European WILDLIFE

A huge seven-square-kilometre block of ice broke off from the Greenland Jakobshavn Isbrae glacier and is drifting away from the original mass. The entire event was captured in images by the American National Aviation and Space Authority (NASA), as the Spanish El Mundo Daily reported.

Teams of researchers from the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center in Ohio, USA, and Polar Geospatial Centre in Minnesota have been tracking satellite images to check for changes in …

Fish are increasingly threatened by rising levels of human-induced noise pollution. This is claimed by the scientists asked to investigate the impacts of noise from underwater drilling rigs, ships, and sonars on the fish populations around the world.

Although fish are said to live in a world of silence, most of them hear well and sound plays an active role in their life, scientists say. “People always assumed that the fish world is silent,” says …

Emissions from industrial companies in the European Union that fall under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) fell by 11.6 percent last year as a result of the economic recession. The European Commission released this information today.

“It is attributed to several factors. First, the reduced economic activity as a result of the recession and second, to the low natural gas prices in 2009, making it much more attractive to produce energy from gas than …

The numbers of sea turtles caught in commercial fishing over the last 20 years may be in the millions. This figure is derived from a study comparing the worldwide “by-catches” of large-scale fishing vessels. Mediterranean sea turtles are at risk as well.

Scientists reported their conclusions in the Conservation Letters journal. The analysis summarises data provided by the governmental committees contained in the technical reports and presented at individual symposiums published from 1990 to 2008. …

Nearly 500 animal and plant species have become extinct in the UK over the past two centuries. Butterflies and amphibians are the most affected groups. This comes out of a report entitled “The Lost Life” published today in London by the Natural England organization.

Nearly 1,000 species of British flora and fauna, including squirrel and European eel, have acquired priority protection status.

“The Lost Life” report was published on the occasion of the International Year …