ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

---

• Dams impact carbon dynamics in U.S. rivers
• Coral reef thriving in sediment-laden waters
• Friends help more promptly, at least in monkeys
• Identifying dolphins with technology
• Atmospheric CO2 drove climate change during longest interglacial
• Amazing deep diving by imperial cormorant bird
• Captive lion reintroduction programs in Africa operate under 'conservation myth'
• Low-cost carbon capture gets X-rayed
• Mathematicians solve decade-old debate on regulation of protein production by microRNAs in cells
• Camouflage of moths: Moths actively seek out best hiding places
• Critically endangered whales sing like birds; New recordings hint at rebound
• To know a tiger is at least to start tolerating them, study shows
• An avian flu that jumps from birds to mammals is killing New England's baby seals
• Micro-copier for genome analysis
• Is it a rock, or is it Jello? Defining the architecture of rhomboid enzymes
• Temperature of Hong Kong is predicted to rise by two to three degrees Celsius in 30 years

Dams impact carbon dynamics in U.S. rivers Posted: 31 Jul 2012 06:36 PM PDT Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) -- which leaches into freshwater systems from plants, soils, and sediments, and from other detritus present in the water itself -- is the major food supplement for microorganisms and plays an important role in several environmental processes and in the global carbon cycle. In some aquatic systems such as estuaries the optically measurable colored component of dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is often proportional to the concentration of DOC.

Coral reef thriving in sediment-laden waters Posted: 31 Jul 2012 05:12 PM PDT Rapid rates of coral reef growth have been identified in sediment-laden marine environments, conditions previously believed to be detrimental to reef growth. A new study has established that Middle Reef – part of Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef – has grown more rapidly than many other reefs in areas with lower levels of sediment stress.

Friends help more promptly, at least in monkeys Posted: 31 Jul 2012 05:12 PM PDT Behavioral scientists have found out that crested macaques react faster if threatened by predators when a group member they share close social bonds with calls for help. In order to study this behavior, the scientists recorded recruiting calls of the monkeys. The macaques utter them, when predators like pythons are in sight.

Identifying dolphins with technology Posted: 31 Jul 2012 05:11 PM PDT A student-developed computer program simplifies the process of manual photo identification of bottlenose dolphins and other species.

Atmospheric CO2 drove climate change during longest interglacial Posted: 31 Jul 2012 05:06 PM PDT Known as the marine isotope stage 11 (MIS 11), the interglacial period centered around 400,000 years ago was the longest and possibly the warmest interglacial in the past 0.5 million years. Because the orbital configurations, atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, climate, and faunal characteristics during MIS 11 closely resemble those of the past 5,000 years, paleoclimatologists use MIS 11 as a geological analogue of the present and the near future.

Amazing deep diving by imperial cormorant bird Posted: 31 Jul 2012 01:07 PM PDT Researchers recently fitted a South American sea bird called an imperial cormorant with a small camera, then watched stunned as it became 'superbird' -- diving 150 feet underwater in 40 seconds, feeding on the ocean floor for 80 seconds where it eventually caught a snakelike fish, before returning to the surface 40 seconds later.

Captive lion reintroduction programs in Africa operate under 'conservation myth' Posted: 31 Jul 2012 10:50 AM PDT Commercial 'wildlife encounter' operations across Africa promoting the reintroduction of captive lions do little to further the conservation of African lions in the wild, new research shows.

Low-cost carbon capture gets X-rayed Posted: 31 Jul 2012 10:49 AM PDT Diamond Light Source is being used to improve low cost methods for carbon capture. Scientists are using the UK's national synchrotron to investigate the efficiency of calcium oxide based materials as carbon dioxide sorbents. Their results provide an explanation for one of the key mechanisms involved. This new knowledge will inform efforts to improve the efficiency of this economically viable method of carbon capture and storage.

Mathematicians solve decade-old debate on regulation of protein production by microRNAs in cells Posted: 31 Jul 2012 10:49 AM PDT Mathematicians have proposed a new solution to understanding a biological puzzle that has confounded molecular biologists. They have applied a mathematical model to work out the functioning of small molecules known as microRNAs -- components of the body akin to the electronics in modern airplanes.

Camouflage of moths: Moths actively seek out best hiding places Posted: 31 Jul 2012 09:35 AM PDT Moths are iconic examples of camouflage. Their wing coloration and patterns are shaped by natural selection to match the patterns of natural substrates, such as a tree bark or leaves, on which the moths rest. But, according to recent findings, moths actively seek out the best hiding places.

Critically endangered whales sing like birds; New recordings hint at rebound Posted: 31 Jul 2012 09:32 AM PDT The critically endangered bowhead whales sing like birds in the Fram Strait, off the east coast of Greenland, indicating that the whales might be more populous than previously thought or that they sing a wide repertoire of songs, unlike other whales, biologists have found.

To know a tiger is at least to start tolerating them, study shows Posted: 31 Jul 2012 08:14 AM PDT To protect a dangerous and endangered animal -- be it a tiger in Nepal or a wolf in Michigan - you have to ask people, "How do you FEEL about your predatory neighbor?" Effective conservation calls for not only figuring out what protected species need. It also requires understanding what it takes for humans to tolerate them. A study of tigers in Nepal finds those feelings provide critical information to protect species.

An avian flu that jumps from birds to mammals is killing New England's baby seals Posted: 31 Jul 2012 06:47 AM PDT A novel avian influenza virus has acquired the ability to infect aquatic mammals and was responsible for an outbreak of fatal pneumonia that recently struck harbor seals in New England, according to scientists.

Micro-copier for genome analysis Posted: 31 Jul 2012 06:46 AM PDT A new method holds promise to advance personalized medicine. Scientists can now copy 100,000 different DNA sequences simultaneously in a so called picowell array the size of a one cent coin.

Is it a rock, or is it Jello? Defining the architecture of rhomboid enzymes Posted: 31 Jul 2012 06:41 AM PDT Scientists have decoded for the first time the "stability blueprint" of an enzyme that resides in a cell's membrane, mapping which parts of the enzyme are important for its shape and function. These studies could eventually lead to the development of drugs to treat malaria and other parasitic diseases.

Temperature of Hong Kong is predicted to rise by two to three degrees Celsius in 30 years Posted: 31 Jul 2012 06:38 AM PDT The temperature in the inner urban areas of Hong Kong is predicted to rise by two to three Celsius degrees in 30 years' time, according to a recent scientific study.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Environment News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610