Climate change is exacerbating human-wildlife conflicts by straining ecosystems and altering behaviors, both of which can deepen the contacts -- and potential competition -- between people and animals. In an article published July 30 in the journal Science, Briana Abrahms, a University of Washington assistant professor of biology, calls for expanding research into the many ways that climate change will impact the complex interplay between human activities and wildlife populations.
In 2019, a coalition of more than 11,000 scientists from across the globe declared a climate emergency and established a set of vital signs for the Earth in order to measure effective climate action. Now, twenty months later, a new study published today in BioScience finds that those indicators -- including ice and forest loss, ocean acidity, and global temperatures -- reflect the consequences of unrelenting "business-as-usual" on climate change.
Twenty months after declaring a climate emergency and establishing a set of vital signs for the Earth, a coalition headed by two Oregon State University researchers says the updated vital signs "largely reflect the consequences of unrelenting business as usual."
About six gigatons -- roughly 12 times the mass of all living humans -- of carbon appears to be emitted over land every year, according to data from the Chinese Global Carbon Dioxide Monitoring Scientific Experimental Satellite (TanSat).
The National Science Foundation recently provided funding to over 100 herbaria across the Southeast U.S. to digitize more than three million plant specimens collected by botanists and naturalists across the country. Researchers tracked the speed and productivity of staff and students who handled the specimens, from the collection drawers to online repositories, to provide institutions with a framework to better determine the time and money needed to digitize remaining collections.
Humid tropical forests, vital in global efforts to limit rising temperatures, are under threat as a result of changes in land use and climate. Now, researchers reporting in the journal One Earth on July 23 have developed a new way to keep tabs on the vulnerability of these forests on a global scale using satellite data called the tropical forest vulnerability index (TFVI).
More than 820 million people in the world don't have enough to eat, while climate change and increasing competition for land and water are further raising concerns about the future balance between food demand and supply. The results of a new IIASA-led study can be used to benchmark global food security projections and inform policy analysis and public debate on the future of food.
New European Union regulations on batteries could offer a huge boost to the global decarbonisation mission - but only if it leverages its political and economic weight to ensure a fairer global marketplace.
New research by the University of Plymouth represents one of the first studies to examine the effectiveness of targeted lionfish removals from both an ecological and a socio-economic perspective.
Infection with dengue virus makes mosquitoes more sensitive to warmer temperatures, according to new research led by Penn State researchers. The team also found that infection with the bacterium Wolbachia, which has recently been used to control viral infections in mosquitoes, also increases the thermal sensitivity of the insects. The findings suggest that global warming could limit the spread of dengue fever but could also limit the effectiveness of Wolbachia as a biological control agent.