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New Technologies (and Tires) Reconstruct Ancient Bison Hunts

By Guest PostAugust 2, 2011Scienceamerican indian, american indian tribes, ancient hunters, benjamin curry, bison kill sites in montana, blackfeet tribe, christopher roos, cliff edge, climate change, dale fenner, humans, jeff jones, jesse ballenger, kacy hollenback, kutoyis archaeological project, kutoyis project, landscape, maria nieves zedeño, matt pailes, meriwether lewis, montana, northern great plains, old tires, prehistoric bison hunting societies, school of anthropology, traditional bison hunt, two medicine valley, university of arizona, william clark

*UA researchers are looking for, among other things, how fire changed the landscape of the Northern Great Plains as ancient hunters went after big game.*

Researchers from the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona are investigating the complex relationship between climate change and modifications that humans have made to the landscape. And among the tools they are using in the pursuit of this knowledge are a bunch of old tires.

Led by Maria Nieves Zedeño from the UA Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, the Kutoyis Archaeological Project is a four-year collaboration focused on prehistoric bison hunting societies in the Northern Great Plains. The project is funded by the National Park Service and the National Science Foundation. (more…)

Exeter Scientists Grow Plants with Friendly Fungi

By Guest PostAugust 1, 2011Environmentclimate change, drought tolerance, friendly fungi, higher food prices, plant growth, strain of trichoderma

The lack of rainfall and higher-than-average temperatures in spring 2011 were predicted to hit harvests, leading to higher food prices.

Climate change may mean that these dry and hot conditions will become more common in the UK, so researchers are looking at ways to make plants more tolerant of dry spells. (more…)

Climate Adaptation of Rice

By Guest PostJuly 17, 2011Environmentbacteria, China, climate change, climate impacts on plants, developing countries, disease, dna of the rice plant, drought, dunegrass, endophytes, genetically unrelated plant species, geothermal, heat tolerant plants, microscopic fungi, minimum air temperature, native plants, natural and agricultural ecosystems, process of darwinian evolution, rice, rusty rodriguez, salt, salt tolerant, seattle, seawater, symbiogenics, symbiotic endophytes, temperature, the philippines, tiny fungi, U.S. Geological Survey

*Symbiogenics — a New Strategy for Reducing Climate Impacts on Plants*

Seattle – Rice – which provides nearly half the daily calories for the world’s population – could become adapted to climate change and some catastrophic events by colonizing its seeds or plants with the spores of tiny naturally occurring fungi, just-published U.S. Geological Survey-led research shows.

In an effort to explore ways to increase the adaptability of rice to climatic scourges such as tsunamis and tidal surges that have already led to rice shortages, USGS researchers and their colleagues colonized two commercial varieties of rice with the spores of fungi that exist naturally within native coastal (salt-tolerant) and geothermal (heat-tolerant) plants. (more…)

Decline in Species Shows Climate Change Warnings Not Exaggerated

By Guest PostJuly 15, 2011EnvironmentAntarctica, bering sea, birds, bivalve mollusks, boreal forests, climate change, effects of climate change on plant and animal species, Europe, extinction, extinction risk, fenno scandia, global biodiversity, global warming, human induced climate change, ilya maclean, Madagascar, marine mammals, nematode worm, pine grosbeak, population declines, robert wilson, species, spectacled eider, tenerife, tiger salamander populations, two barred crossbill, types of habitat, united states of america, university of exeter, yellowstone national park

One in 10 species could face extinction by the year 2100 if current climate change impacts continue.

This is the result of University of Exeter research, examining studies on the effects of recent climate change on plant and animal species and comparing this with predictions of future declines.

Published in leading journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study uses the well-established IUCN Red List for linking population declines to extinction risk. The research examines nearly 200 predictions of the future effects of climate change from studies conducted around the world, as well as 130 reports of changes which have already occurred. (more…)

Evaluation of Climate Policy Rocketing But in an Undeveloped and Unsystematic Way

By Guest PostJuly 10, 2011Environmentandrew jordan, climate change, climate governance, complexity of climate change issues, dave huitema, Europe, European Union, poland, policy evaluation, portugal, practices of climate policy evaluation in europe, tyndall centre for climate change research, uk, united nations, university of east anglia, vu university amsterdam

*New research led by the University of East Anglia and the VU University Amsterdam shines new light on the little studied but politically vital practices of climate policy evaluation in Europe.*

Published in the international journal Policy Sciences, a meta-analysis by a team of researchers from across Europe offers the very first systematic cataloging of the emerging patterns of policy evaluation undertaken in different parts of the European Union.

In the last decade or so the politics surrounding the development of new policies has attracted unprecedented attention. Many new targets and policies have been adopted. But a lot less is known about what is being done to check that the resulting policies are actually delivering on their promises. (more…)

Are You Alarmed or Dismissive? Americans’ Latest Views on Climate Change Fall Into One of ‘Six Americas’

By Guest PostJuly 1, 2011Environmentamerican views, climate change, climate policies, climate scientists

In a new report, researchers have found that Americans have a wide range of attitudes and beliefs when it comes to climate change, yet also show some surprising similarities. (more…)

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

By Guest PostJune 18, 2011Nature, Scienceabraham miller rushing, animal pollinated plants, bees, bumblebees, climate change, colorado mountain meadows, david inouye, davis, elk mountains of colorado, flower species, george aldridge, high mountain wildflower season, hummingbirds, jessica forrest, national science foundation, nectar, petals, pollen, pollinators, rocky mountain biological laboratory, rocky mountains, sub alpine meadows, summer wildflower, tucson, university of california, university of maryland, usa national phenology network, wildflowers, william barr

*High-mountain wildflower season reduced, affecting pollinators like bees, hummingbirds*

It’s summer wildflower season in the Rocky Mountains, a time when high-peaks meadows are dotted with riotous color.

But for how long?

Once, wildflower season in montane meadow ecosystems extended throughout the summer months. But now scientists have found a fall-off in wildflowers at mid-season. (more…)

With Global Warming, Arctic Access Will Diminish By Land But Improve By Sea

By Guest PostMay 31, 2011Environmentalaskan coastal town, anticipated temperature, Arctic, arctic transportation networks, baltic sea, bathurst inlet, bering strait, canada, climate change, commercial shipping, diamond road, dutton books, finland, fishing, geography, global shipping, global warming, greenland, history channel, ice road, ice road truckers, Iceland, john a agnew, laurence c smith, Netherlands, nome, north pole route, northern sea route, norway, panama canal, rotterdam, russia, scott stephenson, sea, shipping, stephenson and smith, strait of malacca, suez canal, Sweden, tibbitt contwoyto, tibbitt contwoyto winter road, tourism, type a vessels, united states, yellowknife

Global warming over the next 40 years will cut through Arctic transportation networks like a double-edged sword, limiting access in certain areas and vastly increasing it in others, a new UCLA study predicts.

“As sea ice continues to melt, accessibility by sea will increase, but the viability of an important network of roads that depend on freezing temperatures is threatened by a warming climate,” said Scott Stephenson, a UCLA graduate student in geography and the study’s lead author. (more…)

Tag Archives: climate change