There is no such thing as a dormant volcano

Posted Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:50:00 GMT by Michael Evans

New research indicates that volcanoes long thought to be dormant, can revive in a matter of months. It has traditionally been accepted that once a volcano's magma chamber had cooled down this was the sign that it had become dormant and that it was likely to remain so for many centuries. But research published in the latest edition of Nature casts doubt on this hypothesis. Filed under environmental issues: Volcanoes/Nature.

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Mum at 60 - oldest bird in the U.S. has a chick

Posted Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:00:00 GMT by Ruth Hendry

Spring is sprung, the grass is green and a 60 year old albatross has a new addition to her brood! At 60 years old, Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, is the oldest wild bird known in the U.S. First recorded in 1956 as she incubated an egg, Wisdom has seen it all - from the first man on the moon, to the fall of the Berlin Wall and beyond. Filed under environmental issues: Wildlife/Nature.

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Organic burials: corpse to compost in six months

Posted Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:12:00 GMT by Louise Murray

Transforming corpses into compost is a much more eco-friendly process than traditional burial, or energy-hungry cremation. Environmentalists now have the option of a clean, green method for their last act of recycling. The promession process of organic burial involves first freezing the body to minus 18 degrees C, then freeze drying in liquid nitrogen at almost minus 200 degrees.

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Trunks a lot pal! Elephants learn to work together says new test

Posted Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:50:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Elephants are commonly regarded as being intelligent but the sheer size of these majestic beasts has made proving that tough - until now. New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences in America aims to prove that Elephants are clued-up enough to know how to work as a team.

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Losing sight of the real causes of mass animal death?

Posted Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:15:00 GMT by Kieran Ball

Getting past media sensationalism to discover the real causes of mass animal death. Since last December when 83,000 Drum fish were washed up in Arkansas and thousands of blackbirds fell dead just 100km away in the town of Beebe, the world media has been full of reports of mass animal deaths. Journalists have gone as far as to nickname the phenomena 'aflockalypse'.

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Never mind zombies; invasion of the Tamarisk trees is officially here

Posted Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:44:30 GMT by Nicolette Smith

The invasion of the American north-west by the Tamarisk Tree and its natural enemy; the Tamarisk Leaf Beetle. The Tamarisk Leaf Beetle is inadvertently battling one of the greatest threats to the U.S. water reserves… by eating it. The Tamarisk Tree, which survives by absorbing river water in a sponge-like manner, has met its nemesis in the Tamarisk Leaf Beetle, an insect whose favourite food of choice is Tamarisk Tree leaf.

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Mushrooms; scientists reveal potted history of a neglected food source

Posted Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:10:00 GMT by Nicolette Smith

Morel mushrooms much older than previously assumed. Ah, the humble mushroom; love them or hate them, they certainly have a distinctive flavour. The results from a recent study conducted by a research team at the University of Oregon's College of Forest Ecosystems and Society has revealed new insights into our love affair with the common morel.

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Eye in the sky watching Arctic blooms

Posted Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:44:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

A reworking of satellite data is helping scientists track the Arctic spring and summer plankton blooms - that color the sea green as the ice retreats. Understanding how these evolve will help to paint the bigger picture of Arctic ecology as its sea-ice continues to disappear. Vast blooms of phytoplankton take advantage of the nutrient-rich sun-lit waters, starting off a cascade of life up the entire length of the Arctic food chain.

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Why biodiversity really does matter

Posted Sun, 06 Mar 2011 12:50:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Super study finds that biodiversity really is worth protecting and could, in fact, be crucial for our very survival. Biodiversity is a green buzzword; something that we should work to protect, but, is biodiversity important for human survival? The answer, according to the latest research, is a resounding yes.

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Biodiversity be dammed - plans for Mekong River ignore warnings from failed Thai dam

Posted Sun, 06 Mar 2011 11:33:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

The lessons of a failed dam project in Thailand are not being heeded, in plans for a dam on the Mekong River in Laos. The WWF is asking for a 10-year halt to dam projects on the lower Mekong, in order to allow a fuller understanding of what sustainable hydropower projects are feasible. Going ahead now is likely to repeat a ''bitter lose-lose situation.''

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More Awareness and Information for Potential Exotic Pet Owners

Posted Sun, 06 Mar 2011 10:22:01 GMT by Tamara Croes

The trade in exotic pets is rising dramatically. So is the number of abandoned, escaped, and released exotic pets causing worldwide problems. Informing the public about the dangers and problems surrounding exotic pets is urgently necessary, according to EcoHealth Alliance. EcoHealth Alliance recently issued a press release addressing the problems caused by keeping exotic animals as pets and calling for more education of the public and better awareness.

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Bumblebees: Gone with the Wind? A Major Disappearance

Posted Sat, 05 Mar 2011 16:02:00 GMT by Hannah C. Sarco

Bumblebees have been dying out all around the world for over a century. Now, scientists are gathering alarming news that these lovable, fuzzy pollinators may not be around for much longer if current statistics continue. In the past few decades scientific studies have found that increasing numbers of bumblebee colonies are disappearing.

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Multiplier Effect theory supports 'I'm with Stupid' survival technique

Posted Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:02:01 GMT by Nicolette Smith

Multiplier theory expands concept of 'survival of the fittest' to incorporate learned behaviour as a survivalist technique. It means that mindless survival strategies (those which do not involve strategic analysis or evaluation) are just as likely - if not more - to promote your likelihood of survival and general wellbeing as those which involve an intelligent assessment of information to influence key lifestyle decisions.

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Lions under growing threat from U.S. hunters

Posted Thu, 03 Mar 2011 10:35:01 GMT by Ruth Hendry

American trophy hunters are an increasing threat to lions, a coalition of wildlife charities reports. The coalition of wildlife charities demonstrated that trophy hunting by U.S. hunters is a serious and growing threat to African lions. They state that between 1998 and 2008, 64 per cent of wild lions traded international for trophy hunting were imported to the U.S.

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Listening to the pulse of the natural world

Posted Wed, 02 Mar 2011 17:44:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Professor hopes his new field of study, soundscape ecology, will help connect us back to nature and act as a warning bell for environmental damage. Professor Pijanowksi believes that sound is one of the first things to change as an environment changes. He also believes that sound can be an evocative way of connecting people to natural environments.

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Noisy neighbors - fish distracted by water sports

Posted Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:41:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

It seems fish have to put up with more than just a voracious fishing industry and oceans becoming more acidic. Noise pollution, such as that from powerboats and jet skis, is also causing them to be distracted from eating. More research is needed to quantify the effects on fish populations, long-term.

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