Sea turtles and whales may be the charismatic critters of the sea, but the true kingpins of the ocean make up 98 percent of the ocean’s biomass — and yet individually are too small to see with the naked eye. (more…)
The impact of climate change on global seawater conditions could change the rules of sperm competition for many important marine species, a pioneering new study has shown.
Researchers from the University of Exeter have shown that increasing ocean acidification, brought about by manmade carbon emissions, reduces sperm performance in a species of sea urchin, slowing down sperm in future ocean conditions. Interestingly, they found that different males were affected to different extents and that this could change the outcome when rival male ejaculates competed to fertilise a batch of eggs in the sea. (more…)
Developed cities are spending significantly more than developing cities on measures to adapt to the impacts of climate change – with spending seemingly linked to wealth rather than number of vulnerable people – finds UCL research. (more…)
Two of Yale’s senior biologists, David Skelly and David Post, discuss their work in and around Linsley Pond in North Branford, Connecticut, and explain how the rapid pace of climate change is driving evolutionary changes in the animal species they study. *Source: Yale University
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Rising temperatures in alpine habitats worldwide have resulted in declines in flowering among indigenous plants and contributed to dramatic declines in populations of several bumblebee species prevalent in those regions. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri in a study published in Science, have found that two alpine bumblebee species have responded to this decline in flowering due to warming temperatures by evolving shorter tongues. The results suggest that some bumblebee species may be able to adapt to environmental challenges caused by climate change. (more…)
A new study links climate change to the decline of bumblebee species in North America and Europe.
The study, published in the journal Science, found that bumblebee ranges are shrinking in the south and the insects are not moving north. In addition, some species are moving to higher elevations on both continents. (more…)
Think of the Sahara and you will conjure images of a vast desert landscape, with nothing but sand as far as the eye can see. But for a period of about 10,000 years, the Sahara was characterized by lush, green vegetation and a network of lakes, rivers and deltas. (more…)
Auch wenn es verblüffen mag: Steigende Temperaturen werden der Antarktis mehr Schnee bringen. Jedes Grad regionaler Erwärmung könnte den Schneefall auf dem Eiskontinent um etwa fünf Prozent zunehmen lassen, wie jetzt ein internationales Wissenschaftlerteam unter der Leitung des Potsdam-Instituts für Klimafolgenforschung zeigt. Ihre Abschätzung beruht auf Daten aus Eisbohrkernen und auf physikalischen Gesetzen, die in globalen und regionalen Klimasimulationen abgebildet werden; veröffentlicht wird die Studie im Fachjournal Nature Climate Change. Die Ergebnisse liefern ein wichtiges neues Puzzelstück bei der Abschätzung des Beitrags der Antarktis zum künftigen Meeresspiegelanstieg. Mehr Schnee wird die Antarktis jedoch nicht vor dem Verlust von Masse bewahren, denn ein Großteil des zusätzlichen Eises wird durch sein eigenes Gewicht schneller in Richtung Küste transportiert. (more…)
