A recent study found that 10% of polar bear diversity has been lost between 1995 to 2016. Scientists analyzed two generations of bears around the time of the rapid ice loss in the Barents sea. They observed that the leading cause of the decline in genetic diversity was primarily climate change, as it had detrimental […]
Tag: global warming
Melting ice imperils 98 percent of Emperor penguin colonies by 2100
WASHINGTON — With climate change threatening the sea ice habitat of Emperor penguins, the US Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday announced a proposal to list the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. “The lifecycle of Emperor penguins is tied to having stable sea ice, which they need to breed, to feed and […]
Philippines’ rich bird life is more threatened than we thought, study says
The Philippines is made up of more than 7,000 islands, supporting an extraordinary number of species that occur nowhere else on the planet. Eighty-six new endemic bird species have been described in the Philippines in just the last decade — more than all avian endemics ever recorded in either China or India. Nevertheless, the country’s […]
Key species at risk if planet heats up by more than 1.5C, report finds
Corals will bleach, penguins will lose their Antarctic ice floes, puffins around the UK coast will be unable to feed their young, and the black-headed squirrel monkey of the Amazon could be wiped out if the world fails to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Beyond a 1.5C rise, many species will face […]
Biologists Find Evidence of Migration Gene in Birds
Millions of migratory birds occupy seasonally favorable breeding grounds in the Arctic, but scientists know little about the formation, maintenance and future of the migration routes of Arctic birds and the genetic determinants of migratory distance. In new research, a multinational team of researchers established a continental-scale migration system that used satellite tracking to follow […]
Organizations aim to block funds for East African oil pipeline
National and international NGOs from around the world have asked more than two dozen banks not to finance a 1,445-kilometer (898-mile) pipeline to shuttle oil from fields in Uganda to a port on Tanzania’s coast. The groups contend that the project is already impinging on communities and exacerbating poverty in the region. Their representatives also […]
Mysterious California sea lion deaths linked to toxic synthetic chemicals
Sea lions in California had been dying of a mysterious cancer for decades. Now, scientists say they have finally uncovered the likely cause: toxic chemicals from industrial trash, pesticides and oil refinery waste. A team of mammal pathologists, virologists, chemists and geneticists have concluded that sea lions with higher concentrations of DDT, PCBs and other […]
World’s Largest Iceberg on Course to Hit Penguin Populations
The world’s largest iceberg is headed for Antarctica. Scientists say there’s a possibility the iceberg could anchor itself offshore of the South Atlantic island. This spot is home to thousands of seals and penguins, which would see their food gathering disrupted should the island get the iceberg. If it stays on course, the iceberg would […]