Latest news with #ecosystem
The Sun
9 hours ago
- The Sun
Common beach activity at holiday hotspot could see tourists fined over £2,500 – or risk getting stopped at the airport
UK HOLIDAYMAKERS could face a hefty fine if they carry out this one common beach activity. Brits travelling to Sardinia, Italy this summer will be looking forward to the island's sprawling white beaches and scorching temperatures. 1 But whilst the area is known for its beautiful coastline and clear waters, tourists have been urged not to take advantage of the Italian landscape. While collecting shells might appear like a harmless beach activity, in Sardinia, it could cost you over £2,500. Local law prohibits taking shells or pebbles from any beach on the island in a bid to protect the area's ecosystem and prevent the beaches from eroding. Studies suggest removing shells from a seashore could impact an area's ecosystem as many animals live inside the husks. In 2017, Sardinia made it illegal to take sand from its beaches after thousands of tourists were caught trying to transport boxes of the stuff back home. Just a few years later customs police on the Mediterranean island slapped 41 travellers with penalties of up to €3,000 (£2,580) in just a few days alone. Collectively they attempted to swipe 220lb (100kg) of beach items in separate incidents. Locals grew fed up with tourists trying to take a piece of the beach home with them - and then attempting to flog it for a profit. There is even a dedicated Facebook page - called "Sardinia robbed and plundered" - to highlight the problem, which has amassed 37,722 followers. Visitors have been caught at airport and harbour customs checks, while police and the military have also been monitoring websites for unlawful sales. Spanish Beaches Close Due to Dangerous Sea Creature Cops reported dozens of illicitly advertised beach items - some with "high prices". Islanders warned the issue is creating an environmental emergency. Pierluigi Cocco, an environmental scientist and resident of the Sardinian capital Cagliari, told the BBC that the beaches were "the main reason why tourists are attracted to the island of Sardinia". He said that although taking sand home served as a reminder of a "treasured memory", it could contribute to the reduction of beaches in the future. In 2019, a French couple were caught with 40kg of sand in the boot of their car. Police found the sand crammed into 14 plastic bottles taken from a beach in Chia, southern Sardinia. The couple claimed they wanted to take it home as a "souvenir" and did not know they had committed an offence.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
MOTE Marine Laboratory heads up seagrass initiative as other scientists call for water quality improvements
The Brief MOTE Marine Laboratory heads seagrass restoration technology development initiative. Funding comes from the Florida legislature after seagrass has declined across the state. Other scientists say more is needed, including storm and wastewater improvements. SARASOTA, Fla. - Seagrass plays a vital part in not only protecting Florida shorelines from erosion, but it also helps the underwater ecosystem thrive. In recent years, there has been a loss of seagrass across the state. The backstory Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota is trying to figure out how to stop this from happening. Seagrass is a breeding ground and protector for game fish. It's also a source of food for manatees and can help improve water quality. In areas across the state of Florida, seagrasses are disappearing. OTHER NEWS: Shark bite survivor's family, TGH doctors discuss 9-year-old's recovery: 'She's done a fantastic job' "We've seen stressors all across the state of Florida impacting our seagrass beds, which are so vital for our water quality, nursery grounds," said Kevin Claridge. Kevin Claridge is Mote Marine Laboratory's Vice President of Sponsored Research and Coastal Policy Program. He said Mote Marine Laboratory is working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the University of Florida in creating a 10-year Florida seagrass restoration plan. Big picture view "Specifically, the funding is looking at what those stressors are on those seagrass systems. Say it's nutrient change or acidification or less light or nutrient impacts," said Claridge. The Florida Legislature has approved $2 million dollars in funding to be awarded every year for 5 years for the Seagrass Restoration Technology Development Initiative. The hope is to find the most tolerant seagrasses that Mote Marine Laboratory and partners can grow for future restoration projects. "It's the first time ever really on an international scale. We are working with partners all over the world and what they are doing in planting technologies to understand that genetic makeup better, to help us understand which ones are growing faster," said Claridge. Sarasota Bay has seen big gains. In 2024, they witnessed a 19% increase in seagrass coverage. Dr. David Tomasko, the Director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, said it happened after local governments worked on removing nutrients from the water. "None of that 2,000 acres came about by transplanting. It came about because the water quality improved because we spent $300 million improving water quality," he said. Tomako said while the science of growing seagrass is vital, additional funds allocated to wastewater upgrades and storm water retrofits should be considered. "We want both these things to happen. We want the science to move forward, but we also don't want elected officials in Tallahassee or Washington D.C. to take their eye off the ball, which is we can recover eco-system scale, but it will cost more than 10-20 million dollars," he said. He said without change, sea grass will continue to pay the price as Florida grows. "If you're not willing to, at the same time, devote enough resources for these big projects. Wastewater upgrades, storm water retrofits it doesn't understand how well you understand the seagrasses. They won't grow if the water quality is not good," said Tomasko. What's next Mote Marine Laboratory has completed a green house which will help them experiment on real world stressors to sea grass. They hope to identify seagrass types which are most resilient to outside changes. Scientists are also looking at genetic and genomic approaches to generate genetically resilient seagrass which could be natural reproduced in land-based nurseries. The Source: Information was gathered by FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon from Mote Marine Laboratory and the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. The Source FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon gathered the information for this story. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter Follow FOX 13 on YouTube
Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Times
Could ash dieback kill the wood wide web?
S ince the 1990s, UK scientists had been waiting for an invasion. Then in 2012, ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) started its slow and steady march across the UK, threatening devastation to our landscape and wildlife. There have even been dire predictions that 50 per cent of these beloved trees could die in the next 30 years. In the firing line are 150 million mature ash trees in the UK, along with 1.8 billion seedlings and saplings, which account for 12 per cent of all of Britain's broadleaved woodland. These trees support 955 species of lichens, mosses, insects, fungi, birds and mammals, some of which are dependent on them, and are part of our national ecosystem. So what is ash dieback, how serious could it be — and could areas of devastation caused by the disease prevent other nearby trees from flourishing by destroying their ecosystem?
Forbes
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Nat Geo's ‘Underdogs' Turns Weird Wildlife Into Must-See TV
A portrait of a dusky langur. National Geographic/Karl Davies For more than a century, National Geographic has made icons out of elephants, whales, and lions. But what about butt-glowing larvae or manatees that fart to stay afloat? Those unsung misfits finally get their moment in Underdogs, a new five-part wildlife series narrated by Ryan Reynolds. Underdogs is unique among nature documentaries. It is anything but another majestic voiceover about alpha predators. This is nature storytelling flipped inside out, spotlighting the overlooked, misunderstood, and just plain bizarre animals that keep ecosystems humming behind the scenes. And with Reynolds narrating, it's also genuinely funny. To better understand what went into creating this wildly unique series, I spoke with Doug Parker, field director and assistant producer on Underdogs. Parker is no stranger to extreme environments—but even he admits this series pushed him to the edge. 'There was one day in Greenland,' Parker told me, 'we were filming barnacle geese on a cliff face 400 feet up. Suddenly, we heard thunder. It wasn't rain. It wasn't lightning. It was an avalanche, crashing down the valley just feet from the nest.' His team had debated filming from a ledge nearby but decided it was too risky. 'Thankfully, we followed our safety protocol. If we hadn't, we might not be having this conversation.' It's easy to forget that these shows require cutting-edge tools to capture behavior most people have never seen before. Parker stressed that the success of Underdogs—especially the empathy and comedy it relies on—comes down to technology. 'You can't have comedy without empathy, and you can't create empathy without immersing yourself in the world of the character we're showing you,' he said. That immersion came from rigs like the RED Raptor on a motion-controlled buggy system, which let the crew mimic the stealthy crawl of an elephant seal sneaking through a beach harem. For scenes inside New Zealand's glowworm caves—where any stray white light would ruin the bioluminescent spectacle—they used cameras like the Sony FX6 and A7S paired with ultra-fast macro lenses. 'It looks like a starry sky,' Parker explained. 'We lit the cave with light that matched the glowworms' own wavelength. That, paired with motion control rigs and low-light sensors, let us show how they lure prey—without interfering.' This isn't just flashy gear. It's what makes the difference between a quick glimpse and a story. And it allowed the crew to capture moments never filmed before, like the glowworm's predatory hunt or an avalanche thundering past a bird's nest. Each Underdogs episode explores a different survival strategy. 'Superzeroes' kicks things off with creatures whose powers seem made up—like a shrimp that stuns prey with a sonic blast as hot as the sun. 'Terrible Parents' reveals awful parenting decisions in the animal world, from koalas feeding poop to their young to geese nesting on cliffs. In 'Sexy Beasts,' Reynolds follows creatures navigating the messy world of attraction. One standout is Sebastian, a bowerbird in Australia who arranges trash—including toy handcuffs and bottle caps—outside his stick tunnel to impress a mate. 'We looked at 45 different bowers,' Parker recalled. 'Sebastian's was right next to a gas station. Watching him strut around while couples came and went at the bus stop—it was like reality TV for birds.' From a cable dolly system rigged to follow a sloth's glacial descent, to hiding motion sensors in urban environments, Parker emphasized that the production never leaned on animation or cheap tricks. The animals carry the story. Reynolds just gives it voice. 'Bringing Ryan and Maximum Effort in from day one made it clear we were telling character-driven stories,' Parker said. 'You end up falling in love with these creatures. And that emotional connection—that's what lets the comedy land.' Beneath the jokes and clever editing is something deeper. Underdogs celebrates the animals that survive not by dominating, but by adapting. They fake, they hide, they glow, they stink—but they make it work. In an era obsessed with power and perfection, these misfits remind us that it's often the weirdos who keep the world running. All episodes of Underdogs are available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu. And yes, that's Green Day roaring in the trailer with an all-new anthem titled 'Underdog.' Don't miss it. The world's most relatable animals are finally ready for their close-up.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
There's a Tron Treasury Company
Among other things, crypto developed an alternative way to take companies public, or at least to take quasi-companies quasi-public. Traditionally, if you had a business idea, you would form a company to do that business. The company would receive the future profits of doing the business, and to raise money you would sell shares of the company, that is, rights to a portion of those future profits. Those shares are securities, and US law regulates how you can sell them: If you want to sell them to the general public in the US, you have to register them with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and provide financial and other disclosures. Crypto found a new approach. I mean, sort of; arguably it found new labels for the old approach. If you had a crypto business idea — 'I am going to start a platform to store value and do transactions and program smart contracts and trade derivatives' is the main crypto business idea — then you could form a decentralized crypto ecosystem to do that business. Instead of future profits accruing to a company, the future economic value of that business would accrue to the users of the ecosystem. Tokens of the ecosystem would be required to use the ecosystem, would represent a sort of quasi-ownership stake in the ecosystem, and would grow in value as the economic value of the ecosystem grew. And to raise money to start the business, you would sell some tokens.
