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#ecosystem

2 posts2 participants0 posts today

Nations to try again to confront world's 'spiraling' #plastic #pollution

Nations gather in Geneva Tues to try to complete a landmark #treaty aimed at ending the #PlasticPollution crisis that affects every #ecosystem & person on the planet.

It’s the 6th time negotiators are meeting & they hope the last. A key split is whether the treaty should require cutting plastic production, w/powerful #oil-producing nations opposed; most plastic is made from #FossilFuels.

#Climate
apnews.com/article/plastic-pol

#Montana - #PollinatorCorridors are the next big thing in urban and suburban #gardening

Mandy Applegate Jul 24, 2025

"#Pollinator corridors are quickly becoming the next big focus in urban and suburban gardening, with more than 22% of native pollinators in North America facing serious threats to survival. As concerns grow, these pollinator corridors offer a practical solution by linking private gardens, parks and roadside green spaces into a continuous habitat. Without focused intervention, the steady decline of pollinators could fracture the ecological links that support food production, wildlife health and #ecosystem resilience.

"A network of #NativePlants

"Pollinator corridors are strips of pesticide-free native plants that give wildlife room to move and thrive in built environments. These stretches serve as travel routes where bees, butterflies and other pollinators can consistently access food, shelter and nesting areas. They also let residents reconnect with #nature while building attractive, water-wise gardens suited to their local climate.

"Local programs are expanding efforts to help residents support pollinators in their neighborhoods. By offering planting guides, hands-on workshops and access to native species, organizers are making it easier for people to turn yards, balconies and curbside strips into productive habitats.

"These corridors play a key role in reducing #HabitatFragmentation, which poses a major threat to pollinators. Instead of relying on scattered gardens, pollinators can follow a connected trail of habitat through neighborhoods, parks and roadside spaces. The result is a more livable landscape for #wildlife and a stronger sense of community #stewardship."

Read more:
montanarightnow.com/national_n

Plastisphere; The Ecosystem of Plastics by Meththika Vithanagee at al, 2025

This book examines the plastisphere and reveals a secret world of microbes that have adapted to live on plastic surfaces. It explains the ecological effects of plastic pollution, health concerns, microbial ecology, mitigation techniques, and advocates sustainable solutions. Readers will explore its mysteries in this thought-provoking book.

@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#plastics
#ecosystem
#habitat
#CRC

Forest #biodiversity plays a critical role in sustaining #ecosystem functioning and buffering the effects of increased extreme weather events on forests.

A global assessment of the relationship between biodiversity and #photosynthesis in natural #forest ecosystems indicates that #species richness and photosynthesis were often positively correlated at the global scale, with stronger relationships in tropical forests but weaker associations in high-latitude regions.

Higher light capture by increasing the complexity of community structure was the basis of this increase in forest photosynthesis.

#biology #ecology
nature.com/articles/s41477-025

NatureGlobal evidence for a positive relationship between tree species richness and ecosystem photosynthesis - Nature PlantsForests with higher tree species richness show greater photosynthesis by capturing more sunlight, highlighting the essential role of biodiversity in enhancing carbon uptake and supporting the global carbon sink.

#Jellyfish are taking over the world – and #ClimateChange could be to blame

Jan 8, 2019
by Sean Fleming
Senior Writer, Forum Stories

"For 500 million years, jellyfish have been part of the maritime #ecosystem, but now they’re poised to take over the earth.

"They have no brain, no eyes, no spine, not even blood, but they have a remarkable capacity to reproduce and can pack an impressive sting, both literally and figuratively.

"Most recently, vast numbers of bluebottle jellyfish were pushed ashore by unusually strong winds and spells of hot weather in #QueenslandAustralia, stinging thousands of people and forcing the closure of popular swimming spots. About 13,000 stings were recorded in the past week.

"In June last year, over the course of just one week, over 1,000 people were stung in Volusia County, #Florida, following a period of exceptionally prolific jellyfish blooms. The explosion in their numbers has been attributed to warming seas and even increased pollution; unlike many other marine creatures, jellyfish can cope with reduced oxygen levels.

Small but deadly – at least some of the time

"Typically, jellyfish range in size from 1cm to 40cm. But they can be significantly larger – the #LionsManeJellyfish, for example, can reach 1.8 metres wide, with tentacles over 15 metres long.

"For the most part, the sting of a jellyfish is more unpleasant than it is harmful. The pain comes from venom delivered via millions of microscopic barbs in the creatures’ tentacles. Most jellyfish stings will only have a localized effect on the victim – redness, swelling, and discomfort where the barbs make contact with the skin.

"Some, however, will prompt a systemic, whole body, reaction. These may take several hours to emerge and can include symptoms such as headaches, nausea and drowsiness.

"In rare cases, the sting can be fatal. This is true of the #BoxJellyfish, which is spreading into waters that had previously been too cool to support it; its venom causes a severe reaction that can cause death within minutes.

A force of destruction

"But these booming jellyfish populations are doing far more harm than ruining people’s trips to the beach. In fact, the scope of their disruption has extended far beyond the water’s edge.

"In 2011, both reactors at the #TornessNuclearPowerPlant in #Scotland were shut down after an invasion of jellyfish started blocking the cooling filters. Two years later, the jellyfish struck again – this time in #Sweden. They forced the closure of the #OskarshamnNuclearPowerPlant, which contains the world’s largest boiling-water reactor.

"The island of Luzon, home of the Phillippines’ capital Manilla, suffered a blackout in 1999 due to jellyfish, and in 2006 the #USSRonaldReagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was brought to a standstill by thousands of the little creatures. And while these events may stand out as exceptions, they are increasing in both scale and frequency.

"From sea-bed diamond mining in Namibia to salmon farming in Ireland, even jeopardising the sustainability of beluga caviar farming in the Caspian Sea, jellyfish are as destructive as they are abundant. And that abundance is being caused by a variety of factors, many of which are related to human activity.

Some like it hot

"Over the last hundred or so years, the average surface temperature of the world’s seas has risen by about 0.9°C. As the oceans get warmer, marine animals are able to spread into areas that had historically been too cold. Oxygen levels in the sea have fallen by around 2% over the last 50 years, due to rising temperatures and #pollution [including #NuclearOceanDumping, which reduces oxygen levels]

"Jellyfish can thrive in areas with lower oxygen levels, where other animals suffer. But there are other factors at work, too. Fishing has depleted the global stocks of some of the jellyfish’s natural predators – such as #tuna and #swordfish – and some they compete with for food – such as anchovies. With more food and fewer predators, some jellyfish populations can grow unchecked.

"In the #BlackSea, unchecked population growth is precisely what’s happened. #AnchovyFishing in the region had caused harm to the Black Sea’s ecosystem by the time stowaway jellyfish made the journey there from the eastern seaboard of the USA. Most likely transported in the ballast water of ships that made the crossing, 1982 saw the arrival of the warty comb jelly. By 1990, there were 900 million tons of them in the Black Sea.

"There are believed to be around 200 different species of jellyfish, not all of which can sting, and some are considered edible. This could offer one potential, and creative, approach toward dealing with an over-abundance of jellyfish – co-opting them onto our dinner plates." [That's one way to deal with invasive species -- eat them into extinction!]

Source:
weforum.org/stories/2019/01/ho

#GlobalWarming #WarmingOceans
#ChangingOceans #OceansAreLife #OceanTemperatures #ClimateCrisis #Overfishing #NoDeepSeaMining #NoNewNukes #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #Oskarshamn #Torness