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Friday, May 17, 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News


Topography of Eastern Seaboard muddles ancient sea level changes

Posted: 16 May 2013 03:20 PM PDT

The distortion of the ancient shoreline and flooding surface of the US Atlantic Coastal Plain are the direct result of fluctuations in topography in the region and could have implications on understanding long-term climate change, according to a new study.

How should geophysics contribute to disaster planning?

Posted: 16 May 2013 03:20 PM PDT

Earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters often showcase the worst in human suffering – especially when those disasters strike populations who live in rapidly growing communities in the developing world with poorly enforced or non-existent building codes. Scientists now illustrate how nearly identical natural disasters can play out very differently depending on where they strike.

Research into carbon storage in Arctic tundra reveals unexpected insight into ecosystem resiliency

Posted: 16 May 2013 11:27 AM PDT

When a doctoral student and her advisor went north not long ago to study how long-term warming in the Arctic affects carbon storage, they had made certain assumptions.

World's biggest ice sheets likely more stable than previously believed

Posted: 16 May 2013 11:25 AM PDT

A new study suggests that the previous connections scientists made between ancient shoreline height and ice volumes are erroneous and that perhaps our ice sheets were more stable in the past than we originally thought. The study found that the Earth's hot mantle pushed up segments of ancient shorelines over millions of years, making them appear higher now than they originally were millions of years ago.

World's melting glaciers making large contribution to sea rise

Posted: 16 May 2013 11:25 AM PDT

While 99 percent of Earth's land ice is locked up in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, the remaining ice in the world's glaciers contributed just as much to sea rise as the two ice sheets combined from 2003 to 2009, says a new study.

Asian lady beetles use biological weapons against their European relatives

Posted: 16 May 2013 11:25 AM PDT

Once introduced for biological pest control, Asian lady beetle populations have been increasing uncontrollably. Scientists have now found the reason for the animal's success. Its body fluid contains microsporidia, fungus-like protozoa that parasitize body cells and can cause immense harm to their host. The Asian lady beetle is obviously resistant to these parasites. However, transferred to native species, microsporidia can be lethal.

Invasive 'crazy ants' are displacing fire ants in areas throughout southeastern U.S.

Posted: 16 May 2013 09:39 AM PDT

Invasive "crazy ants" are displacing fire ants in areas across the southeastern United States, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. It's the latest in a history of ant invasions from the southern hemisphere and may prove to have dramatic effects on the ecosystem of the region.

Low-grade cotton offers more ecologically-friendly way to clean oil spills

Posted: 16 May 2013 09:36 AM PDT

When it comes to cleaning up the next massive crude oil spill, one of the best and most eco-friendly solutions for the job may be low-grade cotton from West Texas.

Coral reef fishes prove invaluable in the study of evolutionary ecology

Posted: 16 May 2013 09:36 AM PDT

Coral reef fish species have proven invaluable for experimental testing of key concepts in social evolution and already have yielded insights about the ultimate reasons for female reproductive suppression, group living, and bidirectional sex change.

Light cast on lifestyle and diet of first New Zealanders

Posted: 16 May 2013 07:57 AM PDT

Scientists have shed new light on the diet, lifestyles and movements of the first New Zealanders by analyzing isotopes from their bones and teeth.

Natural 'keystone molecules' punch over their weight in ecosystems

Posted: 16 May 2013 03:39 AM PDT

Ecosystems are disproportionately influenced by "keystone molecules" that have powerful behavioral effects and contribute to ecosystem structure, according to a new general theory. The chemicals can each fill a variety of functions and affect multiple species. The actions of four keystone molecules are described, three of them toxins.

Who's your daddy? Infidelity and paternity in reed warblers

Posted: 16 May 2013 03:37 AM PDT

Researchers recently carried out experiments with reed warblers to see how a situation of potential infidelity affects later paternal investment in the chicks and whether it does in fact lead to extra-pair mating. They found that the males aggressively try to chase off competitors and to keep potentially "double-dealing" females in line. But whether or not they manage, they turn out to be caring fathers once the babies are born.

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