35 per cent coral death in parts of Great Barrier Reef

Coral gardens at the Ribbon Reef. Great Barrier Reef. Photo / Spirit of Freedom

We knew this was coming.

For months, coral reef experts have been loudly, and sometimes mournfully, announcing that much of the treasured Great Barrier Reef has been hit by "severe" coral bleaching, thanks to abnormally warm ocean waters.

Bleaching, though, isn't the same as coral death. When symbiotic algae leave corals' bodies and the animals then turn white or "bleach," they can still bounce back if environmental conditions improve.
The Great Barrier Reef has seen major bleaching in some of its sectors - particularly the more isolated, northern reef - and the expectation has long been that this event would result in significant coral death as well.
Now some of the first figures are coming in confirming that. Diving and aerial surveys of 84 reefs by scientists with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, in Australia - the same researchers who recently documented at least some bleaching at 93 per cent of individual reefs - have found that a striking 35 per cent of corals have died in the northern and central sectors of the reef.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=11647367

A 100m-year bond threatened by climate change

A flatworm on the Great Barrier Reef. Photo / Spirit of Freedom

The bond between spiny mountain crayfish and their tiny, flatworm friends was forged some 100 million years ago on the thickly forested super-continent of Gondwana.

It endured the dominance of the dinosaurs and the catastrophe that killed them. It survived isolation on Australia as the continent broke away from its neighbours and sailed northward. The climate warmed, the air dried out, the earth was pushed upward into mountains and eroded by streams.

All the while, this ancient association thrived, with the worms living out their lives on the backs of hospitable crayfish. The creatures diversified and spread, adapting to every available ecological niche so that researchers today might find a unique species of flatworm living on just one kind of crayfish in only a certain stream in all of Australia.

"They've been evolving and interacting while all these massive changes have been occurring," said evolutionary biologist Jennifer Hoyal Cuthill.

"... That's now at increasing risk due to climate change."

 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11645230

Selfie taker and zookeeper killed by walrus in China

A walrus at a zoo in the Chinese city of Weihai has drowned a businessman who tried to take several selfies with her, and a zookeeper who tried to rescue the man.

A walrus at a zoo in the Chinese city of Weihai has drowned a businessman who tried to take several selfies with her, and a zookeeper who tried to rescue the man.

After allowing the businessman, surnamed Jia, to take several videos and photos, including selfies, the walrus dragged him into the pool and drowned him, news site Sina reported.

A zookeeper, who had taken care of the walrus for over 10 years, tried to rescue the man but was also drowned.

Zoo authorities in the northeastern province of Shandong declined to comment on the incident, but sources there said the walrus only wanted to "play" with both men and give them a "hug".

The family of the businessman, who jumped into the enclosure to take selfies with the walrus, asked the zoo for compensation.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11644009

Love in the time of climate change: Grizzlies and polar bears are now mating

This bear, which was three-fourths grizzly and one-fourth polar bear, can be seen at the Ulukhaktok Community Hall. Photo / A.E. Deroche-University of Alberta via Washington Post

Most Alaskans and Canadians have a bear story - tales of fearsome grizzlies, even polar bears. But a mix of the two?

They're known as pizzlies or grolars, and they're a fusion of the Arctic white bear and their brown cousins. It's a blend that's been turning up more and more in parts of Alaska and Western Canada.
Bears sharing both species' DNA have been recorded several times over the past decade. So why are these two species linking up?

It's called flexible mate choice: The bears are mating with the best possible partners as opposed to not mating at all, and they're mating because they share relatively close territories and the same branches of the same evolutionary tree.

Intraspecies mixing between the two happened thousands of years ago, thanks to the advance and retreat of glaciers, and of late, it has been boosted by climate change.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Community/MessageBoard/Messages.aspx?id=1635399&topic=21&#p33460065

Lions put to death after mauling man

 

Two lions have been killed in Chile after they severely mauled a man who stripped naked and entered their enclosure.

The man was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and was said to be in a grave condition.
Director Alejandra Montalba of Santiago's Metropolitan Zoo told local media the park was crowded with visitors at the time of the attack.

The 20-year-old man broke into the enclosure, took off his clothes and jumped into the middle, horrifying other visitors who witnessed the attack.

Zookeepers killed the two lions in order to save his life.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11642932

2016 set to be the hottest after April smashes record

April 2016 continued a string of 369 consecutive months at or warmer than average. Photo / Global Forecast System

The run of record heat continues with last month being the hottest April on record, according to Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

It is the seventh month in a row to break global temperature records.

The figures for last month also broke the previous record for April by the largest margin ever recorded, meaning the monthly record has been broken by the largest margin ever for three months in a row.

It also means the past seven months have been at least 1C above the 1951-80 mean for that month.
Figures released by Nasa over the weekend show the global temperature of land and sea was 1.11C warmer in April than the average temperature for April during the period 1951-1980. This broke the previous April record set in 2010 by 0.24C.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11639855

Sinking islands caused by sea-level rise, not climate change

Dead and dying trees emerge from the ocean above a sunken Solomon Island. Photo / Corey Howell

The author of a widely reported new study on the sinking of five islands in the Pacific says links with climate change have been exaggerated.

Dr Simon Albert's report studied 33 reef islands in the Solomon Islands between 1947 and 2014 and found that five had been washed away completely and six had been eroded.

The study blamed the loss on a combination of sea-level rise and high wave energy.

"All these headlines are certainly pushing things a bit towards the 'climate change has made islands vanish' angle. I would prefer slightly more moderate titles that focus on sea-level rise being the driver rather than simply 'climate change'," Albert told the Guardian.
    
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11640148