south pacific islands
grrlscientist | September 18, 2007tags: birds, Moluccan Red Lories, Eos bornea rothschildi, Green-naped Rainbow Lorikeets, Trichoglossus haematodus haematodus, Seram, Indonesia, Image of the Day
A pair of Moluccan Red Lories, Eos bornea rothschildi (upper, center and right), and a pair of Rainbow Lorikeet, Trichoglossus haematodus haematodus (lower, center (that bird is hanging upside down) and left), near the north coast of Seram, Indonesia.
Image: Kevin Sharp [wallpaper size].
More about this image below the fold.
As you know, dear readers, I am passionately in love with the birds of the South Pacific Ocean, especially…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2007tags: earthquakes, tsunamis, geology
I carefully follow the news of Indonesia and other places in the South Pacific Ocean because that's where my research birds come from. So I was listening to radio reports of the recent spate of Sumatran earthquakes with great concern, worried that yet another tsunami would result. But as I listened to these reports, I noticed something else that was unusual; the reporters referred to multiple earthquakes occurring in the region, rather than one quake that was preceeded by foreshocks and followed by aftershocks. So of course, I had to ask the resident…
grrlscientist | July 16, 2007
A male Blue Moon or Great Eggfly butterfly, Hypolimnas bolina.
A butterfly-killing bacteria that is only lethal to males has given rise to skewed sex ratios in populations of this species on two islands in the South Pacific, but researchers have found that male butterflies on one island have bounced back, thanks to the rise of a suppressor gene. [larger].
In a dramatic demonstration of how quickly evolution can occur, a butterfly species that is found on two adjacent islands in the South Pacific Ocean has rapidly evolved genetic defenses against a bacterial parasite that is lethal only…
grrlscientist | July 16, 2007tags: Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, Zaglossus attenboroughi, monotreme, endangered animals, New Guinea, Irian Jaya, Cyclops mountain range
Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, Zaglossus attenboroughi,
the only specimen known to exist in museum collections.
Prepared as a shmoo (a flat skin lacking most bones).
Image: Natural Museum of Natural History in the Netherlands (NMNH) [larger]
In May of this year, a team of experts from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) went on a one-month preliminary research expedition to the Cyclops mountain range in Papua on the island of New Guinea.…
grrlscientist | June 8, 2007tags: slow loris, endangered species, conservation, CITES
The Slow Loris, from the genus Nycticebus, is a nocturnal animal endemic to Asia.
This animal's cuteness could very well be its undoing.
Image: Anna Nekaris, Oxford Brookes University, UK.
Aww, isn't this cuddly little creature simply adorable??
Apparently thousands of people from around the world agree with you because the slow loris, a small nocturnal and arboreal animal that is endemic to much of Asia, is experiencing population declines due to habitat destruction and trapping for the pet trade.
They certainly make ideal pets…
grrlscientist | June 5, 2007tags: south Pacific Islands, Polynesians, South American indians
When I was a kid, I was intrigued by Thor Heyerdahl's fascinating book, Kon-Tiki. This book details Heyerdahl's voyage from Peru across the Pacific Ocean to the Tuamoto Islands where his crude raft eventually beached. By carrying out this voyage, he was trying to show that his hypothesis was possible, that South American Indians could have rafted across the ocean, settling islands along the way.
"Scientists have not been willing to fully accept the idea" of prehistoric contact between Polynesia and South America, said said…
grrlscientist | May 22, 2007tags: coelacanth, Latimeria menadoensis, fish, living fossil, Indonesia
Indonesian fisherman, Yustinus Lahama, holds up a coelacanth, an ancient fish once thought to have become extinct at the time of the dinosaurs, in a quarantine pool after he caught it in the sea off North Sulawesi province 19 May 2007.
Image: Stringer/Reuters
An Indonesian fisherman captured a coelacanth, Latimeria menadoensis, in the sea off North Sulawesi island near Bunaken National Marine Park in Indonesia. The coelacanth (pronounced SEE-la-kanth) is an ancient fish once thought to have become extinct at the time…
grrlscientist | May 19, 2007tags: Trypanosoma evansi, parasite, wasting disease, Tabanus, Australia, conservation
A PhD student from James Cook University in Australia hopes her research will help protect Australian wildlife from an exotic wasting disease that could devastate kangaroos and other endemic marsupials.
Kirsty Van Hennekeler has spent four years studying Surra, the disease caused by a parasite that lives in mammalian blood. This parasite, Trypanosoma evansi, causes fever, weakness, and lethargy in its victims and can lead to weight loss, anaemia and even death of infected animals. It is thought this parasite…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2007tags: parrot, Lories, Lorikeet, Loriinae, Loriidae, Rimatara Lorikeet, Kuhl's Lory, Vini kuhlii, conservation, ornithology, South Pacific Islands
Endangered Rimatara lorikeet or Kuhl's lory, Vini kuhlii, feeding on nectar.
Image: G McCormack, Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust (CINHT). [larger image]
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 learned that one of my…
grrlscientist | May 8, 2007tags: coconut oil, gasoline substitute, alternative fuel, Bougainville, South Pacific Islands
Have you heard about the clever people who live on the island of Bougainville, near Papua New Guinea? They are developing mini-refineries that produce a coconut oil to replace diesel fuel for their cars.
Unfortunately, because they depend upon imported fuel, shortages and high energy costs often cause many businesses to completely stop in this part of Papua New Guinea. But increasingly, the locals are turning to a cheaper and far more sustainable alternative to diesel: coconut oil. The coconut oil…
grrlscientist | May 5, 2007tags: Orange roughy, South Pacific Ocean, conservation, trawling
Last month, leading scientists warned there would be no marine fish left in 50 years if current oceanic fishing practices continued unchanged. This month, thanks to an agreement reached by more than 20 South Pacific Nations in the coastal town of Renaca, Chile, one quarter of the world's oceans will be protected from the destructive fishing practice of trawling. The agreement will go into effect on 30 September 2007.
Trawling is a method of fishing where large heavy nets are dragged across the sea floor, capturing or destroying…
grrlscientist | May 3, 2007tags: South Pacific Islands, Indonesia, rainforest destruction, environment
Southwestern region of the island nation, Indonesia. The pale land mass to the bottom, right is Australia while the pale region to the upper left is southeast Asia.
Image source.
Partially because many species of my research birds are endemic there, Indonesia is my most favorite country which I've never visited. So I am saddened and disturbed to learn that Indonesia is being awarded a rather dubious distinction. In fact, so tremendous is the destruction of its rainforests, that Indonesia will be listed in the 2008…
grrlscientist | April 25, 2007tags: Solomon Islands Frogmouth, Rigidipenna inexpectatus, Podargus ocellatus inexpectatus, birds, birding, ornithology
Gone are the days when animals were classified to taxon based solely on bone structure (osteology), body structure (morphometrics) or behavior (ethology), or some combination of these characters. Currently, scientists have a suite of powerful tools for classifying creatures to taxon, and analyses using a combination of these methods is allowing us to come to a deeper understanding of all animal life. As a result of using these techniques, a new species of bird has been…
grrlscientist | April 7, 2007Since tomorrow is Easter, I think a story about rabbits is appropriate: I'll bet that none of you knew that there are striped rabbits in the world, and I'll bet that none of you have heard of the Sumatran striped rabbit, Nesolagus netscheri (pictured right). This is because the Sumatran striped rabbit is one of the rarest species of rabbit in the world. It has only been seen three times in the last 35 years.
The Sumatran Striped Rabbit -- also known as the Sumatra Short-eared Rabbit or Sumatran Rabbit -- is found only in forest in the Barisan Mountains in western Sumatra, Indonesia. It is…
grrlscientist | April 3, 2007Customs authorities in Belgrade, Serbia intercepted a package containing 98 rare butterflies that originated in the Solomon Islands. The endangered butterflies are estimated to be worth more than $13,000 on the black market, and are protected under an international convention on endangered species and require special licences for import and export.
Serbia's environmental protection agency said the butterflies were being imported with forged documents.
It is believed they were destined for illegal sale in Serbia and could have fetched as much as $13,000.
They had originated from the Solomon…
grrlscientist | April 1, 2007
Approximately an hour ago, a tsunami smashed into the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, after an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 rocked the ocean floor just off the island nation's west coast.
"Two villages were reported to have been completely inundated," said Julian McLeod of the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office. "We have received reports of four people missing."
Sgt. Godfrey Abiah said police in the capital, Honiara, reported a wave several yards high had crashed ashore in the western town of Gizo shortly before communication lines with the region were cut.…
grrlscientist | March 20, 2007A massive mudflow that has displaced 15,000 Indonesians on the island of Java stopped flowing for approximately 30 minutes recently. The mud has covered entire villages since it began erupting at the end of last May near the city of Surabaya in east Java.
A team has been dropping concrete balls into the hole from where the mud was flowing in an effort to stop the eruption. Four concrete balls are attached to 1.5meter-long metal chains. The team plans to drop 1,500 balls, each weighing up to 250 kilograms (500lbs) into the hole.
Some experts doubted that the plan would work, but supporters…
grrlscientist | March 18, 2007
The island clouded leopard, Neofelis diardi on the prowl.
Image: WWF.
According to genetic research, clouded leopards found on Sumatra and Borneo are a new species. Until now it had been thought they belonged to the same species that is found on mainland southeast Asia. But genetic data indicate that the two species diverged 1.4 million years ago, and have remained separate since.
"Genetic research results clearly indicate that the clouded leopards of Borneo should be considered a separate species," said Stephen O'Brien, head of the Institute's Laboratory of Genomic Diversity.
"DNA tests…
grrlscientist | February 6, 2007A French-led marine expedition of 80 scientists, technicians, students and volunteers believes it has discovered thousands of new species of mollusks and crustaceans (pictured)around a Philippine island, officials and scientists said. This team includes people from 19 countries. Between 2004-2005, they surveyed the waters around Panglao island, which is located 390 miles southeast of Manila and southwest of the island of Bohol, east of Cebu. [location, and a close-up map]
"Numerous species were observed and photographed alive, many for the first time, and it is estimated that 150-250 of the…
grrlscientist | January 12, 2007
Rafflesia arnoldii flower.
Image: source.
The relatives of the largest and smelliest flower in the world, Rafflesia, have finally been found. This family, the Euphorbiaceae -- known for some of the smallest flowers in the world, too -- includes the poinsettia, Irish bells, the rubber tree, and castor oil plant.
The plant is found on the Indonesian island, Sumatra. It is a parasite that steals nutrients from another plant while deceiving insects into pollinating it. Its blood-red flowers can weigh as much as 7 kilograms (15 pounds ) and they smell like decaying flesh. And they even can…