Nature News Articles Archive Page 20 from Wed 09 Mar 2011 to Thu 17 Mar 2011

Foo Fighters to play New Zealand earthquake benefit show

Posted Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:57:01 GMT by Andy Tillett

Foo Fighters are playing a show to raise money for victims of the recent New Zealand earthquake. The 'Rope' rockers are heading to the Auckland Town hall in the nation's capital on March 22 to raise money for the Christchurch Earthquake Relief Fund. The earthquake killed nearly 200 people and wreaked devastation over the city, the second largest in New Zealand, on February 22.

Foo Fighters to play New Zealand earthquake benefit show

Older is wiser elephant study shows

Posted Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:33:02 GMT by Colin Ricketts

A new study used recordings of lions to prove that older elephants are indeed wiser elephants and that groups are willing to accept the leadership of a wise old head and thrive as a result. Scientists from the University of Sussex have just published the results of their research in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences and say that elephant groups with elderly female members make better decisions because they defer to the superior knowledge of their seniors.

Older is wiser elephant study shows

Join in with National Wildlife Week

Posted Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:00:00 GMT by Ruth Hendry

Celebrate U.S. flora and fauna during National Wildlife Week, 14-20 March. ''Walk, Climb, Run and Leap your way into celebrating National Wildlife Week!'' That's the message from the National Wildlife Foundation. They want Americans to get out and celebrate the amazing wildlife diversity in their country, whether it's panthers in Florida or monk seals in Hawaii.

Join in with National Wildlife Week

Blink-182 and Linkin Park raising money for Japan

Posted Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:52:00 GMT by Louise Saunders

More celebrities including band Blink-182, Linkin Park and Charlie Sheen have pledged to raise money for Japan. Following the devastating 8.9 magnitude quake last Friday (11.03.11) many celebrities have urged their twitter followers to donate to the Red Cross relief effort, but some raising the stakes higher with auctions and donations.

Blink-182 and Linkin Park raising money for Japan

A wakeup call for the Pacific Northwest

Posted Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:00:02 GMT by Michael Evans

Recent serious earthquakes should serve as a wakeup call to the US Pacific Northwest. What has happened in Japan could well be what will happen in the Pacific Northwest. As if the earthquake wasn't enough, it unleashed a devastating tsunami that has resulted in thousands of deaths and turned large parts of many communities into complete rubble. It is said to be the costliest disaster in world history.

A wakeup call for the Pacific Northwest

Fire-scarred oaks reveal how Illinois changed under Native and settler Americans

Posted Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:08:01 GMT by Martin Leggett

Fire was one of the main elements controlling the landscape around Illinois, according to a new paper in the journal Castanea. That landscape shifted from open wood and prairie to dense maple forest, as the use of 'controlled fires' changed. That is the story revealed in the multiple fire-scars found in 200 year old tree-rings of the state's once dominant post oaks.

Fire-scarred oaks reveal how Illinois changed under Native and settler Americans

Two new species of freshwater stingray discovered in the Amazon

Posted Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:45:00 GMT by Louise Murray

Scientists have discovered two large species of stingray living in Amazonian basin in Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. The 80cm diameter, 25 kilo pancake-shaped beasts were found in the deeper channels of the river. Marcelo Rodrigues de Carvalho, ichthyologist at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil was lead scientist and published his results in the journal Zootaxa.

Two new species of freshwater stingray discovered in the Amazon

Fossil-quake clues in ancient sediments help map out earthquake prediction

Posted Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:31:52 GMT by Martin Leggett

The record of earthquakes past may be preserved in water-lain sediments, according to research from Tel Aviv University. These fossil-quakes leave tell-tale wave marks and help push back the record of seismic activity thousands of years. And the more information on an area's seismic past, the more confidently we can project future risks.

Fossil-quake clues in ancient sediments help map out earthquake prediction

Death key to sex life of Satyrium pumilum orchid

Posted Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:29:00 GMT by Louise Murray

A South African orchid mimics the stench of corpses to draw in its pollinating carrion flies. The orchid, Satyrium pumilum targets a carrion feeding flesh fly as its pollinator and is so convincing that female flies have been seen laying eggs in the flower. In addition to its smelly perfume of decaying corpse, the interior of the flower is a mottled brown in colour that resembles rotting meat. Environmental issues: orchid/nature.

Death key to sex life of Satyrium pumilum orchid

Magnitude 9.0: When the Earth Quaked and the Ocean Raged

Posted Sat, 12 Mar 2011 19:55:41 GMT by Michelle Simon

Honshu, Japan: At 05:46 UTC (02:46 PM - Local Time at the Epicentre) one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded in quake history, off the east coast of Japan, 130 km (80 miles) east of Sendai, Honshu, Japan. Filed in environmental issues: earthquake/tsunami/nature.

Magnitude 9.0: When the Earth Quaked and the Ocean Raged

Forget cats - it's escaped pet snakes wreaking havoc in Florida Everglades

Posted Sat, 12 Mar 2011 16:57:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

For the native birds of the Everglades, keeping an eye out for pythons is an increasing preoccupation. The burgeoning population of snakes, descended from pet-escapees, is seen as an increasing threat to some of the endangered species of Florida's National Park, says a study published in this month's BioOne. Filed in environmental isssues: florida/snakes/nature.

Forget cats - it's escaped pet snakes wreaking havoc in Florida Everglades

Bad news for bees and us

Posted Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:03:02 GMT by Ruth Hendry

A new report shows multiple threats to the world's bee colonies, leading to worries about global food security. Scientists are warning that we need to rethink the way in which humans manage the planet if we are to feed a growing world population. Bees and other pollinators are hugely important in global food production and integral to healthy ecosystems. Filed under environmental issues: ecosystems/nature.

Bad news for bees and us

Shrimp backs scientists vertical migration theory

Posted Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:31:01 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Creatures that currently live in warm, shallow waters, can often survive in much harsher environments a team at Southampton University has found. A team at University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Sciences (SOES) used the aptly-named variable shrimp to test there hypothesis that as deep sea creatures were killed off by climate change their places were taken by their neighbours in the shallow water. Filed under environmental issues: Migration/Nature.

Shrimp backs scientists vertical migration theory

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.

There is no such thing as a dormant volcano

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.

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

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.

Organic burials: corpse to compost in six months

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