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First Harmful Algal Bloom Species Genome Sequenced

By Guest PostFebruary 27, 2011Environmentaureococcus anophagefferens, blooms, brown tides, christopher gobbler, chronic, coastal ecosystems, don anderson, eastern united states, ecogenomic approach, economic losses, ecosystems, excess nutrients, fertilizer runoff, genome sequencing, habs, harmful algal bloom, long island, louie wurch, marine phytoplankton, microscopic phytoplankton, ny, organic matter, photosynthetic microalga, poison humans, pollutants, sea grass beds, shellfisheries, sonya dyhrman, South Africa, toxin

*Brown Tide Culprit Uniquely Suited to Thrive in Environmentally Impacted Estuaries*

The microscopic phytoplankton Aureococcus anophagefferens, which causes devastating brown tides, may be tiny but it’s a fierce competitor.

In the first genome sequencing of a harmful algal bloom species, researchers found that Aureococcus’ unique gene complement allows it to outcompete other marine phytoplankton and thrive in human-modified ecosystems, which could help explain the global increases in harmful algal blooms (HABs). (more…)

UF Study Traces Global Red Imported Fire Ant Invasions to Southern U.S.

By Guest PostFebruary 27, 2011Environmentagricultural losses, fire ant invasions, fire ants, global trade, imported fire ant, invasive species, origins of ants

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Red imported fire ant invasions around the globe in recent years can now be traced to the southern U.S., where the nuisance insect gained a foothold in the 1930s, new University of Florida research has found. (more…)

Before the Explosion – Volcano’s Warning Tremors Explained

By Guest PostFebruary 26, 2011Environmentexplosive volcanoes, forecasting an eruption, magma wagging, pyroclastic flows, tremors, warning tremors

No matter their size or shape, explosive volcanoes produce tremors at similar frequencies for minutes, days or weeks before they erupt. In the Feb. 24 issue of the journal Nature, researchers at Yale University and the University of British Columbia describe a model that explains this strange phenomenon — and may help forecast deadly eruptions. (more…)

WaterWheel Will Bring Clean Water to a Thirsty World

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 20111 commentEnvironmentclean water, colm fay, cynthia koenig, dow sustainability innovation student challenge, India, rajasthan, rolling water barrel, waterwheel, wello, wheel, world

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Cynthia Koenig knows that by reinventing the wheel she could change the world. In a few months, she hopes to make a difference in India.

Koenig, a graduate student at the University of Michigan, created the WaterWheel, a 20-gallon rolling water barrel and Wello, the business that distributes it in developing countries, where clean water is scarce. (more…)

Pollution Triggers Genetic Resistance Mechanism in a Coastal Fish

By Guest PostFebruary 24, 20112 commentsEnvironmentacushnet river estuary, ahr2, amino acids, antibiotics, atlantic tomcod, bacteria, diana franks, Environment, evolutionary change, fish, fish populations, general electric facilities, genetic receptor, genetic resistance, hudson environment, hudson river, insecticides, insects, isaac wirgin, mark hahn, natural selection, new york, pahs, PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, protein, receptor gene, stress factors, superfund basic research, tomcod, toxicity, vertebrate population

For 30 years, two General Electric facilities released about 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into New York’s Hudson River, devastating and contaminating fish populations. Some 50 years later, one type of fish—the Atlantic tomcod—has not only survived but appears to be thriving in the hostile Hudson environment.

Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have joined colleagues from New York University (NYU) and NOAA to investigate this phenomenon and report that the tomcod living in the Hudson River have undergone a rapid evolutionary change in developing a genetic resistance to PCBs. (more…)

Greenland’s Glaciers Double in Speed

By Guest PostFebruary 22, 2011Environmentglobal climate system, greenland glaciers, ice sheet change, sea level change

The contribution of Greenland to global sea level change and the mapping of previously unknown basins and mountains beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet are highlighted in a new film released by Cambridge University this morning. (more…)

Climate Change Affecting Food Safety

By Guest PostFebruary 22, 2011Environmentclimate change, food safety, food supply, mycotoxin problem, warm ocean water

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Climate change is already having an effect on the safety of the world’s food supplies and unless action is taken it’s only going to get worse, a Michigan State University professor told a symposium at this year’s meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. (more…)

Global Warming May Reroute Evolution

By Guest PostFebruary 21, 2011Environment, Nature, Scienceasclepias syriaca, asexual reproduction, carbon dioxide levels, cardenolides, chemical defenses, driving force of evolution, elevated carbon dioxide, environmental factors, genetic composition, global warming, heart poisons, interaction, mark hunter, milkweed, milkweed plants, monarch caterpillars, plant eating insects, plant evolution, plants and insects, rachel vannette, selection pressure

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Rising carbon dioxide levels associated with global warming may affect interactions between plants and the insects that eat them, altering the course of plant evolution, research at the University of Michigan suggests.

The research focused on the effects of elevated carbon dioxide on common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca. Milkweed is one of many plants that produce toxic or bitter chemical compounds to protect themselves from being eaten by insects. These chemical defenses are the result of a long history of interactions between the plants and insects such as monarch caterpillars that feed on them. (more…)

Category Archives: Environment