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August 31, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180831110416.htm
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Are vulnerable lions eating endangered zebras?
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Are Laikipia's recovering lions turning to endangered Grevy's zebras (
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That's what a team of researchers led by WCS and WWF set out to discover -- whether the comeback of a top predator -- in this case lions in Laikipa County, Kenya -- were recovering at the expense of Grevy's zebras, which number only around 2,680 individuals with half of those living in Likipia.In recent years, lion numbers have slowly recovered in this region as livestock ranching -- which commonly practiced shooting or poisoning lions -- has given way to wildlife tourism. Lions (Publishing their results in the journal The team found that lions preyed on both Grevy's and plains zebras (The researchers did conclude that competitive displacement by livestock and interference competition for grass from plains zebras, which are 22 times more abundant than Grevy's, are most likely the predominant threat to Grevy's zebras' recovery.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 30, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180830143138.htm
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Adapt, move or die: How biodiversity reacted to past climate change
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A new paper reviews current knowledge on climate change and biodiversity. In the past, plants and animals reacted to environmental changes by adapting, migrating or going extinct. These findings point to radical changes in biodiversity due to climate change in the future. The paper is published in the scientific journal
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Nature is reacting to climate change. We see altered behaviour and movement among plants and animals; flowers change flowering period and owls get darker body colour, due to warmer winters. So, how does the future for biodiversity look like? Will plants and animals be able to adjust quickly enough to survive the changing temperatures, precipitation and seasons? Lead-author of a new study Professor David Bravo-Nogues from Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen, explains,"We compiled an enormous amount of studies of events, which we know influenced biodiversity during the past million years. It turns out species have been able to survive new conditions in their habitat by changing either their behaviour or body shape. However, the current magnitude and unseen speed of change in nature may push species beyond their ability to adapt."Until now, scientists thought species' main reaction to climatic changes was to move. However, the new study shows that local adaptation to new conditions seems to have played a key role in the way species survived. Species adapt when the whole population change, e.g. when all owls get darker body colour. This happens slowly over a long period of time. Coauthor Stephen Jackson, director of the US Geological Survey's Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, elaborates,"From fossils and other biological "archives" we have access to a nearly limitless number of case studies throughout Earth's history. This provide us with valuable knowledge of how climate changes of various rates, magnitudes, and types can affect biodiversity."The new study might give us the answer to decode how biodiversity changes under climate change. This knowledge can inform policy-makers in order to implement effective conservation schemes in the future. Some species, when failed to adapt or move fast enough, like the orange-spotted filefish, have already gone extinct due to climate change. Co-author Francisco Rodriguez-Sanchez from the Spanish Research Council (CSIC), says,"We know animals and plants have prevented extinction by adapt or migrate in the past. However, the models we use today to predict future climate change, foresee magnitudes and rates of change, which have been exceptionally rare in the last million years. Thus, we need to expand our knowledge and improve our prediction models. Also, we must recognise the limitations of the models, because they are used to inform politicians and decision-makers about effects of climate change on biodiversity."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 30, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180830122207.htm
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Mapping trees can help count endangered lemurs
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The vast majority of lemur species are on the edge of extinction, experts warn. But not every lemur species faces a grim future. There may be as many as 1.3 million white-fronted brown lemurs still in the wild, for example, and mouse lemurs may number more than 2 million, a Duke-led study has shown.
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"For some lemurs, there may be healthy populations remaining and our conservation efforts are preserving them," said lead author James Herrera of Duke University.The findings come from statistical modeling techniques that estimate the total population sizes and geographic ranges for 19 of the roughly 100 recognized lemur species across Madagascar by using the plants they rely on for food as a proxy for counting animals.These tree-dwelling primates eat mostly fruits, leaves and flowers, such as African star apples, mangosteens, tamarinds and figs across Madagascar, the only place in the world where lemurs live in the wild.In a study published August 30 in the Using this relationship, the team was able to come up with the first estimates of total population size for some lesser-known species, such as Crossley's dwarf lemur. These estimates can be critical baseline data for managing what's left.About 95 percent of all lemurs are at risk of extinction because of deforestation, hunting and other factors. Since the 1950s, lemurs have lost more than 40 percent of their habitat. Tens of thousands of acres of forests each year are logged, cleared to make way for farms and pastures, or burned and harvested as charcoal.But getting reliable population numbers for these elusive animals in the remote and rugged terrain where they live isn't easy. Counting every individual is impossible. One alternative approach, based on statistical modeling, uses the correlation between species densities at a subset of sites and environmental conditions at those locations to infer how many individuals are present over larger areas.Between 2011 and 2016, teams of researchers walked across Ranomafana National Park, Makira Natural Park and Masoala National Park in Madagascar, searching for lemurs."We would wake up at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning, hike for six to eight hours to look for lemurs, and then go back out at night with our headlamps on to search," said Herrera, a postdoctoral associate in Duke professor Charlie Nunn's lab."A lot of these species are small nocturnal animals that are only active at night," so researchers rarely see them, Herrera said. "You can walk for hours and not see a single lemur."Overall, they compiled data from more than 2,000 lemur sightings, as well as more than 3,000 sightings of the trees they eat.Using these records, along with climate data from each location, the researchers identified other suitable areas for each of 14 lemur food trees across the 225,000-square mile island.Then they used the resulting tree maps, along with temperature, rainfall, elevation and other data, to estimate the potential population size of each lemur species across its range.This technique -- incorporating tree distributions in addition to climate -- proved more accurate than methods that estimate lemur numbers and ranges using climate alone.Several species had populations that were smaller than anticipated.The researchers estimated there were still 15,000 to 20,000 red-fronted brown lemurs in Madagascar in 2014. That's down as much as 85 percent from the approximately 100,000 estimated in 2000, by a separate study based on lemur surveys and satellite images of the remaining rainforests.Another species, the gentle bamboo lemur, may have shrunk by half in less than two decades, from roughly 20,000 individuals to 9,000-10,000.The steep declines are partly due to continued habitat loss, the researchers say. Madagascar lost more than 380 square miles of forest per year between 2010 and 2014.But numbers for other lemur species weren't as low as they feared.This study estimated roughly 50,000 red-bellied lemurs remaining, almost twice the figure estimated 14 years earlier.What's more, the study found that 16 of the 19 species had potential population sizes greater than 10,000 individuals, the threshold considered by the IUCN to be at risk of extinction."It was actually pretty good news for some of these species," Herrera said.Many of these species may still be at risk because of bushmeat hunting or the pet trade, which their models don't account for, the researchers say.But they hope their approach, in combination with measures of hunting pressure and other threats, will lead to more refined estimates of species' vulnerability to extinction in the future, for lemurs or other animals.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 30, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180830095352.htm
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The hidden life of rock gnome lichen
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They are a natural fertilizer for the forest, great construction material for birds' nests and an important indicator of how polluted the air is. And yet scientists know very little about the genetic diversity of lichens -- symbiotic life forms made up of two distinct, but interdependent organisms: fungi and algae.
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A new study from researchers at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York is helping to answer some of those questions by shedding light on the genetic diversity and reproductive process of rock gnome lichen (There are roughly 20,000 identified lichen varieties around the globe. The rock gnome species, however, is rare and known to exist only in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. It populates along the sides of rocks in high-elevation areas with frequent fog or deep river gorges, but human-driven degradation of specialized habitat and an invasive tree pest have threatened the rock gnome's survival in recent decades."This research is the first genome-wide analysis of the rock gnome lichen, and the first population genomics study of any lichen species," said the paper's first author, Jessica Allen, who received her Ph.D. in biology from The Graduate Center -- where she also began her study. "Lichens are important to our ecosystem because they support a lot of biological activities, and they're also good indicators of air quality because where we find low levels of species diversity we tend to find high levels of lung cancer. Analyzing their genomics can help us understand how certain varieties reproduce, the amount of genetic diversity within their group, and the factors that allow them to thrive."For their study, researchers collected rock gnome lichen samples from 15 sites representing the diverse geographical and ecological range of its habitat. To perform the gene analysis and determine the diversity of this particular variety, they employed whole-genomics shotgun sequencing. This combination of two methods allowed researchers to efficiently sequence long DNA strands and simultaneously sequence all the DNA found in the lichen's chromosomes.Next, researchers fed habitat, temperature, and precipitation data into an algorithm to determine the influence of geographical and environmental differences on the genetic variations found within the rock gnome lichen. Finally, researchers dissected fertile samples of the lichen to observe their reproductive structure.The work enabled researchers to make three novel and important observations: the rock gnome lichen has become less widespread since the Last Glacial Maximum period; the genetic variations found in this variety are more a function of geography than environmental differences; and the rock gnome has a unisexual reproductive structure."This study ultimately shows that the rock gnome lichen is genetically distinct from one location to the next -- even when the habitats are similar," said Graduate Center biology professor Elizabeth Alter, whose lab conducted the study. "That suggests that if we destroy any of these areas through risky activities, we'll reduce the diversity and further jeopardize this lichen."While this particular study broadens understanding of the factors shaping genetic diversity of rock gnome lichen and support continued conservation of this variety, the methodology used to identify the specie's genetic makeup and distinctive traits can be employed to gain a similar understanding of other endangered lichens.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 29, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180829143818.htm
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Protect key habitats, not just wilderness, to preserve species
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Some scientists have suggested we need to protect half of Earth's surface to preserve most of its species. A new Duke University-led study, however, cautions that it is the quality, not merely the quantity, of what we protect that matters.
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"There's a lot of discussion about protecting 'Half Earth' as a minimum to protect biodiversity. The challenge is, which half do we protect?" said Stuart L. Pimm, Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, who was lead author of the new study."The predilection of national governments is to protect areas that are 'wild' -- that is, typically remote, cold, or arid," Pimm said. "Unfortunately, those areas often hold relatively few species. Our analysis shows that protecting even as much as half of the world's large wilderness areas will not protect many more species than at present."To protect as many at-risk species as possible, especially those with small ranges, governments should expand their conservation focus and prioritize the protection of key habitats outside existing wildernesses, parks and preserves, Pimm and his coauthors from China and Brazil say."If we are to protect most species from extinction we have to protect the right places -- special places -- not just more area, per se," said Binbin Li, assistant professor of environmental sciences at Duke Kunshan University in China.The team's new peer-reviewed study, published August 29 in "We found that global conservation efforts have enhanced protection for many species -- for example, nearly half the species of birds with the smallest geographical ranges now have at least part of their ranges protected to a degree -- but critical gaps still exist," said Clinton Jenkins, of Brazil's Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas.These gaps occur worldwide, including in biodiversity hotspots such as the northern Andes, the coastal forests of Brazil, and southwestern China, and they will continue to persist even if governments protect to up to half of the world's remaining wild areas, the study shows."Certainly, there are good reasons to protect large wild areas: they provide environmental services," Pimm said. "An obvious example is the Amazon, where the loss of the forest there might cause massive changes to the climate. But to save as much biodiversity as possible, we have to identify the species that remain poorly protected -- which this paper does -- and then pinpoint where they are, so we can effect practical conservation."Many of the unprotected habitats are small parcels of land in areas where human impacts are already felt, disqualifying them for protection as wildernesses.Pimm, Jenkins and Li lead a nonprofit organization called SavingSpecies that partners with local conservation groups in South America, Asia and other regions to protect such lands."The 'Half Earth' approach provides an inspiring vision to protect the world's species," Pimm said. "A preoccupation with concentrating on the total area protected is misleading, however. It's quality, not quantity that matters."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 27, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180827180749.htm
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Preemptive overfishing: Promising to solve environmental problem may initially worsen it, study suggests
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As ocean conservation efforts kick into high gear amid concerns over climate change, food insecurity and habitat degradation, a disturbing phenomenon may also be on the rise: preemptive overfishing in a given area in anticipation of impending conservation policies.
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"We show that efforts to close off fishing in a major part of the world's ocean paradoxically led to more fishing, thus undermining the very conservation goal that was being sought," Kyle Meng, a professor at the UC Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, said of his new research. Meng is a co-author of "The blue paradox: Preemptive overfishing in marine reserves," now published in the According to the researchers, while efforts to curtail overfishing and promote ocean biodiversity through the establishment of marine reserves have generally had positive results, the period leading up to implementation of policy can be a particularly vulnerable one. Fishermen, perhaps fearing the decline of their livelihood, recreation or general entitlement to their activity, tend to over-extract resources immediately before the protections become official."A simple way to think about it is that fishers face a 'use it or lose it' dilemma," said Grant McDermott, a professor at the University of Oregon and fellow co-author of the study. "And, like I presume many of us would in their situation, they invariably choose to fish as much as possible while they still can."Such behavior was noted in the team's recent observation of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), a swath of central Pacific Ocean roughly the size of California, known for its remarkably diverse marine ecosystem. Using datasets and continuous satellite monitoring provided by Global Fishing Watch, the researchers found that in the period leading up to the ban on fishing in PIPA that was enacted on January 1, 2015 -- a successful ban celebrated by conservationists and scientists alike -- preemptive fishing placed PIPA in a more impoverished state by the time the policy was enforced. In fact, this extra preemptive fishing was equivalent to 1.5 years of avoided fishing following the ban.Such events are not new, according to the study. In other environmental domains, similar policies affecting endangered species, water and land resources, and climate change policy, have seen similar anticipatory behaviors. For example, in advance of the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA), private landowners in North Carolina and elsewhere deforested their properties to minimize land-use restrictions that would go into play upon settlement by woodpecker colonies. As a result, red-cockaded woodpecker habitats declined after the bird gained protected status via ESA. This phenomenon also was evident in non-environmental circles, such as after the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, when calls for tougher legislation led to a surge in firearm sales.However, these previous examples are all land-based and involve clearly demarcated property rights, according to the authors. The striking thing about this latest study, they said, is that it demonstrates preemptive resource extraction can occur even in a marine setting, where property rights are usually far from secure. The precise conditions that would allow for this to occur in such a "commons" remains a topic for future research, however."While we do not know exactly why this behavior is occurring just yet," said Meng, "it is not hard to imagine that a fisher who has expertise in a particular fishing region may want to take advantage of that experience before a ban is implemented. After the ban, that know-how no longer has any value.""Our goal in this study was to find out whether preemptive extraction is actually occurring in a marine setting and to quantify the effects," added McDermott. "Now that we've established those facts, we hope to uncover the underlying mechanisms more precisely in subsequent research."In terms of marine overfishing, the researchers extrapolate that if other marine reserve announcements were to trigger similar preemptive fishing behavior, it could temporarily increase the share of global over-extracted fisheries from 65 percent to 72 percent. This increase, they say, undermines the very objective of the marine reserve and can push fisheries and fish populations in an already precarious state to a point of no return even before a ban is enacted. In addition, they said, a further depleted fish population means less income for fishers and the communities they live in."While a certain amount of preparatory time is needed for any future policy, we do urge future marine reserves to be implemented in a quicker manner," said co-author Christopher Costello, who is a professor at the Bren School. "Additionally, the ability to continuously monitor fishing activity around the world using data from Global Fishing Watch also suggests that such preemptive action can be detected and discouraged from happening even before the fishing ban takes place."The group is currently investigating those possible remedies and exploring why fishers are engaging in this preemptive fishing behavior."Undercovering the exact motives behind this phenomenon will help us go a long way toward ultimately preventing it from happening," Meng said.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 27, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180827100428.htm
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Serial criminals could help save tigers
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A geographic profiling tool used to catch serial criminals could help reduce the casualties of human-tiger conflict, according to scientists who collaborated on an innovative conservation research study.
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The results of their research, published in Dr Matthew Struebig at the University of Kent's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, in its School of Anthropology and Conservation and Dr Freya St. John at Bangor University, led a collaboration between spatial ecologists and social scientists to help predict where human-tiger conflict interventions could be most effective.Tigers are on the brink of extinction due to deforestation and persecution. They are highly threatened and pose a public threat, but in Sumatra tigers continue to coexist with people, offering insights for managing dangerous wildlife elsewhere. Millions of conservation funds are spent each year trying to reduce people's risk of encountering harmful animals, and mitigating livestock losses of local farmers.To reveal the drivers of human-tiger conflict the team coupled spatial analyses of tiger encounter risk with information from 2,386 Sumatrans who were asked about their tolerance of wildlife. To map risk, the study used 13 years of human-tiger encounter records to generate a geographic profile -- a sophisticated statistical technique previously used throughout the world to predict the whereabouts of serial criminals based on where their crimes have been committed.Although the risk of encountering a tiger was generally greater around populated villages near forest or rivers, the geographic profile revealed three places where risk was particularly high. At the same time questionnaires revealed that people's tolerance for tigers was related to their underlying attitudes, emotions, norms and spiritual beliefs.By combining this information, the team was able to highlight villages where risk was adversely high, and tolerance was unusually low -- valuable guidance for organisations such as Fauna & Flora International, an international conservation charity that supports the Indonesian authorities and other in-country partners in Sumatra, helping them to prioritise conflict interventions.The techniques used in this study are highly significant and open up new possibilities for more targeted actions that will not only boost efficiency, but -- more importantly -- ensure that fewer people and tigers come to harm as a result of their interactions. This research has shown for example that, had this information been available at the time, pre-emptive interventions using these predictions could have averted up to 51% of attacks on livestock and people, potentially saving 15 tigers.Dr Struebig said: 'Understanding people's tolerance is key to managing dangerous species and is particularly urgent for tigers. When combined with our maps of encounter risk, information on people's tolerance to wildlife helps us direct conservation resources to where they are needed most. This could amount to significant cost savings in terms of animals lost or funding spent, so could be very useful in conservation.'
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 24, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180824150530.htm
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Effective fisheries management can reduce extinction risk of marine fish stocks
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Numerous studies have highlighted that climate change impacts will put vulnerable marine species at risk of local and even global extinction; however, local actions through effective fisheries management can reduce the probability of those species' extinction risk by as much as 63 per cent, says a new UBC study.
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Researchers looked at 825 exploited marine fish species across the global ocean, and analyzed their extinction risks due to climate change and fishing impacts. They calculated a conservation risk index for these species based on the ocean changes that they are, and will be, exposed to, their biological sensitivity to climate change, and potential ability to adapt. Their results showed that 499 of the assessed species are projected to experience very high risk from both overfishing and climate change under a 'business-as-usual' scenario, by 2050. They found that this risk level is equivalent to having at least one fifth of these species listed as vulnerable or endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species."Effective fisheries management plans, coupled with actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions, both separately, but especially in tandem, would have an immediate effect on the number of marine species that face extinction," said William Cheung, lead author and Associate Professor in the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia. "We can save hundreds of fish stocks from becoming endangered species with sustainable fisheries and low greenhouse gas emissions."Sharks and rays have the highest extinction risk under 'business as usual' fishing and climate change scenarios. The Dusky smoothhound shark (The areas with more at-risk species due to climate change are in the tropical and subtropical oceans, while those species at risk due to fishing are distributed more broadly, with higher concentration in the North Atlantic and South Pacific Ocean."Our study showed the need to support adaptation to climate change, while insuring effective fisheries management in these regions," said Gabriel Reygondeau, a postdoctoral fellow at UBC's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and co-author on the paper. "Some actions are already underway; for example, nine nations and the European Union agreed to prohibit commercial fishing in the central Arctic Ocean for at least 16 years starting in 2017. Similar proactive planning for the potential interactions between climate change and fishing is needed."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 23, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180823125113.htm
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New study highlights shark protections, vulnerability to fishing
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A new analysis shows that the habitats of three shark species (great hammerhead, tiger, and bull sharks) are relatively well protected from longline fishing in federal waters off the southeastern United States, but that that some prime locations are still vulnerable to fishing.
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The new study led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science has important implications to further protect these at-risk species from unintentional fishing, known as bycatch, in U.S. federal waters.Great hammerhead sharks are considered overfished and are experiencing population declines in the subtropical Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Tiger and bull shark populations have experienced declines to a lesser extent in the region over the past several decades and their populations appear to be stabilizing at present.The research team analyzed data from 96 tagged great hammerheads, tiger, and bull sharks to create habitat suitability models that reveal specific areas where these sharks are most likely to occur due to favorable environmental conditions. These 'highly suitable habitats' were then compared to areas where longline fishing gear is currently prohibited to determine what proportion of their habitats are protected from, and vulnerable to, longline fishing activity.The analysis showed that highly suitable habitats overlapping with the longline fishing restricted areas varied by species and season. Highly suitable habitats of great hammerheads and tiger sharks were relatively well protected from pelagic longlines yet vulnerable to bottom longline fishing. In addition, both species were vulnerable to pelagic and bottom longline fishing off southwestern Florida. Accordingly, the researchers suggested that extending longline gear restrictions to this area may benefit both great hammerhead and tiger sharks species."This study highlights the importance of considering seasonal trends in habitat use and movement patterns as these can vary greatly throughout the year and may impact the effectiveness of management plans for these species," said the study's lead author Hannah Calich, a UM Rosenstiel School alumna and current Ph.D. student at the University of Western Australia."Given the wide ranging movements of many migratory marine animals, the extent to which management areas protect their key habitats is often unknown and certainly very challenging to determine," said Neil Hammerschlag, a Research Associate Professor at UM's Rosenstiel School and study co-author. "We hope our approach will be helpful to researchers working with other migratory species, such as billfish, turtles, whales, seals, and tunas, to better help address these conservation issues."The study, titled "Overlap between habitat suitability and longline gear management areas reveals vulnerable and protected habitats for highly migratory sharks," was published on Aug. 23 in the journal The study's authors include: Hannah Calich, Maria Estevanez and Neil Hammerschlag from the UM Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.The research was supported by The Batchelor Foundation, Disney Conservation Fund, Wells Fargo, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, and the West Coast Inland Navigation District.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 23, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180823092021.htm
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Kelp forests function differently in warming ocean
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Kelp forests in the UK and the wider North-East Atlantic will experience a marked change in ecosystem functioning in response to continued ocean warming and the increase of warm-water kelp species, according to a new study led by a team from the Marine Biological Association and the University of Plymouth.
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Lead author Albert Pessarrodona, now with the University of Western Australia, said the team studied the ecosystem consequences of an expanding warm-water kelp species, Laminaria ochroleuca, which is proliferating under climate change. The findings are published today in the "As the ocean warms, species are moving up slopes and towards the poles in order to remain within their preferred environmental conditions. Species with warm affinities are migrating to many habitats previously dominated by cold-water ones, transforming ecosystems as we know them. These so-called novel ecosystems feature a mix of warm- and cold-affinity species, but we don't know whether they can retain desirable ecological processes and functions which human wellbeing relies on," Pessarrodona said.The scientists studied kelp forests in the southwest of the UK, where the warm water kelp species has increased in abundance in recent years -- probably at the expense of a cold-water species, which is less tolerant to warming seas."The warm-water kelp Most studies so far have looked at how non-native invasive species introduced by humans alter ecosystems. Far less attention has been paid to the impacts on ecosystem functioning of species expanding into new habitats as a result of climate change.Pessarrodona added: "We found that the warm-water kelps essentially acted as a conveyor belt of food production, growing and shedding its leaf-like lamina throughout the year and providing a continuous supply of food. In contrast, the cold-water species only grew during short, discrete periods of the year."Overall, the warm water species was functionally "faster," with its organic material being rapidly processed by herbivores such as sea snails and limpets and with faster rates of decomposition."Our findings suggest that the proliferation of the warm-water kelp will alter the dynamics of North-East Atlantic marine forests by modifying the quantity, quality and availability of food. In other research we have also seen that the warm-water kelp harbors less biodiversity than the cold species. Such changes in the provision of habitat and food could eventually affect commercially important species such as crabs, lobsters and coastal fish," Smale said.However, it is not all bad news. Some of the functions the study examined, such as carbon absorption or food provisioning, were maintained or even enhanced. Moreover, the replacement of cold-water kelps by warm-water ones in the North-East Atlantic means this important habitat will likely survive in the future, in contrast to several other areas of the world, including Japan, Canada and Australia, where kelp forests are disappearing completely.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 22, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180822131011.htm
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Fossil turtle didn't have a shell yet, but had the first toothless turtle beak
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There are a couple of key features that make a turtle a turtle: its shell, for one, but also its toothless beak. A newly-discovered fossil turtle that lived 228 million years ago is shedding light on how modern turtles developed these traits. It had a beak, but while its body was Frisbee-shaped, its wide ribs hadn't grown to form a shell like we see in turtles today.
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"This creature was over six feet long, it had a strange disc-like body and a long tail, and the anterior part of its jaws developed into this strange beak," says Olivier Rieppel, a paleontologist at Chicago's Field Museum and one of the authors of a new paper in The new species has been christened The fact that "This impressively large fossil is a very exciting discovery giving us another piece in the puzzle of turtle evolution," says Nick Fraser, an author of the study from National Museums Scotland. "It shows that early turtle evolution was not a straightforward, step-by-step accumulation of unique traits but was a much more complex series of events that we are only just beginning to unravel."Fine details in the skull of The study's authors say that their findings, both about how and when turtles developed shells and their status as diapsids, will change how scientists think about this branch of animals. "I was surprised myself," says Rieppel. "Eorhynchochelys makes the turtle family tree make sense. Until I saw this fossil, I didn't buy some of its relatives as turtles. Now, I do."This study was contributed to by Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, the CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, National Museums Scotland, the Field Museum, and the Canadian Museum of Nature.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 22, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180822101322.htm
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Bees need it colorful
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Scientists so far assumed that habitats with intensive agricultural use are generally bad for bees, because of the exposure to pesticides and the very limited choice of food resources and nesting places. The world-wide extinction of bees was to some extent put down to this factor. But bees are well able to thrive in agriculturally used areas, under the condition that they have access to what is called habitat islands with a high plant biodiversity.
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This was now demonstrated for the first time in a study by scientists of the University of Würzburg, together with other German and Australian researchers. They published their results in in "Tetragonula carbonaria" is the name of an Australian stingless bee that scientists have examined for more than two years. "We used it to examine in an exemplary way whether the fitness and the reproductive success of social bees depends on the plant biodiversity surrounding them and the related quality of food resources," says Dr. Sara Leonhardt, in charge of the study at the University of Würzburg. Social bees include, among others, honey bees and stingless bees. They are responsible for a large part of the pollination performance worldwide.To perform the study, scientists installed bee colonies in three different habitats. "We chose natural forests, urban gardens and macadamia plantations with intensive agricultural use and observed the growth and the production of worker bees, queens and new colonies," says Dr. Benjamin Kaluza, lead author of the study. They also analyzed the nutritional quality of the pollen and honey collected, and charted the plant biodiversity in these habitats.What they found was: The bees' quality of life was highest in gardens and biodiverse forests, and lowest in plantations. As the plant biodiversity declines, bees produce less offspring, so that colonies shrink in size. "Bees need diversity," says Kaluza. "Only in environments rich in plant species do they find continuously sufficient, balanced and high-quality food and other resources."Leonhardt explains that even small habitat islands with a high diversity of blooming plants in flight distance are sufficient for this effect to be apparent. "It allows them to compensate the negative influence of both pesticides and monocultures," she says, and adds: "This result means that the worldwide massive decline of biodiversity could be one of the main causes of bee extinction."What follows from their findings: "What we hope for now is, of course, more protection and restoration of biodiverse habitats, especially in regions intensive agricultural use, such as plantations," says Kaluza.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 22, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180822092709.htm
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Evolution might favor 'survival of the laziest'
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If you've got an unemployed, 30-year-old adult child still living in the basement, fear not.
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A new large-data study of fossil and extant bivalves and gastropods in the Atlantic Ocean suggests laziness might be a fruitful strategy for survival of individuals, species and even communities of species. The results have just been published in the Looking at a period of roughly 5 million years from the mid-Pliocene to the present, the researchers analyzed 299 species' metabolic rates -- or, the amount of energy the organisms need to live their daily lives -- and found higher metabolic rates were a reliable predictor of extinction likelihood."We wondered, 'Could you look at the probability of extinction of a species based on energy uptake by an organism?'" said Luke Strotz, postdoctoral researcher at KU's Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum and lead author of the paper. "We found a difference for mollusk species that have gone extinct over the past 5 million years and ones that are still around today. Those that have gone extinct tend to have higher metabolic rates than those that are still living. Those that have lower energy maintenance requirements seem more likely to survive than those organisms with higher metabolic rates."Strotz' co-authors were KU's Julien Kimmig, collection manager at the Biodiversity Institute, and Bruce Lieberman, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, as well as Erin Saupe of Oxford University."Maybe in the long term the best evolutionary strategy for animals is to be lassitudinous and sluggish -- the lower the metabolic rate, the more likely the species you belong to will survive," Lieberman said. "Instead of 'survival of the fittest,' maybe a better metaphor for the history of life is 'survival of the laziest' or at least 'survival of the sluggish.'"The researchers said their work could have important implications for forecasting which species may be likely to vanish in the near term in the face of impending climate change."In a sense, we're looking at a potential predictor of extinction probability," Strotz said. "At the species level, metabolic rate isn't the be-all, end-all of extinction -- there are a lot of factors at play. But these results say that the metabolic rate of an organism is a component of extinction likelihood. With a higher metabolic rate, a species is more likely to go extinct. So, it's another tool in the toolbox. This will increase our understanding of the mechanisms that drive extinction and help us to better determine the likelihood of a species going extinct."The team found that a higher metabolic rate was a better indicator of extinction probability, especially when the species were confined to a smaller habitat, and less so when a species was spread over a wide geographic area of the ocean."We find the broadly distributed species don't show the same relationship between extinction and metabolic rate as species with a narrow distribution," Strotz said. "Range size is an important component of extinction likelihood, and narrowly distributed species seem far more likely to go extinct. If you're narrowly distributed and have a high metabolic rate, your probability of extinction is very high at that point."The team also found that cumulative metabolic rates for communities of species remained stable, even as individual species appear and disappear within the community."We find if you look at overall communities, and all the species that make up those communities, the average metabolic rate for the community tends to remain unchanged over time," Strotz said. "There seems to be stasis in communities at the energetic level. In terms of energy uptake, new species develop -- or the abundance of those still around increases -- to take up the slack, as other species go extinct. This was a surprise, as you'd expect the community level metabolic rate to change as time goes by. Instead, the mean energy uptake remains the same over millions of years for these bivalves and gastropods, despite numerous extinctions."Strotz said he used mollusks to study the phenomenon of metabolism's contribution to extinction rates because of ample available data about living and extinct species."You need very large data sets with a lot of species and occurrences," he said. "Many of these bivalves and gastropod species are still alive, so a lot of the data we needed to do this work can come from what we know about living bivalve and gastropod physiology. The reason we picked the Western Atlantic as a study area is because we have excellent large datasets recording distribution of both fossil and living mollusks from this region. I used a lot of fossil material from collections around the U.S."According to the research team, a follow-up to this line of inquiry will be to establish the extent to which metabolic rate has an influence on the extinction rates of other kinds of animals."We see these results as generalizable to other groups, at least within the marine realm," Strotz said. "Some of the next steps are to expand it out to other clades, to see if the result is consistent with some things we know about other groups. There is a question as to whether this is just a mollusk phenomenon? There's some justification, given the size of this data set, and the long amount of time it covers, that it's generalizable. But you need to look -- can it apply to vertebrates? Can it apply on land?"
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Endangered Animals
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August 21, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180821185233.htm
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Orphaned elephants have a tougher social life
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Young female orphan elephants have a tougher social life than non-orphans, a new study suggests, adding to a growing body of evidence of how the impacts of poaching cascade through elephant societies.
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The research, part of a wider study by Save The Elephants and Colorado State University into the social impact of adult mortality on orphaned female elephants, shows that orphans receive more aggression from other elephants -- whether overt aggression like pushing or more subtle forms like displacements -- than non-orphans.Orphans that leave their families and move into another family unit are likely to receive more aggression than those integrated in their natal groups.The study, conducted over five years and led by CSU postdoctoral researcher Shifra Goldenberg, analyzes the social interaction patterns of juvenile female elephants in Northern Kenya who have lost their mothers to either poaching or natural mortality. The work shows that orphans are resilient, and rebuild their social lives by strengthening relationships in response to maternal mortality."Elephants live in matriarchies that facilitate access to limited resources like food, water, and shade," said Goldenberg, who is also a researcher with Save The Elephants. "We found that orphaning and natal group dispersal may trigger resource opportunity costs for young females, as they appear to be subordinate to other group members. What this means for their long-term survival and reproduction remains an open question."While the research team found that orphans rebuild their social networks, scientists also saw that orphans' social lives do not return to normal. While they maintain rich and varied relationships with other elephants -- relatives and non-relatives -- they have markedly less interaction with adult females. This reduces access to favored foods and resources, as well as to the elders, whose experience is critical to the transmission of information between generations in elephant societies.The latest findings around elephant aggression shed new light on the substantial indirect impact of poaching on orphan survivors, demonstrating that socially disadvantaged elephant orphans have a tougher life than non-orphans.Between 2009 and 2013, the population of elephants in Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves in Northern Kenya, where the study was conducted, was hit by increased ivory poaching and a severe drought that left many young elephants orphaned, without mothers or grandmothers.Some orphans chose to remain with what is left of their disrupted groups, others left their natal group to attach to unrelated individuals. Still others became drifters, showing some social preference but not fully committing to any one group.The researchers found that only orphans from disrupted families tend to disperse into new social groups but that during feeding, these same elephants receive more aggression than orphans in natal groups.George Wittemyer, study co-author and an associate professor in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at CSU said that the recovery of elephant populations from prolonged ivory poaching will depend largely on the ability of young females to successfully reconstruct their social lives and family groups."Deep, life-long bonds are the fundamental component of elephant societies, said Wittemyer, who also serves as chairman of the Scientific Board of Save The Elephants. "Fine resolution studies like these allow us to gauge the response of young females to human driven disruption."In the coming years the Samburu orphan study will relate the social costs of being an orphan to fitness as this could be important to the recovery of elephant populations affected by the ivory trade and other forms of disruption.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 21, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180821145214.htm
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Enigmatic African fossils rewrite story of when lemurs got to Madagascar
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Discovered more than half a century ago in Kenya and sitting in museum storage ever since, the roughly 20-million-year-old fossil Propotto leakeyi was long classified as a fruit bat.
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Now, it's helping researchers rethink the early evolution of lemurs, distant primate cousins of humans that today are only found on the island of Madagascar, some 250 miles off the eastern coast of Africa. The findings could rewrite the story of just when and how they got to the island.In a study to be published August 21 in the journal The reassessment challenges a long-held view that today's 100-some lemur species descended from ancestors that made their way to Madagascar in a single wave more than 60 million years ago, becoming some of the first mammals to colonize the island.Instead, the study lends support to the idea that two lineages of lemurs split in Africa before coming to Madagascar. One lineage eventually led to the aye-aye, and the other to all other lemurs. There are no lemurs left on mainland Africa. These ancestors then colonized Madagascar independently, and millions of years later than once believed."One implication is that lemurs have had a much less extensive evolutionary history on Madagascar than was previously thought," said study co-author Erik Seiffert, professor of anatomy at the University of Southern California.When Propotto was first described in the 1960s, experts didn't agree about what they were looking at. They didn't have a lot to go on: just three lower jaw bones, each barely an inch long, and a handful of teeth less than three millimeters across.In 1967, paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson inspected the fragments and classified the specimen as a previously unknown member of the loris family, nocturnal primates with enormous eyes. But a colleague named Alan Walker took a look and thought otherwise, eventually convincing Simpson that the bones belonged to a bat.For nearly half a century the creature's identity appeared to have been settled, until 2016, when another paleontologist, the late Gregg Gunnell of Duke University, began taking a fresh look at the fossil. To Gunnell's eye, the creature's hind teeth were more reminiscent of a primate than a bat. He also noted the stump of a broken front tooth, just visible in cross section, which would have jutted out from its mouth like a dagger -- a trait only known in aye-ayes, the only living primates with rodent-like teeth."Gregg wrote to us and said, 'Tell me I'm crazy,'" Seiffert said.To verify Propotto's place in the primate family tree, Seiffert and Steven Heritage of Duke's Division of Fossil Primates analyzed more than 395 anatomical features and 79 genes for 125 mammal species, living and extinct.With help from Doug Boyer, associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke, the team also compiled microCT scans of the lower molars of 42 living and extinct mammal groups, including bats, treeshrews and primates. They then used a computer program to compare the bumps, pits and ridges on the scans of Propotto's teeth to those of other animals.The researchers found that Propotto shared a number of features with a similarly buck-toothed primate that lived 34 million years ago in Egypt called Plesiopithecus, and that both were ancient relatives of the aye-aye.In the new study, Seiffert, Gunnell and colleagues propose that the ancestors of aye-ayes split from the rest of the lemur family tree roughly 40 million years ago, while still on the African continent, and the resulting two lineages didn't make their separate ways to Madagascar until later.The findings suggest they arrived around the same time as other mammals, such as rodents, Malagasy mongooses and hedgehog- and shrew-like animals called tenrecs. Frogs, snakes and lizards may have made the trip around the same time.Lemurs can't swim, so some scientists hypothesize that the small-bodied creatures crossed the 250-mile-wide channel that lies between Africa and Madagascar after being swept out to sea in a storm, by holding on to tree limbs or floating mats of vegetation before finally washing ashore.But if the arrival were more recent, they might have had a shorter distance to travel, thanks to lower sea levels when the Antarctic ice sheet was much larger."It's possible that lemurs weren't in Madagascar at all until maybe the Miocene," as recently as 23 million years ago, Boyer said."Some of the lowest sea levels were also during this time," Heritage said.Either way, "the fossils tell us something we never could have guessed from the DNA evidence about the history of lemurs on Madagascar," Boyer said.
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Endangered Animals
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August 20, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180820113108.htm
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California plain shows surprising winners and losers from prolonged drought
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The Carrizo Plain National Monument is a little-known ecological hotspot in Southern California. Though small, it explodes in wildflowers each spring and is full of threatened or endangered species.
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A long-term study led by the University of Washington and the University of California, Berkeley tracked how hundreds of species in this valley fared during the historic drought that struck California from 2012 to 2015. It shows surprising winners and losers, uncovering patterns that may be relevant for climate change.The findings are published Aug. 20 in "The Carrizo Plain is one of the global hotspots of endangered species, with endangered species at every trophic level: plants, rodents, carnivores," said lead author Laura Prugh, a UW assistant professor of quantitative wildlife sciences, part of the UW School of Environmental and Forestry Sciences. "It also is an ideal laboratory to see how an exceptional climate event affects a whole ecosystem."By studying this natural laboratory for many years, researchers found that drought actually helped ecological underdogs by stressing the dominant species. Similar patterns are likely to hold up for other ecosystems, Prugh said."We think that even though these extreme climate events, in the short term, can be pretty devastating for some populations, in the long run they might be important in maintaining biodiversity in the system, by keeping inferior competitors from getting pushed out of the system entirely," she said.The results also showed surprising losers: carnivores, ranging from foxes to barn owls. These suffered when their favorite prey species became scarce in year three of the drought."A lot of times when people think about drought what they're really concerned about is plants, and there isn't as much focus on animal populations," Prugh said. "Our results show that when these extended droughts occur, we really want to pay attention to animals at the top of the food chain, because they're likely to be hit pretty hard."Prugh began the project in 2007 as a postdoctoral researcher with co-author Justin Brashares, at the University of California, Berkeley, to study the giant kangaroo rat and other endangered species that are abundant in the Carrizo Plain. She sought to understand the relationship between different species to see how protecting one might affect the others.Then in 2012, the drought began -- a prolonged dry spell that studies show may be the worst that California has experienced in 1,200 years."We saw our sites turn from these areas that were just beautiful and filled with wildflowers in the spring to what really looked like the surface of the moon," Prugh said. "We realized that we were in a unique position to look at how this historic climate event affected an entire community."Field crews collected data on 423 species spanning plants, birds, reptiles, mammals and insects. Their field season went from late March through late August from 2007 onward, with support from the National Science Foundation, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.The laborious endeavor took many forms. Researchers cordoned off random plots of land and counted plants inside each square. They dug holes and put pitfall traps to catch insects, and identified everything that fell inside over a two-week period. They set live traps to catch rodents and other small animals during the day, and different traps to catch nocturnal rodents. The volunteer-run Carrizo Plain Christmas Bird Count provided the best numbers for birds. While driving around at night, researchers shone flashlights to look for reflections off the eyes of nocturnal animals. Observers counted the numbers of pronghorn antelope and tule elk from small airplanes.Over the years, the fate of hundreds of species show how the prolonged drought affected the ecosystem:"If we'd given up earlier or narrowed our efforts, we would have missed this rare and powerful opportunity to quantify how an ecological community is impacted by a major environmental shock," Brashares said. "Such shocks are intensifying on our rapidly changing planet, and we can't predict and manage their effects if we don't have studies in place to monitor them."Since the drought ended in 2015, the Carrizo Plain ecosystem has bounced back and the giant kangaroo rat population has also recovered."In terms of implications for climate change, it gives some cause for optimism in showing that ecosystems have a remarkable ability to handle some of these extreme events," Prugh said.Results suggest that focusing on how key prey species respond to a drought could help to predict the fate of top predators, Prugh said, and those key prey species could become a focus for conservation efforts.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 20, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180820113037.htm
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To float or not to float? Mystery solved as to why algae balls float and sink
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Scientists from the University of Bristol have uncovered the age-old mystery of why marimo algae balls sink at night and float during the day.
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The balls are a rare form of algae found naturally in lakes in the northern hemisphere, particularly Japan and Iceland.In Japan they have such important cultural significance, they are a protected species. They are also very popular with aquarium owners, although, in recent years, their popularity has resulted in a significant decline.In a new paper, published today in the journal When these aquatic plants photosynthesise, they become covered in tiny bubbles of oxygen, which the scientists predicted was the cause of their buoyancy.They tested their theory by using a chemical that stops photosynthesis. The chemical stopped bubbles forming, so the marimo did not float.The lab then investigated whether the photosynthesising surface of the algae balls had a biological "clock" or circadian rhythm.Marimo were kept under dim red light for several days. They discovered that if the marimo were then given bright light at the time that corresponded to the start of the day, they floated much more rapidly than if they were given light at the middle of the day.This shows that marimo floating is controlled by their biological clock.The study may have future implications for conserving marimo, which have experienced a global decline.PhD student Dora Cano-Ramirez, lead author of the study, said: "Unfortunately, marimo balls are endangered, being currently found in only half the lakes where they were once spotted."This might be caused by changes in light penetration due to pollution. By understanding the responses to environmental cues and how the circadian clock controls floating, we hope to contribute to its conservation and reintroduction in other countries."Japanese botanist, Takuya Kawakami, from the Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University) first discovered the green algae aggregates in the bay of Lake Akan and named them "marimo" in 1897.However, Aegagropila linnaei the scientific name was given by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in samples collected at the Dannemora Lake in Sweden.Marimo from Lake Akan were designated a Natural Monument of Japan in 1921, and Special Natural Treasure in 1952 which started the conservation efforts on these so called "mysterious creatures" because most of its physiology and ecology are still unknown.Lake Akan is unique due to its basin shaped form, shallow bays and diverse mineral water which harbours a Marimo community of an estimated 600 million, with some individuals recorded to be over 30 cm.Due to its beauty and critically-endangered status, Marimo has been used as an environmental education tool and is subject of a three-day annual festival by the Ainu people in Hokkaido, where marimo is welcomed at the beginning of the festivities and returned to the lake at the end in a sacred ceremony.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 16, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180816153131.htm
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Genetic differences in trees untouched by mountain pine beetles
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A University of Montana researcher has discovered that mountain pine beetles may avoid certain trees within a population they normally would kill due to genetics in the trees.
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UM Professor Diana Six made the discovery after studying mature whitebark and lodgepole trees that were the age and size that mountain pine beetle prefer, but had somehow escaped attack during the recent outbreak.After DNA screening, survivor trees all contained a similar genetic makeup that was distinctly different from the general population that were mostly susceptible to the beetle."Our findings suggest that survivorship is genetically based and, thus, heritable," Six said, "which is what gives us hope."In western North America, whitebark pine, a high elevation keystone species recommended for listing as an endangered species, and lodgepole pine, a widespread ecologically and economically important tree, have experienced extensive mortality in recent climate-driven outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle."Our results suggest that surviving trees possess a wealth of information that can be used to inform our understanding of the genetic and phenotypic bases for resistance and to develop management approaches that support forest adaptation," Six said.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 14, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180814101404.htm
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Illinois' imperiled eastern massasauga rattlesnakes retain genetic diversity
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Habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and the loss of genetic diversity are the three main factors driving the extinction of many wild species, and the few eastern massasauga rattlesnakes remaining in Illinois have certainly suffered two of the three. A long-term study of these snakes reveals, however, that -- despite their alarming decline in numbers -- they have retained a surprising amount of genetic diversity.
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The new findings are reported in the journal "Despite occurring in small, fragmented populations, eastern massasaugas in Illinois do not show genetic evidence of inbreeding," said Illinois Natural History Survey postdoctoral researcher Sarah J. Baker, who led the new research.The genetic analysis did reveal, however, the loss of several rare versions of genes over the course of the 10-year study, which ended in 2012. Such losses can signal the early stages of local extinction, Baker said.In 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the eastern massasauga as a threatened species nationally. Massasaugas are endangered in Illinois.The widespread conversion of prairie to row-crop agriculture and the construction of the Carlyle Lake dam in central Illinois were among the biggest assaults on massasauga populations in the state, said INHS herpetologist Michael Dreslik, a coauthor of the study."The lake was constructed as an impoundment of the Kaskaskia River in 1967 and flooded bottomland habitat," he said. "The remaining massasaugas are now clustered in wet prairies containing crayfish burrow complexes that shelter the snakes. These represent the only remaining suitable habitat patches for them."The construction of Carlyle Lake did not result in a genetic "bottleneck," however, Baker said."Bottlenecks can occur when a large population is quickly reduced in size, causing a loss of genetic diversity," she said.Despite the positive findings, the snakes are likely to become locally extinct without significant intervention, the researchers said. According to a 2017 estimate, the largest subpopulation of wild massasaugas remaining in Illinois includes 26-69 snakes."Previous studies propose that a total population of at least 100 is required for short-term maintenance of genetic diversity, and a population of 1,000 is needed to ensure long-term conservation," Baker said. "Conservation and management actions that can increase population size should be enacted as soon as possible to preserve the remaining genetic diversity and ensure the persistence of the species in Illinois."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 13, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180813100300.htm
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Sea stars critical to kelp forest resilience
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A study by Simon Fraser University resource and environmental management researcher Jenn Burt reveals that sunflower sea stars play a critical role in the resilience of B.C.'s kelp forests, which are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. Similar to land-based forests, kelp forests provide essential habitat for species and also help remove CO
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Burt and her team discovered sea otters and sunflower stars are complementary predators of sea urchins, which inhabit rocky reefs and voraciously eat kelp. Without natural predators, sea urchins quickly devour entire kelp forests."We showed that sea otters feed on large sea urchins, whereas the sunflower sea stars eat the small and medium-sized urchins that otters ignore," says Burt. "We observed kelp density was highest at reefs with both sea otters and sunflower stars."The researchers made this discovery after Sea Star Wasting Disease killed 96 per cent of the sunflower star biomass on the Central oast in 2015 and 2016. During this period there was a 311 per cent increase in small and medium-sized sea urchins, which corresponded to a 30 per cent decrease in kelp density.Burt says ecological surprises such as mass mortality events can reveal new insights into species interactions and ecosystem dynamics. She says these will become more important to learn from as climate change and other stressors make our future ocean ecosystems more unpredictable.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 10, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180810132605.htm
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Deep in the weeds: Using eDNA sequencing to survey pondweed diversity
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Ecological surveys of biodiversity provide fundamental baseline information on species occurrence and the health of an ecosystem, but can require significant labor and taxonomic expertise to conduct. However, as the cost of high-throughput DNA sequencing has plummeted in recent years, DNA from environmental samples (eDNA) has emerged as a cost-effective source of biodiversity data. In research reported in a recent issue of
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Traditionally, ecological surveys of biodiversity would require many hours of painstaking work by taxonomic experts and trained non-experts, identifying large numbers of specimens to the species level based on morphology. Once an eDNA sequencing study is designed, adding more eDNA samples is relatively trivial and inexpensive, so this method offers the ability to identify species at a scale that would be prohibitively expensive by traditional means. This makes it possible to produce much more data about which species live where for a much lower cost. Human taxonomic expertise is still a critical part of the equation though. According to Dr. Kuzmina, while "eDNA definitely becomes more and more cost-effective for ecological monitoring, it will never replace an expert for accurate identification of an individual specimen. These two approaches exist in two different dimensions, ideally complementing each other."Sequencing eDNA presents its own challenges. As Dr. Kuzmina explains, "The experiment needs to be planned with all precautions to prevent contamination from outside, with negative controls, and thoughtful interpretation of the results." Judicious selection of DNA markers to test is also necessary to produce meaningful results. Most eDNA sequencing studies have focused on animal or microbial diversity, as plants can be a trickier target. That's because there are no universal plant DNA markers that can be applied across a wide number of plant species and still effectively identify samples down to the species level.However, Dr. Kuzmina and colleagues designed their study to survey a narrower taxonomic scope, focusing only on the pondweed family (Potamogetonaceae). This design effectively rendered lack of universal plant DNA markers a moot point while at the same time delivering ecologically relevant information about pondweed diversity. "The goal was to design a method that can be used to detect rare or endangered species of pondweeds," says Dr. Kuzmina. "Narrowing the search allowed the method to be more sensitive and interpretation of the results more reliable."Pondweeds are an excellent candidate for eDNA sequencing beyond their tractable DNA markers. They are quite difficult to identify to species level based on morphology, relying on microscopic traits and requiring substantial expertise, and often live in aquatic habitats that are difficult to access. Pondweeds are also useful in habitat classification and are important bioindicators of aquatic ecosystem health, as different species are adapted to different water temperatures and chemical compositions. Additionally, seven species of North American pondweeds are endangered species, including two in Ontario, where this study was conducted."In broader application, the combination of pondweed species may be used as a 'fingerprint' of freshwater ecosystems, indicating quality of water and showing how this system is suitable for other freshwater organisms such as fishes and invertebrates," explains Dr. Kuzmina. This study found that pondweed diversity had been underestimated at the Sequencing of eDNA is a promising avenue for delivering large volumes of high-quality data on where species occur. These methods are currently being refined to answer specific questions such as detection of endangered or invasive species, or as bioindicators of water or soil quality. In this study, Dr. Kuzmina and colleagues showed that targeted eDNA sequencing of specific plant groups like pondweeds can yield important ecological information.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 9, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180809093435.htm
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'Biological passport' to monitor Earth's largest fish
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Whale sharks, the world's largest fish, roam less than previously thought. Local and regional actions are vital for the conservation of this globally endangered species moving forward, according to a new study by researchers from the Marine Megafauna Foundation, University of Southampton, and Sharkwatch Arabia. Their findings are published today in the journal
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Previously, genetic research indicated that whale sharks mixed within distinct populations in the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, respectively. This new study used stable isotope analysis, a biochemical technique, to demonstrate that whale sharks feeding at three disparate sites in the Western Indian Ocean (Mozambique and Tanzania) and the Arabian Gulf (Qatar) rarely swim more than a few hundred kilometres north or south from these areas."Whale sharks are amazing swimmers, often moving over 10000 km each year, and they can dive to around 2000 meters in depth. Biochemical studies tell us more about where they go and what they do when they're out of our sight," said Dr Clare Prebble, who led the research as part of her PhD project at the University of Southampton.The researchers used isotopes of nitrogen and carbon that have similar chemical properties, but vary in their atomic mass. Ratios between the heavier and lighter isotopes of these elements vary naturally across different habitats in the marine environment. For example, more of the heavier isotopes are found in near-shore environments than offshore. These ratios stay consistent as they are passed up through the food web, from tiny marine plants to top predators, and therefore provide a record of the animal's feeding and movement behaviours. Stable isotope analysis thereby provides a 'biological passport' for whale sharks.Electronic tags are commonly used with marine animals to record their movements and diving behaviours. However, the challenge of keeping them attached to a large shark, while minimizing disturbance, has meant that only short-term deployments (weeks to months) have been possible. This study used tiny samples of skin tissue from wild, free-swimming whale sharks. These small pieces of skin, collected over 2-3 years at each location, were sufficient to reconstruct the sharks' movements and feeding preferences over the weeks and months prior to sampling.Values of both carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes differentiated at each site. To complement the biochemical analysis, the researchers also took photographs of the natural markings on each whale shark to identify and track individuals over a 10-year timeframe. Every whale shark has a unique spot pattern, similar to a human fingerprint. The team recorded 4197 encounters with 1240 individual whale sharks within these three countries.Only two sharks moved between sites, both swimming around 2000 km north from Mozambique to Tanzania. Taken together, these findings indicate that there are limited movements between these major aggregation sites over months to years. These results have implications for the conservation of this endangered species."The best data available suggests that more than half of the world's whale sharks have been killed since the 1980s. Although the Western Indian Ocean remains a global hotspot for the species, even the largest feeding areas only host a few hundred sharks. Our results show that we need to treat each site separately, and ensure good conservation management is in place, as the sharks may not re-populate if they're impacted by people's activities," Prebble added.The study stresses the need to protect these filter-feeding sharks at the areas where they come together in numbers, particularly where human pressures are also present. Whale sharks are an incidental catch in coastal gillnets, which are frequently used in Mozambique and Tanzania. The Arabian Gulf is a huge oil shipping area where vessel strikes pose a major threat to the sharks when they are feeding near the surface."Whale sharks are fully capable of swimming across oceans, but it seems like the juveniles, at least, are choosing not to," commented Dr Simon Pierce, Principal Scientist at the Marine Megafauna Foundation and a co-author on this study. "They like coming back to the same sites each year to take advantage of predictable feeding opportunities. Looking on the bright side, that emphasises that local protection can have a major benefit for the recovery of this endangered species. The rewards can also be felt locally, with whale shark tourism now worth over $100 million each year around the world."Earlier this year, colleagues reported that whale sharks regularly visit Madagascar to feed, which has led to a growing ecotourism industry between the months of September and December. To date, none of the sharks identified in Madagascar have been seen outside that country, further reinforcing the results from this new study.Dr Clive Trueman from the University of Southampton concluded: "Interestingly, most sharks found at these feeding sites are juvenile males of less than nine meters. To truly assess how populations are globally structured and distributed, we need to learn more about where the sharks go once they reach adulthood. They may well move out of our sight to feed and breed in deeper offshore waters."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 8, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180808153405.htm
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Models may help reduce bycatch from longline fishing
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Hundreds of thousands of sharks, sea birds and other marine species are accidentally killed each year after they become snagged or entangled in longline fishing gear.
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New models developed by a Duke University-led team may help reduce this threat by giving regulatory agencies a powerful new tool to predict the month-by-month movements of longline fishing fleets on the high seas. The predictions should help determine where and when the boats will enter waters where by-catch risks are greatest."By comparing our models with data showing where by-catch species are likely to be each month, ship captains, national agencies and regional fisheries management organizations can pinpoint potential hotspots they may want to temporarily avoid or place off-limits," said Guillermo Ortuño Crespo, a doctoral candidate in the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment."This represents a movement away from a reactive approach to fisheries management -- where we only know about problems as or after they occur -- to a more proactive approach that helps us stay one step ahead of the game," he said.Ortuño Crespo and his colleagues describe their new models in a peer-reviewed paper August 8 in To devise the models, they collaborated with Global Fishing Watch to collect geospatial information from individual boats' automatic identification system (AIS) signals. AIS data shows the movements and distribution of longline fishing fleets operating in the high seas in 2015 and 2016.Then they statistically correlated each ship's fishing efforts to 14 environmental variables -- such as sea surface temperatures or distance to the nearest seamount -- that influence a region's seasonal suitability as a habitat for species targeted by longliners. This allowed them to create highly accurate models that predict where the fishing fleets will be each month of the year.The new models track data for fleets from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and Spain, which accounts for most of the longline fishing currently taking place in the open ocean beyond national jurisdictions. Future models could include fleets from other nations and offer expanded functionality that will allow regulatory agencies to view the data within a global context or break it down by individual nation, region or fleet."If we can provide this level of information, it becomes a highly practical management tool for the agencies charged with managing fishing on the high seas," Ortuño Crespo said.In longline fishing, hundreds or even thousands of individual fishing lines with baited hooks are hung off a main line that can extend for miles across the sea. Fishermen typically use longline gear to catch swordfish, tuna and other commercially valuable fish that live in the upper depths of the open sea, but the bait also attracts non-targeted marine species such as sharks and sea birds, which get snagged on the hooks or entangled in the lines."Blue sharks, mako sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks, thresher sharks and silky sharks are among the species most frequently killed by longlines, and some of them are listed as species of concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species," Ortuño Crespo said. "The industry has made great strides in developing safer gear, but hundreds of thousands of animals are still being killed each year."Getting the new models into the hands of regulators, industry leaders and policymakers is critical, and time is of the essence, said Patrick N. Halpin, professor of marine geospatial ecology at Duke and a co-author of the study"Climate change and fishing pressures are the two main drivers of ecological impacts in the open ocean, and there is a possibility that neither of them will be part of United Nations negotiations this September on protecting marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions," Halpin said. "Some countries, especially those that do a lot of deep-sea fishing, do not want to include fisheries in the discussions. We hope our findings will help change their attitudes."
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Endangered Animals
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August 8, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180808134226.htm
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For the first time, scientists are putting extinct mammals on the map
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Researchers from Aarhus University and University of Gothenburg have produced the most comprehensive family tree and atlas of mammals to date, connecting all living and recently extinct mammal species -- nearly 6,000 in total -- and overturning many previous ideas about global patterns of biodiversity.
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While others have tried to map the ranges of all mammals or figure out their family tree, previous studies always left out one crucial group of mammals: species driven to extinction by humans."This is the first time we've been able to comprehensively include extinct species like the Tasmanian tiger or the woolly mammoth as well as account for human-induced regional range losses among extant species in such a large database, and it's really changing our beliefs about what is 'natural' or not," said biologist Søren Faurby of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, who co-led the assembly of the database and the study, which was resently published in the scientific magasine Scientist often use maps of mammal species ranges to investigate patterns of biodiversity or to predict how climate change will affect species. But these maps are incomplete because they don't show species' natural ranges, only where they occur today. Many species have had their ranges drastically reduced by humans, for instance, through overhunting and habitat destruction."Brown bears may be emblematic of Alaska or Russia today but their range used to stretch all the way from Mexico to Northern Africa before widespread hunting by humans. If we want to predict how a warming climate will affect these bears, we can't leave out these natural areas of their range," said Faurby.It is also important to include species that have been totally exterminated."If we are studying global patterns of biodiversity, we really need to start considering species like the Tasmanian tiger that was hunted to extinction less than 100 years ago, a mere eye blink in geological time," said paleontologist and co-leader Matt Davis of Aarhus University in Denmark.We associate large mammals like elephants and lions with Africa today, but for most of the last 30 million years, big animals roamed all over the Earth. It was only relatively recently that humans drove many of these large mammals extinct, leaving a world depauperate of giants."Even a species like the woolly mammoth, that we think of as prehistoric, lived up to the time the Great Pyramid was being built," Davis said.Assembling a database that included every species of mammal was no easy task. It took the research team, headquartered at Aarhus University, months just to stitch together existing datasets and fill in missing holes in the data.They then poured over old maps and checked museum records to see where species natural ranges might be without the interference of modern humans.Adding extinct species to the mammal family tree and making modern ranges for them was even harder. The scientists combined DNA evidence and data from fossil dig sites around the world with a powerful new computer algorithm to predict where extinct species fit in with mammals that are alive today."This comprehensive database has already provided much needed evidence to inform restoration baselines and to provide re-assessments of several hotly debated ideas in biology, but this is just the beginning" said Jens-Christian Svenning, professor at Aarhus University and leader of the Aarhus team.He expects that other researchers, conservationists, and educators will also find the easy to use and publicly available database valuable."We are already using the database to quantify and map human-induced biodiversity deficits and assess restoration potential across the globe.
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Endangered Animals
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August 7, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180807110347.htm
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Capturing elephants from the wild shortens their lives
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Humans have been capturing wild Asian elephants for more than 3,000 years, and this still continues today despite the fact that the populations are declining. An international team of researchers has now analysed records of timber elephants in Myanmar to understand the effects of capture. The study shows that even years after their capture, wild-caught elephants' mortality rate remains increased, and their average life expectancy is several years shorter compared to captive-born animals.
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Millions of wild animals are captured alive each year for a diverse range of purposes. While members of some species can thrive in captivity and are healthier, live longer, and produce more offspring than their free-living counterparts, many others perform far worse. Elephants, for example, are known to be at a much higher risk of dying when captive in zoos compared to living in the wild. Comparisons like these, however, mainly illustrate the differences in the diet, social environment, exercise possibilities, and disease patterns between zoos and wild environments. They provide little insight to how the capture of wild elephants might affect their long-term well-being in captivity.Elephants have been employed in logging camps in Myanmar for centuries. Wild-caught and captive-born animals there work and live side by side in forests and are, generally, tamed with the same methods, live in the same environments, and are treated similarly. The detailed records kept by local governments on elephant husbandry provided a rich data set for researchers from the University of Turku, Finland, and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, Germany. Based on data stretching back nearly a century and including over 5,000 timber elephants, the researchers could establish a robust predictive model on elephant survival after capture."Our analysis reveals that wild-captured elephants had lower survival chances than captive-born elephants regardless of how they'd been captured, whether by stockade of whole groups, lassoing single elephants, or immobilisation by sedation. This means that all these methods had an equally negative effect on the elephant's subsequent life. We also found that older elephants suffered the most from capture; they had increased mortality compared to elephants caught at younger ages," says Dr Mirkka Lahdenpera, the leading author of the study.All elephants face the highest risk of death in the year immediately following capture. Although the risk decreases in subsequent years, these negative effects still last, alarmingly, for around a decade, a surprisingly long time."We chose to rely on data from timber camps as, their capture aside, both wild-caught and captive-born elephants have very similar life styles. This unique situation allows a comparison between these two groups unbiased by other factors such as diet or exercise," explains Dr Alexandre Courtiol, the data scientist of the study.Both captive-born and wild-captured timber elephants in Myanmar live together in semi-captive populations. They work during the day and are released to forests during the night to find food on their own, and can then interact with other captive timber elephants as well as wild elephants. The captive animals are also subjected to the same governmental regulations concerning data recording, workload, and rest periods (working elephants have holidays, maternity leave, and a mandatory retirement age). Both captive-born and wild-caught elephants are tamed and trained before entering the workforce. Wild-captured elephants may, however, be exposed to harsher treatment depending on their age, sex and, personality compared to captive-born calves."The long-term overall cost of capture and taming resulted in a median lifespan that is 3-7 years shorter than that of captive-born elephants. Capturing elephants to sustain captive populations is, consequently, detrimental, because it not just reduces wild populations of this endangered species, but it also cannot provide a viable solution to sustain captive populations. These wild-caught animals live shorter lives and reproduce poorly in captivity," says the senior investigator of the study, Academy Professor Virpi Lummaa.Long-term stress due to capture and taming as well as changes in the social environment are potential reasons for the shorter life of wild-captured elephants."We ought to find alternative and better methods to boost captive populations of elephants. Even today, over 60 percent of elephants in zoos are captured from the wild and about a third of all remaining Asian elephants now live in captivity," says Lahdenpera.The results of the study strongly suggest that more studies are necessary to understand and assess how widespread these negative effects of capture are in other species. Whenever capture is unavoidable, animal welfare specialists, veterinarians, and ecologists must work together to improve conservation and management practices. Support and care for the animals is especially critical during the period immediately after capture.The study was funded by the European Research Council, Academy of Finland and Kone Foundation.The research article Differences in age-specific mortality between wild-caught and captive-born Asian elephants by Mirkka Lahdenpera, Khyne U Mar, Alexandre Courtiol and Virpi Lummaa was published in All authors contributed equally to this study.
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Endangered Animals
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August 3, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180803103328.htm
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Abandoned farmlands enrich bird communities
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Agriculture and conversion of pristine lands into urban or industrial areas have exerted immense pressure on the natural biota due to habitat destruction and fragmentation in industrialized countries around the world. But since the 1900s, farmlands have been increasingly abandoned due to the decline in domestic agriculture and, in some countries, a decline in population. This yields an opportunity for abandoned farmlands to be used as rehabilitation zones for grassland, wetland, and forest animals. However, it has so far remained unclear how valuable for sustaining specific animal communities farmlands, abandoned farmlands, and natural habitats are relative to each other.
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Hokkaido University's Futoshi Nakamura and his collaborators including Yuichi Yamaura of Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, published in the journal The team came to the conclusions that abandoned farmlands, especially when not surrounded by forests, benefit wetland and grassland birds more than other bird communities. However, how well a farmland can be reclaimed depends centrally on the intensity of farmland usage before abandonment. Furthermore, different landscape structure properties affect bird communities in differential ways. For example, a large proportion of newly abandoned farmland within a given area can increase species richness of wetland bird species, favoring rare bird species; on the other hand, farmland abandonment in open areas can increase abundance of wetland species, favoring common species.The effects of landscape structure on animal communities are complex and, as a result, different studies report conflicting results. However, this recent study clearly indicates that abandoned farmlands can be used for the preservation of wetland and grassland fauna. In addition, it untangles some of the factors underlying complicated interactions, thus yielding valuable insights for choosing land plots for specific conservation efforts.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 2, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180802141635.htm
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The end-Cretaceous extinction unleashed modern shark diversity
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A study that examined the shape of hundreds of fossilized shark teeth suggests that modern shark biodiversity was triggered by the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, about 66 million years ago.
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This finding is reported this week in As part of a larger scientific endeavour aiming to understand the diversity of fossil sharks, a group of researchers from Uppsala University, Sweden, and the University of New England, Australia, have explored how certain groups of sharks responded to the mass extinction that killed-off non-bird dinosaurs and marked the end of the Cretaceous period and the Mesozoic era.Much like several other vertebrate groups during the Cretaceous (142-66 million years ago), shark diversity looked very different from today. Ground sharks (Carcharhiniformes) are the most diverse shark group living today, with over 200 different species. However, while dinosaurs dominated terrestrial environments during the Cretaceous, Mackerel sharks (Lamniformes) were the dominant shark forms of the sea."Our study found that the shift from lamniform- to carcharhiniform-dominated assemblages may well have been the result of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction," said project leader and Uppsala doctoral student Mohamad Bazzi.Sharks are one of the major groups that survived the Cretaceous-Palaeogene mass extinction and, today, carcharhiniforms are typified by forms such as the Tiger, Hammerhead, and Blacktip Reef sharks and lamniforms by the Great White and Mako sharks."Unlike other vertebrates, the cartilaginous skeletons of sharks do not easily fossilize and so our knowledge of these fishes is largely limited to the thousands of isolated teeth they shed throughout their lives," says Mr. Bazzi. "Fortunately, shark teeth can tell us a lot about their biology, including information about diet, which can shed light on the mechanisms behind their extinction and survival."The team used "cutting-edge" analytical techniques to explore the variation of tooth shape in carcharhiniforms and lamniforms and measured diversity by calculating the range of morphological variation, also called disparity."Going into this study, we knew that sharks underwent important losses in species richness across the extinction." said Dr. Nicolás Campione at the University of New England, who co-devised the project. "But to our surprise, we found virtually no change in disparity across this major transition. This suggests to us that species richness and disparity may have been decoupled across this interval."Despite this seemingly stable pattern, the study found that extinction and survival patterns were substantially more complex. Morphologically, there were differential responses to extinction between lamniform and carcharhiniform sharks, with evidence for a selective extinction of lamniforms and a subsequent proliferation of carcharhiniforms (the largest order of living sharks today) in the immediate aftermath of the extinction."Carcharhiniforms are the most common shark group today and it would seem that the initial steps towards this dominance started approximately 66 million years ago," said Mr. Bazzi, who remarks that further research is still needed to understand the diversity patterns of other shark groups, along with the relationship between diet and tooth morphology.Although the mechanisms that triggered such a shift in sharks can be difficult to interpret. The team hypothesises that changes in food availability may have played an important role. The end-Cretaceous extinction saw to major losses in marine reptiles and cephalopods (e.g. squids) and the post-extinction world saw the rise of bony fishes. In addition, it is likely that the loss of apex predators (such as lamniforms and marine reptiles) benefited mid-trophic sharks, a role fulfilled by many carcharhiniforms."By studying their teeth, we are able to get a glimpse at the lives of extinct sharks," said Dr. Campione, "and by understanding the mechanisms that have shaped their evolution in the past, perhaps we can provide some insights into how to mitigate further losses in current ecosystems."Approximately 50% of the shark species in the IUCN are considered to be either endangered, threatened, or near-threatened.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 1, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180801131557.htm
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Trees travelling west: How climate is changing our forests
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Many studies on the impacts of global temperature rise have suggested that the range of trees will migrate poleward and upward. However, research that will be presented at the 2018 ESA Annual Meeting in August suggests that more tree species have shifted westward than poleward.
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The effects of climate change on trees can be complicated -- different combinations of changes in temperature and precipitation can result in different impacts, and different species can have different responses. As such, resource managers lack a comprehensive understanding of large-scale climate change impacts on forest ecosystems.Songlin Fei, Associate Professor at the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University, sought to provide some understanding to this problem. Using field data across the eastern US, he analyzed 86 tree species and groups to investigate the magnitude and direction of their responses to climate change over the last three decades and to provide an understanding of any changes.He found that 73 percent of tree species have experienced a westward shift while 62 percent have experienced a poleward shift. It appears that the shifts are largely associated with changes in moisture availability. The shifts are also associated with species that have similar traits (drought tolerance, wood density, and seed weight) and evolutionary histories, such as deciduous vs. evergreen species. The results suggest that changes in moisture availability have stronger near-term impacts on forest dynamics than do changes in temperature.Fei's talk is part of a session that will discuss research on other large-scale climate change impacts on important forests in the eastern US, such as upland oak forests which provide a wealth of ecological and economic services including wildlife habitat, timber, and water resources. These forests have adapted to persist in fire-prone areas; human-induced fire control may change this by allowing tree species that are fire-intolerant and shade-tolerant (mesophytes) to outcompete the oaks in the absence of fire. Without fires, these mesophytes may foster their own proliferation through a variety of poorly-understood mechanisms, while increasing vulnerability of the upland oak forests.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 1, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180801102600.htm
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Animals and fungi enhance the performance of forests
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A new study shows that, in addition to the diversity of tree species, the variety of animal and fungus species also has a decisive influence on the performance of forests. Forest performance comprises many facets besides timber production, such as carbon storage and climate regulation. The study is based on ten years of research in species-rich subtropical forests. A team of researchers led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg has published the results in the new issue of
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There is a global concern that the loss of biodiversity caused by people is impairing the functioning of our cultural and natural landscapes. In our forests, trees are the most conspicuous and prominent organisms. The consequences of reduced tree species diversity are therefore comparatively easy to grasp. However, it is much more difficult to take into consideration the diversity of the thousands of sometimes tiny animal and micro-organism species that perform important tasks in forests as herbivores, pest controllers or recycling experts. Therefore, the effects of a loss of this species diversity have so far been difficult to quantify. After years of dedication, a team of German, Chinese, Swiss and American researchers has now succeeded in doing this for the first time for particularly species-rich, semi-natural forests in the subtropics of China. The research group has not only studied the enormous species diversity of beetles, spiders, ants, woodlice and fungi in these forests, but at the same time, they investigated a variety of processes that are essential for the functioning of the forests. These processes include the growth of timber, the prevention of soil erosion, the recycling of nutrients or the biological control of potential pests."Our analyses show that the diversity of animal and fungal species affects numerous important processes -- such as the availability of nutrients for tree growth," said Dr Andreas Schuldt, first author of the study, from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg. "To understand why and how a loss of biodiversity affects these forests, it is not enough to concentrate solely on the trees and their species diversity." The species richness of herbivores and their competitors was also important, an important finding with regard to the expected intensification and the possible prevention of pest infestation with progressive climate change. Furthermore, besides animals and fungi, the researchers found that the multifunctionality of forest stands is influenced not so much by the number of tree species as by their functional properties and the resulting composition of different types of tree species. "Our previous knowledge on the relationships between multifunctionality and biodiversity mainly comes from comparatively species-poor forests in Europe and North America," said Prof Helge Bruelheide, spokesperson of the research group and senior author of the study. "We can now show for the first time that such relationships in the extremely species-rich subtropics and tropics follow their own dynamics. This is important to understand because these forests are of great importance for global biogeochemical cycles and for us humans."The results of the study also allow deductions for the management of forests under ever-changing environmental conditions and therefore provide important basic data. These insights were made possible by the many years of funding of biodiversity research and the project by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
August 1, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180801084100.htm
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Scientists discover why elusive aye-aye developed such unusual features
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It is one of the most unusual primates on the planet -- famed for its large eyes, big ears and thin, bony finger used for probing.
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Often persecuted as a harbinger of evil, the aye-aye has fascinated scientists, in particular how and why it evolved such unusual features.But now a new study has, for the first time, measured the extent to which the endangered aye-aye has evolved similar features to squirrels, despite being more closely related to monkeys, chimps, and humans.When two aye-ayes were first brought back to Europe from their native Madagascar by French explorers in 1780, they were "ranked with the rodents" and believed to be "more closely allied to the genus of squirrel than any other."By the mid-19th Century the aye-aye had been correctly identified as a primate, but its squirrel-like appearance is often cited as a striking example of "evolutionary convergence," or how unrelated species can independently evolve the same traits.Now, using techniques developed in collaboration by researchers at the University of York, a new study has used high-resolution microCT scanning to image the skulls of the two species, mapping and modelling the level of convergence in their physical features.The findings suggest that the demands of needing to produce a high bite force with the two front teeth -- in the squirrel for cracking nuts and in the aye-aye for biting into tree bark to feed on wood-boring beetle larvae -- have not only led to the aye-aye evolving the ever-growing incisors characteristic of rodents, but has also given it a squirrel-like skull and jaw.The study shows how lifestyle and ecology can have such a strong influence on the way a species looks that they can almost override ancestry.Senior author of the study, Dr Philip Cox from the Department of Archaeology at the University of York and the Hull York Medical School, said: "Examples of convergent evolution can be seen throughout nature -- for example, despite belonging to separate biological groups, dolphins and sharks have converged in body shape due to their shared need to move efficiently through the water."Aye-ayes and squirrels have become an iconic example of convergence because of their similar teeth, but our study has shown for the first time that the evolution of their skulls and jaws has also converged."Our analysis suggests that the skulls of both species have not evolved simply to house their teeth, but that the distinctive shape may be what allows them to exact a high bite force. The shape of the skull is what makes the aye-aye look so similar to squirrels in particular."Using skeletons borrowed from the collections of natural history museums, the research team made 3D reconstructions of the skulls and mandibles of the aye-aye and squirrel, plus a variety of other primates and rodents.They then took 3D co-ordinates from these reconstructions and put this data into statistical software.Plotting the evolutionary trees of the two biological groups allowed the team to visualise how the evolutionary paths of the aye-aye and squirrel incline towards each other -- showing the high degree of convergence in the skull and jaw, despite the completely different ancestry of the two species.Dr Cox added: "Our study shows the extent to which functional pressures, such as having to eat mechanically demanding food, can significantly alter an animal's skeleton and result in distantly-related species evolving to resemble one another very closely."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 31, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180731104213.htm
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Recreational fisheries pose threat to skittish sea turtles
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Every summer, thousands of amateur scallopers flock to the warm coastal waters of Florida's Crystal River region, anchor their boats and reap the delicious bounty of the state's largest recreational bay scallop fishery.
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For these seasonal anglers, the toothsome morsels are well worth the two- or three-meter dive. But new research from scientists at Florida State University suggests that scallop harvesting -- and recreational fishing generally -- may come at a cost for the vulnerable sea turtles that live and forage in these shallow seas."We found that during harvest season in the Crystal River recreational scallop fisheries, native sea turtle behavior changed in significant ways," said study co-author Mariana Fuentes, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science. "We need to continue this work to measure how severe these changes might be."Their research was published this month in the journal The same agreeable conditions that make the northeastern Gulf of Mexico so suitable for scallop harvesting -- temperate waters and lush beds of seagrass -- also make the area a model habitat for green, Kemp's ridley and loggerhead sea turtles. That made the Crystal River region the perfect natural experiment for concerned researchers."Our group strives to provide effective management options to reduce space-use conflicts between wildlife and human activities," Fuentes said. "It was a natural step to investigate the potential implications of these interactions and how to mitigate impacts."To assess the effects of the seasonal influx of recreational harvesters, the researchers set out to evaluate how marine turtle distribution and behavior might change in response to elevated boating activity. Using a sophisticated satellite tracking device, researchers tagged and monitored a selection of the three sea turtle species common to the area.They found that when boats appeared, the turtles turned tail. The arrival of harvest season saw turtle hotspots shift away from the congregated scalloping vessels and closer to the coast."These human-driven shifts in the distribution of turtles may mean they're spending less time in areas that are likely to be of better quality, which could in turn affect their nutritional intake and energy budgets," said study lead author Natalie Wildermann, a postdoctoral researcher at FSU.When forced to share limited space with fleets of scallop harvesters, Wildermann said, the turtles might need to expend greater effort in finding the food they need. Crowded waters could also breed increased competition among individual turtles for scarce resources.And then there's the basic environmental effects of the scalloper flotillas."The thousands of vessels -- and their oil leaks and chemicals -- could have a considerable impact on the overall water and seagrass habitat in the region," Wildermann said.While a small navy of recreational fishing boats might not be the ideal neighbor for sea turtle communities, researchers stress that steps can be taken to minimize both direct and indirect ecological damage.Reducing the density of harvesters could allow turtles the room to migrate between better-suited habitats without being disrupted, and recording turtle sightings on GPS or smartphones could help boaters avoid areas with higher turtle activity. More rigid speed limits in areas populated by turtles are also advisable, researchers said, as the animals aren't typically nimble enough to avoid collisions with vessels traveling more than 2.2 knots (2.5 miles per hour).The trick, said Wildermann, is to craft policies that protect marine life without causing undue burden to well-meaning scallop harvesters."We would need to work with scallopers and managers to find a balance between ensuring that scallopers can still enjoy the recreational activities, while minimizing the disturbance to marine turtles," she said.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 30, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180730145415.htm
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Diet matters less than evolutionary relationships in shaping gut microbiome
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Gut microbes provide many services for their hosts, including digesting their food. Researchers have long known that mammals with specialized diets, such as carnivores and anteaters, have special types of gut microbes that allow them to eat that diet.
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Is the same true in primates? In the largest published comparative dataset of non-human primate gut microbiomes to date, a new Northwestern University study set out to find whether leaf-eating primates have similar gut microbes that help them break down their leafy diet, which is full of fiber and toxins.A common theme in the microbiome field is that host diet has large effects on the gut microbiome -- both across lifespans (week-to-week changes in host diet change the gut microbiome) and across evolution (mammals with similar diets have similar gut microbes regardless of their evolutionary histories), said Katherine Amato, lead author of the study and assistant professor of anthropology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern.Therefore, they expected to see many similarities between leaf-eating primates, regardless of how closely related they were to each other. Rather, the researchers discovered that diet mattered much less than host evolutionary relationships in shaping the gut microbiome."Our data suggest that, across evolution, the effect of primate diet on the primate gut microbiome is not large," Amato said. "Evolutionary relationships between primates are much more important for predicting microbiome composition and function."The study is the first cross-species comparison of the gut microbiota that exclusively uses samples from wild animals."We conclude that although gut microbes play a critical role in supporting host dietary specializations, their impact is regulated through host physiology," Amato said."Leaf-eating primates shared very few gut microbial characteristics. Instead, New World monkeys shared the most gut microbial characteristics with each other, regardless of diet. The same was true for Old World monkeys, lemurs and apes. These patterns appear to be the result of host physiological traits such as how the gastrointestinal tract is built."Cross-mammal examinations of the gut microbiome have been performed, Amato said, but they all had weaknesses in that species with similar diets also had similar evolutionary histories or physiology. Many studies also mixed captive and wild animals, and captivity is known to change the gut microbiome."This study was able to eliminate these issues due to the fact that leaf-eating evolved independently multiple times in the order Primates and is associated with a different physiology in each part of the primate tree," Amato said. "We also only used wild primates, which compared to captive primates, are more likely to have gut microbiomes like those they evolved with."Further research could involve looking at more primate species with more varied diets and understanding how the human gut microbiome fits into this bigger evolutionary picture and what it can tell us about our physiology and health, Amato said.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 30, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180730120340.htm
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Do bacteria ever go extinct? New research says yes, bigtime
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Bacteria go extinct at substantial rates, although appear to avoid the mass extinctions that have hit larger forms of life on Earth, according to new research from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Caltech, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The finding contradicts widely held scientific thinking that microbe taxa, because of their very large populations, rarely die off.
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The study, published today in "Bacteria rarely fossilize, so we know very little about how the microbial landscape has evolved over time," says Stilianos Louca, a researcher with UBC's Biodiversity Research Centre who led the study. "Sequencing and math helped us fill in the bacterial family tree, map how they've diversified over time, and uncover their extinctions."Louca and colleagues estimate between 1.4 and 1.9 million bacterial lineages exist on Earth today. They were also able to determine how that number has changed over the last billion years -- with 45,000 to 95,000 extinctions in the last million years alone."While modern bacterial diversity is undoubtedly high, it's only a tiny snapshot of the diversity that evolution has generated over Earth's history," says Louca.Despite the frequent, steady extinction of individual species, the work shows that -- overall -- bacteria have been diversifying exponentially without interruption. And they've avoided the abrupt, planet-wide mass extinctions that have periodically occurred among plants and animals. Louca suspects that competition between bacterial species drive the high rate of microbial extinctions, leaving them less prone to sudden mass, multi-species extinctions.Past speciation and extinction events leave a complex trace in phylogenies -- mathematical structures that encode the evolutionary relatedness between existing bacterial species."This study wouldn't have been possible 10 years ago," says Michael Doebeli, UBC mathematician and zoologist, and senior author on the paper. "Today's availability of massive sequencing data and powerful computational resources allowed us to perform the complex mathematical analysis."Next, Louca and his colleagues want to determine how the physiological properties of bacteria evolve over time, and whether their ecological diversity has also been increasing similarly to their taxonomic diversity. If this is true, it would mean that even ancient and relatively simple organisms such as bacteria still have the potential to discover novel ways to survive.
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Endangered Animals
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July 30, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180730104903.htm
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Madagascar's lemurs use millipedes for their tummy troubles
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Madagascar's red-fronted lemurs may have a secret weapon from nature's medicine cabinet: millipedes. This is according to a study led by Louise Peckre of the German Primate Center at the Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Germany. Peckre and her colleagues believe that lemurs chew on millipedes to treat and prevent conditions such as itching or weight loss which are caused by parasites that might live in and around their guts. The research is published in the Springer-imprint journal
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Lemurs, alongside other primates like spider monkeys, have a habit of rubbing foreign objects, substances or materials over parts of their bodies. Experts refer to such actions as self-anointing, and they believe that animals do this as a form of communication, to remove toxic substances before ingestion, or as a way of self-medicating.Peckre and her colleagues observed five groups of red-fronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons) in Kirindy Forest on the African island of Madagascar. During several observations they noted that six animals in the groups were chewing on millipedes (likely Sechelleptus). These millipedes had emerged a few hours after the first heavy rain of the season. The chewing produced copious amounts of an orange-coloured substance which the researchers assumed was a mixture of saliva and millipede secretions. The animals then rubbed the area around their genitals, anuses and tails with the chomped millipedes. Quite a few millipedes were also swallowed after much chewing."Self-anointment combined with eating millipede secretions may be a way of self-medication by red-fronted lemurs," says Peckre.The researchers believe that the lemurs eat the millipedes specifically because they secrete benzoquinone, a substance that is also known to repel mosquitoes. Self-anointment in this way could help the animals cleanse themselves of parasites often found in their gastric system and intestines and, more specifically, Oxyuridae nematodes that are known to cause irritation around animals' anus area. Being infested with these worms and their eggs often causes an animal's skin to break out in an itchy rash. The pinworm that can be problematic for humans is, for example, part of this group of nematodes."Strikingly, during the fur-rubbing observations, we noticed the presence of bald areas on the lower back of many animals. These are known as sit spots, and are likely caused by repeated rubbing," explains Peckre. "These bald areas may then indicate the presence of infections by Oxyuridae in the population at the time."Peckre and her colleagues believe that the lemurs use the millipedes not only to treat the condition, but also to prevent it. The researchers would like to see further research that compares primate species that anoint their body without ingesting the millipedes to those species that also ingest the millipedes. They expect that primates that are more exposed to digestive parasites would be more likely to eat the crushed millipedes.Several species of birds and mammals are known to rub themselves with millipedes and even to eat them. Most millipedes secrete a variety of chemicals to defend themselves from predators. These chemicals are sedative, repellent, irritant and toxic.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 26, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180726085955.htm
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NE Australian marine heatwave shakes up coral reef animal populations
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Research published today in
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The IMAS-led study analysed data collected across these areas by the Reef Life Survey (RLS) citizen science program.It identified important changes in reef-animal communities that may affect the resilience of coral reefs, potentially reducing the capacity of corals to rebuild after mass bleaching.Coral reefs are among the most valuable ecosystems on Earth, providing irreplaceable benefits to biodiversity and people. The World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system and a place of outstanding universal value."We know that coral reef ecosystems are changing dramatically in response to global warming, but the focus has usually been on the fate of corals, with clear impacts of mass bleaching observable from aerial images," study leader Rick Stuart-Smith said."We were interested in how the loss of coral compared with other changes across the full region."After reviewing surveys of corals, seaweed, fishes and mobile invertebrates such as sea urchins at 186 sites across the Great Barrier Reef and western Coral Sea -- before and after the 2106 heatwave -- we realised that coral bleaching was only part of the story."Changes were also happening around the bleached corals, to the fishes and other animals that the reefs support, and which in turn assist coral recovery."The study's most important finding was the detection of broad regional ecosystem change that was distinct from the degree of coral loss at each site.An overarching change was consistent across all the surveyed reefs, even those not affected by coral loss due to bleaching."While severe declines in live coral cover occurred on northern Great Barrier Reef reefs, losses in the northern Coral Sea were even greater," co-author and RLS survey leader, Professor Graham Edgar said."However even in the worst hit areas, coral losses varied greatly from reef to reef, with a few sites showing small coral gains."The only change in fish or invertebrates that clearly matched this patchy change in coral cover was a decline in coral-feeding fishes such as butterflyfishes."Other big changes related more directly to the effect of warmer temperatures on the fishes and invertebrates."An example of this change in animal populations was seen in parrotfishes, which occurred in fewer surveys across the northern reefs after the bleaching event, but this response was not directly associated with sites of coral cover loss.These herbivorous fishes play an important 'functional' role in preventing algae from taking over and displacing corals on disturbed reefs. They appeared particularly sensitive to the warmer conditions, and their loss may affect the capacity of corals to rebuild."Our observations suggest that recovery processes will depend on such functional changes in reef communities, which in turn depend on how temperatures change the makeup of fish and invertebrates that live on the reefs," Dr Stuart-Smith said."Although we are lucky that herbivorous fishes are not heavily targeted by fishing in Australia, our results highlight the potential for some ecologically important groups of reef animals to be disproportionately affected by warmer temperatures, particularly near the warm edge of their distributions."So as well as considering how to conserve and restore corals in areas affected by bleaching, we also need to consider how to maintain or build the broader fish communities that provide reef resilience."This may mean considering where particular species in these important groups are subject to overlapping pressures such as fishing, warming and habitat loss, to better plan protected areas or manage human pressures like fishing for a warmer future."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 26, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180726085737.htm
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Amphibians face many challenges in Brazilian rain forest
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Deforestation remains the biggest threat to animals that call the rain forest "home." However, even measured, sensible development projects can have unforeseen effects because there's no model to follow.
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Now, thanks to new research published in "This research provides a roadmap to determine the best locations for future surveys and help assess where to prioritize conservation efforts in human-modified landscapes," said José Wagner Ribeiro Jr., former Michigan State University visiting student now a Sao Paulo State University (Brazil) ecologist, who led the research. "Our results, combined with land use and topographic maps, can be used to make predictions of amphibian distributions even beyond our study area."The study took place in the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. This region harbors great diversity of amphibians. Most of them, including many frogs, are native to that region. The study location was chosen, in part, because 85 percent of the original forest has been lost, and less than 10 percent of the remnant forest is protected."Our research demonstrates the significance of forests to tropical amphibians, but an important fraction of species may be retained in forest fragments as some frogs are not as sensitive to the amount of forest cover," said Elise Zipkin, MSU integrative biologist and co-author of the study. "The remnants are predominantly small fragments on rural properties, thus it is imperative to understand how other landscape characteristics influence the distribution of frogs in this biome."Little is known about these rare frogs. In fact, many of them have Latin names only and no common monikers. The team's research, however, establishes a baseline measuring the relationship between species occurrences and landscape features, including forest cover, topography and agriculture. It captures how patchworks of forest and farmland intertwine. Areas surrounding forest plots, and how they are used, are key elements that determine whether forest fragments can support amphibians.Land use is important, but the type of waterway is equally vital to amphibian distributions. The team revealed that areas with small streams and flat topography, as opposed to ones with waterfalls and rapids, are likely to have the highest number of amphibian species."Small headwater streams are particularly fragile ecosystems and are highly susceptible to human impacts," Wagner Ribeiro Jr., said. "Riparian zones are protected by law in Brazil, but farmers commonly let livestock access the small streams to drink water, altering physical characteristics, which could pose threats to conserving frogs in tropical regions."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 24, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180724120901.htm
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Scientists warn that proposed US-Mexico border wall threatens biodiversity, conservation
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Amidst increased tensions over the US-Mexico border, a multinational group of over 2500 scientists have endorsed an article cautioning that a hardened barrier may produce devastating ecological effects while hampering binational conservation efforts. In the
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The authors argue that the border wall will harm wildlife populations by fragmenting, degrading, and eliminating existing habitat, as well as by blocking species migration. "Our analysis shows that the border bisects the geographic ranges of 1506 native terrestrial and freshwater animal (n = 1077) and plant (n = 429) species," say the authors, noting that the number includes 62 species already listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.Further, the authors express concern that as a result of the 2005 Real ID Act, construction could proceed "without the necessary depth of environmental impact analysis, development of less-damaging alternative strategies, postconstruction environmental monitoring, mitigation, public input, and pursuit of legal remedies." Compounding the issue of forgone legal protections, Peters and colleagues warn that a border wall could threaten ongoing research and conservation programs, including those in binational habitat corridors and the 18% of borderlands that contain environmentally protected lands.To mitigate the effects of the proposed wall, the authors make several urgent recommendations to the United States Congress and Department of Homeland Security; these include following existing environmental laws, taking action to mitigate ecological harm, and forgoing physical barriers in particularly sensitive areas. The article` also calls for the government to encourage scientific research in the borderlands, to inform and assist environmental evaluation and mitigation efforts. The authors conclude that "national security can and must be pursued with an approach that preserves our natural heritage."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 24, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180724110020.htm
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Plenty of habitat for bears in Europe
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Great opportunity for European brown bears: a new study spearheaded by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) shows that there are still many areas in Europe where bears are extinct but with suitable habitat for hosting the species. An effective management of the species, including a reduction of direct pressures by humans (like hunting), has the potential to help these animals come back in many of these areas, according to the head of the study. It is now important to plan the recovery of the species while taking measures to prevent conflicts.
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Some 500 years ago, there were brown bears almost everywhere in Europe. However, in the following centuries they were wiped out in many places, including Germany. The reasons for the decline of bears were primarily habitat loss and hunting. Today, around 17,000 animals still live in Europe, distributed over ten populations and 22 countries. Some of these populations are at risk due to their relatively small size.In recent years, the hunting of brown bears has been banned or restricted in Europe. In the future, bears could recolonise parts of Europe. A new study led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) reveals: there are still many areas in Europe where there are currently no bears, but which would, in principle, be suitable as habitat. Of an estimated amount of more than one million square kilometres of suitable habitat in Europe, about 37% is not populated; equivalent to an area of ??about 380,000 square kilometres. In Germany, there are 16,000 square kilometres of potential bear habitat. However, the probability of future recolonisation varies widely. E. g. in Germany, potential bear habitats outside the Alps are geographically isolated and unlikely for the bear to come back naturally."The fact that there is still suitable habitat for brown bears is a great opportunity for species conservation," says the head of the study Dr Néstor Fernández from the iDiv research centre and the University of Halle. Scientists are already seeing around 70% of Europe's populations recover, and it is likely that bears will return to some of the currently unoccupied areas. "In Germany, too, it is very likely that some areas will, sooner or later, be colonised by brown bears, especially in the Alpine region," says Fernández. So, there is reason to hope that bears will be native to Germany once more, 200 years after their extermination.For many people this would probably be good news. "In recent years, the attitude of Europeans towards wildlife has changed a lot. Today, many people feel positive about the return of large mammals," says Fernández. Nevertheless, the fact that bear comeback can lead to conflicts with some human activities needs to be considered at an early stage. Such conflicts mostly arise when bears eat crops or damage beehives, and they also occasionally attack sheep. Direct attacks by bears on humans are, however, extremely rare; bears themselves generally steer clear of people.The map developed by Fernández and his colleague Anne Scharf (Max Planck Institute for Ornithology) makes it possible to predict the areas into which bears could return. These maps can help policymakers identify potential areas of conflict early and counter these with specifically targeted measures. For example, compensation payments should be coupled with preventive measures being taken in advance, explains Fernández. Such preventive measures can be, for example, the construction of physical barriers such as closures for apiaries, electric fences, or the use of guard dogs to protect fields and grazing pastures, and increasing public awareness. A look at the map also makes it clear; bears do not stick to national borders. "That's why a common management policy for the brown bear and other wild animals at the European level would be desirable," says Fernández. At present, policies between member states regarding the protection and management of bears is very heterogeneous, and there is disparity in how compensation schemes are structured in different states.For their study, Scharf and Fernández have collated the results of all relevant previous bear habitat studies. These each focused on a delimited area in which bears live, and, for this area, analysed which requirements the animals have for their habitat. By bringing together the results of these local studies, the scientists were able to create a computer model that would identify further potential bear habitat across Europe. The predictions made by this model are more reliable than if the data from one region were merely applied to the whole of Europe. Scharf and Fernández published their results in the journal
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 24, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180724110005.htm
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Satellite tracking reveals Philippine waters are important for endangered whale sharks
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A new scientific study published in
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The Philippines is an important hotspot for whale sharks and globally hosts the third largest known population of whale sharks. While the species has been protected in the Philippines since 1998, globally the species was uplisted in 2016 to 'endangered to extinction' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to a population decline of more than 50%, largely caused by continued exploitation in the Indo-Pacific. Particularly in South East Asia, concerns remain due to continued fishing in regional waters; understanding the movements of whale sharks in the Philippines is vital if we are to identify conservation priorities for the species.By attaching Wildlife Computers SPOT5 satellite tags to whale sharks, researchers from Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE), Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) and Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) were able to follow the movements of juvenile whale sharks in near real-time to gain an insight into their behaviour. The tags work by communicating with passing ARGOS satellites, transmitting a location when the wet/dry sensor is triggered when a tagged whale shark breaks the surface. To aid transmission tags were tethered to a whale shark by a 1.8-meter line to ensure the tags broke the surface more frequently.17 individual whale sharks were tagged in three different locations in the Philippines: Panaon Island (Southern Leyte), northern Mindanao (Misamis Oriental and Surigao del Norte) and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (Palawan). Tagging took place between April 2015 and April 2016. All tagged whale sharks were juveniles, ranging in size between 4.5 -- 7 meters and 73% of them were male.In their paper, peer-reviewed and published in Lead author of the study, Gonzalo Araujo stresses that "this research highlights the high mobility of whale sharks, even juveniles, and the need for broader scale management and conservation plans for this endangered species."Dedicated research by LAMAVE and citizen science has identified over 600 individuals in the Sulu and Bohol Seas, yet the proximity of this population to fisheries in the broader region (South China Sea) means it is vital to monitor this population as a whole to understand if this population is in recovery or continuing to decline. Identifying threats and mitigation strategies is a conservation priority for the species. LAMAVE continues to study whale sharks in five key areas in the Philippines, working with local and national governments as well as collaborating organisations to develop conservation strategies for this iconic species.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 23, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180723142834.htm
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Should you share data of threatened species?
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Scientists publishing locations of rare species have been blamed for helping poachers drive them to extinction, such as the local extinction of the Chinese cave gecko.
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But an international group of scientists lead by Dr Ayesha Tulloch from the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland believes that data publishing is important to help many species."Species, like Australia's tiny grassland earless dragon, have received greater environmental protection because published data was available to show that they were in trouble," said Dr Tulloch."The challenge is to share data in a way that avoids perverse outcomes such as local species extinctions from human exploitation."It is undeniable that in some cases, poachers have used published data to hunt down rare animals for the illegal wildlife trade."And even well-meaning people like bird watchers and sight seers can sometimes do damage when enough of them trample a patch of habitat.""Which is why scientists and conservationists have continually called on location data to be turned off in nature photos to help preserve species.""But stopping all data publishing is not the answer. Data publishing has also led to improved protection and conservation for many species."Good data helps conservation managers know where action is needed."Dr Tulloch -- whose affiliations include The Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions and the Threatened Species Recovery Hub of the National Environmental Science Program; and the Desert Ecology Research Group -- said sharing data takes a balanced approach.To address the challenge Dr Tulloch collaborated with scientists from nine organisations to design a framework that helps researchers and conservationists choose how to share sensitive data."A key aspect is identifying whether poaching, illegal trade or disturbance from eager spectators really poses a real threat which can't be managed."Then there are a number of ways you can deal with that data, such as only showing locations in 100km grid squares, that could allow it to be published without putting those species at risk."The sharing of species information is here to stay," said Dr Tulloch."Being clear about the pros and cons of making the data public will ensure that species are not put in more danger from new data being out in the public domain."The authors of this paper are from the University of Queensland, Wildlife Conservation Society, the University of Sydney, Birdlife Australia, the University of Kansas, CSIRO, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network at the University of Adelaide, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, and the Australian Museum.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 23, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180723142829.htm
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Microclimates may provide wildlife with respite from warming temperatures
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Sheltered pockets of cooler and more variable conditions in the British countryside may help native species of flora and fauna survive warming temperatures caused by climate change, researchers have found.
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As global temperatures rise, some species of butterfly, beetle and plant are already beginning to disappear from the warmer parts of their geographical range.By the end of this century, many of our native species will be experiencing intolerable temperatures, forcing some of them to move northwards and uphill.However, researchers based at the Universities of Exeter and York suggest that locally variable habitats such as hummocky hillsides or shaded valleys could help a range of native species survive this modern warming episode -- in much the same way as species such as red deer and squirrel survived the Ice Age by seeking refuge in pockets of warmer conditions sheltered from the extreme cold.Analysing five million records of plants and animals collected by members of the public in England, the researchers found that a number of these microclimates or "refugia" are already being used as alternative habitats for many species sensitive to warming.For some species, the beneficial effect of refugia could be substantial; for example, the researchers estimate that refugia have reduced the probability of extinctions of Dark Green Fritillary butterflies (Lead author of the study, Dr Andrew Suggitt, said: "It is tempting to think it might be quite nice for the UK to warm up by a few degrees, but this will actually be really bad news for many of our native animals and plants that are adapted to our cooler, wetter climate."However, refugia within the varied topography of the British landscape can have a local temperature difference of as much as seven degrees in daytime maximum temperature, making them extremely important alternative habitats for many climate-sensitive species."For the substantial number of plants and animals that are not mobile enough to shift their geographical range in response to warming, alternative microclimates can provide shelter from rising temperatures within the landscape they already inhabit.The researchers suggest that in areas where there is not a huge variety in localised conditions, such as in flatter regions like East Anglia, refugia could be artificially created.Dr Suggitt added: "Refugia buffer species from adverse climate change, and so they could play an important role in our response to this huge challenge. This includes making sure that important refugia are protected. Where refugia do not occur naturally, pre-existing engineering or infrastructure projects could be adapted to ensure that variable terrain is left behind and available for our wildlife to use.Director of the research, Dr Ilya Maclean, from the University of Exeter, said: "The public can also do their bit by encouraging a good mix of sunny and shady spots in their gardens, and by planting species that offer a lot of cover alongside those that offer less. Now that we know a substantial amount of warming will unavoidably take place this century, it's about giving our plants and animals as many options as possible to avoid the adverse heat."Co -author of the study, Dr Mike Morecroft from the government conservation body Natural England, said: "This study has provided us with the best evidence yet that refugia can make a real difference to the fate of species threatened by climate change. We now have a good understanding of where they are and which species most need the lifeline they provide. We're working to incorporate this new knowledge into our conservation planning and management."'Extinction risk from climate change is reduced by microclimatic buffering' is published in
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 19, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180719121800.htm
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Vast majority of Americans support Endangered Species Act despite increasing efforts to curtail it
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Just about any news story about the Endangered Species Act includes a prominent mention of the controversy around the 45-year-old law.
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But when you ask ordinary Americans about the act they're mostly supportive, according to survey data reported in a new study led by Jeremy Bruskotter of The Ohio State University.Roughly four out of five Americans support the act, and only one in 10 oppose it, found a survey of 1,287 Americans. Support has remained stable for the past two decades, the researchers report in the journal "Every time the ESA is in the news, you hear about how controversial it is. But the three most recent studies show that, on average, approximately 83 percent of the public supports it, and that's sort of the opposite of controversial," Bruskotter said.Survey respondents who identified with a range of eight interest groups -- including hunters and property-rights advocates -- were all at least 68 percent supportive, the study found. And support was consistent throughout various regions of the United States.About 74 percent of conservatives, 77 percent of moderates and 90 percent of liberals said they supported the act.The highest percentage of active opposition to the act was found in the property rights advocates group -- 21 percent said they're against it.Bruskotter, an associate professor of environment and natural resources and a conservation policy expert, said he suspected the public's impression of the Endangered Species Act might not align with the perspective of business and political interests debating its future and seeking to roll back its reach."Scholars, the media and others keep talking about how controversial the act is and we wanted to know whether that was really true in the population at large," he said.It's indisputable that the Endangered Species Act -- which is designed to protect and restore animals, plants, insects and fish at risk of extinction -- is under fire in Washington, D.C., Bruskotter said."In the 1990s and 2000s, a typical year saw roughly five attempts to amend the act or curtail its protections. But from 2011 to 2015, there were about 33 legislative attacks per year -- and there have been almost 150 in the last two years alone," Bruskotter said."I don't think at any time, maybe since the act was passed, have there been this many members of Congress working in direct opposition to the act, but that doesn't mean that they're acting in the interests of the people they represent," he said.Bruskotter and his colleagues looked at data from a 2014 online survey sent to a sample of the U.S. general public, and census data, to conduct their analysis.They examined results from two polls and two studies (including this new survey) in the last two decades to see if there was evidence of shifting feelings about the act over time. Support varied from a low of 79 percent to a high of 90 percent, and opposition ranged from a low of 7 percent to a high of 16 percent across these studies.Interest groups included in the study were environmentalists, animal rights advocates, conservationists, wildlife advocates, gun rights advocates, farmers and ranchers, hunters and property rights advocates. Survey respondents were linked to a group if they identified with its mission -- they didn't have to be directly tied to a particular organization.Bruskotter said he'd like elected officials and others in policy-making positions to consider what the vast majority of Americans think about existing protections and to not let vocal minorities drown out the will of the American people."Government should be responsive to its citizens, but our research suggests that is not how government is working, at least not when it comes to environmental policy," he said.His study co-author, John Vucetich of Michigan Technological University, agreed."The Endangered Species Act is a genuine point of American pride; it's considered one of the best laws in the world for conserving biodiversity," Vucetich said. "So why don't our representatives represent us?"
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 18, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180718152240.htm
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Does biodiversity loss leads to an increased disease risk?
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Biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming rate as infectious diseases increasingly spill over from wildlife to humans. Disease ecologists fervently debate whether biodiversity loss leads to an increased disease risk. Now, a University of Montana researcher has published a new study with some answers.
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UM Assistant Professor Angela Luis shows for the first time that species diversity can have both positive and negative influences on disease transmission in the same host-pathogen system at the same time in her article published in the For a number of species, a more diverse community decreases infection risk, termed "the dilution effect," because biodiversity dilutes infection. If this is a widespread phenomenon, then preserving biodiversity is a win-win for both animal conservation and human health.However, a debate rages about how general this phenomenon is since, for some systems, a more diverse community increases disease risk, termed the "amplification" effect. For other systems, biodiversity has no consistent effect, leaving its relationship to disease unidentified.In the latest issue of PNAS, Luis, a disease ecologist, shows that the Sin Nombre hantavirus among rodents displays a significant dilution effect. Areas with a more diverse rodent community have lower hantavirus prevalence among deer mice, which are the main reservoir for the disease. When the virus spills over into humans, it causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which has infected more than 700 people and killed about 1 in 3 since its discovery in 1993.Luis' study shows deer mouse density causes the dilution effect. In more diverse communities -- with more rodent species present in the same area -- there tend to be fewer mice due to competition, and disease spread slows down.However, for a given mouse density, as rodent species diversity increases, infection spreads faster in a "component amplification effect" as mice become stressed and their immunity decreases. Therefore both dilution and amplification occur in the same system at the same time.It's not as simple as more biodiversity means less disease."It's been wild to see the debate among disease ecologists in the literature and at conferences. It has been heated at times," Luis said. "Although this study doesn't resolve the debate, it provides an interesting perspective -- the inconsistent findings of whether diversity increases or decreases disease risk may be resolved by delving into the different mechanisms determining disease transmission."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 18, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180718143100.htm
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For one tropical tree, effective seed dispersal relies especially on elephants
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Deer, bears, gibbons, but especially elephants, play an important role in seed dispersal for a large-fruited tree in the forests of Thailand, according to a new study publishing July 18 in the open-access journal
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Known collectively as megafauna, large animals, and particularly herbivores, ARE critical for dispersal of seeds of many terrestrial plants, especially those bearing large fruits ("megafaunal fruits"), which depend on megafauna for spreading their seeds. But as a group, megafauna encompass a diverse range of body sizes and physiology, and the relative contribution of each to seed dispersal for most megafaunal plant species is poorly characterized.To address this question, the authors tracked fruit consumption, seed dispersal, and seed viability for the forest tree While smaller members of the forest megafauna such as deer and bear played important roles in dispersing seeds from this tree species, McConkey said, their effectiveness is lower, and thus they require more fruit to achieve the same level of reproduction. "If less vulnerable large herbivores such as deer are unable to replicate the seed dispersal role of threatened mega-herbivores such as elephants, megafaunal fruit could suffer range contractions, affecting forest community composition and potentially forest carbon stocks."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 18, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180718104734.htm
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Novel approach studies whale shark ages the best way -- while they are swimming
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Already the world's largest shark species, male whale sharks can swim around the ocean for up to 130 years, according to a recently published study by scientists at Nova Southeastern University's (NSU) Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) and collaborators from the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme.
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The research on whale shark aging growth dynamics, published in the According to Cameron Perry, the first author of the scientific paper, and at the time a graduate student at NSU's GHRI, "What makes this a novel approach is that we took repeated noninvasive underwater measurements of live sharks over the course of a decade."Up to now, such aging and growth research has required obtaining vertebrae from dead whale sharks and counting growth rings, analogous to counting tree rings, to determine age. Our work shows that we can obtain age and growth information without relying on dead sharks captured in fisheries. That is a big deal."According to the research study, "Comparing length-measurement methods and estimating growth parameters of free-swimming whale sharks ("Growth and reproduction of whale sharks, which are endangered in many places, are poorly understood," said Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D., director of NSU's GHRI. "When you couple this lack of knowledge with the fact that whale shark products such as fins, meat and oil are highly valuable -- they are harvested in many countries -- one can quickly see the urgency in learning as much as possible in order to help save these majestic creatures."Perry agreed."The more we learn about these animals, their growth dynamics, where they go, what areas may be their nurseries, it can lead to a better understanding of their life history, which is imperative to guide conservation efforts," he said.Primarily funded by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, NSU's GHRI works on initiatives and studies to provide the necessary information to better understand, conserve, monitor and effectively manage shark populations.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 18, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180718092505.htm
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Effort to preserve lory population shows success
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A long-term plan to preserve the Rimatara lorikeet by restoring an extirpated population of the species on a neighboring island that is free of predatory ship rats is demonstrating the importance of this kind of protective program for the sustainability of endangered bird species. A case study published in the
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"The important thing about any conservation program is the ability to demonstrate that a species can be saved over the long term," said Alan Lieberman, retired director of field conservation programs for the Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global. "It is easy to get excited during the initial steps, but you don't know if you have succeeded until a decade or so later. In this case, we started with 27 birds captured on Rimatara and then translocated to Atiu Island, and we now have a population of well over 300."The Rimatara lorikeet is considered to be an endangered species by BirdLife International and IUCN. Although originally distributed over the Cook and French Polynesia islands, its numbers were severely reduced and it disappeared in prehistoric times from most islands due to hunting for its bright red feathers.Blue and ultramarine lories have been extirpated, as ship rats have invaded more islands in French Polynesia. The last natural population of the Rimatara lorikeet could easily be destroyed if ship rats invaded Rimatara, via cargo or a shipwreck. Nearby Atiu had similar habitats to Rimatara and was still free of ship rats, so it was an obvious choice for the establishment of a reserve population.The complex negotiations required for a transboundary reintroduction were undertaken over several years by the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust and the Ornithological Society of French Polynesia (MANU). An important part of the effort to create a backup population on the island of Atiu was a veterinary survey of the birds selected for introduction onto the new island."Any time you are catching a wild animal, you create some level of stress that can complicate any existing health issues an animal may have," said Bruce Rideout, DVM, Ph.D., wildlife disease specialist for San Diego Zoo Global. "To ensure the newly translocated population had the best chance for survival, we gave each bird a comprehensive health check, working to ensure that the population would be free of diseases and other medical challenges."The project, which also included educational outreach to residents of both Atiu and Rimatara, hopes to build understanding and respect for the species and gives conservationists a road map for similar programs in the future. The paper details the actions that the authors believe were particularly valuable in establishing a successful reserve population. Included in this list was dedicated funding (provided by BirdLife International, Air Rarotonga, San Diego Zoo Global and the governments of French Polynesia and the Cook Islands, as well as private donations), a diverse and experienced field team and the support of the Atiu community in taking steps to help protect this species on their island.Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of these entities is made accessible to children through the San Diego Zoo Kids network, reaching out through the internet and in children's hospitals nationwide. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.
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Endangered Animals
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July 17, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180717142535.htm
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5,000 percent increase in native trees on rat-free palmyra atoll
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New research published in
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In one of only a few studies of its kind, scientists measured the effects of rat removal on the tropical Lead scientist Coral Wolf from Island Conservation said: "Once rats were gone, changes became immediately apparent. We were so excited to walk into a forest stand of towering Pisonia trees and find a mat of tiny seedlings carpeting the forest floor -- something that hadn't been observed at Palmyra in recent decades as far as we know."Palmyra's tropical rainforest also provides important habitat for a native gecko, insects, crabs and other rare species. Prior to removal, invasive rats devoured native seeds and seedlings, as well as seabird eggs and chicks, at Palmyra Atoll. Removing the rats allowed seabirds to flourish, and the rebounding native forest provides the birds with important nesting and roosting habitat. When seabirds perch in the trees, they provide nutrients to the soil below through guano droppings. These nutrients are then taken up by native plants and also wash into the ocean where they dramatically benefit surrounding reefs. Restoring the native forest at Palmyra Atoll thus helps keep coral reefs and thriving fish populations healthy and improves their chances of overcoming changing temperatures and other climate change impacts."Sea level rise and changing ocean temperature and chemistry will continue to stress Palmyra's ecosystems," said Alex Wegmann, Palmyra Program Director for The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii. "Restoring Palmyra's native tropical rainforest allows greater whole-ecosystem resilience to climate change impacts."Measuring the positive effects on native plant communities like the "It is extremely rewarding to walk through the forested islands of the atoll and see the physical evidence of our management actions literally taking root," said Stefan Kropidlowski, Palmyra Atoll Refuge Manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Partnerships made the rat eradication successful and will be essential in the future as we use the best available science and research to inform the next challenges we face together."An unplanned benefit of the rat removal was the eradication of the Asian tiger mosquito, or Two land crab species were observed for the first time on the atoll's islets after rat removal, bringing the number of land crab species at Palmyra to nine. Land crabs are the indigenous engineers of low-lying tropical oceanic island ecosystems, and now Palmyra has one of the world's most diverse and best protected land crab communities."In an age of well-founded concern about the environment, Palmyra Atoll's response to the eradication of introduced rats reminds us of the resilience of intact ecosystems and gives us hope for a better tomorrow," Wegmann said.The team of researchers conducted pre-eradication monitoring of trees at Palmyra Atoll in 2004 and 2007, and repeated the monitoring post-eradication in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016. Monitoring included teams of two conducting counts of seedling abundance within 55 strip transects and approximately 50 locally rare tree plots distributed across the atoll. The team counted 140 native, locally rare tree seedlings pre-eradication and 7,756 seedlings post-eradication (2016).The 2016 monitoring team of five was led by biologist Coral Wolf, who was five months pregnant at the time. Field work consisted of trudging through waist-high water and high-kicking through dense tropical rainforest. The team stayed well-hydrated by harvesting coconut water as needed.Forty-one percent of the world's most highly threatened vertebrates are found on islands, with invasive species introduced to islands being a leading cause of extinction. Removing invasive species from islands is an effective and proven way to save our world's most vulnerable species. To date, there have been more than 500 successful projects to remove invasive rodents from islands. The pace, scale, and complexity of these efforts are increasing in recognition of the threat invasive species pose to biodiversity.
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Endangered Animals
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July 16, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180716164520.htm
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Protecting tropical forest carbon stocks may not prevent large-scale species loss
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Tropical forests are rich in carbon and biodiversity. As the world seeks to curb human-induced climate change, will protecting the carbon of tropical forests also ensure the survival of their species?
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A study published today in the leading journal Investments designed to prevent massive carbon losses from the world's tropical forests are likely to be least effective for biodiversity in the most ecologically valuable forests, according to research by an international team, led by scientists from Lancaster University's Environment Centre (UK) and The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA).Alarmingly, in these forests, up to 77% of species that would have been protected through biodiversity conservation were not protected through measures focused solely on protecting carbon stocks."Securing tropical forest carbon should remain a central conservation objective," said Dr. Gareth Lennox, co-lead author of the study and a Senior Research Associate at Lancaster University. "Not only will this slow climate change but it also has the potential to safeguard the unique and irreplaceable wildlife that inhabits these ecosystems. However, to ensure that those species survive, biodiversity needs to be treated as a priority -- alongside carbon -- of conservation efforts."Tropical forests store more than a third of the world's land carbon. When released to the atmosphere by humans, through forest disturbances -- such as logging and fires -- and deforestation, this carbon exacerbates global warming.Protecting tropical forest carbon is therefore a key aim of international initiatives to blunt climate change and has attracted tens of billions of dollars of financing.Tropical forests are also the world's most biodiverse ecosystems, harbouring more than two-thirds of Earth's land species, but the implications for biodiversity of investments focused only on protecting carbon stocks have until now remained unclear.The international team, comprised of scientists from Brazil, Europe and Australia, spent 18 months measuring the carbon content and species richness of plants, birds and dung beetles in 234 tropical forests in the Brazilian Amazon.In a scientific first, they assessed carbon and biodiversity levels in forests spanning the range of human impacts, from those minimally disturbed to those recovering after complete clearance of vegetation.Using these unprecedented data, the team found that more carbon meant more biodiversity in severely damaged forests, as anticipated. Contrary to expectations, however, where human impacts were less intense, increasing amounts of carbon did not come with more species.Co-lead author Dr. Joice Ferreira from EMBRAPA outlined the significance of these findings: "The changing relationship between carbon and biodiversity across forests that have suffered different kinds of human disturbances explain our findings. As cleared and highly disturbed sites recover from the effects of agricultural use and severe wildfires, biodiversity also recovers. However, this linkage between carbon and biodiversity breaks down mid-recovery. The result: Forests with the greatest carbon content do not necessarily house the most species, meaning carbon-focused conservation can miss large swathes of tropical forest biodiversity."Alongside these more alarming findings, the study offered hope for aligning carbon and biodiversity conservation efforts. "Although trade-offs are inevitable, conflicts between carbon and biodiversity can be reduced by more integrated planning," said Dr. Toby Gardner, Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute and study co-author. "By considering carbon and biodiversity together, we found, for example, that the number of large tree species that can be protected can be increased by up to 15% relative to a carbon-only approach for just a 1% reduction in carbon coverage."While promising remote sensing tools are being developed to measure forest carbon, increasing biodiversity protection through carbon investments is only possible with extensive field monitoring. Yet, in Brazil, progress in this area is sorely lacking. Joice Ferreira described the situation, "As a megadiverse country, Brazil needs additional, integrated mechanisms to guarantee comprehensive monitoring of its biodiversity. Unfortunately, with government actions reducing scientific capacity and environmental protection, we are witnessing the exact opposite."Ultimately, curbing climate change requires the safeguarding of biodiversity. Co-author Professor Jos Barlow from Lancaster University explained why, "Biodiversity and climate change are inextricably linked in tropical forests. A warming climate and changing rainfall patterns will lead to the extinction of many tropical species, while it is within tropical biodiversity itself that forest carbon resides. Species-poor forests will eventually become carbon-poor. Therefore, tackling the climate crisis requires that both tropical forest carbon and tropical forest species are protected together."
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Endangered Animals
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July 16, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180716103554.htm
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Australia has a new venomous snake -- And it may already be threatened
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The ink has not yet dried on a scientific paper describing a new species of snake, yet the reptile may already be in danger of extinction due to mining.
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A team of biologists led by The University of Queensland's Associate Professor Bryan Fry discovered a new species of bandy-bandy snake at Weipa on the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula.Professor Fry said the chance discovery occurred when the team was undertaking sea snake research."Bandy-bandies are burrowing snakes, so Freek Vonk from the Naturalis Museum and I were surprised when we found it on a concrete block by the sea, after coming in from a night of sea snake spotting," Professor Fry said."We later discovered that the snake had slithered over from a pile of bauxite rubble waiting to be loaded onto a ship."On examination by my student Chantelle Durez, the bandy-bandy turned out to be a new species, visually and genetically distinct from those found on the Australian East coast and parts of the interior."The team found another specimen in its natural habitat near Weipa, and another killed by a car close to the mine.Two more specimens were found in museum collections and a photo was found of another, contributing to a tally of six observations in the same small area.Professor Fry said he feared the new species could be in trouble."Bauxite mining is a major economic activity in the region, and it may be reshaping the environment to the detriment of native plants and animals," Professor Fry said."The importance of such discoveries goes beyond simply documenting what is out there, as venoms are rich sources of compounds that can be used to develop new medications."Every species is precious and we need to protect them all, since we can't predict where the next wonder-drug will come from."The discovery of this enigmatic little snake is symptomatic of the much more fundamental problem of how little we know about our biodiversity and how much may be lost before we even discover it."
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Endangered Animals
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July 13, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180713111936.htm
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84 highly endangered amur leopards remain in China and Russia
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Scientists estimate there are only 84 remaining highly endangered Amur leopards (
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This new estimate of the Amur leopard population was recently reported in the scientific journal, Although numbers are small, previous estimates in Russia were even less, ranging from 25 to 50 individuals. However, those surveys, based on tracks left in the snow, were extremely difficult to interpret due to the unclear relationship between numbers of tracks and number of individuals. With camera traps, each individual can be identified by its unique spot pattern, providing a much more precise estimate.Combining data from both countries increased precision of the estimate, and provided greater accuracy. Surprisingly, about one-third of the leopards were photographed on both sides of the Sino-Russian border.Anya Vitkalova, a biologist at Land of the Leopard National Park in Russia, and one of the two lead authors of the publication said: "We knew that leopards moved across the border, but only by combining data were we able to understand how much movement there really is."Despite the movement, there were differences in population dynamics in Russia versus China. Leopards are currently recolonizing habitat in China by dispersing from the Russian side, where leopard numbers appear to be close to the maximum that can be supported.Because of these transboundary movements of leopards, simply adding results from both sides would have greatly exaggerated the estimate.Dale Miquelle, a co-author and Tiger Program Coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society noted: "This first rigorous estimate of the global population of the Amur leopard represents an excellent example of the value of international collaboration. The trust and goodwill generated by this joint effort lays the foundation for future transboundary conservation actions."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 12, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180712123945.htm
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New evidence of two subspecies of American pikas in Rocky Mountain National Park
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Rocky Mountain National Park provides habitat for not one, but two subspecies of the American pika, a species thought to be closely connected with climate change, according to a new study.
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The study, published today in the journal There are five known subspecies of the American pika, a small mammal related to rabbits and hares. The subspecies in Rocky Mountain National Park and other parts of the American West evolved due to gradual geographic separation from other lineages as a result of changes in climate over the past tens of thousands of years.American pikas are native to cold climates in high-elevation boulder fields and alpine meadows in the mountains of the West. They can't tolerate prolonged exposure to high temperatures. As temperatures climb across North America, pikas are considered a sentinel species for climate change.Pikas seek out icy pockets in rock fields or lava flows and live near other pikas in small patches of these cool habitats. One key to their survival appears to be maintaining connectivity among different pika patches, which keeps a satisfactory level of genetic diversity among the broader population and allows for inevitable downturns in survival due to weather, predation, disease and other factors, noted Clint Epps, a wildlife biologist in OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences and co-author on the study."However, the implications of gene flow between long-separated lineages are less clear, due to the potential for adaptive differences," Epps said.Combining field observations with genetic data determined from fecal samples, the research team identified a previously unknown contact zone between the northern and southern Rocky Mountain lineages within the park.Pikas have dialects associated with different subspecies and geographic regions that may sound like barks, chirps, or squeaks. The two subspecies in Rocky Mountain National Park look very similar, but there are subtle physical differences and more obvious behavioral differences, said Jessica Castillo Vardaro, an OSU graduate who conducted the study for her dissertation."Their vocalizations are quite different," said Castillo Vardaro, now a postdoctoral research fellow at University of California Berkeley.The discovery presents a twist in an ongoing debate about listing the American pika or its subspecies under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, denied the petition, citing a lack of scientific information."Having not one but two lineages of the pika in the same management area has interesting and important implications for conservation and management of a species of concern within an area where they have previously been predicted to be particularly vulnerable to climate change," Castillo Vardaro said."It is interesting from an evolutionary perspective when two lineages are coming back together. We don't know what impact this might have on the hybrid population's vulnerability to environmental change," she said.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 12, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180712100502.htm
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Mapping species range shifts under recent climatic changes
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The inclusion of taxon-specific sensitivity to a shifting climate helps us understand species distributional responses to changes in climate.
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Marine species in the eastern Bering Sea are not shifting their distribution ranges fast enough to keep track of current changes in climate, according to a study led by researchers at Hokkaido University.As global climate change alters sea temperatures and environmental conditions, marine species need to track these signals at a sufficient pace to remain within their climatic habitat. However, lags in distributional responses to temperature shifts have been documented in terrestrial and aquatic taxa, as species range dynamics are also influenced by factors other than climate.Irene Alabia, a fisheries oceanographer at Hokkaido University's Arctic Research Center, led a study to evaluate multi-taxa responses to contrasting climatic regimes in the eastern Bering Sea, defined by persistent stanzas of regional warming and cooling. She worked with colleagues at Hokkaido University and the University of Alaska Fairbanks to examine potential distributions of 21 fish and invertebrate species in the eastern Bering Sea between 1993 and 2016. These were generated from multi-ensemble habitat models correlating taxon-specific occurrences to suite of climatic (winter sea surface temperature) and environmental factors (winter sea ice cover and depth).Using satellite-derived environmental data and species data from bottom trawl surveys, the team compared rates of local climatic change (climatic velocity) to both observed (data-driven) and expected (model-driven) species distributional responses. They found that the climatic velocities were poorly correlated with observed and expected distributional responses, underpinning the importance of incorporating species-specific sensitivity to climate variation when predicting rates of range shifts in response to climatic changes. Further, most of the species examined were trailing behind climate change, potentially increasing their vulnerability to future climate fluctuations."Our results can be useful for reinforcing current conservation and management efforts, and help develop adaptive management strategies to deal with varying impacts of climate changes to marine resources in the region," says Irene Alabia of Hokkaido University. The study was published in the journal
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 11, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180711141349.htm
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Rhino sperm from the cold
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A new mixture of cryoprotectives allows for an unprecedented high motility of frozen rhinoceros sperm after thawing, report scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Berlin, Germany. These new cryoprotectives can increase the prospects of utilising assisted reproduction techniques for many endangered wildlife species. The study, based on three rhinoceros species, has now been published in the journal
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Endangered rhino species numbers are maintained -- worldwide -- by conservation breeding programs, which utilise frozen sperm for artificial insemination to increase both the number and genetic diversity of their offspring. The success rate of artificial insemination has been low so far, not least because of the moderate quality of the gametes after thawing. "A number of studies have reported sperm motility at a maximum of 50 percent after freezing and thawing. Sperm with a motility that low is of marginal quality for insemination," says Robert Hermes, IZW scientist and lead author of the article. Prior to freezing sperm samples are diluted with a buffer solution. A good "antifreeze" is, however, the essential component for the preservation of fragile cells."The cryoprotective embeds itself in the cell membranes and improves the osmotic exchange from the cell interior to the exterior of the cell during freezing," explains Hermes. Usually, depending on the species, 5-7% glycerol is added to the sperm sample. Hermes' team employed a second cryprotective -- methylformamide -- and varied the respective proportions. When using a mixture of 1% glycerol and 4% methylformamide sperm motility increased from an average of 50% to 75% after thawing. This mixture has been successfully tested with sperm samples of three rhino-species -- the black rhino, white rhino and the Indian rhinoceros.Cryopreservation kicked off in the 1950s after it was discovered that the sugar alcohol glycerol could be used as antifreeze for cells in mammal sperm. In cattle breeding today the use of frozen sperm, stored in liquid nitrogen (at -196°C), is even preferred to using fresh sperm: Over 95 percent of all bull semen used in artificial reproduction worldwide is frozen before use.The cryopreservation of the sperm of endangered wild animals still presents a number of challenges -- including the handling of the animal and cell conservation -- despite the extensive experience available. Rhino sperm have been successfully frozen for the first time in 1979. Presently there are less than ten scientific publications on the process, however, and fewer than 70 semen samples from only 50 animals available. In comparison just in 2016 alone 17 comparable publications on bulls appeared which examined the samples of 279 animals."Just how urgent the optimisation of artificial reproduction is, is illustrated by the northern white rhino," says Hermes. After the death of the last male of this species only two, now infertile, females are still alive. Cryopreserved sperm and egg cells of high quality are essential to save this species over the long term by -- as recently published by the IZW -- utilising hybrid-embryos carried to term by surrogate southern white rhino mothers. "The remaining germ cell reserves of this rhino subspecies endangered by immediate extinction are from just four northern white bulls. Two of these reserves are of low quality and are essentially useless." The scientists have already confirmed the effectiveness of the new combination of cryoprotectives on sperms of giraffes, wolves and the kulan, a wild ass species. "We expect that the proportional reduction of cytotoxic glycerol in the freezing of wild animal sperm will also be successful with many other wild animal species."
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Endangered Animals
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July 11, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180711105659.htm
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The first endemic Baltic Sea fish species received its name
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The "Baltic flounder"
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"The reason why this species has not been recognized before is that it appears to be near to identical to the other flounder species, the European flounder, Currently the two species can be distinguished only with genetic methods, or by studying their eggs and sperm. The species also differ in their interaction with the environment: the newly described Baltic flounder lays sinking eggs on the sea floor in coastal areas while the European flounder spawns buoyant eggs in deep areas out in the open sea. The new species is more abundant in the Gulf of Finland while the distribution of the European flounder is centered to the central and southern Baltic Sea.Previous research by the same research group uncovered the ecological speciation process that drove the evolution of these flounders, which is rarely witnessed in the marine environment and had occurred at record speed in evolutionary time scales. However, the two flounders can officially be considered separate species only now after the new species has been formally described."Because the definition of a species and the binomial scientific name in connection to that are central concepts and entities of biology in general and in biological taxonomy in particular, the formal description and naming of a species still constitute an important part in the understanding of biological order," states Merilä.The official separation of the flounders into two distinct species through a formal description and naming procedure is essential for conducting more accurate stock assessments and highly relevant to the management and conservation of the species that in many areas constitute mixed stocks.The commercial fishing of flounders in the Baltic Sea has been partially based on the wrong assumption that stocks consist of a single species, while the two flounder species may co-occur in several locations. As fisheries might currently be targeting both flounders species, this poses the danger of unknowingly over-exploiting the species that constitute the weaker component of a mixed-stock.
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Endangered Animals
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July 11, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180711093147.htm
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Success of conservation efforts for important Caribbean Reef fish hinges on climate change
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For more than 20 years, conservationists have been working to protect one of the most recognizable reef fish in the Caribbean, the endangered and iconic Nassau grouper, and thanks to those efforts, populations of this critical reef fish have stabilized in some areas. But in a new paper, published in the journal
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By 2100, breeding habitats of the Nassau grouper are projected to decline 82 percent from where they were in 2000 if nothing is done to mitigate climate change. These spawning habitats are critical to the survival of the species, said scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and East Carolina University. Additionally, suitable habitats for nonspawning fish are expected to decline 46 percent.The paper also points out that because Nassau groupers have a narrow temperature range they can tolerate while spawning, this may create a bottleneck that will affect population recovery."The effects of climate change could override some of the successes of conservation efforts at local and regional scales," said Brad Erisman, assistant professor of fisheries biology at The University of Texas at Austin. "That is, if Nassau grouper no longer migrate to spawn in a particular region because the water is too warm, then protecting spawning sites in that region will be ineffective. Likewise, if the months when spawning occurs in certain regions shifts in response to climate change, then seasonal protection measures in those regions will need to shift accordingly to ensure that spawning is still protected."The Nassau grouper contributes significantly to the ecosystem as a top predator and can act as a kind of canary in the coal mine for reef health. Their reproduction success depends on large breeding events, called spawning aggregations, where hundreds to thousands of fish gather in one area for a few days to mate. But these mass spawning events also make them easy targets for commercial fishing, and they were overfished to the point the species became endangered.Beginning in the 1990s, several countries including the U.S. have put outright bans on fishing Nassau grouper. Cuba and the Dominican Republic restrict fishing during spawning season (December-February), and some areas have restricted fishing in specific breeding grounds."To truly understand how climate will impact fishes, we need to know how it will impact the most vulnerable life history stage, spawning. If this link in the life cycle is jeopardized, the species as a whole will be in jeopardy," said Rebecca G. Asch, an assistant professor of fisheries biology at East Carolina University.Grouper are also important for the overall health of the ecosystem. Large predators such as sharks feed on the gathered grouper. Whale sharks and manta rays feed on the eggs that are released."The loss of these important, energy-rich events has negative impacts that span entire food webs and ecosystems," Erisman said.There is some good news, scientists said. If strong steps are taken to mitigate climate change, breeding habitat is projected to decline by only 30 percent.Next, the scientists plan to expand their research to look at how climate change may affect spawning in 12 species of grouper and snapper in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The model developed could aid researchers in studying climate change effects on other fish species that depend on large spawning events such as salmon, tuna and cod.Funding for the research was provided by the Nippon Foundation-Nereus Program and the National Academy of Sciences Gulf Research Program Early Career Fellowship.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
July 11, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180711093112.htm
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Concern about flame-retardant metabolites in bald eagles raised in new study
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Scientists have raised concerns for decades about toxic chemicals in the environment that accumulate in the tissues of birds, fish and other animals. New research from Indiana University that examined bald eagles suggests that's only part of the story.
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A study led by IU environmental scientists finds that chemicals used in flame retardants, plasticizers and other commercial products are broken down through the process of metabolism into other compounds. Researchers say not enough is known about the dangers posed by those compounds, known as metabolites."Most of these flame retardants and related chemicals can be readily metabolized," said Marta Venier, a scientist in the IU Bloomington School of Public and Environmental Affairs and one of the authors of the study. "The issue here is that, in some cases, the metabolites can be more toxic than the parent compounds."The study was published in The researchers measured metabolites of flame retardants in bald eagle eggs in the Great Lakes region. They focused on "alternative" flame retardants that were introduced after it was discovered that earlier generations of the chemicals were persisting in the environment, causing health and environmental concerns.In recent years, these alternative flame retardants have also been found in the environment. But when Venier and several collaborators looked for the flame retardants in eggs and serum of bald eagles in a recent study, they found the compounds in low concentrations or not at all.One possibility was that the eagles weren't absorbing the chemicals from their food and environmental exposure. But the researchers hypothesized that, instead, they were metabolizing the compounds so that only low concentrations of the parent compounds were passed on to the eggs that the birds laid. Using sophisticated chemical analysis, they determined that's what was happening."The results confirmed our hypothesis," Venier said. "Some of these compounds are not found in high concentrations because they get metabolized."She said scientists don't know a lot about the toxicity of the alternative flame retardants, and they know even less about the toxicity of their metabolites. In one test involving chicken embryos, not part of the IU research, exposure to the primary metabolite of an alternative flame retardant altered three times as many genes as exposure to the parent compound.The IU study examined samples from 21 bald eagle eggs that failed to hatch. The eggs were collected between 2000 and 2012 in a monitoring project called the Michigan Bald Eagle Biosentinel Program.In addition to being an iconic species and the official emblem of the United States, bald eagles can serve as "sentinel species" that provide warnings about environmental dangers to humans and other organisms, Venier said. They are at the top of the food chain, feeding on fish and waterfowl, making them susceptible to exposure to chemicals that persist in the environment.Formerly listed as an endangered species, in part because of the effects of the pesticide DDT in the environment, bald eagles are now increasing in number. But their recovery could be slowed by exposure to flame retardants and other pollutant chemicals, the researchers say.
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Endangered Animals
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July 11, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180711093214.htm
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LED lights reduce seabird death toll from fishing by 85 percent
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Illuminating fishing nets with low-cost lights could reduce the terrible impact they have on seabirds and marine-dwellers by more than 85 per cent, new research has shown.
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A team of international researchers, led by Dr Jeffrey Mangel from the University of Exeter, has shown the number of birds caught in gillnets can be drastically reduced by attaching green battery-powered light-emitting diodes (LEDs).For the study, the researchers compared 114 pairs of gillnets -- which are anchored in fixed positions at sea and designed to snare fish by the gills -- in fishing waters off the coast of Peru.They discovered that the nets fitted with the LEDs caught 85 per cent fewer guanay cormorants -- a native diving bird that commonly becomes entangled in nets -- compared with those without lights.Coupled with previous research conducted by the same team, that showed LED lighting also reduced the number of sea turtles caught in fishing nets by 64 per cent, the researchers believe the lights offer a cheap, reliable and durable way to dramatically reduce the capture and death of birds and turtles, without reducing the intended catch of fish.The research is published in the Royal Society journal Lead author Dr Mangel, from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University's Penryn Campus, said: "We are very encouraged by the results from this study."It shows us that we may be able to find cost-effective ways to reduce bycatch of multiple taxa of protected species, and do so while still making it possible for fishers to earn a livelihood."Peru's gillnet fleet comprises the largest component of the nation's small-scale fleet and is conservatively estimated to set 100,000km of net per year in which thousands of turtles and seabirds will die as "bycatch" or unintentionally.The innovative study, carried out in Sechura Bay in northern Peru, saw the LED lights attached at regular intervals to commercial fishing gillnets which are anchored to the bottom of the water. The nets are left in situ from late afternoon until sunlight, when the fishermen collect their haul.The researchers used 114 pairs of nets, each typically around 500-metres in length. In each pair, one was illuminated with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) placed every ten metres along the gillnet floatline. The other net in the pair was the control and not illuminated.The control nets caught 39 cormorants, while the illuminated nets caught just six.A previous study, using the same LED technology, showed they also reduced the number of sea turtles also caught in gillnets. Multiple populations of sea turtle species use Peruvian coastal waters as foraging grounds including green, olive ridley, hawksbill, loggerhead and leatherback.For that study, the researchers found that the control nets caught 125 green turtles while illuminated nets caught 62. The target catch of guitarfish was unaffected by the net illumination. They are now working with larger fisheries in Peru and with different coloured lights to see if the results can be repeated and applied with more critically endangered species.Professor Brendan Godley, who is an author of the study and Marine Strategy Lead for the University of Exeter, said: "It is satisfying to see the work coming from our Exeter Marine PhDs leading to such positive impact in the world. We need to find ways for coastal peoples to fish with the least impact on the rest of the biodiversity in their seas."
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July 9, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180709202915.htm
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Bale monkeys living in different areas have very different DNA
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Bale monkey's that live in continuous bamboo forests have different mitochondrial DNA to Bale monkeys living in fragmented forests, according to a study published in the open access journal,
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Dr Addisu Mekonnen and colleagues at The University of Oslo, Norway, looked at the genetic diversity of the two populations of Bale monkeys. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA suggested strong genetic differences between the Bale monkeys who lived in continuous forests or fragmented forests. The researchers found that the populations of Bale monkeys were so different from each other that the Bale monkeys from fragmented forests were more similar to vervets and grivets than Bale monkeys from continuous forests.Dr Addisu Mekonnen, corresponding author of the study, explains: "Remarkably, our phylogenetic analysis showed that Bale monkeys in fragmented forests are more closely related to their sister species, vervets and grivets, than Bale Monkeys from continuous forests. This suggests that hybridization had taken place between Bale monkeys from fragmented forests and vervet and grivet monkeys, but not with bale monkeys in continuous forests. This hybridization could be due to habitat fragmentation and close proximity to similar monkeys."The authors explain that Bale monkeys, similar to giant pandas and bamboo lemurs, are particularly vulnerable to changes in their habitat as they rely heavily on bamboo and inhabit a small geographic area and are assumed to be less flexible at adapting to a changing environment than a species who don't rely so heavily on one food source and one area.Bale Monkeys are severely affected by habitat fragmentation and have the most restricted range of all green monkeys. The results of this study suggest that the altered gene pool of Bale Monkeys in Fragmented Forests has made them less dependent on bamboo lifestyle. "Similar to other bamboo specialist mammals, such as giant pandas and bamboo lemurs, Bale monkeys are currently at high risk of extinction in the wild because of habitat alteration. They are classified as a vulnerable species by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with a general trend of population decline."Bale monkeys are one of the least studied African primates so collecting baseline data on population genetic structure and evolutionary history are crucial for assessing their conservation status and protecting them. In terms of advising conservation, because of two isolated populations (with one cluster consisting of hybrids) 2 separate management structures should be defined to preserve the unique genetic diversity of the species and the evolutionary potential. For the CF population they recommend special protection as these represent what are thought to be typical Bale monkeys.Improved protection from logging of bamboo could help them. For the FF population they recommend connecting forest fragments to increase gene flow between isolated groups.Faecal samples were collected from May to December 2013 at three localities in Continuous Forest and nine localities in Fragmented Forest. Mitochondrial DNA was extracted from these samples and analysed.The authors note that the genetic analysis should be interpreted with caution because they used a single and maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA locus that tells only the maternal history. The researchers explain that further future research focusing on bi-parentally and paternally inherited genetic markers, as well as morphological and ecological studies is needed to further understand the evolutionary history of this unusual and rare species.
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July 9, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180709120138.htm
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New insights on mosquitoes that spread disease
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The Asian tiger mosquito (
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When investigators examined mosquito populations on Mallorca Island off the coast of Spain, they found that "Given the widespread presence of Asian tiger mosquito on Mallorca Island and its association with human activities, the removal of potential breeding sites by citizen intervention will be essential to improve species control," said lead author Dr. Ana Sanz-Aguilar, of IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), in Spain.
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Endangered Animals
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July 5, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180705115522.htm
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Described 28 years post collection, new grass species makes a strong case for conservation
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Originally collected 28 years ago in Ecuador, a new species
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When roaming in the Cordillera de los Andes of Ecuador, near the village of Facundo Vela, little did Smithsonian scientist and author, Dr. Paul M. Peterson, know that a small grass specimen will not only turn out to be an intriguing new species, but will also make a big statement on the importance of conservation.Almost three decades after its original collection the new species It took the authors a single Google Earth search to find out that what used to be the natural habitat of the newly found densely tufted bunchgrass, is now occupied predominantly by small farms.Heavy agricultural use of the terrain, poses a good possibility for "Further studies are needed to search the area and browse collections for specimens from different locations," explains Dr. Peterson. "But, in fact, it may well be that with our study we are documenting a possible extinction of a species, happening in the space of just 30 years. The story of The new species was named after renowned Danish botanist Simon Laegaard, who has made extensive collections in South America, Greenland, Ecuador, and Bolivia (accompanied by the authors) contributing to the documentation of the flora to make informed conservation and management plans.
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Endangered Animals
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July 5, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180705113933.htm
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New wasp species with a giant stinger discovered in Amazonia
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Researchers from the University of Turku, Finland have discovered a new wasp species in the Amazon which has an exceptionally large stinger that surprised even the scientists. The new insect, which is found in the extremely diverse transitional zone between the Andes and the Amazonian lowland rainforest, uses its stinger both for laying eggs and injecting venom.
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Researchers from the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku, Finland, have in the recent years found and described several new animal species from all over the world -- especially from Amazonia. Many of these animals are unusual in their characteristics and habits. In their latest study, the scientists, in collaboration with colleagues from Colombia, Spain and Venezuela, discovered several wasp species unknown to science from the Amazon which were described and named in the latest issue of the journal "The stinger of the new parasitoid wasp called The species was discovered among the insect specimens collected in the extremely diverse transitional zone between the Andes and the Amazonian lowland rainforest. The newly described wasp is different to other known species due to its enormous stinger."All female wasps, such as bees and hornets, have a stinger for injecting venom or laying eggs. The parasitoid wasps usually have a long ovipositor for laying eggs which is handy for reaching the host animals living inside a tree, for instance. With the ovipositor, the egg is placed either on or inside the host, and, as it also works as a stinger, the female wasp can inject venom into host in order to paralyse it," explains Professor Sääksjärvi.The newly described parasitoid species belong to the rare Clistopyga genus that specialises in laying their eggs into spiders or spider egg-sacs. The wasps seek out spiders living in nests and paralyse them with a quick venom injection. Then the female wasp lays its eggs on the spider and the hatching larva eats the paralysed spider as well as the possible spider eggs or hatchlings."We do not know for sure which spider this wasp species prefers. A couple of years ago I described the elaborate and fascinating habits of the Clistopyga parasitoid wasp together with Doctoral Candidate Niclas Fritzén from the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku. The insect we were studying at the time could use its stinger as an intricate felting needle and handily close the spider's web nest trapping the paralysed inhabitant within. The giant stinger of the current species is very likely a highly sophisticated tool as well, but unfortunately we can only guess at its purpose," says Professor Sääksjärvi.The research group of the Biodiversity Unit is currently applying for funding for new field studies, the purpose of which is to look for more Clistopyga parasitoid wasps in the rainforests of western Amazon. The goal is to describe the habits of the peculiar wasp species and to decipher their evolutionary history."The new species unknown to science also help in conserving the endangered rainforests. Beautiful and exciting species with strange habits catch people's attention and highlight the importance of maintaining vulnerable ecosystems," says Professor Sääksjärvi.
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Endangered Animals
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July 5, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180705114110.htm
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A breakthrough to rescue the Northern White Rhino
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Northern White Rhinos (NWR) are functionally extinct, as only two females of this species are left on the planet. An international team of scientists has now successfully created hybrid embryos from Southern White Rhino (SWR) eggs and NWR sperm using assisted reproduction techniques (ART). This is the first, ever reported, generation of blastocysts (a pre-implantation embryos) of rhinos in a test tube. Additionally, the international team established stem cell lines from blastocysts of the SWR with typical features of embryonic stem cells. This breakthrough is published in
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"These are the first in vitro produced rhinoceros embryos ever. They have a very high chance to establish a pregnancy once implanted into a surrogate mother," says Prof Thomas Hildebrandt, Head of the Department of Reproduction Management at the German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Berlin. An international team of researchers successfully managed to adapt reproduction techniques used in horses to the special circumstances of rhino species, opening up the potential to bring back NWR from the brink of extinction. This would be achieved by adopting the procedure pioneered here, to oocytes to be collected from the last two living NWR females. Female SWR could act as surrogate mothers to a fledging NWR population. In contrast to NWR, there are approximately 21,000 SWR in Southern Africa today.Using a recently patented nearly two-meter long technical device, the scientists were able to repeatedly and safely collect oocytes from rhinos. The ultrasound-guided device is placed trans-rectally. Once a follicle shows up on the screen of the ultrasound-laptop a special needle can be activated to puncture through the intestinal wall into the ovary and to harvest the oocyte from the follicle.The oocytes were collected from SWR females in European zoos and then shipped to AVANTEA, a world leader in assisted reproduction technologies (ART) for large animals in Italy. "In our lab we were able to develop procedures to mature the oocytes, fertilise them by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and culture them. For the first time we had rhino blastocysts -- an early stage of an embryo -- developed in vitro, similarly to what we do routinely for cattle and horses," reports Prof Cesare Galli, from AVANTEA in Cremona, Italy. Several embryos are now cryopreserved for future transfer into surrogate mothers to carry a pregnancy to term."For fertilisation, the cryopreserved semen from deceased NWR males was used. The successful development of a hybrid embryo is a major step towards the first birth of a Northern White Rhino through artificial reproduction techniques. Already, a half of the hybrid embryo genetic information comes from the NWR," comments Jan Stejskal, Director of International Projects at the Safari Park Dvur Kralove in the Czech Republic. Both of the last two NWR females were born in Dvur Kralove; and currently they reside in custody at Ol Pejeta Conservancy near Mount Kenya."Our results are solid, reproducible and very promising. Now we are well prepared to go to Kenya and collect oocytes from the last two NWR females in order to produce pure NWR blastocysts where both eggs and sperm are from NWR," Hildebrandt comments. The scientists performed more than twenty oocyte collections in SWRs within Europe, generating more embryos than those reported in the publication. They are currently working on the embryo transfer procedure.However, because there are only two females left and the available semen comes from only four males, assisted reproduction and in vitro fertilisation techniques alone would likely not suffice to create a self-sustaining population of NWR with the necessary genetic diversity. This is why the scientists are working on an additional approach. The plan is to generate gametes through stem cell technology. "In the future our goal is to produce in vitro primordial germ cells from iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells) obtained from somatic cells, cryopreserved in the past, of several NWR individuals. In a second step these germ cells will then be transformed into eggs and sperm," explain Dr Sebastian Diecke, stem cell expert at the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) in Berlin, Germany, and Prof Katsuhiko Hayashi, stem cell expert at the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Medicine, Kyushu University, Japan. This would enlarge the founding genetic diversity of the future NWR population substantially.Combining stem cell research with the now developed ART will provide a blueprint on how to save highly endangered species that have already dwindled to numbers that make conventional conservation efforts impossible."Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to self-renew indefinitely and to develop into any cell of a living organism. We -- at Avantea -- successfully generated SWR embryonic stem cells with all the features of undifferentiated cells and a high capacity for differentiation in different cell lineages," Prof Cesare Galli reports. The embryonic stem cell lines obtained in this study have now been transferred to Dr Diecke's lab, as they will serve as a blueprint to differentiate iPS cells into germ cells and eventually gametes.Northern White Rhinos are the most endangered mammals on earth. All conservation efforts to save this species have been foiled by human activities such as poaching, civil war and habitat loss. This resulted in a reduction of the population from 2,000 individuals in the 1960s to just two remaining females today. In March 2018 the last NWR male -- Sudan -- died of old age."This research is groundbreaking. We are witnessing the development of a method that can help to compensate the negative impact of humans on nature. We are very thankful for all donations received from private people supporting our race against time. We hope that the current achievement will help us to convince more people as well as public authorities that this new approach is feasible and worth supporting," Steven Seet, Head of Press & Communications at the Leibniz-IZW, remarks.
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Endangered Animals
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July 4, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180704112055.htm
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To help save northern spotted owls, we need to prevent kissing cousins
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The
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Mark Miller of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, and colleagues employed field and statistical methods to create a family tree for Northern Spotted Owls living in California, Oregon, and Washington. From this, the researchers determined how often inbreeding occurs in the wild for these birds. Fourteen types of matings among relatives were determined with most inbreeding relationships being between half or full siblings. It was discovered that inbreeding is most common in the Washington Cascades (~15% of individuals are inbred), while the lowest inbred population was Northern California (~2.7% of individuals). The explanation for this geographic variation may be the rate at which specific populations are declining and experiencing bottlenecks. Conservation efforts are vital today given that Northern Spotted Owls are already facing habitat loss and competition with a similar species, the Barred Owl. This study showed that both the physical consequences of inbreeding (physical deformities, reduced ability to adapt) and the reproductive fitness of individual birds (infertility, future reproduction, decreased survival) need to be taken into account since both influence this species' success. Translocating birds among populations to help increase the genetic diversity may be a potential management strategy.Lead author Mark Miller comments, "Long-term studies, similar to the one described in this paper, are key to understanding how common or rare inbreeding is in natural populations. An understanding of the extent of inbreeding can help resource managers better identify appropriate measures to conserve threatened and endangered species."
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Endangered Animals
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July 4, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180704112042.htm
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Piping plovers want people to get off their lawn
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A new study in
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Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's Dan Gibson and colleagues monitored Piping Plovers year-round to determine the health and behavior of individuals. Body condition, survival, and site fidelity were of most interest. Plovers in disturbed areas proved to be significantly lighter in mass, due to the birds not procuring enough food. Given poorer body condition, it should be no surprise that birds in these disturbed areas also had lower survival rates. Piping plovers have strong site fidelity on the breeding grounds and this study supports that fidelity continues on the non-breeding grounds. While physically capable of changing location, it was not common for individuals to do so even if there was a high level of disturbance. The lack of movement by disturbed individuals suggests that aspects of the species' life history (i.e. fidelity) constrained individuals to make seemingly adaptive habitat-use decisions. Some of the strategies used on the breeding grounds (reduced human recreation, roped-off areas, no dogs on beaches) may be beneficial to also do on the non-breeding grounds to ensure year-round conservation and oversight on this threatened shorebird species.Lead author Dan Gibson comments, "We have a lot of of opportunity to engage with the public in what exactly our research is about. We often try to stress that the impact an individual recreationist has on a shorebird is practically non-existent. However, if every person who uses a beach in a given day influences how these shorebirds feed or rest, those minute impacts can begin to add up over the course of a season that can manifest itself as reductions in individual body condition and ultimately their ability to withstand bad weather conditions or successfully migrate and find a mate. We try to stress that small changes in how we use a beach (e.g., keep dogs on leash, avoid running through groups of birds) can really add up to substantial improvements in the overall quality of coastal habitat for shorebirds.""This study availed itself of a unique resource that range-wide banding efforts have provided for the study of the demographics of the endangered piping plover," adds College of Environmental Science and Forestry Associate Professor Jonathan Cohen, a shorebird expert who was not involved with the research, "and successfully attempted the difficult task of teasing out the sometimes subtle effect of disturbance in nonbreeding areas on annual vital rates. The finding that this endangered species may not readily abandon habitat that is detrimental for fitness was surprising, and warrants immediate attention from the conservation community."
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Endangered Animals
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July 2, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180702142945.htm
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Scale is a key ingredient when tracking biodiversity, researchers say
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To fully understand biodiversity and how it is changing, you need to look near, far, and in-between, according to a new study.
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Researchers at Yale University studied 50 years of data about nesting birds in North America and tracked biodiversity changes on a local, regional, and continental scale. They found significant differences in how much change had occurred, based upon how wide a geographic net they cast.The findings have implications for how to assess biodiversity in a rapidly changing world, as well as how biodiversity information should be presented. The study appears July 2 in the journal "Biodiversity is changing all around us and worldwide. Local species disappear and sometimes other species invade," said co-author Walter Jetz, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and co-director of the Max Planck-Yale Center for Biodiversity Movement and Global Change. "Studying birds in the U.S. and worldwide, we show that patterns and implications of this ongoing change vary strongly with the scale."This means a minor loss or gain of species richness or functional diversity at the local or county level can look like a major gain at the state or national level, and yet be a net loss when viewed at a global scale."Any reporting and interpretation of biodiversity change thus needs scale as a key qualifier," said Marta Jarzyna, the study's first author and a postdoctoral researcher at Yale. "Better yet, researchers and practitioners of biodiversity science should adopt a multi-scale framework and consider all geographic scales simultaneously."Grants from the Yale Climate and Energy Institute, the National Science Foundation, and NASA supported the research. The researchers also acknowledged thousands of volunteers who participated in the North American Breeding Bird Survey from 1969 to 2013.
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Endangered Animals
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July 2, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180702130024.htm
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Loss of lemurs might endanger many of Madagascar's largest tree species
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Widespread logging and hunting have endangered virtually all of Madagascar's 100-plus species of iconic lemurs, and a new study by Rice University ecologists illustrates how saving the animals may also be key to saving the island's largest trees.
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"Forest loss is a huge problem in Madagascar right now, but our study suggests that just saving the trees is not enough," said Amy Dunham, associate professor of biosciences at Rice and co-author of a paper appearing online today in a special issue of the The study builds upon nearly a decade of collaborative work by Dunham and lead author Onja Razafindratsima at the island nation's Ranomafana National Park.Lemurs mostly eat fruit, and for many of the largest trees in Madagascar, lemurs are the only animals large enough to ingest the seeds of their fruit. By dispersing seeds throughout the forest in their scat, lemurs serve as the unwitting gardeners of these large canopy trees.In earlier work, Razafindratsima meticulously tracked 24 groups of lemurs for three years and showed that the seeds of one species of canopy tree had a 300 percent greater chance of sprouting and becoming a sapling when they were dispersed by lemurs as opposed to simply falling to the ground."That work and other studies have suggested that lemur loss is likely to reduce regeneration of trees that rely on lemurs for seed dispersal," Dunham said. "In the latest study, we wanted to take a broader approach to understanding how the forest might change with lemur loss."In 2016, Rice undergraduate Anecia Gentles joined Dunham's research group and spent a year examining characteristics of rainforest trees and programming computational models to estimate how the forest would change if lemurs disappeared. Rice graduate student Andrea Drager also joined the effort, and the team showed that lemurs are not only important as gardeners of the forest but also likely play an important role in forest carbon sequestration."We found that lemurs are the primary seed dispersers of the largest canopy trees," said Gentles, who graduated from Rice in May. "The models suggested that the loss of lemurs and the trees they disperse could lead to increasing abundances of smaller, fast-growing tree species with lighter wood."Dunham said, "The biggest trees in Madagascar are dense hardwoods that grow more slowly but also store more carbon. They also tend to have the biggest seeds."The team used trait measurements from more than 7,000 trees of nearly 300 species. The data were collected as part of the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network, a yearslong effort led by study co-authors Jean-Claude Razafimahaimodison and Claude Ralazampirenena, Malagasy scientists from the Centre ValBio, a research station at Ranomafana National Park."We used TEAM Network data, new data and previously published data on animal seed dispersal in the park to make models that show what would happen if lemur-dispersed trees started disappearing and were replaced by trees whose seeds are dispersed by birds, the wind or other methods less affected by human activities," Dunham said.The models explored how the makeup of the forests might change in different scenarios ranging from one in which lemur-dispersed trees declined by 25 percent to an extreme case where all lemur-dispersed trees were wiped out."There still would be a forest, but the makeup of trees would be quite different, and the forest's ability to sequester carbon would be greatly diminished," Dunham said. "For example, in the case where all lemur-dispersed trees disappear from just one hectare of forest, a patch of 2 1/2 acres, the average loss of above-ground biomass is 24 metric tons -- or almost 53,000 pounds."She said the findings have implications for initiatives like the United Nations' REDD program, which incentivizes carbon sequestration through forest conservation."The goal of such programs is to preserve forests, because there's a lot of carbon in the biomass of trees," Dunham said. "At the same time, tropical forest ecosystems globally are threatened by the loss of large fruit-eating animals, and there's growing evidence that we need to think more holistically about conserving functioning ecosystems in order to save forests."For Malagasy forests, our study connects the dots and shows that integrated forest protection and lemur conservation are required in order to maximize carbon-storage potential," she said.TEAM data collection was supported by Conservation International, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Smithsonian Institution, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Centre ValBio.
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Endangered Animals
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July 2, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180702111201.htm
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Cracking the genetic code of koalas
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A team of Australian and international scientists, led by Professor Rebecca Johnson, Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute and Professor Katherine Belov, University of Sydney, have made a significant break-through successfully sequencing the full koala genome, with the findings published today in
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Considered to be the most complete marsupial genome sequenced to date, it is in terms of quality, on par with the human genome. The highly accurate genomic data will provide scientists with new information that will inform conservation efforts, aid in the treatment of diseases, and help to ensure the koala's long-term survival."The Koala Genome Consortium has been an ambitious journey affording us great insights into the genetic building blocks that make up a koala -- one of Australia's, as well as the world's, most charismatic and iconic mammals," Professor Johnson said."This milestone has come from our vision to use genomics to conserve this species. The genetic blueprint has not only unearthed a wealth of data regarding the koalas unusual and highly specialised diet of eucalyptus leaves, but also provides important insights into their immune system, population diversity and the evolution of koalas," she said.Co-lead author at the University of Sydney, Professor of Comparative Genomics, Katherine Belov said:"The genome provides a springboard for the conservation of this biologically unique species."The Australian led consortium of scientists comprised 54 scientists from 29 different institutions across seven countries. They have sequenced over 3.4 billion base pairs and more than 26,000 genes in the Koala genome -- which makes it slightly larger than the human genome. Unlocking the genomic sequence gives scientists unprecedented insights into the unique biology of the koala.Professor Johnson said the uneven response of koala populations throughout their range was one of the major challenges facing broad scale management of the species."The genome enables a holistic and scientifically grounded approach to koala conservation," she said. "Australia has the highest mammal extinction record of any country during the Anthropocene."Koala numbers have plummeted in northern parts of its range since European settlement, but have increased in some southern parts, notably in Victoria and South Australia."Director and CEO, Australian Museum, Kim McKay, AO congratulated Professor Johnson and the team on this achievement."Today we celebrate the completion of the highest quality, marsupial genome sequencing undertaken to date. This work was brought about through the meticulous efforts not only of Professor Johnson and Professor Belov, but also the contributions from many other Australian Museum scientists, as well as scientists from around the nation and the world. It will usher in a new era in our understanding and conservation of the iconic koala," she said.Professor Jennifer Graves, AO, Distinguished Professor of Genetics, La Trobe University and winner of the 2017 PM's Prize for Science, said: "We could never have imagined, when we were pioneering koala genetics in the 1980s, that one day we'd have the entire koala genome sequence. This opens up all sorts of ways we can monitor the genetic health of koala populations."The Koala Genome Consortium announced the establishment of the project in 2013 with its first unassembled draft genome. The collective aim was to steer their research towards ensuring the long-term survival of this important marsupial while simultaneously increasing Australia's genomics capability.Since then, researchers have worked tirelessly to assemble this genome into the most complete and accurate marsupial genome to date and annotate its 26,000 genes for analysis. The koala genome has been sequenced to an accuracy of 95.1%, which is comparable to that of the human genome.The 3.4 billion base pairs of the published Koala genome were sequenced at the Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics, at the University of New South Wales, using new sequencing technology."We then assembled the genome with supercomputers, allowing the Consortium to then study the >20,000 genes of this unique species," said Professor Marc Wilkins, Director, Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics, UNSW.Consortium members from the Earlham Institute (EI), (Norwich, UK) identified that koalas have two large expansions in a gene family known to be integral to detoxification, the Cytochrome P450 gene family of metabolic enzymes. They found these genes to be expressed in many koala tissues, particularly in the liver; indicating they have a very important function in detoxification and likely allowed koalas to become dietary specialists.As Professor Johnson explains, "this probably helped them to find their niche to survive, as they could rely on a food source that would have less competition from other species who were not able to detoxify as effectively."Dr Will Nash in the Haerty Group at Earlham Institute, said: "Gene duplication can lead to copies of genes associated with specific functions being retained in the genome. In the Koala, the largest group of retained copies make an enzyme that breaks down toxins. This means the Koala has evolved an excellent toolkit to deal with eating highly toxic eucalypts, one made up of lots of copies of the same (or very similar) tools."According to Professor Belov, another important discovery was the characterisation of the composition of koala milk. Like all marsupials, koalas do the majority of their development in the pouch. They are born without an immune system after 34-36 days gestation and spend ~6 months developing in the pouch."We characterised the main components of the mothers' milk -- which is crucial for koala joeys -- born the size of a kidney bean and weighing half of one gram," Professor Belov said."We identified genes that allow the koala to finetune milk protein composition across the stages of lactation, to meet the changing needs of their young.""Thanks to the high-quality genome, the team was able to analyse and discover koala-specific milk proteins that are critical for various stages of development. It also appears these proteins may have an antimicrobial role, showing activity against a range of bacterial and fungal species, including Chlamydia pecorum, the strain known to cause ocular and reproductive disease in koalas," she said.Chlamydia causes infertility and blindness and has severely impacted koala populations in New South Wales and Queensland. Using information gained from the koala genome, scientists hope to develop a vaccine to fight diseases like Chlamydia.Professor Peter Timms, University of the Sunshine Coast said: "In addition to Chlamydia, the other major infection that is threatening the species is koala retrovirus (KoRV), however very little is presently known about it. The complete koala genome has been instrumental in showing that an individual koala can have many (more than a hundred) insertions of KoRV into its genome, including many versions of KoRV."This information will enable to determine which strains of KoRV are more dangerous and to assist with our development of a KoRV vaccine," he said.One of the most threatening processes to koala survival is loss of habitat through land clearing and urbanisation which results in a reduction of habitat connectivity, reduced genetic diversity and puts koalas at high risk of inbreeding. The results of inbreeding can be highly detrimental to survival of those koala populations as it leads to reduced genetic diversity.Professor Johnson added: "For the first time, using over 1000 genome linked markers, we are able to show that NSW and QLD populations show significant levels of genetic diversity and long-term connectivity across regions."Ensuring this genetic diversity is conserved in concert with other conservation measures to protect habitat, reduce vehicle strikes, dog attacks and disease, are the keys to the long-term survival of the koala."Dr Graham Etherington in the Di Palma Group at the Earlham Institute, said: "With its puppy-dog looks, the Koala is an internationally recognised species. But this iconic Australian marsupial is not just a pretty face."The Koala genome assembly is by far the most comprehensive marsupial genomic resource to date, which allows us an insight into how this unique animal came to be and provides us with information about potential threats to its survival. It also provides us with an excellent platform to launch further marsupial genome projects that could look into potential genetic reservoirs of previously unknown anti-microbial genes that could be leveraged for human health."Additionally, it provides us with an incredible amount of information about genetic diversity across different populations of koalas that can be used as a benchmark for further studies on other endangered marsupial species."This genomic sequencing represents the new generation of science-based conservation policy as it has already been integrated as an important pillar into the NSW Koala Strategy 2018.All of the sequence data generated by The Koala Genome Consortium has been deposited into public databases and made freely available to scientists around the world."Not only does open data promote the best interests of science, it also maximises the benefits that the koala populations, and the public, receive from such research," Professor Johnson said.The koala (Wild koalas are currently found in eucalypt forest and woodlands across Eastern Australia (Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland) and have been translocated to other sites, such as south eastern South Australia and onto some islands such as Kangaroo Island, South Australia and French Island,Victoria.Their unique and highly specific diet of eucalyptus (gum) tree leaves, has resulted in koalas being especially vulnerable to habitat loss due to the clearing of native vegetation for agriculture and urban development. The Australian Federal government lists koala populations in Queensland, New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory as 'Vulnerable' under national environment law."Our next efforts must be in the application of these findings to genetically manage koala populations, advance the treatment of the diseases affecting koalas, with the goal of conserving this very important species," Professor Johnson said.
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Endangered Animals
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July 2, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180702094104.htm
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Giant panda population research shows new challenges
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Conservationists often work to save species without having long-term population data. That can present major challenges for the science of saving species, as this kind of information is critical for making informed conservation policy and management decisions. In a recently published study in the journal
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"A data set like this is a dream come true," said Ron Swaisgood, Ph.D., director of Recovery Ecology at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global, who is one of the study's senior authors. "We have new insights into the ecological processes behind the recent decision by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to downlist the panda from Endangered to Vulnerable. There is plenty of good news here for pandas, but we must also point out that these gains are being offset by some emerging new threats. The take-home message is that pandas are doing better, but we still have work to do."The study, conducted from 1999 to 2003 and 2011 to 2014, comprehensively outlines the situation facing giant pandas in forests in China. Good news is found in the observation that pandas, which typically prefer more mature, intact forests, are using younger secondary forests more than they had previously -- suggesting that protection measures put in place are allowing these forests to recover and become more suitable for pandas."With data collected from more than 50,000 plots in panda habitat, these data presented many challenges for analysis," said Wei Wei, a scientist at China West Normal University and visiting scientist at San Diego Zoo Global. "But some of the findings are surprising, and will help managers and policymakers make good decisions for panda conservation."Logging is also much less common in panda habitat than it once was. But there are some worrisome findings as well, such as an increase in the presence of livestock and other human disturbance in panda habitat. These disturbances may be the cause of a modest upward migration by pandas to higher elevations."I've been working with giant pandas for about 20 years, and this is one of the most important studies I have participated in," said Zejun Zhang, dean of Life Sciences at China West Normal University and senior author of the study. "It shows how important a commitment to large-scale, long-term data can be for conservation and sets a good example for how to approach conservation science for other endangered species."Conservationists indicate that this study can be a model for similar kinds of surveys for other species recovery programs."This study illustrates what species recovery can look like," said Megan Owen, Ph.D., director of Population Sustainability at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global. "The giant panda population is growing, and pandas are being found in higher numbers than anticipated, in recovering habitat. However, the nature and intensity of human activities in these areas is also changing, and continued protections and adaptive management will be necessary to ensure the positive trends are maintained into the future."The study was conducted by a collaborative team of scientists from China West Normal University, Sichuan Forestry Bureau, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and San Diego Zoo Global.
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Endangered Animals
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June 29, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180629150136.htm
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Off the scale: Can forensics save the world's most-trafficked mammal?
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A pioneering new project trials fingerprinting techniques to battle pangolin poaching.
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Forensic fingerprinting techniques will now be used in the battle against illegal wildlife trade as new methods of lifting fingermarks from trafficked animals, are announced today.Researchers at the University of Portsmouth and international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London), with support from the UK Border force, developed the technology with one particular animal in mind -- the pangolin.Pangolins -- also known as scaly anteaters because of their appearance -- are found throughout Asia and Africa, but their numbers are dwindling as a result of poaching for international trade.Around 300 pangolins are poached every day, making these unusual animals the most illegally trafficked mammals in the world. Their meat is considered a delicacy in China and Vietnam, while their scales are used in traditional Asian medicine. They are also used in traditional African bush medicine. All trade in pangolin meat and scales is currently outlawed under the international CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) agreement.This new method uses gelatine lifters with a low-adhesive gelatine layer on one side, which are used universally by forensic practitioners for lifting footwear marks, fingermarks and trace materials off various objects in criminal investigations.In a preliminary trial, the researchers tested the usability of gelatine lifters for visualising finger marks on pangolin scales. Using 10 pangolin scales from several species, supplied by Grant Miller and Tim Luffman of UK Border Force, each scale was gripped by five participants. A gelatine lifter was applied to the scale, removed and scanned using a BVDA GLScanner system which provided 100 fingermarks (one from the front and one from the back of the scales).The fingermarks were then graded for the presence of ridge detail on the University's BVDA gel imaging scanner and 89 per cent of the visualised gelatine lifts examined produced clear ridge detail. This means that law enforcement agencies will, potentially, be able to use the mark to identify persons of interest who have come into contact with the scale.Dr Nicholas Pamment, who runs the Wildlife Crime Unit at the University of Portsmouth, said: "This is a significant breakthrough for wildlife crime investigation. Wildlife trafficking is a significant factor in the loss of habitats and species. While forensic science techniques are being used as part of the investigation process, there is a lack of research looking at 'what works' in the context, or within the limitations of the wildlife crime investigation and in the environments where the investigations take place."What we have done is to create a quick, easy and usable method for wildlife crime investigation in the field to help protect these critically endangered mammals. It is another tool that we can use to combat the poaching and trafficking of wild animals."Christian Plowman, Law Enforcement Advisor for ZSL, said: "This project is a great example of how multiple organisations are working together to not only develop methods that work, but to optimise the methods for use in wildlife crime investigations."The initial catalyst for this project were Dr Brian Chappell (University of Portsmouth) and I, both former Scotland Yard detectives, now working in conservation law enforcement for ZSL and the other in academia. This point of uniqueness underlines and enhances credibility for the project and for both organisations."Grant Miller, Head of the UK's National CITES Enforcement Team, said: "We know how prized pangolins are by those engaged in wildlife crime. I am delighted that Border Force has been able to play its part in the development of this method of lifting fingermarks from pangolin scales, technology which will help bring poachers and smugglers to justice."The researchers have now developed gelatine lifter packs for Wildlife Rangers in Kenya and Cameroon to help in their fight against illegal poaching of pangolins. Each pack contains 10 gelatine lifters, scissors, insulating packs, evidence bags, a roller and a simple pictorial guide for the Rangers to follow. The field packs for the Kenyan wildlife service were initially provided for the examination of poached elephant ivory and dead elephants killed by poachers.Jac Reed, Senior Specialist Forensic Technician at the University of Portsmouth, said: ""What is fundamental to this method is its application, it is easy to use and employs low-level technology. This is so important for rangers in the field who need to be able to get good quality fingermarks very quickly to ensure their own safety. It is also important for law enforcement in developing countries who may not have access to more advanced technologies and expensive forensic equipment."The study involved Dr Paul Smith, Jac Reed, Dr Nick Pamment and Dr Brian Chappell from the University of Portsmouth and Christian Plowman from ZSL (Zoological Society London). The researchers hope to present their findings at the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences later in the year.
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Endangered Animals
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June 28, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180628151910.htm
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Ancient Moroccan dental remains elucidate history of long-lost African fauna
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Long before rhinoceros, giraffes, hippos, and antelopes roamed the African savannah, a group of large and highly specialized mammals known as embrithopods inhabited the continent. The most well known is Arsinoitherium, an animal that looked much like a rhinoceros but was in fact more closely related to elephants, sea cows, and hyraxes. Now, researchers reporting in
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The approximately 55-million-year-old fossilized dental remains found in the first lower Eocene levels of the Ouled Abdoun phosphate basin in Morocco represent two new species in the genus Stylolophus, the researchers report. The earliest embrithopods were previously known from 48-million-year-old fossils collected in Africa and Turkey."The embrithopods were large and strange extinct mammals that belonged, together with hyraxes and elephants, to the early megaherbivorous mammalian fauna that inhabited the island Africa, well before the arrival about 23 million years ago of the Eurasian ungulate lineages such as the artiodactyls, including giraffes, buffalos, hippopotamus, and antelopes, and the perissodactyls, including zebras and rhinoceros," says Emmanuel Gheerbrant of CNRS-MNHN in Paris, France. "They belong to the old endemic African fauna."Gheerbrant said that the origins of embrithopods had been uncertain, with two known co-existing families: one in Africa and the other in Turkey and Romania. It's been unclear what the exact relationships of the embrithopods were with respect to sea cows and elephants.The new phylogenetic study of the two species of Stylolophus found in Morocco confirms that they are basal embrithopods. It also shows that the extinct Embrithopod order is ancient, predating the divergence of the sea cows and elephants."Comparative anatomy of the new Moroccan species shows that the highly specialized embrithopod teeth derived from the ancestral dental morphology of all paenungulates, a clade including elephants, sea cows, and hyraxes, with the W-crested molars seen in some of the oldest hyracoids," the group including hyraxes, Gheerbrant says. "The specialized design of the teeth with two transverse ridges, known in the most advanced forms such as Arsinoitherium, is a convergence of the embrithopods and the extant group of tethytheres, including manatees and elephants, towards leaf eating, which was favored by the ancient herbivorous niches available on the African island."The new species S. minor -- which was unusually small at about the size of a sheep -- is also the first to show the presence in embrithopods of enlarged and anteriorly inclined incisors, in the form of incipient tusks, as seen in the early ancestors of the group including elephants.The early age and primitive state of Stylolophus, together with the high-level relationships (paenungulate and afrotherian), all support an African origin of the order Embrithopoda, the researchers say. The findings suggest that the Paleoamasiidae family found in Turkey arrived on the Eurasian shores of the Tethys Ocean (an ocean during much of the Mesozoic Era and the Paleogene period located between the ancient continents of Gondwana and Laurasia), after an early dispersal of an African ancestor resembling Stylolophus across the sea.The researchers say that they'll continue to search for paleontological evidence elucidating the evolutionary history and relationships of African ungulate-like mammals and insectivore-like afrotherian mammals, including golden moles, elephant shrews, tenrecs, aardvarks, and hyraxes. They'll also continue the search for the enigmatic early roots of all placental mammals in Africa, going back even further in time to the Cretaceous Period.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 28, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180628120114.htm
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What's giant panda conservation worth? Billions every year, study shows
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In China, the giant panda is clearly a cultural icon. And yet panda conservation, and the panda itself, is often criticized because of the associated cost. But an analysis reported in
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According to the new findings, the panda's protection as an umbrella species yields 10 to 27 times as much value as it costs to maintain the current reserves. In fact, the findings suggest it might be worth expanding those panda reserves and other investments in natural capital in China."Many detractors have argued that spending valuable resources on panda conservation is wasteful," says Fuwen Wei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "Our analysis contradicts this view and demonstrates clearly the great value of the panda, both for its cultural and intrinsic value and for the ecosystem services provided by panda reserves."Between 1990 and 2010 China's National Conservation Project for the Giant Panda and Its Habitat (NCPGPH) doubled panda habitat. By 2010, a total of 67 panda reserves with an area of more than 33,000 km2 had been established, covering more than half of suitable panda habitat.The question in the new study was: what is that worth? To find out, Wei and colleagues used the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services framework. Ecosystem services include three parts: provisioning services, regulatory services, and culture. Panda reserves offer a variety of provisioning services that are valued by local people such as growing crops, grazing animals, procuring water supplies, and harvesting firewood and useful plants. Important regulatory services include the hydrologic benefits of managing precipitated water runoff, sediment retention, carbon sequestration, nutrient retention, and more.To explore the value of pandas and their reserves, the researchers reviewed each of the regulating, provisioning, and cultural services associated with panda reserves, collating estimates of the value of each from numerous studies. They then converted all those estimates to US dollars and used the median value for each to generate a combined estimate of the annual per-hectare value of panda reserves. That exercise led them to a median estimate of US$632 per hectare per year.After multiplying that per hectare per year value by estimates of forest area within the 67 panda reserves, they came to a value of US$562 million per year in 1980. By 2010, the value of ecosystem services of the panda and its reserves had increased to somewhere between US$2.6 and US$6.9 billion per year."Now, we know that the system of reserves and protections [for pandas] are working to reverse the panda's decline and that these efforts have benefits for society and nature at large," Wei says. "This should provide added motivation for people to continue backing panda conservation to bring about the eventual recovery of the species."The researchers say that this encouraging news provides justification not just for efforts to preserve the panda, but for other endangered species as well.This work was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Creative Research Group Project of NSFC, and the Sichuan Forest Department and State Forestry Administration.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 28, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180628105059.htm
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To tell the sex of a Galápagos penguin, measure its beak, researchers say
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It turns out that to tell the sex of a Galápagos penguin, all you need is a ruler.
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In a paper published April 5 in the journal "For Galápagos penguins, we really wanted to understand if there was a simple 'rule' we could employ to determine sex -- a sign that would be fast and reliable," said lead author Caroline Cappello, a UW doctoral student in biology.Galápagos penguins are the only penguins to live in an equatorial region. Like all penguin species and most birds, they lack external genitalia. In addition, male and female Galápagos penguins look similar to one another and both share parenting duties, incubating eggs and rearing the offspring. Males do tend to be slightly larger than females, but the difference is slight. A DNA test is available to determine the sex of a Galápagos penguin, but that requires obtaining a blood sample from each individual -- an invasive and time-consuming process."We were hoping to find a physical trait to determine sex in Galápagos penguins that would be simple to measure in the field," said Cappello. "By finding such a sex-specific trait, we could use that in our field studies on whether shifting climactic conditions affect male and female Galápagos penguins differently."To search for a physical sign of sex, from 2010 to 2014 senior author and UW biology professor P. Dee Boersma collected body measurements from 61 adult Galápagos penguins in the wild -- including head size, flipper length, foot length and a half-dozen measurements of the beak and its surrounding feathers. Boersma also obtained blood samples from each penguin and sent them to Patty Parker, a professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, to determine the sex of each adult using the DNA test.Cappello combined the body-size measurements and DNA test results into a statistical analysis to search for physical characteristics that correlated with the sex of the bird. She found that males had slightly thicker beaks -- measured from top to bottom -- compared to females. Using beak size alone, Cappello could correctly determine the sex of more than 95 percent of their study penguins. This has been reported for several other penguin species, but Cappello and Boersma are the first to test it by genetic analysis for the Galápagos penguin.This knowledge will help the UW team study Galápagos penguins in what Boersma has called a "predictably unpredictable" place. Straddling the equator, the Galápagos Islands are perfectly placed to take advantage of an upwelling of Pacific Ocean currents. This upwelling typically brings nutrients that support small-schooling fish to the islands for the penguins and other marine animals to feast upon, said Boersma, who has been studying Galápagos penguins for more than four decades.But El Niño events can disrupt these currents and collapse the Galápagos food web, leading to starvation. This puts a strain on the penguin population, which numbers between 1,500 and 4,700 individuals. According to Boersma's research, in particularly lean El Niño years, Galápagos penguins can even stop breeding altogether. Climate change is expected to increase the occurrence of El Niño conditions and extreme weather events.Other preliminary studies have suggested that male Galápagos penguins are more likely to survive extreme environmental conditions compared to females. Scientists do not know why, and studies of sex-specific survival during El Niño years were hampered because researchers lacked easy ways to determine the sex of individual penguins -- that is, until now."Now we can start to look at whether climate change will impact male and female Galápagos penguins differently, and what kind of strain this might put on their ability to survive as a species," said Cappello.The research was conducted in partnership with the Galápagos National Park and was funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Galápagos Conservancy, the Disney Conservation Fund, the National Geographic Society, the Leiden Conservation Foundation, the Detroit Zoological Society, the Sacramento Zoo and the Wadsworth Endowed Chair in Conservation Science at the UW.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 27, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180627160536.htm
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It's go time for Hawaiian bird conservation, and luckily there's a playbook
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A new study in
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Eben Paxton of USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center and colleagues synthesized the key points that came out of a collaboration of more than 60 stakeholders in Hawaiian bird conservation. The focus is on actionable research and management approaches that can be employed today. Habitat loss, invasive plants, non-native predators, and introduced diseases were identified as the largest threats to Hawaiian birds. Climate change is projected to exacerbate all threats. Given limited resources, the stakeholders decided on eight main priorities as well as several actions specific to the island of Kauai. In addition to helping Hawaii and its birds directly, the goal of this collaborative report is to make Hawaii a model for other areas of the world, especially islands, that are in need of strong conservation efforts.Lead author, Eben Paxton comments, "Our challenge in Hawaii is how do we conserve forest birds from multiple threats with just a fraction of the resources needed to fully address all the threats. Our solution was to bring researchers and managers together to share ideas, and as a community, identify priority research and management needs necessary to save these unique species. We believe these priorities will help focus resources where most needed and bring together different organizations to work together for the maximum benefit of the birds.""New Technology is being proposed to help stem the tide of extinctions in Hawaiian native birds. Eben Paxton and his co-authors recognize that all the native birds in Hawaii are Conservation Reliant Species and propose utilizing new technologies to assist with the preservation of this unique island avifauna," adds Charles van Riper III, a ST Research Ecologist and Professor Emeritus, USGS and SNRE, University of Arizona. "This very complete paper also recommends enhancing Citizen Science and captive breeding in the Islands, along with continued monitoring and translocations to unoccupied habitat. The immediate target for this plan are the birds on Kauai -- the authors feel that the native avifauna on this island is rapidly approaching extinction, and time will tell how successful this proposed plan is in implementing conservation actions in time to save these unique birds."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 27, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180627160508.htm
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Map of Javan leopard distribution provides guidance for conservation efforts
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The first robust estimate of the distribution of the Javan leopard offers reliable information on where conservation efforts must be prioritized to safeguard the Indonesian island's last remaining large carnivore. The findings were reported in the open-access journal
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The critically endangered Javan leopard (The predictive map greatly improves those previously produced by the government of Indonesia and International Union for Conservation of Nature. For example, it adds six new priority landscapes and reveals that the leopard population spans several highly fragmented landscapes, which are far more isolated than previously thought. The study also highlights the importance of maintaining connectivity between protected areas and human-modified landscapes, because adjacent production forests and secondary forests were found to provide vital extensions for several Javan leopard subpopulations.Wibisono adds: "With only 9% remaining suitable landscape, all priority landscapes identified in this study should be treated as critical for the long-term survival of Javan leopards. To prevent Javan leopards becoming extinct, as happened with Javan tigers, we urge the government of Indonesia and conservation partners to take immediate actions to secure the leopard's future."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 27, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180627160438.htm
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Orangutan: How 70,000 years of human interaction have shaped an icon of wild nature
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The evolution of the orangutan has been more heavily influenced by humans than was previously thought, new research reveals.
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Professor Mike Bruford, of Cardiff University, was part of the team of scientists shedding light on the development of the critically endangered species. Their findings offer new possibilities for orangutan conservation.One of humans' closet living relatives, the orangutan has become a symbol of nature's vulnerability in the face of human actions and an icon of rainforest conservation.But in the research paper published in the journal Professor Bruford, of the Sustainable Places Research Institute and the School of Biosciences who is a co-author of the paper, said: "This research offers new hope for how we can save the orangutan from extinction."Our studies show that orangutans actually have a long history of adapting their behaviour to survive in different areas, even those that have been heavily impacted by humans. This means they can live in much more varied habitats than previously thought."There needs to be a multifaceted approach to conservation efforts that incorporates human-dominated landscapes, reduces hunting and increases habitat quality."It was often assumed that environmental factors like fruit availability were primarily responsible for most features of modern-day orangutans, such as the fact that they usually live at low densities and have a restricted geographic distribution.But the study indicates the orangutan that existed before modern humans and arrived in Southeast Asia 70,000 years ago may have been quite different.Lead author Stephanie Spehar, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, said: "Our synthesis of fossil, archeological, genetic and behavioral evidence indicates that long-term interactions with humans shaped orangutans in some pretty profound ways."These creatures were once far more widespread and abundant, with orangutan teeth among the most common animal remains in deposits in China, Thailand and Vietnam. They weathered many environmental changes and may even have lived in a wider range of environments than their modern counterparts.Today, the orangutan is only found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.Studies of the species living in heavily human-impacted habitats, such as oil palm and forestry plantations, highlight that the apes can adapt to survive in such areas, at least in the short term.It had always been assumed that orangutans were mostly arboreal, but camera traps in the forest showed they also walk extensively on the ground in some areas. The team is calling for these findings to be applied to conservation efforts immediately.Professor Bruford added: "Although much effort has already been made to understand the endangered orangutan, this latest study shows that much work still needs to be done to ensure conservation strategies are as robust and wide-ranging as possible. Only then will we stand a fighting chance of preventing this incredibly important animal from being wiped out."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 27, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180627160337.htm
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Dangerous protected reptiles
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The south-east Asian island state of East Timor has a problem with crocodiles. Between 2007 and 2014 there was a sharp increase in attacks on humans. Many of these attacks were fatal. Sebastian Brackhane, a research assistant in the Department of Remote Sensing and Landscape Information Systems of the University of Freiburg, has analyzed data on crocodile attacks in relation to a rise in the population of estuarine crocodiles in East Timor. The results of his field study have been published in the
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A native of South East Asia and the north of Australia, saltwater crocodiles are the largest of all crocodile species, growing to a length of up to six meters. The animals can weigh more than a ton and unlike other species of crocodile can survive in both fresh and salt water. This enables them to cover lengthy distances by sea. The animals have a strong territorial instinct and are extremely aggressive. They attack anything that moves in the water or near the shore -- including humans. After being hunted for their leather right up until the 1960s, in the '70s the severely-reduced population was made a protected species in amongst other places Australia's Northern Territory, which lies about 450 kilometers south of East Timor.Previously threatened by extinction, protection of the species led to growth in the population. Unfortunately it was accompanied by a rise in crocodile attacks on humans. However, as in many other South East Asian and Oceanian states, there has until now been no comprehensive data on the actual number of attacks in East Timor. In his field study, Brackhane spoke to local fishermen and village elders about incidents involving crocodiles, and developed a database. This showed that since East Timor became independent from Indonesia in 2002 there have been at least 130 attacks -- however a high number of unreported cases must be assumed."The geographic characteristics of the volcanic island means that it only offers very limited habitat to support a larger population. So we wondered where all the crocodiles in East Timor come from," says Brackhane. Surveys of workers on an oil platform in the high seas between East Timor and the Northern Territory found that saltwater crocodiles have often been sighted in the vicinity of the platform. So the researchers developed the hypothesis that the animals may migrate from Australia to East Timor. "We believe that in many areas the habitat in the Northern Territory has reached maximum carrying capacity and juvenile saltwater crocodiles cross the sea to East Timor to find new habitats," says Brackhane. The origin of the saltwater crocodiles in East Timor still has to be confirmed by a DNA analysis.However, Brackhane says that it is clear that many nations of South East Asia and Oceania has had a problem with estuarine crocodiles since their stocks have recovered well under conservation. And in East Timor the animals receive even greater protection: inhabitants believe that the island was created from a crocodile, so hunting "Grandfather Crocodile" is strictly prohibited.
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June 26, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180626113409.htm
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Finnish forest management guidelines fail to protect the flying squirrel
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A new study determined the habitat requirements for flying squirrels and compared them to those included in the recently amended Forest Act. The main finding was that the Finnish Nature Conservation Act does not adequately protect the old growth forests where flying squirrels live.
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Unsustainable use of forest resources is a global threat to biodiversity. This threat is particularly rampant in the boreal zone where coniferous forests are subject to intensive forestry. The recently published study focused on the flying squirrel, a typical example of a species suffering from modern intensive forest management based on clear-cutting practices. The flying squirrel is also protected by the Habitats Directive of the European Union."Preserving habitats for flying squirrels simultaneously preserves a diverse forest ecosystem in its entirety," says Ralf Wistbacka, a doctoral student at the University of Oulu.Legislation is among the most important tools for conserving nature. For legislation to be effective and generally accepted, it should be based on scientific evidence. This is particularly crucial for environmental legislation, such as the Finnish Nature Conservation Act and the Forest Act that regulate and restrict the use and management of private forests.The recent study evaluated the legislation guidelines that aim to preserve the habitat where flying squirrels live. The species inhabits old growth forests threatened by extensive clear-cutting.The occurrence of female flying squirrels was monitored for twelve years at 81 locations. The researchers modelled the occurrence of female flying squirrels in certain habitats. They then compared the amount of forest that females' require with that that would be preserved if current legislation, recent amendments included, were to be followed. The comparison indicated that both the initially proposed and the amended official guidelines would safeguard suitable habitat for the squirrel only to a very limited degree, resulting in an extremely low occurrence of female flying squirrels (less than 5%). In other words, both the current Nature Conservation Act and the proposed governmental guidelines cannot adequately safeguard the occurrence of flying squirrels.The amendment suggestions to current management guidelines concerning forests inhabited by flying squirrels are not based on scientific evidence, nor do they improve the protection of the species to any measurable extent.The results of the recently completed study shed light on the large gap between science and policy, which in terms of environmental legislation seems particularly wide."We must work hard to fill the gap between science and policy to ensure the preservation of biodiversity in a rapidly changing world," says Andrea Santangeli, a researcher at the Finnish Museum of Natural History LUOMUS, part of the University of Helsinki.The newly published study was carried out in collaboration between researchers at the University of Oulu and the University of Helsinki.
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Endangered Animals
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June 25, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180625223033.htm
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New gibbon genus discovered in ancient Chinese tomb
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Bones of an entirely new but already extinct genus of gibbon have been discovered in China, revealing the magnitude of human-caused extinction of primates, according to a study by UCL and ZSL (Zoological Society of London).
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The discovery was made by scientists while studying the contents of a burial chamber in Shaanxi Province, central China and the findings were published today in The ancient tomb dates from around 2,300 years ago and possibly belonged to Lady Xia -- grandmother to China's first emperor, Qin Shihuang, the leader who ordered the building of the Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Warriors.The tomb, first excavated in 2004, was found to contain 12 burial pits with animal remains, which included gibbon bones. Sophisticated computer modelling reveals that these ancient bones represent an entirely new genus and species of gibbon, which the team has named Professor Helen Chatterjee (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment), an expert on gibbons, worked with colleagues to measure key points on the skull and teeth found in the tomb which were then compared to the dimensions found in the four genera of gibbons living today. Their in-depth analysis revealed that the skull and molars differed by so much that the bones belong to a separate genus to today's gibbons."It's not surprising that Gibbons are the smallest apes and are characterised by their distinctive song and long arms -- which they use for moving through the forest canopy by a form of locomotion called brachiation.They have played an important role in Chinese culture for thousands of years, being present in ancient literature and art. However, despite probably having a venerated status,All of the world's apes -- chimpanzees, gorillas, orang-utans and gibbons -- are threatened with extinction today due to human activities, but no ape species were thought to have become extinct as a result of historic hunting or habitat loss until now. The demise of"Our discovery and description of Eastern and Southeast Asia are currently home to some of the world's most threatened mammals, with 73% of Asian primates being threatened, compared to 60% globally. Two species of gibbon have recently disappeared in China, and all surviving Chinese species are currently classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN's The Hainan gibbon (
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Endangered Animals
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June 20, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180620094755.htm
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Do bats adapt to gates at abandoned mines?
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Abandoned mines can serve as roost sites for bats, but because the mines pose serious risks to humans, officials often install gates at their entrances. With more than 80,000 abandoned mines in the southwestern United States, these subterranean habitats are important to bat survival as human disturbances from recreation and other activities at natural caves are affecting their use by bats.
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A new Certain factors were more important than gate design in predicting the presence of some bat species, including elevation, portal area, number of mine levels and entrances. Although the researchers saw no difference in bats' responses to gate height or material, less maneuverable bat species initially collided and landed more frequently on gates than did agile species.The findings will inform management on closure methods at caves and abandoned mines in the United States and beyond."Bats are often viewed negatively, but they are critical to our ecosystems," said lead author Dr. Carol Chambers, of Northern Arizona University. "Bats face many difficulties today, from white-nose syndrome to habitat loss. Our findings help protect these animals and keep humans safe."
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Endangered Animals
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June 19, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180619230846.htm
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Climate change to overtake land use as major threat to global biodiversity
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Climate change will have a rapidly increasing effect on the structure of global ecological communities over the next few decades, with amphibians and reptiles being significantly more affected than birds and mammals, a new report by UCL finds.
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The pace of change is set to outstrip loss to vertebrate communities caused by land use for agriculture and settlements, which is estimated to have already caused losses of over ten per cent of biodiversity from ecological communities.Previous studies have suggested that ecosystem function is substantially impaired where more than 20 per cent of species are lost; this is estimated to have occurred across over a quarter of the world's surface, rising to nearly two thirds when roads are taken into account.The new study, published today in The findings suggest that efforts to minimise human impact on global biodiversity should now take both land use and climate change into account instead of just focusing on one over the other, as the combined effects are expected to have significant negative effects on the global ecosystem.Study author, Dr Tim Newbold (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment), said: "This is the first piece of research looking at the combined effects of future climate and land use change on local vertebrate biodiversity across the whole of the land surface, which is essential when considering how to minimise human impact on the local environment at a global scale."The results show how big a role climate change is set to play in decreasing levels of biodiversity in the next few decades and how certain animal groups and regions will be most affected."Dr Newbold's research has found that vertebrate communities are expected to lose between a tenth and over a quarter of their species locally as a result of climate change.Furthermore, when combined with land use, vertebrate community diversity is predicted to have decreased substantially by 2070, with species potentially declining by between 20 and nearly 40 per cent.The effect of climate change varies around the world. Tropical rainforests, which have seen lower rates of conversion to human use than other areas, are likely to experience large losses as a result of climate change. Temperate regions, which have been the most affected by land use, stand to see relatively small biodiversity changes from future climate change, while tropical grasslands and savannahs are expected to see strong losses as a result of both climate change and land use.
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Endangered Animals
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June 19, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180619122947.htm
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Museum collection reveals distribution of Carolina parakeet 100 years after its extinction
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While 2018 marks the centenary of the death of the last captive Carolina parakeet -- North America's only native parrot, a team of researchers have shed new light on the previously known geographical range of the species, which was officially declared extinct in 1920.
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Combining observations and specimen data, the new Carolina parakeet occurrence dataset, recently published in the open access The new study provides unprecedented information on the birds range providing a window into the past ecology of a lost species."Making these data freely available to other researchers will hopefully help unlock the mysteries surrounding the extinction and ecology of this iconic species. Parrots are the most at-risk group of birds and anything we can learn about past extinctions may be useful going forward," says the study's lead author, Kevin Burgio.The observational recordings included in the study have been gleaned from a wide variety of sources, including the correspondence of well-known historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson and the explorers Lewis and Clark.The study team referenced recorded sightings spanning nearly 400 years. The oldest recorded sighting dates back to 1564, and was found in a description of the current state of Florida written by Rene Laudonniere in 1602.Alongside the written accounts, the researchers included location data from museum specimens. These include 25 bird skins from the Natural History Museum's Tring site, whose skin collection is the second largest of its kind in the world, with almost 750,000 specimens representing about 95 per cent of the world's bird species. Thereby, the study proves what invaluable resources museum collections can be."The unique combination of historical research and museum specimens is the only way we can learn about the range of this now-extinct species. Museums are archives of the natural world and research collections like that of the Natural History Museum are incredibly important in helping to increase our understanding of biodiversity conservation and extinction," says Alex Bond."By digitising museum collections, we can unlock the potential of millions of specimens, helping us to answer some of today's big questions in biodiversity science and conservation."It is hoped that this research will be the beginning of a wider reaching work that will explore further into the ecology of this long lost species.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 18, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180618222421.htm
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Factor important for ZIKA Virus host species restriction
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Princeton University researchers Qiang Ding, Alexander Ploss, and colleagues have identified one of the mechanisms by which ZIKA virus (ZIKV) circumvents immune control to replicate in human cells. The paper detailing this work appears June 18, 2018 in
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In 2013, and again in 2015, the world witnessed devastating outbreaks of ZIKV, a hitherto obscure member of the flavivirus family. Although infection with this virus usually produces no symptoms in most adult humans, it can cause severe pre-natal neurodevelopmental disorders. It also sometimes sparks a serious autoimmune disorder, and in rare cases causes male sterility in adults. It's clear the virus poses a major threat to human health, but people are not its native hosts. ZIKV can spread between people via sexual contact, but the virus likely dwells in some wild animal population -- probably non-human primates -- before being picked up by mosquitoes and transmitted to humans. In fact, ZIKV was first detected in a monkey in Africa in 1947. However, the identity of the virus's reservoir host is still unknown, and no one has yet conducted any comprehensive examination of which species may host ZIKV. This was the problem the Princeton scientists set out to address."We systematically tested the ability of ZIKV to infect cells from humans, great apes, New World and Old World monkeys, and mice," explains Ploss, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Biology.Dermal fibroblasts (skin cells) from these animals were exposed to ZIKV, and the level of viral replication was monitored. Mice are known to be resistant to the virus, and as expected, the mouse cells repelled viral invasion. However, the cells of every primate species tested, from humans to squirrel monkeys, were susceptible to ZIKV and produced large amounts of virus.What accounts for the failure of ZIKV to mount infections of mouse cells? Prior studies have shown that proteins called interferons are essential for this protection; mice that have been genetically engineered to be deficient in interferon alpha/beta; responses are susceptible to ZIKV infection. Interferons are secreted proteins that are critical for stimulating inflammation and triggering immune system defenses against viruses, bacteria, parasites and cancers. Virally infected cells recognize the presence of viruses using one of several different immune "pattern receptors" that bind to pathogen DNA or RNA and respond by stimulating interferon secretion.To determine which immune pattern receptor is important for recognizing ZIKV infection, Ding and colleagues examined whether exposure to ZIKV impairs the function of any these pathways in human cells. They found that ZIKV shuts down signaling by the cGAS-STING DNA sensing pathway. When the researchers examined the components of this pathway, they observed that the STING protein was cleaved into two fragments in ZIKV-infected cells. This is consistent with earlier studies, which had shown that a ZIKV protein called NS2B3 also targets this pathway by destroying cGAS.Ding et al. discovered that NS2B3 cleaves human STING, and identified the site at which this cleavage takes place. The mouse version of STING has different amino acids at the cleavage site than does the human protein, so NS2B3 cannot cleave mouse STING."Notably," says Ploss, "this cleavage site appears to also be shared by NS2B3 of other flaviviruses including West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, and dengue virus, but not yellow fever virus."Interestingly, the STING proteins of several primates, including chimpanzees, rhesus macaques, and squirrel monkeys, also differ from human STING at the NS2B3 cleavage site, and STING from these species was resistant to cleavage by NS2B3. Even when the human amino acids were swapped into the primate proteins at the cleavage site, only chimpanzee STING became vulnerable to NS2B3 cleavage. This suggests that chimpanzee STING may share some structural feature or other characteristic with human STING that more distantly related animals do not. Nonetheless, ZIKV replicates in all these species, which suggests the virus employs other mechanisms besides STING degradation to evade primate immune defenses; some of these have already been identified.To test whether mouse STING's resistance to cleavage by NS2B3 accounts for the animal's ability to curb ZIKV, Ding et al. used CRISPR/CAS9 technology to remove STING from mouse cells. This change rendered the cells susceptible to ZIKV infection in vitro. But even though the virus could replicate in these cultured mouse cells, the authors found that STING-deficient mice were still able to resist ZIKV infection, and did not become ill. This indicates that there exist other mechanisms that help keep the virus in check in mice.As Ploss points out: "Our data point to a molecular basis for the restricted host tropism of ZIKV. This could aid in the development of mice with inheritable susceptibility to ZIKV and potentially other flaviviruses. Such a model would pave the path to testing novel drug and vaccine candidates and for gaining a deeper understanding of how ZIKV and other viruses cause disease."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 17, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180617141313.htm
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Primates in peril
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Primates are fascinating. They are intelligent, live in complex societies and are a vital part of the ecosystem. Lemurs, lorises, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys and apes are our closest biological relatives and just like them, humans are also primates. However, while the human population spread to all corners of the earth, many of our closest relatives are under serious threat. An international team of leading primate researchers, including Christian Roos of the German Primate Center (DPZ) -- Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, has analyzed and evaluated the situation of many endangered non-human primate species in Brazil, Madagascar, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a review article published today. In their study, the researchers investigated the influence of human activities on wild primate populations.
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The destruction of natural forests and their conversion into agricultural land, threatens many species who thereby lose their habitat. However, hunting and the bushmeat trade also lead to a massive and rapid decline of many populations. A simulation of agricultural land expansion by the end of the century showed a decline of up to 78 percent in the distribution areas of many primate species. In their study, the scientists ask for immediate measures to protect the endangered primate species and supply recommendations for the long-term conservation of primates and to avert primate extinction (Primates live in tropical and subtropical areas and are mainly found in regions of Africa, South America, Madagascar and Asia. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) currently lists 439 species. 65 percent (286) of these are located in the four countries Brazil, Indonesia, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Around 60 percent of them are threatened by extinction. Particularly dire is the situation in Indonesia and Madagascar, where 90 percent of primate population declined and more than three-quarters of species are endangered.In a comprehensive literature review, the authors of the study analyzed the major threat factors for primates in four countries. In Brazil, Madagascar and Indonesia the increasing destruction of their habitats is a stressor for the animals. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the bushmeat trade is the biggest threat. In addition, primates are sold illegally as pets or used in traditional medicine. Poverty, the lack of education, food insecurity, political instability and corruption further encourage the depletion of natural resources in the countries concerned and make it more difficult to protect the animals."The destruction of the natural environment through deforestation, the expansion of agricultural land and infrastructure development to transport goods has become a major problem," says Christian Roos, a scientist in the Primate Genetics Laboratory at the DPZ and co-author of the study. "The main contributors of this development are the industrial nations. There is a high demand for raw materials such as soy, palm oil, rubber, hardwood or fossil fuel. The four primate-rich countries cover 50 percent of these export goods to China, India, the US and Europe."The scientists combined data from the United Nations and World Bank databases to simulate the estimated spread of agricultural land in the four countries until the turn of the century. Assuming a worst-case scenario, the researchers were able to predict a decline in the geographical range of the primate populations. Accordingly, by the year 2100 78 percent of the primate habitats in Brazil, 72 percent in Indonesia, 62 percent in Madagascar and 32 percent in the Congo could have disappeared. At the same time, the authors investigated the size and distribution of protected areas. Their estimates show that Brazil and Madagascar have around 38 percent, Indonesia 17 percent, and The Democratic Republic of Congo 14 percent of primate habitats in protected areas. The majority of the distribution areas are without protection status and primates are therefore under threat.The authors call for the extension of protected areas, the reforestation of forests and the planting of corridors as important measures to preserve primate populations. In addition, the local population must be made aware of the precarious situation. Governments, scientists, conservation organizations and economists need to work together to promote sustainable, organic farming while preserving traditional lifestyles. In addition, the governments of the countries concerned should work harder to combat illegal hunting, forest destruction and primate trade."Primates are like canaries in a coal mine," says Christian Roos. "They are invaluable for tropical biodiversity as they are vital for the regeneration of forests and stable ecosystems. Their extinction will serve as an alarm bell for humans and an indication that these habitats will become unusable in the long run."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 14, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180614213633.htm
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Five new species of snail-sucking snakes discovered
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New research led by the American Museum of Natural History has uncovered five new species of snakes in Ecuador and Peru with peculiar dining etiquette: they suck the viscous bodies of snails out of their shells. The new species, most of which are considered endangered or vulnerable, are described in a study published today in the journal
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"Believe or not, there is an entire group of snakes for which snails are food from the gods," said lead author Alejandro Arteaga, a comparative biology Ph.D.-degree student in the Museum's Richard Gilder Graduate School. "But sadly, four of the five species we discovered are already facing the possibility of becoming extinct, as the forests remaining for them to survive are almost completely destroyed."With more than 70 currently recognized species, snail-eating snakes are among the most diverse groups of tree-dwelling snakes. These snakes possess uniquely modified jaws, which give them the ability to suck the slimy body of a snail from its shell.Arteaga collaborated with Alex Pyron from The George Washington University to conduct a series of expeditions to rainforests in Ecuador between 2013 and 2017, which led to the discovery of three of the five new species: The most threatened of the newly discovered species, To confirm these five snakes as new species, the researchers gathered measurements from more than 200 museum specimens and extracted DNA from nearly 100 individual snakes. They also used the data to build an evolutionary tree that includes 43 snail-eating snake species, 24 of which hadn't been included in previous analyses. In addition to describing the five new species and redefining limits of genera, species, and species groups among the snakes, the researchers made changes to the known geographic distribution of several Andean species. But they note that more work lays ahead."Our results and the results of other recent researchers indicate that more taxonomic changes are needed," Arteaga said. "And we suspect that there are numerous additional species to be described across all genera of this group. Unfortunately, our time to find them is likely running short. These snakes are harmless to humans, but humans are not harmless to them."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 13, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180613102013.htm
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Scientists discover a new way to find mass extinctions
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During the history of the Earth, there were many mass extinctions, when huge numbers of species died out. They are usually easy to identify because of the sudden extinctions, followed by a gap, and then the recovery of life.
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A new mass extinction has been identified during the Triassic period, some 232 million years ago -- called the Carnian event. It was less easy to identify because the different sites around the world were hard to date and cross-match. But it was important because it marked the likely trigger for the explosive takeover of the Earth by dinosaurs.Using a new statistical method, a team from the University of Bristol, has pinpointed the event.The statistical method is called breakpoint analysis. Counts of species from many samples through the Triassic were compared, and a straight line was fitted to best explain changes in the proportions of dinosaurs to other beasts. To improve the fit of the line, a model was used that allowed for one break, but the position of the break was not specified.Professor Mike Benton from the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences led the project. He said: "This method is great. We know where we think the change occurred, but we don't tell the computer."We let it crunch the numbers and identify the break point, or the time when one kind of ecosystem ended, and the new one began. In this case, it landed precisely on the point in the Carnian when major environmental changes triggered the extinctions."Massimo Bernardi, a co-author of the report, and now curator at MUSE -- Science Museum, Trento, Italy, added: "This event had been identified before. This was a time of huge volcanic eruptions off modern Canada, and profound climate changes. The gases from the volcanoes caused long-term shuttling between dry and wet conditions."The climate changes had been noted back in 1990, and the dry-wet-dry cycle caused a major change in plants, from succulent wet-loving seed ferns to conifers, which are better adapted to dry conditions.Cormac Kinsella, another collaborator, and now at the University of Amsterdam, said: "We built a database of 47 faunas from different parts of the world, including 7,773 specimens of reptiles."Half way through the Carnian there was a sudden shift in the composition of ecosystems, from comprising a mixed assemblage, to being absolutely dominated by dinosaurs and their relatives."This new discovery adds to growing evidence for a previously undetected mass extinction, during a time of general upheaval in evolution. There had been a huge mass extinction 252 million years ago, and life was recovering fitfully from that crisis, when it was hit again at 232 million years ago, and then at the end of the Triassic, 201 million years ago.The Carnian event was important in heralding the explosion of dinosaurs onto the scene, but it also marked the beginning of many modern groups, such as turtles, crocodiles, lizards, and mammals.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 13, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180613102001.htm
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British mammals' fight for survival
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Almost one in five of British mammal species face a high risk of extinction, according to the first comprehensive review of their populations for more than 20 years launched today by The Mammal Society and Natural England.
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The red squirrel, wildcat and the grey long-eared bat are all listed as facing severe threats to their survival.The review -- commissioned by Natural England working in partnership with Scottish Natural Heritage and Natural Resources Wales -- also found other mammals such as the hedgehog and water vole have seen their populations decline by up to 66% over the past 20 years.Climate change, loss of habitat, use of pesticides and road deaths are all putting pressure on some of the best loved and most recognisable of Britain's 58 terrestrial mammals, whose current status, historical and recent population trends, threats, and future prospects have all been assessed in the review. The work will prioritise conservation actions and also sets an agenda for future research efforts.Prof Fiona Mathews, Mammal Society Chair and professor of Environmental Biology at the University of Sussex, said: "This is happening on our own doorstep so it falls upon all of us to try and do what we can to ensure that our threatened species do not go the way of the lynx, wolf and elk and disappear from our shores forever."The Mammal Society is now calling for more research to be carried out urgently to get a clearer and more accurate picture of Britain's mammal populations. For many species, including common animals such as rabbits and moles, very little information is available.Last month, the Society launched a Mammal Mapper app so that any nature lover could record sightings of local mammals using just their smartphone.Prof Mathews, lead author of the Review of the Population and Conservation Status of British Mammals, said: "The report highlights an urgent requirement for more research to assess population densities in key habitats because at present, uncertainty levels are unacceptably high. It is possible that declines in many species are being overlooked because a lack of robust evidence precludes assessment. There is also an urgent need to quantify precisely the scale of declines in species such as the hedgehog, rabbit, water vole and grey long-eared bat. Effective and evidence-based strategies for mammal conservation and management must be developed before it is too late."The report does highlight that some British mammal populations are in more robust health. Five species have increased in numbers in 20 years, and 18 species have increased their geographical range. The otter, polecat, beaver, wild boar are all now found in more locations than they were 20 years ago although it is also notable that many of the 'success stories' are species recently introduced to Great Britain, such as the grey squirrel and muntjac deer.Surprisingly given their importance to both humans and wildlife, there is very little information on species such as brown rats and house mice: their population estimates are around 7 million, and 5 million respectively, but could in reality be much higher or lower.Natural England Senior Specialist for Mammals, Katherine Walsh, who coordinated the project, said: "This project has significantly improved our understanding of the current status of terrestrial mammals known to breed in Great Britain, which is essential to underpin our efforts to protect them and their habitats. Natural England has been leading the way in efforts to recover these vulnerable species, notably through the 'Back from the Brink' project which aims to support the recovery of mammals and other species through habitat improvements across England."Natural England have been leading the way in efforts to protect these vulnerable species, they have been working in partnership with a number of expert conservation organisations on the Back from the Brink project which aims to bring more than 20 species back from the brink of extinction. This project will benefit hundreds of species, improving habitats and helping to secure the natural recovery of mammals in Great Britain.Liz Halliwell, Mammal Ecologist for Natural Resources Wales said: "The project has given us a better understanding of the status of many of the mammals in Wales. It has underlined the importance of having good data for all our mammal species, including some of our most common and widespread. Given the varying patterns of distribution across Britain, understanding area population trends is important."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 13, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180613113712.htm
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Deadly fungus found for first time in critically endangered amphibian species
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A fungal pathogen which has led to the extinction of entire species in South America has been recorded for the first time in critically endangered amphibians in India.
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It was first discovered in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, designated one of the eight most important global hotspots and one of the three most threatened by population growth, in 2011.But new research led by the University of Plymouth has found it for the first time in caecilians, the critically endangered Amboli Toad (In a study published in However, they say the situation should be monitored closely in future and that conservation plans within the region should aim to minimise the risk of the bacteria being spread more widely.Christopher Thorpe, a postgraduate research student in the University's School of Biological and Marine Sciences, led the study alongside Plymouth colleagues Dr Mairi Knight, David Pryce and Lewis Davies.It also involved researchers from the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London, George Washington University, and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Maharashtra, India.Mr Thorpe said: "The Western Ghats is home to the highest concentration of rare amphibians in India and a number of species which feature on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's red list. To find Bd among them is a cause for concern, although we have no way of telling at the moment whether this is a historical infection or something that has developed more recently."However, we have previously seen the effects that chytridiomycosis can have in decreasing -- or in many cases wiping out -- amphibian populations elsewhere in the world. So we urgently need to develop a greater understanding of any factors that might be regulating its existence in the Western Ghats, where the amphibians are already being threatened by habitat loss, habitat degradation, pollution and disease."The Western Ghats is a chain of hills that runs north-south for around 1,600km along the southwestern coast of India, and part of it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Scientists from Plymouth have been working in the area for several years, and recently published a study calling for rocky habitats to be protected in order to give endangered amphibian species a great chance of survival.For this study, scientists visited 13 sites at a range of altitudes in the northern part of the region, and tested 118 individuals from 21 species.Seventy-nine per cent of the amphibians tested positive for Bd, although it was not currently at a sufficient concentration to have developed into chytridiomycosis.However, researchers did find infection intensity was much lower in coastal region where temperatures are higher, which could now and in the future provide a refuge from high intensity infection.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 12, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180612090618.htm
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Putting animals in their best light: Some shades of LED lamps threaten wildlife
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A new generation of outdoor lights spreading across landscapes require greater scrutiny to reduce harm to wildlife, says a USC-led research group that developed a new tool to help fix the problem.
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The team of biologists surveyed select species around the world to determine how the hues of modern light-emitting diode (LED) lamps affect wildlife. They found that blues and whites are worst while yellow, amber and green are more benign. Some creatures, including sea turtles and insects, are especially vulnerable.The findings, which include the first publicly available database to help developers, designers, and policymakers choose wildlife-friendly lighting colors, appear today in the "Outdoor environments are changing rapidly and in ways that can impact wildlife species," said Travis Longcore, lead author of the study and assistant professor of architecture, spatial sciences and biological sciences with the Spatial Sciences Institute at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. "We provide a method to assess the probable consequences of new light sources to keep up with the changing technology."Big cities and industrial sites so illuminate night sky now that much of Earth resembles a big, glowing ball. Scientists have spent years studying how light brightness and direction affects wildlife, including migration and attraction, predator-prey relationships and circadian rhythms. The USC team availed that existing ecological data and broke new ground by examining how a range of commercially available LED lights impact species.LED lights are expected to comprise 69 percent of the global market by 2020, compared to just 9 percent in 2011. They are popular because they have many uses, conserve energy and last longer than other lamps.To understand the impacts, and find compromise solutions between human and animal needs, the researchers focused on insects, sea turtles, salmon and Newell's shearwater, a seabird, for which existing data were readily available. They found that the worst nighttime lights are intense blue and white colors -- some affect species as much as the brightness of midday sun -- and three times more than yellow or green lights designed with wavelengths less disruptive to wildlife.The research is important for wildlife conservation. For example, loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings, an endangered species, leave beach nests at night and follow artificial light inland to danger instead of skittering to the ocean. Similarly, lights attract migrating juvenile salmon, exposing them to predators. Also, global declines in insects have been linked in part to light pollution, Longcore said. The new research will help people choose lighting to reduce wildlife impacts.The researchers focused on only four groups of creatures, which have been studied for light responses previously. Future studies will incorporate more species worldwide.A central component of the USC research includes the first publicly available database showing how about two dozen different types of artificial lighting affect wildlife. The matrix is called "Rapid Assessment of Lamp Spectrum to Quantify Ecological Effects of Light at Night." Developers, land-use planners and policy makers can use it to choose lighting that balances the needs of nature and people. Today, regulations to limit light direction or intensity typically don't account for the different hues of LED lights, Longcore said."If we don't provide advice and information to decisionmakers, they will go with the cheapest lighting or lighting that serves only one interest and does not balance other interests," Longcore said. "We provide a method to assess the probable consequences of new light sources to keep up with the changing technology and wildlife concerns."The study authors include Longcore; Airam Rodríguez of the Estación Biológica de Doñana CSIC in Spain; Blair Witherington of the Walt Disney Company's Animals, Science and Environment program; Jay Penniman of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit; and Lorna and Michael Herf of f.lux Software, LLC.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 11, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180611144126.htm
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Proactive conservation management strategy urged for North Atlantic right whale
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These are not good times for the North Atlantic right whale. Ship strikes and gear entanglement play major roles in the mortality of these highly endangered mammals, which now number fewer than 500. Making matters worse, climate-mediated shifts are pushing their prey out of the whales' usual feeding grounds, rendering traditional habitat-focused protection policies less than optimal.
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This reality was starkly apparent in the summer of 2017, when 17 right whales turned up dead in U.S.-Canadian waters -- a mass mortality event attributed in large part to gear entanglement and ship strikes. The event also revealed that the whales had gone beyond their typical distributional boundaries. Scientists estimate that unless protective policies are expanded to cover their shifting distribution, right whales may face extinction in less than 30 years.That's according to a new study by researchers including UC Santa Barbara Marine Science Institute ecologist Erin Meyer-Gutbrod. With atmospheric scientist Charles H. Greene, of Cornell University, and postdoctoral research associate Kimberley T. A. Davies, of Dalhousie University, Meyer-Gutbrod authored the paper "Marine Species Range Shifts Necessitate Advanced Policy Planning," which appears in the journal According to the group's findings, "only five calves were born in 2017 and no newborn calves have been sighted thus far in 2018.""What we have seen with prey limitation is that whales will search outside of their traditional feeding grounds, looking for denser aggregations of zooplankton," said Meyer-Gutbrod, who studies the effects of environmental change on right whale populations. Due to the northward movement of their food from their usual Gulf of Maine feeding grounds to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canadian waters, the whales, too, are shifting away from their usual habitats and into unprotected regions. The combination of food scarcity in their usual habitat and lack of protection in their adopted feeding grounds, Meyer-Gutbrod and colleagues say, calls for advanced policy planning that essentially follows these whales as they stake out new territory."Prey limitation is not typically so severe that right whales starve to death," said Meyer-Gutbrod. However, she explained, when prey is scarce, adult females don't have enough energy to reproduce successfully. In addition, when the whales move from their typical protected waters into heavily-trafficked and unprotected areas, they encounter a minefield of obstacles, from commercial shipping vessels to crab and lobster fishing gear.But it may not be too late, the researchers say, if policymakers respond rapidly and advanced strategies are used to mitigate the risk to the whales as their distribution shifts. Such "impressive" response went into play during the Gulf of St. Lawrence crisis, with emergency measures that included a multi-platform search for the whales, mandatory speed limits and crab fishery closures.In addition to those measures, which are now part of a 2018 protection plan announced by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the researchers recommend a "robust and sustainable program" for monitoring the whales and reinstitution of a prey monitoring system called the Continuous Plankton Recorder program. Additionally, they recommend ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of new and existing policies and the potential expansion of critical habitats into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.North Atlantic right whales are the current target of these proposed enhanced protections, but likely are not the only species that will require such measures, according to Meyer-Gutbrod."A massive poleward redistribution of targeted fish stocks is impending," she said. "Fishing pressure will probably grow rapidly at the leading edge of the range shift, but pressure may also increase near the trailing edge when more effort is required to catch the same number of fish. This puts shifting stocks at risk of being overfished."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 8, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180608103330.htm
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Secret to whale shark hotspots
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A study has uncovered the secret to why endangered whale sharks gather on mass at just a handful of locations around the world.
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The new insights into the habits of the world's largest fish will help inform conservation efforts for this mysterious species, say the researchers.Large groups of whale sharks congregate at only around 20 locations off the coasts of countries including Australia, Belize, the Maldives and Mexico. Why the sharks, which can reach more than 60 feet in length, choose these specific locations has long perplexed researchers and conservationists.The new study, by researchers at the University of York in collaboration with the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP), has found that the shark "aggregation sites" show many common characteristics -- they are all in areas of warm, shallow water in close proximity to a sharp sea-floor drop off into deep water.The researchers suggest that these sites provide the ideal setting for the filter-feeding sharks to search for food in both deep water and the warm shallows, where they can bask near the surface and warm up their huge bodies.Supervising author of the study, Dr Bryce Stewart from the Environment Department at the University of York, said: "Sharks are ectotherms, which means they depend on external sources of body heat. Because they may dive down to feed at depths of more than 1,900 metres, where the water temperature can be as cold as 4 degrees, they need somewhere close by to rest and get their body temperature back up."Steep slopes in the sea bed also cause an upwelling of sea currents that stimulate plankton and small crustaceans such as krill that the whale sharks feed on."However, these perfectly contoured locations are not without their drawbacks due to human activity. Sharks swimming in shallow waters close to the surface are vulnerable to boat strikes caused by vessels ranging from large ships to tourist boats hoping to spot them.Lead author of the paper Joshua Copping, who carried out the research while studying for a masters in Marine Environmental Management at the University of York, and is now working on a PhD at the University of Salford, said: "Individual whale sharks can be identified by their unique pattern of spots and stripes which allows researchers to follow specific sharks that visit these aggregation sites. That means we have a good idea of the rate and extent of injuries at each of these locations and sadly it's generally quite high."Boat strikes, along with accidental trapping in fishing nets, and the targeted hunting of the species for their fins and meat, have contributed to an alarming decrease in global whale shark numbers in the past 75 years.By highlighting what makes these areas important to the whale shark, the researchers hope this study will also highlight the importance of managing these areas carefully in order to minimise human impact on the shark's habitat and behaviour.Dr Stewart added: "The more we know about the biology of whale sharks the more we can protect them and this research may help us to predict where whale sharks might move to as our climate changes."Not only do we have an ethical responsibility to conserve this miraculous animal for future generations, but they are also extremely valuable to local people on the coastlines where they gather, which are often in developing countries. While a whale shark can be worth as much as $250,000 USD dead, alive it can provide more than $2 Million USD over the course of its life span."Co-author James Hancock from MWSRP added; "Whale sharks can travel huge distances around the globe and the existence of such a small number of known aggregation sites suggested there had to be something about the depth and shape of the underwater terrain in these areas that makes them appealing."It's very exciting to have narrowed down some of the key reasons why whale sharks choose these specific areas. However, the main focus of this research was on costal aggregations which are largely made up of young sharks -- exactly where the rest of the demographic hang out is still unclear."
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Endangered Animals
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June 8, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180608085622.htm
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'Monstrous' new Russian saber-tooth fossils clarify early evolution of mammal lineage
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Fossils representing two new species of saber-toothed prehistoric predators have been described by researchers from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh, USA) and the Vyatka Paleontological Museum (Kirov, Russia). These new species improve the scientists' understanding of an important interval in the early evolution of mammals -- a time, between mass extinctions, when the roles of certain carnivores changed drastically.
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Living mammals are descended from a group of animals called therapsids, a diverse assemblage of "protomammals" that dominated terrestrial ecosystems in the Permian Period (~299-252 million years ago), millions of years before the earliest dinosaurs. These protomammals included tusked herbivores, burrowing insectivores, and saber-toothed predators. The vast majority of Permian therapsids have been found in the Karoo Basin of South Africa, and as a result, the South African record has played an outsized role influencing scientists' understanding of protomammal evolution. Because of this, therapsid fossils from outside of South Africa are extremely important, allowing scientists to discern whether observed events in the protomammal fossil record represent global or merely regional patterns.Recent expeditions by the Vyatka Paleontological Museum have collected a wealth of spectacularly-preserved Permian fossils near the town of Kotelnich along the Vyatka River in European Russia. These fossil discoveries include the remains of two previously unknown species of predatory protomammals, newly described in the journal Both new species are named after legendary monsters from Russian folklore, befitting their menacing appearances. "In between these extinctions, there was a complete flip-flop in what roles these carnivores were playing in their ecosystems -- as if bears suddenly became weasel-sized and weasels became bear-sized in their place," says Kammerer. The new species from Russia provide the first evidence that there was a worldwide turnover in predators after the mid-Permian extinction, and not just a localized turnover in South Africa.Kammerer adds, "Kotelnich is one of the most important localities worldwide for finding therapsid fossils -- not only because they are amazingly complete and well-preserved there, but also because they provide an all-too-rare window into mammal ancestry in the Northern Hemisphere during the Permian."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 8, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180608093654.htm
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Nutritional quality of fish and squid reduced by warm water events
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Research led by the University of Sydney shows that under warm water events the nutritional balance of fish and squid changes and is of lower quality, while under cold water events it is of higher quality.
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Conducted in New Zealand, the research used a highly successful marine predator seabird -- the Australasian gannet -- as a biological monitor of the marine environment and food sources.The team combined miniature bird-borne GPS loggers, fish and squid nutritional analysis and nutritional modelling, and quantified colder and warmer water events by comparing the mean sea surface temperature with 10 years of data.Fish and squid captured by gannets were found to have significantly lower ratio of healthy oils to protein during warm water events (where sea surface temperature was warmer than the 10-year mean) and better nutritional quality during cold water periods (lower than the 10-year mean).Published in the Lead author Dr Gabriel Machovsky-Capuska, adjunct senior researcher at the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre, said the findings had implications for marine life and its predators, including humans."Marine mammals and seabirds such as gannets eat similar foods as humans -- namely fish and squid," he explained."All capture prey in similar areas, and inevitably all are impacted by nutritional changes to this food source."Co-author Professor David Raubenheimer, the University of Sydney's Leonard P Ullmann Chair in Nutritional Ecology at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Charles Perkins Centre, said the research team devised a novel approach in order to conduct the research."Our approach, which we call nutritional landscapes, allows us to associate the nutritional quality of marine resources -- otherwise very challenging, as marine life continuously moves -- with geographic location, water depth and environmental conditions such as sea surface temperature and chlorophyll levels," Professor Raubenheimer explained."These findings underline the importance of linking marine environmental fluctuations with the nutritional quality of fish and squid for human consumption -- and provide significant insights for fisheries that are capturing fish for humans to eat."Dr Machovsky-Capuska said the findings were also revealing for environmental and conservation purposes."The work shows that diet and foraging behaviour of marine predators are significantly influenced by warm and cold events," he said."During warm water events gannets had to work harder for their food as they expanded their foraging habitat and increased their foraging trip duration, while at the same time consuming prey and diets with lower content of energy-providing oils," he said."Our approach can be used to understand and ultimately protect travelling routes for migratory species, and could support the conservation of endangered species in terms of food quality and habitat suitability."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 7, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180607082623.htm
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Dolphins deliberately killed for use as bait in global fisheries
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Important new research released ahead of World Oceans Day exposes the widespread practice of killing aquatic mammals such as dolphins, sea lions, seals and otters for use as bait in global fisheries. Published in open-access journal
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Bycatch -- the incidental capture of dolphins, sea turtles, birds and other non-targeted species in fishing operations -- is a well-known problem. Less well-known is the widespread practice of acquiring and using aquatic mammals for bait. According to the researchers' new systematic review, more than 40 species of aquatic mammals have been utilized as bait since 1970 in at least 33 countries, with more than 80% of these species deliberately killed for use in at least one fishery. Dolphins, for example, are commonly killed and used as bait in shark fisheries. Geographically, the practice appears to be most common in Latin America and Asia.The study's lead author, Dr. Vanessa J. Mintzer from the University of Florida, USA, says while the reviewed sources reveal that killing marine mammals for bait is widespread, there is little information on the status of the populations being killed and whether, or how fast, they are declining. However it is clear, based on a few locations where this information is available, that killing for bait can reach unsustainable levels and lead to population decline. Dr. Mintzer says witnessing this, first hand, prompted this latest scientific review."Killing for use as bait is a primary threat affecting Amazon river dolphins, known as botos -- the species and issue I have studied since my Ph.D. dissertation. With this global review we wanted to see whether, and where, other species were killed for bait, and learn about possible solutions to stop the problem," says Dr. Mintzer.The killing of marine animals for bait is, in general, a clandestine activity. As a consequence, the level of killing and impact on the species identified in the review will likely remain largely unknown for the foreseeable future. Dr. Mintzer says obtaining better data should now become an urgent priority."For scientists already working on species and locations identified as "hot spots" in this review, organized efforts should begin right away to estimate these numbers," she says. "It took years to determine that the hunt for botos was unsustainable and now conservation actions need to be expedited. We need to identify other affected populations now to facilitate timely conservation actions."The study's authors also urge a focus on the enforcement of existing laws that make it illegal to kill marine mammals as well as the involvement of local communities and fishers in education and sustainable fishing programs and policies, as opposed to top-down implementation, to ensure success.One key limitation faced by the researchers was a lack of information on the magnitude of the problem -- that is, how many animals in a specific area or region are killed to procure bait and the impacts of this practice on the affected populations. While the authors' analysis was constrained accordingly, the researchers say that lack of data is a common challenge faced by fishery managers and indicates clearly the broader need for additional resources for monitoring and assessment.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 6, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180606170153.htm
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Impact of fishing gear entanglement deduced from whale hormone levels
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A novel hormone analysis provides a viable way of measuring the duration and effects of fishing gear entanglement on endangered North Atlantic right whales. This forensic technique for analyzing stress responses can also provide information on fasting periods and physical stress in whales. Published in open-access journal
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North Atlantic right whales are one of the most endangered whale species with around only 450 individuals left. They are severely impacted by fishing gear entanglements which continue to increase in frequency and severity, making them the leading human-caused injury and death to the species."At least 2% of the population died in the past year. Some of these mortalities were due to interactions with fishing gear, but most living North Atlantic right whales have been entangled at least once in their life," says Dr Nadine Lysiak, lead author of the study from the University of Massachusetts Boston, USA. "Clearly, some whales are able to survive fishing gear entanglement, but this still affects their health and future reproduction -- a serious concern for a species at risk of extinction."Understanding the impacts of fishing gear entanglement on whales is vital in planning targeted conservation efforts. To gain insights into these impacts, the research team conducted a retrospective post-mortem study on one whale which had been extensively studied throughout its life."From previous sightings we had information on when it first became entangled in fishing gear and its general migration behavior," says Lysiak. "We used this information to compare with the chemical analysis of the whale's baleen plates to validate our results."Whale baleen -- the bristly filter feeding mechanism in the mouths of some whales -- was specifically chosen for tissue sampling as, much like that of the rings of a tree, it continually grows in seasonal variations throughout a whale's life.From the baleen tissue, the team analyzed specific hormones and stable isotopes which showed them changes to normal body functions in the whale. Elevations in steroid hormones indicated stress responses; thyroid hormones showed foraging success, energy expenditure and overall body condition through metabolic rate; and nitrogen and carbon isotopes showed annual fluctuations of seasonal diet and foraging location from which migration patterns could be determined."This gave us an 8-year chemical profile which we could use to understand how entanglement affected the whale's foraging success, migration behavior and body functioning," says Lysiak."Using the results, we determined that the whale was entangled for about 9 months and experienced severe, prolonged starvation prior to death. This was validated by previous sightings that the fishing gear was wrapped over the whale's blowhole and tangled in its baleen plates, making it difficult to feed normally," explains Lysiak.The team hope their findings will contribute to mitigating these interactions between human-caused impact and vulnerable whale species."Our work shows how fishing gear entanglement can affect whales and provides further evidence for the need to modify fishing gear and practices to minimize the threat of entanglement. We will be communicating our results to fishing industry leaders and the research community and hope our work will contribute to improving ongoing management efforts."This analysis technique could potentially also be applied to unstudied whales to establish how fishing gear entanglement affects them. However, the authors do stress the limitations of their paper."We only analyzed one individual, so further studies are necessary -- and sadly, another animal needs to die for this," says Lysiak. "Unfortunately for the North Atlantic right whale population this is a much too common event."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 6, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180606095341.htm
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Scientists stunned by decline of birds during epic Southern African roadtrip
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A two year project to repeat a famous bird survey by driving over 20, 000km in a 4x4 across Botswana has confirmed researchers' fears: many birds of prey are fast disappearing from one of Africa's last great wilderness areas.
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Reported sightings of iconic species of eagle and vulture declined by as much as 80% compared with the previous survey, while some migrant species recorded last time have vanished, according to the study published this week in the international scientific journal The data is based on a return trip to a network of roads criss-crossing most of Northern Botswana, an area first surveyed over twenty years ago by a former Wildlife Biologist with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Botswana, Dr Marc Herremans. Researchers retraced Herremans's route across gravel and tar roads in a similar vehicle to the one he used and driving at the same speeds. They spotted birds with the naked eye, only using binoculars to positively identify bird species -- as per the original survey. The resurvey focussed on 29 raptor species and compared their encounter rate with Herremans's original records."The main motivation for doing the work was to explore whether vultures and other raptor numbers had declined in Botswana like they have in many other areas of Africa" says Associate Professor Arjun Amar from the Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town which conducted the study in collaboration with conservation NGO Raptors Botswana.Amar, who supervised the research, says the sharp decline in sightings is unexpected: "Although declines in raptor populations have been seen elsewhere in Africa, particularly across West Africa, we were not expecting these declines to be quite so dramatic in Botswana which has a relatively low human population size and where nearly 40% of the land is under some form of protection" Species declines were detected for 14 out of 29 species monitored. Eleven of these species declined by over half in the last 20 years.Some of the species showing the greatest declines are the White-headed and Lappet Faced vultures, African Hawk Eagle, Secretary Bird, Bateleur Eagle, and Red-necked Falcon.Only three species showed an increase in their abundance: the Brown and Black Chested Snake-eagles and the Tawny Eagle.The study does not pinpoint the cause of the declines. However, conservationists say vultures in particular are vulnerable to poisoning by poachers for whom the birds' habit of circling carrion is a threat -- because it might draw attention of game rangers inside protected areas.Another recent study found a third of all vultures caught and tested in a separate Botswana study showed elevated levels of lead in their blood mostly likely due to ingesting bullet-contaminated flesh.Beckie Garbett, a PhD student who led the latest road transect study, says: "We found declines occurring across species with varying diet and habitat use, which make it hard to pinpoint the main drivers of decline.""Climate change is one candidate for these declines, but urgent research is needed to better understand the drivers of these declines," Garbett says.The roadtrip study also found significant declines of many species inside protected areas. In other words the main factors driving species decline transcend habit conservation status. "Our study shows that drivers of decline are apparently indiscriminate, inexplicit and are likely acting jointly, making defining appropriate conservation measures challenging," the authors said in their study summation.The study findings also highlight the importance of historical data in countries where scarce funding resources result in limited species monitoring. The sharp declines contained in the latest survey would not have been observed without reference to Herremans's original survey, which actually covered a much wider area -- about 50 000km of road. The repeat study concentrated only on the northern transects. Researchers would now like to repeat the remaining routes in the South of the country to explore whether these trends in the north represent the overall trends for the species in the country.Herremans said he was pleased that his data had proved valuable "and that they contribute to our knowledge of long-term changes in bird populations."" It is sad though to learn that even in this country with so much of the land devoted to conservation, biodiversity is in steep decline," Herremans said.He said the survey had helped combat fatigue during his epic journey: "It helped us to stay focused (and awake!) during our extensive travels through the country."Botswana, with a population of only 2,3-million, is considered one of the most scenic countries in the world due to the combination of the Kalahari desert, pristine bushveld, and the world famous Okavango Swamps. However surveying the terrain is not without its challenges; the research team averaged speeds of only 20kmp/h for sand and gravel roads. Individual transect routes ranged from 65km to 585km due to the vast distances involved. In addition distances between the first and second surveys varied slightly "due to changes in road networks over time and due to interpretation of original transect route descriptions (no GPS coordinates were available 20 years ago during the original surveys)," the study says.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 5, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180605154116.htm
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Secret life of an enigmatic Antarctic apex predator
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Scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have, for the first time, tracked the lives of leopard seals as they migrate around Antarctica. The team followed these formidable predators as they move from the frozen Antarctic sea-ice to the more northerly sub-Antarctic islands where they prey on penguins, seals and krill. The study is published this week (Tuesday 5 June) in the journal
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During the harsh polar winter, leopard seals are regularly sighted on islands such as South Georgia, where BAS scientists have studied them for over 20 years. However, very little is known about their behaviour during the long Antarctic night.Seal ecologist Dr Iain Staniland, lead author of the study says:"Leopard seals are notoriously difficult to study because they live and hunt in inaccessible places: they are relatively scarce, lead solitary lives and live mostly in the water or 'hauled out' on sea ice around Antarctica."As one of the Antarctic's apex predators, leopard seals can have large local impacts on their prey populations. They could be limiting the recovery of some fur seal colonies, for example, and are known to take a significant proportion of penguins from some smaller colonies -- around 15% of the colony of gentoo penguins at one study site*. As ocean sentinels, they can reveal a lot about the health of an ecosystem and alert us to problems further down the food chain."To find out more about the leopard seal's distribution and behaviour, the team attached 31 miniature tags to leopard seals between 2003 and 2012. The tags record sunrise and sunset times and have a wet/dry sensor. The tags have a long battery life, enabling them to track leopard seals for extended periods, but they do not transmit data so recovering the data is challenging. It requires that the seals are located and their tags removed while they are sleeping.To date the BAS team has succeeded in recovering tags from five of the leopard seals. The data recovered shows that during the summer, the seals move south in and around the Antarctic sea ice where they feed on krill and fish and breed. In the winter, as sea ice around Antarctica expands, the seals return to the shallow coastal waters around the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands, where penguins, seals and krill provide them with the food they need to survive the long dark Antarctic winter.As well as recording the complete migration of leopard seals for the first time, the study also reveals they spend up to one-third (31%) of their time out of the water but this behaviour changes markedly throughout the year. This fact will help improve the accuracy of population counts conducted using aircraft and drones.Dr Iain Staniland continues:"This study presents several important breakthroughs in our study of these fearsome predators. This is the first long-term deployments of tracking devices on leopard seals, the first opportunity to record the complete annual migration of leopard seals between the Antarctic pack ice and sub-Antarctic islands, and the first to record their haul-out behaviour."These findings will enable more robust population size estimates and to assess the role of leopard seals within the Southern Ocean ecosystem. It is a major advance in our knowledge about the secret life of one of the Antarctic's true 'apex' predators."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 5, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180605092838.htm
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A little water could make a big difference for endangered salmon
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Even small amounts of running water -- less than a gallon per second -- could mean the difference between life or death for juvenile coho salmon in coastal California streams, according to a new study published in the journal
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The study, led by California Sea Grant Extension Specialist Mariska Obedzinski, shows that during dry periods, that amount of water was enough to keep pools interconnected, allowing young salmon to survive through the hot, dry summer months."The good news is that if we can get just a little bit of water back in these streams, we can make a really big difference," says Obedzinski, who leads a monitoring program for endangered coho salmon and steelhead in the small streams of Sonoma County that flow into the Russian River.Russian River coho salmon were listed as threatened in 1996, but despite efforts to improve habitat, the species had hit crisis levels by the early 2000's, and they became endangered in 2005 when scientists noted fewer than 10 fish returning to the Russian River each year to spawn. In response, local, state, and federal agencies teamed up to start a conservation hatchery program to breed and release the fish. California Sea Grant's monitoring program was set up to track the success of the hatchery releases as well as better understand the factors that were preventing recovery of the species.Through their monitoring, Obedzinski and her research team found that low streamflow in summer is one of the biggest bottlenecks to coho recovery. She says, "After the hatchery fish are released, we see them migrating out to the ocean and coming back as adults to spawn. We even see their offspring in creeks in the early summer, but by late summer the creeks dry out, the young salmon die, and the next generation is not surviving."Water is a limited resource in the Mediterranean climate of central California. Population growth and development, combined with the impacts of climate change in the drought-prone region have made flow-impaired streams even less reliable.While previous modeling studies have established water flow thresholds to support salmon in larger, snowmelt-fed streams such as those in California's central valley, the small coastal streams where Russian River coho prefer to spawn are a different beast.These intermittent streams may swell over their banks during wet winter months but dwindle to a trickle or even dry up in sections during the hot, dry summer. While it was clear that young salmon needed more water to survive the summer months, the question was, how much?"We didn't have a sense of how much water was needed," says Obedzinski. "The existing models are based on flows in much larger streams. When you try to apply them to our tiny coastal streams, they fall apart."The new study provides a clearer link between salmon survival and water flow rates in Russian River tributaries, which could be useful for resource agencies and organizations working on salmon recovery, and land owners who want to help restore endangered salmon populations. The findings may also lend support for efforts that might seem small-scale in comparison to larger streamflow improvement projects in other watersheds.John Green is a project manager for the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District, who has already begun applying the new research to their work restoring flow in salmon streams. He says, "The big value in this research is that it has given us an idea of how much water is needed to improve fish survival. From that, we start to understand the kinds of projects we need to build and what their impacts will be."The researchers stress that flows allowing for minimum persistence are not high enough to support full recovery. Obedzinski says, "Keeping a pool connected is the first step in preventing local extinction by keeping at least some of the fish alive, but we want fish to be able to grow and thrive as well. In terms of meeting recovery targets, more water means more habitat for fish, and more chance of bringing back a healthy population."
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 5, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180605083040.htm
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Thousands of turtles netted off South America
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Tens of thousands of sea turtles are caught each year by small-scale fishers off South America's Pacific coast, new research shows.
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Surveys at 43 harbours in Ecuador, Peru and Chile reveal that gillnet fisheries catch more than 46,000 sea turtles per year, with more than 16,000 killed in the process.And the true numbers are likely to be higher, as not all ports in each country were surveyed.Such accidental catching -- known as bycatch -- is a major threat to species including sea turtles, and the researchers say their findings highlight Ecuador and Peru as key places to tackle this."People worry about industrial fisheries but a real concern that people are waking up to is small-scale fisheries," said Professor Brendan Godley, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall."These are small vessels but they exist in such huge numbers that they can have a massive impact on ecosystems."Turtles living in the study area include leatherbacks (critically endangered in the east Pacific) and hawksbills (critically endangered worldwide).Dr Joanna Alfaro, who obtained her PhD at Exeter and is now director of ProDelphinus, a conservation organisation in Peru, said: "This work highlights the importance and the benefits of our approach of engaging with fishers."We are actively working with fishers in this region to develop and implement solutions to bycatch -- not just to improve the situation for turtles but for the health of fisheries and fish stocks."Our goal is to develop fisheries that are sustainable for small-scale fishing communities and the species with which they interact."Dr Jeffrey Mangel, also of the University of Exeter and ProDelphinus, added: "Gathering this survey data was a massive effort across three countries, and the results give us fascinating and important insights."We are careful not to overstate threats to wildlife, but in this case it's clear that tens of thousands of turtles are being caught each year."The southeastern Pacific sustains extensive fisheries that are important sources of food and employment for millions of people.The study, supported by the UK government's Darwin Initiative, was designed to fill data gaps and identify priority areas for future conservation work.
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Endangered Animals
| 2,018 |
June 4, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180604112616.htm
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Toxic toad invasion puts Madagascar's predators at risk, genetic evidence confirms
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The recent introduction of the common Asian toad to Madagascar has led to fears that the toxic amphibian could wreak havoc on the island's already severely threatened fauna. Now, researchers report genetic evidence in the journal
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"In Australia, the introduction of cane toads has caused profound perturbation to many ecosystems by removing key predators from local food webs with their toxins," says Wolfgang Wüster of Bangor University, United Kingdom. "Similar effects are likely to occur in Madagascar, where toads were never present before, as well; predators that frequently feed on toads and do not rapidly learn or evolve to avoid them are likely to become much rarer or possibly extinct."Bufonid toads secrete bufadienolides that kill many predator species by inhibiting the sodium-potassium pump (Na+/K+-ATPase), an essential component of animal cell membranes. However, some species are known to have evolved resistance to these toxins through repeated, predictable, and specific point mutations in the gene encoding that essential enzyme. As such, the arrival of the toxic and invasive Asian toads ("A crucial knowledge gap has been whether native Malagasy predators are indeed sensitive to toad toxins: this has been widely assumed by conservationists, but without concrete evidence," says co-author Andolalao Rakotoarison, co-chair of Madagascar's IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group.To fill that gap in the new study, the researchers analyzed sequences of the Na+/K+-ATPase gene of 77 Malagasy species potentially feeding on toads, including 27 snakes, two lizards, 12 frogs, eight mammals and 28 birds. Their studies showed that only one native species -- a rodent known as the white-tailed antsangy -- showed evidence of resistance to the novel toxin.The results strongly suggest that invasive toads are liable to have significant impacts on the native Malagasy fauna, and they stress the importance of controlling the spread of this alien species to prevent a worsening biodiversity crisis, according to the researchers."Our findings confirm that the invasive toads are likely to have a significant impact on many Malagasy endemic species, adding to the country's existing conservation problems and potentially endangering many of Madagascar's most iconic endemic species, such as tenrecs and the enigmatic fossa, as well as a plethora of other species," says co-author Nicholas Casewell of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.Co-author Frank Glaw, a specialist in Malagasy amphibians based at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, noted that the toad's tadpoles might also threaten endemic fish, as well as invertebrate predators, including water beetles, dragonfly larvae, and crustaceans. A similar study is therefore needed to assess the vulnerability of Madagascar's aquatic predators."This is another example of how species introduced from one part of the world to another can disrupt natural ecosystems," says Ben Marshall, a master's student at Bangor University and first author of the new study. "Preventing the introduction of alien invasive species must be a top priority for biodiversity conservation."
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Endangered Animals
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May 31, 2018
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180531114649.htm
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Getting conservationists and fishers on the same page
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Historically, fisheries and the conservation community have struggled to find common ground. The tension between one's desire to turn a profit and the other's to preserve endangered or protected marine species that can be killed as bycatch has made it difficult to find solutions that satisfy both. Now, a new online tool developed by researchers at San Diego State University in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other universities could win support from both groups. EcoCast, developed with funding from the NASA Applied Sciences Ecological Forecasting Program, provides computer-generated maps to help fishermen target productive fishing spots while alerting them to areas likely to harbor protected species.
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"This is a really different way of approaching fisheries management," said Rebecca Lewison, a lead scientist on the project from San Diego State University and senior author of the new paper. "EcoCast pioneers a way of evaluating both conservation objectives and economic profitability. Instead of trying to shut down U.S. fisheries, EcoCast is trying to help U.S. fishermen fish smarter, allowing them to meet their set quota of target catch and avoid unwanted bycatch."Current protection zones for species are static, meaning authorities declare a zone off-limits to fishermen for some duration of time. But weather and oceanic conditions are ever-shifting, with species constantly moving in and out of protected areas. When protection zones are out of sync with the animals they're designed to protect, both fisheries and conservation lose.What's needed is a more dynamic tool that shifts protected areas in response to species' movements, Lewison said. Enter EcoCast. The new tool works like this: Every day, EcoCast pulls in data from the NOAA CoastWatch program, which uses satellite imaging to monitor ocean conditions around the world. Then it combines that with existing data on where both target fish populations and endangered species are likely to be found under various ocean conditions. The result is a probability model that can predict where different marine species are likely to be found that day.Each morning, fishermen can receive an up-to-date report based on the day's ocean conditions letting them know where the fish they want are -- and where endangered species are likely to be, too. In doing so, EcoCast aims to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of fisheries that have inadvertently caught and killed sensitive species."We're harnessing the field of big data so that information on ocean conditions can be of use to fishermen are likely to find the swordfish they want to catch while also avoiding the species that they do not want to catch," said Elliott Hazen, a research ecologist at NOAA Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Center and lead author of the new paper.Right now, EcoCast provides bycatch warning locations for leatherback sea turtles, blue sharks and California sea lions, Lewison explained, and is currently focused on a region off the coast of California. But she hopes the team behind the program can expand the number of species and even to other fisheries in the near future."This program can be modified to meet the future needs of fishermen and the conservation community," she said. "It can take into account new types of fishing gear, new regulations and new fishing areas that might open up."In addition to Lewison, the team includes scientists and managers from NOAA; NOAA CoastWatch West Coast Regional Node, the University of California, Santa Cruz; Stanford University; Old Dominion University; University of Maryland; and the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia. A number of fishermen also contributed to the design of and data collection behind the program.When the researchers modeled how use of the EcoCast might play out under real fishing conditions, they found they could adequately protect endangered species while making off-limits areas between two and 10 times smaller, providing fishermen dramatically more space to fish for target species. These findings were published this week in the journal "EcoCast is an example of Fisheries scientists working with our academic colleagues to promote sustainable commercial fishing opportunities through efficient catch and bycatch avoidance, maximizing fishing opportunities while ensuring the sustainability of fisheries and fishing communities, " said Toby Garfield, director of the Environmental Research Division at NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center.This means that fishermen are likely to embrace and use EcoCast for a couple of reasons. For one, their own fish hauls and profits benefit from the reduced size of areas closed to fishing. But just as importantly, EcoCast demonstrates the importance of industry-science partnerships. The EcoCast team worked with fishermen from the beginning to help design and develop the program, acknowledging the critical role that fishermen play in the future of sustainable fisheries."EcoCast represents a new approach to dynamically manage our ocean resources, which is an exciting advance in fisheries management, "Lewison said "By working directly with fisheries, we can develop tools that can help US fleets to fish smarter."
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Endangered Animals
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