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Ecosystem News Stories
Current Ecosystem News Events, Discoveries and Articles

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Seagrasses Can Store as Much Carbon as Forests
Seagrasses are a vital part of the solution to climate change and, per unit area, seagrass meadows can store up to twice as much carbon as the world's temperate and tropical forests. (2012-05-24)

For monogamous sparrows, it doesn't pay to stray (but they do it anyway)
It's quite common for a female song sparrow to stray from her breeding partner and mate with the male next door, but a new study shows that sleeping around can be costly. (2012-05-23)

Ancient giant turtle fossil revealed
Picture a turtle the size of a Smart car, with a shell large enough to double as a kiddie pool. Paleontologists from North Carolina State University have found just such a specimen - the fossilized remains of a 60-million-year-old South American giant that lived in what is now Colombia. (2012-05-18)

Southern pine beetle impacts on forest ecosystems
Research by USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) scientists shows that the impacts of recent outbreaks of southern pine beetle further degraded shortleaf pine-hardwood forest ecosystems in the southern Appalachian region. (2012-05-18)

UF researchers name new extinct giant turtle found near world's largest snake
University of Florida researchers have described a new extinct giant turtle species from the same Colombian mine where they discovered Titanoboa - and one of the only animals the world's largest snake could not have eaten. (2012-05-18)

USF study: Common fungicide wreaks havoc on freshwater ecosystems
Chlorothalonil, one of the world's most common fungicides used pervasively on food crops and golf courses, was lethal to a wide variety of freshwater organisms in a new study, University of South Florida researchers said Wednesday. (2012-05-17)

The absence of elephants and rhinoceroses reduces biodiversity in tropical forests
The progressive disappearance of seed-dispersing animals like elephants and rhinoceroses puts the structural integrity and biodiversity of the tropical forest of South-East Asia at risk. (2012-05-14)

Biodiversity loss ranks with climate change and pollution in terms of impacts to environment
A recent study published by an international research team working at UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) has found that loss of biodiversity impacts the environment as significantly as climate change and pollution. (2012-05-10)

Weed-eating fish 'help protect jobs, livelihoods'
Jobs, livelihoods and ecotourism industries can benefit from having a diverse supply of weed-eating fish on the world's coral reefs, marine researchers say. (2012-05-09)

Plant Diversity Is Key to Maintaining Productive Vegetation
Vegetation, such as a patch of prairie or a forest stand, is more productive in the long run when more plant species are present, results of a new study show. (2012-05-07)