Fur Seal Misfortune
Decades of in depth monitoring, alongside genetic analysis, has revealed that climate change and food availability are having a serious impact on a population of fur seals on South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Decades of in depth monitoring, alongside genetic analysis, has revealed that climate change and food availability are having a serious impact on a population of fur seals on South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean.
As well as being a foundation for food webs and supporting a diverse array of species, coral reefs play an important role in protecting the shoreline from storms and surge water.
The Emperor Penguin is currently under consideration for inclusion under the US Endangered Species Act, and listing the species as endangered would reflect the seriousness of the threats it faces and the potential impact of its decline on the Antarctic ecosystem.
Scientists believed that koalas hugged trees because that is where they eat and sleep but, as acacia leaves are inedible to the koala, they were actually leaving eucalyptus trees and hugging acacia trees in order to cool down.
Research discovered that selective logging and wildfires resulted in an annual loss of 54 billion tonnes of carbon from the Brazilian Amazon in 2010. This is the equivalent of 40% of the yearly carbon loss from deforestation.
As their calls continue to change, it is vital that the females’ inner ear adapts to the altered chirps of the male – if they do not adjust their hearing, the species could become extinct.
Study recommends that future research should focus on the availability of shade habitat and the energetic consequences of the behavioural changes that climate change may cause in the species.
Many birds living in colder climes head south for the winter to avoid harsh weather conditions. Yet climate change is making winters warmer and as a result, some raptors are not travelling as far south as they used to.
Penguin parents are arriving at the breeding season later and later in the year because the fish they eat are arriving later. But the later the chicks hatch, the more likely it is that they will still be covered in down feathers when the storms hit.
The pikas ingest the low quality moss over and over again and, with the help of microbes in their gut, the moss is turned into high-quality food. The end product is 6 times more nutritious than the moss itself.