"The United States said on Friday it was appealing a World Trade Organization ruling against U.S. dolphin-safe labeling measures for tuna in a longrunning spat with Mexico closely watched by environmentalists."

"For the past 30 years, botanist Nicholas Money has studied the microorganisms that most people associate with bad smells, itchy toes, damp basements and rotten food. A renowned fungal researcher at Miami University in Ohio, Money has devoted his career to studying indoor molds, fungal movements and the mysterious world of mycology."

"Since falling to a low of 100 in 1999, the Catalina Island fox has rebounded to a number — 1,542 — above its previous level, thanks to conservationists' efforts."

"A review suggests that the Amazon rainforest may be changing, courtesy of human impacts on the region's weather."

"Federal researchers say an infectious and lethal cold-loving fungus sweeping through parts of North America and Canada has killed millions more bats over the last five years than previously estimated.

The rapidly spreading fungus responsible for white-nose syndrome is now believed to have killed 5.7 million to 6.7 million bats, a count several times higher than earlier estimates, across 16 states as far west as Oklahoma.

"Hunted to near extinction in the 19th century, the trumpeter swan is taking advantage of warmer, longer summers to expand its range and numbers - one of the few good news stories of global warming, at least for now."

Jane Kay reports for The Daily Climate January 18, 2012. [34]
 

"The United States is poised to formally and finally ban that slithering scourge of the Everglades, the Burmese python. U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who has championed the ban, is expected to make the announcement Tuesday morning during a press conference at a flood control pumping station off Tamiami Trail in the Everglades — a spot that is pretty much ground zero for a giant exotic constrictor that has become one of the nation’s most notorious invasive species."

"A few years ago, something surprising began turning up in Asia’s fish markets: the gill rakers of manta and mobula rays."

"Shawn Heinrichs and Paul Hilton, photographers who have been monitoring the international soaring trade in shark fins, decided to find out what was going on. The appearance of those creatures in the markets “came as a real shock to us,” Mr. Heinrichs said by phone from Indonesia. “They don’t even taste good, so what was the reason?”