A battle beneath the waves: Purple urchins thrive, starving out red urchins used in sushi
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Red sea urchins are harvested for their gonads, which are eaten as a sushi delicacy known as uni. Climate change has led to an increase in the purple sea urchin population, which is out-competing the red sea urchins for food.
Dewey-Humboldt Town Council condemns coyote-killing contests
FLAGSTAFF – The Dewey-Humboldt Town Council passed a resolution Nov. 20 condemning animal-killing contests. The resolution comes three weeks before a coyote contest in central Arizona.
Why llamas may be the key to help humans fight off the flu
LA JOLLA, Calif. – A recent study examines how llama antibodies may be the key to combating the influenza virus. Scientists at California’s Scripps Research Institute have found that mice, given fatal doses of flu strains, successfully fought them off.
Farmers, USDA celebrate demise of pink bollworm, a cotton-killing pest
PHOENIX – The pink bollworm has destroyed cotton crops in the United States for a century. But it’s been eradicated from cotton-producing areas in the lower 48.
Will Arizona’s saguaros survive climate change and drought?
TUCSON – Fueled by climate change and prolonged drought, the establishment of young saguaro cactuses in Saguaro National Park has nearly ceased for decades.
U.S. Forest Service under fire for cutting old-growth trees in eastern Arizona
FLAGSTAFF – The decision to cut more than 1,300 old-growth trees last summer in an Arizona forest has been criticized for breaking trust with the thinning project's backers. This at a time when forest management is receiving national attention for the role it plays in preventing catastrophic wildfires like the ones we're seeing in California.
Hikers discover oldest prehistoric footprints found at Grand Canyon
PHOENIX – Hikers at the Grand Canyon have found a set of 28 small footprints on a slab of rock that had fallen from the canyon wall. It turns out that the set of tracks is about 310 million years old – nearly 250 million years before the age of dinosaurs.
