Ecology, The Environment and Conservation

NASA satellite data was used for the first time to analyze the biology of hot spots along the coast of Antarctica. The biological oases are open waters, called polynyas, where blooming plankton support the local food chain.

The research found a strong association between the well being of Adelie Penguin populations in the Antarctic and the productivity of plankton in the polynyas. Polynyas are areas of open water or reduced ice cover, where one might expect sea ice. They are usually created

Some seed gene banks contain more higher plant species per square meter than anywhere else on the planet’, write Simon Linington and colleagues of the Millenium Seed Bank, Kew, in the October issue of Biologist. This helps to ‘ensure plant diversity is available long term for use in development or habitat restoration’, they explain.

Although genetically uniform crop varieties can produce good yields, the plants may be more vulnerable to new diseases than traditional varieties. Seed banks un

The building industry could significantly reduce materials-related CO2 emissions, through greater innovation within the industry itself together with action by governments to further stimulate existing processes towards environmentally friendly construction. This is the main thrust of Tessa Goverse’s dissertation, entitled “Building a Climate for Change – Reducing CO2 emissions through materials innovation in the European building industry”, which she will defend on Thursday 9 October at the Vri

Wetlands are nature’s water filters. They collect water around river mouths and marshes, and whole communities of plants and micro-organisms feed off detritus in these murky depths.

Conventional chemical treatments of industrial waters consume cash, energy and time. Wetlands, by contrast, grow and clean themselves while they act as super-efficient absorbers of phosphates, nitrates and other environmental hazards.

The INDCONWET project applies these natural abilities to industrial w

For the second time in 26 months, a massive iceberg has clogged a large portion of Antarctica’s Ross Sea, causing what could turn out to be a devastating loss of penguins and other marine life, according to a NASA-funded study by Stanford scientists.

Using satellite data, geophysicists Kevin Arrigo and Gert L. van Dijken monitored the movements of a giant iceberg named “C-19,” which calved off the western face of the Ross Ice Shelf in May 2002. C-19 is one of the largest icebergs ever

Exploit Plant Defenses, Build Local Drug Discovery Industry

Misty-eyed idealism alone will not save Earth’s dwindling tropical rainforests. But a five-year, $3 million study in Panama indicates rainforests can be protected if the pharmaceutical industry establishes Third World laboratories and hires local researchers to look for new medicines extracted from plants that evolved defenses against insects.

“Until now, efforts to find drugs in the rainforest haven’t really led to