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Scientists review the ecological effects of sea ice loss

The Arctic Ocean has more open water each summer, a trend most scientists predict will continue in coming years. September 2012 set the record for the most open water since satellite observations began.

A University of Washington researcher is co-author on a review paper published (Aug. 2) in the journal Science looking at the ecological consequences of sea ice decline.

Led by corresponding author Eric Post, a biologist at Pennsylvania State University, the international team looked at effects on animals ranging from microorganisms to polar bears. As well as obvious changes for organisms that live in or on the ice, there also are trickle-down effects for food webs, animal behavior, species ranges, interbreeding and disease dynamics. (more…)

U-M Divers Retrieve Prehistoric Wood from Lake Huron

By Guest PostDecember 13, 2011Sciencealpena amberley ridge, ancient paleoindian hunters, anthropologist, canadian expert, caribou, diameter, diane swanbrow, early holocene, examination, flakes of stone, guy meadows, human activity, hunting areas, john oshea, lake huron, microdebitage, mysterious period, national science foundation, noaa, north american prehistory, northern michigan, nsf, one millimetre, ontario, pleistocene, remote operated vehicle, rov, stone features, university of michigan, video camera, wood

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Under the cold clear waters of Lake Huron, University of Michigan researchers have found a five-and-a-half foot-long, pole-shaped piece of wood that is 8,900 years old. The wood, which is tapered and beveled on one side in a way that looks deliberate, may provide important clues to a mysterious period in North American prehistory.

“This was the stage when humans gradually shifted from hunting large mammals like mastodon and caribou to fishing, gathering and agriculture,” said anthropologist John O’Shea. “But because most of the places in this area that prehistoric people lived are now under water, we don’t have good evidence of this important shift itself– just clues from before and after the change. (more…)

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Scientists review the ecological effects of sea ice loss

U-M Divers Retrieve Prehistoric Wood from Lake Huron