Big, old trees are in decline throughout the world, which spells trouble for the forests in which they play such an important role, a new study finds.

These elders of the forest do many things that smaller, younger trees cannot; for example, providing homes for many types of animals, providing space for other plants to grow in tropical rainforests and producing large amounts of seeds that serve as food for other animals and replenish tree populations, according to the study, published today (Dec. 6) in the journal Science.

Old trees also store an enormous amount of carbon and continue to sequester it as they grow, even in their old age, said study co-author David Lindenmayer, a researcher at Australian National University. One study published in PLoS ONE in May found that although big trees, with a diameter of more than 3 feet (1 meter) at chest height, made up only 1 percent of trees in a study plot in California's Yosemite National Park, they accounted for 50 percent of the area's biomass.

After the eastern beaches coastline resembled the Red Sea last Tuesday, the "night lantern" visited Sydney's Malabar beach that evening. These photos have not been digitally enhanced - in fact, photographer Dr David Psaila said the water was an even more spectacular colour blue than that shown in these images, the Southern Courier reports. "The organism responsible, Noctiluca Scintillans known as "night lantern" is very aptly named, as it will luminesce a bright blue when it is disturbed by waves," he said. The Chifley scientist said the red algae that crept along the east coast last week contained a chemical called luciferin which was a common protein found in bioluminescent animals.

Animals, so sensitive they suck their thumbs if upset, suffer population crash

While Australia's northern hairy-nosed wombat may be one of the world's most endangered mammals, its southern cousin has, by comparison, thrived. But now a food shortage - and an invasion of toxic plants - has killed thousands of southern wombats, prompting fears of a local extinction.

Nicknamed the "bulldozer of the bush" because of its stocky build and ability to survive in an arid landscape, the southern hairy-nosed wombat is in a parlous state in the Murrayland region of South Australia, one of its main population areas. Many animals are emaciated, and have also lost their coats, making them susceptible to skin diseases and sunburn. Brigitte Stevens, who runs the Wombat Awareness Organisation, has been conducting food drops in the area. "We're up there four or five times a week, and we see hundreds of dead wombats every time," she said. "There's just nothing for them to eat. They're literally starving to death."

Albuquerque, N.M. - Wildlife managers at one of the nation's premiere bird-watching spots have a mystery on their hands. A strange-looking bird with dark plumage showed up at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge earlier this month to join the tens of thousands of cranes and geese that spend the winter in the Rio Grande Valley.

The problem: No one knows exactly what kind of bird it is.

The debate has spread from the refuge's fields and wetlands onto Facebook, where guesses have ranged from some kind of mutant to a Thanksgiving turkey disguised as a crane for self-preservation. Birding experts from New York to California continued studying photographs of the bird Thursday, spurring even more theories.

The refuge posted a photograph of the bird on its Facebook page this week, sparking dozens of comments. Aside from the disguised turkey and oil-slicked bird theories, some suggested it could be a hybridization between a crane and an emu or a trumpeter, which are native to South America.

It could be a sandhill crane that has come down with a feather-staining fungal infection. Or maybe he - or she - has a genetic disorder that results in too much melanin production.

"It's different. It's got to be a hybrid-cross more than likely, but what, we don't know," Refuge Manager Aaron Mize told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Members of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Team Sapsucker - known as some of the best birders anywhere, they hold the U.S. record for finding the most bird species in 24 hours - say it's a sandhill crane. "We can't say why it's colored so differently, but we can be certain about species anyway," said Pat Leonard, a spokesman for the Cornell lab.

Other bird-watchers have reported seeing birds with similar coloring in wintering areas in California and along the Platte River in Nebraska. Some experts have said breeding birds have been known to preen mud into their feathers, resulting in the unusual colors.

When oil began gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, it was universally seen as an environmental disaster. Oil company British Petroleum, or BP, has been asked to pay a record $4.5 billion fine for their role in the three-month long spill, which some sources say may still be leaking. However, it seems that was just the tip of the iceberg.

A study conducted by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States and the Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes (UAA) in Mexico has found that the clean-up mission appears to have made the disaster even worse - 52 times worse, to be exact.

Over the course of the three months that oil was leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, 4.9 billion gallons of oil spilled into the gulf. In order to clean it up, two million gallons of oil dispersant were used. According to the study, the mixture of oil and dispersant made the spill 52 times more toxic.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Pollution, came to this conclusion by looking at rotifers, microscopic organisms at the bottom of the Gulf's food chain. The five types of rotifers were used for this experiment because rotifers are very sensitive to toxicity and react quickly to changes in environment.

A disease that can devastate prairie dog colonies has been confirmed on the Fort Pierre National Grassland in South Dakota.

The bacteria that causes sylvatic plague was found in fleas collected from prairie dog colonies, according to District Ranger Ruben Leal.

Sylvatic plague was first detected in South Dakota in 2004. The disease has been migrating north and west. It also has been detected on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, in Badlands National Park and on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation.

There have not been any confirmed cases of the plague in people in South Dakota.

Source: Associated Press

Doh!

A determined deer created a few moments of terror -- and hilarity -- when the animal hurled itself through the glass doors of a beauty supply store in Southfield, Mich.

According to Detroit television station WXYZ, the owners of the Lee Beauty Supply shop said they were concerned by the sounds of a commotion happening outside.

But it wasn't a commotion -- just a deer that had somehow navigated its way through the busy Detroit suburb and was apparently itching for a makeover.

Moments later, patrons watched in shock as the animal busted through the doors of the beauty supply store, spraying glass everywhere as it leaped inside.

Tourists heading for world-famous Bondi Beach were left high and dry today after a rare natural phenomenon turned the water blood red.

Bondi was among several popular beaches in and around Sydney, Australia, which had to be closed after a huge algae bloom transformed the sea into something resembling a scene from a Jaws movie.

But despite the warnings a number of intrepid beachgoers were seen venturing into the water and swimming through the red surface, Ten News Sydney reported.

The natural phenomenon is caused when algae, a plant-like organism flourishes and large groups of the miniscule plants, which can appear in various colours, gather together often with spectacular results.

Dexter, Oregon -- A cougar entered a Dexter-area home through a dog door last month, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

The homeowner called her dog, and the cougar left the house, said Brian Wolfer with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The homeowner wasn't too concerned about the late October incident and planned to lock the pet door when not in use, Wolfer said.

However, Wolfer called it "kind of concerning" that a cougar would enter a home that way. He advised homeowners to lock doors and keep pet food secure, even inside the house.

Ed Thompson, who lives in the area, said the incident illustrates the conflict between rural Lane County residents and the cougar population.

"I'm afraid that many people don't understand the breadth of the cougar problem right in Lane County's backyards," Thompson said. "In the Dexter/Pleasant Hill area alone there have been well more than a dozen livestock killings including sheep (two of which were ours), goats and an alpaca just this year."

Winter wheat in the U.K., which had its wettest summer in a century this year, showed the worst-ever symptoms in the current season of fungal diseases fusarium ear blight and septoria tritici, CropMonitor said.

There was a "marked increase" in ear blight, with 96 percent of field samples displaying symptoms, the crop-quality service said in a report e-mailed today. Some types of fusarium can result in yield losses or the development of mycotoxins, chemicals that can harm humans and animals, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.

"Ear blight symptoms were recorded at the highest-ever levels since the survey began," said CropMonitor, which is run by government and industry groups. Some field samples also showed fusarium on plant stems and nodes, where leaves emerge from stems, according to the report.

Septoria tritici, which also can cut yields, was the most common foliar disease, with 97 percent of crops affected, CropMonitor said. Brown rust was recorded on 17 percent of field samples and tan spot affected 14 percent of crops.

Powdery mildew affected only 4 percent of crops, the lowest level ever recorded and down from last year's results showing 34 percent of crops were infected.