Latest University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Stories
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Prairie dogs pull up stakes and look for a new place to live when all their close kin have disappeared from their home territory--a striking pattern of dispersal that has not been observed for any other species. This is according to a new study published in Science by behavioral ecologist John Hoogland, Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Appalachian Laboratory. He has been studying the ecology...
New analysis could help alter fishing practices to reduce mortality The majestic leatherback turtle is the largest sea turtle in the world, growing to more than 6 feet in length. It is also one of the most threatened. A major new study of migration patterns has identified high-use areas—potential danger zones--in the Pacific Ocean for this critically endangered species. This new understanding could help inform decisions about fishing practices to help reduce further deaths of this...
Carcasses of copepods--numerous organisms in world seas--provide insights into oceanic food websTiny crustaceans called copepods rule the world, at least when it comes to oceans and estuaries.The most numerous multi-cellular organisms in the seas, copepods are an important link between phytoplankton and fish in marine food webs.To understand and predict how copepods respond to environmental change, scientists need to know not only how many new copepods are born, but how many are dying, say...
Genome-based technique helps identify a virus lethal to blue crabA research effort designed to prevent the introduction of viruses to blue crabs in a research hatchery could end up helping Chesapeake Bay watermen improve their bottom line by reducing the number of soft shell crabs perishing before reaching the market. The findings, published in the journal Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, shows that the transmission of a crab-specific virus in diseased and dying crabs likely occurs after the...
Acidity is increasing in some regions of the Chesapeake Bay even faster than is occurring in the open ocean, where it is now recognized that increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolve in the seawater thereby making it more acidic. These more acidic conditions in key parts of Chesapeake Bay reduce rates of juvenile oyster shell formation, according to new research published in the journal Estuaries and Coasts. The study, conducted at the University of Maryland Center for...
Study suggests pollution reductions could help restoration effortsA new study to be published in the academic journal Reviews in Fisheries Science recommends that efforts to restore the endangered California delta smelt and other declining pelagic fish should more sharply focus on reducing nutrient pollution to the species' native waters. The research indicates these fish populations would greatly benefit from reductions in the amount of nitrogen flowing into the Sacramento-San Joaquin...
New research by a team of ecologists and hydrologists shows that water temperatures are increasing in many streams and rivers throughout the United States. The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, documents that 20 major U.S. streams and rivers "“ including such prominent rivers as the Colorado, Potomac, Delaware, and Hudson "“ have shown statistically significant long-term warming.By analyzing historical records from 40 sites located throughout the...
As oxygen-deprived waters increase, they emit more greenhouse gasses into atmosphereThe increased frequency and intensity of oxygen-deprived "dead zones" along the world's coasts can negatively impact environmental conditions in far more than just local waters. In the March 12 edition of the journal Science, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science oceanographer Dr. Lou Codispoti explains that the increased amount of nitrous oxide (N2O) produced in low-oxygen...
Group cites extensive scientific evidence of permanent environmental damage and risks to human healthBased on a comprehensive analysis of the latest scientific findings and new data, a group of the nation's leading environmental scientists are calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to stay all new mountaintop mining permits. In today's edition of the journal Science, they argue that peer-reviewed research unequivocally documents irreversible...
 An international team of scientists warns that accelerating losses of seagrasses across the globe threaten the immediate health and long-term sustainability of coastal ecosystems. The team has compiled and analyzed the first comprehensive global assessment of seagrass observations and found that 58 percent of world's seagrass meadows are currently declining.The assessment, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows an acceleration of annual seagrass loss from...
