A new study by Canadian researchers reports that calcium concentrations are decreasing in softwater lakes across North America and Western Europe, causing what the researchers call aquatic osteoporosis. But instead of bones, it is the balance of nature that becomes brittle. The scientists from Queens University found that declining calcium levels, which are caused by acid rain from air pollution and timber-harvesting that disturb forest soils and cause excessive runoff, are making it difficult for many lake-dwelling microorganisms that need the mineral to survive. Their place, in turn, is being taken by organisms that are coated with a capsule of protective jelly.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 08:37:03 +0000
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