Ecosystems


Were the East Coast Hurricane and Earthquake Related?

An earthquake and a hurricane, all in the same week, on the same coast. Are they related?

Climate Change Seems Unfavorable for Toxic Blue Algae

The earth is warming up due to rising carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. NWO-funded researchers have discovered that the increase in carbon dioxide can reduce the nuisance caused by toxic blue algae, a bacterium commonly found in swimming water throughout the Netherlands in the summer

Feeding Cows Natural Plant Extracts Can Reduce Ammonia Emissions, Feeding Costs

With citizens’ groups seeking government regulation of foul-smelling ammonia emissions from large dairy farms, scientists reported that adding natural plant extracts to cow feed can reduce levels of the gas by one-third while reducing the need to fortify cow feed with expensive protein supplements.

Researchers Deploy a Shocking Method of Fish Collection

A group of fisheries scientists from Tennessee Tech University are busy monitoring the health of the Caney Fork River by pumping electricity into the water.

NASA's Aquarius Makes First Ocean Salt Measurements

NASA's Aquarius instrument has successfully completed its commissioning phase and is now "tasting" the saltiness of Earth's ocean surface, making measurements from its perch in near-polar orbit.

Tree-Killing Pathogen Traced Back to California

Genetic detective work by an international group of researchers may have solved a decades-long mystery of the source of a devastating tree-killing fungus that has hit six of the world's seven continents.

Protecting Wild Species May Require Growing More Food on Less Land: Study

In parts of the world still rich in biodiversity, separating natural habitats from high-yielding farmland could be a more effective way to conserve wild species than trying to grow crops and conserve nature on the same land, according to a new study published today in the journal Science.

Up From the Depths: How Bacteria Capture Carbon in the Twilight Zone

Details are now emerging about a microbial metabolic pathway that helps solve the mystery of how certain bacteria capture carbon in the dark ocean, enabling a better understanding of what happens to the carbon that is fixed in the oceans every year.



Free Disaster Recovery App Available for Those Recovering from Hurricane Irene

The Disaster Recovery Log app helps you record information about damages to your home and property using text, images and audio.

Analysis Shows Namibia's Seals are Worth More Alive Than Dead

It reveals that, in 2008, the seal hunt generated only $513,000 – a poor comparison to seal-watching, which netted $2 million in direct tourism expenditure in the same period

Successful Rainwater Harvesting Systems Combine New Technology With Old Social Habits

Drawing from game theory, a biomedical engineer argues that a successful common pool resource (CPR) depends on participant behavior, which requires monitoring and management.

Panda Poop May Be a Treasure Trove of Microbes for Making Biofuels

Panda poop contains bacteria with potent effects in breaking down plant material in the way needed to tap biomass as a major new source of “biofuels” produced not from corn and other food sources, but from grass, wood chips and crop wastes, scientists reported.

Are New England's Iconic Maples At Risk?

Results from the first study of the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in forests show that the invasive insect can easily spread from tree-lined city streets to neighboring forests.

Tips Tuesday: How to Stay Safe on Your Boat this Weekend

Labor Day is coming, with the chance to get in one last weekend of watersports fun before fall and winter make the lake off-limits. Make sure you stay safe for next year's boat season with these tips.

Scientist Floats New Hypothesis on Ocean Acidification

A researcher at the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, an organized research unit in the University of Hawai'i at Manoa's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology has come up with a new explanation for the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs.

Testing the Water for Bioenergy Crops

Many energy researchers and environmental advocates are excited about the prospect of gaining more efficient large-scale biofuel production by using large grasses like miscanthus or switchgrass rather than corn. They have investigated yields, land use, economics and more, but one key factor of agriculture has been overlooked: water.

Scientists Call for Better Deep Sea Management

A recent study has found that it's being damaged by human activities, and that this is only likely to get worse. Scientists are now calling for better management and conservation of entire deep-sea ecosystems.

Study Shows That Florida Reefs Cannot Endure a Cold Snap

Corals like this one in the Florida Keys experienced unprecedented mortality rates during the severe cold snap in 2010, according to a new study published in PLoS ONE.

Ocean Observatories Initiative Streams Live Video of Undersea Volcano

Last spring, a volcano erupted 425 kilometers (about 265 miles) off the Oregon coast and far below the surface, at Axial Seamount. No one was aware for months, now a live streaming video will monitor the underwater volcano.

Irrigation Impacts on Global Carbon Uptake

Globally, irrigation increases agricultural productivity by an amount roughly equivalent to the entire agricultural output of the U.S., according to a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study.

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