Friday, May 11, 2012

Loose Feathers #342

Snowy Egret / Photo by Gregg Aronson/USFWS
News about birds and birding
Nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity
  • The Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica is more vulnerable to melting than climate scientists had previously thought. Warm currents in the Weddell Sea threaten to melt the ice shelf from below.
  • A new study examines how female pirate bugs adapt to the costs of traumatic insemination. Some will lay more eggs than other females to make up for their shorter lifespan.
  • Biologists in Guam are trying to fight the invasive Brown Tree Snake in Guam by dropping dead mice laced with acetaminophen, which reduces pain and fever in humans but is deadly to snakes. Officials are also trying to prevent the snakes from leaving the island and establishing themselves elsewhere by inspecting all luggage of air travelers with snake-sniffing dogs.
  • Lakes in the High Peaks area of the Adirondack Mountains are frozen in winter for a shorter period than they were 32 years ago. The five lakes in question are frozen for 7-21 fewer days each winter. The biggest change was at the most pristine lake, Wolf Lake.