A new model for understanding biodiversity

Researchers develop a unified theory of ecosystem change by combining spatial modelling and food web analysis

Animals like foxes and raccoons are highly adaptable. They move around and eat everything from insects to eggs. They and other “generalist feeders” like them may also be crucial to sustaining biological diversity, according to a new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

McGill biology researchers have developed a unified, spatially based understanding of biodiversity that takes into account the complex food webs of predators and prey. “Biodiversity exists within a landscape. Predators and prey are continuously on the move as their habitats change – it’s a complex dynamic system,” says lead author Pradeep Pillai, a former doctoral candidate at McGill, now a research associate at the University of Oregon.

Global warming effects of CO2 could be less that those foreseen by the IPCC

According to the most accurate predictions on increasing CO2 levels and effects on the climate, published this week in Science, the Earth's temperature will rise less than expected even if current levels of CO2 emissions continue. The new prediction lowers the maximum increase in temperature from 4.5K to 2.6K, below that expected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and discards the possibility of increases superior to 6K if CO2 levels in the atmosphere double in comparison to preindustrial levels. Taking part in the research was Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) researcher Antoni Rosell.

Climate sensitivity measures how Earth's surface temperature is affected by changes in the atmosphere. Scientists have developed models to calculate climate sensitivity in relation to an increase in CO2, i.e. to calculate how temperature would rise depending on the increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

Hydrocarbon pollution along the coast of Galicia shot up five years after the Prestige oil spill

The results of a recent study by the University of Santiago de Compostela on Kentish Plover eggs has shown that there was a unexpected increase in hydrocarbon levels along the coast of Galicia five years after the Prestige oil spill. Worsened in previous years by works to remove the wreck, pollution levels began to rise again in the summer of 2006 along with numerous forest fires.

On 19th November 2002 the oil tanker Prestige sank off the coast of Galicia and spilled 63,000 tonnes of fuel oil into the sea, which reached coasts from the north of Portugal to France. The mass arrival of oil to the coast months after the accident was catastrophic.

Everyday substances increase risk of allergies

The use of chemicals in our everyday lives entails increased risks of allergies in children, according to a study at Karlstad University in Sweden. The prevalence of PGEs, propylene glycol and glycol ethers, in bedroom air is associated with asthma, hay fever, and eczema, but also with antibodies against common allergens in children. The study shows a risk increase of up to 180 percent.

Rhino horn demand leads to record poaching

More rhinos have been killed in South Africa in the past 10 months than were killed in all of 2010, new poaching numbers reveal. Statistics from South Africa National Parks show that 341 animals have been lost to poaching so far in 2011, compared to a record total of 333 last year.

South Africa’s grim milestone comes on the heels of an announcement by WWF last week that rhinos have gone extinct in Vietnam. The carcass of Vietnam’s last Javan rhino was found with a gunshot wound and without its horn.

At a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) last year, the international community concluded that the increase in rhino poaching has been caused largely by demand for horn products in Vietnam. Law enforcement efforts, while increasing, are not yet sufficient to protect rhinos from poachers or stop the smuggling and sale of their horns by organized crime rings.

Nissan named Low Carbon Car Manufacturer of the year

NISSAN Leaf Nissan was named Low Carbon Car/Van Manufacturer of the Year at the LowCVP Low Carbon Champions Awards ceremony held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) in London.

The judges said that Nissan has been at the forefront of EV and battery technology development which culminated in the launch of the ground-breaking fully electric Nissan LEAF in March 2011. The judges referred to Nissan ‘as a leader in the electrification of transport' as well as applauding the car company on its innovative technology and its extensive activity and partnerships.

The judges acknowledged that the company's effort had helped place electric vehicles firmly in the minds of the motoring public as well as ensuring a network of charging and servicing points, thereby making the transition to electric motorist as seamless as possible for both consumers and company car drivers.

Effects of climate change to further degrade fisheries resources: UBC researchers

A new study led by University of British Columbia researchers reveals how the effect of climate change can further impact the economic viability of current fisheries practices.

“Fisheries are already providing fewer fish and making less money than they could if we curbed overfishing,” says Rashid Sumaila, principal investigator of the Fisheries Economics Research Unit at UBC and lead author of the study. “We could be earning interest, but instead we’re fishing away the capital. Climate change is likely to cause more losses unless we choose to act.”

Partly supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, National Geographic, the World Bank and U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the study is a broad view of the impact of climate change on fisheries and their profitability. It is published online today in the journal Nature Climate Change.

McDonald's Animal Cruelty

A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation into a McDonald's egg supplier, Sparboe Egg Farms, exposes the fast-food giant's secret ingredient: shocking cruelty to animals.

Hidden-camera footage taken at Sparboe facilities in Iowa, Minnesota and Colorado reveals:

Pesticide in food: Apples, Celery top the list

Environmental Working Group has released the seventh edition of its Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce with updated information on 53 fruits and vegetables and their total pesticide loads. EWG highlights the worst offenders with its “Dirty Dozen” list and the cleanest conventional produce with its “Clean 15” list.

Analysts at EWG synthesized data collected from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration from 2000 to 2009. Produce is ranked based on a composite score, equally weighing six factors that reflect how many pesticides was found in testing of on each type of the produce and at what levels. Most samples are washed and peeled prior to being tested, so the rankings reflect the amounts of the chemicals likely present on the food when is it eaten.

New research finds mangroves key to climate change

New research shows that mangroves store exceptionally more carbon than most tropical forests, but they are being destroyed from coastlines at a rapid rate causing significant emissions of greenhouse gases.

The findings from the study, which was carried out by scientists from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the USDA Forest Service, underscore a call by scientists for mangroves to be protected as part of global efforts to combat climate change.

CO2-chomping microbes battling for ocean iron

Australian, Belgian and New Zealand scientists have expanded our understanding of the way phyoplankton take up scarce iron in the ocean – a process that regulates ocean food chains from the bottom up and helps remove up to 40 per cent of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

Research published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science explores the relationship between iron, which limits primary productivity in vast regions of the ocean, and its uptake by phytoplankton species.

New melt record for Greenland ice sheet

CCNY's Marco Tedesco says 'exceptional' season stretched up to 50 days longer than average

New research shows that 2010 set new records for the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, expected to be a major contributor to projected sea level rises in coming decades.

"This past melt season was exceptional, with melting in some areas stretching up to 50 days longer than average," said Dr. Marco Tedesco, director of the Cryospheric Processes Laboratory at The City College of New York (CCNY – CUNY), who is leading a project studying variables that affect ice sheet melting.

Loss of reflectivity in the Arctic doubles estimate of climate models

A new analysis of the Northern Hemisphere's "albedo feedback" over a 30-year period concludes that the region's loss of reflectivity due to snow and sea ice decline is more than double what state-of-the-art climate models estimate.

The findings are important, researchers say, because they suggest that Arctic warming amplified by the loss of reflectivity could be even more significant than previously thought.