Researchers have found that ocean acidification leads to changes in the ways that clownfish normally respond to sound. As many species rely on hearing for orientation, habitat selection, avoiding predators and communication, ocean acidification could compromise auditory behaviour crucial for survival.

Researchers in Berlin have demonstrated that urban wasteland areas can be used as suitable habitats for a range of grassland species. Using simple and cost-effective measures to sow grassland seed mixtures, they found that such areas flourished despite poor soil conditions and high levels of impact from people.

The impact of polluted urban soil on trees is highlighted in a recent study from Latvia. The researchers found that high salt levels from de-icing chemicals and nutrient imbalance in soil damaged lime trees growing in the city of Riga.

Using data gathered by satellites, scientists have monitored changes in fishing activity around Italy in the Mediterranean Sea for the period 2007-2010. From this, they developed new ecological indicators that gave a more detailed pattern of fishing activity in the Italian seas. In addition, the new indicators suggest that fish stocks on the seabed around Italy are continuing to decline.

Current knowledge on the availability of mineral resources is explored in a recent study, which focuses on phosphorus as a key example. Static measures of availability, such as the consumption-to-production ratio, are useful as early warning signals, the researchers suggest, but more dynamic indicators that consider technological development and population change are needed to better inform policy.

Increasing noise levels are a global environmental concern, and have been linked to important health issues, such as heart disease and cognitive development. New Danish research has now shown that it is also associated with an increased risk of diabetes.

Blue-green algae, or ???aquatic cyanobacteria???, can produce harmful toxins and present a serious health hazard when they bloom in large numbers. Researchers from Germany have now identified plant species that could be used to sustainably treat water by removing such cyanobacterial toxins.

A recent study has revealed how water use has changed across the world over the last 60 years. Growing populations and economic development, particularly in newly-emerging countries, have increased water demand, but technological developments have led to water efficiencies and savings, which moderate these demands.

Research into mercury has identified two genes in bacteria that appear to be required for turning the metal into its most toxic form, methylmercury. The study adds to a growing body of research that helps us to understand the transformations that mercury undergoes in the environment and the microbes involved in these transformations.

Assessing the potential of new environmental management tools often brings an ???innovation dilemma???: is it better to stick with what is known to work, or to implement new measures that are potentially more effective, but also more uncertain? Researchers have proposed an approach to deal with these dilemmas, and applied it to the case study of an invasive species programme in the US.

Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum), already endangered due to over-harvesting, is likely to suffer still further under increasing ocean acidification as a result of rising CO2 emissions. Research has shown that under more acidic conditions the structural development of red coral skeletons is abnormal and growth rate is reduced.

Green roofs have the potential to significantly reduce road traffic noise in the urban environment, according to a new study. The results suggest that greening of roofs and walls with materials suitable for growing plants softens the urban environment keeping sound levels low, whereas hard, manmade structures tend to amplify traffic noise.

Green roofs can cool buildings in summer and prevent heat loss in winter. A new study suggests, however, that in the warm climates of southern Europe the additional cost of watering means that 'cool roof coatings??? may be more cost effective.

Covering walls with plants can significantly reduce the temperature of building walls during hot summer months. A recent study of three different types of these ???living walls??? in Italy suggests that they can be 20??C cooler than a bare wall on sunny days. An added advantage is that living walls can be retrofitted to existing buildings.

Neither the public nor conservation managers are fully aware of the different risks posed by invasive alien species (IAS), new research suggests. A study examining perceptions of five invasive species in the UK shows that both conservation managers and the public regard some highly damaging species as ???low risk???, and that their awareness does not increase with the amount of scientific research on the topic.

Trees form a valuable part of green infrastructure in cities by helping reduce surface water runoff, recent research finds. Together with grassy areas, significant reductions in surface water flows can be achieved by planting trees, reducing the risk of floods.

Two tagged Cuvier's beaked whales have shown intense and lasting avoidance behaviours in response to military sonar. In the first study of this kind, the whales showed significant responses to sonar at volumes that are currently assumed in the US to have no effect on behaviour.

International agreements to reduce plastic use are needed to address plastic litter in the marine environment, as well as increased public awareness of the problem, according to scientists at a workshop on the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive held in Italy in 2013. The issues discussed at the workshop have been summarised in a recent research paper.

Density in the urban environment can encompass a multitude of factors such as population or dwelling density or the density of green areas. A new study surveyed professionals regarding how decisions on urban density are made, and has revealed that many feel that developers make most of these decisions, but that local authority planners should have more influence.

Tourism businesses operating in protected conservation areas in Europe engage in a high number of sustainable practices, a recent survey of over 900 small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) reveals. Reasons for their sustainable behaviour include cutting costs, improving company image and lifestyle choices.

Biodiversity on organic farms is, on average, 34% higher than on conventional farms, according to a recent study. The researchers used data from a large number of studies to show that this figure has remained stable over the last 30 years.

The world’s marine ecosystems are at risk of sudden and damaging changes. The authors of a recent study say that co-ordinated management of the many drivers of marine changes, such as overfishing and pollution, is needed across international, national and local scales to help avoid the ‘regime shifts’ that affect ecosystem services and human wellbeing.

Wealthier nations protect biodiversity no better than poorer nations, suggests new research. The study found no link between national GDP and the effectiveness of countries at conserving the species for which they have responsibility.

Pollination studies have, to date, focused almost entirely on bees , butterflies and hoverflies; however, other kinds of flies also have an important role to play in this vital ecosystem service, a new study suggests. Using data from 33 farms, the researchers found that non-hover flies were in fact responsible for carrying 84% of the pollen transferred by flies between flowers in farmland.

Marine Protected Areas should be managed as integrated networks rather than isolated units because of the high degree of exchange between them, a new study suggests. The researchers found that the large majority of sea bream (Sparidae) and wrasse (Labridae) fish spawned in MPA study sites in the Mediterranean Sea were transported via currents to other MPAs and unprotected areas, highlighting their interconnected nature.

The number of overexploited or collapsed fish stocks in the Mediterranean Sea has been increasing at a rate of approximately 38 every 10 years between 1970 and 2010, a new study has shown. In the Black Sea, the equivalent figure is 13 stocks per decade, the researchers found. The study’s authors augmented traditional methods of stock assessments with a variety of other data sources on multiple fish species to give a more accurate overview of these marine ecosystems. These results should be used to improve conservation and management, they recommend.

Increases in the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere can be beneficial to crops, by providing a source of carbon for growth. However, very high levels of CO₂ have the reverse effect, decreasing the yield and quality of vegetable crops, a new study has shown. The researchers say atmospheric CO₂ concentration should be kept below 5 000 ppm to enhance the yield of leafy vegetables such as cabbage and lettuce.

The global production, trade and use of goods and services has a significant impact on the environment — and rates of consumption are rising. A new study combines two assessment methods to quantify the impact of European trade on the environment. It finds that, overall, the EU was a net importer of environmental impact from 2000 to 2010, that machinery, equipment and vehicles contributed most to the EU’s export impacts and that the EU’s trade balance (import impact minus export impact) is increasing over time. The two assessment methods complement one another well and could form the basis for future country or region-wide studies, suggest the researchers, by enabling a detailed analysis of individual steps within a product’s trade flow, while also providing a larger picture of the overall process.

Urban water use increases with a population’s average income, finds a study of a stressed river basin in Spain. Consumption also increases with population age, but falls as education levels rise. Such information could help municipal water providers predict future water trends and to develop appropriate measures by which to manage demand. There is huge interest in mining polymetallic nodules in deep-sea environments. These bumpy rocks on the seafloor contain highly valuable materials including manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel and copper.

Invasions of alien species are rising at an alarming rate, largely due to growing global trade and transport routes. Preventing the successful establishment of alien species by better understanding the factors determining success is a step toward limiting the threat of future biological invasions. Statistical modelling using observed bird invasion data — including location, event and species-level factors showed which factors were key to successful establishment by the alien species.

A circular economy, in which waste is minimised and resources are kept within the system, relies upon inventive ways of turning waste into a resource. A new study explored the possibility of using the microalga Scenedesmus obliquus to refine and process brewery wastewater. The alga efficiently removed pollutants from the effluent, produced biomass and biofuels in a range of different forms — and with different bioactive compounds — and encouraged waste barley and wheat to germinate at increased rates. This is especially important for breweries, as barley seeds are one of the main feedstocks for the industry — and thus are key to increasing its sustainability and circularity.

Demonstration projects can represent a critical intermediate step between research and development (R&D) and large-scale commercialisation; yet many involving new sustainable technologies fail. In order to map the internal and external factors that enable or prohibit demonstration projects from reaching their goals, a case study of 21 projects was conducted. Qualitative data collected from funding applications and interviews were analysed to identify key themes. Based on these findings, the study proposes a process model outlining the key activities for setting up a new demonstration project.

Approximately 88 megatonnes (Mt) of food are wasted every year in the European Union, causing 186 metric tons (Mt) carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) — a universal measure for all greenhouse gases. The impact of food waste on the climate, acidification and eutrophication is around 15–16% of the environmental impact of the entire food chain. In developed countries, food waste is high at the point of consumption— so significantly reducing food losses would require a food-waste reduction in households and the food-services sector.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large group of toxic molecules produced by forest fires, industrial processes and the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. The airborne particles containing these molecules are often washed into watercourses, where they can persist. This study uses long-term monitoring data from the Elbe river, Saxony, Germany, to show how changes in PAH sources affect both the concentrations of these chemicals and the corresponding environmental risks. The researchers suggest that controlling PAHs is the best prevention of harm to aquatic and human health.

While cities worldwide are expanding so is the significant carbon dioxide footprint of urban transport. Consequently, there is an urgent need for sustainable urban mobility solutions. A thorough analysis of the variables and dynamics of urban mobility in cities can aid in planning sustainable mobility policy. This study used a new system of classification by type (typologisation) relevant to urban mobility in global cities, with data from 331 cities in 124 countries covering 40% of the global urban population (as of 2016).

How can we grow more crops without taking too much water away from freshwater ecosystems for irrigation? A new study indicates that it is possible to double crop production by 2050 without exceeding set limits for water extraction if more crops are grown in regions with higher rainfall and with corresponding shifts in international trade and agricultural management. However, without appropriate safeguards, and if we follow the current business-as-usual scenario, this could come at the ecological cost of converting natural land and forest into cropland. This research provides a ‘first-step’ in analysing potential trade-offs in the global food-trade-water nexus.

Groundwater is the earth’s largest freshwater resource and is vital for irrigation and global food production. In dry periods farmers pump groundwater to water crops, this is already happening at an unsustainable level in many places — exceeding the rate at which rain and rivers can refill the groundwater stores. This study seeks to identify where groundwater pumping is affecting stream flows and estimates where and when environmentally critical stream flows — required to maintain healthy ecosystems — can no longer be sustained.

In Sweden, 63% of areas designated as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for endangered birds are impacted by major roads or train lines, according to a new study. The research showed that 126 000 hectares (ha), or 4.2% of the SPAs, fall within 1 km of a road or train line, leading to a predicted 1% loss in bird abundance. The problem is greater in the south of the country, where 25.8% of land designated as SPA falls within 1 km of a road or rail line, representing an estimated 4 to 7% reduction in birds’ abundance within SPAs.

A survey of over 600 private boats docked in marinas throughout the Mediterranean showed that 71% are carrying non-indigenous species. In certain cases, non-indigenous species can become ‘invasive’ and have enormous and long-lasting impacts on ecosystems. The findings suggest that a common monitoring strategy may be necessary to prevent further disruptions to natural ecosystems.

An early-warning system developed by researchers could help forest managers in Europe predict which trees are at greatest risk of bark- beetle infestation. The study looked at the probability of bark-beetle outbreaks on two important conifer-tree species in Slovenia: the Norway spruce (Picea abies) and silver fir (Abies alba). It found that high temperatures, and extreme weather linked to climate change — including droughts and ice storms — weakened trees, making them more vulnerable to attack by bark beetles.

A new study has investigated the possibility of a regional industrial symbiosis of metal industries across the Sweden-Finland border. The analysis suggests that it is technologically feasible, but that regulatory support may be inefficient, particularly with respect to changing the status of a waste product to a by-product.

Current knowledge on the availability of mineral resources is explored in a recent study, which focuses on phosphorus as a key example. Static measures of availability, such as the consumption-to-production ratio, are useful as early warning signals, the researchers suggest, but more dynamic indicators that consider technological development and population change are needed to better inform policy.

The amount of land and ocean that a country uses in order to produce food and other commodities, or its land or ocean ‘footprint’, increases by over a third for each doubling of income, new research shows. Thus, as nations become richer, and lifestyles become more affluent, pressure on natural resources increases.

Relatively simple, low-cost measures, such as insulating walls and installing solar collectors and efficient heaters for hot water can significantly reduce energy consumption in housing developments, according to a recent study from Portugal. Energy-efficient homes not only benefit the environment, but were found to potentially reduce residents’ energy bills by over half in an apartment block studied by the researchers.

Organisations are increasingly applying green business principles. According to a recent study, electronics manufacturing companies in Taiwan that practice green supply chain management (GSCM) have a better business performance than companies that do not. Those with a strong green marketing focus performed the best, successfully competing with their rivals.

Researchers have developed a method to identify the parts that contribute the most to a product's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and evaluate alternative design solutions. When applied to a LCD television, it showed that GHG emissions could be cut by 36 per cent by using alternative parts to those currently used.

Green supply chain management (GSCM) is a holistic approach to improving environmental performance along the supply chain. A new study by Italian researchers on over 4000 manufacturing facilities in seven developed countries has indicated that GSCM increases environmental performance.

Promoting the personal benefits of sustainable consumption, such as more free time and less stress, could play an important role in encouraging more sustainable living, according to a recent study. The researchers interviewed people who lived greener lifestyles and found that self-interest influenced their decision to consume less and buy sustainable products.

The qualities of sustainable design and the obstacles that Design for Sustainability (DfS) faces are explored by a new study which provides recommendations on how to overcome these challenges. It suggests that design education needs to change and provides advice on how to improve our understanding of consumer behaviour.

As the development of nanomaterials increases, a recent study recommends combining life cycle analysis and risk assessment to improve our understanding of the potential environmental and human health impacts of products containing nanomaterials.