Tag Archives: canada

Scientists Uncover Vast Differences in Earth’s Polar Ocean Microbial Communities

By Guest PostOctober 10, 2012Environmentalison murray, Antarctica, arctic ocean, biodiversity, biodiversity pattern, biogeographically, canada, changing climate, coast, community, continental, drainage basin, earth, environmental selection, flow, france, freshwater, glacial melt, global ocean, jean françois ghiglione, kevin bakker, marine, marine life, marine microbe, michigan, microbial community, microbial diversity, new zealand, ocean, oceanic circulation, oden, polar ocean, polar region, polar year, pole, sea ice, sloan foundation, southern, spain, structure, Sweden, swedish icebreaker, united states, university

ANN ARBOR— An international team of scientists, including a University of Michigan graduate student, has demonstrated that a clear difference exists between the marine microbial communities in the Southern and Arctic oceans, contributing to a better understanding of the biodiversity of marine life at the poles.

The most comprehensive comparison of microbial diversity at both of Earth’s polar oceans showed that about 75 percent of the organisms at each pole are different. This insight sheds light on newly recognized biodiversity patterns and reinforces the importance of studying Earth’s polar regions in the face of a changing climate. And it highlights the need for further research on the impacts of sea ice, seasonal shifts and freshwater input in both regions. (more…)

Second-generation Immigrants Outperform Mainstream Populations in the US, Canada, and Australia

By Guest PostOctober 6, 2012Culture, Economy, Education, Politicsafro caribbean, australia, canada, canadian integration, canadian perspective, census data, chinese, cross national, difference, employment success, heather zhang, higher education, higher generation, immigrant, immigrant success, jeffrey reitz, labour market, mainstream population, mcgill university, multiculturalism, naoko hawkins, offspring, professional occupation, reflective, research journal, second generation, social science, south asian, survey, toronto, united states, university, US, white

TORONTO, ON – A new study published by the Social Science Research journal reveals that second-generation Chinese and South Asian immigrants in the US, Canada, and Australia are more successful than the respective mainstream populations (third- and higher-generation whites).

Jeffrey G. Reitz and Naoko Hawkins from the University of Toronto and Heather Zhang from McGill University examined survey and census data from these countries to compare the achievements of immigrants and their offspring. (more…)

Yahoo! and Media.net Launch Contextual Ads for Web Publishers

By Guest PostSeptember 27, 2012Technologyadvertising revenue, al echamendi, android, bing network, blackberry phone, canada, contextual ads, divyank turakhia, ios, ipad, iPhone, itouch, Media, online advertising, traffic, united kingdom, united states, web publisher, Yahoo

New Offering Allows Quality Web Publishers to Generate Incremental Advertising Revenue

SUNNYVALE, Calif. & AUSTIN, Texas — Yahoo! and Media.net today announced a long-term agreement to launch Yahoo! Bing Network Contextual Ads, powered by Media.net. The program aims to provide web publishers with a powerful and effective new solution for earning advertising revenue. Publishers can now use the Media.net platform to create and customize ad units that display relevant text ads from across the Yahoo! Bing Network.

“Since its inception, Media.net has invested tremendous resources — people, capital and time — to build what Yahoo! identifies to be a terrific monetization solution for web publishers,” said Al Echamendi, Vice President, Business Development, Yahoo!. “During our evaluation process, we recognized Media.net as a technology and innovation leader, with a strong management team that has a significant business track record and industry experience.” (more…)

Face to Face

By Guest PostSeptember 10, 2012Scienceadult, african, ann manser, anna grant, asian faces, asian infants, brian larue, canada, caucasian faces, caucasian infants, China, concept formation, cristin, daily live, dayna damico, delaware, elise coopersmith, Europe, face, face to face, facial recognition, female face, fundamental challenge, gender, infant, laurie yarzab, mckenna larue, paige valeski, parent, pathway, paul quinn, process, race, south asian, university

Research finds infants classify faces by gender, race

Long before babies can talk — even before they can sit up on their own — they are mentally forming categories for objects and animals in a way that, for example, sets apart squares from triangles and cats from dogs, psychologists say.

Now, research conducted by the University of Delaware’s Paul Quinn, professor of psychology, and others indicates that babies as young as 3 months are also classifying faces by race and gender, showing a visual preference for the category they see most often in their daily lives, and that by 9 months they have difficulty recognizing the faces of people from less-familiar races. (more…)

Blanket Bogs Need Protection from Climate Change

By Guest PostSeptember 7, 2012Environmentalaska, amphibians, angela gallego sala, archaeological material, birds, blanket bogs, Britain, british countryside, canada, climate change, coastal area, devon, ecosystem, emission, exeter, flooding, future temperature, greenhouse gas, habitat, high latitude, norway, outer hebrides, plants, rainfall, reptiles, risk, russia, shetland, small mammals, sssi, uk, university, vegetation, wildlife

Blanket bogs, which provide vital habitats for a unique range of plants, birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, are at risk of declining as a result of climate change.

Research by the Universities of Exeter and Bristol in the UK and Macquarie University in Australia, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows for the first time how rising temperatures will threaten these sensitive ecosystems.

The study highlights the urgency of developing a plan to protect these important habitats.

Found in wet, coastal areas of high latitude regions, blanket bogs cover around 700,000 hectares of land in the UK, much of it designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Blanket bogs are found in the north and west of the UK, extending from Devon in the south to Shetland in the north, and it has been estimated that 10 to15 per cent of the world’s blanket bog occurs in Britain. As well as being crucial in supporting wildlife, blanket bogs also capture and store large amounts of carbon, helping to mitigate against climate change, and reduce the risk of flooding, by slowing down water flow. With some blanket peat being over 9,000 years old, they also hold historically-significant archaeological material. (more…)

On The Front Lines

By Guest PostSeptember 4, 2012Environmentandreas muenchow, Arctic, blog, canada, canadian icebreaker, delaware, extent, front lines, greenland, henry larsen, ice, ice cover, ice island, ice loss, icy seas, manhattan, marine scientist, melt cycle, multi year, nares strait, nsidc, petermann fjord, petermann glacier, sea ice, ud scientist, university

UD scientist sees Arctic ice loss firsthand

The extent of sea ice in the Arctic has reached a record low, according to data released Aug. 26 by the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

A University of Delaware marine scientist can confirm some of that ice loss firsthand. In a short video he produced, Andreas Muenchow, aboard the Canadian icebreaker Henry Larsen, shows the ice-free sea off Petermann Fjord that he and his colleagues were sailing in — an area that for ages had been covered by floating ice shelves. (more…)

Ecosystem Effects of Biodiversity Loss Could Rival Impacts of Climate Change, Pollution

By Guest PostMay 10, 2012Environment, Natureacid deposition, air pollution, algae, bacteria, biodiversity loss, biological diversity, bradley cardinale, california, canada, climate change, david hooper, ecosystem, environmental change, environmental stress, environmental stressors, extinction, forests, fungi, global warming, henry gholz, impact, leslie gonzalez, nutrient pollution, oxygen, ozone pollution, pollution, san josé, serpentine grasslands, Sweden, united states, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Loss of biodiversity appears to impact ecosystems as much as climate change, pollution and other major forms of environmental stress, according to a new study from an international research team.

The study is the first comprehensive effort to directly compare the impacts of biological diversity loss to the anticipated effects of a host of other human-caused environmental changes.

The results highlight the need for stronger local, national and international efforts to protect biodiversity and the benefits it provides, according to the researchers, who are based at nine institutions in the United States, Canada and Sweden. (more…)

Cosmic Ray Mystery

By Guest PostApril 19, 2012Scienceactive galaxies, Antarctica, array of detector, australia, bakhtiyar ruzybayev, barbados, belgium, black hole, canada, charged particle, chris elliott, cosmic ray, cosmic ray protons, data, density of radiation, detector, earth, energy, fermi satellites, fireballs, francis halzen, gamma ray bursts, Germany, ghostly nature, glacial ice, grbs, greg sullivan, icecube, icetop, james roth, Japan, katie shirey, NASA, national science foundation, neutrinos, new zealand, nsf, production, proton, pyramid of giza, south pole, Sweden, swift, switzerland, telescope, thomas gaisser, universe, university of delaware, university of wisconsin, US

Massive detector homes in on cosmic ray production

IceCube, an international collaboration involving University of Delaware scientists, is shedding new light on cosmic ray production.

Although cosmic rays were discovered 100 years ago, their origin remains one of the most enduring mysteries in physics. Now, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a massive detector in Antarctica, is homing in on how the highest energy cosmic rays are produced. (more…)