Earth Imbroglio

Global Warming Cycles Threaten Endangered Primate Specie

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:31:00 +0000

One of the first-ever analyses of the effects of global warming on endangered primates has examined how El Niño warming has affected the abundance of four highly threatened New World monkeys. This image shows the critically endangered northern muriqui, Brachtyeles hypoxanthus, at the RPPN Feliciano Miguel Abdala, MG, Brazil. All four monkey species showed drops in abundance relating to large-scale climate fluctuations. The study suggests that the consequences of intensified climate fluctuations could be devastating for several primate species

Two Penn State University researchers have carried out one of the first-ever analysis of the effects of global warming on endangered primates. This innovative work by Graduate Student Ruscena Wiederholt and Associate Professor of Biology Eric Post examined how El Niño warming affected the abundance of four New World monkeys over decades.

Wiederholt and Post decided to concentrate on the way the oscillating weather patterns directly and indirectly influence plants and animals in the tropics. Until the research by Wiederholt and Post, this intricate network of interacting factors had rarely been analyzed as a single system. "We know very little about how climate change and global warming are affecting primate species," explains Wiederholt. "Up to one third of primates species are threatened with extinction, so it is really crucial to understand how these changes in climate may be affecting their populations."

The research will be published on 28 October 2009 in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, a fast-track journal of the Royal Society of London.

The scientists focused on the large-bodied monkeys of South America, which are highly threatened. Choosing one species from each of the four genera of Atelines, Wiederholt and Post examined abundance trends and dynamics in populations of the muriqui (Brachyteles hypoxanthus, formerly B. arachnoides) of Brazil, the woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha) in Colombia, Geoffroy's spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), which was studied on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, and the red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus) in Venezuela.

For each species, long-term research projects carried out by other teams over decades have documented the abundance and feeding patterns of these primates. By studying the different species, Wiederholt and Post hoped to highlight the importance of the response to changing climate conditions of the trees that provide the dietary resources for the monkeys. All the species live in social groups and spend most of their time in the trees of tropical forests, using their limbs and prehensile tails to move around or to suspend themselves from branches. The monkeys differ in the proportions of fruit, flowers, and leaves in their diets. Woolly monkeys and spider monkeys predominantly eat fruit, howler monkeys specialize in leaf-eating, and muriquis also eat leaves but consume more fruit than howlers. "Long-term studies like those we derived data from are incredibly valuable for illuminating effects of global warming," Post said. "Unfortunately for endangered species, such studies also are incredibly rare. We hope our results bring attention to the importance of maintaining long-term monitoring efforts."

The team hypothesized that the trees' response to the warming events might provide a crucial link between changes in climate and monkey abundance. To test their hypothesis, Wiederholt and Post needed to compare information on the monkey populations with data on fluctuations in food resources such as leaves, seeds, and fruits. Then, using statistical models, they investigated how food and abundance information related to annual temperature and rainfall information.

Detailed ecological information was not available on each of the forests in which the target species live, so the team used information from Barro Colorado Island -- a lowland, moist, tropical forest where Geoffroy's spider monkey was studied -- as a general indicator of what happened over time in each of the habitats. From Barro Colorado, the scientists knew the number of tree species that were fruiting and flowering each month during the years between 1987 and 2004. They also looked at the annual values of flower and seed production for 44 specific tree species with seeds that are spread by mammals.

To examine these factors on a regional and local scale, Wiederholt and Post used information on mean annual temperature, rainfall, and the length of the wet and dry seasons for the years between 1960 and 1990 in Venezuela, Brazil, Barro Colorado Island, and Colombiaavailable. They obtained these data from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and from the Center for Climatic Research at the University of Delaware. "We expected to find a strong relationship between the large-scale climate and the population dynamics of these species," explains Wiederholt. "We also wanted to tease out which measures of vegetation-response to climatic conditions were most influential."

The scientists obtained large-scale climate data from the southern oscillation index (SOI), the El Niño-Southern Oscillation indices (ENSO3, 34, 4, and 12), and the Southern Hemisphere temperature-anomaly index, which are available from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean provided a rainfall anomaly index. The El Niño and La Niña phases of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO -- often called simply "El Niño") are the cycles of warm/dry and cool/wet periods in oceanic and atmospheric temperatures in the tropical Pacific region. These cycles often are associated with disruptive events in to central and northern South America, such as floods, droughts, or disturbances in fishing or agriculture.

The results of the team's analysis were spectacular. All four monkey species showed drops in abundance relating to large-scale climate fluctuations. Even though the monkey populations were separated by large distances, the three fruit-eating species had synchronous responses to large-scale warming. During El Niño warming events, trees produced more fruit than usual. Then, during the subsequent La Niña cooling events, the trees produced much less fruit, resulting in a local scarcity or even famine.

Some ecologists have speculated that high production of fruit during El Niño events may have been triggered by the increase in solar radiation, despite lower-than-usual rainfall. However, high productivity during an El Niño event might also use up the stored reserves of the trees, which would have difficulty recovering during the subsequent La Niña events, when weather was wet, cloudy, and cool. This mechanism would explain why the fruit-eating monkeys showed a delayed response to the El Niño events after a lag of one or two years.

Howler monkeys also showed declines with warm and dry El Niño events, but their population fall was out of sync with that of the fruit-eating species. The mechanism is not yet clear, but Wiederholt has some ideas. She notes, "Primate researchers have seen elevated adult female mortality and lowered birthrates among red howlers in drought years. Since leaf flush often occurs at the start of the wet season, a prolonged dry season might delay the availability of this resource for the howlers and perhaps cause them nutritional stress."

Warmer temperatures also may cause leaves -- the howlers' primary food -- to mature faster, which would accelerate the leaves' acquisition of toxins and other chemical defenses against monkeys. The factor that the scientists found was most influenced by changes in climate was the monthly maximum number of tree species that were fruiting. Climate changes also were highly correlated with the monthly maximum number of species that were flowering and with annual seed production. The length of the dry season also was highly correlated with annual flower production. Thus, vegetation responses to climatic conditions substantially altered the food resources available to primates, which in turn influenced the decline or rise in monkey abundance.

Global warming already has produced a rise of 0.74 degrees over the last century, and an additional increase of 1.8 to 4 degrees Celsius is anticipated over the next century. "El Niño events are expected to increase in frequency with global warming," explains Post. "This study suggests that the consequences of such intensification of ENSO could be devastating for several species of New World monkeys."

The researchers say that now, more than ever, quantitative studies that delineate the complex ecological links between climate, vegetation, and animal survival are urgently needed.

This study was funded by Penn State's Graduate Fellowship Program in a grant to Ruscena Wiederholt.

For More: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028090530.htm

Saving Energy Starts At Home!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:45:00 +0000

Each room or area of your household, including the outdoors, can contribute to making the process of saving energy an efficient one, with undeniable results.

Thus, the attic, for example, is an area which plays a huge role in the energy management of your home, which is why you have to constantly make sure the door of your attic is well insulated. Keep an eye also on the ventilation system, as it is highly recommended for this space of your house to receive good air ventilation.

Another area of the house which might be causing energy efficiency problems is the bathroom, due to the fact that here the humidity level is always higher. As a consequence, it is advisable to fix any leaky faucets promptly, as studies show that one single leak of one drop per second will in fact waste the huge amount of 250 gallons of water per month, as well as the energy used to heat it. Another tip on saving water is to install water saving shower heads. Obviously, the most efficient modalities of saving both water and energy are related to being self-conscious and taking shorter showers, turning off the water while shaving or brushing your teeth. Moreover, adjusting the water heater thermostat at a temperature below than 120 degrees F will contribute to both reducing the cost of energy spent on heating and to preventing scalding.

As far as the bedrooms go, and especially the ones for guests, it is recommended to turn off the air conditioning or the heating vents in the rooms you do not use. In addition, for these rooms ceiling fans seem to be the best and energy efficient manner for cooling.

All these smart and easy to put into practice energy saving techniques will eventually turn out to be real solutions for lowering the bills and contributing to keep under control the overall energy consumption.

Detailed information about energy saving, including tips on household savings and environmental issues, are available at http://www.energyshack.com/

Aging Glaciers are Looking Thin!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:58:00 +0000

The lands that have been cover by thick sheet of ice for millions of years have started to unwrap themselves with the help of Global Warming. The glaciers along the coastline of both Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have begun their thinning process at a rapid pace.

The above image actually shows the state of glaciers along the coastline. Whats interesting about this finding anyway? Well, this could turn out to be one of the important findings as it has paved way for providing more accurate measurements regarding future sea level rise.

Experts are surprised of this strong pattern of thinning glaciers across such large areas of coastline which some case extents up to hundreds of kilometers.They also came up with an important fact stating that the rate of ice loss in both Antarctica and Greenland is far less than that of the snowfall in their interior regions.

Peering Under The Ice Of Collapsing Polar Coast

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:36:00 +0000

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005123048.htm

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Fuming Forests !!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 02:41:00 +0000

Recently, there has been many occurrences of forest fires all around the world.
Scientists attribute this to the climatic change. A statistics states that the number of forest fires that occurred last year was almost equal to that of the recent decade. This stat has left a sense of panic among scientists.

Many say these forest fires has nothing to do with the current climate change. But the counter for this theory is that, due to the gradual change in the climate, the summers have become warmer than usual leaving the forest area to dry resulting in fires.
But usually tropical forest are less prone to fires but when they dry up the result of such disasters can be massive.

So what it is with forest fires? How will it affect humans? Well, scientists state that the carbon and the carbon-related gases that result due to the forest fires can adversely affect the quality of air leaving humans prone to respiratory disorders. Also there is no end to these forest fires and they are expected to get worse with time.

Forest which unfortunately turns out to be the home of number of rare species of flora and fauna is becoming fast depleting. Every year thousands of acres of forests become the victims of these furious fires resulting in the disappearance of shelter and hideouts for number of animals.

An interesting approach made by the Bush administration for these forest fires is to encourage the logging agencies to cut down more trees and to grow more fire resistant trees. I am not sure how that might help because it might initiate the danger of number of tree species becoming extinct.

Humans are what they are, Thanks to these life saving forests! But humans have a peculiar way of repaying gratitude to these kind forests such as logging, so on and so forth.

Is That Your Footprint???

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:11:00 +0000

Today i thought of sharing an interesting term i came across long time ago " the CARBON FOOTPRINT". Actually it is not any kind of left overs of carbon but it is our carbon footprint. It is believed that everyday each man in someway or the other contributes to the earths carbon content and this is called as his or her carbon footprint. Not only carbon but also other green house gases.

This is pretty interesting when we know what are the footprints that we leave behind. This includes our everyday usage of vehicles, LPG that we use for cooking, cooking oil, the refrigerator, air conditioner, lights etc. It is said that the food that we consume also in some way contributes to the carbon content of the earth.

Everyone can measure their carbon footprint by assessing their daily usage of the above mentioned. There is this very good site especially for calculating ones carbon footprint which allows you to assess your everyday carbon footprint.

There are number ways being suggested for one to reduce his or her carbon footprint. On such is to take public transport often. For example when one takes a bus to a certain point his individual carbon expense due to his/her vehicle is avoided. Also taking trains instead of flights as much as possible is yet another way to reduce your Carbon Footprint. By turning off a computer when not in use one can also reduce ones CF. These solution may seem silly but when implemented in masses can prove to be effective.

Earth Imbroglio

noreply@blogger.com (Shankar) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:15:00 +0000

Earth is in yet another era. This is not the beginning of something dramatic or fascinating rather it seems to the end to her fascination.
Earth as She is being betrayed by Her own major denizen as begun to lose her tolerance towards them and this she exposed in the form of recent catastrophic moments.
This blog is all about earth, the global warming as we call it, its threats, solutions,catastrophes and so on.