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Climate Geoengineering May Help Save Coral Reefs from Mass Bleaching

Geoengineering of the climate may be the only way to save coral reefs from mass bleaching, according to new research.

26 May 2015

Savannahs, Shrublands Play Extremely Important Role in Controlling Carbon Levels

Tropical rainforests have long been considered the Earth's lungs, sequestering large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thereby slowing down the increasing greenhouse effect and associated human-made climate change. Scientists in a global research project now show that the vast extensions of semi-arid landscapes occupying the transition zone between rainforest and desert dominate the ongoing increase in carbon sequestration by ecosystems globally, as well as large fluctuations between wet and dry years. This is a major rearrangement of planetary functions.

25 May 2015

Invasive Earthworms Absorbing Toxic Metal Pollutants Threaten Ground Foraging Animals

Invasive earthworms in New England's forests are absorbing toxic metal pollutants in potentially hazardous levels that may be contributing to a decline in birds, amphibians and mammals that feed on them, a Dartmouth-led study finds.

22 May 2015

Fossil Record Finds Tropical Marine Ecosystems to be at Greatest Risk from Human Impact

An international team of scientists has used the fossil record during the past 23 million years to predict which marine animals and ecosystems are at greatest risk of extinction from human impact.

4 May 2015

Using Organic Manure Instead of Chemical Fertilizer Can Help Decrease Emission of Greenhouse Gases

Approximately 35% of global greenhouse gases (GHGs) come from agriculture. Some argues that human can reverse global worming by sequestering several hundred billion tons of excess CO2 through regenerative, organic farming, ranching and land use.

30 Apr 2015

Overfishing Increases Threat of Fast-Growing Sponges to Endangered Corals

For reef-building corals, sponges do not make good neighbors. Aggressive competitors for space, sponges use toxins, mucus, shading, and smothering to kill adjacent coral colonies and then grow on their skeletons.

30 Apr 2015

Light Pollution from Coastal Communities Affect Marine Ecosystems

Marine ecosystems can be changed by night-time artificial lighting according to new research published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. The results indicate that light pollution from coastal communities, shipping and offshore infrastructure could be changing the composition of marine invertebrate communities.

29 Apr 2015

Salty Aquifer Below Antarctica's Dry Valleys May Retain Evidence of Ancient Climate Change

Using a novel, helicopter-borne sensor to penetrate below the surface of large swathes of terrain, a team of researchers supported by the National Science Foundation, or NSF, has gathered compelling evidence that beneath the Antarctica ice-free McMurdo Dry Valleys lies a salty aquifer that may support previously unknown microbial ecosystems and retain evidence of ancient climate change.

29 Apr 2015

Research Shows Biodiversity Enhances Multitasking in Ecosystems

A new study of the complex interplay between organisms and their environment shows that biodiversity--the variety of organisms living on Earth--is even more important to the healthy functioning of ecosystems than previously thought.

27 Apr 2015

Loss of Species Diversity Affects Productivity of Remaining Plants

When plant biodiversity declines, the remaining plants face diminishing productivity, say scientists in study published April 20 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

21 Apr 2015