Earthweek: a diary of the planet

For the week ending Friday, June 23.

Arctic migrants

An Inuvialuit hunter high in the Canadian Arctic came across the first beaver anyone in the region has ever killed — another sign climate change is driving the species northward. “We saw something walk toward us and it was a beaver. So I drove up to it and I shot it,” said Richard Gruben, vice president of the Tuktoyaktuk Hunters and Trappers Association. The invading beavers pose a significant threat to the Arctic ecosystem because of the way they reshape the landscape with dams. Gruben says some lakes have already dried up because of beaver dams.

Volcanic swarm

The supervolcano that lies directly beneath Yellowstone National Park was hit by more than 460 tremors between June 12 and 20, according to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. The strongest registered a magnitude of 4.4 and was felt by more than 100 people in the area. The observatory added that lesser swarms are common and make up about half of the total seismic activity around the park.

Savanna invasion

Non-native plants that have been brought in by visitors or planted for decoration around tourist lodges threaten to spread across East Africa’s Serengeti-Mara landscape, where they could disrupt the annual migration of 2 million grazing animals. A survey by an international team of researchers reveals that the invasive plants are now on the edges of the vast savannas, home to Africa’s famed wildebeest, zebra and gazelle populations.

Weird of the deep

Scientists on the Australian ship Investigator have uncovered hundreds of weird and previously undiscovered species. They collected marine life from beneath where the Australian continental plate drops off more than 13,000 feet. Of the roughly 1,000 species, more than a third are new to science. While the more bizarre discoveries could be considered grotesque to some eyes, the researchers say they are beautiful examples of diversity.

Tropical exodus

A fisheries expert warns that tropical waters are emptying out as climate change drives more and more fish toward cooler waters. University of British Columbia marine biologist Daniel Pauly says that marine species are moving away from the equator at a rate of about 30 miles per decade as they try to remain in an environment ideal for feeding and spawning. The principal investigator at the Sea Around Us research organization adds that there are no replacement species for the tropics, only fish that are fleeing the warmth.

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