ecosystem

(Newser) - While the physical changes brought on by global warming—droughts, floods, and the like—are fairly easy to model, the effect on ecosystems is disconcertingly unpredictable, John Waldman writes in Yale Environment 360. Species will shift migration patterns and seek new homes, affecting other species in ways we can't imagine....

(Newser) - As the mining industry clears mountains in Appalachia, a nearby town finds itself in a conundrum over the future of coal, writes John McQuaid in Smithsonian magazine. With prices and energy demands soaring, mining sites are multiplying—and while some  residents see the state’s oldest and most profitable industry...

(Newser) - Hurricane Ike caused massive damage to fragile coastal ecosystems already clobbered by development, the Dallas Morning News reports. Damage to wetlands vital to a vast range of life could take a generation to heal, scientists warn. As with Hurricane Katrina, human development had already destroyed marshes and other natural defenses,...

(Newser) - A poisonous, fast-multiplying species known as the red lionfish has invaded the warm waters of the Caribbean and poses a serious threat to the native sealife and the fragile ecosytem, reports the AP. "This may very well become the most devastating marine invasion in history," said one expert....