Biodiversity
Biodiversity
More than One: Long-Reigning Microbe Controlling Ocean Nitrogen Shares the Throne: Novel species found to be more widely distributed in world's seas
Nitrogen-fixing microorganisms are the key to the productivity of the oceans. Growth of microbes at the base of the food chain is dependent on nutrients like nitrogen, in the same way that agriculture on land depends on such nutrients. Marine scientists long believed that a microbe called Trichodesmium, a member of a group called the cyanobacteria, reigned over the ocean's nitrogen budget. New research results reported on-line on February 25, 2010 in a paper in Science Express show that Trichodesmium may have to share its nitrogen-fixing throne: two others of its kind, small spherical species of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria called UCYN-A and Crocosphaera watsonii, are also abundant in the oceans.
Click on title to go to full article.
Feb 27, 2010, 4:32pm
Biodiversity
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Designates Critical Habitat for Threatened Population of Sea Otters
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on October 8, 2009 announced the designation of critical habitat for the southwest Alaska Distinct Population Segment of the northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended.
Click on title to go to full article.
Oct 10, 2009, 8:45pm
Biodiversity
Living, Meandering River Constructed: Vegetation and sand found to be essential in stream life
In a feat of reverse-engineering, Christian Braudrick of University of California at Berkeley and three coauthors have successfully built and maintained a scale model of a living meandering gravel-bed river in the lab. Their findings point to the importance of vegetation to reinforce the banks and to the importance of sand in healthy meandering river life.
Click on title to go to full article.
Oct 2, 2009, 3:53pm
Biodiversity
Cool Tools Let Public Upload Images, Information to Massive Interactive Online Biodiversity Encyclopedia
More than 150,000 species pages populated with expert-verified text and images are now available on the Encyclopedia of Life at EOL.org. EOL is a fast-growing inventory expected to shed new light on everything from conservation strategies for endangered species to climate change and the movements of disease-bearing or invasive pests. Experts and citizen scientists have contributed to the growth of the interactive encyclopedia, which dedicates a Web page to each known species and will eventually contain 1.8 million pages.
Click on title to go to full article.
Aug 23, 2009, 10:00am
Biodiversity
Experts creating online 'macroscopic observatory' of Earth's biodiversity
A virtual observatory for the unprecedented study and monitoring of life in an integrative way is under construction by some 400 biology and technology experts from 50 countries, who are meeting in London June 1 to 3, 2009. Biodiversity information and innovative internet architecture are being used to create a seamless, global view of life. With the benefit of a high-tech field guide for 21st Century, public observations will help map world biodiversity, monitor climate change, and conserve species.
Click on title to go to full article.
Jun 2, 2009, 2:36pm
|
