This is how we know the series of indirect and amplified effects exerted by animals at the top of the food chain on organisms at the lower levels. Until a few years ago it was thought that large predators did not affect biodiversity too much due to their small numbers.
Spain has become the headquarters of the LifeWatch project thanks to the "excellent scientific quality" in the area of the country's biodiversity, which holds almost half of the European plant endemisms. The research work related to LifeWatch will allow to evaluate in a virtual laboratory, through simulators, the impact of global warming, urban development or the installation in its environment of an industrial nucleus, on certain geographical areas.
During the last decade, scientists have discovered more than 615 new species in Madagascar. The island has an immense natural wealth, since 70% of the species that inhabit there are unique in the world. However, it faces serious environmental threats, among which the growing deforestation stands out, according to the WWF organization.
A toothy leech, a jumping cockroach, a glow-in-the-dark mushroom and a fruit-eating lizard are in the top ten of the year's new species, which have been selected by the International Institute for Species Exploration of the University of Arizona and a committee of taxonomists from around the world.
The chemical components of cigarette butts are toxic to fish, both freshwater and saltwater, and can even cause their death, according to a study carried out by researchers at the University of San Diego (United States) .
The environmental organization WWF turns 50 in 2011. And to celebrate, the United Kingdom has launched a collection of ten postage stamps of the most endangered animal species, including the African elephant, the black rhinoceros and the polar bear.
An international team of researchers has drawn the most complete map of the evolutionary history of flies, providing an ideal framework for comparative studies of these ubiquitous insects. They call it the "periodic table of flies" and it is published today in the magazine 'PNAS'.
Climate change will have a full impact on the fauna of Spanish vertebrates in the 21st century, to the point that more than 51% of species could require specific conservation and adaptation measures to offset its effects, according to a report prepared by the CSIC .
Danni Büchner is invited to Sam Dylan's Halloween party. But the "Goodbye Germany" emigrant has no desire for many other party guests. And find clear words.
