Coral decline - ecosytems in decline

Coral growth in Australia's Great Barrier Reef has slowed to its most sluggish rate in the past 400 years. The decline endangers the species the reef supports, say researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. They studied massive porites corals, which are several hundred years old, and found that calcification has declined by 13.3% since 1990. Global warming and the increasing acidity of seawater are to blame, they write in Science journal. Read the full story here. Miss M.

Deforestation

Plans to use a state-of-the-art camera onboard a satellite to monitor deforestation levels in Africa's Congo Basin have been unveiled. The high resolution RALCam3 camera, designed and built by UK scientists, will provide the first detailed view of the area's rate of forest cover loss. The project is part of the Congo Basin Forest Fund, a £108m joint-initiative by the UK and Norwegian governments. The fund aims to curb climate change by preventing deforestation in the region. Read the full story here.. Miss M.

Elephant cull.

Interesting story today about Dr Leakey backing the cull of elephants. He is famous for his work in South Africa, protecting the elephants and is mentioned on the Planet Earth video Year 13s have been watching this week. Interesting to now see him backing this idea. Miss M.

How do humans influence nature video...

Have a look at the video on the main page - links to all the work we will be doing on ecosytems - the influence that humans have on nature is often underrated - this really shows the power that humans can have...scary stuff. Miss M.