Ecology

2,000 year old seed grows into sapling

In Ecology, Flora, History, Israel on 14 June 2008 with no comments

A botanist in Israel has nurtured a sapling from a 2,000 year old seed discovered at King Herod’s winter palace on Mount Masada. The Judean date palm sapling, which now stands at about 5 feet tall, may be used to reestablish the species in a region where it once thrived.
The Judean date is chronicled in [...]

All hail our Turkey overlords

In Animals, Ecology, Ecotone, Environment on 22 November 2007 with no comments

Turkeys are invading our suburbs and cities. And they’re wild. The seven million wild turkeys in the United States, once thought to be suited only to wide expanses of unbroken forest, are adapting to urban environments better than biologists predicted. While the wild turkeys I’ve seen seemed pretty spooked around people, Chris Leahy, of the [...]

Anti-pigeon movement takes flight, wants bread

In Ecology, Environment, Health, Planning on 8 November 2007 with no comments

Cities in Europe are discussing methods for reducing their pigeon populations.
Scientists, city officials and animal welfare activists met in the western German city of Essen on Tuesday for Germany’s first Town Pigeon Conference to discuss how to deal with the growing pigeon population which is expected to rise by around 50 million to up [...]

Mapping carbon footprints

In Ecology, Geography, Mapping, Sustainability on 17 October 2007 with no comments

The Carbon Trust has created a surface map of CO2 emissions across the United Kingdom. There’s more discussion here.

The Manhatta Project

In Ecology, History, Mapping, New York on 8 October 2007 with no comments

October’s New Yorker profiles landscape ecologist Eric Sanderson; he’s using computer-aided geographical analysis to determine what Manhattan looked like before Henry Hudson sailed past in 1609.
The Wildlife Conservation Society hosts Sanderson’s Manhatta Project.