Species Are Fleeing Climate Change Faster Than Previously Thought

In the largest study of its kind, researchers looking at the effects of temperature on over 2,000 species, have found that animals and plants are moving from their natural home ranges towards the cooler poles three times faster than was previously thought.  Species experiencing the greatest warming are moving the furthest. The British comma butterfly, for example, has moved 220km northward from central England to southern Scotland in just the last two decades. The study has found that on average organisms are moving at a rate of 17km per decade away from the equator and uphill by about 1m a year.

Read More at Science Daily

Posted by Astrojenny

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Microbes Use Wind Power To Travel The World

Computer models of Earth's atmosphere have been used to demonstrate how microbes can use the winds to be widely dispersed between continents, enabling them to colonise new lands and potentially spread diseases. The smallest microbes can easily travel between continents and achieve extensive within-hemisphere distribution, although there is almost no dispersal between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres during the year-long time-scale of the simulations. It was discovered to be less easy for larger microbes to travel between continents.

Read More at Physorg.com

Posted by Astrojenny

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Microbes Shall Inherit The Earth

Global warming is not a recent phenomenon. Natural causes in our ancient past drove rapid increases in carbon dioxide and led to mass extinctions.  The most severe of these took place 250 million years ago at the end of the Permian Period, possibly due to increased volcanic activity as the supercontinent Pangaea broke apart. Global temperatures rose by up to 5 degrees Celsius and 90% of ocean species were lost. Now global temperatures have risen by almost three-quarters of a degree Celsius over the past 100 years. By looking at the past, professor of earth sciences and biological sciences, David Bottjer, has made three predictions: as oceans absorb more CO2 they will become more acidic causing coral reefs to die off. Ocean circulation will slow due to the hotter atmosphere and, as oxygen levels decrease dead zones will appear, unable to support oxygen-dependent life, like fish. As other forms of life decline the microbes will increase and take over.

Read More at Physorg.com

Posted by Astrojenny

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The World's Biggest Megavirus!

For a long time giant viruses had been mistaken for bacteria due to their enormous size. A flu virus may have ten or so genes while a giant virus may have 1,000 genes. The largest virus on Earth, Megavirus chilensis, has recently been discovered in the sea off Chile with 1,120 genes. It is 10 to 20 times wider than the average virus. Its genome is 1.259 million base pairs long, 6.5% longer than the previous record holder, Mimivirus, which was found in a water cooling tower in the UK in 1992. Megavirus has 258 genes not found in Mimivirus. So did Megavirus pick up these extra genes from other sources or did Mimivirus lose some genes? The hunt is now on to find more giant viruses to compare.

Read More at The Loom

Posted by Astrojenny

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Killer Seaweed!

Over 1,000 acres of beaches in Brittany have been covered in a noxious mass of seaweed called sea lettuce that has been responsible for the deaths of various animals including a horse. In one area alone 38 wild animal corpses including badger, coypu & wild boar have found been since mid July. All died from inhaling hydrogen sulphide "sewer gas" emitted by the rotting heaps of seaweed. Environmentalists blame farmers, as intensive farming in the area causes high levels of nitrogen to be released into rivers & streams. The farmers blame climate change. Levels have been building up since the 1970s & cleaning up the problem is made more difficult as it is not just the weed that must be removed, but also the underlying deposits of toxic mud that have been built up over decades.

Read More at The Independent

Posted by Astrojenny

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