Ecosystems News

December 7, 2023

Top Headlines

Feathered Friends Can Become Unlikely Helpers for Tropical Coral Reefs Facing Climate Change Threat

Dec. 6, 2023 — Tropical coral reefs are among our most spectacular ecosystems, yet a rapidly warming planet threatens the future survival of many reefs. However, there may be hope for some tropical reefs in the ...

Greenhouse Gases in Oceans Are Altered by Climate Change Impact on Microbes

Dec. 6, 2023 — The ocean is a global life-support system, and climate change causes such as ocean warming, acidification, deoxygenation, and nitrogen-deposition alter the delicate microbial population in oceans. The marine microbial community plays an important ...

Plant Nurseries Are Exacerbating the Climate-Driven Spread of 80% of Invasive Species

Dec. 5, 2023 — Researchers have provided detailed maps of how 144 common invasive plants species will react to 2° Celsius of climate change in the eastern U.S., as well as the role that garden centers currently ...

Top 10 Climate Science Insights Unveiled

Dec. 5, 2023 — A new report equips policymakers with the latest and most pivotal climate science research from the previous 18 months, synthesized to help inform negotiations at COP28 and policy implementation through 2024 and ...

Latest Headlines

updated 4:12pm EST

Deep Sea Sensor Reveals That Corals Produce Reactive Oxygen Species

Dec. 4, 2023 — A new sensor on the submersible Alvin discovered reactive oxygen species for the first time in deep-sea corals, broadening our understanding of fundamental coral ...

Strange Burn: New Research Identifies Unique Patterns in Utah Wildfires

Dec. 4, 2023 — Utah's variable topography produces a tremendous range of wildfire behavior, according to new ...

Himalayan Glaciers React, Blow Cold Winds Down Their Slopes

Dec. 4, 2023 — Himalayan Glaciers fight back to preserve themselves, but for how long? An international team of researchers explains a stunning phenomenon: rising global temperatures have led Himalayan glaciers to ...

Ash Can Fertilize the Oceans

Nov. 30, 2023 — Flames roared through Santa Barbara County in late 2017. UC Santa Barbara canceled classes, and the administration recommended donning an N95, long before the COVID pandemic made the mask a household ...

Illuminating the Benefits of Marine Protected Areas for Ecotourism, and Vice Versa

Nov. 30, 2023 — As California, the U.S. and the world work to make good on commitments to conserve 30% of oceans and lands by 2030, all strategies are on the table ...

How Far Can the Wind Can Carry a Plant's Seeds? New Model

Nov. 30, 2023 — Playing an essential foundational role in an ecosystem, plants contribute to the well-being of human health by helping create resources like food and medicine. Therefore, to better understand how ...

Slash-and-Burn Agriculture Can Increase Forest Biodiversity, Researchers Find

Nov. 28, 2023 — The slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by many Indigenous societies across the world can actually have a positive impact on forests, according to a ...

Giant Sea Salt Aerosols Play Major Role in Hawai'i's Coastal Clouds, Rain

Nov. 27, 2023 — A new study from atmospheric scientists revealed that the coastline can produce up to five times the concentration of giant sea salt aerosols compared to the open ocean and that coastal clouds may ...

Scientists Find Both Potential Threats and Promising Resources in the Thriving Colonies of Bacteria and Fungi on Ocean Plastic Trash

Nov. 27, 2023 — Scientists have found both potential threats and promising resources in the thriving colonies of bacteria and fungi on plastic trash washed up on ...

Deoxygenation Levels Similar to Today's Played a Major Role in Marine Extinctions During Major Past Climate Change Event

Nov. 27, 2023 — Scientists have made a surprising discovery that sheds new light on the role that oceanic deoxygenation (anoxia) played in one of the most ...

Earlier Headlines

Summaries
Headlines

How Shipwrecks Are Providing a Refuge for Marine Life

Nov. 23, 2023 — New research has highlighted how the estimated 50,000 wrecks around the UK coastline are protecting the seabed, and the species inhabiting it, in areas still open to bottom-towed ...

Predicting the Fate of Shallow Coastal Ecosystems for the Year 2100

Nov. 22, 2023 — A new study of shallow-water ecosystems estimates that, by 2100, climate change and coastal land usage could result in significant shrinkage of coral habitats, tidal marshes, and mangroves, while ...

How Do Temperature Extremes Influence the Distribution of Species?

Nov. 22, 2023 — As the planet gets hotter, animal and plant species around the world will be faced with new, potentially unpredictable living conditions, which could alter ecosystems in unprecedented ways. A new ...

Curators and Cavers: How a Tip from a Citizen Scientist Led to Deep Discoveries in Utah's Caves

Nov. 21, 2023 — Scientists and colleagues from Utah's caving community have published the first research from their collaborative fieldwork effort deep in Utah's caves. The journal's feature article ...

Deep-Sea Mining and Warming Trigger Stress in a Midwater Jellies

Nov. 21, 2023 — The deep sea is home to one of the largest animal communities on earth which is increasingly exposed to environmental pressures. However, our knowledge of its inhabitants and their response to ...

Protect Delicate Polar Ecosystems by Mapping Biodiversity

Nov. 20, 2023 — Concerted action is required to mitigate the impact of warming on polar ecosystems and sustainably manage these unique habitats. ...

Coastal River Deltas Threatened by More Than Climate Change

Nov. 20, 2023 — Worldwide, coastal river deltas are home to more than half a billion people, supporting fisheries, agriculture, cities, and fertile ecosystems. In a unique study covering 49 deltas globally, ...

Much More Than Waste: Tiny Vesicles Exchange Genetic Information Between Cells in the Sea

Nov. 16, 2023 — Researchers take a look at data that has so far been mostly discarded as contamination, revealing the previously underestimated role of extracellular vesicles (EVs). These are important for the ...

Climate Change Effects Hit Marine Ecosystems in Multiple Waves, According to Marine Ecologists

Nov. 16, 2023 — A new approach to examining the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems may provide a more accurate understanding of climate change responses -- and predictions for future consequences -- ...

Clearing Mangroves Makes 'Muddification' Worse

Nov. 15, 2023 — Clearing mangroves to stop estuaries getting clogged with mud actually makes the problem worse, new research ...

New Scientific Study Reveals the Crucial Role of Herbivorous Fishes and Sea Urchins in Restoring Caribbean Coral Reefs

Nov. 15, 2023 — A new study presents crucial findings on the feeding preferences of herbivorous fishes and the sea urchin Diadema antillarum in Little Cayman. The study sheds new light on the dynamics of these ...

Surveilling Wetlands for Infectious Bird Flu -- And Finding It

Nov. 15, 2023 — Recently, morning omelets and holiday dinners have gotten more expensive. One likely cause is bird flu, outbreaks of which led to the deaths of millions of chickens and turkeys from infection or ...

Non-Native Species Likely to Continue Spreading in North America, Australia and Europe

Nov. 14, 2023 — Naturalized species, which are not native but have established themselves in new locations, have the potential to spread even further to suitable habitats in many parts of the world, reports a new ...

Forecasting Microbiomes for Sustainability and Health

Nov. 14, 2023 — Microbial communities, or microbiomes, are essential for safeguarding human and environmental health through the most widely used biotechnological process on our planet: biological wastewater ...

Europe Was Not Covered by Dense Forest Before the Arrival of Modern Humans

Nov. 14, 2023 — For decades, we believed that outside ice ages Europe was mostly covered by dense forest before the arrival of modern humans. Now, a new study shows that there was far more open and semi-open ...

North Atlantic's Marine Productivity May Not Be Declining, According to New Study of Older Ice Cores

Nov. 13, 2023 — To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of declining phytoplankton in the North Atlantic may have been greatly exaggerated. Analysis of a Greenland ice core going back 800 years shows that atmospheric ...

Naturally Regrowing Forests Are Helping to Protect the Remaining Old Forests in the Amazon

Nov. 13, 2023 — Secondary forests that have regrown naturally on land abandoned from agriculture are important in counteracting the effects of forest fragmentation across the Amazon basin, according to new ...

Diverse Forests Hold Huge Carbon Potential, as Long as We Cut Emissions

Nov. 13, 2023 — New study estimates that natural forest recovery could capture approximately 226 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon, but only if we also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving these results requires ...

Previously Unknown Luminescence Revealed in Ten Deep Sea Species and an Order of Sea Cucumbers

Nov. 14, 2023 — Researchers present evidence of previously unknown luminosity in 10 deep-sea species, suggesting underestimated diversity. These new discoveries include a member of the order Molpadia, which was ...

Low-Intensity Fires Reduce Wildfire Risk by 60%

Nov. 10, 2023 — High-intensity, often catastrophic, wildfires have become increasingly frequent across the Western U.S. Researchers quantified the value of managed low-intensity burning to dramatically reduce the ...

Thursday, November 23, 2023