Atlantic killer whales, researchers report the levels of legacy and emerging pollutants in 162 individuals' blubber. The animals' diet, rather than location, greatly impacted contaminant levels and potential health risks -- information that's helpful to conservation efforts.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Warm summers and wet winters yield better wine vintages      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Wine quality is notorious for varying from year to year, but what makes for a 'good year?' Researchers show that weather plays an important role in determining wine quality. By analyzing 50 years’ worth of wine critic scores from the Bordeaux wine region in relation to that year’s weather, the researchers showed that higher quality wine is made in years with warmer temperatures, higher winter rainfall, and earlier, shorter growing seasons—conditions that climate change is predicted to make more frequent.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science
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Epiphytes, amazing plants like moss and bromeliads found in trees, face growing threats      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Epiphytes, plants such as orchids and mosses that grow in trees, draw nutrients from the air and create refuge for all sorts of other life forms. They are the foundation of forest canopy ecosystems, but they are facing threats from human and natural disturbances.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
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Discovery of invisible nutrient discharge on Great Barrier Reef raises concerns      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists using natural tracers off Queensland’s coast have discovered the source of previously unquantified nitrogen and phosphorus having a profound environmental impact on the Great Barrier Reef. Groundwater discharge accounted for approximately one-third of new nitrogen and two-thirds of phosphorus inputs, indicating that nearly twice the amount of nitrogen enters the Reef from groundwater compared to river waters.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems
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Newly-discovered 'margarita snails' from the Florida Keys are bright lemon-yellow      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A newly-discovered, bright yellow snail has been discovered in the Florida Keys and named in honor of Jimmy Buffet's song 'Margaritaville.' The lemon-colored marine snail, along with its lime-green cousin from Belize, is the subject of a recent study ; researchers think these snails' bright colors might help deter predators.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Prehistoric people occupied upland regions of inland Spain in even the coldest periods of the last Ice Age      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Paleolithic human populations survived even in the coldest and driest upland parts of Spain, according to a new study.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography
Published

Early human migrants followed lush corridor-route out of Africa      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have found early human migrants left Africa for Eurasia, across the Sinai peninsula and on through Jordan, over 80-thousand years ago. Researchers have proved there was a 'well-watered corridor' which funneled hunter-gatherers through The Levant towards western Asia and northern Arabia via Jordan.

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water
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Meadow Spittlebug's record-breaking diet also makes it top disease carrier for plants      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research fueled in part by citizen scientists reveals that the meadow spittlebug—known for the foamy, spit-like urine released by its nymphs—can feed on at least 1,300 species of host plants, more than twice the number of any other insect.

Chemistry: General Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Volcanoes
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Volcanic ash effects on Earth systems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To bridge the knowledge gap between volcanologists and atmospheric scientists working on climate change and observing global systems, researchers have characterized volcanic ash samples from many explosive eruptions of a broad compositional range.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Carbon-capture tree plantations threaten tropical biodiversity for little gain, ecologists say      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The increasingly urgent climate crisis has led to a boom in commercial tree plantations in an attempt to offset excess carbon emissions. However, authors argue that these carbon-offset plantations might come with costs for biodiversity and other ecosystem functions. Instead, the authors say we should prioritize conserving and restoring intact ecosystems.

Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General
Published

Improved mangrove conservation could yield cash, carbon, coastal benefits      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A shift in the way we think about the benefits mangroves provide to coastal regions could yield significant economic and biodiversity gains and protect millions from flooding, research has revealed.

Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Viruses dynamic and changing after dry soils are watered      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Viruses in soil may not be as destructive to bacteria as once thought and could instead act like lawnmowers, culling older cells and giving space for new growth, according to research.

Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Study on mysterious Amazon porcupine can help its protection      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study sheds new light on the elusive Roosmalens' dwarf porcupine, a poorly understood neotropical species. After 22 years of relative obscurity, this research uncovers vital information about its distribution, phylogenetics, and potential conservation threats, not only revealing its endemic presence in the Madeira biogeographical province but also expanding its known range in the southern Amazon.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Ancient plant wax reveals how global warming affects methane in Arctic lakes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new study, researchers examined the waxy coatings of leaves preserved as organic molecules within sediment from the early-to-middle Holocene, a period of intense warming that occurred due to slow changes in Earth's orbit 11,700 to 4,200 years ago. They found that warming potentially could lead to a previously under-appreciated flux in methane emissions from lakes.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Explosion in fish biodiversity due to genetic recycling      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The rapid formation of 500 different species of fish in a single lake, each with specialized ecological roles, resulted from a small but genetically diverse hybrid population.