April 2020 – Page 2 – envirobites

Friday, April 26, 2024

Turtle Hatch Rates Skyrocket after Incubation

April 18, 2020 Laura Schifman 0 Comments BSC4052, Conservation, lake champlain, turtles

Sea turtles are often seen as a “poster-child” animal for conservation efforts in coastal areas. Beaches are covered with signs, and local groups search every night for mothers’ nests so they can put up protective barriers and increase the hatching success. However, for other species of turtles, like the freshwater spiny softshell turtles (Apalone spinifera), simple protection of the nests are not currently an effective way to increase hatching success. Instead, researchers have found incubating the eggs of spiny softshell turtles more than doubled the hatching success rate, which may help save this endangered population in Québec, Canada.

Environmental Science

The use of albatrosses as a conservation tool

April 17, 2020 Lauren Bonatakis 0 Comments biodiversity, birds, Conservation, fisheries, Ocean

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing poses an imminent threat to biodiversity in our oceans. Notoriously difficult to track, fishing vessels are able to elude traditional tracking measures. Authors H. Weimerskirch et. al. introduce the concept of the “ocean sentinel”, where sea birds that are naturally attracted to fishing vessels are equipped with bio-loggers. Data from these loggers help locate where, when, and how frequently IUU is occuring.

Cities Environmental Science

Energy Transition in Paradise: Hawaiian case study on how to approach wide-scale renewable energy transitions

April 17, 2020 Jessica Wright 0 Comments Energy Transition, Renewable energy

Imagine yourself lounging on a beautiful beach in Hawaii. Picture an ice cold drink in your hand, the warm breeze on your face, and the ocean tides churning in front of you. Relaxing and picture-perfect, right? One question you may not have asked yourself is where and how does Hawaii get its energy? In the age of sustainability and the growing importance of renewable energy sources, an investigation of Hawaii’s energy dilemma proves an exciting read.

Cities Human Exposure and Public Health

A Walk in the Park is Better with Birds

April 16, 2020June 11, 2020 Connor Rosenblatt 0 Comments birds, mental health, policy, public health, urban greening

Green spaces in cities do wonders for our health, but what types of green spaces are best? A recent study found that people tend to experience greater happiness in parks with a high diversity of bird species. This helps inform city planners that when designing parks, trying to maximize bird life should be a high priority.

Ecosystems Environmental Science Human Exposure and Public Health

COVID-19: Bats are Not the Problem, The Wildlife Market Is

April 16, 2020 Andrew Barton 0 Comments

“The need for public education about bats, including their positive and negative impacts, is urgent and vital to their conservation.” (Zhao 2020)

Human Exposure and Public Health

Different Aerosols and Worse COVID Outcomes

April 15, 2020April 15, 2020 Kristen Brown 0 Comments #coronavirus, #COVID19, Air pollution, health

Air quality affects how healthy our lungs are going into a pandemic, and that can change your outcome if you’re infected by the virus.

Ecosystems

To bugs in streams, fine sediment is not so fine

April 14, 2020April 14, 2020 Garrett Frandson 0 Comments agriculture, insects, water, water quality

Clearing land for agriculture often leads to decreased flow velocities and in increase in fine sediment additions in nearby streams. While many stream bugs rely on small fine sediments, too much of it can detrimentally affect them. Changes to flow velocities and inputs of fine sediment in affected streams are not always equal in magnitude, so an experiment was run to see the responses of aquatic macroinvertebrates to various combinations of flow and sediment conditions. The scientists found fine sediments negatively impacted almost all stream bugs and that low flows exacerbated the problem.

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science

As Oceans Change, HABs Invade

April 13, 2020 Jessica Espinosa 0 Comments algal bloom, Climate Change, Ecology, environmental science, HABs, Ocean, phytoplankton

Global ocean temperatures are currently rising and have been for decades. Scientists are working to discover how this changing climate affects species around the world, from the very large to the very small. This includes phytoplankton, the microscopic marine algae that live in most bodies of water around the globe and produce half the world’s oxygen. But some of these species are toxic, and can cause harm to human and wildlife alike if they are able to grow out of control. Though a number of studies have been undertaken to try and understand more about these harmful algal blooms, much is still unknown about their growth. A group of scientists were interested in how changing ocean temperatures affected the geographic ranges of harmful algal blooms over time in order to better predict blooms in the future.

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science

Coral reefs are in hot water: Could upwelling save the day?

April 13, 2020April 12, 2020 Elisabeth Lang 0 Comments Climate Change, coral bleaching, coral reefs

Coral reefs do best in warm water, but when the water gets too hot, they bleach. Upwelling, which brings cooler water from the deeper parts of the ocean, occurs worldwide, including where coral reefs can be found. With climate change, ocean temperatures are increasing and coral bleaching events are happening more frequently. Could upwelling help protect coral reefs from hot water?

Ecosystems Environmental Science

Mislabeling Mayhem: Traces of Endangered Shark Species Found in Pet Food and Make-up

April 11, 2020April 11, 2020 Anita Masse 0 Comments BSC4052, cosmetics, food mislabeling, pet food, shark conservation, Sharks

There’s power behind every purchase we make. Companies make and sell products based on consumer demand, and we as consumers have a right to know what we are putting our dollars behind. Recently, a study has identified trace levels of threatened shark species in various pet food and cosmetic brands. While this alone is troubling, what’s more concerning is that these products have failed to include shark products on the ingredient label.