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UF Researchers Link Oceanic Land Crab Extinction to Colonization of Hawaii

By Guest PostMay 16, 2011Nature, Sciencecarnivorous, christmas island, crab, crab extinction, ecological conditions, Garden of Eden, geograpsus grayi, geograpsus severnsi, gustav paulay, hawaiian islands, helen james, human era, indian ocean, john starmer, kauai, lizards, maui, new species of land crab, oahu, pacific islands, polynesians, university of florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers have described a new species of land crab that documents the first crab extinction during the human era.

The loss of the crab likely greatly impacted the ecology of the Hawaiian Islands, as land crabs are major predators, control litter decomposition and help in nutrient cycling and seed dispersal. Their disappearance was caused by the arrival of humans to the islands and resulted in large-scale changes in the state’s ecosystem. Researchers said the full impact of the extinction on Hawaii is unknown, but they are certain it led to changes in the diversity of the food web, a continuing concern to conservationists studying species loss in other habitats. The study will be published online May 16 in PLoS ONE. (more…)

Africa’s Sea Turtles Need Passports for Protection

By Guest PostMay 13, 2011Natureangela formia, brendan godley, coast of central africa, conkouati douli national park, cornwall campus, disney worldwide conservation fund, endangered sea turtles, fishing nets, gabon, marine park, mayumba national park, olive ridley sea turtles, republic of the congo, sara maxwell, satellite tracking, satellite transmitters, turtles, university of california santa cruz, university of exeter

Research by experts at the University of Exeter has led to calls to create an international marine park to protect endangered sea turtles.

Scientists from the university’s Centre for Ecology and Conservation, based at its Cornwall Campus, worked with an international team to carry out satellite tracking of olive ridley sea turtles off the coast of Central Africa for the study. (more…)

UF Study Finds Cats No. 1 Predator to Urban Mockingbird Nests

By Guest PostMay 9, 2011Nature, ScienceAmerican crow and swallow-tailed kite, blue jay, cat predation, christine_stracey, dominant nest predator, dominant predator, environmental indicators for metropolitan areas, florida museum of natural history of file photo, may 2011 issue of biological conservation, mockingbird eggs and nestlings, mockingbird nest predators, nesting mockingbirds, opossum, raccoon, scott robinson, squirrel, sylvester & tweety, university of florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new University of Florida study shows cats are the dominant predator to mockingbird eggs and nestlings in urban areas, prompting conservationists to urge pet owners to keep felines indoors at night.

The findings challenge assumptions that urban areas are places of refuge for nesting mockingbirds, a species researchers say plays an important role in controlling insect pests and serving as environmental indicators for metropolitan areas. (more…)

Prey-tell: Why Right Whales Linger in the Gulf of Maine

By Guest PostApril 27, 2011Nature, Sciencealgae eating copepod, baleen whales, behavior of the whales, calanus finmarchicus, dramatic impact, endangered animals, gulf of maine, mark baumgartner, nantucket, north atlantic, sand lance, sei whales, vertical migration, vertical migration behavior, whale population, whales, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

As they might with most endangered animals, scientists consider the whereabouts and activities of right whales extremely important. “It is helpful to know where they go, why they go there and what they do when they’re there,” says Mark F. Baumgartner of the biology department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

Baumgartner and his colleagues studied the behavior of right whales and sei whales—both endangered species of baleen whales—in the waters of the Gulf of Maine to the east of Nantucket. They found that the location, the length of stay, and perhaps the very abundance of the whales may be dependent on an interesting vertical migration pattern by the copepods on which the whales feed. It seems to be a case, he said, of “how the behavior of the prey influences the behavior of the whales.” (more…)

Caterpillars Aren’t so Bird Brained After All

By Guest PostApril 6, 2011Natureart of camouflage, behaviour of caterpillars, behavioural strategies, mimicking caterpillars, moth caterpillars

Caterpillars that masquerade as twigs to avoid becoming a bird’s dinner are actually using clever behavioural strategies to outwit their predators, according to a new study. (more…)

Uncertain Future for Joshua Trees Projected with Climate Change

By Guest PostMarch 27, 2011Environment, Naturecalifornia, climate change, climate warming, climatic tolerances, ecologis, ecology, fossil record, jon eischeid, joshua trees, ken cole, kenneth cole, kirsten ironside, models of future climate, mojave desert, nevada, north american yucca, packrats, shasta ground sloth, southwest, squirrels, state of the art climate models, temperature

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Temperature increases resulting from climate change in the Southwest will likely eliminate Joshua trees from 90 percent of their current range in 60 to 90 years, according to a new study led by U.S. Geological Survey ecologist Ken Cole.

The research team used models of future climate, an analysis of the climatic tolerances of the species in its current range, and the fossil record to project the future distribution of Joshua trees. The study concludes that the species could be restricted to the northernmost portion of its current range as early as the end of this century. Additionally, the ability of Joshua trees to migrate via seed dispersal to more suitable climates may be severely limited. (more…)

MU Researcher Works to Save One of the World’s Most Endangered Birds

By Guest PostMarch 26, 2011Nature, Scienceblue feathers, coconut farmers, dylan kesler, impact of predators, kingfisher, lizards, multicolored, planet, pouncing, radio transmitters, South Pacific, tiny island, tropical bird, tuamotu kingfisher

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Tuamotu Kingfisher is a multicolored, tropical bird with bright blue feathers, a dusty orange head, and a bright green back. The entire population of these birds – less than 125 – lives on one tiny island in the south Pacific, and without serious intervention, they will no longer exist. One University of Missouri researcher is trying to stop the birds’ extinction by working with farmers and residents on the island inhabited by the kingfishers.

“If we lose these birds, we lose 50,000 years of uniqueness and evolution,” said Dylan Kesler, assistant professor in fisheries and wildlife at the University of Missouri’s School of Natural Resources in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “Because it has lived in isolation for a very long time, it’s unlike any other bird. There is no other bird like this on the planet.” (more…)

On the Sizeable Wings of Albatrosses

By Guest PostMarch 25, 2011Nature, Scienceabove ocean wind shear, air sea friction, airborne sailboat, albatross, albatross flight, albatrosses, colin pennycuick, dynamic soaring, kinetic energy, large bird, lord rayleigh, model, nobel laureate, oceanographer, oceans, philip richardson, physicist, radio controlled gliders, scientist, south atlantic ocean, sustained soaring, wave trough, wings

An oceanographer may be offering the best explanation yet of one of the great mysteries of flight—how albatrosses fly such vast distances, even around the world, almost without flapping their wings. The answer, says Philip L. Richardson of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), lies in a concept called dynamic soaring, in which the large bird utilizes the power of above-ocean wind shear while tacking like an airborne sailboat.

“I have a simple model that explains the basic physics of what albatrosses do,” says Richardson, a scientist emeritus at WHOI, who, in addition to his primary career in studying ocean currents, has also piloted gliders. The key, he says, is the bird’s ability to balance the kinetic energy gained in soaring with the energy lost from drag. (more…)

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