|
|
|
mongabay.com news - March 2008Humans, and global warming, responsible for extinction of mammoths -- 03/31/2008The combination of human hunting pressure and climate change was responsible for the extinction in woolly mammoths, claims new research published in the open-access journal PLoS Biology. Scientists have long debated whether climate change or human hunting were the more important driver in the demise of North America's megafauna towards the end of the last Ice Age. Now new modeling by David Nogues-Bravo, a biologist at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid, Spain, and colleagues supports the theory that synergistic effects of warming climate and new human predators drove mammoths to extinction. Gore to spend $300 million on global warming ads -- 03/31/2008 This week Al Gore will launch a three-year, $300 million campaign to mobilize support for reining in greenhouse gas emissions, reports The Washington Post. Corn planting to drop 8% in 2008 -- 03/31/2008 The UDSA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) expects American farmers to plant 86 million acres of corn in 2008, down 8 percent from last year. The news comes amid record high prices for competitive crops including soybeans and wheat. Regrowing the rainforest -- 03/30/2008 Half a century after most of Costa Rica's rainforests were cut down, researchers from the Boyce Thompson Institute took on a project that many thought was impossible - restoring a tropical rainforest ecosystem. Scientists mark 50th Anniversary of the Keeling Curve -- 03/27/2008 The Keeling Curve, the longest continuous record of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels based on measurements taken atop Hawaii's Mauna Loa, is now 50 years old. The record provided the first compelling evidence that atmospheric CO2 levels have been rising since the mid-20th century. Private equity firm buys rights to ecosystem services of Guyana rainforest -- 03/27/2008 A private equity firm has purchased the rights to environmental services generated by 371,000 hectare rainforest reserve in Guyana. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the agreement is precedent-setting in that a financial firm is betting that the services generated by a living rainforest — including rainfall generation, climate regulation, biodiversity maintenance and water storage — will eventually see compensation in international markets. Squid beaks may revolutionize engineering -- 03/27/2008 When scientists dissect the stomachs of sperm whales, they find the super-hard beaks of squids, the only part of them that is indigestible. Scientists can tell the diet of a whale by the variety of beaks left behind, sometimes numbering in the thousands. But how does a squid, whose body is soft and supple, have a beak that is considered one of the hardest organic materials in natures? Scientists have long pondered this question. Asia Pulp & Paper destroying rare Sumatra forest -- 03/27/2008 Companies linked to timber giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) are illegally building a road that runs through highly endangered peatland forest on the island of Sumatra, according to an investigative report published by Eyes on the Forest, a coalition of NGOs in Indonesia. The road would allow APP and its affiliates to log forests for timber and drain peat soil for the establishment of oil palm plantations. The action would release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from one of the world's largest contiguous tropical peat swamp forests. Fire monitoring by satellite becomes key conservation tool -- 03/26/2008 Remote sensing is increasingly used as a tool for conservation management. Beyond traditional satellite imagery popularized by Google Earth, new sensing applications are allowing researchers located anywhere in the world to track fires, illegal logging and mining, and deforestation in some of Earth's most isolated regions using a computer or handheld device. The Fire Alert System is one example of an application that is harnessing the power of satellites to deliver key data to conservation managers. Developed by Madagascar's ministry of Environment, the International Resources Group, Conservation International using data from the University of Maryland and NASA, the Fire Alert System enables near real-time monitoring of fires anywhere on the island of Madagascar, a hotspot of biological diversity. The system, which sends subscribers regular email alerts on newly-detected burning, will eventually be expanded to include all the world's protected areas, allowing managers to detect not only fires but potentially related activities like road building, logging, and even hunting. FSC has 'failed the world's forests' say critics -- 03/26/2008 The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has come under increasingly harsh criticisms from a variety of environmental organizations. The FSC is an international not-for-profit organization that certifies wood products: its stamp of approval is meant to create confidence that the wood was harvested in an environmentally-sustainable and socially-responsible manner. For years the FSC stamp has been imperative for concerned consumers in purchasing wood products. Yet amid growing troubles for the FSC, recent attacks from environmental organizations like World Rainforest Movement and Ecological Internet are putting the organization's credibility into question. Swan finds love with paddleboat -- 03/25/2008 In a bizarre story out of Muenster, Germany, a black swam will be reunited with its companion — a paddleboat shaped like an outsized white swan, reports the Associated Press. Photos: Warming triggers massive Antarctic ice shelf collapse -- 03/25/2008 Satellites have captured the collapse of a massive ice shelf in Antarctica. At 160 square miles the area of collapsed ice was seven times the size of Manhattan. Scientists say the collapse is the beginning of a "runaway" disintegration of the 13,680 square kilometer (5,282 square mile) Wilkins Ice Shelf on the southwest Antarctic Peninsula. The region has experienced the largest temperature increase on the planet, rising by 0.5 degree Celsius (0.9 degree Fahrenheit) per decade over the past 50 years. No global warming link to dying frogs? -- 03/25/2008 Scientists have fired another salvo in the heated debate over the role of climate change in the global decline of amphibians. Writing in the March 25 issue of PLoS Biology, a team of researchers led by Karen Lips of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale report finding "no evidence to support the hypothesis that climate change has been driving outbreaks of amphibian chytridiomycosis" -- a disease blamed for large-scale die-offs of amphibians. Other researchers have argued that climate shifts are worsening the outbreak of the fungal disease. Africa's lions are disappearing -- 03/25/2008 The lion is Africa's best known carnivore. Once widely abundant across the continent, recent surveys show that lion populations have plunged from over 100,000 individuals to around 23,000 over the past century. The reason? Lions are poisoned, shot, and speared by locals who see them as a threat to livestock. While lion populations in protected areas remain relatively healthy, conservationists say that without urgent measures, lions may disappear completely from unprotected areas. The Kilimanjaro Lion Conservation Project is working to avoid this fate by developing practical measures to encourage coexistence between people, livestock and predators. Key to the effort is reducing livestock losses to lions. Leela Hazzah, a field researcher with the project, says the "Lion Guardians" program at Mbirikani Ranch in Kenya has proved remarkably successful: not a single lion has been killed since its inception in November 2006. The program employs Maasai warriors to monitor lions and help local communities prevent attacks on livestock. Railroad could reduce Amazon deforestation relative to proposed highway -- 03/24/2008 Building a railroad instead of improving a major highway could reduce deforestation and biodiversity loss in the heart of the Amazon rainforest says an Brazilian environmental group. Black carbon pollution has big impact on climate -- 03/24/2008 Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect in the atmosphere three to four times greater than prevailing estimates, according to scientists in an upcoming review article in the journal Nature Geoscience. Global warming could trigger dramatic Lake Tahoe changes within 10 years -- 03/24/2008 Warming temperatures may cloud Lake Tahoe's legendary clear waters and put the lake's native species at risk, reports a new study from the University of California, Davis. Ants first farmed well before humans -- 03/24/2008 Ants began farming some 50 million years ago, far before the first humans developed agriculture, reports a new study based on DNA analysis of the "evolutionary tree" of fungus-growing ants. U.S. furniture demand drives illegal logging in Laos -- 03/24/2008 In Vietnam the illegal timber trade continues unabated, in many ways due to the Southeast Asian country's growing economy and wealthy nations' insatiable demand for cheap furniture. Since 2000 Vietnam has seem a ten-fold increase in their furniture industry, a rise that is leading to large-scale illegal deforestation in the Mekong region, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Telapak Indonesia. U.S. flooding to continue well into spring -- 03/21/2008 Flooding in the American Midwest is likely to continue, said the U.S. National Weather Service. Giant sea creatures discovered in Antarctica -- 03/21/2008 An eight week long survey of New Zealand's Antarctic waters has turned up giant creatures including jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles and 2-foot-wide starfish, as well as up to eight previously undiscovered species of mollusc, reports the Associated Press (A.P.). Titan may have a hidden ocean -- 03/20/2008 An ocean may lie under the surface of Saturn's moon Titan, according to research published this week in the journal Science. Markets could save forests: An interview with Dr. Tom Lovejoy -- 03/20/2008 Market mechanisms are increasingly seen as a way to address environmental problems, including tropical deforestation. In particular, compensation for ecosystem services like carbon sequestration — a concept known by the acronym REDD for "reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation" — may someday make conservation a profitable enterprise in which carbon traders are effectively saving rainforests simply by their pursuit of profit. Protecting rainforests and their resident biodiversity would be an unintentional, but happy byproduct of profit-seeking endeavors. Perennial ice disappearing in the Arctic receives little attention from the media -- 03/19/2008 A big story came out on the loss of perennial ice in Arctic from NASA on Wednesday — and was mostly ignored by the media. Despite a colder winter than usual, the Arctic is losing its perennial ice (ice that lasts longer than a season) making the region even more susceptible to global warming. Perennial ice used to cover 50-60 percent of the Arctic. Results from this year's satellites show that perennial ice has decreased to less than 30 percent. In addition ice older than six years has declined from 20 percent in the eighties to six percent today. Illegal wildlife trade worth $20B/yr -- 03/19/2008 The illegal wildlife trade generates $5 to $20 billion annually, making it the largest illicit market after guns and drugs trafficking, reports a study released by the Congressional Research Service. Ecosystems in the Philippines bounce back from the brink -- 03/19/2008 The Philippines has often been an example for the worst-case-scenario in environmental degradation. Some scientists have even concluded that environmental efforts should put elsewhere, claiming the Philippines to be a lost cause. In his book Requiem for Nature John Terborgh writes the "overpopulated... Philippines are already beyond the point of no return." However, a recent paper entitled "Hope for Threatened Tropical Biodiversity: Lessons from the Philippines" argues that there are enough positive environmental and conservation trends in the Philippines to have hope and continue working for a better tomorrow. Satellite could help reindeer in the Arctic -- 03/17/2008 Researchers have used satellite data to detect Arctic conditions that cause mass starvation of hoofed animals depended on by native peoples. Some 20,000 musk oxen died on Canada's far-northern Banks Island because of such conditions during the winter several years ago. Yet, their deaths went unnoticed until the next spring. The new satellite-detection method could provide an early warning to native people, giving them a realistic chance of getting food to herds to prevent mass starvation. Rwanda launches reforestation project to protect chimps, drive ecotourism -- 03/17/2008 Conservationists in Rwanda have launched an ambitious reforestation project that aims to create a forest corridor to link an isolated group of chimpanzees to larger areas of habitat in Nyungwe National Park. The initiative, called the Rwandan National Conservation Park, is backed by the Rwandan government, the Great Ape Trust of Iowa, and Earthpark, a group seeking to build an indoor rainforest in the U.S. Midwest. Papua New Guinea to ban log exports by 2010 -- 03/17/2008 Papua New Guinea (PNG) will phase out log exports by 2010 said Forest Minister Belden Namah last month. The move comes as the country seeks to gain greater control over illegal logging and promote expansion of oil palm cultivation. How falling a gecko lands on its feet -- 03/17/2008 According to new research the gecko may have the most dynamic tail in the natural world. Two researchers from UC Berkley have discovered that the gecko uses its tail to keep itself from falling off slippery vertical surfaces and when falling to rapidly right itself. So, like a cat, it always lands on four feet. Do parks worsen deforestation through 'leakage'? -- 03/17/2008 The creation of protected reserves may be pushing development to neighboring areas, confounding overall conservation efforts in regions where development pressures are high. Such "leakage" -- as the displacement is called -- makes it difficult to assess the effectiveness of protected areas strategies. New bird species discovered in Indonesia -- 03/14/2008 A previously unknown species of bird has been discovered near a remote archipelago in Indonesia, reported a taxonomist writing in the March edition of The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. Amazon environmentalist gunned down in Peru -- 03/14/2008 After reporting a truck loaded with mahogany illegally logged from the Amazon rainforest, Don Julio Garcia Agapito, a Peruvian environmentalist was gunned down by unknown assailants on February 26th, 2008. He is survived by his family. Predator of the world's largest macaw key to its survival -- 03/13/2008 In a bizarre biological twist, a new study shows that the Hyacinth Macaw depends on its greatest predator, the Toco Toucan, for continued survival. Rare jewel-colored frog rediscovered in Colombia -- 03/13/2008 A brilliantly-colored frog has been rediscovered 14 years after its last sighting in a remote mountainous region in Colombia. India has 1400 tigers -- not 3500 -- 03/13/2008 A census of India's reserves found 1,411 tigers rather than the 3,508 estimated previously, according to the State Ministry of Environment and Forests. DEET repellent works by blocking human odor from mosquitoes -- 03/13/2008 DEET, a potent insect repellent, works by blocking the aroma of human sweat, report researchers writing in the journal Science. The discovery could lead to the development of new repellents that have fewer health risks. Dams mask sea level rise -- 03/13/2008 Water held in man-made reservoirs is masking the true extent of sea level rise from melting ice and thermal expansion, report scientists writing in the journal Science. The researchers, from the National Central University in Taiwan, calculate that sea levels would be 30 mm (1.2 inches) higher without water stored behind dams. Fast-growing coral may help reefs survive global warming -- 03/13/2008 Two fast-growing coral species may hold the key to Caribbean reefs surviving global warming, report researchers writing in the journal Science. Photos of rare pygmy hippo in Liberia -- 03/12/2008 It's almost as though this normally shy mammal were posing for the camera. The black-and-white image of a pygmy hippopotamus half-facing the camera is the first ever of a pygmy hippopotamus in Liberia. Perhaps even more astonishing EDGE, the organization that accomplished the photo, believes the image to be only the second photographic evidence of the animal in the wild (the first was taken in 2006 in Sierra Leone). This incredibly secretive animal is usually known through its prints and dung. Industry-driven road-building to fuel Amazon deforestation -- 03/12/2008 Unofficial road-building will be a major driver of deforestation and land-use change in the Amazon rainforest, according to an analysis published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Improved governance, as exemplified by the innovative MAP Initiative in the southwestern Amazon, could help reduce the future impact of roads, without diminishing economic prospects in the region. Merrill Lynch invests $9M in rainforest conservation, expects profit -- 03/12/2008 Merrill Lynch's investment in a rainforest conservation project in the Indonesian province of Aceh is worth $9 million over four years, reports Thomas Wright of The Wall Street Journal. Half of Madagascar's amphibians may still await discovery -- 03/11/2008 Madagascar is one of the most unique places on Earth for wildlife. When the public thinks of Madagascar's fauna most likely they think of one of the fifty species of lemur. Yet, Madagascar possesses a wealth of endemic wildlife outside of these unique prosimians. For example, to frog-lovers Madagascar is a paradise. The only amphibians living on Madagascar are frogs; the island is devoid of toads, salamanders, or newts. But what it lacks in other amphibians it makes up for in the number and beauty of its frogs. Currently, 240 frogs have been catalogued in Madagascar, 99 percent of which are endemic. Yet, amphibian expert Dr. Franco Andreone believes that, according to recent field studies, this may only be half of the frogs that actually live in Madagascar. Dr. Andreone believes the final tally could reach 500 species! Deforestation causes snake invasion in the Amazon -- 03/11/2008 An official with Brazil's environmental protection agency Ibama claims that snakes are invading the city of Belem due to deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. New review system helps companies adapt to ecosystem degradation -- 03/11/2008 A new accountability initiative will help companies factor ecosystem degradation into their business decisions. Skoll Foundation puts $1M toward indigenous groups, conservation in the Amazon -- 03/11/2008 The Skoll Foundation has awarded the Amazon Conservation Team, an innovative organization the promotes biocultural conservation among indigenous groups in the Amazon, $1,015,000 to map, manage, and protect 100 million acres of rainforest. The award is one of 11 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship presented by the Skoll Foundation in 2008. China's emissions growth 2-4 times greater than expected -- 03/11/2008 China's carbon dioxide emissions are growing far faster than anticipated according to according to a new analysis by economists at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, San Diego. The study, published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, estimates China will see an 11 percent annual growth rate in CO2 emissions between 2004 and 2010, two to four times the 2.5 to 5 percent growth rate estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cellulosic energy may trigger dramatic collapse in the Amazon -- 03/11/2008 Next generation biofuels may trigger the ecological collapse of the Amazon frontier and could have profoundly unexpected economic consequences for the region, warns a paper published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Dr. Donald Sawyer writes that "interacting with climate change and land use, the upcoming stage of cellulosic energy could result in a collapse of the new frontier into vast degraded pasture." The shift could increase the incidence and severity of fires, reduce rainfall in key agricultural zones, exacerbate forest die-back and climate change, and worsen social instability. Sawyer says that while difficult to anticipate, the worst outcomes could likely be avoided be promoting "intensified and more sustainable use" of already cleared areas, minimizing new deforestation, and encouraging "sustainable use of natural resources by local communities." Scientists target safe-climate future -- 03/10/2008 Friends of the Earth, Australia, working in conjunction with many of the world's foremost climate scientists recently published a report which should have quickly pervaded into mainstream media. It is a detailed, 100-plus page manifesto imploring immediate, radical action beyond not only the proposed climate change responses by the IPCC, mainstream environmental agencies, and world governments but outside the procedures and proceedings of our national and international authorities. Coverage of the ground-breaking report, however, remains mostly in the realm of climate sites and blogs, absent not only from major sources such as Reuters and Associated Press, but even from major conservation and environmental new sites. Humans are appropriating 20% more resources than Earth can provide -- 03/10/2008 Mankind is appropriating 20 percent more resources each year than Earth can produce, according to a report from environmental group WWF. Corn ethanol is worsening the Gulf dead zone -- 03/10/2008 Proposed legislation that will expand corn-ethanol production in the United States will worsen the growing "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico and hurt marine fisheries, report researchers writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Biochar fund to fight hunger, energy poverty, deforestation, and global warming -- 03/10/2008 Biopact, a leading bioenergy web site, has announced the creation of a "Biochar Fund" to help poor farmers improve their quality of life without hurting the environment. New rule grants rainforest to mining firms in Indonesia for $80/acre -- 03/10/2008 A new Indonesian rule will grant concessions to mining companies operating in rainforests for as little as $200 per hectare ($80/acre) according to Mining Advocacy Network, a conservation group. Accurate forest data will help guide climate policy -- 03/10/2008 As forests are increasingly seen as a means for fighting climate change, proper forest assessment becomes all the more important. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. (FAO) says it will call on member states to provide "accurate data". FAO data has been criticized by analysts for offering an incomplete picture of forest cover and trends. Eastern Europe could counter high food prices -- 03/10/2008 Expansion of agriculture in Eastern Europe could help counter surging food prices said a top official from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Emissions from deforestation offset by increased tree growth in the Amazon -- 03/10/2008 An increase in carbon sequestration by trees in the Amazon has roughly offset total emissions from deforestation in the region since the 1980s. A new study, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, this trend may slow in the future, causing the world's largest rainforest to become a net source of carbon emissions and therefore contributing to climate change. Madagascar's deforestation rate drops 8-fold in parks -- 03/10/2008 Madagascar's deforestation rate in protected areas has fallen by eight-fold since the 1990s according to Conservation International and the Malagasy government. Cretaceous sea levels were 550 feet higher than today -- 03/06/2008 Sea levels were 550 feet (170 m) higher in the late Cretaceous period, about 80 million years ago, than today, shows a new reconstruction of historic ocean basins published in the journal Science. The authors say the work may help model current global warming-driven sea level change. Audubon bird watercolors on display for last time until 2018 -- 03/06/2008 More than 40 original Audubon watercolors depicting birds that once flourished but are now gone forever or threatened with extinction -- along with species that have come back from the brink -- will go on display as part of Audubon's Aviary: Portraits of Endangered Species, the fourth installment of the New-York Historical Society's five-year Audubon exhibition series, from February 8 through March 16, at the N-Y Historical Society, 170 Central Park West. Record food prices to climb through 2010 -- 03/06/2008 The U.N. expects record high food prices to continue through 2010, driving hunger and poverty in the world's poorest countries, said a top U.N. official Thursday. Climate change leave Arctic tundra vulnerable to fire -- 03/06/2008 Research from ancient sediment cores indicates that a warming climate could make the world's arctic tundra far more susceptible to fires than previously thought. The findings are important given the potential for tundra fires to release organic carbon -- which could add significantly to the amount of greenhouse gases already blamed for global warming. Biomimicry of sea cucumber skin may help stroke treatment -- 03/06/2008 Using sea cucumber skin for design inspiration, scientists have developed a new material that may improve treatment for Parkinson's disease, stroke and spinal chord injuries. The research is published in the journal Science. How Old Is the Grand Canyon? -- 03/06/2008 The Grand Canyon began to open at least 17 million years ago, report researchers writing in the journal Science. Can snow leopards be saved? -- 03/06/2008 Conservationists and officials from twelve Asian countries are meeting in Beijing next week to discuss the fate of the endangered snow leopard. Less than 7,000 snow leopard remain in the wild. Brazil fails to implement deforestation plan - Amazon destruction jumps -- 03/06/2008 Faced with a spike in forest clearing due to high commodity prices, the Brazilian government has failed to enact reforms designed to slow deforestation in the Amazon rainforest says Greenpeace, an environmental group. Fighting illegal logging to be a top G8 priority in 2008 -- 03/05/2008 As it assumes the chair of the G8, Japan will make sustainable forest management a top priority, said a top Japanese government official. Why Europe torpedoed the REDD forests-for-carbon credits initiative -- 03/05/2008 Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) has been widely lauded as a mechanism that could fund forest conservation and poverty alleviation efforts while fighting climate change. At the December U.N. climate meeting in Bali, delegates agreed to include REDD in future discussions on a new global warming treaty — a move that could eventually lead to the transfer of billions of dollars from industrialized countries to tropical nations for the purpose of slowing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing deforestation rates. Conservationists and scientists applauded the decision. Photo: baby walrus getting its teeth checked -- 03/05/2008 Pacific walrus calf Akitusaaq, just a mere 8 1/2 months old, has just grown in his first "teeth" at The Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium. Feds flood the Grand Canyon to save endangered fish -- 03/05/2008 Federal government officials unleashed a flood of water from Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona to help restore the Grand Canyon's ecosystem which has suffered as a result of changes caused by the dam. Scientists seek to understand how climate will impact forest carbon -- 03/05/2008 Forests contain nearly 40 percent of the world's carbon--more than the atmosphere contains--but too little is known about forest carbon dynamics to predict whether anthropogenic global change will increase or decrease forest carbon pools. Helene Muller-Landau, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, announced a major global research effort to quantify forest carbon pools and fluxes. She announced the new effort at the Climate Change in the Americas Symposium, held Feb. 25-29 at the institute's headquarters in Panama. Hibernating fish discovered in the Antarctic -- 03/05/2008 Scientists have discovered a fish that exhibits hibernation-like behavior in the icy waters of the Antarctic. Toyota, GM: Hydrogen fuels cells are not viable -- 03/05/2008 Executives from General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor cast doubts yesterday about the viability of hydrogen fuel cells for mass-market production in the near term, reports The Wall Street Journal. The executives said electric cars will be a better way to cut emissions and improve fuel efficiency. Advice for your first visit to the rainforest -- 03/03/2008 Harry S. Pariser has been writing travel guides and articles for many years now. His most recent guide is Explore Costa Rica which has extensive information about the nation and its rainforests. Mercury from coal-burning hurts the common loon -- 03/04/2008 A long-term study by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the BioDiversity Research Institute, and other organizations has found and confirmed that environmental mercury--much of which comes from human-generated emissions--is impacting both the health and reproductive success of common loons in the Northeast. How accurate is long-term climatology data from the Amazon? -- 03/03/2008 With some models forecasting significant change in the Amazon rainforest over the next century, it has been unclear whether the temperature and precipitation data upon which the projections are made is accurate. Now, new research by Rafael Rosolem of the University of Arizona, shows that data associated with the Large-scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazon (LBA) -- an international research initiative focusing on how changes in land use and climate will affect the biological, physical, and chemical functioning of Amazonia -- is representative of normal climatology for the region. In other words, during most of the LBA data collection period, the data was not taken during severe drought or extreme wet periods. Photos: pair of kissing saki monkeys -- 03/03/2008 The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has unveiled a new pair of saki monkeys at Prospect Park Zoo in New York. 'CAT scan' shows Hawaiian forests invaded by alien species -- 03/03/2008 Invasive plant species are altering the ecology of Hawaiian rain forests, reports a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). American demand for gas, big cars begins to wane -- 03/03/2008 With crude oil today setting an inflation-adjusted record high, the Wall Street Journal reports that Americans are cutting back on gasoline consumption. Rare frog breeds in captivity for the first time -- 03/03/2008 A rare species of frog has been found breeding in captivity in New Zealand, reports the Associated Press. The finding offers hope that the species' vulnerability to extinction can be reduced. Fewer wolves may mean fewer pronghorn in Yellowstone -- 03/03/2008 As western states debate removing the gray wolf from protection under the Endangered Species Act, a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society cautions that doing so may result in an unintended decline in another species: the pronghorn, a uniquely North American animal that resembles an African antelope. New 'red list' seeks to stave off global seafood collapse -- 03/03/2008 Over-fishing and destructive fishing practices have had a considerable effect on oceanic ecosystems. In 2006 a highly-reported study found that without drastic measures all wild seafood will disappear from the oceans in 50 years. Greenpeace, working against such a crash, has started a campaign that highlights 'red fish'. The twenty-two 'red' species are seafood that consumers and suppliers (including supermarkets) should avoid due to their plummeting populations and/or the damage caused by harvesting them. Screaming elephant-cousin threatened by logging -- 03/03/2008 A small screaming mammal that may be the closest living relative of the elephant is threatened by logging and bushmeat hunting in East Africa, according to a study published in the inaugural issue of the open access e-journal Tropical Conservation Science. Belize's world famous coral reefs and rainforests at risk -- 03/03/2008 Belize's world famous coral reefs and tropical forests are increasingly vulnerable to environmental problems which could impact its tourism-dependent economy, argues a Belizean ecologist writing in the inaugural issue of the open access e-journal Tropical Conservation Science. Fragmentation puts Mexican howlers at risk -- 03/03/2008 Forest fragmentation is putting mantled howler monkeys in southern Mexico at risk, reports a new study, published in the inaugural issue of the open access e-journal Tropical Conservation Science. China's tropical rainforests decline 67% in 30 years -- 03/03/2008 Tropical rainforest cover in southern Yunnan decreased 67 percent in the past 30 years, mostly due to the establishment of rubber plantations, according to a new assessment of tropical forests in southwestern China. Human impacts on primate conservation in central Amazonia -- 03/03/2008 Deforestation in the Amazon is a serious concern. In the Brazilian Amazon, forests are cleared for cattle ranches, soybean cultivation, and selective logging practices. A new plan to settle approximately 180 families north of Manaus, the capital city of the state of Amazonas, has created widespread controversy. The land plots would be located within the study site of the longest-running study of forest fragmentation, the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP). Therefore, the plan would threaten scientific research at the BDFFP and other nearby research sites operated by the Instituto Nacional da Pesquisas de Amazônia (INPA) and Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA), as well as the future of the Central Amazonian Conservation Corridor. Global warming to worsen crop damage from frost -- 03/03/2008 Global warming could worsen frost damage in the United States according to a new study published in the journal Bioscience. News index | RSS | News Feed Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
MONGABAY.COM
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
T-SHIRTS 
CALENDARS 
CANVAS BAGS 
|
|
Copyright mongabay 2009 |
