Briefly 291 INTERNATIONAL
Antarctica records hottest ever temperature at over 18 degrees.. . Global warming is to blame for Argentine Antarctica recording its hottest day since readings began, Greenpeace has said. Tem- peratures climbed to 18.3 °C at midday on 7 February 2020 at the research station Esperanza base, the highest temperature on record since 1961, according to the Na- tional Meteorological Service. The previ- ous record stood at 17.5 °C on 24 March 2015. The news comes after a decade of re- cord temperatures on the planet, with 2019 being the second hottest year since registers have been kept. The new decade has begun along the same tendency, with January 2020 being the hottest January on record. The ef- fects of global warming have already seen ocean levels rise as a result of melting ice caps. The two largest ice caps on the planet, in Antarctica and Greenland, have already lost an average of a combined 430 billion tons per year since 2006. According to UN climate experts, the ocean level rose 15 cm during the 20th century. Source:
TheJournal.ie (2020) thejournal. ie/antarctica-temperature-4997707-Feb2020
.. . alarm over collapse of chinstrap penguin numbers... On a Greenpeace expedition to Antarctica, researchers found that the chinstrap pen- guin population has plummeted by nearly 60% since it was last counted in 1971. The team used drone technology and individu- ally hand counted the penguins to achieve an accurate population count on Elephant Island, off the coast of Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. Researchers found the total numbers of breeding pairs to be 52,786, which is nearly 60% less than the 122,550 pairs counted in 1971. The species is categorized as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, but these results suggest an alarming drop in the numbers of chin- strap penguins that inhabit the island. The rocky, snowy terrain of the island that pro- vides a nesting place for the penguins is characterized by steep slopes, making the area difficult to access. This is one reason why the penguins have been little studied for the past 50 years. The shrinking of sea ice and the warming of oceans are amongst the causes of the penguins’ decline, together with a drop in krill populations, which the penguins depend on for food. Source: The Statesman (2020) sbstatesman. com/2020/02/16/stony-brook-researchers- find-chinstrap-penguin-population- plunged-nearly-60
.. . and ozone-depleting gases may have driven extreme Arctic warming Gases that deplete the ozone layer could be responsible for up to half of the effects of climate change observed in the Arctic dur- ing 1955–2005. This could help to explain the disproportionate toll of climate change on the region, which has long puzzled scientists. The Arctic is warming at more than twice the mean rate of the rest of the globe—a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification—and it is losing sea ice at a staggering pace. Ozone-depleting sub- stances, which include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), are known to warm the atmosphere thousands of times more efficiently than carbon dioxide. The researchers compared climate simulations both with and without the mass emission of CFCs that began in the 1950s. Without CFCs, the simulations showed an average Arctic warming of 0.82 °C, compared to 1.59 °C when ozone-depleting compoundswere factored in. The researchers saw similarly dramatic changes in sea-ice co- verage between the two model simulations. Source: Nature (2020)
nature.com/ articles/d41586-020-00108-2
Bumblebee decline points to mass extinction Bumblebees are in drastic decline across Europe and North America as a result of higher and more frequently extreme tem- peratures, scientists say. A study suggests the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in any given place has declined by 30% over the course of a single human generation. The researchers found that populations were disappearing in areas where the temperatures had risen, and the rates of decline appear to be consistent with a mass extinction. If declines continue at this pace, many of these species could vanish forever within a few decades. The team used data collected over a 115-year per- iod on 66 bumblebee species across North America and Europe to develop a model simulating climate chaos scenarios. They were able to see how bumblebee popula- tions had changed over the years by com- paring where the insects were now to where they used to be. Bumblebees play a key role in pollinating crops such as toma- toes, squash and berries. The researchers say their methods could be used to predict extinction risk and identify areas where con- servation actions are needed. Sources: Science (2020)
doi.org/10.1126/ science.aax8591 & The Guardian (2020) the
guardian.com/environment/2020/ feb/06/bumblebees-decline-points-to- mass-extinction-study
Oryx, 2020, 54(3), 290–295 © 2020 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605320000137
New world map of fish genetic diversity In a population of animals or plants, genetic diversity can decline much more quickly than species diversity in response to various stress factors such as disease, changes to habitat or climate. However, not much is known about fish genetic di- versity around the world. Researchers have now analysed a database that contained the data of over 50,000 DNA sequences representing 3,815 species of marine fish and 1,611 species of freshwater fish. The analysis showed that genetic diversity is unevenly distributed amongst marine and freshwater fish. The greatest genetic diver- sity was found among marine fish in the western Pacific Ocean, the northern In- dian Ocean and the Caribbean. In fresh- water fish, genetic diversity was greatest in South America, but comparatively low in Europe. The study contributes to efforts to improve conservation of genetic diver- sity, and in turn biodiversity. The map of genetic diversity makes it easier to detect diversity hotspots and to plan appropriate protective actions. Sources: Nature Communications
doi.org/10. 1038/s41467-020-14409-7 (2020)& Science Daily (2020)
sciencedaily.com/releases/ 2020/02/
200210104110.htm
Marine parks need to move with the animals they are protecting Scientists want provisions for mobile marine protected areas, which can shift boundaries or restrictions depending on the movement of aquatic organisms, to be included in the upcoming revamp of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The convention has not been up- dated since it was implemented in
1982.In meetings on the treaty update, negotiators are still describing marine protected areas as having fixed boundaries. This could be problematic and many marine conservation experts think UN officials are failing to pre- pare for a less predictable future climate by maintaining this traditional view of marine protection. A new study proposes a solu- tion: mobile marine protected areas. With dynamic management, protected areas could shift rapidly to reflect the movement of sensitive species or habitats. The ideal outcome for the researchers would be for the UN to adopt a guiding role in imple- menting these mobile protected areas, and rely on scientists’ input when reviewing them. Sources: Science (2020)
doi.org/10.1126/sci ence.aaz9327 & Popular Science (2020) pop
sci.com/story/environment/mobile- ocean-parks-protect-species
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