Artificial Rhythms
Artificial light in US cities affects the seasonal rhythms of plants, advancing the date of breaking leaf and delaying the colouring of leaves.
Environment
Invasive Singing
The red-billed leiothrix, a small brightly coloured bird native to subtropical Asia, is threatening to change the soundscape of the British dawn chorus.
Diverse Bumbling
Bumblebees are important pollinators but are suffering from population declines due to land use intensification and the effects of the climate crisis. New research has used citizen science data to develop potential conservation strategies for the future of bumblebees.
Death in the Shipping Lanes
The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, growing up to 20m in length. Despite their great size, this species is endangered, with industrialised shipping now found to have lead to a large number of collisions and potential whale shark deaths across the world.
Dead Red Tides
Almost all bodies of water have some algae, but in a red tide, the water changes colour because the population of algae living in the water becomes so dense. Off the west coast of Florida, these red tides are also likely to cause dead zones of life by starving the water of oxygen.
The Decline of Animal Rights
Speciesism is defined as the assumption of human superiority leading to the exploitation of animals. Yet new research has found that this is a behaviour that is likely learned during adolescence, with children thinking that animals ought to be treated better.
Sustainable Fruit
The moriche palm is native to South America, with the female palms producing an edible fruit that is hugely important for local communities. Sadly, cutting down female palm trees to harvest the fruit has halved the total amount that is available. Yet adopting more sustainable practices, i.e. climbing the trees to harvest their fruit instead of cutting them down, could result in an increase in fruit production of 51%.
Deadly Diets
A globalised diet of ultra-processed foods is having a negative impact on both human and planetary health. These foods lead to higher risks of obesity, cancer, depression, and death, while the lack of diversity in agriculture is bad because it reduces the gene pool, thereby making it harder for crops to adapt to global environmental changes.
Greening Healthcare
Recent research has shown that in Northern California, the annual average healthcare cost was found to be $374 lower per person per year for those living near the most green space than it was for those living near the least green space.
Basking No More
New research has shown that there has been a striking decrease in basking shark sightings in the California Current Ecosystem. In the mid-1900s, basking sharks were observed by the thousands each year off California’s coast. Now they are rarely seen at all in this region.