conservation
grrlscientist | October 13, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, conservation, captive breeding, endangered species, reproductive success
I bred parrots and other birds for zoos and for the pet trade for years before I moved to NYC. I often thought about applying my avicultural and ornithological skills and talents to propagate birds for release into the wild, to supplement wild populations that are decreasing. But in addition to the practical challenges of captive breeding birds, I often wondered about the evolutionary implications of doing this: because every individual is precious in a captive breeding program, they are…
grrlscientist | October 10, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, birds, SincoraÌ Antwren, Formicivora grantsaui, ornithology, Brazil
Male SincoraÌ Antwren,Formicivora grantsaui.
Potentially a new bird species that was recently discovered in Brazil.
Image: Sidnei Sampaio. [larger view].
In a world where many humans believe they know the identities of every living thing on the planet, it is truly refreshing to learn that we have found yet another species of bird that is new to science. This new species was recently found in eastern Brazil. The bird was captured, studied and its vocalizations were recorded by ornithologists.…
grrlscientist | October 9, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, elephant, Africanized honeybees, maize, Africa
As humans compete with wildlife for ever smaller areas, the likelihood for conflict between them grows. Unfortunately, this is a problem for the endangered African elephants, whose love for human crops has caused grief for both elephants and people. However, some creative research by a team from Oxford University has suggested a possible solution to the "elephant problem."
Elephants are not afraid of mice, but new research shows that they definitely fear the sound of bees because the angry insects can inflict painful…
grrlscientist | October 9, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, conservation, birds, ornithology, ecology, environment, endangered species
Image: Robert Linder.
I suppose this seems obvious to you city dwellers, but recently published research demonstrates that urban birds are better overall survivors than their country-dwelling cousins. Apparently, this is because city-dwelling birds are less specialized in their requirements, and thus, are more broadly adaptable to a variety of microenvironments, such as those found in large cities. While this might seem to be a mere conversational topic to many of you, this observation is…
sheril | October 4, 2007As readers know, I'd like to see sound policy in place to protect Florida manatees. Check out what Jennifer and the good folks over at Shifting Baselines Ocean Media Project just made using footage from her internship at the Florida Marine Research Institute:
Not for the sqeamish among us, but the message is spot on. And you can bet when the notorious Randy Olson's involved, it's gotta be good...
Email Governor Charlie Crist and tell him not to downlist the Florida manatee.
grrlscientist | September 27, 2007tags: parrot, lories, lorikeet, loriinae, loriidae, Rimatara lorikeet, Kuhl's lory, Vini kuhlii, conservation, ornithology, South Pacific Islands
Back from the brink:
The endangered Rimatara lorikeet or Kuhl's lory, Vini kuhlii,
has been successfully reintroduced to Ätiu.
Image: Phil Bender.
As I've mentioned a few times already, my life's passion is the birds of the South Pacific, particularly the Loriinae, which are parrots commonly known as the lories and lorikeets. I study them professionally and I have lived with them and bred them for most of my life. So it was exciting to me when I…
voltagegate | September 26, 2007WWF is running their latest holiday animal adoption campaign, and have some interesting critters up for adoption just in time for Halloween, including the hellbender, octopus and of course, the vampire bat. Cute idea, and I love the teasers, but... THERE'S NO CANDY IN THE BAG???
Guess I'll have to stuff that little orange bag full of Endangered Species Chocolate myself.
sheril | September 25, 2007
According to the New York Times, loggerhead nestings have recently dropped almost 7 percent in the Gulf of Mexico. With a myriad of threats from stormy oceans and climate change to land development and light pollution, these spectacular animals are in real trouble.
After encouraging gains in the 1990s, a federal report now shows populations of loggerhead sea turtles dropping, possibly as a result of commercial fishing.
sheril | September 20, 2007
Last week, I posted about the release of the 2007 IUCN Red List and FOX News Radio's Holly Hickman called to find out more. I explained why we need to consider the Red List as a wake up call because what happens to other lifeforms will have tremendous implications for us. Dwindling biodiversity will not only alter our consumption patterns, but may lead to the spread of disease, lack of pollination, access to medicine, human health, and trophic cascades. This short - but surprisingly comprehensive piece - aired Saturday.
grrlscientist | September 17, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, salmon, trout, spawning, molecular biology, cloning, conservation, endangered species
A trout germ cell is transplanted into the body cavity of a newly hatched salmon embryo. This is part of the process that allowed adult salmon to successfully spawn trout offspring.
Image: Science magazine
Have you ever heard of a trout with salmon for parents? Since when has one species given birth to another species? Well, ever since scientists began experimenting with salmon in the hope that they could genetically alter these fish by injecting sex cells from trout so the…
sheril | September 13, 2007In the grand epic that is life on planet Earth, what is it about labeling everything by color to emphasize significance? The US map is generally red and blue while our nation's threat level seems to be stuck at yellow and orange. On the latter, I still don't quite understand Homeland Security's scheme, and frankly I'm not positive they do either.
Today's colorful hot topic is one that really matters in the big picture: Red species. With yesterday's release of the '07 data from IUCN, conservation scientists all about the globe are scrambling to find out who's made the A-List... Er, I mean…
sheril | September 12, 2007
"This year's IUCN Red List shows that the invaluable efforts made so far to protect species are not enough. The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing and we need to act now to significantly reduce it and stave off this global extinction crisis. This can be done, but only with a concerted effort by all levels of society."
- Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN)
There are now 41,415 species on the IUCN Red List and 16,306 of them are threatened with extinction, up from 16,118 last year. The total number of extinct species has reached 785 and a…
sheril | September 12, 2007As reported in the NYTimes, Florida's Governor Charlie Crist has asked the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to delay a vote scheduled today on reclassifying the Florida manatee to threatened from endangered. With factors like possible power plant closures to consider, Thank Crist!
voltagegate | September 10, 2007
Perhaps the best fair in all of Western PA is the Somerset Historical Society's Mountain Craft Days, which finished up yesterday, under the threat of looming rain clouds. Fortunately, we didn't need to break out the umbrellas this year (nor did I break out the camera - I forgot it, sadly).
It's set on the SHS's ground outside of the town, and is more or less a showcase of the cream of local artisans selling their wares, combined with demonstrations of how people lived in the 18th Century Appalachians - they have replicas of cabins, cooking & laundry methods, musicians playing period…
zooillogix | September 6, 2007Help Us Bring Attention to the Organizations, People and Ideas that Make a Difference
Zooillogix brings you bizarre animal news, research and discoveries delivered in an irreverent style representing Benny and my obnoxious sense of humor. However, the site was born from our passion for animals and conservation and one disturbing theme comes up far too often in our posts: animal trafficking, particularly in Southeast Asia. The gruesome animal markets of Thailand and Cambodia, among others, have been well covered by the media. These menageries of suffering are the starting points for illegal…
voltagegate | September 4, 2007Tim Caro from UC Davis and Paul Scholte from Leiden University wrote a "policy piece" , a sort of editorial in the September issue of the African Journal of Ecology, bringing up some surprising trends regarding the decline of antelope populations within national parks. We hear enough about poaching outside of the parks certainly, but this is news to me. Conservation efforts may need some tweaking.
Of late, antelope have been doggedly tracked - by air, through scat sampling, etc. - due to insufficient data in the past and their reduced numbers are revealing three anthropogenic, "proximate"…
grrlscientist | August 27, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, fishing, fishery, overfishing, sushi
Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus.
Orphaned image [larger image].
The western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna fishery in the Gulf of Maine is in danger of collapse, according to University of New Hampshire (UNH) researchers. Further, the team found that the number and quality of the captured fish has declined markedly in recent years.
Using notes collected by veteran tuna grader Robert Campbell from the Yankee Fisherman's Co-op in Seakbrook, New Hampshire, Walter Golet led a team of marine biologists that…
voltagegate | August 18, 2007
I blogged about a study of tropical dry forests in southern Madagascar a while back where the researchers found that the rates of deforestation had dropped in recent years. The challenge was to find out exactly why.
Ecologists studying deforestation in the Amazon may have a similar challenge. The Brazilian government is claiming that new legislation and increased policing of their portion of the forest has reduced the harvest by 25 percent.
They're right about one thing. Deforestation is at its lowest since they started recording rates - only 14,000 kilometers cut down between 2005 and 2006…
sheril | August 17, 2007
Loggerhead sea turtles captured the imagination of marine enthusiasts everywhere long before Crush made his big screen debut in Finding Nemo. They're among the oldest creatures on earth and have remained essentially unchanged for 110 million years. That's a pretty long time considering we boring 'anatomically modern' homo sapiens have only been wandering around for about 200,000 years. No contest. Loggerheads are endangered and the North Pacific population has been decimated by hunting, bycatch, and loss of nesting beaches. And yet, a chance to do something that might make a difference…
sheril | August 16, 2007I've received several emails voicing concern over fishing down food webs since posting last week about the Yangtze River Dolphin: the first cetacean species likely driven to extinction by human activity. Just remember, it's not a dismal picture when you hold the Montgomery Burns perspective!
Keeping economics in mind, there's arguably reason to question whether we should fret over the oceans' dwindling and altered stocks. Human tastes are malleable, so we adapt to what industry supplies. For example, lobster and skate - traditionally the 'poor fisherman's dinner' - are now featured at NYC's…