California Butterflies See Big Declines from Eco Double Blow
Jan/100
The Clodius Parnassian butterfly is more common at the top of its elevation range in the California mountains than in the past.
Climate change is making things rough for many vertebrate and invertebrate species. But add to this a steady loss of habitat, and many species just can’t adapt successfully to the combined stresses.
From the coastal lowlands to the coniferous tree lines of Northern California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, scores of species of butterfly are in an existential fight for their evolutionary futures. The survival challenge seems to be most impacting those species whose preferred habitats lay in the lower elevations, but the effects are being felt further up as well, as more butterfly species are moving into higher-elevated habitats. This evolutionary struggle might have gone unnoticed but for the diligent work of one research team, lead by butterfly expert Arthur Shapiro of the University of California at Davis.
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California Butterflies See Big Declines from Eco Double Blow
Ecosystems, Plants & Animals on the Move, but Fast Enough?
Dec/090
Some species are already on the move because of climate change, but a lot more is needed for species & ecosystems to survive.
A new study by the California Academy of Scientists attempts to estimate how fast species and ther ecosystems will have to move to keep up with climate change. On average, the team of scientists have concluded that ecosystems will have to shift at a rate of 0.42 kilometers (or about a quarter mile) per year.
There are differences across all the different ecosystems, of course. And there are human factors that will come into play as well.
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Ecosystems, Plants & Animals on the Move, but Fast Enough?
Plants, Animals and Ecosystems on the Move, but Fast Enough to Keep Up with Climate Change?
Dec/090
Some species are already on the move because of climate change, but a lot more is needed for species & ecosystems to survive.
A new study by the California Academy of Scientists attempts to estimate how fast species and ther ecosystems will have to move to keep up with climate change. On average, the team of scientists have concluded that ecosystems will have to shift at a rate of 0.42 kilometers (or about a quarter mile) per year.
There are differences across all the different ecosystems, of course. And there are human factors that will come into play as well.
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Plants, Animals and Ecosystems on the Move, but Fast Enough to Keep Up with Climate Change?
Thank You, & Copenhagen Conclusions
Dec/090
To all of the people who had the goals and made the effort to bring positive change to the world in Copenhagen, here is one humungous thank you.
Everybody who worked on addressing this critical issue of human-accelerated and potentially catastrophic climate change deserves a hand of support right now, especially since what was agreed on in the final hour is quite a disappointment. Of course, some important movement was made, but some important targets and objectives were also completely missed, at least for now.
Everybody who made a sincere effort to protect the whole of humanity, countless species (perhaps 50% of those currently living), and a stable and supportive ecosystem, deserves a big thank you.
The results, some of which are summarized on the next page, may not match the great effort millions of people put in to bring positive climate change to the world (to reverse the current trends in greenhouse gas emissions and climate change). But for those who were struggling to bring a meaningful international agreement to the world, thank you.
For now, what have negotiators and world leaders achieved?
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Thank You, & Copenhagen Conclusions
45 Species of Galapagos Islands Extinct or Facing Extinction due to Overfishing and Climate Change
Dec/090
A new report published in the journal Global Change Biology shows that 45 species of the Galapagos Islands have become extinct or are facing extinction largely due to human activities.
The main causes are the 1982 El Nino and overfishing. The results show the great vulnerability of this diverse area to significant climate change and human activities.
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45 Species of Galapagos Islands Extinct or Facing Extinction due to Overfishing and Climate Change
Ancestors of Mammals May Have Survived Largest Mass-Extinction in History in Antarctica
Dec/090
The largest mass-extinction in the world is considered to have happened about 252 million years ago due to quick global warming or climate change. A new study shows how some ancestors of mammals are believed to have survived this mass-extinction.
Jörg Fröbisch and Kenneth Angielczyk from The Field Museum along with Christian Sidor from the University of Washington have recently identified the fossil remains of such a species in Antarctica.
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Ancestors of Mammals May Have Survived Largest Mass-Extinction in History in Antarctica
Impacts of Climate Change on Arctic Wildlife and Ecosystems
Nov/090
Polar bears on the sea ice of the Arctic ocean, near the North Pole.
While changes in Earth ecosystems from predicted warming have been reported in nearly all biomes (biological communities), recent climate change seems to be impacting the Arctic region the most.
As Arctic temperatures rise, precipitation rates, and snow/ice cover volumes, begin to change as well. In some cases, this has lead to an increase in vegetation (shrub and grasses), which can have the beneficial effect of reducing atmospheric CO2, but which can also cause a disruption in the trace gas exchange (such as with methane, CH4) between earth and atmosphere. Also, many of these climate change impacts produce imbalances within ecosystems (the web of interactions between species, and between species and their environments) and these can and do jeopardize long-term species survival; some species (such as reindeer) gain advantage (at least in the short term) from these alterations, while others (like the ringed seal) are threatened by them.
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Impacts of Climate Change on Arctic Wildlife and Ecosystems
1st High Seas Marine Protected Area in Southern Ocean — More Diverse than Galapagos Islands
Nov/090
Fishing and refuse disposal are to be banned in the 1st high seas Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Southern Ocean, an area of the ocean that contains more species than the Galapagos Islands.
This will allow scientists to monitor the effects of climate change in this region. This is only the first of possibly twelve such areas.
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1st High Seas Marine Protected Area in Southern Ocean — More Diverse than Galapagos Islands
Oceans’ Ability to Absorb Carbon & Protect Against Climate Change Weakening
Nov/090
Oceans regulate our climate. They play a key role in keeping the world’s “homeostasis” in tact. However, their ability to absorb carbon & keep the climate in balance is dwindling, a new report shows.
In a year-by-year study from 1765 to 2008, researchers found that the oceans are struggling to meet increasing emissions demands. They cannot take in as much carbon as they used to.
The study, published in the November 19 issue of the journal Nature, found that the percentage of fossil fuel emissions the ocean has been taking in since 2000 has decreased by as much as 10%.
This is the first study of its kind or breadth. One previous study had attempted to measure the oceans’ industrial carbon absorption for one year — 1994. This does so for a period of 200+ years.
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Oceans’ Ability to Absorb Carbon & Protect Against Climate Change Weakening
Reindeer Tragedy: Ice Collapses, Hundreds Die
Nov/090
A trek across a frozen lake proved to be a deadly journey for hundreds of reindeer last week. Sami herders in Sweden were leading 3,000 reindeer to “greener pastures” across a frequently-traveled route during their annual migration to their winter grazing grounds when tragedy struck.
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