Today is Endangered Species Day

Endangered Species Day is an opportunity for people of all ages to learn about the importance of protecting endangered species and everyday actions they can take to help protect them.

Above is an image of a South American vicuna.  The vicuna was listed as endangered, but has recently been reduced to the status of threatened. They were hunted almost to extinction mainly for their beautiful wool and meat.  We have the power to save species from extinction.

Butternut trees in Eastern Canada and across their entire natural range in North America are under attack by the Butternut Canker Disease.This is a deadly fungal disease that has attacked almost all Butternut trees regardless of their age or size.  There is no known cure for the disease but some trees appear to be more tolerant than others.  Butternut is classified as an endangered species under the Ontario Endangered Species Act (ESA 2007).  

 

Lonesome George, born before 1912, died June 24, 2012, was a male Pinta Island tortoise and the last known individual of the subspecies. In his last years, he was known as the rarest creature in the world.  We must halt the extinction rate of all species.  Images by Mike Leveille

 

6 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND EXTINCTION

Image by Mike Leveille

The beauty and genus of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet again inspire the composer; but when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again. – William Beebe

There are many misconceptions about biological diversity and modern extinctions so we will explore some of these ideas here:

Misconception #1 – Species have always gone extinct so we do not need to worry about a few animals or plants disappearing.  It is true that extinction is a natural process but it is the rate of extinctions that is of major concern.  According to the UN Environment Programme, the Earth is in the midst of a mass extinction of life. Scientists estimate that 150-200 species of plant, insect, bird and mammal become extinct every 24 hours. This is nearly 1,000 times the "natural" or "background" rate.     

Misconception #2 – Losing a species does not affect humans.  Do you remember the game Ker-Plunk?  The game consists of a clear plastic tube, 30 thin sticks, and 32 marbles.  The idea is to pull out as many sticks as you can without letting any marbles fall to the bottom.   Well, imagine we are one of the marbles.  How many species are holding us up?  Plants and phytoplankton produce our breathable air.  Our food and medicine come from the rich biological resources of the Earth.  Decomposers like bacteria and fungi help to produce soil so we can grow our food.  Worms and arthropods process this soil.  Bees, wasps, birds, and bats pollinate plants.  Some types of phytoplankton are responsible for a chemical substance called DMS that forms clouds over our oceans.  This affects our weather and global climate. 

Misconception #3 – Environmental news is all bad news!  Absolutely not!  Global networks of youth from the Ottawa-based Biodiversitymatters.org and the GYBN are actively involved with the Convention on Biological Diversity.  In 2010, world organizations and governments met in Nagoya, Japan to discuss solutions to the biodiversity crisis.  Youth presented an Accord on Biodiversity to present their ideas and fears.  There is another gathering of the COP-MOP in Hyderabad, India this October.   It is important to stress that many species have been brought back from near extinction by dedicated biologists and committed individuals.  Some successes include the Bison, the Chatham Island Black Robin, the Mauritius Kestrel, the Pink Pigeon, and the Echo Parakeet to name a few.  

Misconception #4 – Evolution will replace any missing species.  Evolution will replace species, but it takes a very long time.  It has been suggested that it could take 30 million years for nature to heal itself from the effects of humans on our biological heritage.  A species can take hundreds of thousands of years to branch off from its parent group to form a new species. 

Misconception #5 – All species have been discovered.  Not even close!  The total global estimate of species range from 100 million to as low as 5 million with new species discovered every year.  About 1.3 species have been cataloged in a central database to date.  Each year, researchers report more than 15,000 new species.  Not all of these life forms are small.  In 2011, a new cetacean (called the Burrunan dolphin) was discovered in Australian waters.  If you think that new species are only discovered in remote areas, consider the new species of frog announced in 2012 living within New York City! 

Misconception #6 – There is nothing I can do to protect the Earth’s biodiversity.  Habitat loss is the number one cause of extinction.  The very best way to protect our biological heritage is to adopt green spaces in your community.  A wonderful example of this is the Macoun Marsh Biodiversity Project in Ottawa’s Beechwood Cemetery, Canada’s National Cemetery.  Teachers and students from St-Laurent Academy Elementary and Junior High have become stewards of this space and have recorded almost 1400 species in this urban ecosystem.  This initiative has grown into a Biodiversity Alliance of local schools with a three-part Mentorship Program for students.     

Michael Leveille (St-Laurent Academy Elementary and Junior High Teacher)

10 RECENTLY EXTINCT ANIMALS

10- THYLACINE- TASMANIA/ AUSTRALIA

Public Image

Commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger, the Thylacine was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. Virtually wiped out in the wild due to constant hunting (they were thought to be a threat to sheep and other small farm animals).  No recent sightings have been confirmed.


9- PASSENGER PIGEON- NORTH AMERICA

Image by Mike Leveille at the Canadian Museum of Nature- Ottawa

The story of the Passenger Pigeon is one of the most tragic extinction stories in modern times. As recently as around 200 years ago they were actually the most common bird in North America, and some reports counted single flocks numbering in the billions.  Hunting on a massive scale completely destroyed them.  Extinct in 1914.

8- GUAM FLYCATCHER

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Although common on Guam as recently as the early 1970s, the Flycatcher population declined due tothe introduction of the brown tree snake.  The last sighting was in 1983. 

7- GREAT AUK- NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN

Image drawn by Mike Leveille

This large flightless bird was overhunted.  Extinct between 1844 and 1852. 

6- QUAGGA- SOUTH AFRICA

Extinct subspecies of the plains zebra.  Last seen in 1870.

5- RED-BELLIED GRACILE OPOSSUM- ARGENTINA

The forest habitat it required was destroyed. Last seen in 1962.

4- GOLDEN TOAD- COSTA RICA

Image by Mike Leveille at the Royal Ontario Museum- Toronto

Loss of habitat and the chyterid fungus caused their extinction.  Last seen in May 1989.

3- YANGTZE RIVER DOLPHIN- CHINA

GNU Free Documentation License

Their population declined drastically due to fishing, transportation, and hydroelectricity.  Last individual died in 2002.

2- WESTERN BLACK RHINOCEROS- CONGO 

Public Image

This rhino was once widespread in central-west Africa.  Due to poaching it was declared extict in 2011. 

1- PINTA ISLAND TORTOISE- GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

Image by Eric Gauthier 2011

This species was over hunted and introduced goats destroyed their habitat.  Extinct on June 24, 2012.

A hybrid individual was found outside Pinta Island on Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island.  

THE WORLD'S RAREST SNAKE

Conservationists have found the world’s rarest known snake in the Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia. A five-month assessment of the Saint Lucia racer, a small non-venomous snake, has revealed that as few as 18 individuals remain. The racer was once common across Saint Lucia, but rapidly declined after predatory mongooses were introduced to Saint Lucia from India in the late 19th century. The last Saint Lucia racers now survive only on a single offshore islet just 12 hectares (30 acres) in size, which has remained mongoose-free.

The Saint Lucia racer, one of four endemic snakes of Saint Lucia, was declared extinct in 1936. However, in 1973, a single individual was caught on Maria Islands Nature Reserve. Since then, sightings have been rare, leading to fears that these harmless snakes may have been lost forever. Towards the end of 2011, a team of Saint Lucian and international conservationists was assembled to find out whether the racers still survived and, with funding from the Balcombe Trust, the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund and the US Fish & Wildlife Service, began painstaking searches of the rocky, steep-sided islet. Eleven racers were caught, tagged with microchips and released unharmed. Analysis of data from recaptures indicate a total population of only 18 individuals. Another, less conservative method placed the population at nearer 100. The Saint Lucia racer is therefore deemed to be the rarest known snake in the world and indeed one of the rarest animals of any kind. At only 12 hectares, its distribution range is also one of the smallest of any snake.

To read more see: http://www.durrell.org/Latest/News/The-Saint-Lucia-racer-takes-the-title-of-Worlds-rarest-snake-/

Image from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Giant tortoise Lonesome George’s death leaves the world one subspecies poorer

QUITO — Lonesome George has died, leaving the world one subspecies poorer.  Estimated to be more than 100 years old, the creature’s cause of death remains unclear and a necropsy is planned. Lonesome George is being kept in a cold chamber to prevent decomposition prior to the procedure.

Lonesome George was discovered on Pinta Island in 1972 at a time when giant tortoises of his type, Geochelone nigra abingdoni, were already believed to be extinct.  He will be missed.  Image by Eric Gauthier (2011)

A LOOK INSIDE THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM'S LIFE IN CRISIS: THE SCAD GALLERY OF BIODIVERSITY- CANADA

This gallery presents the diversity of life on earth and the significant challenges to its conservation and survival.  A must see if you are in Toronto, Canada. Image above: The beautiful pelagic oarfish

A skeleton of the long lost dodo bird from the Island of Mauritius.  This flightless bird is a symbol of human ignorance when it comes to biodiversity and ecology.  

The graceful tripod fish with its long, bony rays that stick out below its tail fin and the pectoral fins. 

 An Ivory-billed woodpecker, considered critically endangered and possibily extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

SPECIES IN REVIEW- ANDEAN CONDOR

This South American bird is called the Andean Condor.  It has the longest wingspan of any land bird.  This species is primarily a scavenger, feeding on carrion.  It prefers deer and cattle.  One of the world's longest living birds, it has a lifespan of up to 100 years old in captivity.  Classified as near threatened.  Image of condor from the Denver Zoo by Mike Leveille

Good news for tigers shows we’re on the right path

February 4, 2012
It can be a long week/month/year/decade (delete as appropriate) when you’re constantly confronted with bad news and the terrible things that we are doing to life on this planet. It can often seem like a never-ending uphill battle. And, well, that’s what it is, but every now and again you get some news that gives you a glimmer of hope.

Since late December, there has been a flurry of positive news coming from different parts of India, home to the world’s largest remaining population of wild tigers. Where they are being well protected, where there is a good relationship between forest officials, scientists and NGOs, tigers are breeding and, because of limitations on carrying capacity, tigers are spilling out of protected areas, returning to the forests from which they once vanished and taking up residence rather than just being transient.

News of cubs in Kudremukh National Park, in Karnataka, which has historically been ravaged by iron ore mining, and of 25 tigers residing in the Sathyamangalam forests of Tamil Nadu is further testimony to the emergence of the southern states as tiger conservation champions.

That said, news of cubs galore in Kanha Tiger Reserve (21-23 cubs) and Pench Tiger Reserve (21 cubs) in Madhya Pradesh, and even in Panna Tiger Reserve where the translocated tigers have given birth to seven cubs, suggests the battle for the title of The Tiger State is not over yet.

Further north, tigers have returned to the Nandhor Valley of Uttarakhand, while Assam is home to 143 tigers, 118 in Kaziranga National Park alone – the highest tiger population density in the country.

To be sure, things are far from perfect. Dispersing and transient tigers leave the protected areas to face forests destroyed for coal, diamonds, sandstone, iron ore and bauxite. Roads, dams and river-linking projects carve up the forest corridors. With forest loss comes the decline in natural prey and the inevitable slide into conflict with people and livestock. Poaching in India the feed the illegal trade in China continues. So far this year, there have been four tiger and nine leopard poaching/trade incidents reported. None of us can take our foot off the gas when it comes to saving tigers.

But what the good news from India tells us is that the tiger’s decline is not an irreversible situation; that with the right set of circumstances, tiger populations can recover, and with them the watershed forests that all our futures depend on. Now is the time to invest in progressing the strategies that are paying dividends (cubs), to spread the word of what works and what doesn’t, to open up the system of governance so that independent scientists, NGOs and civil society can work with the government officials.

See http://www.eia-international.org/good-news-for-tigers-shows-were-on-the-right-path

How many species on Earth? 8.7 million give or take

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Scientists have yet to discover, or classify, about 90 percent of the plant and animal species on Earth, which is estimated to be home to just under 9 million species, a study says.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/many-species-earth-8-7-million-091322662.html

Manas estimated with 25-35 tigers (Bhutan)

Some 60 park staff  have estimated 25 -35 tigers in the Royal Manas National Park (1,057 km2)  through 88 camera stations. In entire Bhutan, tigers killed 543 livestock between 2003 -2011 and the forest management is required to compensate villagers with  Nu 2,352,250.

July 30

http://www.kuenselonline.com/2010/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=20267

Badongo arrives safely

Last week, following advice from the Gorilla European Endangered Species Programme, Durrell sadly said goodbye to Ya Kwanza, the magnificent silverback male gorilla who has been a popular resident at Durrell Wildlife Park since 1993. Ya Kwanza is settling really well into his temporary accommodation at La Vallee des Singes in France, where he has a huge outside enclosure to enjoy.

To read more see: http://www.durrell.org/Latest/News/Badongo-arrives-safely/

Image from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Climate change to push over 10 percent of the world's species to extinction by 2100

A new study in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Science has found that by the time today's infants are 90 years old (i.e. the year 2100) climate change could have pushed over 11 percent of the world's species to extinction.  See Jeremy Hance's article at http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0711-hance_climate_extinction.html

Image taken by Michael Leveille at the Canadian Museum of Nature- Ottawa

Durrell News- Silverback Gorilla turns cameraman!

This week one of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust’s most photographed primates turned the tables and became cameraman for the day.

Ya Kwanza the conservation Trusts 27 year old silverback gorilla became adept at snapping close ups of himself with a high definition camera which was encased in an indestructible box and covered with tasty honey and oats.  http://www.durrell.org/gorilla/

Image by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

GORILLAS AT THE DURRELL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST (UK)

While the gorilla is the largest of all the primates, it is not deserving of its fierce King Kong image. Five different races or ‘sub-species’ of gorilla are currently recognised, all of which face a severe threat of extinction in their native equatorial African habitat. The gruesome and growing illegal trade in gorilla ‘bush meat’ and the all too common problem of habitat loss are the main reasons for the decline of these magnificent apes.
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has kept western lowland gorillas since 1959 – the year it opened. The first to arrive was two-year-old female N’pongo, who died in 1999 at the grand old age of 42. To date, 15 valuable babies have been born here; most are now at other zoos and continue to make a valuable contribution to the breeding programme for their highly endangered species.  See the Durrell website for more information on their valuable conservation work.  http://www.durrell.org/ 

Photographs supplied by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Elephants: the gardeners of Asia's and Africa's forests

An interesting article that is both thought provoking and educational by Jeremy Hance.  http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0425-hance_camposarceiz_blake.html

Ivory market at Lagos airport in Nigeria. Photo by: D. Stiles.



The saola: rushing to save the most 'spectacular zoological discovery' of the 20th Century

This female saola named 'Martha' was captured in 1996 in Laos by local villagers, and transferred to a nearby menagerie, but survived only a few weeks. Copyright 1996 by William Robichaud/WCS.  Permission also from Rhett Butler (mongabay.com)

The saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) may be the most enigmatic, beautiful, and endangered big mammal in the world—that no one has ever heard of. This shy ungulate looks like an African antelope—perhaps inhabiting the wide deserts of the Sahara—but instead it lives in the dense jungles of Vietnam and Laos, and is more related to wild cattle than Africa's antelopes.  To learn more about this beautiful animal see: http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0404-hance_robichaud.html

DODO BONES DISCOVERED IN AN OLD ENGLISH MUSEUM COLLECTION

Check out this interesting news about the long extinct dodo bird! 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/feb/21/dodo-found-grant-museum-drawer

Darwin Day 2011

Darwin Day is a global celebration of science and reason held on or around Feb. 12, the birthday anniversary of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin.

Learn more at
http://www.darwinday.org/

THE RAREST SNAKE IN THE WORLD!

 

Photo credit: M. Morton - Durrell

Some great news!  Conservationists have made incredible progress in saving the rarest snake on the planet, the Antiguan racer (scientific name: Alsophis antiguae). The population has dramatically spiked from just 50 individuals in the mid-nineties to over 500 today.

The ten-fold increase is due to the successful partnership of six local and international organizations that make up the Antiguan Racer Conservation Project (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Fauna & Flora International, The Environment Awareness Group, Black Hills State University, Island Resources Foundation and the Forestry Unit.

Photo credit: John Cancalosi- FFI-ARCP

Learn more at http://www.durrell.org/Latest/News/Worlds-rarest-snake-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/

From the Biodiversity Sketch book

The most famous story of animal extinction is certainly that of the Dodo bird or Raphus cucullatus to give it its Latin name.  It lived on the Island of Mauritius, situated in the Indian Ocean, approximately 2400 kilometers off the South East Coast of Africa. 

In the year 1598 AD, Portuguese sailors landing on the shores of this island discovered a previously unknown species of pigeon. Having been isolated by its island location from contact with humanity, the dodo greeted the new visitors with a child-like innocence. The sailors saw this ignorant bird as stupid. They dubbed the bird "dodo" (meaning something similar to a simpleton in the Portuguese tongue). Most dodo birds were killed by introduced animals. By the late 1600s, the last dodo had died, and the world was left worse with its passing.

Mauritius is regarded today as an international centre for habitat restoration and the preservation of birds and reptiles. As a result of the work undertaken by conservation teams, Mauritius is at the forefront in the conservation of endangered species and is looked upon as a live laboratory which has set new standards for conservation around the world.