Articles from Science for Environment Policy

Bird flu study: no harmful strains found in wild birds in Georgia
The role of wild birds in spreading potentially deadly strains of `bird flu´ is poorly understood. Recent research in Georgia examined an important crossover point of migratory routes, including routes into Europe, and found that only 1% of wild birds tested here carried avian influenza. None of these had the harmful, pathogenic strains.
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Adaptive management needed to maintain forests´ ecosystem services under climate change
Forests may need to be converted to more drought-tolerant mixtures of tree species to prevent significant die-off under climate change, predicts a new study which modelled German forests. The researchers indicate that climate change is likely to lead to significant forest damage, which could be reduced through adaptive management.
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Natural reduction of mercury levels in fish slower than predicted
Mercury, in the form of monomethylmercury, can accumulate in fish to high concentrations, presenting the greatest concern for human exposure to this potent neurotoxin. New long-term research of fish in a natural setting has shown that removal rates of the toxin from body tissues are likely to be even slower than thought.
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PM_2.5 and ozone pollution exposure increases risk of cardiac arrest
People exposed to fine particle (PM_2.5) and ozone pollution are at increased risk of suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, according to a recent Finnish study. Cardiac arrest is more likely within 24 hours after exposure to PM_2.5 and up to several days after exposure to ozone.
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Sparrowhawk study suggests why PBDE contaminant levels vary
Sparrowhawks and their eggs are used to assess environmental concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), chemicals that were used until relatively recently as flame retardants. Recent research may help explain why different studies report different PBDE levels in sparrowhawks for the same countries and time periods. It appears nutrition may play an important role in determining PBDE concentrations in birds.
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Air quality linked to wellbeing at a regional level in Europe
The impact of air quality on public welfare is important to policy development. However, it is difficult to make a clear link between the two when air pollution tends to be reported at a country level and wellbeing is an individual measure. A new study takes a step further towards linking the two by analysing regional level air quality across the EU and relating it to levels of life satisfaction.
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