Protected forest strips buffering rivers and streams of the Amazon rainforest should be significantly wider than the current legal requirement, according to pioneering new research by scientists at the University of East Anglia. This is the first wildlife study on remnant riparian tropical forest corridors.
Brazilian forestry legislation currently requires that all forest strips alongside rivers and streams on private land be maintained as permanent reserves and it sets a minimum legal width of 60m.
But after investigating the effects of corridor width on the number of bird and mammal species, Alexander Lees and Dr Carlos Peres of UEA's School of Environmental Sciences say a minimum critical width of 400m is necessary.
Earth Changes
They may be considered pests, but beaver can help mitigate the effects of drought, and because of that, their removal from wetlands to accommodate industrial, urban and agricultural demands should be avoided, according to a new University of Alberta study.
|
| ©Glynnis Hood, University of Alberta |
| Beavers can help mitigate the effects of drought and should not be pushed away from wetlands for industrial and residential development, a University of Alberta study says. |
The first direct evidence of how and when tectonic plates move into the deepest reaches of the Earth has been detailed in Nature. Scientists hope their description of how plates collide with one sliding below the other into the rocky mantle could potentially improve their ability to assess earthquake risks.
The UK and Swiss team found that, contrary to common scientific predictions, dense plates tend to be held in the upper mantle, while younger and lighter plates sink more readily into the lower mantle.
The UK and Swiss team found that, contrary to common scientific predictions, dense plates tend to be held in the upper mantle, while younger and lighter plates sink more readily into the lower mantle.
|
| ©iStockphoto/Rob Broek |
| Andes Mountains, Peru. When two tectonic plates collide, with one sliding below the other and sinking into mantle, it can lead to the formation of mountain belts, like the Andes. |
As oceans warm and become more acidic, ocean creatures are undergoing severe stress and entire food webs are at risk, according to scientists at a press briefing this morning at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston.
Gretchen Hofmann, associate professor of biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has just returned from a research mission to Antarctica where she collected pteropods, tiny marine snails the size of a lentil, that she refers to as the "potato chip" of the oceans because they are eaten widely by so many species.*
Gretchen Hofmann, associate professor of biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has just returned from a research mission to Antarctica where she collected pteropods, tiny marine snails the size of a lentil, that she refers to as the "potato chip" of the oceans because they are eaten widely by so many species.*
|
| ©D.Forcucci |
| Microscope photo of a pteropod (pelagic snail). |
Burmese pythons - an invasive species in south Florida - could find comfortable climatic conditions in roughly a third of the United States according to new "climate maps" developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Although other factors such as type of food available and suitable shelter also play a role, Burmese pythons and other giant constrictor snakes have shown themselves to be highly adaptable to new environments.
The just-released USGS maps can help natural resource agencies manage and possibly control the spread of non-native giant constrictor snakes, such as the Burmese python, now spreading from Everglades National Park in Florida. These "climate match" maps show where climate in the U.S. is similar to places in which Burmese pythons live naturally (from Pakistan to Indonesia).
A look at the map shows why biologists are concerned.
The just-released USGS maps can help natural resource agencies manage and possibly control the spread of non-native giant constrictor snakes, such as the Burmese python, now spreading from Everglades National Park in Florida. These "climate match" maps show where climate in the U.S. is similar to places in which Burmese pythons live naturally (from Pakistan to Indonesia).
A look at the map shows why biologists are concerned.
|
| ©USGS |
| Areas of the continental United States with current climate matching that of the pythons' native range in Asia. By 2100 the yellow "maybe" area is expected to extend north substantially, due to projected climate change. |
UK scientists working in Antarctica have found some of the clearest evidence yet of instabilities in the ice of part of West Antarctica.
If the trend continues, they say, it could lead to a significant rise in global sea level.
The new evidence comes from a group of glaciers covering an area the size of Texas, in a remote and seldom visited part of West Antarctica.
If the trend continues, they say, it could lead to a significant rise in global sea level.
The new evidence comes from a group of glaciers covering an area the size of Texas, in a remote and seldom visited part of West Antarctica.
Two boys have died in an avalanche in the Orenburg Region in the Urals, an emergencies ministry spokesman said on Friday.
Two boys aged 12 and 14, who were sledging down a snowy slope on home-made boards, were buried under a 2-meter (6.5 feet) layer of snow.
Two boys aged 12 and 14, who were sledging down a snowy slope on home-made boards, were buried under a 2-meter (6.5 feet) layer of snow.
We are, of course, but a new book on animal cruelty will make your jaw drop about how vicious humans can be to other animals.
With its razor-sharp teeth, the fish known as the giant snakehead terrorises the warm waters of south-east Asia.
Which is why an angler was particularly startled to hook a 2ft specimen from a river in Lincolnshire.
Andrew Alder caught the snakehead using a sprat for bait while fishing for pike in the River Witham near North Hykeham.
Which is why an angler was particularly startled to hook a 2ft specimen from a river in Lincolnshire.
Andrew Alder caught the snakehead using a sprat for bait while fishing for pike in the River Witham near North Hykeham.
|
| ©Daily Mail |
| Known as the 'gangster' of the fish world, a snakehead was caught in Lincolnshire |
Monaco - A deadly combination of climate change, over-fishing and pollution could cause the collapse of commercial fish stocks worldwide within decades, said Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Environment Program.
