Top Predator Feeding On Top Predator: After Eliminating Deer On Alaska Island, Wolves Now Stalking, Eating Sea Otters
January 26th, 2023
Wolves on an Alaskan island caused a deer population to plummet and switched to primarily eating sea otters in just a few years, a finding scientists at Oregon State University and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game believe is the first case of sea otters becoming the primary food source for a land-based predator.
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USGS Says Drought, Pesticides Have Reduced Western Bumble Bee By 57 percent, Could Rise To 97 Percent In Some Regions
January 26th, 2023
The western bumble bee was once common in western North America, but increasing temperatures, drought, and pesticide use have contributed to a 57% decline in the occurrence of this species in its historical range, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey-led study.
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With Spring Heatwaves, Rapid Melt, April 1 May No Longer Be Reliable Benchmark For Evaluating Snowpack Levels, Western Water Supplies
January 26th, 2023
Snow-capped mountains aren’t just scenic – they also provide natural water storage by creating reservoirs of frozen water that slowly melt into watersheds throughout the spring and summer months. Much of the Western U.S. relies on this process to renew and sustain freshwater supplies, and new research underscores the impacts of extreme weather conditions on this annual cycle.
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Research Shows Microplastics Increase Severity of IHNV, Virulent Pathogen In Salmonid Aquaculture
January 26th, 2023
Microplastics—tiny particles generated as plastics weather and fragment—pose a growing threat to ecosystem and human health. A new laboratory study shows these threats extend beyond direct physical or chemical impacts, revealing that the presence of microplastics increases the severity of an important viral fish disease.
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How Much Are Sea Lions, Seals Contributing To Salmon Decline In Washington Waters? Will Require Targeted Lethal Removal To Find Out
January 20th, 2023
There is a “preponderance” of evidence that sea lions and seals (pinnipeds) in Washington’s Salish Sea and outer coast have contributed to the decline of salmon and steelhead in state waters, concludes a recent report by the Washington State Academy of Sciences.
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PNNL Research: Water Resources Managers Need To Take Heed Of Western Winter Storms Getting Larger, Wetter
January 20th, 2023
New research shows that the wettest and most extreme winter storms in the Western United States are only growing wetter and larger. These powerful storms are changing shape in a warmer world, sprawling to drench more land while simultaneously growing more intense at their cores.
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Harvard Study Puts A Number On What Exxon Knew Decades Ago About Climate Science
January 20th, 2023
Climate projections reported by ExxonMobil scientists between 1977 and 2003 were accurate and skillful in predicting subsequent global warming and contradicted the company’s public claims, a new Harvard study shows.
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PNW Study: Landslides Size, Frequency Influenced By Road Building, Logging More Than Heavy Rain
January 20th, 2023
A long-term Pacific Northwest study of landslides, clear-cutting timber and building roads shows that a forest’s management history has a greater impact on how often landslides occur and how severe they are compared to how much water is coursing through a watershed.
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Climate Change Study Shows Douglas Fir Trees More Stressed By Drier Air Than Less Rain
January 20th, 2023
Douglas-fir trees will likely experience more stress from drier air as the climate changes than they will from less rain, computer modeling by Oregon State University scientists shows.