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Salt Marshes And Climate Change | Earth Wise

May 5, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that are flooded and drained by salt water brought in and out by the tides. These low-lying wetlands are also sometimes called tidal marshes because they occur in the zone between low and high tides. These wetlands are some of the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth.

Cape Cod’s beautiful salt marshes are as important as they are iconic. They act as carbon sinks, protect coastal development from storm surge, play an outsized role in nitrogen cycling, and provide critical habitats for many fish, shellfish, and coastal birds.

According to scientists from the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, more than 90% of salt marshes around the world are likely to be underwater by the end of the century.

Since 1971, scientists from the Marine Biological Laboratory have mapped vegetative cover in Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Massachusetts, to examine whether increased nitrogen in the environment would impact species of marsh grass. Because of the length of the study, the researchers were also able to investigate the impacts of climate change on the ecosystem, especially those driven by accelerating sea level rise.

The research team found that increased nitrogen favored higher levels of vegetation and accretion of the marsh surface. However, the researchers found that salt marshes will not be able to outpace the submergence from global sea level rise – no matter how much nitrogen is applied.

Sea level rise is the biggest threat to salt marshes around the world. Mitigating some of these projected losses is critical in order for salt marshes to continue to provide their important ecosystem services for people and the planet.

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Most of the World’s Salt Marshes Could Succumb to Sea Level Rise by Turn of Century

Photo, posted September 27, 2011, courtesy of Chris M Morris via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Koalas Are Endangered | Earth Wise

March 22, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The koala is one of the world’s most iconic animal species and is widely considered to be the symbol of Australia. Koalas are not bears; they are marsupials.

Being iconic symbols is not sufficient to prevent koalas from going extinct. In the 1920s, hundreds of thousands of koalas were shot for the fur trade, greatly reducing their population.

More recently, drought, bush fires, disease, and habitat loss have drastically reduced the numbers of koalas. Since 2018, there has been a 30% decline in koala populations across Australia. It is difficult to get an accurate count of the animals because they don’t move around much, and they live high up in tree canopies where they are hard to spot.

Estimates are that the koala population has dropped from between 45,000-82,000 in 2018 to between 32,000-58,000 in 2021. The koala is now extinct in 47 Australian electorates and in many others, there are only handfuls of animals remaining. The population decline was accelerated by devastating wildfires in late 2019 into early 2020. Some estimates are that koalas could be extinct by 2050. Conservation organizations around the world have been demanding greater protection for koalas for years.

Given this dire situation, the Australian government recently declared the koala an endangered species, reclassifying it from being a vulnerable species. The government plans to adopt a recovery plan that will include new laws protecting koalas and their natural woodland environments. The details of the plan remain to revealed.

According to the Australian Koala Foundation, however, the new status of the koala means very little in and of itself. If the clearing of the koala habitat continues, the species has little chance of surviving in the wild.

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‘In rapid decline’: Australia has lost 30% of its koalas in just 3 years, foundation says

Australia Declares Koalas an Endangered Species

Photo, posted September 18, 2019, courtesy of Guido Konrad via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

What Does Conservation Really Mean? | Earth Wise

June 2, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There is a great deal of interest in protecting nature and, in many cases, restoring aspects of nature that have been lost. But what do these things really mean?

What is most important? Protecting iconic species? Strengthening nature’s resilience? Several recent scientific papers address these questions and come up with rather different answers.

It isn’t even clear what constitutes a pristine ecosystem. According to some experts, ecosystems that have lost most of their large mammal species, for example, cannot be considered intact. By that standard, only a tiny fraction of the world’s ecosystems remains intact.

Other experts contend that preserving individual species is not what really matters. Studies have shown that many ecosystems have undergone and continue to undergo massive species shifts over time with frequent extinctions along the way. Nevertheless, the ecosystems continue to flourish with new species replacing others to perform the various functions required.

Some perspectives consider intact ecosystems to be those devoid of human influence. But that notion is not universally held. There is the idea that most of the world’s ecosystems were essentially untouched until perhaps 500 years ago when European exploration expanded greatly. But the reality is that even 12,000 years ago, nearly three-quarters of terrestrial nature was inhabited, used, and shaped by people. However, those human interactions were similar to how many indigenous and local peoples across the globe still live, not like the interactions of modern civilization that result in massive changes to ecosystems.

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Species or Ecosystems: How Best to Restore the Natural World?

Photo, posted November 21, 2003, courtesy of Megan Coughlin via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

What’s Killing Orcas? | Earth Wise

January 18, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

With their characteristic tall dorsal fins and black and white color patterns, orcas are one of the ocean’s most iconic species. Measuring up to 32 feet long and weighing as much as 6 tons, orcas have one of the largest geographic distributions of any species. They live in all latitudes, in all oceans, from the Arctic to Antarctica.

While they are often referred to as killer whales, orcas are actually not whales at all. Orcas are the largest dolphin species and one of the most powerful predators on the planet.

But human interference has made life significantly more difficult for orcas in recent years. According to pathology reports on more than 50 orcas stranded over nearly a decade in the northeast Pacific and around Hawaii, the predators face a myriad of mortal threats. Many of those threats stem from human interactions.

Researchers from the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture analyzed these orca pathology reports in a new study, which was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE,. Of 52 orcas stranded between 2004 and 2013, causes of death were determined for 42%. For example, one orca died after receiving a halibut hook injury. Two orcas died from the blunt force trauma of vessel strikes. While there was no singular common cause of death, the study found a common theme: human-caused deaths occurred in every age class – from juveniles to adults.

The researchers also note that humans aren’t just indirectly hurting orcas with things like lack of salmon or legacy toxins. Humans are also directly killing killer whales with boat strikes and fishing gear.

These findings will help establish a baseline of information to assess future orca conservation efforts.

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What’s killing killer whales?

Photo, posted July 5, 2009, courtesy of Rennett Stowe via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Climate Change and Komodo Dragons | Earth Wise

October 12, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The Komodo dragon is the world’s largest and most iconic lizard. Growing up to 10 feet long and weighing up to 360 pounds, Komodo dragons are endemic to five islands in southeast Indonesia, four of which are part of Komodo National Park, as well as a fifth that has three nature reserves. Komodo dragons have existed on earth for at least four million years, and it’s estimated that 4,000 of them survive in the wild today.

But according to a new study by researchers from the University of Adelaide and Deakin University in Australia, Komodo dragons could soon be driven to extinction. The research team found that the impacts of both global warming and sea level rise are likely to cause a sharp decline in available habitat for Komodo dragons. Current conservation strategies are not enough to avoid climate-driven Komodo dragon population declines.

The study, which was recently published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, involved close collaboration with Komodo National Park and the Eastern Lesser Sunda Central Bureau for Conservation of Natural Resources.

Climate-change-informed decisions should be a common part of conservation practice. According to the research team’s conservation model, Komodo dragons on two of the five Indonesian islands are less vulnerable to climate change. But those two islands might not be enough for the survival of the species. Conservation managers may need to translocate Komodo dragons in the future – to sites where these animals have not been found for decades – in order to protect the species from extinction.

Without taking immediate action to mitigate climate change, the research team says many range-restricted species like Komodo dragons are at risk of extinction.

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Climate change threatens Komodo dragons

Photo, posted August 6, 2016, courtesy of Tony Alter via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Keep Track Of Your LEGOs | Earth Wise

April 9, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Plastics in the ocean are a global problem that has attracted a great deal of attention. Most of the concern surrounds grocery bags, bottles, six-pack rings, and similar items. Recent research looked at another source of plastic pollution: LEGOs.

According to environmental scientists at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom, it can take more than a thousand years for LEGO bricks to break down in the ocean. The iconic toys are made from a strong plastic called acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or ABS. Pieces of LEGOs are commonly found in ocean trash hotspots and wash up on shores across the globe by the thousands.

LEGOs are one of the most popular children’s toys in history and part of what makes them so popular is their durability. Barefooted parents stepping on one on the floor in a dark room can attest to that fact. But the full extent of their durability came as a surprise to the researchers.

The scientists analyzed pieces of weathered LEGOs collected from beaches, confirmed their age, and compared them to unweathered LEGOs from the 70’s and 80’s. They were able to determine the extent to which LEGOs had been worn down by ocean waves, sand, and salt over time. And it was surprisingly little.

LEGO has acknowledged the environmental impact of its products and has launched a goal to make its bricks from more sustainable sources such as sugarcane-based polyethylene by 2030, as well as improve its efforts to recycle and reuse old LEGO plastic.

Meanwhile, we should all we careful of where our old LEGOs end up.

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LEGO Bricks Could Linger in the Ocean for 1,300 Years, Study Finds

Photo, posted August 24, 2015, courtesy of Juan Luis via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Trading Rhino Horn And Tiger Bone

November 21, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Historically, rhino horn and tiger bone were used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat various illnesses, despite the lack of any evidence of their effectiveness. In fact, rhino horn is simply keratin, a protein that is found in human fingernails and hair. Rhino horn is used to treat everything from cancer to gout in traditional Chinese medicine. Similarly, a paste made from crushed tiger bone is thought to treat a variety of ailments, including rheumatism and back pain.

Changing National Parks

January 12, 2017 By EarthWise

America’s National Parks are special places of incomparable beauty and fascination. When the National Park Service was first created 100 years ago, it was instructed to leave these places “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” We now live in a time when the changing climate is altering many aspects of the landscape including in many national parks. The parks are protected, but they are changing.