Latest Ecology Stories

Slash and burn practice for centuries as source of stable carbon compounds in the oceans Until recent decades the Atlantic Rainforest covered a large area of today’s Brazil from Amazonas to present-day Argentina. In the 1970s, after years of deforestation, this rain forest was almost completely destroyed, mainly replaced by cattle pastures. This study reveals an unexpected aspect of deforestation. Thorsten Dittmar's team and colleagues from Brazil and the USA show that the common...

Forest succession helps rare plants and animals Forests hammered by windstorms, avalanches and wildfires may appear blighted, but a Washington State University researcher says such disturbances can be key to maximizing an area's biological diversity. In fact, says Mark Swanson, land managers can alter their practices to enhance such diversity, creating areas with a wide variety of species, including rare and endangered plants and animals. "The 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, for...

April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Scientists have debated how big a role elephants play in toppling trees in South African savannas for years. Now, using some very high tech airborne equipment, they finally have an answer. Tree loss is a natural process, but in some regions it is increasing beyond what could naturally be expected. This extreme tree loss has cascading effects on the habitats of many species. Studying savannas across Kruger National Park, Carnegie...

Tree cover in the nation’s Lower 48 states covers 659 million acres, more than one-third of the nation, according to a U.S. Forest Service study of national tree cover and impervious surfaces. New Hampshire leads the nation in percent tree cover (89 percent), followed by Maine (83 percent) and Vermont (82 percent). On the other end of the spectrum, North Dakota has the lowest percent tree cover (3 percent), followed by Nebraska (4 percent) and South Dakota (6 percent). Using aerial...

Scientists report new look at 'patterns in nature' in special issue of journal Ecology View patterns of nature in this photo gallery. Patterns in nature are in everything from ocean currents to a flower's petal. Scientists are taking a new look at Earth patterns, studying the biodiversity of yard plants in the U.S. and that of desert mammals in Israel, studying where flowers and bees live on the Tibetan plateau and how willow trees in America's Midwest make use of water. They're...

Association with the open water swimming community helps guide company in providing safe and effective jellyfish and marine sting first aid products. Ocean City, NJ (PRWEB) August 03, 2012 Ocean Care Solutions, specializing in State of the Art Marine Life First Aid Kits and jellyfish sting relief solutions, works in concert with U.S., Asian and European swimming associations along with world class competitors to test and provide the latest, most comprehensively effective sting relief aid...

With up to a billion hectares of wilderness likely to be cleared to feed the world in the coming half century and an area the size of China devoured by cities, leading environmental scientists are urging caution over the extent to which lost ecosystems can be replaced or restored. In a major scientific article, a team including Australian researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED) has advised governments worldwide to think twice before assuming an...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Just like wine and scotch, a species of termite has been found to just get better with age, except instead of developing tasty tannins, they develop a bitter way of inflicting pain on their enemies. As worker termites begin to grow older, their ability to perform their duties starts to age with it. However, instead of moving off to Florida, living off a nest egg and retiring, they develop a toxic crystal backpack and start a new role...

How quickly can new species arise? In as little as 6,000 years, according to a study of Australian sea stars. "That's unbelievably fast compared to most organisms," said Rick Grosberg, professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis and coauthor on the paper published July 18 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Grosberg is interested in how new species arise in the ocean. On land, groups of plants and animals can be physically isolated by mountains or rivers and then...

Even small increases in area burned could have significant impacts on carbon storage Forests in the Pacific Northwest store more carbon than any other region in the United States, but our warming climate may undermine their storage potential. A new study conducted by the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station and the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington has found that, by 2040, parts of Washington State could lose as much as a third of their carbon...