Bees’ Decline Linked to Pesticides, Studies Find. Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist. By Paul Kingsnorth Scenes from a younger life # 1: I am twelve years old. I am alone, I am scared, I am cold, and I am crying my eyes out. I can’t see more than six feet in either direction. I do find my way home; I manage to keep to the path and eventually catch up with my father, who has the map and the compass and the mini Mars bars. Only later do I realize the complexity of the emotions summoned by a childhood laced with experiences like this. Scenes from a younger life # 2: I am nineteen years old. This is Twyford Down, a hilltop east of Winchester. From outside it is impossible to see, and most do not want to.
Someone I don’t know suggests we dance the maze. Scenes from a younger life # 3: I am twenty-one years old and I’ve just spent the most exciting two months of my life so far in an Indonesian rainforest. During my trip, there were plenty of all of these things. And I remember the small islands north of Lombok, where some of us spent a few days before we came home. What took hold. Zoologger: Unique life form is half plant, half animal - life - 13 January 2012. Zoologger is our weekly column highlighting extraordinary animals – and occasionally other organisms – from around the world Species: Mesodinium chamaeleonHabitat: seawater around Scandinavia and North America, chowing down on a new generation of slaves Many animals transform themselves almost beyond recognition in the course of their lives. Caterpillars become butterflies and tadpoles become frogs, and if we couldn't watch them do so we might not even suspect that the two stages were the same creature.
Spectacular as these shifts are, they are only shape-shifting. Not so Mesodinium chamaeleon. Plant pals M. chamaeleon is a ciliate – a kind of single-celled animal covered in hundreds of tiny "hairs" called cilia. Ciliates using their hair-like cilia to motor around rapidly in water. Some Mesodinium species are different, though. Such hybrid organisms are animals and plants at the same time. These hybrids play merry hell with our attempts to classify organisms into neat groups. Living Alongside Wildlife: Trapping Tropical Turtles Today. Some animals, like turtles, can live for decades. But most turtle studies only last a few years (one big reason is that many studies are conducted by graduate students and, contrary to popular belief, students do in fact want to graduate quickly). So, because turtles live for decades and most studies are completed after just a couple years, that means that much of what we know about these animals is based on snapshots in time.
Since many of us want to know best how to conserve turtle populations, it is important that we have a better understanding about how they change over time. Knowing how populations naturally fluctuate allows us to better understand how they might respond to conservation threats. Establishing this baseline data is particularly important for undisturbed populations. So, thanks to the Organization for Tropical Studies, I find myself back at La Selva. Speaking of venomous snakes, there is no shortage of them here. But, we are here to talk about trapping turtles. Atlantic cod study renews debate over grey seal cull. When Atlantic cod stocks went into freefall through the 1980s, while grey seal populations were simultaneously exploding, it has long seemed to Canadian fishermen that there must be a link between the two: that the seals have been eating the fish, and that the 20-year moratorium on the Northern cod fishery was a solution that did not fit the problem.
The failure of the cod to rebound even without an active fishery has only bolstered that theory. Yet, all official research seemed to disprove it, with field studies pointing to other unexplained causes of cod mortality, and the limited influence of seals. But now, a study has found that grey seals — top predators that can weigh as much as a bear — do in fact eat a lot of cod, and are largely responsible for the fish’s decline. The finding, published in the journal Fisheries Research, is sure to stoke the controversy over a proposed government cull of a quarter million grey seals for the benefit of cod. Mr. I’ve got your missing links right here (2 July 2011) | Not Exactly Rocket Science.
HAL lives, breathes, is infected with toxins. Thomas Knudsen carefully poisons a 3-week-old human embryo with a dose of isoretinoin. Isoretinoin, more commonly known as the acne medication Accutane, is highly toxic, a known cause of birth defects. It prevents vitamin A from signaling to the brain that it’s time for the limbs to start growing. Babies exposed to it during a critical time in development are born with shortened arms and legs. Knudsen is learning about the process by deliberately exposing the tiny fetus to the toxin. But he’s no madman. The EPA has identified 10,000 chemicals that may be dangerous both to human health and to the environment. But there are no such limits on virtual subjects. Knudsen’s virtual embryo is one of many ongoing virtual human projects.
But how close is close enough? Modeling the body is tricky. And to complicate matters further, even cells we understand often act in unpredictable ways in new environments. So a world without Petri dishes and lab rats is not likely in the foreseeable future. Hellbender Salamander Gets Endangered Species Designation, but No Habitat Protection—and That May Be a Good Thing | Extinction Countdown. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) this week granted the Ozark hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi) protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) but made the unusual decision not to declare critical habitat for the rare, giant salamanders because, it said, doing so could open it to threats from those who would illegally collect the species for the international pet trade.
Ozark hellbenders are North America’s largest amphibians, often topping off at 60 centimeters in length, and because of that size they are highly valued by collectors. A study published in Applied Herpetology in 2007 found evidence of rampant illegal hellbender collection between 1969 and 1989, including 171 individuals collected during one September weekend in 1980. The study blamed the illegal pet trade as one of the major factors in the 75 percent decline of Ozark hellbender populations over the past few decades. FWS first declared the Ozark hellbender a candidate for ESA protection in 2001. Zoonotic Viruses Found in Seized Wildlife - in Infectious Disease, General Infectious Disease from MedPage Today. Bushmeat and other illegally imported wildlife confiscated at U.S. ports can harbor zoonotic viruses, researchers found.
A pilot screening program conducted largely at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) identified several pathogens, including simian foamy virus and herpesviruses, among non-human primate products attempted to be smuggled into the country, Kristine Smith, PhD, of the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York City. "Although the findings to date are from a small pilot study, they remind us of the potential public health risk posed by illegal importation of wildlife products -- a risk we hope to better characterize through expanded surveillance at ports of entry around the country," Smith said in a statement.
Currently, there's minimal surveillance of imported wildlife -- even that which is legally imported -- despite the fact that the U.S. brings in more animals than any other country. The study was supported by the V. MOST READ IN Infectious Disease false. Www.iias.nl/nl/35/IIAS_NL35_10.pdf. Top Five Uses of Social Media in Education. Written By: Cyndi Laurenti Social media use has increased significantly since they caught on a few years ago. A recent study showed 1 in 14 people on Earth has a Facebook account. As social media use has proliferated, businesses have increasingly sought to leverage the advertising opportunities it offers. It's also possible for teachers, school administrators, and students to use the power of social media to enhance learning online in PhD programs, elementary school, and anywhere in between.
The following guide provides five of the top uses for social media in educational environments. 1. 2. In this strategy, students view recorded lectures or read curricular material outside the classroom. Social media software can be used to deliver this educational content outside of school, and facilitate collaboration between students and teachers as well as among students themselves during in-class work. 3. 4. 5.
Many students and teachers prefer to separate their school and personal lives. Malaysian orchids: The curse of beauty. Natalie Heng The Star 20 Dec 11; FOR a wild flower, being desirable is a recipe for disaster. The seductiveness and allure of many orchid species have cost them, dearly. Centuries of plunder have contributed to many species teetering on the brink of extinction. Many are endangered, and a good number have already been wiped off the planet. Some rare species still exist, but only in the closely guarded sanctuaries of private collections or public botanic gardens. A combination of greed, rampant poaching and habitat destruction are blamed, and strong feelings swirl around in the festering circular argument of whether roving orchid collectors are “justified” in their rampant extraction of rare specimens, in a bid to “rescue” them from habitat destruction.
In 2004, the head of research and development at a drugs company in London was caught with an extraordinary consignment at Heathrow airport in England. The collection included the legendary Paphiopedilum rothschildianum. Nurturing a passion. Guide reveals Amazon's biological bounty. Mark Kinver BBC News 20 Dec 11; The UN has co-produced a study that lists scientific details of Amazon plant species that can be harvested for economic or medicinal purposes. It is estimated that 80% of people in developing nations depend on non-wood forest products, such as fruit, for nutrition and medicine.
The publication aims to help bridge the gap in knowledge between scientists and local people, the authors have said. The publication coincides with the end of the International Year of Forests. The 353-page book, Fruit Trees and Useful Plants in Amazonian Life - co-produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor) and People and Plants International (PPI) - profiles a range of species that offer communities a range of uses. Fruits of the forest "Some 80% of people living in the developing world rely on non-wood forest products," explained Eduardo Rojas-Briales, FAO's assistant director-general for forestry.
Ms. Seized RM3.9 million pangolins likely also from Sabah. Seized RM3.9 million pangolins likely also from Sabah Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Customs has not ruled out the possibility that the 5,000kg of frozen pangolin meat seized in Sandakan last week, may have originated from Sabah islands, Sarawak or neighbouring countries. Its Acting Director Dr Janathan Kandok said the department suspected Sandakan is the collection centre before the suppliers meet up and smuggle it out of Sabah. "In the latest case, over 1,000 packets of frozen pangolin meat were seized from a 40-foot long boat at Batu Sapi waters near Kg Bahagia at about 6.30pm on Dec. 7.
"This pangolin meat is believed to have medicinal benefits especially for men and it is being sold at RM800 per kg in the international market and RM150 per kg in the local market," he told Daily Express, Monday. He was commenting on the seizure of 4,998kg of pangolin meat worth more than RM3.9 million in the international market during the department's "Operasi Sempadan" last week.
World AIDS Day Today: Pushing Towards Not Having One in the Future. Prime Indonesian Jungle To Be Cleared For Palm Oil. Jakarta Globe 9 Dec 11; Aceh. The man known as Indonesia's "green governor" chases the roar of illegal chainsaws through plush jungles in his own Jeep. He goes door-to-door to tell families it's in their interest to keep trees standing. That's why 5,000 villagers living the edge of a rich, biodiverse peat swamp in his tsunami-ravaged Aceh province feel so betrayed.
Their former hero recently gave a palm oil company a permit to develop land in one of the few places on earth where orangutans, tigers and bears still can be found living side-by-side — violating Indonesia's new moratorium on concessions in primary forests and peatlands. "Why would he agree to this? " said Ibduh, a 50-year village chief, days after filing a criminal complaint against Aceh Gov. Irwandi — a former rebel whose life story is worthy of a Hollywood film — maintains the palm oil concession is by the book and that he would never do anything to harm his province.
But critics say there is little doubt he broke the law. Durban climate talks: Hidden costs of annual negotiations. A member of Oxfam protesting against the use of coal-based energy on Durban's beachfront yesterday. The UN said it would offset some 1,844 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from delegates? Journeys to and from the conference. -- PHOTO: REUTERS Grace Chua Straits Times 10 Dec 11; DURBAN: It is a time-honoured irony that each year, thousands of people must travel from all over the world to take part in the annual United Nations climate change negotiations.
And each instalment of the talks involves reams of paper, water and energy. Each day, a small forest's worth of documents and fliers are distributed, including, on Wednesday, a 138-page tome that was only a draft. So greening the two-week COP-17 meeting in Durban, South Africa, is not without challenges as many solutions have hidden costs. The carbon credits come from a South African brick factory, which switched from using coal to natural gas. Directly burning natural gas emits half as much carbon dioxide as coal burning. Meat diets pose environmental danger: report.
Artificial meat? Food for thought by 2050 | Environment. Artificial meat grown in vats may be needed if the 9 billion people expected to be alive in 2050 are to be adequately fed without destroying the earth, some of the world's leading scientists report today. But a major academic assessment of future global food supplies, led by John Beddington, the UK government chief scientist, suggests that even with new technologies such as genetic modification and nanotechnology, hundreds of millions of people may still go hungry owing to a combination of climate change, water shortages and increasing food consumption.
In a set of 21 papers published by the Royal Society, the scientists from many disciplines and countries say that little more land is available for food production, but add that the challenge of increasing global food supplies by as much as 70% in the next 40 years is not insurmountable. Although more than one in seven people do not have enough protein and energy in their diet today, many of the papers are optimistic. Inside the mind of the octopus. Inside the mind of the octopus by Sy Montgomery Photograph: Brandon Cole ON AN UNSEASONABLY WARM day in the middle of March, I traveled from New Hampshire to the moist, dim sanctuary of the New England Aquarium, hoping to touch an alternate reality.
I came to meet Athena, the aquarium’s forty-pound, five-foot-long, two-and-a-half-year-old giant Pacific octopus. For me, it was a momentous occasion. I have always loved octopuses. No sci-fi alien is so startlingly strange. Many times I have stood mesmerized by an aquarium tank, wondering, as I stared into the horizontal pupils of an octopus’s large, prominent eyes, if she was staring back at me—and if so, what was she thinking? Not long ago, a question like this would have seemed foolish, if not crazy. Only recently have scientists accorded chimpanzees, so closely related to humans we can share blood transfusions, the dignity of having a mind. I had always longed to meet an octopus. The moment the lid was off, we reached for each other. Lynn Margulis, Trailblazing Theorist on Evolution, Dies at 73.
Staying relevant. Creativity needed to reduce demand for endangered species. RWS’ actuations suggest it has something to hide. Shark Bay stromatolites at risk from climate change. Io9. We come from the future. This beetle larva tricks its predator into becoming prey. Discover Magazine. What You Eat Affects Your Genes: RNA from Rice Can Survive Digestion and Alter Gene Expression | 80beats. Flesh-eating plant inspires super-slippery material that repels everything | Not Exactly Rocket Science. Science & Environment. Non-native species cost 'British economy £1.7bn' BBC - Earth News - Blue whale's gigantic mouthful measured. Insect that fights Japanese knotweed to be released. BBC - Earth News - Killer whales: What to do with captive orcas?
Science & Environment | Is there an alien in your garden? British gardeners warned over invasive water plants. Scientific American. A Biology Teacher’s Ode to Sir David Attenborough | Budding Scientist. Science Without Borders® A Male’s Tale // Science Without Borders® Moon_Night_2011.pdf (application/pdf Object) WildlifeTimesJune2011.pdf (application/pdf Object) 'Porpicide': Bottlenose dolphins killing porpoises | Full Page.
Global warming leading to migration of fish | global warming | | Indian Express. Newfound Octopus Impersonates Fish, Snakes. Yale Environment 360: Opinion, Analysis, Reporting & Debate. A Planetary Crisis Is A Terrible Thing to Waste by Christian Schwägerl. The World at 7 Billion: Can We Stop Growing Now? by Robert Engelman. The Crucial Role of Predators: A New Perspective on Ecology by Caroline Fraser.
A Huge Oil Palm Plantation Puts African Rainforest at Risk by Rhett Butler and Jeremy Hance. As Shark Slaughter Continues, A Defender Targets Fin Trade by. On Biking, Why Can’t the U.S. Learn Lessons from Europe? by Elisabeth Rosenthal. Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn Seeks Revenge for the Electric Car by. The Crucial Role of Predators: A New Perspective on Ecology by Caroline Fraser. Colorado River: Running Near Empty by. By Barcoding Trees, Liberia Looks to Save its Rainforests by Fred Pearce. New Model for Aquaculture Takes Hold Far from the Sea by. Green Failure: What’s Wrong With Environmental Education? by Michelle Nijhuis. How Fisheries Can Gain From The Lessons of Sustainable Food by John Waldman.