November 19, 2009

Alternative to fishmeal needed

Enric Sala, U. Rashid Sumaila

Thirty million tons of fish caught annually worldwide are made into meal to feed to farm animals and farmed fish, according to a study co-authored by Enric Sala (2005), Rashid Sumaila (2009), and their colleagues. Finding an alternative would significantly reduce pressure on the world's fisheries, the authors say.

November 17, 2009

Self-cooling mechanism discovered in starfish

Brian Helmuth

By storing large amounts of cold water in their systems, ochre sea stars, a Pacific North American species, can survive in the sun during low tide, according to new findings by Brian Helmuth (2005) and his post doc, Sylvain Pincebourde. However, as climate change increases water temperatures, this thermoregulatory mechanism may stop working, the researchers warn.

November 13, 2009

A plea for compromise in the agricultural debate

Jonathan Foley

In the debate over industrial agriculture, Jonathan Foley (2000) argues in the New York Times for a hybrid solution to feed a growing population while conserving resources. Through means such as precision agriculture, drip irrigation, and new crop varieties, this solution is not only possible but also necessary, says Foley.

November 4, 2009

Probing the ecosystem history of an Antarctic lake

Peter Doran

Antarctica's Lake Vida, a body of brine always covered by at least sixty feet of ice, contains some of the world's oldest organisms. Peter Doran (2008) is co-leading the first drilling through the lake's ice cap to collect about ten feet of core samples to study the present ecosystem and its past history.

October 27, 2009

Examining health risks in a warmer climate

Jonathan Patz

As precipitation increases with global warming, excess runoff can bring viruses and bacteria into waterways and make people sick. With a $900,000 grant from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Jonathan Patz (2005) is co-leading a study about how floods affect health.

October 20, 2009

New standards for sustainable shellfish farming

Sandra Shumway

Standards for making shellfish farming sustainable have been released by the Bivalve Aquaculture Dialogue of the World Wildlife Fund. Shellfish producers, scientists, and conservationists are among the stakeholders who took part.