Browsing Tag 'Agriculture'

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The United States “war on terrorism” mobilized the federal government to take action to prevent a recurrence of the events of 9/11/01. Ten years and just over a month later, efforts that span two presidential administrations have led to a country that is more secure against one of Earth’s most dangerous species: humans. Unfortunately, an [...]

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Bumble bee

Miniscule oil amounts, major biological ramifications for fish: Trace amounts of oil from a spill can have harmful and lasting biological effects, according to Andrew Whitehead, a biologist with the Louisiana State University (LSU). Whitehead, along with Fernando Galvez (also an LSU biologist), led a study examining the biological effects of low concentrations of oil [...]

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Bats emerging at dusk in Austin.  Credit: Nadine Lymn

This post contributed by Terence Houston, ESA Science Policy Analyst This week, the Ecological Society of America is holding its 96th Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas.  As over 3,000 ecologists participate in the meeting’s numerous scientific sessions, a highlight in Austin that most meeting attendees will make every effort to see are the city’s famous [...]

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This post contributed by Molly Taylor, ESA Science Writing Intern. Something is afoot in Romania’s province of Transylvania, and it has nothing to do with Twilight. In a paper published recently in Biological Conservation, researchers from Romania, Germany and the Netherlands spent nine years studying populations of various species of newts, frogs and toads in 54 ponds in the Saxon area of Southern Transylvania. Despite the conventional notion that human settlements and agricultural land use practices are associated with negative effects on amphibians and other wildlife, the scientists found that Romania’s traditional land use practices were “largely negligible” when it came to their impact on wildlife populations. In addition, “natural” landscapes investigated in the study, such as forests and wetlands, scored only marginally higher than the traditionally managed agricultural areas when it came to amphibian species richness.  However, Romania’s recent membership to the European Union will likely move Romania away from its traditional agricultural practices.  As a result, the authors urged Central and Eastern European countries that have recently joined the EU to avoid repeating the mistakes of the West; that is, they recommend leaving room for wildlife in their development plans. Farmers in the traditionally managed areas do not use chemicals or intensive machinery, practices that seem negatively  impact amphibian population health. This could be good news for conservation plans, as well as the 10 amphibian species in the surveyed ponds—including the Great Crested Newt and the Yellow Bellied Toad, both of which are protected in the EU—as it indicates that wildlife refuges are likely unnecessary within the current land use plan.  However, one factor that seemed to have a large impact on the health of amphibian populations was the proximity of roads—especially those with a high volume of traffic—to the ponds that serve as an important component of the amphibians’ habitat.  “Roads have a direct negative effect on many species of amphibians, which can get run over by cars,” explained Tibor Hartel from Babeş-Bolyai University in Romania in a press release. “But roads also have an indirect impact, for example by the destruction and isolation of the critical habitats for amphibians such as breeding, summering and overwintering habitats.” This is where the good news ends—at least for the amphibians and conservation biologists. On January 1, 2007, Romania became a member of the EU, a membership that, with its economic development, brings infrastructure expansion and more intensive land use. While some of Romania’s citizens likely consider the nation’s newfound status as an upper-middle-income country to be a positive step, to others, this development could potentially create a landscape that is a far cry from the traditional land use management that, in some locations, has been in place for centuries.  “For many [Central and Eastern European] regions,” explains the paper, “joining the EU will lead to more intensive land use and infrastructure expansion. And that in turn will result in the fragmentation of the landscape and the general deterioration of the remaining habitats.” So what is at stake? According to the authors of the study, the biological richness of Central and Eastern European countries, and the benefits that come with it, could be at risk. The researchers call for a balance between Romania’s interest in infrastructure development and agricultural revenue, and the beneficial environmental effects of low intensity land use. They emphasize the need for a conservation plan that includes maintaining some degree of traditional land management.  “This presents a challenge,” the authors assert, “that may be seen as much as an opportunity to not repeat mistakes from the past as to find new approaches in conservation biology.” Molly Taylor earned a B.A. in Anthropology and Chinese Language and Culture from the College of William & Mary. She has served as the California Regional Program Coordinator for Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, a program of the Jane Goodall Institute, and has interned with ABC news. She has also participated in archaeological and paleontological digs as well as a primatology study.

This post contributed by Molly Taylor, ESA Science Writing Intern. Something is afoot in Romania’s province of Transylvania, and it has nothing to do with Twilight. In a paper published recently in Biological Conservation, researchers from Romania, Germany and the Netherlands spent nine years studying populations of various species of newts, frogs and toads in [...]

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Policy News: February 25

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Science Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. APPROPRIATIONS: FY 2011 CR PASSES WITH STEEP CUTS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES On Feb. 19, the House passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) for the seven months remaining of the Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations. The [...]

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