Biodiversity

"SALMON, Idaho -- The U.S. government is seeking to close caves in national forests in the Northern Rockies to stem the spread of white-nose bat syndrome, a disease that has killed an estimated 5.5 million bats in 19 states and is spreading westward, officials said on Wednesday."

"LONDON -- Malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Africa and India are becoming resistant to insecticides, putting millions of lives at greater risk and threatening eradication efforts, health experts said on Tuesday."

"As climate change transforms their habitat, some animals are already on the move. But a new analysis from the University of Washington warns that many species won't be able to run fast enough to survive a warming world."

"The eastern diamondback rattlesnake, North America's largest venomous snake, may need its own antidote. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering adding the reptile to the Endangered Species List to restrict its hunting, killing and sale."

"'We are going to do our best to keep these beautiful animals on the planet with us,' said Dan Everson, Deputy Field Supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service in Alabama.

The service on Wednesday approved further study on the declining numbers of the snake species.

"Chemical titans say they have what farmers need to fight superweeds, but will they only be adding to a growing problem?"

"A fast-spreading plague of 'super weeds' taking over U.S. farmland will not be stopped easily, and farmers and government officials need to change existing practices if food production is to be protected, industry experts said on Thursday."

"More people on the East Coast are acquiring a taste for snakehead, an exotic fish that's moved here from Asia. But the fish are still multiplying and spreading."

"It’s the kind of scenario that might evolve in Hollywood: A college professor detects drug-resistance genes collecting in local wetlands, where they survive for weeks and are spread far and wide by seabirds.

But the discovery of extra-hardy DNA flourishing on the edge of San Diego isn’t science fiction. It’s the result of research by David Cummings, a microbiologist at Point Loma Nazarene University.