International Polar Year

http://classic.ipy.org/development/eoi/proposal-details.php?id=91

http://www.scar.org/about/partnerships/globec.html

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http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2021445,00.html

New species, warm water and whales: the Antarctic's secrets revealed by melting ice

· Scientists research world sealed off for 12,000 years
· Marine life transformed by rapid climate change

(c) Alok Jha, science correspondent
Monday February 26, 2007
The Guardian (c)

"The seas around the Antarctic peninsula are among the most mysterious places on Earth - what life there is has remained largely a mystery, thanks to a thick cover of ice for the past few millennia. But the collapse of some of these ice sheets has given scientists a rare opportunity for access, and yesterday they revealed that they had found a thriving underwater world that is being transformed by climate change.

As well as new species, the Census of Marine Antarctic Life (CMAL) project found more common ones that were able to survive in the Antarctic because the temperature of the sea is rising. Minke whales were discovered in large numbers. The scientists also spotted a rare beaked whale off the coast of Elephant Island - the famous refuge of Ernest Shackleton's 21-man crew after a doomed attempt to cross Antarctica in 1916.


This pattern may not be repeated in future, however. Michael Stoddart, the leader of the CAML project, said one consequence of the rising global temperatures was a fall in plankton such as algae that grow underneath sea ice, which would have knock-on effects to animals higher up the food chain, all the way up to whales. "Algae is a source of abundant, high-quality winter food and is central to the health of the whole ecosystem," he said.


The Larsen shelf is a fringe of ice in the north-west of the Weddel Sea, extending along the east coast of the Antarctic peninsula. In 2002, scientists watched in shock as 3,250 square kilometres (1,255 sq miles) of 220-metre thick ice - the Larsen B shelf - fell into the sea. It had been stable for at least 12,000 years.

Read the full account on The Guardian's website
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EU website for GMO safety

http://www.gmo-safety.eu/en/

http://www.gmo-safety.eu/en/news/539.docu.html

Only one type of bird more at risk

Growing genetically modified, herbicide-resistant crops has fewer negative consequences for birds than had been feared. This is one of the findings from a model developed by British researchers to assess the impact of agricultural methods on biodiversity. Simon Butler and his colleagues at the University of Reading present their model in the January issue of Science.

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http://www.gmo-safety.eu/en/debate/

Risk assessment for Bt plants: two concepts

The approval of Bt plants involves complex ecological relationships. The question is: are separate tests required for each plant and the non-target organisms it may potentially affect? Or is it possible to develop suitable standard tests? The scientific community is currently discussing two different concepts.

http://www.gmo-safety.eu/en/maize/corn_borer/525.docu.html

Jörg Romeis: Ecosystems are highly complex and vary widely between regions. Nevertheless, the basic approach to the risk assessment of Bt plants is always the same. The approach has proved effective, even though it is possible that fewer species of butterfly are at risk when Bt maize is planted under Western European climate conditions than in the tropics. The procedure consists of several stages and is based on problem and risk analysis. This leads to targeted laboratory tests that are designed in such a way that they can answer a large number of the questions relating to possible risks. If the laboratory tests indicate that a particular species may be at risk, further tests are conducted in the greenhouse and, if necessary, in the field. In near-natural conditions, researchers investigate the risk in greater detail, studying for instance the probability of the particular non-target species coming into contact with the Bt protein .

http://www.gmo-safety.eu/en/maize/corn_borer/526.docu.html

Angelika Hilbeck: We can't model the diversity of ecosystems in the laboratory, but we can take individual key components of an ecosystem and examine them in the laboratory. Fundamental questions can be examined experimentally there, which is often difficult and more time-consuming and expensive to do in the field. For example, we can clarify the direct effects of the Bt protein on individual organisms. But even this is not always easy and largely depends on the chosen methodology. On the basis of findings in the laboratory or the climate chamber, we can then develop more specific questions and smarter test procedures for field studies.

Laboratory findings must ultimately be supplemented by studies in the field. It is widely known, particularly from the development of GM plants, that organisms can behave differently in the laboratory and greenhouse than they do in the wild.