Ecosystem bounces back from hurricanes
...ass-migrating crabs. "We feel the historically low abundances of blue crabs in 2000 and 2001 are a direct result of the interactions between floodwaters and overfishing," Eggleston said. "The blue crabs migrated en masse, which concentrated them and made them more vulnerable to fishing." Another piece of the pu...Catastrophic shift in species diversity and productivity of an ecosystem
...le that ecosystem management which alters predator abundances even slightly may cause dramatic and irreversible shifts in the productivity and diversity of ecosystems....Fishing kills Fijian coral reefs
...ests this may not be so. Maintaining high predator abundances across reefs will reduce the risk of starfish outbreaks....Climate linked to reproduction of right whales
...lly become warmer and saltier -- leading to higher abundances of zooplankton. After negative NAO conditions, the waters become colder and fresher -- not as hospitable for the food that whales need to eat." For example, Pershing and Greene report right whales suffered through two years of physiological stress an...Whale populations are too low to resume commercial hunting, geneticists find
...opulations, yet reliable estimates of former whale abundances are elusive," wrote Palumbi and Harvard graduate student Joe Roman, lead author of the study. "Whaling logbooks provide clues, but may be incomplete, intentionally underreported or fail to consider hunting loss." Genetics surprise To assess the ac...Three Pacific Northwest National Laboratory inventions win R&D 100 Awards
...ator in its creation. Measuring proteins and their abundances at different times, and especially the proteins present in only tiny amounts, is the key to understanding molecular-level cell function and disease progression, treatment and prevention. In experiments at PNNL, the Proteome Express has demonstrated m...Ancient pollen yields insight into forest biodiversity
... are factors that regulate populations at relative abundances that are consistent from one place to another," said Clark." The variation from place to place is not 'neutral.' Ecologists have long known that, within a region, some species tend to be more abundant and some species less abundant. Our study does...Scientists break down patterns in nature
...ts feeding on the tree. The PNAS paper finds that abundances of pairs of species in terminal twigs behave in a ...ct. The insight also suggests a pattern to species abundances across many species. It's the exact pattern one would get from breaking a rock once, then picking on...Ecology and conservation of fragmented tropical forests
...nder von Humboldt, Colombia, compared the relative abundances of 113 species of birds in forest fragments surrounded by either pastures or exotic tree plantations, to those in plots surrounded by continuous forest. More than 65% of the species showed significant differences in abundance depending on the surroun...'Rock-paper-scissors' preserves biodiversity in bacterial neighborhoods
...ms interact with each other in proportion to their abundances across space. "It's essentially assuming that the organisms are mixed up together, like our bacteria in our flasks," Bohannan says. "Because of advances in theory contributed by physicists and increases in computational ability, we're now able to thi...Scripps scientists find ignored species play key role in ecosystem interactions
... prey. "We used information on the densities and abundances of all the species that can be found in California kelp forests and we estimated the effects of the total herbivore population," said Sala. "We saw that smaller species that previously were not considered strong interactors in the community can have ...New technique monitors chromium contamination in groundwater
...isotopes, Johnson said. By measuring the relative abundances with an isotope-ratio mass spectrometer, we can determine how much reduction has taken place, and then estimate the long-term reduction rate. The partitioning of the lighter isotopes into the reduction product, trivalent chromium, provides a convenie...Researchers link migratory birds' winter, summer ranges
...to link changes in the black-throated blue warbler abundances to habitat change in both its wintering and breeding areas," said Richard Holmes, Dartmouth Professor of Biological Sciences, Rubensteins other co-advisor on the project. "For instance, some of the most severe deforestation in the western hemisphere ...Of gallflies, bees, mosquitoes, and butterflies: researchers to discuss insects
... increase. Waltz reasons that increased butterfly abundances may indicate changes in understory plant diversity and may also reflect increases in other pollinator groups within restored forests. Time and Location: Friday, August 10, 2001. 8:00 AM to 11:45 AM. Hall of Ideas I. A comparison of costs inflicted a......ence of seas teeming with large animals as well as abundances of oysters and shellfish so vast they posed hazards to navigation. The new data also show that historical overkill of this marine life triggered current ecological collapses -many of which have been mistakenly attributed to pollution. "We started out...Overfishing sets the stage for other problems in marine ecosystems
...ones. Since then, increased lobster and sea urchin abundances may be theresult of those former prey species living in a new predator-free world,he adds. The article notes that a lack of historical perspective has led toerroneous conclusions about the causes of problems in marine waters. Suchproblems often h...Scientists see early indications of lobster decline
...s you harvest," says Steneck. "Predicting lobster abundances or landings is no easier than predicting the econo...we cannot explain the dramatic increase in lobster abundances and landings over the past two decades throughout the Northeast, from Delaware to Newfoundland, Cana...Satellite imagery pinpoints El Niño's disruption of marine ecosystem
...cant increase off Baja California. "These moderate abundances of phytoplankton extended far off shore in warm waters, which had not been observed before," said Mitchell. "We believe this increase off Baja may be due to blooms of 'nitrogen-fixing' cyanobacteria. Some open ocean cyanobacteria are more abundant in...Fossilized Emu Eggshells Give Clues To 65,000 Years Of Vegetation And Climate Changes In Australia
...prevailed prior to the arrival of humans. C4 grass abundances were below the levels established before the glacial period. Over the last 65,000 years, the researchers conclude, environmental factors other than climate have significantly influenced Australian ecology. Vegetation changes in north- and south-east...