✌ oikos

May172013

During the Ocean Conservancy’s 27th annual International Coastal Cleanup, in the span of just one month, the participants combed across nearly 18,000 miles of coastline, removing a whopping 10 million pounds of trash in the process. And as LiveScience notes, that’s roughly equivalent to the weight of 41 blue whales!
After all that trash is collected, it’s sorted by type, offering a comprehensive snapshot of which type of marine debris is the most prevalent. Here’s a breakdown of the ten most common bits of garbage the volunteers found:
2,117,931 cigarette butts
1,140,222 food wrappers / containers
1,065,171 plastic bottles
1,019,902 plastic bags
958,893 caps, lids
692,767 cups, plates, forks, knives, spoons
611,048 straws, stirrers
521,730 glass bottles
339,875 beverage cans
298,332 paper bags
Read more here

^These volunteers are awesome! Please remember to properly dispose of/recycle your trash.

During the Ocean Conservancy’s 27th annual International Coastal Cleanup, in the span of just one month, the participants combed across nearly 18,000 miles of coastline, removing a whopping 10 million pounds of trash in the process. And as LiveScience notes, that’s roughly equivalent to the weight of 41 blue whales!

After all that trash is collected, it’s sorted by type, offering a comprehensive snapshot of which type of marine debris is the most prevalent. Here’s a breakdown of the ten most common bits of garbage the volunteers found:

2,117,931 cigarette butts

1,140,222 food wrappers / containers

1,065,171 plastic bottles

1,019,902 plastic bags

958,893 caps, lids

692,767 cups, plates, forks, knives, spoons

611,048 straws, stirrers

521,730 glass bottles

339,875 beverage cans

298,332 paper bags

Read more here

^These volunteers are awesome! Please remember to properly dispose of/recycle your trash.

recycle beach cleanup coastal cleanup

May162013

earth-song:

Chicken Farm, Pennsylvania

Photograph by Peter Essick, National Geographic

Chickens provide the fertilizer on this Pennsylvania farm. The mobile coops are relocated daily to distribute manure evenly so that it won’t drain into the Chesapeake Bay.

May132013

For Supreme Court, Monsanto's Win Was More About Patents Than Seeds

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that when farmers use patented seed for more than one planting in violation of their licensing agreements, they are liable for damages.

Billed as David vs. Goliath, the case pitted an Indiana farmer against the agribusiness behemoth Monsanto.

Monsanto = evil.

seed agriculture gmo Monsanto

May112013

“According to Japan Times, a new species of carnivorous plant has been found in Aichi Prefecture, on the central-southern coast of Japan’s main island. The Japan Times calls it a “pitcher plant,” which it is not; as a species related to (and mistaken for) Drosera indica, it’s actually a sundew.
Sundews and pitcher plants are both carnivorous, and largely insectivorous, but they’re very different otherwise. Pitcher plants have a large, cup-shaped flower with a slippery rim that unsuspecting prey falls into, where it is digested. Sundews, on the other hand, have tentacles, looking like very small spines topped with a clear drop of dew, hence the name. It isn’t dew, of course; it’s a sort of sticky mucous that traps insects, where they die of exhaustion, dehydration, starvation, or suffocation, to be digested by the enzymes within the mucous.”
Read more here

“According to Japan Times, a new species of carnivorous plant has been found in Aichi Prefecture, on the central-southern coast of Japan’s main island. The Japan Times calls it a “pitcher plant,” which it is not; as a species related to (and mistaken for) Drosera indica, it’s actually a sundew.

Sundews and pitcher plants are both carnivorous, and largely insectivorous, but they’re very different otherwise. Pitcher plants have a large, cup-shaped flower with a slippery rim that unsuspecting prey falls into, where it is digested. Sundews, on the other hand, have tentacles, looking like very small spines topped with a clear drop of dew, hence the name. It isn’t dew, of course; it’s a sort of sticky mucous that traps insects, where they die of exhaustion, dehydration, starvation, or suffocation, to be digested by the enzymes within the mucous.”

Read more here

botany new species plant carnivorous nature outdoors science

May102013

A Scientific Spectrum: Scientists show how nerve wiring self-destructs

neurosciencestuff:

Many medical issues affect nerves, from injuries in car accidents and side effects of chemotherapy to glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. The common theme in these scenarios is destruction of nerve axons, the long wires that transmit signals to other parts of the body,…

(Source: news.wustl.edu)

April272013

rhamphotheca:

Toxic Milkweed Grasshopper (Phymateus leprosus)

- South Africa

P. leprosus, one of the Toxic Milkweed Grasshoppers or Gaudy Grasshoppers in the family Pyrgomorphidae. This species is also called a Bush Locust.

(photos by Arno Meintjes; T - adult, B - juveniles)

April252013

Eurasian Jay (Corvus glandarius)

by Iain H Leach

animals birds birding corvid

6PM

This koala looks rather sad. But who can blame him?
According to Australia’s Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), the sub-adult male koala was recently discovered sitting atop the remnants of what was once his home in Vittoria State Forest, New South Wales. Although the logging operation was approved by the forestry service, judging by the koala’s confused expression, not everyone got the memo.
“Koalas would have been moved out of their homes in preparation for planned logging activities,” says WIRES general manager, Leanne Taylor.
“It is common for koalas to roam back to their home range afterwards and become confused to find nothing there. A worker noticed a koala had been sitting stationary in broad daylight on top of wood piles for over an hour.”
The perplexed marsupial, found to have an injury on its eye, was transfered to a local vet before being relocated once again back into a different patch of forest. Forestry workers found three other koalas at the clearcut site and they were transfered as well.
(via Confused koala discovers his home has been cutdown)

This koala looks rather sad. But who can blame him?

According to Australia’s Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), the sub-adult male koala was recently discovered sitting atop the remnants of what was once his home in Vittoria State Forest, New South Wales. Although the logging operation was approved by the forestry service, judging by the koala’s confused expression, not everyone got the memo.

“Koalas would have been moved out of their homes in preparation for planned logging activities,” says WIRES general manager, Leanne Taylor.

“It is common for koalas to roam back to their home range afterwards and become confused to find nothing there. A worker noticed a koala had been sitting stationary in broad daylight on top of wood piles for over an hour.”

The perplexed marsupial, found to have an injury on its eye, was transfered to a local vet before being relocated once again back into a different patch of forest. Forestry workers found three other koalas at the clearcut site and they were transfered as well.

(via Confused koala discovers his home has been cut down)

animals nature outdoors koala conservation logging

9AM

logikblok:

Cell Reproduction: Source Cell Picture Show.

(via thescienceblog)

April232013

scinerds:

Cancer detection equipment shows us why some corals resist bleaching

Coral bleaching is a huge problem made worse by global warming. It threatens extremely productive ecosystems that are home to countless marine species. Yet some corals do better than others wen exposed to the same hostile environment. Why is that? Scientists at Northwestern University and the Field Museum of Natural History asked themselves that very question, and they think they found the answer using optical technology designed for early cancer detection.

The researchers discovered that reef-building corals scatter light in different ways to the symbiotic algae that feed the corals. Corals that are less efficient at light scattering retain algae better under stressful conditions and are more likely to survive. Corals whose skeletons scatter light most efficiently have an advantage under normal conditions, but they suffer the most damage when stressed.

The findings could help predict the response of coral reefs to the stress of increasing seawater temperatures and acidity, helping conservation scientists preserve coral reef health and high biodiversity. (source)

So the corals that were the “fittest” (in the natural selection meaning of the word) in the past are turning out to be disadvantaged compared to their less efficient cousins under today’s environment. This is the first research to show that light-scattering properties are a risk factor for corals. Hopefully this will help us devise ways to better protect coral reefs, as they are the most fertile biodiversity hotspots in our planet’s oceans.

The whole study was published under an open access license, so you can read it here.

Full Article