Fish more tolerant than expected to low oxygen events
Fish may be more tolerant than previously thought to periods of low oxygen in the oceans, new research shows.
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Amazon's white bellbirds set new record for loudest bird call
Biologists report that they have recorded the loudest bird calls ever documented, made by dove-sized male white bellbirds as part of their mating rituals in the mountains of the northern Amazon.
Read moreCatastrophic events carry forests of trees thousands of miles to a burial at sea
While studying sediments in the Bay of Bengal, an international team finds evidence dating back millions of years that catastrophic events likely toppled fresh trees from their mountain homes on a long journey to the deep sea. The discovery may add to models of the Earth's carbon cycle.
Read moreClimate warming promises more frequent extreme El Niño events
New research, based on 33 historical El Niño events from 1901 to 2017, show climate change effects have shifted the El Niño onset location from the eastern Pacific to the western Pacific and caused more frequent extreme El Niño events since the 1970's. Continued warming over the western Pacific warm pool, driven by anthropogenic climate change, promises conditions that will trigger more extreme events in the future.
Read moreWidespread drying of European peatlands in recent centuries
Researchers examined 31 peatlands across Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and continental Europe to assess changes in peatland surface wetness during the last 2,000 years.
Read moreLarge-scale afforestation of African savannas will destroy valuable ecosystems
Scientists from around the world argue that the suggested afforestation of large areas of Africa to mitigate climate change will destroy valuable ecological, agricultural, and tourist areas, while doing little to reduce global CO2 levels.
Read moreAntarctic ice cliffs may not contribute to sea-level rise as much as predicted
Researchers report that in order for a 90-meter ice cliff to collapse entirely, the ice shelves supporting the cliff would have to break apart extremely quickly, within a matter of hours — a rate of ice loss that has not been observed in the modern record.
Read morePlant physiology will be major contributor to future river flooding
Researchers describe the emerging role of ecophysiology in riparian flooding. As an adaptation to an overabundance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, trees, plants and grasses constrict their stomatal pores to regulate the amount of the gas they consume, a mechanism that limits the release of water from leaves through evaporation. This saturates soils and causes more efficient run off and river flooding.
Read moreClay minerals call the shots with carbon
Clay minerals suspended in seawater binds sedimentary organic carbon to their mineral surfaces. But the quantity of carbon that is bound and the source of that carbon very much depends on the clay mineral in question. A research team has shown this by studying sediments in the South China Sea.
Read moreNo place like home: Species are on the move, but many have nowhere to go
Since the 1970s, insects in the warmer half of Britain have been flying, hopping and crawling northwards at an average rate of around five metres per day. However, a new study has analysed 25 million recorded sightings of 300 different insect species and found there is huge variation in the rates at which they are moving and that not all species are able to keep pace with the warming conditions.
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