Ecology, The Environment and Conservation

Environmental engineering researchers have developed a novel two-part approach for cleaning up toxic chlorinated solvents spilled into underground water supplies from former dry cleaning and industrial operations.

The patent-pending technique, which uses a macroemulsion composed of alcohol and food-grade surfactants, simultaneously reduces the density of the pollutant – to keep it from sinking farther into the groundwater – and helps separate it from soil particles so it can be flushed out.

The dramatic loss of marine wildlife recorded last year in the Western Baltic Sea between Denmark, Germany and Sweden is largely the result of extreme weather conditions and an increase in man-made nutrients, according to the findings of a report recently released by the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), to which the European Commission provided significant input. Last autumn, the two organisations joined forces to investigate exceptional oxygen depletion in the Western Baltic that had led to hundreds o

Plant life in the world’s oceans has become less productive since the early 1980s, absorbing less carbon, which may in turn impact the Earth’s carbon cycle, according to a study that combines NASA satellite data with NOAA surface observations of marine plants. Microscopic ocean plants called phytoplankton account for about half the transfer of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the environment into plant cells by photosynthesis. Land plants pull in the other half. In the atmosphere, CO2 is

Biological invasions have well-known direct effects on native ecosystems but may also unleash forces with complex, unexpected consequences. These ecological surprises may be especially common in simple systems, like islands, following introduction of ’megainvaders,’ like tramp ants.

In the September issue of Ecology Letters, O’Dowd, Green, and Lake show that impacts of invasion by the crazy ant Anoplolepis gracilipes ramify through the food web in rainforest on Christmas Isla

An analysis of pesticides that accumulate in Arctic waterways is giving scientists insight into the fate of such pollutants once they settle in polar regions.

The Arctic holds a telltale record of how humans have used chemicals globally during the past several decades. These cold corners of the earth act as a sink of sorts – chemicals used in industry and agriculture worldwide slowly migrate to and settle there – in sizeable quantities – in water, snow, ice, soil and vegetation.

Analysis of 11,000 mammal, amphibian and bird species shows major gaps in global coverage

At least 223 bird, 140 mammal and 346 amphibian species threatened with extinction currently have no protection whatsoever over any part of their ranges, according to the most comprehensive analysis of its kind of the world’s protected area system.

In addition, many existing protected areas are so small in size as to be virtually ineffective in conserving species, placing another 9