Earth & Environment - Friday, February 5, 2010 12:10 - 0 Comments
Sizable snail threatens endangered bird
University of Florida graduate student Chris Cattau holds shells from a native Florida apple snail (right) and a much larger invasive species. Both snails are eaten by an endangered bird, the Everglades snail kite. But a UF study suggests juvenile kites may starve while trying to subsist on the hard-to-handle invasive snails. (Credit: Tyler Jones/University of Florida/IFAS)
U. FLORIDA (US)—A huge South American snail is wreaking havoc on its predator, the snail kite, an endangered Everglades bird of prey. Continue…
Earth & Environment - Feb 3, 2010 13:58 - 0 Comments
Shaking up estimates about ‘the big one’
Trench research on the San Andreas fault: Researchers dug trenches across the fault, radiocarbon-dated sediment samples from dry stream channels, and studied historic weather data for the Carrizo Plain to get a glimpse into an engine of large earthquakes. The found that fault slip varied from earthquake to earthquake instead of recurring in a uniform manner, as had been believed. (Credit: Sinan Akciz/UC Irvine)
UC IRVINE (US)—New information about the inner workings of faults could change how experts estimate the potential for the next “big one.” Continue…
Earth & Environment - Feb 2, 2010 23:30 - 2 Comments
California’s troubled waters
Orchards wither in the dry fields near Interstate 5 north of Coalinga, Calif. The area has been rocked by a combination of environmental and political developments. Satellite-based findings reveal significant groundwater loss in the Central Valley.
UC IRVINE (US)—Space observations reveal that since October 2003, the aquifers for California’s primary agricultural region—the Central Valley—and its major mountain water source—the Sierra Nevada—have lost nearly enough water combined to fill Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir. Continue…
Earth & Environment - Feb 1, 2010 16:03 - 0 Comments
Unselfish apes live in ‘Peter Pan world’
DUKE (US)—For bonobos, sharing just comes naturally. In fact, unlike humans and chimpanzees, they seem incapable of being selfish—both as youngsters and as adults. Continue…
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- Thirsty cities should mix it up
- Pest with an appetite for biofuel crops
- Energy from Haiti quake like nuclear blast
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- Future Forests: Beyond 2200
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- Track climate change with tennis balls
- Western butterflies—nowhere to go but up
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- Pulling the plug on hybrid myths
Featured Blog: Summer in Antartica (USC)
- Farewell, McMurdo Station February 1, 2010
- Burrowing Worms January 31, 2010
- Antifreeze Fish January 30, 2010
In Today’s ScienceBlogs
- Point Counterpoint [Thoughts from Kansas] February 9, 2010
- No one reads these things anyways [bioephemera] February 9, 2010
- The new evil empire has closed access to Ageline [Christina's LIS Rant] February 8, 2010
