RSS Feed
Author Archive
Trees Are Growing Faster Than Ever Before
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 18th, 2014
Nature World: Recent research has revealed that trees across the world continue to grow significantly faster than they did before the 1960s, but what's the cause? Experts from Technische Universität München (TUM) provide evidence and speculation about this mysterious phenomenon in a recent study.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, details how the rate of tree growth, particularly in Central Europe, has increased by up to 70 percent over the last few decades.
These findings were...
Posted in 
Climate Change Forces Tropical Lizards Swiftly Adapt
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 16th, 2014
Nature World: Climate change is affecting all sorts of animals, from sharks to polar bears to birds, but new research has focused on tropical lizards, which have learned to swiftly adapt in order to survive.
Previous research has found that tropical species, because they're already tolerating extreme heat, are most vulnerable to changing ecosystems as a result of climate change. But scientists from Dartmouth University in New Hampshire and the University of Virginia believe some reptiles might be able to evolve...
The Pros and Cons of Fracking
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 13th, 2014
Nature World: Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," has gained popularity over recent years, and given the controversy over this practice, new research decided to lay out some of its environmental pros as well as cons.
Fracking involves blasting huge amounts of water, sand and chemicals deep into underground rock formations to access valuable oil and natural gas. While this is a form of alternative energy, it also has harmful environmental implications, influencing local air pollution, earthquakes and, especially,...
Mexican ‘Water Monster’ Battles Extinction
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 12th, 2014
Nature World: Mexico's famous "water monster" is battling extinction, and scientists hoping to learn from its organ-regenerating abilities are worried for the bizarre-looking creature.
The axolotl salamander, dubbed the "water monster" by the Aztecs, has been reduced to living in what's left of Mexico City's ancient Xochimilco lake, which has gradually been drained over the centuries, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
But despite adapting to such a confined habitat, this water monster cannot adapt...
Threatened African Amphibians Ignored by Modern Species Distribution Models: Researchers
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 5th, 2014
Nature World: Modern methods of species distribution are leaving out near-extinct amphibians of Africa, a new study has warned.
According to researchers at the University of York and colleagues, most popular tools for species distribution modelling don't account for a whopping 90 per cent of the African amphibian species listed as threatened on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Biologists use statistical methods to predict how climate change will affect distribution of species across continents. The...
Australia: Great Barrier Reef Avoids Muddy Disaster
Posted by Nature World: None Given on September 4th, 2014
Nature World: Conservationists have been slapping each other on the back this week after plans to dump 5 million metric tons of mud into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has been cancelled. However, people are now asking where the mud will go, and aren't getting much of an answer.
The mud is expected to be drudged up from the ocean floor as part of a port expansion in northeast Australia. Last month Environment Minister Andrew Powell found himself at odds with reef conservationalists and activists after minister...
The Earth Can Support More Plant Life Than Previously Thought
Posted by Nature World: None Given on August 26th, 2014
Nature World: Researchers have concluded that the planet can support a lot more plant life than experts once thought, even in its current state, according to a recent study.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, details how the "theoretical limit of terrestrial plant productivity" - that is, not exclusively crop yeild, but tree and flower growth as well - has been severely underestimated in the past.
"When you try to estimate something over the whole planet, you have to...
Goldilocks Plant Growth May Make River Deltas Resilient
Posted by Nature World: None Given on August 26th, 2014
Nature World: Research by Indiana University geologists suggests that goldilocks plant growth - not too little and not too much - may make river deltas resilient to environmental factors that threaten their existence.
This "just right" amount of vegetation is the most effective way of stabilizing these freshwater areas, such as those near the mouth of the Mississippi River, which are under threat as sea levels rise.
Vegetation on marsh surfaces in river deltas can slow the flow of water and cause more sediment...
Sprinting Salmons Less Likely Survive Migration
Posted by Nature World: None Given on August 25th, 2014
Nature World: Sockeye salmon that are forced to use fast-moving waters to reach spawning grounds are at risk, a new study suggests.
Salmon often try to burst swim in rapid, turbulent waters. Burst swimming is comparable to sprinting in humans. These fish try to move upstream in fast-flowing waters, a behaviour that utilizes more oxygen than usual swimming methods.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia and colleagues conducted the study. The team tagged salmon with accelerometer transmitters....
Severe Drought Explains Ground Level Rise in Western US
Posted by Nature World: None Given on August 22nd, 2014
Nature World: The severe drought gripping the western United States in recent years is causing the region's ground level to literally rise up, according to a new study.
The loss of groundwater has been so extreme that it lifted the West an average of one-sixth of an inch since 2013, according to the study, published in the journal Science.
More than just browning lawns, the research shows that the lack of water is causing an "uplift" effect as Earth's tectonic plates shift. California's snow-starved mountains...