Biologists: "Day of Fire" continues to affect wildlife

[DeJaVu]

(30 March 3076)

Moore [Serpentasia Sentinel]— Nearly seven years after the swamps outside the capital city erupted in a massive conflagration that nearly consumed an entire continent, biologists from Shizuoka University have completed the first stages of an ongoing study into how that event affected the biosphere of the area.
Dr. Layton Amrhein of the University's biosciences department initiated the study in the months following the so-called "Day of Fire", in which an exploding BattleMech sparked a raging fire throughout the Shizuoka swamps. "Though we were unable to physically examine the area in the immediate aftermath of the fires, high-resolution satellite scans of the region gave us a good idea of the devastation," Amrhein told reporters at a press conference held yesterday in the interim capital of Kendallstown. "We were then able to calculate the approximate impact to the Tormoulin-Reed index of the swamps, as determined in the 2997 survey. From that, we estimated that the species richness of the ecosystem would fall up to 68% over the next five years."
Six months ago, Dr. Amrhein's team completed its field work in the swamps. In presenting their preliminary results to the public, Amrhein stressed that the research is still incomplete but that the data shows a precipitous fall in the biodiversity of the region. "Beyond our initial estimations, the swamps show a decline of over 79% of flora species and 72% of fauna. This is very troubling."
Planetary officials have expressed concern over these findings and have begun coordination with the university to host a conference on biodiversity and the effects of manmade disasters within the next ten months. Citing concerns over the continued viability of Serpentasia as a location of human habitation on Moore, recently elected Director Edufriga Hollenstern pledged to make ecosystem recovery her administration's top priority in the coming years.