North America nature
Articles in ‘North America nature’
September 21st, 2009
Over the last four years, some 500 kilometres of wetlands around New Orleans have been lost to the sea, leading some biologists to call these wetlands “the fastest disappearing land mass on the planet”. Much of the area has been lost due to hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
More here
North America nature, United States nature | Tags: Environmental effects of New Orleans, New Orleans wetlands|
September 17th, 2009
Polar bears are coming into increasingly conflict with humans as melting ice is pushing them to search for food on land. “Hungry bears don’t just lie down – they go looking for an alternate food source,” says zoologist Ian Stirling at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. “In many cases this brings them into human settlements and hunting camps.” The team found that the number of bears reported as attacking humans, homes and hunting camps in Churchill on the shores of Hudson more than tripled between 1970 and 2005, from 20 to 90 per year, despite a 20% fall in the bear’s population since 1980. The researchers note that shorter the sea ice season, the greater the reports of problem bear activity.
New Scientist
I’m sure this is true, but I wonder if humans are also occupying more and more territory and so increasing the amount of potential contact…
Canada nature, Climate change, North America nature | Tags: Polar and climate change, Polar bears, Polar bears in Canada, Polar bears in Churchill|
September 11th, 2009
Worrying news from Canada’s West coast. Grizzily bears seem to be disappearing probably starving to death because of the massive drop in salmon numbers this year. We may be witnessing the collapse of an entire and until recently pristine ecosysem.
Treehugger
The Globe and Mail writes: “Reports from conservationists, salmon-stream walkers and ecotourism guides all along British Columbia’s wild central coast indicate a collapse of salmon runs has triggered widespread death from starvation of black and grizzly bears. Those guides are on the front lines of what they say is an unfolding ecological disaster that is so new that it has not been documented by biologists.”
Canada nature, North America nature | Tags: British Columbia bears, Grizzily bears in Canada|
September 1st, 2009
Nature holidays, North America nature, Wildlife holidays in the USA | Tags: Amtrak holidays, Birding by Amtrak, Birding by train, Birding holidays by train, Birding tours by train, Birding trips in New York, Birdwatching holidays by train, Birdwatching tours by train, Birwatching by train, Low-carbon holidays in the USA, Wildwatching by train|
August 27th, 2009
The axolotl is a bit of an amphibian oddball. It uniquely spends its whole life in its larval form. Now, a new survey suggests that between 700 and 1,200 survive in six reduced and scattered areas within the Xochimilco area of the Mexican Central Valley, making its long term survival critical. Recent evidence suggests that the population has declined alarmingly in recent decades. For example, in 1998 there were thought to be around 6,000 axolotls per square kilometre of the Xochimilco. By 2004 just 1,000 lived in the equivalent area, and by 2008 around 100 animals survived per square kilometre: a 60-fold reduction in ten years. Water quality is one of the main factors driving the axolotl to extinction in the wild. Other factors include introduced carp and disease.
BBC
Mexico nature, North America nature | Tags: Amphibians of Mexico, How many axolotls are left in the wild?, Xochimilco, Xochimilco wildlife|
August 23rd, 2009
North America nature, United States nature | Tags: Alaska wildlife, Alaskan bears, Bear viewing at Brooks Falls, Bear watching at Brooks Falls, Bears on Brooks River, Katmai National Park, Nature tourism in Alaska, sockeye salmon, Watching bears eating salmon, Wildlife trips in Alaska|
July 29th, 2009
Scientists expect wildfires in the US to increase in number as global warming kicks in in the coming decades. And because smoke and other particles from fires adversely affect air quality, an increase in wildfires could have large impacts on human health. Eureka
Climate change, North America nature, United States nature | Tags: Wildfires in the US|
July 26th, 2009
A report recently released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2009 claims that a remarkable one in every five Americans watches birds, and that birdwatching contributed $36 billion to the U.S. economy in 2006.
The original report (
pdf here) says that birdwatching was worth 82 bilion dollars accounted for 671,000 jobs and reaped in 11 billlion dollars in tax revenue. The first five US states with greatest birding participation rates were Montana (40 percent), Maine (39 percent), Vermont (38 percent), Minnesota (33 percent) and Iowa (33 percent). The study states that the average birder is 50 years old and likely to be female, with a better than average education and income. California is near the bottom of the list at 15%, a percentage greater than only four other states (New Jersey, Texas and North Dakota at 14% and Hawaii at 10%).
Picked up on
Wildlife Extra.
North America nature, United States nature | Tags: Birdwatching in the US, Contribution of birdwatching to the US economy|
July 23rd, 2009
The
American Pika (
Ochotona princeps), a small relative of the rabbit, may become seriusly endangered because of global warming as rising eliminate Pikas from their alpine habitat. The US government may decide to afford them endangered status.
Eco Worldly
A worrying number of populations of Pikas have already disappeared. They are now believed to be extinct in some areas of the Great Basin mountains of Nevada and Oregon,
where more than a third of the American Pika population has been wiped out.
A 2003 study showed that 9 out of 25 sampled populations of American Pika had disappeared, causing biologists to conclude that the species is reaching extinction. Because they live in Alpine mountain regions, they are very sensitive to high temperatures, and are considered to be one of the best early warning systems for detecting global warming in the western United States. Because their regular habitat’s temperature rises, the American Pikas move higher up the mountain.
Pikas can die within an hour if the outside temperature reaches above 23°C (75°F).
Wikipedia (
Climate change, North America nature, United States nature | Tags: American Pika, American pika extinction, American Pika habitat, Animals at risk from climate change, Climate change and wildlife, Ochotona princeps, Pikas in Nevada, Wildlife at risk from global warming|