Echolocation - Bats and Whales

October 2013

Echolocation of Bats and Whales

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131029101617.htm

     Although bats and whales may seem very different, they both have developed the ability to use echolocation, or a biological sonar, for hunting. Danish researchers today show that the biosonar of toothed whales and bats are extremely similar, even though their environments differ and the two vary extremely in size. This is because through evolution, both bats and toothed whales have developed the same functional characteristics.
    Researchers from Aarhus University and University of Southern Denmark (Danish universities) are studying the "acoustic properties of the technique behind echolocation in bats and whales in the wild". These studies are providing a much more realistic picture of how the animals use echolocation in the wild.
     Professors of the universities say that the similarities of the two are because all mammalian ears are developed in quite similar ways, and "the contradicting physical conditions in air and water along with the differences in size of the animals even out the differences, that you would expect in the sound frequency".

     The researchers conclude that bats and toothed whales produce signals for echolocation in the same frequency range, from 10 to 200 kHz".

Earthworm Invasion

October 2013

Earth Worm Invasion

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131029133126.htm

     Earthworms are being called the most recent keystone species to be added to the list for the forests of New England. Keystone species are groups that control an ecosystem and have a disproportionate impact on other species. Although none of the worms are native to the area, the migration of a few different species of earthworms is being tracked in attempt to understand how their soil-eating ways are affecting forests and global stocks of carbon. These earthworms are also being categorized as invasive species: non-native animals and plants, carried by people into new locations, that take hold, disrupting and reshaping local ecosystems.

     Scientists at the University of Vermont are reporting sixteen earthworm species reported in the state that are all exotic: fourteen are European and two are Asian. Many of these worms are invaders, spreading quietly underground. Although there is a good amount of carbon stored in trees aboveground, a roughly equal amount of carbon is stored belowground where these earthworms are. This is because the earthworms participate in decomposition underground, and release carbon dioxide as they eat. This adds to the forest's carbon emissions, which leads to the greenhouse effect and global warming. However, earthworms do a good job spreading soil aggregates that physically protect the organic carbon inside them, forming a barrier to the microorganisms that could otherwise break it down.

Coral Reefs and Climate Change

October 2013

Coral Reefs and Climate Change

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131029133755.htm

     As a result of a study funded by the NOAA, coral reefs are improving their chances of surviving through the end of the century because they may be able to adapt to moderate climate warning if there are large reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. The study was conducted by the NOAA's scientists and its academic partners. A convincing result of the study shows that coral reefs have already adapted to part of the warming that has occurred. 

   As published in the Global Change Biology, the study explores a variety of possible coral adaptive responses to thermal stress previously identified by other scientists. It suggests that coral reefs may be more resilient than otherwise thought in studies that did not consider effects of possible adaptation. Through genetic adaptation, "the reefs could reduce their projected rate of temperature-induced bleaching by 20 to 80 percent of levels expected by the year 2100, if there are large reductions in carbon dioxide emissions".

Gold Mining Destroys Peru

October 2013

Gold Mining Destroys Peru

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131028162800.htm

      In the biologically diverse region of Madre De Dios in the Peruvian Amazon, researchers have just now been able to map the true extent of gold mining. Led by Carnegie's Greg Asner and the officials from the Peruvian Ministry of Environment, the team used the Carnegie Landsat Analysis System-lite (CLASlite) to detect and map large and small mining operations. The team used field surveys and airborne mapping with high-resolution satellite monitoring to display that "the geographic extent of mining has increased 400% from 1999 to 2012 and that the average annual rate of forest loss has tripled since the Great Recession of 2008". The results of the tests performed showed a greater amount of rain-forest damage than that that was previously reported by the government, NGOs, and other researchers. "In all, we found that the rate of forest loss from gold mining accelerated from 5,350 acres (2,166 hectares) per year before 2008 to15,180 acres (6,145 hectares) each year after the 2008 global financial crisis that rocketed gold prices."
     Not only has the gold mining been destroying rain-forests, it releases sediment into rivers causing severe problems with the aquatic life. Peru's gold mining has also added to the widespread mercury pollution affecting the entire food chain, including the food ingested by people all over the region. "Miners also hunt wild game, depleting the rain-forest fauna around mining areas, and disrupting the ecological balance for centuries to come".

In the past, thousands of small, clandestine mines that have been successful since the economic crisis have operated unmonitored.