Endangered Species
grrlscientist | April 25, 2010tags: Parrots the Universe and Everything, biogeography, lemurs, twig technology, conservation, endangered species, evolution, komodo dragons, kakapo, baiji, comedy, Douglas Adams, streaming video
Douglas Adams was the best-selling British author and satirist who created The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy [DVD]. In this talk at UCSB recorded shortly before his tragic and untimely death, Adams shares hilarious accounts of some of the apparently absurd lifestyles of the world's creatures, and gleans from them extraordinary perceptions about the future of humanity.
cwilcox | April 12, 2010The Wildlife Conservation Society has just released their newest book, State of the Wild 2010-2011. It's a collection of essays that center around current and emerging issues in conservation from conservation experts and powerful nature writers. It's a must-read for anyone driven to understand and protect our ecosystems.
In this year's edition, there is a particularly interesting essay called "Rarest of the Rare." It highlights twelve of the most endangered species on the planet, only two of which are on the Road to Recovery. These are animals that may disappear in the next decade or two, and…
grrlscientist | March 29, 2010tags: evolution, evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, animal behavior, molecular ecology, parental care, mating systems, monogamy, sexual selection, frogs, poison dart frogs, Dendrobatidae, Ranitomeya, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper, journal club
Peruvian mimic poison frog, Ranitomeya imitator.
Image: Jason Brown [larger view]
To know the breeding system is to know the genetic architecture of a species.
To know the evolution of a breeding system is to know how evolution works ..
~ Lewis & Crowe, Evolution (1955)
Genetic tests have revealed the…
grrlscientist | February 12, 2010tags: faith-based birding, mass hysteria, endangered species, extinct species, conservation, politics, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Campephilus principalis, IBWO, ornithology, birds, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has posted a reward of $50,000
to be given to anyone who can provide "video, photographic, or
other compelling information and lead a project scientist to a
living wild Ivory-billed Woodpecker."
Mass hysteria is that strange psychological phenomenon where a group of people experience the same hallucination at the…
bleimanb | February 3, 2010I'm back. After a two month hiatus from posting due to the grand opening of Bullitt, my second bar in San Francisco, I have finally adjusted my schedule to accommodate posting, and I'm pumped.
First on my list: I have been looking for years for the best endangered species group to put my support behind. I think I've found it, WildAid. Do you know about them? If you live in Asia, then you have. If you live in the states, then maybe not. WildAid is, in my mind, the most badass endangered species preservation group in the world today. Started by wildlife investigators who were fed up with…
grrlscientist | January 26, 2010tags: Story of Stuff, environment, pollution, climate change, global warming, recycling, social commentary, cultural observation, planned obsolescence, perceived obsolescence, fashion, advertizing, social psychology, streaming video
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental…
kthompson | January 10, 2010So you know how there aren't as many members of some species as there once was, and in fact some species that used to exist no longer exist? Well, some folks still haven't gotten the message.
In an attempt to bring more recognition (and funding) to the conservation cause, some mighty fine Zartists are collaborating on the Endangered Species Print Project. The project houses artwork that depicts endangered animals, but the print-run of each species' piece is limited to the number of individuals thought to still exist. For instance, a Zooillogix favorite: The Vancouver Island Marmot.
...…
grrlscientist | January 7, 2010tags: evolutionary biology, immunology, immune response, antibodies, parasite, avian pox virus, Poxvirus avium, nest fly, Philornis downsi, birds, ornithology, Darwin's Finches, Medium Ground Finch, Geospiza fortis, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, researchblogging.org,peer-reviewed research, peer-reviewed paper
A male Medium Ground Finch, Geospiza fortis, sits on a tree branch in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands.
Image: Jen Koop.
People often view the Hawaiian islands as a tropical paradise, the ideal vacation site, but you wouldn't agree with this assessment if you happen to be a bird. According…
grrlscientist | January 6, 2010tags: Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, Trumpeter Swan Restoration Project, conservation, endangered species, Harry Lumsden, Beverly Kingdon, Ray Kingdon, streaming video
Thanks to the efforts of volunteers with the Trumpeter Swan Restoration project, the endangered Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, population in Ontario, Canada now numbers over 1,000. This video shows the three species of swan on Swan Lake, and shows how the birds are tagged so they can be individually tracked. Long time volunteers Harry Lumsden, Beverly and Ray Kingdon feed the swans at Lasalle Park in Burlington.
grrlscientist | December 31, 2009tags: Forest of Ecstasy: Vanguard, illegal drugs, safrole oil, ecstacy, XTC, X, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA, rainforest, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia, conservation, endangered species, documentary, streaming video
Do you think that making and using illegal drugs are victimless crimes? Think again! Deep in a remote Cambodian rainforest, criminals are setting up illegal factories to produce safrole oil, the raw ingredient for the illegal Schedule I drug, ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA). Adam Yamaguchi joins armed forest rangers on a search and destroy mission.
grrlscientist | December 28, 2009tags: Fencing Flamingos, ornithology, ecology, endangered species, food webs, research, field work, Marita Davison, Jennifer Moslemi, Jamie Herring, streaming video
"Fencing Flamingos" follows the work of Marita Davison, a PhD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University, and her collaborator Jennifer Moslemi as they study flamingos in the rugged high-Andes of Bolivia. The harsh conditions made it challenging to make the video, Davison says, but it's been worth it. "We've had more people see the video than I'll ever have reading a journal article that I write." The video…
grrlscientist | December 16, 2009tags: conservation, endangered species, Shark Finning, Sea Shepherd, human behavior, television, streaming video
This is a television commercial by the Sea Shepherd. It is an appeal to stop finning sharks. Shark finning refers to the cruel practice of capturing sharks and slicing off their fins. Shark fins are a Chinese delicacy -- they are the main ingredient in shark fin soup. Since shark meat isn't worth the cost of transporting the massive shark bodies to market, the finless animals are thrown back into the water, alive. Without its fins, the shark cannot swim, so it sinks beneath the…
grrlscientist | October 5, 2009tags: Tree of Life, conservation, biodiversity, ecology, evolution, biology, statistics, teaching, streaming video
This video presents a very brief glimpse into what I do as a professional researcher studying "my birds" -- the parrots of the South Pacific Ocean (during those rare and beautiful times when I actually have a job!!). To say the least, it fills me with intense longing to reclaim my long lost life.
grrlscientist | October 5, 2009tags: kakapo, Strigops habroptilus, conservation, endangered species, humor, Stephen Fry, Mark Carwardine, Last Chance to See, streaming video
Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine head to the ends of the earth in search of animals on the edge of extinction.
In New Zealand the travellers make their way through one of the most dramatic landscapes in the world. They are on a journey to find the last remaining kakapo, Strigops habroptilus, a fat, flightless parrot which, when threatened with attack, adopts a strategy of standing very still indeed.
This behavior is not uncommon among birds…
grrlscientist | October 4, 2009tags: Tree of Life, conservation, biodiversity, ecology, evolution, biology, statistics, teaching, streaming video
This video presents a very brief glimpse into what I do as a professional researcher studying "my birds" -- the parrots of the South Pacific Ocean (during those rare and beautiful times when I actually have a job!!). It features interviews with one of the scientists whom I worked with when I was in grad school at the University of Washington: Scott Edwards, who now is at Harvard University. To say the least, this video fills me with intense longing to reclaim my long lost life…
grrlscientist | September 5, 2009tags: parrots, Kakapo, Strigops habroptilus, BBC Two, Last Chance to See, endangered species, BBC Two, Mark Carwardine, Stephen Fry, streaming video
Parrot lovers will especially enjoy this video, but anyone who enjoys birds and who wishes to protect endangered species will like it also. Following in the footsteps of Douglas Adams, Stephen Fry joins Mark Carwardine to travel to some of the most remote places on earth in search of endangered animals. In this case, he meets a Kakapo, Strigops habroptilus, a round, sweet-smelling green parrot that lives in New Zealand.
You might also be…
grrlscientist | September 4, 2009tags: parrots, Kakapo, Strigops habroptilus, BBC Two, Last Chance to See, endangered species, BBC Two, Mark Carwardine, Stephen Fry, streaming video
Following in the footsteps of Douglas Adams, Stephen Fry joins Mark Carwardine to travel to some of the most remote places on earth in search of endangered animals. In this clip, Stephen Fry jokes about some of the names given to birds in New Zealand.
You might also be searching for this video: Shagged by a Rare Parrot.
I am very jealous of all you peeps who live in the UK: BBC Two is starting this series, Last Chance to See tomorrow! Alas, I…
grrlscientist | August 30, 2009tags: US endangered species list, parrots, aviculture, captive breeding, position statement, Parrots International, politics
NOTE: This position statement just came to my attention. I wish I had learned about it on 10 August, since I would have shared it immediately on that day.
August 10, 2009
Public Comments Processing
Attn: FWS-R9-IA-2009-0016
Division of Policy and Directives Management
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Drive
Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203
As president of Parrots International I am forwarding the official position statement of Parrots International in…
grrlscientist | July 30, 2009tags: biodiversity, conservation, endangered species, Encyclopedia of Life, TEDTalks, E.O. Wilson, streaming video
As E.O. Wilson accepts his 2007 TEDTalks Prize, he makes a plea on behalf of all creatures that we learn more about our biosphere -- and build a networked encyclopedia of all the world's knowledge about life [24:22]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.
grrlscientist | July 24, 2009tags: Sylvia Earle, oceans, TEDTalks, conservation, streaming video
Legendary ocean researcher Sylvia Earle shares astonishing images of the ocean -- and shocking stats about its rapid decline -- as she makes her TED Prize wish: that we will join her in protecting the vital blue heart of the planet. [18:16]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.