Post by account_disabled on Mar 4, 2024 1:30:18 GMT -6
Some insects and other invertebrates have developed a novel solution to their "not finding a mate" problem: they can reproduce without sex. The process, known as parthenogenesis, allows them to make more specimens of their species when without interaction with others.
This ability significantly improves adaptation in a new territory if accidentally introduced into it. The above entails an alarming situation since the risk of harming native species increases.
At least one invertebrate, the marbled crayfish can already reproduce asexually in captivity and is spreading rapidly across Europe, Africa and Asia, carrying diseases with it. Remember that by growing other invertebrates as food or as a hobby, we increase the risk of something similar happening with other species.
10. Plant-based foods
Animal agriculture is a major source of Chile Mobile Number List greenhouse gas emissions, and plant-based diets are gaining attention as a way to not only be healthier ourselves, but to help our planet.
China, for example, is taking it a step further: Instead of simply promoting foods rich in fruits and vegetables, it has committed to reducing its citizens' meat consumption by half by 2030.
Media campaigns and meat bans in some environments have already contributed to reducing consumption, and the initiative has driven innovations around synthetic alternatives, and it is expected, in the near future, that the plant-based meat industry of the country grow between 20 and 25%.
Diversity spotlights: 15 aspects that will need your attention in 2022
11. All together now
Volunteer groups, nonprofit organizations, small-town governments, and other local entities can be a valuable source of help for rural people, but also for other living beings.
Globally, the number of social institutions has grown from half a million in 2000 to 8.5 million in 2020, sustainably supporting some 700 million acres of forests, croplands and waterways.
If this trend continues, it bodes well for biodiversity conservation, as more and more land is managed in a way that keeps it thriving, as do the plants and animals that inhabit it.
12. Adjusting attitude towards wetlands
The East Asian-Australasian Flyway, which extends along the eastern coast of Asia and Australia to New Zealand, is one of the world's hotspots for diversity as well as numbers of waterfowl, including endangered species.
With massive development taking place in China, one of the world's leading wetland countries, this nation is also among the most threatened to lose this type of landform as in the last decade, many wetland areas have been transformed in farmlands and cities.
However, several changes are beginning to shed an optimistic light. The United Nations (UN) has provided a new level of protection to critical wetlands in Korea and China by adding them to its list of World Heritage sites.
For this reason, the latter State has begun to invest in the protection of key wetlands. If this trend continues and other countries follow suit, it could bring relief to waterfowl in much of East Asia and the Western Pacific.
13. The renaissance of the mangroves
The mangroves that cover the coasts of the tropics and subtropics are home to abundant plant and animal species that thrive at the intersection of land and sea.
In recent decades, development has decimated many of them, destroying the biodiversity-nutrition and carbon sequestration services they provide. However, in recent years the situation has changed. Conservationists' efforts to restore and preserve these rich habitats have helped reduce their loss.
Furthermore, these wetlands are also the accidental beneficiaries of other changes in ecosystems, given that as inland forests are cut down, erosion moves soil towards the coast, where they feed new mangroves, coupled with the fact that the climate crisis is creating the warm environment they need.
Together, these changes have reduced mangrove loss to almost zero, although local areas of depletion remain.
14. The tribulations of the tidal zones
Intertidal zones—the portions of the ocean coast where water moves back and forth with the tides—experience daily fluctuations in temperature, water level, salinity, physical disturbances, and predation. And now, they are seeing another variable: heat waves.
Record temperatures in the Pacific Northwest in June left mussels, clams, oysters, barnacles, starfish, and kelp dead along thousands of miles of coastline.
And that's not all, climate change also threatens to modify the salinity of these complex and fragile ecosystems, as precipitation patterns are disrupted and polar ice melts.
If this continues, we will have more than just a stinking disaster as the complex ecosystems and the services they provide (coastal stabilization, food supply, habitat provision, water quality protection) will also be fried.
15. Treasure (and problems?), under the seas
Earth's seafloor is home to abundant quantities of precious metals and other extractable materials. New technologies have made the extraction of these materials possible, and one country, Nauru, has recently announced plans to allow deep sea mining.
Diversity spotlights: 15 aspects that will need your attention in 2022
This means that the International Seabed Authority must establish specific regulations on ocean mining or commit to examining applications in accordance with established conventions.
Mining the oceans can reduce the erosion of terrestrial habitat, but it also opens the door to new assaults on the unique ecosystems established at those depths.
This ability significantly improves adaptation in a new territory if accidentally introduced into it. The above entails an alarming situation since the risk of harming native species increases.
At least one invertebrate, the marbled crayfish can already reproduce asexually in captivity and is spreading rapidly across Europe, Africa and Asia, carrying diseases with it. Remember that by growing other invertebrates as food or as a hobby, we increase the risk of something similar happening with other species.
10. Plant-based foods
Animal agriculture is a major source of Chile Mobile Number List greenhouse gas emissions, and plant-based diets are gaining attention as a way to not only be healthier ourselves, but to help our planet.
China, for example, is taking it a step further: Instead of simply promoting foods rich in fruits and vegetables, it has committed to reducing its citizens' meat consumption by half by 2030.
Media campaigns and meat bans in some environments have already contributed to reducing consumption, and the initiative has driven innovations around synthetic alternatives, and it is expected, in the near future, that the plant-based meat industry of the country grow between 20 and 25%.
Diversity spotlights: 15 aspects that will need your attention in 2022
11. All together now
Volunteer groups, nonprofit organizations, small-town governments, and other local entities can be a valuable source of help for rural people, but also for other living beings.
Globally, the number of social institutions has grown from half a million in 2000 to 8.5 million in 2020, sustainably supporting some 700 million acres of forests, croplands and waterways.
If this trend continues, it bodes well for biodiversity conservation, as more and more land is managed in a way that keeps it thriving, as do the plants and animals that inhabit it.
12. Adjusting attitude towards wetlands
The East Asian-Australasian Flyway, which extends along the eastern coast of Asia and Australia to New Zealand, is one of the world's hotspots for diversity as well as numbers of waterfowl, including endangered species.
With massive development taking place in China, one of the world's leading wetland countries, this nation is also among the most threatened to lose this type of landform as in the last decade, many wetland areas have been transformed in farmlands and cities.
However, several changes are beginning to shed an optimistic light. The United Nations (UN) has provided a new level of protection to critical wetlands in Korea and China by adding them to its list of World Heritage sites.
For this reason, the latter State has begun to invest in the protection of key wetlands. If this trend continues and other countries follow suit, it could bring relief to waterfowl in much of East Asia and the Western Pacific.
13. The renaissance of the mangroves
The mangroves that cover the coasts of the tropics and subtropics are home to abundant plant and animal species that thrive at the intersection of land and sea.
In recent decades, development has decimated many of them, destroying the biodiversity-nutrition and carbon sequestration services they provide. However, in recent years the situation has changed. Conservationists' efforts to restore and preserve these rich habitats have helped reduce their loss.
Furthermore, these wetlands are also the accidental beneficiaries of other changes in ecosystems, given that as inland forests are cut down, erosion moves soil towards the coast, where they feed new mangroves, coupled with the fact that the climate crisis is creating the warm environment they need.
Together, these changes have reduced mangrove loss to almost zero, although local areas of depletion remain.
14. The tribulations of the tidal zones
Intertidal zones—the portions of the ocean coast where water moves back and forth with the tides—experience daily fluctuations in temperature, water level, salinity, physical disturbances, and predation. And now, they are seeing another variable: heat waves.
Record temperatures in the Pacific Northwest in June left mussels, clams, oysters, barnacles, starfish, and kelp dead along thousands of miles of coastline.
And that's not all, climate change also threatens to modify the salinity of these complex and fragile ecosystems, as precipitation patterns are disrupted and polar ice melts.
If this continues, we will have more than just a stinking disaster as the complex ecosystems and the services they provide (coastal stabilization, food supply, habitat provision, water quality protection) will also be fried.
15. Treasure (and problems?), under the seas
Earth's seafloor is home to abundant quantities of precious metals and other extractable materials. New technologies have made the extraction of these materials possible, and one country, Nauru, has recently announced plans to allow deep sea mining.
Diversity spotlights: 15 aspects that will need your attention in 2022
This means that the International Seabed Authority must establish specific regulations on ocean mining or commit to examining applications in accordance with established conventions.
Mining the oceans can reduce the erosion of terrestrial habitat, but it also opens the door to new assaults on the unique ecosystems established at those depths.