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[Open Left - Front Page] Open Left:: USGS Report: "Thresholds of Climate Change in Ecosystems": The U.S. Geological Survey led a new assessment of the implications of a warming world on "ecological thresholds" in North America. The report, which was commissioned by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and authored by a team of federal and academic climate scientists, is based on a synthesis of published scientific literature and addresses what research and steps are needed to help mitigate resulting effects.

[Random graphic of the day: UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library] Benefits of marine and coastal ecosystems to human wellbeing ...: Chew, 2001).- Although marine products such as seafood, sand and oil have been valued for decades, it is only recently that we have begun to appreciate the oceans’ vital services in maintaining ecological diversity and regulating climate.- A recent calculation, based on more than 100 studies over the past two decades, suggests that ocean services are worth US$23 trillion a year - only slightly less than the world’s total GNP.- It is estimated that the seas and oceans supply two-thirds of the value of all the natural services provided by our natural environment (GESAMP, 2001a).- Damage caused by the introduction of non-indigenous organisms to coastal and marine environments totals hundreds of millions of US dollars (GESAMP, 2001b).

[Advocacy For Animals] Japan’s Invasive Alien Species Act: Toward Protecting Ecosystems ...: Currently, the number of foreign invasive alien species that have been brought into Japan, propagated naturally, and “settled” there, include 28 species of mammals, 39 species of birds, 13 species of reptiles, 3 species of amphibians, 44 species of fish, 415 species of insects, 39 species of arthropods other than insects, 57 species of mollusks, plus 13 other species of invertebrates, 1,548 species of Tracheophytina, 3 plant species other than Tracheophytina, and 30 species of parasites, for a total of 2,232 species. These figures are cited in the Handbook of Alien Species in Japan [in Japanese], edited by Okimasa Murakami and Izumi Washitani, and published by Chijin Shokan in 2002.

[Newly Published Articles - Encyclopedia of Earth] Ecosystems and Human Well-Being~ Volume 1~ Current State and ...: The World Wild Fund for Nature is conducting an inventory of all vertebrates and plants in each of the world’s 867 terrestrial ecoregions (defined by WWF as relatively large units of land or water containing a distinct assemblage of natural communities and species, with boundaries that approximate the original extent of natural communities prior to major land use change).

[EcoEarth.Info Environment RSS Newsfeed] United States: Can wolves restore an ecosystem?: Where elk browsing is lighter and the animals are regularly hunted -- a stretch of the lower Quinault River outside the park -- he and Ripple estimate thousands of cottonwoods have taken root in the decades since wolves were killed off. And the fact that cottonwoods are thriving on the lower Quinault indicates that changing climate can't explain the drop in tree survival inside the park.

[Water Conserve: Water Conservation RSS Newsfeed] United States: Can wolves restore an ecosystem?: Starting in Yellowstone more than a decade ago, Beschta and Ripple have documented these trickle-down effects in landscapes across the West. In Zion National Park, they linked the absence of cougars to an upswing of mule deer and a crash in cottonwoods, followed by stream-bank erosion and declines in butterflies, frogs and native fish.

[Ralph Maughan's Wildlife News] Can Wolves Restore An Ecosystem? « Ralph Maughan’s Wildlife News: When talking to one person who lived there the subject of wolves came up and they said that they had taken a photo of a wolf there in recent years but I kind of find that doubtful. No real source population for them to come from and I highly doubt that a population would persist without being noticed.

[USGS Newsroom] USGS Release: Climate Change Workshop To Feature Leading ...: Wildlife Responses to Climate Change (Terrestrial) and Management Challenges: Changes have occurred in wild animals and plants in the past century with ~0.8oC of warming around the globe and what might the future ecological consequences be for wild species as the globe continues to warm rapidly. The work demonstrates that with only 0.8OC of warming over the last 30-45 years species around the globe are already changing dramatically: ranges moving poleward and up in elevation, events are happening earlier in the spring and later in the fall, and extinctions are beginning to occur.

[The Geology News Blog] The Geology News Blog · Slight Changes in Climate May Trigger ...: The report also concludes that although not enough is known about ecological thresholds, researchers do already know that ecosystems will differ significantly in their respective thresholds. More vulnerable ecosystems, such as those that already face stressors other than climate change, will almost certainly reach their threshold for abrupt change sooner. 

[hughstimson.org] hughstimson.org » Blog Archive » Insightful Analysis: Naeem et al ...: Small and well-mixed box and jar experiments seem more likely to behave according to simpler classical equation-based ecology. Larger experiments which allow for predator-prey disruption and locality of form and function can disrupt those simple relationships and introduce non-linearity and randomness, which may need to be represented for an experiment to analogous to actual ecosystems.

[Dom's Plan B Blog] Fighting the Correct Battle « Dom’s Plan B Blog: Much of this work has been to prepare the long-range transportation and land use plans for Gainesville, which has sharpened my understanding of the underlying factors threatening our ecosystems and quality of life.

[Cool Green Science] Cool Green Science » Can Nature’s Value Alone Save Nature?: Glad to see ecosystem services is being discussed with a more critical eye. In the mid-to-late ’90’s in the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office (a commission in the Governor’s Office), we used the term in the context of post-oil spill natural resource damage assessments, but the services term was not only used to refer to a monetary advantage to mankind.

[PD Opinion - cleveland.com] Protecting our most valuable joint asset Earth - PD Opinion ...: The Obama administration can bring these issues into the mainstream during this critical time of reorienting our national priorities. Obama and his team should fully integrate and fund ecosystem conservation priorities within national security considerations and U.S. foreign policy and development assistance.

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