ENVIRO AONE

A 17-year study in Oregon, Washington and California found that removal of invasive barred owls arrested the population decline of the northern spotted owl, a native species threatened by invading barred owls and the loss of old-forest habitats. The conservation and management of northern spotted owls became one of the largest and most visible wildlife…

Scientists have used species survey and climate data to identify two marine biodiversity refugia in the Eastern Bering Sea — regions where species richness, community stability and climate stability are high. Marine biodiversity, the diversity of life in the seas and oceans, supports ecosystem services of immense societal benefits. However, climate change and human activities…

A research group showed that gorilla APOBEC3G potentially plays a role in inhibiting SIVcpz replication. Intriguingly, the research group demonstrated that an amino acid substitution in SIVcpz Vif, M16E, is sufficient to overcome gorilla APOBEC3G-mediated restriction. To achieve cross-species transmission, new hosts have to be exposed to the virus from the old host. Next, the…

A growing body of research has explored the ability of solar geoengineering to reduce physical climate changes. But much less is known about how solar geoengineering could affect the ecosystem and, particularly, agriculture. Now, research finds that solar geoengineering may be surprisingly effective in alleviating some of the worst impacts of global warming on crops.…

A study of more than 2,000 streams around North America found that those altered by human activity are at greater risk of flooding. The study from the University of Waterloo analyzed the seasonal flow patterns of 2,272 streams in Canada and the U.S. and found that human-managed streams — those impacted by developments like dams,…

The microbiome is home to an estimated 100 trillion bacteria, existing as a dense colony of many different strains and species. Similar to all organisms, bacteria must also compete with one another for space and resources, engaging in «warfare» by releasing toxins to kill competitors. One of the many weapons bacteria use in this inevitable…

Ebel looked for the California faults that had magnitude 4 or larger earthquakes occurring at a rate higher than 0.5 earthquakes per year from 1997 to 2016. If the pattern holds, the next magnitude 6.7 earthquakes in California are most likely to occur along these faults. The findings prompted Ebel in 2017 to suggest a…

Sea ice cover in the Southern Hemisphere is extremely variable, from summer to winter and from millennium to millennium, according to a new study. Overall, sea ice has been on the rise for about 10,000 years, but with some exceptions to this trend. Researchers uncovered these findings by examining the chemistry of a 54,000-year-old South…

Researchers have extensively studied several neighboring groups of western chimpanzees and their findings reveal that females and even the entire group may play a more important role in between-group competition than previously thought. They found that even though adult males seem important in territory increase, territory maintenance and competitive advantage over neighbors act through the…