species loss in Europe!

[me]

Scientists believe that the extinction rate of modern species is thousands of times higher than it would have been without human activities. In Europe, at least 40 percent of all bird and butterfly species are threatened.

European Union leaders, together with environmental ministry officials from Russia and several central Asian countries, met in Madrid recently to work out a joint proposal to halt biodiversity decline by 2010. This ambitious project, to be presented next month at a biodiversity conference in Malaysia, aims to reduce the ocean pollution from oil spills and other sources by 2012 and to develop a network of protected natural areas by 2010.

 

Nations also agreed to provide adequate financing for the venture. Some environmentalists criticized the limited scope of the project and called for more funding, while the World Conservation Union believes that the project needs more time to accomplish its goals.

 

Engine Exhaust Thins Cirrus Clouds

 

The wispy cirrus clouds that float nine miles above Earth's surface are still close enough to be affected by pollution. Nitric oxide from fossil-fuel-burning jets, cars, and industry is thinning these high fliers, according to researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aeronomy Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado.

 

The nitric oxide appears to act as antifreeze, preventing ice crystals from growing to their usual size and keeping more water in the vapor form. The team, headed by Ru-shan Gao, published its results in the journal Science.

 

How this may affect world climate is still a matter of speculation. Thinner clouds may warm Earth by allowing more sunlight to reach the surface. Then again, they may allow more heat to escape the atmosphere, leading to global cooling. Gao cautions that more studies are needed to establish the extent of the thinning of cirrus clouds and gauge their impact on global weather.

 

Cowbird Courting Is Done with Song and Dance

 

Courting among cowbirds demands a performance extravaganza. While running through their repertoire of one-second songs, male cowbirds often break into dance.

 

Using cameras and other monitoring devices, researchers Franz Goller and Brenton Cooper of the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, have correlated the breathing and muscle patterns of male brown-headed cowbirds with their complex performance routines. They report in the journal Science that some dance steps appeared to increase the flow of the song, while more complex moves were always accomplished in silence. The silences could allow the hardworking suitors a physiological rest during their demanding performances.

 

The displays are thought to be critical in territory defense and mate selection. Females may prefer males with more difficult song and dance skills. As singing is universal amongst songbirds, and dancing rare, Goller and Cooper believe that dancing is a more recently acquired skill. Red-winged blackbirds, from whom cowbirds split off 4 million years ago, also accompany their songs with visual signals.

 

Neandertals Frozen Out of Europe

 

Cold, not human competition, likely sealed the fate of the Neandertals. A new report suggests the spread of glaciers spelled the end for Europe's Neandertals — and nearly did in the first humans as well. A team led by Tjeerd van Andel of the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, analyzed climate data, animal and plant range information, and evidence from ancient human and Neandertal sites to draw their conclusions.

 

Ice cores indicate that Europe's climate grew suddenly colder about 30,000 years ago, and winter temperatures began dipping to lows of -10 degrees Celsius. The ice sheets then began spreading southward just as Neandertal artifacts cease to be seen in northern Europe. Their human contemporaries, the Aurignacians, fared no better and retreated south to coastal Black Sea and southern France. Both clung to existence in these warmer climes for another 2,000 years, likely competing for the same resources. The Neandertals died out about 28,000 years ago.

 

The Aurignacians, however, were likely saved by technologically advanced immigrants. Armed with fishnets, throwing spears, and the know-how to make clothing from furs and textiles, these Gravettians spread into eastern Europe from the plains of western Russia and likely revitalized existing human populations.

 

 

Mars Express Delivers Evidence of Water Ice

Prospecting for signs of water, the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission has discovered it in Mars' polar ice. Analyzing the spectra of sunlight reflected from the planet's surface, the spacecraft spotted the unmistakable signature of water as it passed over the planet's southern icecap.

 

The find marks the first direct measurement of water made on Mars. Previous missions only inferred the presence of water from hydrogen detected in the soil. The discovery of the ice was somewhat of a surprise, as the planet's southern hemisphere is currently experiencing summer. The presence of water implies that either a large quantity of water is present or that polar temperatures are chillier than expected.

 

Oxygen ions were also spotted escaping the planet's atmosphere, caught on the solar wind. The ions likely come from water vapor already in the planet's atmosphere. Mars Express is also mapping the planet with a high-resolution stereo imaging camera. So far, it has beamed back images of 1.87 million square kilometers; the topography appears seamed by channels and pits. The images hint at a Mars that once ran with free-flowing water.

 

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