STRANGE DAYS ON PLANET EARTH

Feral Child

Detectives usually break mysterious cases when they first see the connections among seemingly unrelated clues. Consider these: Dust clouds are building high over the Atlantic. An entire population of caribou is declining, their numbers dwindling, while other species are pushed to the limits of their physical survival in the oceans. A respiratory illness, once uncommon among children in Trinidad, is now widespread. Amazingly, many scientists now believe that these disparate phenomena may be linked to global climate change.

Deep in the wilds of Venezuela, the natural order is being turned inside out. Miles of verdant forest and savannah have given way to small and scattered islands. Some of these islands are now overrun by bands of voracious howler monkeys, a glut of iguanas and hordes of ravenous ants. What is driving this bizarre transformation? A team of scientists believes that life here is running amok; in large part because it's top predators are gone. Similarly, the majestic wilderness of Yellowstone National Park is also showing signs of change that some scientists trace to the depletion of natural predators. Familiar and revered forests have vanished. Researchers are linking these forest losses to the expulsion of the gray wolf some 70 years ago. In Venezuela and around the world, experts are learning that predators seem to play a crucial role in the structure and function of entire ecosystems. When the predators disappear, the consequences can be dramatic. If predators are so vital, should they be brought back and can they be?

In the American heartland there have been strange disappearances. Frogs are vanishing without a trace. Further north, in the green waters of Canada's St. Lawrence River, beluga whales are mysteriously dying - their white corpses found washed up on the stony shores. A world away on the Great Barrier Reef, swarms of monstrous sea stars are overrunning this marine paradise. At first glance, these stories seem unrelated. But, in fact, scientists suspect they may be part of a worldwide transformation brought on by toxins in the water. Have Earth's vibrant waterways become massive delivery systems for invisible poisons? And are some of these poisons reaching our faucets? As scientists verify that our problem with toxins is mounting, cutting-edge research using plants and bacteria draw on the building blocks of life itself as a solution to problems vexing the planet.

In the no-holds-barred frontier of the ocean, industrialised fishers and pirates grab what they can of the dwindling bounty of marine life. Surprisingly, the reduction of fish stocks is just the beginning of this strange story. Investigators suspect today's melee on the high seas may be setting in motion a series of startling global transformations.

Find out why scientists are scrambling to solve disturbing mysteries unfolding along the shores of rivers, estuaries, islands and the sea.