# endangered + threatened spp; research; biodiversity



## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Big cats love Calvin Klein cologne

Malaysia officials to trap rhino for breeding

11 tracked popns on 4 continents fell in 10-years - 
Snakes may be in decline worldwide: study


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Politics are a key factor in biodiversity

Tracking coral larvae to understand Hawai'i reef health

A tale of two atolls: Researchers study the impact of fishing on remote coral reefs


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Scientists upbeat about global biodiversity panel

Hungry grey whales face a prey crisis, scientists warn

Peat bog restoration methods may harm insect species


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Nepal orders probe into slaughter of rhinos

* wildlife smuggling is the 2nd-largest international money-maker - 
after the international illegal-drug trade - *
Malaysia seizes endangered Madagascan tortoises


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

in 1960 there were approx 450,000 lions in Africa - 
today its just 16,000 (most-likely) to 23,000 max.

in just TWENTY years, from 1989 to 2009, lion numbers fell by half - 
Dereck Joubert - Saving the Last Lions - washingtonpost.com (Wash-Post article)

currently the poisoning body-count is 100 adult-lions each year, killed by Carbofuran; about 8 each month, 
AND - that does not count cubs, too young to eat tainted-meat, but also too-young to live without their mother 
to feed and protect them; cubs die, too. 
YouTube - The Poisoning of Kenya's Lions

plus the other possible causes of death, a traumatic injury while hunting, contagious disease, starvation, 
fly-outbreaks, are all natural; there are also other human causes - hit by cars, shot by poachers, and so on.

Lions * Cannot * Afford * to lose 8 adults or more every month; 2 adult-lions every WEEK... 
year in, and year out. *more than 95% of the lion-popn from the 1960 level is gone - *
less than FIVE PERCENT of that level, survives. that is not enough for genetic diversity; 
lions need **help and protection**.

please sign the petition: 
Defenders of Wildlife Action Center: Defenders of Wildlife Action Center

* ban the import and use of Carbofuran 
* protect lions in every country where they live 
* successfully prosecute poaching and poisoning 
* until poisoning STOPS - *ban safari-hunting of big-cats*

WARNING - 
this is **graphic footage** of an approx 2-YO Male Lion in Mara Preserve, staggering + dying. 
do not view this if U are emotionally-sensitive - i can easily see someone having nightmares. 
YouTube - Lions Poisoned - Mara Triangle

another -GRAPHIC FOOTAGE- 
big adult-F, U can see where she scrabbled the grass down to bare-to dirt trying to get up + walk; 
the poison causes paralysis + leaves the cats helpless - they cannot get food, water, or into shade, 
and die, painfully and slowly. 
YouTube - Lions Poisoned


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

On Our Radar: Whaling Payoffs? - Green Blog - NYTimes.com

Flights, girls and cash buy Japan whaling votes - Times Online

Short Sharp Science: Extreme tactics in the battle to resume whaling

Whistleblower aims to expose dark side of Japanese whaling | Environment | The Guardian

Whales for Sale : Discovery News

Investigation Reveals Japan Offering Call Girls And Cash For IWC Votes « ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Vienna zoo breeds endangered batagur turtle

Endangered Monkeys in Vietnam - Scientist at Work Blog - NYTimes.com


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Brazil's Deforestation Linked To Increased Malaria Incidence, Study Says


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

New research on rapidly-disappearing ancient plant offers hope for species recovery

Africa: 
59 to 85% LOSS in mammals since 1970 **within** National-Parks; worse outside 
Africa's national parks hit by mammal declines

Yangtze: 
Finless porpoises at higher risk 
Finless porpoises at risk 
...three distinct genetic groups. Of these... the Yangtze finless porpoise is the only one adapted [to] freshwater. 
Previous studies have shown that numbers are in sharp decline and only 1,000 are estimated to remain 
in the river.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Segmentation is the secret behind the extraordinary diversification of animals


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Findings overturn old theory of phytoplankton growth, raise concerns for ocean productivity



> *bold added - *
> 
> _The findings challenge more than 50 years of conventional wisdom about the growth of *phytoplankton... the ultimate basis for almost all ocean life and major fisheries.* And they also raise concerns that *global warming, rather than stimulating ocean productivity, may actually curtail it in some places.* [snip]...
> 
> ...


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

BBC - Earth News - Rare Otter civet filmed for first time in Borneo


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Super-rare 'elkhorn' coral found in Pacific

US sea turtle populations difficult to estimate or protect without more data

Scientists possibly unlock biodiversity door


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Report reveals dramatic decline in illegal logging in tropical forest nations

maybe the economic-downturn gave forests a breather, as no-one was buying? 
maybe CERTIFIED timber is making inroads on illegal sales? 
maybe the timber-cutters found alternate employment? 
maybe it has become less-profitable? 
maybe it is harder to sell illegal or contraband species than before? 
maybe transportation costs cut into profits? 
_*but whatever the reason, thank Heaven :thumbup: *_


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

i get so depressed at what we're doing to wildlife and the natural world, can you imagine an Africa without lions....such a tragedy



leashedForLife said:


> BBC - Earth News - Rare Otter civet filmed for first time in Borneo


even this upsets me tbh because if the forest hadnt been penetrated by those flippin roads and ravaged by loggers and ranchers then the otter civet most likely wouldnt have been seen and filmed.



leashedForLife said:


> Report reveals dramatic decline in illegal logging in tropical forest nations
> 
> maybe the economic-downturn gave forests a breather, as no-one was buying?
> maybe CERTIFIED timber is making inroads on illegal sales?
> ...


this does please me though:thumbup:


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

overfishing led to the collapse of this sardine-popn - 
Small fish exploits forbidding environment

the real puzzle? 
_how are the gobies flourishing in an anoxic, acid environment? _


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

TinyURL.com - shorten that long URL into a tiny URL

there will be an appeal - but it is thought to be a lost-cause. 
this is a disaster almost unparalleled in agricultural history - these are over-5,000 specimens that cannot simply be shoved into a freezer; they must be living, grown in soil - and there are hundreds of species, thousands of strains.

there are over 900 separate strains of black-currants alone - plus raspberries, gooseberries, blackberries, bush-cherries, and more. 
what a sin and a shame... it is impossible to uproot this botanical treasure and export it, time is too short; and there is nowhere in all Russia that can re-home it.

they expect the bulldozers to arrive around the time of the closing celebrations for the _*Year of Biodiversity - *_ what a bitter commentary on our husbandry, to let this vast assortment of domestic fruits be lost, and many, many of them forever.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

2 of 9 trapped dolphins rescued in Bolivia river - Boston.com

drought and erosion/sediment have trapped some 9 to 12 river-dolphins in a shrinking pool of muddy water - 
so far, TWO were rescued, leaving 7 to 10 still trapped. [the poor visibility makes an accurate count difficult].

blessings to the biologists, locals and various authorities who cooperated to save these animals - 
i hope to hear that ALL are freed, :thumbup: soon; all species of river-dolphins around the world 
are highly-endangered, and the megadam at Three-Gorges is believed to have doomed the Yangtse dolphin.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Smuggler Caught With Real Cub Amid Toy Tigers - NYTimes.com

Video: Dolphins rescued from drought conditions in Bolivia « Greenfudge.org


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Protect Corals With Reef Networks, U.N. Study Says - ABC News

large one-piece sanctuaries are not working; they encourage poaching.

[**opinion alert** 
of course, the human inclination to TAKE THE LAST ONE is another factor entirely. 
our competitive streak even leads us to brag about bagging the last-one.]


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

BBC - Earth News - 'Mythical' extinct fly rediscovered after 160 years

this was thought to be the only true-fly eradicated by humans in Europe - 
having it resurface is quite astonishing; there are concerns that the flies will be taken, 
as they are regarded as 'the Holy Grail' among fly-collectors  hopefully, 
the acquisitive greed of humans will not eradicate this species forever, this time. 
a second chance - but a very small one...


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

they span rivers, with anchor-lines up to 25-meters long, 
and the orb-web up to 3-meters square - 
BBC - Earth News - Gigantic spider's web discovered in Madagascar

the SILK is also 100%-stronger than the usual spider-silk, which is already amazingly tough-stuff. 
the long-lines and huge-area of web must be self-supporting, plus absorb the energy of any insects 
which fly into the barrier at speed, and absorb their struggles without [hopefully] breaking.

this is incredible - they did not show the spider, tho. :--( just pix of the web.

for the biomechanical properties of the web, with graphs + photos, see 
PLoS ONE: Bioprospecting Finds the Toughest Biological Material: Extraordinary Silk from a Giant Riverine Orb Spider 
EXCERPT - 


> _ Caerostris darwini major ampullate silk is, on average, about twice as tough
> as typical silks spun by other orbweavers (Figs 34, Table 1, Table S1).
> 
> Spider dragline silk is already deservedly renowned for its high toughness of ~150 MJm∧-3,
> ...


this is fascinating stuff - it is _stretchiness_ that makes it so much stronger. 
i will be interested to see what property the spider has exploited, to add more flex to the silk.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Asian 'unicorn' photographed for first time in over 10 years


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2010)

leashedForLife said:


> Asian 'unicorn' photographed for first time in over 10 years


what a beautiful animal and it looks like its going the same way as the Dodo, why couldnt they just leave the poor thing alone


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