Climate Changes Could Lead to Extinction
According to researchers of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz, climate changes may lead to “”boom and bust”” population cycles and make certain animal species more susceptible to extinction.
While favorable climate conditions may yield rich supplies of food and cause a “”boom”” in animal populations, this sudden growth seems to make a population “”bust”” inevitable.
“”It’s almost paradoxical, because you’d think a large population would be better off,”” said Christopher C. Wilmers, assistant professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz. “”But it turns out they’re more vulnerable to a drop in resources.””
Researchers found that larger populations have more dramatic fluctuations in numbers when climate differs from year to year. This, in turn, makes these species vulnerable to extinction because of factors such as interbreeding and disease.
Additionally, with each boom and bust cycle, genetic diversity is reduced, which lowers a species’ ability to adapt to dramatic temperature changes.
These effects of environmental variability on animal populations are important in understanding the potential influence of global warming.
“”If global warming leads to more good years, and longer strings of good years in a row that are interrupted by the occasional bad year, we’re going to see more of these violent fluctuations,”” Wilmers said.
L.A. Corporations Argue for UC System
Recently, leaders of prominent Los Angeles corporations met in Sacramento to discuss the importance of academic investment to the California economy.
“”Our public research university, the University of California, is critical to developing our workforce, creating new jobs, inventing new industries and keeping California’s economy competitive,”” American Value Partners LLC Chairman Richard Ziman said.
Programs within the UC system are a high priority to California’s business community, because such research enterprises operate to further innovations in technology, corporate leaders at the conference said.
UCLA Study Says Salad Is Good for You
A new study conducted by researchers at UCLA and Louisiana State University linked the consumption of salad and raw vegetables with a higher level of vitamins C and E, folic acid, lycopene and alpha and beta carotene in the bloodstream.
Also, each serving of salad correlated with a 165 percent higher likelihood of women meeting recommended dietary allowances for vitamin C, and a 119 percent higher likelihood in men.
“”The findings endorse consumption of salad and raw vegetables as an effective stratedy for increasing intake of important nutrients,”” professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health Lenore Arab said. “”Unfortunately, we also found daily salad consumption is not the norm in any group, and even less prevalent among African Americans.””
The team of researchers analyzed data from 9,406 women and 8,282 men aged 18 to 45. Salad consumption was measured by reported intake of salad, raw vegetables and salad dressing.
