Tag: Biodiversity
-
Climate Change Causes Chain Reaction in Ecosystems
A collaborative study released yesterday involving scientists from the Cambridge Conservation Initiative has shown that climate change is altering species distributions and populations, seemingly through shifting interactions between species rather than direct responses to climate. [caption id="attachment_330572" align="alignnone" width="500"] The study shows that many of the climate-related impacts on a given species occur as a…
-
9 Fascinating Facts About Animals
After reading this post, and you’ll be even more in love with animals than you already are. 1. Clams Are Complicated They can change gender once during their lifetime, right after their juvenile stage, but only from male to female. Many other mollusks are either hermaphroditic or have the ability to change sex. 2. Jewel…
-
Devastating Bat-Killing Disease Spreads From Eastern U.S. to Midwest States
The devastating bat-killing disease that has already killed more than 7 million bats across the Eastern U.S. has spread to Wisconsin and Michigan, state wildlife officials announced this week. During routine surveys of bat hibernating areas late this winter, biologists discovered signs of the malady known as white-nose syndrome that was first documented in upstate New York…
-
Parasitic Flatworm Could Decimate Coral Reefs Worldwide
A coral-eating flatworm with a unique camouflaging strategy could be a major threat to the world’s coral reefs, according to researchers in the U.K. The parasite, called Amakusaplana acroporae, infects a type of staghorn coral known as acropora, a major component of reefs, and can destroy its coral host very quickly. [caption id="attachment_330349" align="alignnone" width="500"] Acropora grandis (Staghorn…
-
British Columbia Expands Controversial Grizzly Bear Trophy Hunt
The controversial trophy hunt for at-risk grizzly bears in the province of British Columbia, Canada, re-opened this month and is now in full swing. [caption id="attachment_330284" align="alignnone" width="500"] Photo courtesy of Shutterstock[/caption] Scrutiny of this hunt was ramped up last year with new evidence that its economic benefits are small when compared with ecotourism. Add to this further…