Giant crabs make Antarctic leap Up to a million king crabs are discovered on the edge of Antarctica, probably carried by warm water, raising fears for the local ecosystem. The researchers sent the Genesis, a submersible remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from the University of Ghent in Belgium, into the Palmer Deep in March last year. The idea was to look at what life was down there, rather than specifically to look for crabs; and the team was somewhat surprised by how many they found. Judging by the density of the crabs and their tracks, the scientists estimate there may be 1.5 million crabs in the basin. A female crab retrieved from the area was found to be carrying mature eggs and larvae. “Our best guess is there was an event, or maybe more than one, where warmer water flushed up across the shelf and carried some of the larvae into the basin,” said project leader Craig Smith from the University of Hawaii.

Giant crabs make Antarctic leap

Up to a million king crabs are discovered on the edge of Antarctica, probably carried by warm water, raising fears for the local ecosystem.

The researchers sent the Genesis, a submersible remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from the University of Ghent in Belgium, into the Palmer Deep in March last year.

The idea was to look at what life was down there, rather than specifically to look for crabs; and the team was somewhat surprised by how many they found.

Judging by the density of the crabs and their tracks, the scientists estimate there may be 1.5 million crabs in the basin.

A female crab retrieved from the area was found to be carrying mature eggs and larvae.

“Our best guess is there was an event, or maybe more than one, where warmer water flushed up across the shelf and carried some of the larvae into the basin,” said project leader Craig Smith from the University of Hawaii.


1 year ago
23 notes
Source
# conservation
# crabs
# climate change
# oceans
# antarctic
# science
# research
# study
# deep ocean
Feeling positive: conservation has made a difference! Don’t despair: that’s the message of a new paper in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, which argues that decades of conservation actions at multiple scales have had a positive impact for many of the world’s endangered species. While such actions have not yet turned back the tide of the current mass extinction crisis, they have achieved notable successes which often get lost in the gloom-and-doom news stories on biodiversity declines. According to the paper, conservation actions take place on three scales. Microscale conservation focuses on a single species or ecosystem; mesoscale means conservation cooperation between a number of countries, such as efforts to curb the illegal wildlife trade or protect wide-ranging species; and finally macroscale means global organizations or campaigns, such as those that pressure multinational corporations to become more biodiversity-friendly.  See here to look at some success stories! 

Feeling positive: conservation has made a difference!

Don’t despair: that’s the message of a new paper in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, which argues that decades of conservation actions at multiple scales have had a positive impact for many of the world’s endangered species. While such actions have not yet turned back the tide of the current mass extinction crisis, they have achieved notable successes which often get lost in the gloom-and-doom news stories on biodiversity declines. 

According to the paper, conservation actions take place on three scales. Microscale conservation focuses on a single species or ecosystem; mesoscale means conservation cooperation between a number of countries, such as efforts to curb the illegal wildlife trade or protect wide-ranging species; and finally macroscale means global organizations or campaigns, such as those that pressure multinational corporations to become more biodiversity-friendly. 

See here to look at some success stories! 

1 year ago
7 notes
Source
# conservation
# good news
# study
Urgent action needed to avoid extinction of Mekong dolphins There were high fives all round when we spotted these guys on boat trip…we were aware how lucky we were to see them. The critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin population in the Mekong River numbers just 85, WWF research has revealed. Calf survival was found to be very low, leading researchers to conclude that the small population is declining and at high risk of extinction.Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) inhabit a 190km stretch of the mainstream Mekong River between Kratie, Cambodia and Khone Falls on the border with Lao PDR.According to Dr Li Lifeng, Director of WWF’s Freshwater Programme, the research is based on photographic identification of dolphins through individually unique features of their dorsal fins. “Most of the dolphins can be identified, and we use that information to estimate the population size.”Although this population estimate is slightly higher than the previous estimate, the researchers were quick to note that the population had not increased over the last few years.

Urgent action needed to avoid extinction of Mekong dolphins

There were high fives all round when we spotted these guys on boat trip…we were aware how lucky we were to see them.

The critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin population in the Mekong River numbers just 85, WWF research has revealed. Calf survival was found to be very low, leading researchers to conclude that the small population is declining and at high risk of extinction.

Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) inhabit a 190km stretch of the mainstream Mekong River between Kratie, Cambodia and Khone Falls on the border with Lao PDR.

According to Dr Li Lifeng, Director of WWF’s Freshwater Programme, the research is based on photographic identification of dolphins through individually unique features of their dorsal fins. “Most of the dolphins can be identified, and we use that information to estimate the population size.”

Although this population estimate is slightly higher than the previous estimate, the researchers were quick to note that the population had not increased over the last few years.

1 year ago
23 notes
Source
# conservation
# dolphins
# mekong
# wwf
# dolphin
# irrawaddy
# study
Great Barrier Reef: Rising turtle deaths prompt warnings of wildlife crisis Unusually large numbers of dead and dying sea turtles are washing up on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef coast, prompting environmental groups to warn of a wildlife crisis in the region. Researchers and local residents have reported that several Queensland beaches have been strewn with the carcasses of the animals, with wildlife centres in the northern city of Townsville inundated with ailing turtles. According to the Queensland state government, 649 turtle deaths were reported in the first seven months of 2011, up 200 on the same period last year. Dugongs are also suffering badly, with 96 of the aquatic mammals reported dead in the first seven months of the year, compared with 79 in the whole of 2010. Sick and starving turtles have been observed approaching the shallows, where they invariably die. Researchers believe that a severe loss of sea grass, the turtles’ staple food source, is to blame for the escalating death toll.

Great Barrier Reef: Rising turtle deaths prompt warnings of wildlife crisis

Unusually large numbers of dead and dying sea turtles are washing up on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef coast, prompting environmental groups to warn of a wildlife crisis in the region.

Researchers and local residents have reported that several Queensland beaches have been strewn with the carcasses of the animals, with wildlife centres in the northern city of Townsville inundated with ailing turtles.

According to the Queensland state government, 649 turtle deaths were reported in the first seven months of 2011, up 200 on the same period last year.

Dugongs are also suffering badly, with 96 of the aquatic mammals reported dead in the first seven months of the year, compared with 79 in the whole of 2010.

Sick and starving turtles have been observed approaching the shallows, where they invariably die. Researchers believe that a severe loss of sea grass, the turtles’ staple food source, is to blame for the escalating death toll.

1 year ago
36 notes
Source
# conservation
# turtles
# great barrier reef
# marine biology
# study
Toucans With GPS Backpacks Help Biologists Study Tropical Forest Toucans outfitted with GPS backpacks are helping researchers track the spread of seeds in tropical forests. The nutmeg-loving toucan unwittingly plants new trees by gulping whole seeds, processing the soft outer pulp in its crop, and spitting out the hard inner seed. But researchers could only guess how far the seeds would drop from a parent tree. So conservation biologists from theSmithsonian Tropical Research Institute netted six toucans from a rainforest near Gamboa, Panama, and strapped on lightweight backpacks containing a GPS tracker and an accelerometer. The backpacks recorded location and activity level, and were designed to fall off after 10 days. By matching the roaming data with average regurgitation times from zoo toucans, the researchers calculated that seeds are dropped about 470 feet away from their mother tree. Toucans, they also found, were most active in the morning, followed by a lunchtime lull, with a secondary peak in activity in the afternoon, a common pattern for tropical birds. “Seeds ingested in morning (breakfast) and afternoon (dinner) were more likely to achieve significant dispersal than seeds ingested mid day (lunch),” write Roland Kays and his colleagues in Acta Oecologica. The fruit of nutmeg trees typically ripen early in the day, possibly to take advantage of the toucan’s early morning activity.

Toucans With GPS Backpacks Help Biologists Study Tropical Forest

Toucans outfitted with GPS backpacks are helping researchers track the spread of seeds in tropical forests.

The nutmeg-loving toucan unwittingly plants new trees by gulping whole seeds, processing the soft outer pulp in its crop, and spitting out the hard inner seed. But researchers could only guess how far the seeds would drop from a parent tree.

So conservation biologists from theSmithsonian Tropical Research Institute netted six toucans from a rainforest near Gamboa, Panama, and strapped on lightweight backpacks containing a GPS tracker and an accelerometer. The backpacks recorded location and activity level, and were designed to fall off after 10 days.

By matching the roaming data with average regurgitation times from zoo toucans, the researchers calculated that seeds are dropped about 470 feet away from their mother tree. Toucans, they also found, were most active in the morning, followed by a lunchtime lull, with a secondary peak in activity in the afternoon, a common pattern for tropical birds.

“Seeds ingested in morning (breakfast) and afternoon (dinner) were more likely to achieve significant dispersal than seeds ingested mid day (lunch),” write Roland Kays and his colleagues in Acta Oecologica.

The fruit of nutmeg trees typically ripen early in the day, possibly to take advantage of the toucan’s early morning activity.

1 year ago
15 notes
Source
# conservation
# rainforests
# toucan
# study
# science
Drought and poachers cause catastrophic population loss in Botswana Aerial survey reveals some wildlife populations have shrunk by 90% in 15 years.  The Okavango delta in Botswana has suffered “catastrophic” species loss over the past 15 years, researchers have announced , in the latest sign of a growing crisis for wildlife in Africa. Some wild animal populations in the delta, one of the wonders of the natural world, have shrunk by up to 90% and are facing local extinction, according to the most comprehensive aerial survey yet undertaken there. The findings come after a study this month showed dramatic declines in animal numbers in the Masai Mara wildlife reserve, south-west Kenya, raising anxiety about the effectiveness of conservation across the continent.

Drought and poachers cause catastrophic population loss in Botswana

Aerial survey reveals some wildlife populations have shrunk by 90% in 15 years. 

The Okavango delta in Botswana has suffered “catastrophic” species loss over the past 15 years, researchers have announced , in the latest sign of a growing crisis for wildlife in Africa.

Some wild animal populations in the delta, one of the wonders of the natural world, have shrunk by up to 90% and are facing local extinction, according to the most comprehensive aerial survey yet undertaken there.

The findings come after a study this month showed dramatic declines in animal numbers in the Masai Mara wildlife reserve, south-west Kenya, raising anxiety about the effectiveness of conservation across the continent.

1 year ago
42 notes
Source
# conservation
# animals
# africa
# botswana
# populations
# study