Things related to the web of life; ecology; wildlife; endangered species
"Some researchers hold that evolution hasn’t much altered humans in the past 10,000 years. A new analysis of ancient DNA indicates that natural selection continued to shape hundreds of genes."
"Florida’s fragile Everglades are not on track to meet a new water quality standard set to take effect next month, even after nearly 40 years of costly restoration work aimed at addressing pollution in the river of grass, according to a new report."
"In a quiet stretch of western Massachusetts stands a sycamore so old it was around when the Constitution was signed. It’s awe-inspiring, with branches bigger than the entire trunks of most trees. ... In the eastern United States, that rare sense of awe was once supplied in bulk by the American chestnut."
"On a busy tourist strip in Orlando, behind noisy bars and souvenir shops, 21 sloths in crates reached the end of a grueling international trip. Soon, they would all be dead."
"The ocean’s fastest and most formidable predators might also be the most physiologically vulnerable to warming waters, researchers warn." "The evolutionary edge that fueled great white shark dominance for millions of years could soon become its greatest downfall."
"Environmental groups are suing the Trump administration over its decision to exempt oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from complying with the Endangered Species Act, a move they say threatens both the coastline region and the law designed to protect threatened plants and animals."
"Risks from cancer and other diseases could be hidden with little accountability if justices favor big firms, critics warn"
"CONGAREE NATIONAL PARK, S.C. — Rising possibly 175 feet above the floodplain, propped up by a trunk 15 feet around at its base, America’s tallest loblolly pine dwarfed the veteran state biologist standing beneath it."
"Researchers find increase in whale deaths in the bay, largely because of collisions with vessels on busy shipping route"
"Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee’s committee consulted with the Trump administration the day before Lee introduced his wildly unpopular bill to force a sell-off of up to 3.2 million acres of federal public lands across the West, Public Domain has learned."
