Amphibians Losing To The Environment

Even though they had the ability to evolve and survive for several hundreds of years, amphibians are slowly losing their race to global changes in the environment. Evolution is constraining several species into decline, and possibly even extinction. Scientists have estimated that the rate of plant and animal extinction is greater now than any known in the last 100,000 years. Because amphibians have such a complex life cycle they face more challenges to changes in the environment. For example, they have permeable skin, live on both land and water, and their eggs have no shells. According to scientists, natural selection and species adaptation may, in time, allow amphibians to react to and recover from the new environmental threats. Overall, amphibians are more vulnerable than any other species of life during such drastic changes in our environment.

To read more on these amphibians: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070501075044.htm

One of the Rarest Butterflies in America is Making a Comeback

During the Spring and Summer, we see butterflies fluttering all around us and in most cases we take them for granted. Have you ever just stopped to take in the beauty of nature and the wonderful creations that butterflies are? Well the rarest, and most beautiful, butterflies of America are coming back around one-by-one thanks to a very patient ecologist.

Jana Johnson has been breeding butterflies one-by-one in a laboratory in her home. The species of butterflies is called Palo Verdes blue butterfly. With each hatch of a butterfly, the Palo Verdes species is one step further from extinction. Once she breeds these butterflies, the goal is to develop habitats that are safe for them. Previously this particular species was found mostly on military land in the U.S.A. For now, Jana Johnson focuses her time and energy on allowing this species to make a comeback, and she is so close! Next time you see a butterfly, take the time to watch it and appreciate its existence in nature!

Everday Air Pollution Potentially More Harmful than a Nuclear Fallout

Did you ever think that the air you breath may be more harmful to you than a nuclear fallout from an atomic bomb? I never considered the air to be that harmful. Our air today is polluted by cigarette smoke, automobile exhaust, factory productions, etc. that are extremely harmful to us. Estimates suggest that a lifelong smoker might on average lose ten years of life because of the habit, while someone who is severely obese at 35 might lose four to ten years. By contrast, atomic bomb survivors who were exposed to high levels of radiation within 1,500 meters of the center of a blast could expect their lives to be shortened by an average of 2.6 years. The increased risk of dying from heart disease caused by passive smoking if you live with a partner who smokes is estimated to be 1.7 percent. This compares to a 2.8 percent increased risk of dying from the adverse effects of the higher air pollution. Next time the option is available to help protect and purify the air we breathe, take it! Air pollution is something that we can help control, so make it a goal to take active steps to protect our environment.

To read more on these statistics check out this article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article1605122.ece

Al Gore Speaks on Global Warming

Al Gore spoke of the critical issue facing the world today...Global Warming. The strongest point that he made in this speech is that global warming is a symptom of a bigger and deeper underlying issue. The issue is that we are witnessing a collision between our civilization and the earth and three factors are responsible for that: population growth, scientific and technological revolution, and our way of thinking. In my opinion, the weakest point of his speech is that global warming can be validated by record cold temperatures, just as easily as warmer temperatures. Gore believes that by conservation, a reduction in emissions and political activism, a solution is possible. In my opinion, the impacts that humans have on global warming is minute to the impacts of natural causes. I do agree, however, that it is our duty to future generations to take care of the global environment to the best of our ability.

Do You Know What Possibly Has More Genes Than You?

The Coral may possibly possess the same amount, if not more, of genes as humans do! Also more amazing is that as distant as it is from humans, it possesses many of the same genes in the immune system as humans do that protect against disease. Corals are among the simplest animals in the world – yet they may possess a set of genes as large and complex as our own. Scientists have found that around 10 or 12 percent of the known coral genes are in fact shared uniquely with vertebrates – these are genes that have been lost from all other animals so far examined. These include genes for the development of nerves, vision, DNA imprinting, stress responses and key immune system genes. This discovery is great in relation to all vertebrates.

Bugs Trafficing Carbon Underground

The exchange of carbon underground is ten times greater than carbon produced by burning fossil fuels. There is a particular fungi located on almost 80% of plant roots that is assisting in the trafficing of carbon. This fungi produces filaments that spread widely throughout the soil and help the plants take in water and phosphates. The major pathways produced by fungi lets the carbon travel from the plants to the soil more readily. The discovery of this fungi helps researchers determine what what preserves a healthy soil and providesrecycled carbon for supporting below ground biodiversity. It will alsoopen up a new understanding of the food-webs and nutrient flow in soil which is fundamental to sustainable agriculture.

Alien Predators are More Dangerous Than Native Predators

In a new study, experts believe that introduced, or "alien," predators are more dangerous than native predators because their prey are naïve to the hunting tactics of alien predators.
In contrast, where predators and prey have coexisted for long periods, prey often respond by developing behaviors and defenses such as camouflage coloring that prevent detection or help them escape an encounter with a familiar predator.
The revelation of these findings provides a challenge of how to create the best programs to protect native species from predation. Scientists believe that more frequent contact between predator and prey populations has made prey populations less naïve to alien predators by exposing them to similar predator behaviors. Ongoing predation pressure means that remnant populations of prey are very vulnerable to extinction from other pressures such as diseases and habitat loss.
Particular measures should be taken to help protect prey from alien species.

More information on this topic can be found here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070314093316.htm