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Categories: Ecology: Extinction, Geoscience: Geography
Published Unprecedented ocean heating shows risks of a world 3°C warmer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research examines the causes of the record-breaking ocean temperatures witnessed in 2023.
Published Greenland is a methane sink rather than a source
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have concluded that the methane uptake in dry landscapes exceeds methane emissions from wet areas across the ice-free part of Greenland. The results of the new study contribute with important knowledge for climate models. The researchers are now investigating whether the same finding applies to other polar regions.
Published As sea otters recolonize California estuary, they restore its degraded geology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As sea otters recolonize a California estuary, they are restoring its degraded geology by keeping populations of overgrazing marsh crabs in check, a new study shows. The crabs' appetite for plant roots, and their tunneling behavior had caused many of the estuary's marshes and creekbanks to erode and collapse in the otters' absence. Today, erosion has slowed by up to 90% in areas with large otter populations and marshes and streambeds are restabilizing.
Published Black summer bushfires in Australia wiped $2.8 billion from tourism supply chain
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source First input-output economic analysis of the 2019-20 Australian fires also found 7300 jobs were lost. The study highlights economic vulnerabilities to extremes of climate change.
Published Geoengineering may slow Greenland ice sheet loss
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Modeling shows that stratospheric aerosol injection has the potential to reduce ice sheet loss due to climate change.
Published New research shows how pollutants from aerosols and river run-off are changing the marine phosphorus cycle in coastal seas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research sheds light on how pollutants from aerosols and river run-off are impacting coastal seas. The research identified an 'Anthropogenic Nitrogen Pump' which changes the phosphorus cycle and therefore likely coastal biodiversity and associated ecosystem services.
Published Some plastic straws degrade quicker than others
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Not all plastics are created the same, and some last longer in the ocean than others. Scientists have been working for years to quantify the environmental lifetimes of a wide range of plastic goods to see which have the shortest and longest lifespans in the ocean. To determine what plastics persist in the ocean, the team tests different products in large tanks that recreate the natural ocean environment.
Published Endangered seabird shows surprising individual flexibility to adapt to climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research finds that individual behavioural flexibility and not evolutionary selection is driving the northward shift of Balearic shearwaters. The findings were revealed through a decade-long study which tagged individual birds. The results indicate that individual animals may have greater behavioural flexibility to respond to climate change impacts than previously thought.
Published Rising sea levels could lead to more methane emitted from wetlands
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A Bay Area wetlands ecosystem that was expected to serve as a carbon sink is emitting surprisingly high levels of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The study suggests factors governing carbon cycles in these habitats are even more complex than we thought.
Published Scientists develop novel method to estimate biodiversity loss in Singapore over the past two centuries
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have employed novel statistical methods to reveal the extent of biodiversity loss in Singapore over the past two centuries. The study paints the most accurate picture to date of the ecological impact of deforestation and urban development in the tropical city-state. From a comprehensive dataset, the study estimated that Singapore has lost 37 per cent of its species.
Published How waves and mixing drive coastal upwelling systems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Large coastal upwelling systems along the eastern margins of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are among the most biologically productive and biodiverse regions of the world's oceans. Typically, the strength and timing of upwelling in such systems are linked to the prevailing winds. Interestingly, in some tropical regions, high levels of productivity occur even when the upwelling favorable winds are weak.
Published Achieving sustainable urban growth on a global scale
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international group of leading scientists call for an urgent change in the governance of urban expansion as the world's cities continue to grow at unprecedented rates.
Published Unexpected biodiversity on the ocean floor
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hydrothermal vents and manganese nodule fields in the deep oceans contain more biodiversity than expected.
Published Global warming has a bigger effect on compact, fast-moving typhoons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A group has found that larger, slow-moving typhoons are more likely to be resilient to the effects of global warming. However, more compact, fast-moving storms are more likely to be sensitive. These findings suggest an improved method for projecting the strength of typhoons under global warming conditions.
Published War in Ukraine severely limits ability to track Arctic climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists no longer have direct access to data from Russian Arctic research stations. Without this data, our view of climate changes in the region is increasingly biased, new research shows.
Published Ancient brown bear genomes sheds light on Ice Age losses and survival
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The brown bear is one of the largest living terrestrial carnivores, and is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike many other large carnivores that went extinct at the end of the last Ice Age (cave bear, sabretoothed cats, cave hyena), the brown bear is one of the lucky survivors that made it through to the present. The question has puzzled biologists for close to a century -- how was this so?
Published Paper provides a clearer picture of severe hydro hazards
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study now provides a global examination of drought-pluvial volatility -- or the tendency to shift from one weather extreme to another.
Published A large percentage of European plastic sent to Vietnam ends up in nature
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Despite strict EU regulations on plastic recycling, there is little oversight on plastic waste shipped from the EU to Vietnam. A large percentage of the exported European plastic cannot be recycled and gets dumped in nature, according to recent research.
Published Study offers rare long-term analysis of techniques for creating standing dead trees for wildlife habitat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ecologists have long known that standing dead trees, commonly referred to as snags, are an important habitat element for forest dwellers and act as a driver of biodiversity. They're so important that in some managed forests, snag creation is part of the conservation tool kit -- i.e., crews sometimes convert a percentage of live trees into dead ones through techniques ranging from sawing off their tops to wounding their trunks to injecting them with disease-causing fungi.
Published Marine heat waves trigger shift in hatch dates and early growth of Pacific cod
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Marine heat waves appear to trigger earlier reproduction, high mortality in early life stages and fewer surviving juvenile Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska, a new study shows. These changes in the hatch cycle and early growth patterns persisted in years following the marine heat waves, which could have implications for the future of Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod, an economically and culturally significant species.