Ecosystems


WHOI Team: Subtropical Water Flushing Greenland Fjord

Scientists are just beginning to learn more about the influence of ocean currents on ice sheets.

Crop Declines Expected from Warming; Panel Urges Use of Biotechnology

By the end of this century, scientists project that much of the tropics and subtropics will exceed 86 degree Fahrenheit in the growing season and affect important food crops.

Advocates Seek Stronger Stormwater Controls in Washington

Earthjustice files lawsuit to protect salmon and close loopholes.

4 More Maine Towns Protect Coastal Waters

"No Discharge Area" designations will end boat sewage in Camden, Rockport, Rockland, and portions of Owls Head, Maine.

Ozarka Partners with Ducks Unlimited to Restore East Texas Wetlands

Bottled water company gives $30,000 gift to be used to enhance wetlands for waterfowl and wildlife.

Maine DEP Finds Pharmaceuticals in Landfill Leachate

Trash disposal isn't the answer to keeping drugs out of the water supply after all.

ducks may be affected by climate change

Warming Climate Drives Wetland Loss, Will Affect Ducks

Model research says that the prairie pothole region of central North America is much more sensitive to climate warming and drying than previously thought.

Cornell Researchers Identify Virulent Fish Virus in Lake Superior

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus poses threats to fisheries and aquaculture.



UAB Expert: Increasing Acidity Proves CO2 Is Harming Marine Life

Jim McClintock says the increased acidity of the seawater itself can literally begin to eat away at the outer surfaces of shells of existing clams, snails, and other calcified organisms, which could cause species to die outright or become vulnerable to new predators."

Tennessee Emory River

22 Electric Utilities Develop Coal Ash Impoundment Action Plans

EPA says many of the electric utilities the agency has assessed are already implementing recommended measures to make their impoundments safer.

Texas' Columbia Lake Impact Statement Ready for Comment

Corps of Engineers seeks comments on its draft environmental impact statement on the Angelina & Neches River Authority project under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act.

Ecologists Create a More Precise Way to Measure Human Impacts

University of Maryland and Baylor University ecologists may have discovered a lower ecological "tipping point" at which species are threatened.

USGS' 2011 Draft Budget Increases $21.6 M from 2010 Level

The U.S. Geological Survey says the increase is due to the agency's significant role in climate change monitoring and adaptation, energy, ecosystems, and other priorities.

EDF Urges Academy to Build on Existing Bay Delta Decisions

The National Academy of Sciences should limit itself to the science of the conservation plan and the environmental needs of the Bay Delta, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.

Discovery of Algae's Eating Habit Could Help Curb Fish Kills

Johns Hopkins University researchers suggest that lower nutrients and oysters could help keep algal blooms down in U.S. waterways.

Semi-Arid Forest's Energy Budget Has Significant Heat Reserves

Forests remain important climate stabilizers, but there are tradeoffs, such as those between carbon sequestration and surface radiation budgets, that policymakers need to consider when predicting the future.

A Burmese python found along the Shark Valley Road in the Everglades

FWS Proposes to Ban Burmese Python Snakes from Everglades

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register in early February and make available drafts of the economic and environmental analyses.