What Kind of Job Is Important

The relevance is really obvious in the wake of the several recent very destructive natural disasters. Obviously, not a comprehensive list of important jobs.

Lyrics

What Kind of Job Is Important
© copyright 2017 Patricia M. Shannon

What kind of jobs are important? What do we really need?
What is it we cannot live without, not just an expression of greed?
We need food and water, shelter from the cold.
The farmer, the plumber, the carpenter are far more important than gold.

(chorus)
Those who have been thru the tunnel/valley, seen the light then returned to our shores,
tell us helping each other, and always be learning, that is what we are here for.

(bridge)
And no one returns from the other side to say that our value is shown
by the size of our stock portfolio, or the number of cars that we own.

Some people think they're important, because they sit at their desks all day
making money by moving money around in a circular way.
But what use is money if there's no one who can buy,
and no one to fix the power lines, or the pipes when the water runs dry.

(chorus)

Experts give you permission to stop raking your leaves this fall

 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/to-rake-or-not-to-rake-expert-tips-for-eco-friendly-autumnal-lawn-care

Oct 20, 2023 5:15 PM EST

trustworthy journalism.

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PBS NewsHour

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By — 

Bella Isaacs-Thomas

Experts give you permission to stop raking your leaves this fall. Here’s why

Science Oct 20, 2023 5:15 PM EST

Autumn is in full swing in communities across the United States, making your sidewalk stroll or mountain hike a little more colorful.

But some view fallen foliage as a mess to be conquered rather than a source of crunchy delight.

READ MORE: The science behind the aroma of fall

Experts say the hallmark of autumnal lawn care — attempting to do away with each leaf that falls on a person’s property — comes with an ecological price.

“Leaves are often thrown out — they’re treated as trash,” said Matthew Shepherd, director of outreach and education at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. By raking and bagging them all up, “we are inadvertently impoverishing our landscapes.”

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there are plenty of ways to put an abundance of leaves to good use if homeowners opt to work with nature rather than against it, advocates say.

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As temperatures drop, fallen leaves and the soil underneath offer crucial habitat for all kinds of creatures, including salamanders, frogs and rodents. Shepherd noted that this shelter is especially important for the smallest animals, mainly insects and other invertebrates. That list includes cocooned moths and bumblebee queens, as well as those that might be less eye-catching to humans.

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Leaf litter is also a destination for non-migrating birds like cardinals, who hop around feasting on the sheltering bugs below.

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In Shepherd’s garden, he leaves flower stems and seed heads standing, providing both extra groundcover and food options for wildlife. He gets the benefit of watching the birds over the fall and winter, an entertaining show from the warm indoors.

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Dead leaves play a major role in infusing soil with new nutrients. The invertebrates that come along to munch on the leaves start the process of breaking them down before microbes help finish the job.

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How long can we breathe?

 

https://twitter.com/PGDynes/status/1608615147135971330

Peter Dynes
@PGDynes

What do people actually think they are going to breathe if we allow major corporations to destroy the forests and turn the oceans into dead zones? 2 out of every 3 breaths comes from the phytoplankton in the ocean - populations of which are decreasing.

7:05 PM · Dec 29, 2022

What to do With Fallen Leaves

 

I suggest reading the whole article:

 

https://blog.nwf.org/2014/11/what-to-do-with-fallen-leaves/

 National Wildlife Federation blog

 David Mizejewski   |   Last Updated: September 1, 2021 

 

Updated September 2021

You shouldn’t feel obligated to get rid of every last fallen leaf in your yard this fall. Leave the leaves — they offer a lot of benefits for wildlife and your garden. Read on to find out why and for tips on how to minimize the time you spend raking this autumn and maximize the benefit to wildlife and the greater environment that fallen leaves offer.
Leave the Leaves for Wildlife

A leaf layer several inches deep is a natural thing in any area where trees and shrubs naturally grow, whether that’s the local woodlands or your own yard or garden. The leaf layer is its own ecosystem! Many wildlife species use the leaf layer as their primary habitat including salamanders, chipmunks, wood frogs, box turtles, toads, shrews, earthworms, millipedes, and thousands of insects species.

Many butterfly and moth species overwinter in the leaf layer, including luna moths, great spangled fritillaries, woolly bear caterpillars (which become Isabella tiger moths), and red-banded hairstreaks. Some species overwinter as eggs, some as pupae, and some as adults. In the case of moths, 94 percent of species rely on the leaf layer to complete their lifecycle. If you rake up and throw away all of your leaves this fall, you’ll be getting rid of important habitat for these beautiful and beneficial insects, many of which are pollinators.

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Leaves are Free Mulch and Fertilizer

From a gardening perspective, fallen leaves offer a double benefit. Leaves form a natural mulch that helps suppress weeds and at the same time fertilize the soil as they break down. Why spend money on mulch and fertilizer when you have a free source in the form of fallen leaves? Simply let leaves lie where they fall or move them into your garden beds to protect your plants’ roots, suppress weeds, preserve soil moisture and eventually break down and return nutrients to the soil.

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 Remember, the less time you have to spend doing the back-breaking work of blowing, mowing, or raking your leaves, the more time you have to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather outside and the wildlife visiting your garden!

 

 

 

Malaria spike linked to amphibian die-off

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/965055

 News Release 20-Sep-2022
Study highlights the importance of biodiversity to human health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of California - Davis

 

Dozens of species of frogs, salamanders and other amphibians quietly disappeared from parts of Latin America in the 1980s and 2000s, with little notice from humans, outside of a small group of ecologists. Yet the amphibian decline had direct health consequences for people, according to a study from the University of California, Davis.

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Shortly after the mass die-off of amphibians in Costa Rica and Panama, both countries experienced a spike in malaria cases.

Some frogs, salamanders and other amphibians eat hundreds of mosquito eggs each day. Mosquitoes are a vector for malaria. Scientists wondered, could the crash in amphibians have influenced the rise in malaria cases?

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The results show a clear connection between the time and location of the spread of the fungal pathogen and the time and location of increases in malaria cases. The scientists note that while they cannot fully rule out another confounding factor, they found no evidence of other variables that could both drive malaria and follow the same pattern of die-offs.

Tree cover loss was also associated with an increase in malaria cases, but not nearly to the same extent as the loss of amphibians. Typical levels of tree canopy loss increase annual malaria cases by up to 0.12 cases per 1,000 people, compared to 1 in 1,000 for the amphibian die-off.  

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Natural habitat maximizes the benefits of birds for farmers, food safety, and conservation

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/944381

 

 News Release 23-Feb-2022
Bringing out the best in wild birds on farms
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of California - Davis

 

A supportive environment can bring out the best in an individual — even for a bird.

After an E.coli outbreak in 2006 devastated the spinach industry, farmers were pressured to remove natural habitat to keep wildlife — and the foodborne pathogens they can sometimes carry — from visiting crops. A study published today from the University of California, Davis, shows that farms with surrounding natural habitat experience the most benefits from birds, including less crop damage and lower food-safety risks.

The study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, was conducted at 21 strawberry fields along California’s Central Coast. It found that birds were more likely to carry pathogens and eat berries without surrounding natural habitat.

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The First Thing We Do, Let’s Kill All the Leaf Blowers

 

I suggest reading the whole article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/opinion/leaf-blowers-california-emissions.html

 

By Margaret Renkl

Oct. 25, 2021

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Gasoline-powered leaf blowers are invaders, the most maddening of all the maddening, environment-destroying tools of the American lawn-care industry.

Nearly everything about how Americans “care” for their lawns is deadly. Pesticides prevent wildflower seeds from germinating and poison the insects that feed songbirds and other wildlife. Lawn mower blades, set too low, chop into bits the snakes and turtles and baby rabbits that can’t get away in time. Mulch, piled too deep, smothers ground-nesting bees, and often the very plants that mulch is supposed to protect, as well.

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This particular environmental catastrophe is not news. A 2011 study by Edmunds found that a two-stroke gasoline-powered leaf blower spewed out more pollution than a 6,200-pound Ford F-150 SVT Raptor pickup truck. Jason Kavanagh, the engineering editor at Edmunds at the time, noted that “hydrocarbon emissions from a half-hour of yard work with the two-stroke leaf blower are about the same as a 3,900-mile drive from Texas to Alaska in a Raptor.”

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“Some produce more than 100 decibels of low-frequency, wall-penetrating sound — or as much noise as a plane taking off — at levels that can cause tinnitus and hearing loss with long exposure,” Monica Cardoza wrote for Audubon Magazine this year.

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 The risks come not only from the noise and the chemical emissions that two-stroke engines produce, but also from the dust they stir up. “That dust can contain pollen, mold, animal feces, heavy metals and chemicals from herbicides and pesticides,” notes Sara Peach of Yale Climate Connections. All this adds up to increased risk of lung cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease, premature birth and other life-threatening conditions.

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But the trouble with leaf blowers isn’t only their pollution-spewing health consequences. It’s also the damage they do to biodiversity. Fallen leaves provide protection for overwintering insects and the egg sacs of others. Leaf blowers, whether electric or gasoline-powered, dislodge the leaf litter that is so essential to insect life — the insect life that in turn is so essential to birds and other wildlife.

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A diversity of wildlife is good for our health

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-04/cioe-ado040121.php

 

News Release 5-Apr-2021
To prevent future pandemics, we must restore and protect nature
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

 

A growing body of evidence suggests that biodiversity loss increases our exposure to both new and established zoonotic pathogens. Restoring and protecting nature is essential to preventing future pandemics. So reports a new Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) paper that synthesizes current understanding about how biodiversity affects human health and provides recommendations for future research to guide management. ps://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-04/cioe-ado040121.php


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Pesticide imidacloprid threatens future for key pollinator

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/uoc--pto022621.php

News Release 26-Feb-2021
University of Guelph

An insecticide used to control pest infestations on squash and pumpkins significantly hinders the reproduction of ground-nesting bees -- valuable pollinators for many food crops, a new University of Guelph study has revealed.

This first-ever study of pesticide impacts on a ground-nesting bee in a real-world context found female hoary squash bees exposed to imidacloprid dug 85 per cent fewer nests, collected less pollen from crop flowers and produced 89 per cent fewer offspring than unexposed bees.

"Because they're not making nests and not collecting pollen, they cannot raise offspring," said Dr. Susan Willis Chan, a post-doc in the School of Environmental Sciences (SES), who conducted the study with Dr. Nigel Raine, holder of the Rebanks Family Chair in Pollinator Conservation in SES. "That means imidacloprid-exposed populations are going to decline."

Neonicotinoids (or neonics) are neurotoxic insecticides that kill insects by attacking their nervous systems, affecting learning, foraging and navigation in many kinds of bees. Farmers use the neonic imidacloprid to control cucumber beetles, the most damaging crop pest for squash and pumpkins.

Many species of ground-nesting bees, including the hoary squash bee, are responsible for pollination of numerous fruits, vegetables and oilseed crops in North America, said Chan.

"Solitary ground-nesting bees make up about 70 per cent of bee species. It's a really important ecological group and is also really important in crop pollination," she said.

However, these ground-dwellers are often overlooked when it comes to evaluating the impacts of pesticides on pollinators, she added.

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Genetics leaves little doubt that humans wiped out passenger pigeons

Considering the vast numbers of passenger pigeons there were before humans started slaughtering them in vast numbers, it would be very surprising if humans weren't the cause of their extinction.

 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2266486-genetics-leaves-little-doubt-that-humans-wiped-out-passenger-pigeons/?utm_source=nsday&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NSDAY_040221

 

3 February 2021
By Christa Lesté-Lasserre

The eye-catching birds of North America that went extinct during the last century weren’t experiencing genetic decline before their disappearance – which suggests humans were probably responsible for their extinction.

“These charismatic species that went extinct in the early 1900s – and one of them in 1988 – appear to have been doing just fine historically over tens of thousands of years, until European colonisation [of North America],” says Brian Tilston Smith at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

 

The only parrot native to the US, along with a woodpecker, the passenger pigeon, the prairie chicken and a warbler, were among the colourful birds that once roved the New World in abundance before recently – and dramatically – dying out, says Smith.

To learn more about why they did so, Smith and his collaborators ran DNA sequencing on 100-year-old skin samples from conserved birds in the American Museum of Natural History, representing five recently extinct species: the heath hen (Tympanuchus cupido cupido), the passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis), the Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis), and the Bachman’s warbler (Vermivora bachmanii).


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It was only in the last few decades before their disappearance that the five extinct birds showed signs of loss of genetic diversity as they headed rapidly towards extinction, says Smith.

This points to human behaviour as the primary culprit, he says. European settlers cut down forests, killed crop-raiding birds, and shot birds for sport, and these activities correspond with the rapid decline in bird numbers.

Why such human activities drove some bird species to extinction and not others remains a mystery, says Smith. Some birds might have created more competition for crops, or have been easier to shoot, or needed larger and older forests to nest in. “The ones that went extinct tended to be larger, but a lot of large species survived,” he says.

 

Empty seas: Oceanic shark populations dropped 71 percent since 1970

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/empty-seas-oceanic-shark-populations-dropped-71-percent-1970-rcna243

Jan. 28, 2021, 10:21 AM EST
By The Associated Press


•••••

Scientists have known for decades that individual shark species are declining, but a new study drawing on 57 global datasets underscores just how dramatically worldwide populations have collapsed in the past half century.

Globally, the abundance of oceanic sharks and rays dropped more than 70 percent between 1970 and 2018, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

And 24 of the 31 species of sharks and rays are threatened with extinction, while three species — oceanic whitetip sharks, scalloped hammerhead sharks and great hammerhead sharks — are considered critically endangered.

“The last 50 years have been pretty devastating for global shark populations,” said Nathan Pacoureau, a biologist at Simon Fraser University in Canada and a co-author of the study.

•••••

Sharks and rays are both fish with skeletons made of cartilage, not bone. In contrast to most other kinds of fish, they generally take several years to reach sexual maturity, and they produce fewer offspring.

“In terms of timing, they reproduce more like mammals – and that makes them especially vulnerable,” said Pacoureau. “Their populations cannot replenish as quickly as many other kinds of fish.”

The number of fishing vessels trolling the open ocean has risen steeply since the 1950s, as engine power expanded ships’ range. And while climate change and pollution also imperil shark survival, increased fishing pressure is the greatest threat for every oceanic shark species.

“When you remove top predators of the ocean, it impacts every part of the marine food web,” said Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke University, who was not involved in the study. “Sharks are like the lions, tigers and bears of the ocean world, and they help keep the rest of the ecosystem in balance.”

Quarter of known bee species have not been recorded since 1990

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/22/quarter-of-known-bee-species-have-not-been-recorded-since-1990

 

Patrick Barkham
@patrick_barkham
Fri 22 Jan 2021 11.00 EST

The number of wild bee species recorded by an international database of life on Earth has declined by a quarter since 1990, according to a global analysis of bee declines.

Researchers analysed bee records from museums, universities and citizen scientists collated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, (GBIF) a global, government-funded network providing open-access data on biodiversity.

They found a steep decline in bee species being recorded since 1990, with approximately 25% fewer species reported between 2006 and 2015 than before the 1990s.

Although this does not mean these species are extinct, it may indicate that some have become so scarce that they are no longer regularly observed in the wild.

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Large mammals make soil more fertile in tropical forests

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-01/fda-lmm011521.php

 

News Release 15-Jan-2021
A study conducted by scientists at São Paulo State University demonstrates that animals like peccaries and tapirs boost soil levels of nitrogen, an essential element to plant growth.
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

 

The White-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari is a boar-like hoofed mammal found throughout Central and South America. These animals roam the forest in bands of 50 to 100 individuals, eating a wide variety of foods. In Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest, they prefer the fruit of the jussara palm Euterpe edulis.

The jussara is very abundant in this biome, probably thanks to vast amounts of dung, urine, and soil trampling by peccaries as well as tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) and other fruit-eating animals, or frugivores. This behavior releases forms of nitrogen, a key element in plant growth.

A study supported by São Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP and published in the journal Functional Ecology showed that in areas free of these frugivores the level of ammonium, a form of nitrogen in soil, was up to 95% lower. The findings evidence for the first time the importance of these animals to the nitrogen cycle and serve as yet another warning of the ecosystem losses caused when large mammals disappear from tropical forests.


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More than 50 countries commit to protection of 30% of Earth's land and oceans

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/11/50-countries-commit-to-protection-of-30-of-earths-land-and-oceans

 

Patrick Greenfield and Fiona Harvey
Mon 11 Jan 2021 12.44 EST

A coalition of more than 50 countries has committed to protect almost a third of the planet by 2030 to halt the destruction of the natural world and slow extinctions of wildlife.

The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People, which includes the UK and countries from six continents, made the pledge to protect at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans before the One Planet summit in Paris on Monday, hosted by the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

Scientists have said human activities are driving the sixth mass extinction of life on Earth, and agricultural production, mining and pollution are threatening the healthy functioning of life-sustaining ecosystems crucial to human civilisation.

In the announcement, the HAC said protecting at least 30% of the planet for nature by the end of the decade was crucial to preventing mass extinctions of plants and animals, and ensuring the natural production of clean air and water.

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Beavers may help amphibians threatened by climate change

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/wsu-bmh120720.php

 

News Release 8-Dec-2020
Washington State University

VANCOUVER, Wash. - The recovery of beavers may have beneficial consequences for amphibians because beaver dams can create the unique habitats that amphibians need.

That finding was reported by four WSU Vancouver scientists in a paper published in the journal Freshwater Biology. The research took place in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest of the Cascade Range, where the researchers identified 49 study sites either with or without beaver dams. The researchers found the beaver-dammed sites were 2.7 times higher in amphibian species richness than the undammed sites.

Certain types of amphibians, particularly those that develop more slowly, such as red-legged frogs and northwestern salamanders, were detected almost exclusively in dammed sites.

"Beaver-dammed wetlands support more of the amphibian species that need a long time to develop in water as larvae before they are able to live on land as adults," said Jonah Piovia-Scott, assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences and one of the authors of the article.

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The Nature Conservancy of Canada suggests leaving your old Christmas tree in your backyard

https://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/quebec/news/christmas-tree-1.html?fbclid=IwAR28La8Bei474vCigNwyrNP-M-htXkAcsTQFX3dBTtrHMHia5tuE-3wRVTQ


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If you’d like to prolong the holiday spirit and share the gift of giving with wildlife, then the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has a suggestion. This year, instead of bringing your old Christmas tree to the curb, the not-for-profit, private land conservation group suggests putting it in your own backyard.

Dan Kraus, NCC’s senior conservation biologist, says leaving it in your backyard over the winter can provide many benefits for backyard wildlife. Your tree can provide important habitat for bird populations during the winter months, especially on cold nights and during storms.

The first step in letting nature help you recycle your Christmas tree is to put it anywhere in the backyard. Prop it up near another tree, against a fence or lay it in your garden. You can even get the family involved by redecorating it with pine cones filled with peanut butter, strings of peanuts and suet for birds to enjoy. These delicious decorations will provide food for birds while they find shelter in the tree.

"Evergreens offer a safe place for birds to rest while they visit your feeder," says Kraus. "Another benefit is that if you leave the tree in your garden over the summer, it will continue to provide habitat for wildlife and improve yoursoil as it decomposes."

By spring, the tree will have lost most of its needles, resembling a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Simply cut the tree branches, lay them where spring flowers are starting to emerge in your garden and place the trunk on soil, but not on top of the flowers.

Kraus says the tree branches and trunk can provide habitat, shelter wildflowers, hold moisture and help build the soil, mimicking what happens with dead trees and branches in a forest. Toads will seek shelter under the log, and insects, including pollinators such as carpenter bees, will burrow into the wood.

"By fall, the branches and trunk will begin to decompose and turn into soil," says Kraus. "Many of our Christmas trees, particularly spruce and balsam fir, have very low rot resistance and break down quickly when exposed to the elements. The more contact the cut branches and trunk have with the ground, the quicker it will decompose. Drilling holes in the tree trunk will speed up that process.

Our backyards are ecosystems of their own and provide an opportunity to learn about forest ecology. By leaving our Christmas tree in our backyard, we can understand its life cycle and observe its impact on backyard biodiversity.

Amphibian die-offs worsened malaria outbreaks in Central America

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/agu-adw120220.php

 

News Release 2-Dec-2020
American Geophysical Union

 

The global collapse of frogs and other amphibians due to the amphibian chytrid fungus exacerbated malaria outbreaks in Costa Rica and Panama during the 1990s and 2000s, according to new research.

The findings provide the first evidence that amphibian population declines have directly affected human health and show how preserving biodiversity can benefit humans as well as local ecosystems.


•••••

Ants are crucial in spreading wildflower seeds

https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/environment/ants-are-crucial-spreading-wildflower-seeds/XCnA5hM2osAAWO0sXDClyI/

Updated May 25, 2018
By Charles Seabrook

The trilliums, violets, hepatica, rue-anemone, Dutchman’s breeches, bloodroot, trout lilies and dozens of other “spring ephemeral” wildflowers that bloomed so beautifully and lushly in early spring are fast disappearing now.

•••••

Then, the ants take over. While spring ephemerals primarily are pollinated by bees, wasps, beetles and other insects, they rely on woodland ants to spread their seeds May through July. (Seed-dispersal by ants is called myrmecochory.)

To entice the ants, seeds of spring ephemerals bear external fat-rich attachments called elaiosomes, which woodland ants love. The ants carry the seeds back to their nests and feed the elaiosomes to their larvae. The unharmed seeds, now free of elaiosomes, are tossed by the ants onto well-aerated, nutrient-rich discard piles — ideal seedbeds. In effect, the ants plant the seeds.

On average, an ant carries a seed only about six feet from the parent plant. However, the seed benefits by having a favorable spot in which to germinate. In addition, by being in an ant nest, the seed is less likely to be eaten by predators such as mice.

Other plants, of course, have come to rely on other seed-dispersal strategies. Winged seeds are scattered by wind and water; seeds of berry and fruit plants are sown far and wide by birds and mammals; rough, sticky seeds are spread by clinging to fur and feathers.

Marine animals live where ocean is most breathable, ranges may shrink with climate change

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/uow-mal091420.php

News Release 16-Sep-2020
University of Washington

As oceans warm due to climate change, scientists are trying to predict how marine animals -- from backboned fish to spineless jellyfish -- will react. Laboratory experiments indicate that many could theoretically tolerate temperatures far higher than what they encounter today. But these studies don't mean that marine animals can maintain their current ranges in warmer oceans, according to Curtis Deutsch, an associate professor of oceanography at the University of Washington.

"Temperature alone does not explain where in the ocean an animal can live," said Deutsch. "You must consider oxygen: how much is present in the water, how well an organism can take up and utilize it, and how temperature affects these processes."

Species-specific characteristics, overall oxygen levels and water temperature combine to determine which parts of the ocean are "breathable" for different ocean-dwelling creatures. New research led by Deutsch shows that a wide variety of marine animals -- from vertebrates to crustaceans to mollusks -- already inhabit the maximum range of breathable ocean that their physiology will allow. 

•••••

"Organisms today are basically living right up to the warmest temperatures possible that will supply them with adequate oxygen for their activity level -- so higher temperatures are going to immediately affect their ability to get enough oxygen," said Deutsch. "In response to warming, their activity level is going to be restricted or their habitat is going to start shrinking. It's not like they're going to be fine and just carry on."

Oxygen levels and temperatures vary throughout ocean waters. Generally, water near the equator is warmer and contains less oxygen than the cooler waters near the poles. But moving from the surface ocean to deeper waters, both oxygen and temperature decrease together. These principles create complex 3-D patterns of oxygen and temperature levels across depths and latitudes. An organism's anatomy, physiology and activity level determine its oxygen needs, how effectively it takes up and uses the available oxygen in its environment, and how temperature affects its oxygen demand.

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Humans exploiting and destroying nature on unprecedented scale

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/10/humans-exploiting-and-destroying-nature-on-unprecedented-scale-report-aoe

Patrick Greenfield
Wed 9 Sep 2020 19.01 EDT

Wildlife populations are in freefall around the world, driven by human overconsumption, population growth and intensive agriculture, according to a major new assessment of the abundance of life on Earth.

On average, global populations of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles plunged by 68% between 1970 and 2016, according to the WWF and Zoological Society of London (ZSL)’s biennial Living Planet Report 2020. Two years ago, the figure stood at 60%.

The research is one of the most comprehensive assessments of global biodiversity available and was complied by 134 experts from around the world. It found that from the rainforests of central America to the Pacific Ocean, nature is being exploited and destroyed by humans on a scale never previously recorded.

•••••

Experts said the LPI was further evidence of the sixth mass extinction of life on Earth, with one million species at risk because of human activity, according to the UN’s global assessment report in 2019. Deforestation and the conversion of wild spaces for human food production have largely been blamed for the destruction of Earth’s web of life.

The report highlights that 75% of the Earth’s ice-free land has been significantly altered by human activity, and almost 90% of global wetlands have been lost since 1700.

•••••

A separate study released today by Newcastle University and BirdLife International says that at least 28 bird and mammal extinctions have been prevented by conservation efforts since the UN Convention on Biological Diversity came into force in 1993.