Historic map reveals how mussel farm is bringing shellfish reefs back to the seabed

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Plymouth

 

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Dating from 1871, this French map describes a large area of the seabed – stretching from Torquay in the west and beyond Lyme Regis to the east – as being home to “rich shell beds”. Scientists believe these are likely to have been oyster or mussel reefs that have long since been destroyed through the use of bottom towed fishing gear during the 20th century

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Credit: Hannah Wisdom/University of Plymouth

The UK’s first large scale offshore mussel farm is allowing shellfish reefs to return to parts of the seabed off England’s south coast for the first time in up to 150 years, a new study has revealed.

Researchers have spent the past decade examining the environmental impact of the farm, which was first established in Lyme Bay off the coast of South Devon in 2013.

In that time, the seabed beneath the farm’s ropes has begun to undergo a transformation as mussels from the lines are deposited on the seabed below.

This has seen it change from muddy sediment with limited biodiversity into reefs, which research has shown have the potential to benefit a number of commercial fish and crustacean species and the ecosystem more generally.

However, a historic map – recently uncovered by a Devon-based artist – has revealed this might in fact be a form of restoration rather than creating habitats never seen in the area before.

Dating from 1871, the French map describes a large area of the seabed – stretching from Torquay in the west and beyond Lyme Regis to the east – as being home to “rich shell beds”.

Scientists believe these are likely to have been oyster or mussel reefs that have long since been destroyed through the use of bottom towed fishing gear during the 20th century.

With such practices banned following the designation of the Lyme Bay Marine Protected Area (MPA) – and the mussel farm’s three sites located above the old shell beds – it is allowing the region to become home to shellfish reefs once more.

The map was part of the Marine Biological Association's collection but now donated to artist Hannah Wisdom. She shared it with scientists at the University of Plymouth, who have been working with fishing communities along the Lyme Bay coastline to monitor the impacts of the MPA since 2008, and the mussel farm since 2013.

Dr Emma Sheehan, Associate Professor in Marine Conservation and senior author on the study, said: “When we first started to monitor the mussel farm in 2013, we hoped to find evidence of its potential to restore the health of the seabed. That is something we have shown consistently, with new species of marine flora and fauna regularly being seen within its ropes and on the seabed. However, to find out that such habitats were found in the region 150 years ago is really exciting. It shows that the farm is not only having a positive impact on the health of the ocean now, but also returning the seabed to some semblance of its former state.”

In the study, published in Science of the Total Environment, researchers also highlight how the shellfish reefs that have been recreated over the past decade are being used by a number of commercially important species.

Using a combination of acoustic tags and underwater monitoring equipment, scientists found that individual European lobsters (Homarus gammarus) remained beneath the farm for up to 283 days using both the farm anchors – and areas of seabed dominated by fallen mussels – for feeding and refuge.

By contrast, brown crabs (Cancer pagurus) showed little willingness to stay within the farm’s infrastructure and all tagged crabs had left the area of the farm under surveillance within nine days.

This, scientists say, could be evidence that the mussel farm is providing refuge and similar feeding opportunities for lobster and crab as their typical habitat on rocky reefs.

John Holmyard, Managing Director at Offshore Shellfish Ltd which manages the Lyme Bay mussel farm, said: “These findings show that an area of flat, muddy and degraded seabed can be restored into a productive, biodiverse habitat. Through the location of a carefully designed offshore mussel farm, we are creating an effect comparable to that seen from the statutory protection of a rocky reef area. It is enabling lobsters and crabs to feed and grow within the protection of the farmed area before they move out and provide further benefits to surrounding fisheries.”

VIDEO

https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/1037906

Researchers from the University of Plymouth have spent the past decade working with the fishing community to examine the environmental impact of the UK's largest offshore mussel farm, which was established by Offshore Shellfish Ltd in Lyme Bay off the coast of Devon in 2013

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Journal

Science of The Total Environment

DOI

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174987 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Restorative function of offshore longline mussel farms with ecological benefits for commercial crustacean species

Article Publication Date

13-Aug-2024

 

New species of extinct walrus-like mammal discovered in the North Atlantic

PeerJ

 

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Credit: Jaime Bran

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Credit: Credit: Jaime Bran

A new discovery by a team of paleontologists, led by Dr. Mathieu Boisville (University of Tsukuba, Japan), has uncovered a new species of the extinct genus Ontocetus from the Lower Pleistocene deposits in the North Atlantic. This species, named Ontocetus posti, displays surprising similarities in feeding adaptations to the modern walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), highlighting an intriguing case of convergent evolution. The research is published in the open access journal PeerJ Life & Environment.

The fossils of Ontocetus posti were discovered in Norwich, United Kingdom, and Antwerp, Belgium. These remains were initially thought to belong to another species, Ontocetus emmonsi; however, detailed analysis of the mandibles revealed a unique combination of features that distinguish it as a new species. These features include the presence of four post-canine teeth, a larger lower canine, and a fused and short mandibular symphysis. Such anatomical characteristics suggest that Ontocetus posti was quite well adapted to suction-feeding, somewhat similar to its modern relative, the walrus.

Originating from the North Pacific Ocean, the Ontocetus genus spread to the Atlantic during the Mio-Pliocene transition. This migration was probably facilitated by the Central American Seaway, a crucial oceanic passage before the closure of the Isthmus of Panama. The resulting global cooling starting during the Late Pliocene significantly impacted marine life, contributing to the extinction of Ontocetus posti during the Early Pleistocene and allowing the cold-adapted Odobenus rosmarus to emerge and eventually dominate.

The discovery sheds light on the evolutionary history of walruses, emphasizing how environmental changes have shaped the adaptations and survival of marine mammals. The convergence of feeding adaptations between Ontocetus posti and the modern walrus illustrates the dynamic evolutionary processes that occur across different eras and environments.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Dr. Mathieu Boisville, please contact mathieu.boisville1@gmail.com

 

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Journal

PeerJ

DOI

10.7717/peerj.17666 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Publication Date

13-Aug-2024

 

Bacteria in lakes fight climate change

Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology

 

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Sampling in front of the picturesque mountain panorama of Lake Zug.

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Credit: Sina Schorn/Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas frequently produced in the sea and in fresh water. Lakes in particular release large quantities of this climate-killer. Fortunately, however, there are microorganisms that counteract this: They are able to utilize methane to grow and generate energy, thus preventing it from being released into the atmosphere. These microorganisms, known as methanotrophs, are therefore regarded as an important "biological methane filter".

Methanotrophs comprise various groups of microorganisms, and many questions about their way of life have yet to be answered. A study by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, and the Swiss Eawag, which has now been published in the journal Nature Communications, shows the astonishing abilities of some of these organisms and their previously overlooked role for our climate.

Aerobic microorganisms in oxygen-free waters

For their study, the researchers around Sina Schorn and Jana Milucka from the Max Planck Institute in Bremen traveled to Lake Zug in Switzerland. This lake is almost 200 meters deep and permanently oxygen-free from a depth of around 120 meters. Nevertheless, the oxygen-free water contains so-called aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB for short). These, as their name implies, are essentially dependent on oxygen. Whether and how they can break down methane in the oxygen-free water was unclear until now.

Milucka and Schorn's team therefore decided to take a closer look at the activity of these microorganisms. For their study, they used methane molecules (CH4) that were labeled with “heavy” carbon atoms (13C instead of 12C). These were added to natural lake water samples containing the inhabiting microorganisms. Subsequently, the scientists followed the path of the heavy carbon in individual cells using special instruments (known as NanoSIMS). This allowed them to observe how the bacteria convert the methane into carbon dioxide, which is also a potent greenhouse gas but less climate-damaging than methane. Part of the carbon was also incorporated directly into the bacterial cells. This revealed which cells in the bacterial community were active and which were not. Using modern methods such as metagenomics and metatranscriptomics, they also investigated which metabolic pathways the bacteria used.

Only one bacterial group is active without oxygen

“Our results show that aerobic MOB remain active also in oxygen-free water,” says Sina Schorn, who is now a researcher at the University of Gothenburg. “However, this only applies to a certain group of MOB, easily recognizable by their distinctive rod-shaped cells. To our surprise, these cells were equally active under oxic and anoxic conditions, i.e. with and without oxygen. Thus, if we measure lower rates of methane oxidation in anoxic waters, it is probably because there are fewer of these special rod-shaped cells and not because the bacteria are less active.”

Metabolic versatility against methane release

The Max Planck researchers encountered another surprise when they took a closer look at the metabolic capabilities of this group of bacteria. "Based on the genes present, we were able to determine how the bacteria respond when oxygen becomes scarce," explains Jana Milucka, head of the Greenhouse Gases Research Group at the Max Planck Institute in Bremen. "We found genes that are used for a special type of methane-based fermentation." While this process had already been demonstrated for MOB cultures in the laboratory, it had not yet been studied in the environment. The researchers also discovered several genes for denitrification, which likely allow the bacteria to use nitrate instead of oxygen to generate energy.

The fermentation process, in particular, is interesting. "If the MOB perform fermentation, they likely release substances that other bacteria can use for growth. This means the carbon contained in the methane is retained in the lake for a longer period of time and does not reach the atmosphere. This represents a sink for methane carbon in anoxic environments that is typically not accounted for, which we will need to include in our future calculations," says Milucka.

Left: Microscopic visualisation of MOB (pink) and other microorganisms (blue) from Lake Zug using fluorescent probes. Right: Visualisation of heavy carbon atoms (13C) in the biomass of MOB as a sign of their activity using NanoSIMS. The warmer the colour, the more 13C was taken up by the bacterial cells and the more active they were.

Credit

Sina Schorn/Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology

Significant reduction of present and future methane emissions

In this study, the Bremen researchers explain who breaks down methane in oxygen-free habitats and how this degradation takes place. They show that methane-oxidizing bacteria are surprisingly important to keep the release of methane from these habitats to the atmosphere in check.

“Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is responsible for about a third of the current global rise in temperature,” says Schorn, explaining the significance of the results now published. “Methane oxidation by microorganisms is the only biological sink for methane. Their activity is therefore crucial for controlling methane emissions into the atmosphere and thus for regulating the global climate. Given the current and predicted increase in anoxic conditions in temperate lakes, the importance of MOB for methane degradation in lakes is expected to grow. Our results suggest that MOB will make a significant contribution to greenhouse gas mitigation and carbon storage in the future.”

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-49602-5 

Article Title

Persistent activity of aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria in anoxic lake waters due to metabolic versatility

India: Doctors protest after medic raped and murdered

Roshni Majumdar

The rape and murder of a medical trainee in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata has touched a nerve in India's medical community. Doctors are walking off the job to draw attention to the threats of violence they face.

https://p.dw.com/p/4jPi0

Medical health workers often end up bearing the brunt of violence by people angered at medical services they see as falling shortImage: Satyajit Shaw/DW


Thousands of doctors across major cities in India, including the capital, New Delhi, on Tuesday, joined in on protests sparked by the alleged rape and murder of a trainee last week.

A 31-year-old female medical trainee was found dead at one of the largest government hospitals in the eastern city of Kolkata on Friday. Her body sustained multiple injuries and an autopsy report described evidence of sexual violence.

After the incident, doctors walked off their jobs at government hospitals, demanding better security and safety measures for health workers. The chief of the institution involved, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, resigned on Monday.


Protests flare as doctors demand better safety

Protests picked up across government-run facilities in the eastern state of West Bengal, home to Kolkata, on Monday — with doctors saying they would suspend emergency services as well until at least Tuesday.

"As resident doctors, we are on the frontline and deal with lots of patients, which makes us quite vulnerable to these attacks," Doctor Rajat Sharma, vice president of India's Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), told DW.

"It's a scary situation which we see working on a daily basis. Doctors in West Bengal are protesting for their rights. We want to have better security for our resident doctors."

Around 75% of doctors in India have faced some form of violence, according to a survey by the Indian Medical Association.

Sharma's FORDA colleague Sarvesh Pandey told Indian media that doctors' demands included a specialized law protecting healthcare workers from violence on the job.

"There should be stringent security measures in hospitals and CCTV cameras should be installed," he said.

Students at universities in Kolkata also joined in on protests, demanding better safety measures for women in particular.

Sexual violence against women is a big problem in India.

The National Crimes Records Bureau reported that an average of 86 rape cases and 49 cases of crime against women were registered every single hour in 2021.

People hold up banners asking for justice in the incident, calling an end to sexual violence against womenImage: Satyajit Shaw/DW

Protests spread to major cities, some services hampered

The incident has struck a nerve in the medical community who have repeatedly said they face threats from angry family members, especially in the case of bad news involving medical issues.

In the western Maharashtra state, home to financial capital Mumbai, around 8,000 doctors at government hospitals walked off their jobs on Tuesday.

In New Delhi, junior doctors wearing white coats held banners that read "Doctors are not punching bags" as they sat outside a big government hospital to demand an investigation into the incident.




Protests hampered medical services in the city of Lucknow in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, as well as in the popular tourist state of Goa.
How have Indian authorities responded?

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the case to be transferred over to a federal agency, meaning that Kolkata police will have to submit all case documents to the agency.

Kolkata police initially set up a special investigative team and arrested a man in connection with the case.

City police chief Vineet Kumar Goyal told reporters a case had been registered against the suspect under provisions of the law relating to rape and murder.

The National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday sent notices to the director general of police and the chief secretary of West Bengal state, asking for a detailed report within two weeks.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met the family of the victim on Monday, telling reporters later that police were "giving utmost importance to the investigation."

Uproar in India over Spanish tourist's gang rape 00:39

The report used material from the Reuters news agency

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

Roshni Majumdar Roshni is a writer at DW's online breaking news desk and covers stories from around the world.@RoshniMaj

Uruguay's Fede Alvarez returns 'Alien' saga to roots with 'Romulus'

Montevideo (AFP) – It's back to basics for the "Alien" film franchise: "Alien: Romulus" hits theaters worldwide this week and director Fede Alvarez is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Ridley Scott, who launched the saga in 1979.


Issued on: 14/08/2024

Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez calls the first two 'Alien' films 'fundamental' for his career and cinema in general © Sofia TORRES / AFP

In an interview with AFP, Alvarez explained how he was forever marked by the series' early chapters as a kid growing up in Uruguay.

After Scott, James Cameron ("Aliens," 1986), David Fincher ("Alien 3," 1992) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("Alien Resurrection," 1997), Disney has entrusted this installment to Alvarez, who is far less known.

Scott rebooted the franchise in the 2010s with "Prometheus" and "Alien: Covenant," and is still one of the producers.

Alvarez, whose previous films include "Evil Dead" and "Don't Breathe" -- deems the first two "Alien" installments as "fundamental" to his work and for cinema in general.

"Romulus"-- which takes place almost entirely within the confines of a drifting spaceship -- is set at the time of the first films, when teams of space travelers discover, in deadly fashion, the existence of xenomorphs, formidable extraterrestrials.

"There's a scene in the 1986 film where we see a bunch of children and young people running around a space station. I thought, 'What is it going to be like for these kids when they grow up?" wonders the director, who is now based in Hollywood.

The film is also meant to bring back the gore and horror of the first film.

Alvarez faithfully reproduces the familiar motifs and scenes, including the emblematic hatching of the parasitic alien in the body of its human host.

The 46-year-old filmmaker also revisits the visual style of Scott, whom he calls "one of the great masters of the genre."
'Ambitious film'

"It's not so much a desire to go back, but simply the fact that as a filmmaker, I want to practice as I learned to do," he explains, particularly his decision to film without "too many green screens" -- a technique allowing visual effects to be added in post-production.

Alvarez immersed himself in the "futurism of the 1980s," with mythical specimens of "Alien" controlled by teams of puppeteers.

"Technically, it's a very ambitious film," he says. "Generating real emotion in people is the most difficult thing there is."

And "when you decide to see this film, you know more or less what you want to expose yourself to. It's like when you go on a roller coaster," he explains, adding: "I like having that effect on people."

In the tradition of "Alien," which starred a young Sigourney Weaver as the hero Ellen Ripley, this film features Cailee Spaeny, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Elvis Presley's wife in the 2023 biopic "Priscilla."

Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez appears at a press conference for the launch of his new film 'Alien: Romulus' © Sofia TORRES / AFP/File

In "Romulus," she plays an orphan, reduced to the state of quasi-slave on a sunless corner of the planet managed in a "Blade Runner"-style atmosphere by the private conglomerate Weyland-Yutani, which mines a toxic mineral there.

She doesn't hesitate when a group of young rebels suggest that she try to escape to more hospitable skies.

The plan? Seize a spaceship that they think is abandoned, but really is inhabited by xenomorphs who have brutally murdered the crew.

© 2024 AFP

Movie review: 'Alien: Romulus' takes series in bold directions

By Fred Topel

 The alien is back in "Alien: Romulus." Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Alien: Romulus, in theaters Friday, is a relentless, thrilling entry in the saga. Like in most of the sequels, fans will debate some of its choices, but this entry offers admirable creative takes on the franchise.

Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her android, Andy (David Jonsson), work on a mining planet run by Weyland-Yutani, the company for which Ripley worked in the 1979 film. Rain's friend, Tyler (Archie Renaux), brings word of a decommissioned space station.

Tyler proposes stealing the station's cryosleep pods so they can escape to another colony because Weyland-Yutani keeps prolonging their contract due to miner shortages.

Writer-director Fede Alvarez, with co-writer Rodo Sayagues, creates a new corner of the oppressive world of Alien. The franchise established Weyland-Yutani considers its workers expendable, so imagine how they treat the ones who aren't astronauts.

The opening scenes on the planet suggest an entire world that exists there, and the full IMAX frame shows a lot of activity going on in the background. The gang of youths going on an adventure harkens back to the '80s movies, for which shows like Stranger Things are nostalgic, albeit too violent and graphic for kids.

But, once Rain and her friends board the Romulus station, it of course becomes an Alien movie and the focus becomes making it out of Romulus alive, let alone making it to another colony or any social parable.

Still, Romulus uses all of the accouterments of Alien for new suspenseful sequences. The characters encounter the creature, recovered from the remains of Ripley's ship, the Nostromo, for the first time, but Alvarez and Sayugues have new ideas.

So aliens at each stage of evolution pursue Rain and her friends, with their acid blood a deterrent to killing them lest they burn a hole into the void of space. The film relentlessly alternates calamities between the creatures and the environment.

Rain and Andy discover equipment used in previous Alien movies, but they have to use it with different limitations, given that Romulus is in a state of disrepair. A zero-gravity sequence is a particular highlight.

But, one reference to the original Alien requires a visual effect so bad that it should have been more obscured to maintain some mystery. The hubris of repeatedly cutting back to the fully lit effect in closeup makes it even more egregious.

The idea behind it is sound, and even shots of it on a blurry video monitor suggest that's as far as it should have gotten. Alvarez's confidence in that effect is misplaced and once it is no longer a spoiler, it will be regarded as a new benchmark for visual effects whose ambitions exceed their ability.

Aside from one glaring misjudgment, Alien: Romulus is one of the series' more ambitious and satisfying entries. It is also perhaps the first standalone entry since it neither explores the origin of the alien nor continues the Ripley story so it can focus on its own characters.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.

Mediterranean Sea temperatures match 2023 records

Paris (AFP) – The temperatures of the Mediterranean Sea in recent days have reached heat records set last summer, the main Spanish maritime research centre told AFP Tuesday, with marine heatwaves in some places exceeding 30 degrees Celsius.


Issued on: 13/08/2024 - 

The Mediterranean basin is one of the hot spots of global warming 

© Ibrahim CHALHOUB / AFP/Fil


On August 11, the daily median surface temperature of the Mediterranean reached 28.67C, said Justino Martinez, researcher at the Institut de Ciencies del Mar in Barcelona and the Catalan Institute of Research for the Governance of the Sea.

This comes close to July 24, 2023, when the Mediterranean Sea broke its daily heat record with a median temperature of 28.71C.

The preliminary readings for 2024 come from satellite data from the European Copernicus Observatory.

The Mediterranean basin is one of the hot spots of global warming.

For the second consecutive year, its the waters are warmer than the previous record set on August 23, 2003 when the daily median temperature reached 28.25C amid an exceptional heatwave.

"What is remarkable is not so much to reach a maximum on a given day, but to observe a long period of high temperatures, even without breaking a record," said Martinez.

"Since 2022, surface temperatures have been abnormally high for long periods, even in a climate-change environment," he said.

This year, the 2023 level was reached "more than 15 days later and usually the sea surface temperature in the Mediterranean is expected to decrease from the end of August", he added.

Locally, waters above very unusual 30C were recorded (4C above normal) along the coasts of Spain, France and Italy.

Oceans have absorbed 90 percent of the excess heat produced by human activity since the dawn of the industrial age, according to scientists.

This excess heat continues to accumulate as greenhouse gases, mainly from burning oil, gas and coal.

The overheating of the oceans is predicted to impact marine plant and animal life, including on the migration of certain species and the spread of invasive species.

This could threaten fish stocks and thus undermine food security in certain parts of the globe.

Warmer oceans are also less capable of absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2), reinforcing the vicious cycle of global warming.

© 2024 AFP

Climate change fuelled deadly India landslides, say scientists

Bengaluru (India) (AFP) – Climate change played a key factor in torrential rains in India that triggered catastrophic landslides killing at least 200 people last month, a group of scientists said Wednesday.


Issued on: 14/08/2024 -

Rescuers retrieve the body of one of the more than 200 people killed in landslides triggered by intense rains in India's southern state of Kerala in July 

© Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP

Monsoon rains battered the southern coastal state of Kerala and triggered landslides on July 30, burying homes and residents in Wayanad district under tonnes of rock and soil.

World Weather Attribution, a network of scientists who have pioneered peer-reviewed methods for assessing the possible role of climate change in specific extreme events, said the link between the intense rainfall and a warming planet was clear.

"The landslides... were triggered by a burst of rainfall that was made about 10 percent heavier by human-caused climate change," the WWA analysis by 24 scientists said, noting more than 140mm (5.5 inches) of rain fell in a single day.

"Before climate change, similar downpours in Kerala were incredibly rare," it said.

The scientists say higher temperatures due to fossil fuel emissions mean the atmosphere can hold more moisture, resulting in heavier rainfall.

It also said there had been a staggering 62 percent decrease in forest cover in the Wayanad region since 1950, "reducing slope stability" and increasing the landslide risk.

"The Wayanad landslides is another catastrophic example of climate change playing out in real time," said study member Mariam Zachariah, from Imperial College London.

A woman cries in Kerala's Wayanad district after deadly landslides last month: scientists said there had been a staggering 62 percent decrease in forest cover in the region, "reducing slope stability" and increasing the landslide risk © Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP

Monsoon rains from June to September offer respite from the summer heat and are crucial for agriculture and replenishing water supplies, but they also bring regular destruction.

WWA said the rain that caused the landslides was the third heaviest one-day event on record in the area -- beaten only by storms in 2019 and in 1924 -- and warned worse will come without rapid change.

"One-day bursts of monsoon rainfall will continue to become even heavier, risking even deadlier landslides, until the world replaces fossil fuels with renewable sources of energy", researchers said.

India is the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases but has committed to achieve a net zero emissions economy by 2070 -- two decades after most of the industrialised West.

For now, it is overwhelmingly reliant on coal for power generation.

"These direct threats to people in India will continue to escalate as the climate warms and humans continue to regulate natural systems," said WWA scientist Arpita Mondal, from the Indian Institute of Technology.

© 2024 AFP

Wildfires in 2023 caused massive CO2 emissions, compounding climate change

A university in the United Kingdom has published a first-of-its-kind study on the release of carbon emissions from wildfires. The study found that wildfires last year caused 8.6 billion tons of CO2 emissions – 16 percent above average.


Issued on: 14/08/2024 - 

Locals gather to watch firefighting efforts amid heavy smoke from the Eagle Bluff wildfire, after it crossed the Canada-US border, July 30, 2023. 

© Jesse Winter, Reuters

Wildfires made more frequent and intense by climate change released significant quantities of CO2 into the air in 2023-2024, said a first-of-its-kind annual study published Wednesday.

Fires in natural areas caused 8.6 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions worldwide between March 2023 and February 2024 – 16 percent above average.

Only a relatively calm fires season in the African savannah prevented the 2023-2024 season from breaking a fresh record for CO2 emissions at the global level.

These were among the conclusions in a new study, "State of Wildfires", published in the journal Earth System Science Data.

It was carried out by the University of East Anglia and other institutions based in Britain and aims to be updated on an annual basis.

Emissions from fires in Canada's boreal forests were more than nine times greater than the average over the past two decades. They contributed to almost a quarter of global emissions.

In Canada alone, the fires forced the evacuations of 232,000 people and eight firefighters lost their lives.

Other areas that also suffered included the Amazon (Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela), Hawaii and Greece.

"Last year, fires killed people, destroyed homes and infrastructure, caused mass evacuations, threatened livelihoods and damaged vital ecosystems," said Matthew Jones of the University of East Anglia and lead author of the study.

"These fires are becoming more frequent and intense with climate warming, and both society and the environment are suffering the consequences."

The authors of the report concluded that climate change has made weather conditions favouring the fires more likely.

They found that human influence has increased by at least a factor of 20 the probability of weather conditions conducive to fires in the western Amazon.

If humanity continues to produce large amounts of greenhouse gas, major fires – like those that took place last year – will become more likely.

But nothing is set in stone.

"The risk can be minimised. It is not too late," said Jones during a presentation of the report to media.


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"A low-carbon future offers a lot of respite from the risks we face in the future."

Over the past two decades as human activity has warmed the planet, the frequency and intensity of extreme wildfires has more than doubled worldwide, according to a study published in June in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

(AFP)

Canadian LGBTQ community denounces alarming rise in attacks

Montreal (AFP) – Members of Canada's LGBTQ community have denounced a resurgence of "hateful comments and attacks," including seeing rainbow flags burned, Pride marches disrupted and increasing violence targeting them -- all a stark contrast to the country's reputation of tolerance.


Issued on: 14/08/2024 

For years, many parts of the country have been considered a haven where one can freely live one's sexual and gender identity © Christopher Katsarov Luna / AFP

For years, many parts of the country have been considered a haven where one can freely live one's sexual and gender identity. Canada was one of the first countries in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.

In the five years to 2023, however, the number of crimes and offences in Canada related to the sexual orientation of victims quadrupled from 186 to 860, according to Statistics Canada.

As in other places in the world, "street violence" and hate on social media has exploded in recent years, observes Pascal Vaillancourt, director of Interligne, a support service for the LGBTQ community.

"People call us and tell us about troubles that we had been hearing less and less about," he told AFP, pointing to a rise in verbal abuse and physical attacks.

He says he himself was recently -- and for the first time -- the victim of violent and homophobic threats on the streets of Montreal while out with his partner.

Canada, a "pioneer of diversity and inclusion" in the world, is experiencing a "significant change" with a "marked decline" in public support for the LGBTQ community, says Sanyam Sethi of polling firm Ipsos Canada.

According to a major survey published in June on topics such as same-sex marriage, public displays of affection or anti-discrimination laws, Canada recorded some of the largest declines in almost all aspects among the 26 countries polled.

Only 49 percent of Canadians said they support LGBTQ people speaking openly about their sexual orientation or gender identity, compared to 61 percent in 2021.

"This is the sharpest decline in the world, along with Mexico and Turkey," commented Sethi.

Overall support for members of the LGBTQ community to be legally protected from discrimination remained high, however, according to the survey.

Growing polarization

Tensions around LGBTQ issues in the United States are spilling over into Canada, according to community groups, which are observing a growing polarization.

Tensions around LGBTQ issues in the United States are spilling over into Canada, according to community groups, which are observing a growing polarization © ANDREJ IVANOV / AFP

"It has become something that you can be for or against," says Marie Houzeau, executive director of research and social intervention group Gris-Montreal.

The online posts of conservative influencers have also become an issue, she says.

Young people often hear the same types of hateful comments over and over in online bubbles closed off by social networks' algorithms, making them feel justified when they repeat that speech aggressively against homosexuals and transgender people, she explains.

There is "a climate of hate that is setting in," fueled by conservative politicians who deliver a divisive and populist message, says Vaillancourt, who feels that the hard-fought rights of the community are "becoming fragile."

In some Canadian provinces -- Alberta, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan -- governments have announced that they want to toughen laws targeting young transsexuals by banning transition surgeries for minors.

The policy has been strongly denounced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose father Pierre Trudeau decriminalized same-sex sexual activities in 1969.
Violent radicalization

The country is still shaken from a knife attack last year on a gender identity class at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. A man seriously wounded three people, including the teacher of the class.

Canadian intelligence services warned in their latest public report for 2023 that extremists against 'gender ideology' could 'carry out extreme violence' © GEOFF ROBINS / AFP/File

Canadian intelligence services also warned in their latest public report for 2023 that extremists against "gender ideology" could "carry out extreme violence" against the LGBTQ community.

In this tense climate, Trudeau posted on X that his government would ensure organizers of Pride marches are provided with "the necessary means of protection" so that "hate" does not harm festivities.

In the Pembina Valley, a rural and conservative region of Manitoba province, south of Winnipeg, a Pride march was disrupted this summer after organizers and local restaurant owners received threats.

Pauline Emerson-Froebe, president of Pembina Valley Pride, told AFP those who attacked the march wanted to silence the community.

"Some people are against the fact that we speak publicly about our sexual orientation," she said. "They tell us not to say anything, to just keep quiet."

© 2024 AFP

Germany sees explosion in cases of bluetongue virus

By AFP
August 13, 2024

A sheep with bluetongue virus being inspected in The Netherlands in July 2022 - Copyright AFP Oli SCARFF

Germany has seen an explosion of cases of bluetongue virus this year, authorities said Tuesday as fears increase across Europe about the disease affecting sheep and cattle.

The country has registered 1,885 outbreaks of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) since the start of 2024, according to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Germany’s top animal disease research centre.

During the whole of 2023, there were just 23 outbreaks.

“There has been a real wave since the beginning of July in farms with susceptible animals,” a spokeswoman for the institute told AFP.

New cases are being added every day and the number of outbreaks could exceed 2,000 by as soon as Thursday, the spokeswoman said.

The institute was unable to provide information on mortality rates.

Bluetongue is a non-contagious, insect-borne viral disease that affects ruminants such as cows and sheep but not pigs or horses. It is difficult to control once it takes hold.

It is not a risk to humans, but in animals it causes high fevers, mouth ulcers and swollen heads.

Support for farmers in tackling the disease through vaccinations is patchy in Germany as the responsibility falls to local authorities in the country’s 16 states.

The first outbreak of BTV-3 was registered in Germany on October 12, 2023, according to the institute.

Since then, other outbreaks have been concentrated in the west and centre of the country, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Lower Saxony states.

The government has issued an emergency order to temporarily authorise three BTV-3 vaccines, pending official authorisation from the EU.

Since October 2023, cases of bluetongue have also appeared in other countries including the Netherlands and Belgium.

The disease has also recently hit France, causing alarm among farmers.

BTV-3 is particularly deadly for sheep but can also cause a significant drop in milk production in cows, according to the German institute.