April 2019 – Page 2 – envirobites

Friday, April 26, 2024

Global monitoring shows regulated atmospheric pollutants are not decreasing

April 19, 2019September 16, 2022 Lindsay Green-Gavrielidis 0 Comments air quality, chemical pollutants, man-made chemicals, public health

PFAS and VMS are man-made chemicals that have been used for decades in products that we all use on a daily basis, including personal care products, cookware, and food packing. However, there is growing evidence that these chemicals, which are widespread throughout the globe, can have negative impacts on living organisms and human health. A recent study compared concentrations of these chemicals in the atmosphere at sites across the world from 2009 to 2015. Their findings suggest that there has been a significant increase in PFAS in the atmosphere over this time period, while certain types of VMS chemicals also increased. Future monitoring efforts across the globe are necessary to determine the changes in these chemicals in the air we breathe.

Environmental Science

Seeking Ferns, Finding Worms

April 18, 2019September 16, 2022 Abigail Bezrutczyk 0 Comments Ecology, ecosystem change, environmental science, forests, invasive species, modeling, native plants

In the midst of an earthworm invasion, researchers created models to find a rare fern. This helps us to better understand how to protect threatened, endangered, and sensitive plants in a changing world.

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science

Will Sponges Bulldoze Coral Reefs Faster in an Acidic Ocean?

April 17, 2019September 16, 2022 Nick Iraola 0 Comments coral reef ecosystem, ocean acidification, sponges

Coral reefs provide benefits for marine life and humans alike. In this delicate ecosystem, humans may be tipping the scales in an unhealthy direction due to ocean acidification. Sponges naturally erode corals to create homes for themselves, but an acidic ocean might mean sponges may not have to work as hard and could erode corals faster than they build. Scientists have confirmed that as ocean acidification increase, so will the rates of erosion by sponges – leaving many concerned with the fate of our ocean’s coral reefs and the services they provide.

Environmental Science Toxicology

Acetaminophen: Soaked Up By Our Finned Friends

April 17, 2019September 16, 2022 Anita Masse 0 Comments Acetaminophen, Fish Pathology, Medication, Rainbow Trout, Tylenol, Wastewater

What is the fate of acetaminophen once your headache is gone? It usually travels to the nearest lake or river where unsuspecting fish come in contact with it. While it may be a life saver for you, acetaminophen can produce detrimental effects in fish that are unlucky enough to have crossed its path.

Cities Ecosystems Environmental Science

Let’s Paint the Town Green!

April 17, 2019September 16, 2022 Laura Schifman 0 Comments biodiversity, birds, BSC4052, cities, fragmentation, green infrastructure, land management, urban greening

Many places around the world are searching for ways to balance a growing population while also caring for the environment. Developers, policymakers, and citizens everywhere are concerned with maintaining biodiversity while developing economies and building homes and businesses for humans. New research from the European Union aims to balance the use of ecosystem services and conservation efforts by introducing green infrastructure. This new way to look at land use can have important implications for the future of development and policy-making in the European Union, and throughout the world.

Español

El método de eliminación importa: la verdad detrás de los plásticos biodegradables

April 16, 2019September 16, 2022 Maria Loza 0 Comments compostaje, contaminación por plásticos, desperdicios, plásticos, plásticos biodegradables, polímeros, reciclaje

Artículo escrito por Mary Davis marzo 13, 2019. Artículo traducido por Maria Loza Artículo científico original: Tanja Narancic, Steven Verstichel,

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science

Are Eastern USA Temperate Forests Regenerating?

April 16, 2019September 16, 2022 Andrew Barton 0 Comments forest adaptive capacity, human stressors, temperate forest, tree migration, tree regeneration

How can we assess the adaptive capacity of forest ecosystems to deal with human stressors? A key indicator is the extent to which forests are regenerating today, that is, producing seedlings and saplings that one day will take the place of mature trees as they age and die. In a recent study, Kathryn Miller and Brian McGill found relatively reassuring levels of regeneration in the northeast and Southeast USA, but low levels in the central mid-Atlantic portion, which could lead to declines in forest cover in this region.

Cities Ecosystems Environmental Science

The biodiversity emergency: what can we all do?

April 16, 2019September 16, 2022 Laura Schifman 0 Comments biodiversity, BSC4052, Conservation, urban agriculture, urban studies

There is a biodiversity crisis. The repercussions of species and habitat loss are everywhere: Animals (giant pandas or bees), and places (coral reefs), are experiencing negative human-related impacts. This means more than just loss of physical beauty; all habitats and species are interconnected, so a loss of something as seemingly small as a bee population will reduce pollination of plants that we eat. There is hope of recovery, but it begins by motivating people to help. As the world is becoming more urbanized and disconnected from nature, where does motivation for environmental conservation and stewardship come from?

Ecosystems Environmental Science

Do Red Snapper Call Decommissioned Oil Rigs Home?

April 16, 2019September 16, 2022 Lauren Bonatakis 0 Comments ecosystems, fisheries, oil and gas

As natural reefs are becoming more and more scarce in the muddy bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, scientists have looked towards decommissioned oil rigs as replacements. Because red snapper are an important reef fish in the Gulf, they are used as a focal species to determine if artificial structures are as capable as natural reefs to support the reproductive potential of reef fish.

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science Science through time

Trees, Tempests, and Time: What trees can tell us about weather in the past

April 15, 2019September 16, 2022 Ashley Riane Booth 0 Comments Climate, Climate Change, coastal environments, Ecology, hurricanes, tree rings, wetlands

For storms along the Gulf Coast, first-person recordings are only reliable for the past 150 years. But knowing more about when storms happened in the past helps us understand how the climate is changing and how to reduce storm risks for coastal communities. To do that, we have to use even more unusual records: tree rings.