Search Results for “algal” – Page 2

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Double trouble: how floods after bushfire affect the health of our rivers

March 19, 2020 Jackie Webb 0 Comments bushfire, climate extreme, flooding, rivers, Wildfire

Between Christmas 2019 and the 2020 New Year, forested mountain ranges across drought-stricken areas in Eastern Australia came alight, with fires ravaging 11 million hectares of bush (Eucalyptus woodlands and rainforests) – a size comparable to England’s land area. These megafires threw the states of New South Wales and Victoria into a state of emergency. The bushfire crisis took a sudden turn when heavy rainfall flooded the scorched land in the span of just two weeks. Unfortunately, while rainfall might appear to be a blessing in light of the megafires, the resulting floods were ultimately not sweet relief for rivers.

Ecosystems Environmental Science

Mayfly swarms are visible on weather radar. Their declines spell bad news for ecosystem health

January 31, 2020January 28, 2020 Abigail Lewis 0 Comments insect, mayfly

Mayfly swarms used to be so large that snowplows had to take to the streets to clear the road of their carcasses. However, recent evidence demonstrates that mayfly populations are decreasing dramatically. This is bad news for surrounding ecosystems, especially for fish and birds that depend on these insects for food.

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science

Every birdie poops: How birds could be helping coral reefs in a changing climate

July 19, 2019July 18, 2019 Jeannie Wilkening 0 Comments birds, Climate Change, coral reef ecosystem, nutrient cycling, seabirds

Warming ocean temperatures pose a big threat to coral reefs, but could coral reefs be getting some help from having feathered friends nearby? In this study, scientists investigate how the nutrients from bird poop may be helping to keep coral reefs from going to waste.

Climate Environmental Science

Seaweed as far as the eye can see

July 17, 2019June 10, 2020 Aidan Barry 0 Comments Climate, coastal environments, eutrophication, Ocean, water management

In the center of the Atlantic Ocean lies the Sargasso Sea. The brown seaweed, Sargassum, gives the Sea its name. However, in the past decade this belt of Sargassum has been exploding. During certain seasons, the Sargassum belt has expanded from West Africa to the Americas. Beached seaweed has led to numerous problems and concerns for much of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Research led by Dr. Mengqiu Wang from the University of South Florida used previous data to determine what makes these seaweeds take over the ocean in order to better predict when these blooms may occur.

Ecosystems Environmental Science

Fewer wetlands, more nutrients: water quality in the face of marsh erosion

July 15, 2019July 29, 2019 Alina Spera 0 Comments denitrification, Land Loss, Louisiana, water quality, wetlands

As marsh edge erosion takes away land from Louisiana’s coastal wetland system, is there enough denitrification power left to control water quality?

Environmental Science

Ancient groundwater brings a new lease of life to arid ecosystems

June 2, 2019 Jackie Webb 0 Comments anthropogenic stress, desert, ecosystems, groundwater, streams, water resource, wetlands

How does a living fish have a radiocarbon age of ~9,000 years BC? A recent study revealed that very old carbon from ancient groundwater actually provides a life-sustaining source of energy to the contemporary food web of wetlands in dry (“arid”) climates.

Environmental Science

Microplastics: Smells like dinner

May 27, 2019September 18, 2022 Kari St. Laurent 0 Comments copepods, dimethyl sulfide, microplastics

Microplastic pollution is a trending concern as these tiny plastic pieces can end up dinner for small ocean critters such as copepods. Copepods are tiny, cosmopolitan marine creatures that are a vital food source for fish, birds, and many more. In the vast ocean, many copepods find their food, algae, by scent, as some algae give off a sulfur smell from the compound dimethyl sulfide. This study set out to test if copepods would be more likely to eat microplastics that were infused with this sulfur-scented compound.

Ecosystems Environmental Science Toxicology

How hormones in lakes harm aquatic life

May 10, 2019January 12, 2023 Niranjana Krishnan 0 Comments aquatic, Chemicals, ecosystem, estrogen, fish, lake, real-world, toxicology

To understand how an artificial female hormone released into water bodies harmed aquatic species, researchers conducted a real-world study.

Ecosystems Environmental Science

Cover Crops: Good for Water Quality?

April 11, 2019April 11, 2019 Brittany Maule 0 Comments agricultural pollution, agriculture, cover crops, ecosystem services, eutrophication, phosphorus

Cover crops have been a popular management strategy to reduce nutrient runoff from agriculture. However, evidence suggests that some cover crops may in fact release nutrients, instead of keeping them out of the water. One study explores whether five types of cover crops release phosphorus, and how that may impact water quality in the important Great Lakes region.