conservation
tetrapodzoology | June 12, 2009
On Monday night I went to the cinema and watched the new environmental movie The End of the Line, directed by Rupert Murray. Featuring habitats, scientists and case studies worldwide, it shows how our rampant and poorly controlled (or uncontrolled) exploitation of the global oceans is depleting (or has depleted) fish stocks to unsustainable levels. Nearly a third of global fisheries have crashed to date, and it is estimated that global fish stocks will be commercially extinct by 2048. Hopefully you will already know this: if not - well, perhaps it's time you started caring. Sorry, this post…
grrlscientist | June 9, 2009tags: The Ant Whisperer, ants, hymenoptera, pheromones, EO Wilson, behavioral ecology, sociobiology, evolution, streaming video
Because I do not own a television, I was thrilled to find that Lord of the Ants, the Nova program that aired on PBS tonight, is freely available as a streaming video. This program describes some of EO Wilson's amazing discoveries about ant communication, behavioral ecology and evolution [52:23]
grrlscientist | June 9, 2009tags: The Ant Whisperer, ants, hymenoptera, pheromones, EO Wilson, behavioral ecology, sociobiology, evolution, streaming video
If I owned a television, you can bet I'd be watching this Nova program on PBS tonight: The Lord of the Ants. This program describes some of EO Wilson's amazing discoveries about ant communication, behavioral ecology and evolution [3:40]
grrlscientist | June 8, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Boreal or Tengmalm's Owl, Aegolius funereus.
Boreal Owls are circumpolar, occupying subalpine and northern, or boreal,
forests around the globe. These seasonally monogamous birds nest in small
cavities; woodpecker holes, other natural tree cavities, or man-made nest boxes.
These small owls occasionally irrupt from their northerly homes in search of food.
Image: orphaned [larger view].
This edition of Birds in the News is dedicated to Snowflake and Biosparite, and to Miriam, whose $upport was inspired by Birds in the…
grrlscientist | June 2, 2009tags: feral cats, housecats, feral cat colonies, unwanted pet cats, alien species, invasive alien species, wild birds, disease transmission, conservation, streaming video
This video documents the fact that "feral cat colonies" are a disaster for wild birds. Each year free-roaming and feral cats kill hundreds of million of birds in the United States. One controversial solution to deal with the feral cat problem is trap, neuter and release. However, evidence is growing that this method is not eliminating the cat colonies or the predation of birds and other wildlife. There are other problems…
tetrapodzoology | June 2, 2009
Last year was Year of the Frog (nothing to do with the Chinese calendar, but instead a global effort to raise awareness about the plight of the world's declining amphibian species). I hope that you've not forgotten that the global effort to slow amphibian extinction continues unabated. For various reasons, I haven't blogged about amphibians for a while, so, in an effort to bring balance (something I strive for, yet will always fail to achieve) I feel the need to bring you up to speed. What has happened lately in the world of amphibian conservation? [Pirri harlequin frog shown here: a species…
grrlscientist | June 1, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis.
Image: Gisela Delpho [larger view].
Birds in Science
Unpredictable weather seems to stimulate chatter among birds -- as well as humans -- according to researchers. A team of US scientists has found that Northern Mockingbirds living in variable climates sing more elaborate songs. Complex tunes, sung by males to impress females, are likely to signal the birds' intelligence. Carlos Botero, a researcher from the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in North Carolina, led the study. Dr…
grrlscientist | May 25, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Who's shooting endangered condors?
The shooting of two rare California condors, like this one, set phones ringing at the offices of environmental groups.
Image: [larger view].
Birds in Science
Northern Mockingbirds tend to sing fancier tunes with changing climate, say researchers. The research team from the National Evolutionary Synthesis Centre (NESCent), the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and McGill University showed that species in more variable climes also sing complex tunes. "Survival and reproduction become more…
grrlscientist | May 20, 2009tags: Rimatara Lorikeet, Kuhl's Lory, Vini kuhlii, 'Ura, conservation, endangered species, Fiji, streaming video
This informative video discusses the conservation of one of my research birds, the Rimatara (Kuhl's) Lory, Vini kuhlii, known by the natives as the 'Ura. Not only is this bird's story interesting, but it also exemplifies the complications and challenges of conserving any endangered species. This is part three of a three-part series [8:46]
If you wish to read more about this bird, I've written a few essays about this program and its progress over the years; The Return of the…
grrlscientist | May 19, 2009tags: Rimatara Lorikeet, Kuhl's Lory, Vini kuhlii, 'Ura, conservation, endangered species, Fiji, streaming video
This informative video discusses the conservation of one of my research birds, the Rimatara (Kuhl's) Lory, Vini kuhlii, known by the natives as the 'Ura. Not only is this bird's story interesting, but it also exemplifies the complications and challenges of conserving any endangered species. This is part two of a three-part series [8:00]
If you wish to read more about this bird, I've written a few essays about this program and its progress over the years; The Return of the…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Lear's Macaw, Anodorhynchus leari: a great example of a conservation success story.
Image: Andy and Gill Swash, World Wildlife Images.
Birds in Science
A record number of bird species are now listed as threatened with extinction, a global assessment has revealed. The IUCN Red List evaluation considered 1,227, or 12%, of all known bird species to be at risk, with 192 species described as Critically Endangered. The main threats affecting bird numbers continued to be agriculture, logging and invasive species, the…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2009tags: Rimatara Lorikeet, Kuhl's Lory, Vini kuhlii, 'Ura, conservation, endangered species, Fiji, streaming video
This informative video discusses the conservation of one of my research birds, the Rimatara (Kuhl's) Lory, Vini kuhlii, known by the natives as the 'Ura. Not only is this bird's story interesting, but it also exemplifies the complications and challenges of conserving any endangered species. This is part one of a three-part series [8:00]
If you wish to read more about this bird, I've written a few essays about this program and its progress over the years; The Return of the…
edyong | May 15, 2009
Helping out a threatened predator by culling their prey seems like a really stupid idea. But Scandinavian scientists have found that it might be the best strategy for helping some of our ailing fish stocks.
Lennart Persson and colleagues from Umeå University came up with this counterintuitive concept by running a 26-year natural experiment with the fish of Lake Takvatn, Norway. At the turn of the 20th century, the top predator in Lake Takvatn was the brown trout. Over-fishing sent its numbers crashing, and it was virtually gone by 1980.
In its place, a smaller fish - the Arctic char Â-…
grrlscientist | May 11, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Australia's Superb Parrot, Polytelis swainsonii, is listed as a vulnerable species.
Image: Julian Robinson (Canberra ornithologists group) [larger view].
Birds in Science and Technology
"In the past, people thought birds were stupid," laments the aptly named scientist Christopher Bird. But in fact, some of our feathered friends are far cleverer than we might think. And one group in particular -- the corvids -- has astonished scientists with extraordinary feats of memory, an ability to employ complex social reasoning…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2009tags: HR669, pets, exotic animals, invasive species, pet animal trade, pet parrots, Association of Zoos & Aquariums, AZA, politics
Those of you who are following the situation with HR669, the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act [full text : free PDF] know this resolution survived its initial House subcommittee hearing and will be heard again on an as-yet unannounced date. Even though I support the stated purpose of this resolution -- preventing invasive nonnative wildlife from being introduced into the United States -- this bill, as written, will not accomplish that goal. I have…
grrlscientist | May 4, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
BirdLife's newest flyways project will help to make one of
the world's most important bird migration flyways safer for soaring birds.
Image: Desert Vu.
Birds in Science and Technology
Zebra finches, which normally learn their complex courtship songs from their fathers, spontaneously developed the same songs all on their own after only a few generations. "We found that in this case, the culture was pretty much encoded in the genome," said Partha Mitra of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, co-author of the…
grrlscientist | May 1, 2009tags: HR669, pets, exotic animals, invasive species, pet animal trade, pet parrots, World Parrot Trust, politics
Those of you who are following the situation with HR669, the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act [full text : free PDF] know this resolution survived its initial House subcommittee hearing and will be heard again on an as-yet unnannounced date. Even though I support the stated purpose of this resolution -- preventing invasive nonnative wildlife from being introduced into the United States -- this bill, as written, will not accomplish that goal. I have been communicating with…
grrlscientist | April 27, 2009tags: Save Our Boreal Birds, online petition, birds, conservation, environment
Palm Warbler, Dendroica palmarum.
Image: Jeff Nadler [larger view].
Save the summer homes of Palm Warblers and other North American bird species that breed in Canada's Boreal forests!
The Boreal Songbird Initiative, along with other environmental groups like Bird Studies Canada, Nature Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, and others created a petition called "Save our Boreal Birds" a little over a year ago. This petition will be sent to the Prime Minister of Canada and many provincial leaders throughout Canada,…
grrlscientist | April 27, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Barn Owls, Tyto alba, have been used as
natural agricultural pest controllers around the world.
Image: Amir Ezer.
Birds in Technology
Here's a link to the US Air Force Avian Hazard Advisory System, a system that processes NOAA weather data in real time and uses it to provide bird-aircraft strike risk advisories. The website also shows the processed image loop of bird density data (with most of the weather removed). There also is an image gallery for you to look at. In these images, the yellows indicate lower activity…
grrlscientist | April 23, 2009tags: HR669, pets, exotic animals, invasive species, politics
Let's watch the legislative process in action: Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife Legislative Hearing on H.R. 669. [Archived Video].
Will anyone add this hearing footage to YouTube? For some mysterious reason, I cannot view it on my laptop and cannot find it on YouTube yet, either.
A brief synopsis of the Subcommittee Hearing:
The Subcommittee hearing was the first step for this bill. Chair Bordallo repeatedly stated that the committee members were there to learn and get input. When the meeting was adjorned,…