Climate change has reconfigured Arctic ecosystems. A 5-year project focuses on the relationships among oceanographic conditions and the animals and other life-forms in this region.
animals
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Understanding the Distribution of Juvenile Jumbo Squid
An expanding zone of shallow, oxygen-depleted water in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean may be vertically restricting the habitat of this important source of food, according to a recent study.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Bark Beetles Cause Big Tree Die-Offs, but Streams Flow Steadily
Recent beetle epidemics have driven tree die-offs across North America, and previous studies predicted an increase in annual streamflow would follow—but a new study shows this may not be the case.
Posted inNews
More Acidic Oceans Could Reduce Fertility for Algae Eaters
New research shows that increased levels of carbon dioxide in the oceans cause changes that alter key nutrients essential to the reproduction of animals low on the food web.
Posted inNews
Ancient Start of Animal Evolution Wasn't Delayed by Low Oxygen
New research finds that Earth had sufficient oxygen 1.4 billion years ago for animals to evolve. Therefore, low oxygen levels probably didn't hold back evolution, as scientists have long thought.
Posted inNews
Three–Dimensional Scans Illuminate Wildlife Environments
Detailed laser imaging of vegetation and landforms where animals live and roam offers revealing new perspectives on interactions between those creatures and their surroundings.
Posted inNews
Oil Dispersants Deadly to a Common Estuary Species
Research on two dispersants used to break up spilled oil suggests that the chemicals can kill or harm a widely–found shrimp important to estuary habitats. The toxicity increases in less salty water.
Posted inNews
Antarctic Sediment Plume Disrupts Deep-Water Community
Increased sedimentation from a melting glacier inhibits filter feeders in an Antarctic fjord.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Cooling Galápagos Sea Surface Temperatures Affect Local Penguins
The Galápagos cold pool is expanding northward as a result of climate change, and local penguin populations are rising.
Posted inNews
Ice Loss Benefits Adélie Penguins—For Now
New research that may presage effects of climate change on this species looks back 22,000 years, finding robust growth in the East Antarctic population as melting followed the last ice age.