Posts
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| Puerto Rican Nightjar / Photo by Mike Morel (USFWS) |
- EBird has finished its latest taxonomic update. Here's an explanation of the changes.
- Male Rock Sparrows vary their songs based on their reproductive success; in particular, male sparrows react to their mates' infidelity by singing more loudly.
- Seabird colonies have an under-researched impact of the global environment through their impressive ammonia production (via guano). Recent research concluded that seabirds produce 404 Gigagrams of ammonia each year — about 2% of global ammonia production. Penguins account for 80% of this total.
- Speaking of seabirds, Scotland's kittiwake colonies are undergoing severe declines.
- Use of native plants in landscaping can be helpful for birds living in urban settings.
- Squirrels do not just empty seed from bird feeders; they also chew into zoo enclosures and let the caged birds out.
- The American Bird Conservancy has produced a 30-minute film on the ongoing extinction crisis in Hawai'i.
- A new bird species, the Antioquia Wren (Thryophilus sernai), was discovered in Colombia along the Cauca River. Unfortunately its habitat is threatened by mining and deforestation since none of it is protected.
- Two new owl species were discovered in the Philippines, Camiguin Hawk-owl (Ninox leventisi) and Cebu Hawk-owl (Ninox rumseyi).
- Xeno-Canto has a feature article on Rufous Antpitta vocalizations.
- Here are some photos of critically endangered Blue-throated Macaws.
- Laelaps: Unless They’re Zombies, Fossils Don’t Live
- March of the Fossil Penguins: Brain in Hand
- The Smaller Majority: The holotype that walked away
- Sibley Guides: Identification of Waterthrushes
- Much has been written about how climate change will harm some parts of the world more than others. A recent analysis shows that such variation exists even within a single state.
- As climate change progresses, many cities will need to make decisions about how to cope with these changes, such as rising sea levels. Olympia, Washington, is considering whether to build a new sea wall or gradually abandon part of its city center, which was built on fill.
- Using data from butterfly counts conducted by the Massachusetts Butterfly Club, a new study found that climate change is causing butterfly species to shift their ranges northward. Two species that have shown exceptional increases are Giant Swallowtail and Zabulon Skipper. Meanwhile Atlantis and Aphrodite Fritillaries are rapidly decreasing.
- According to a new report, up to 40% of food in the United States is wasted, and up to 25% of the food that Americans buy goes to waste. Here is the full report from the NRDC. One of the more discouraging statistics for conservationists is that 50% of seafood goes to waste when many fish stocks are in severe decline due to overfishing.
- A new spider species called Trogloraptor has been found in the caves of southern Oregon. Trogloraptor is 4cm long and sports curved claws at the ends of its legs. The species is so novel that naming it required the creation of a new spider family.
- Political events this week revealed that a prominent member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee is profoundly misinformed about science, a problem that seem to be widespread among members of that committee, with disturbing implications for both wildlife conservation and mitigating climate change.
- In better news, Madagascar protected 1,438 square miles of rainforest as Makira Natural Park. The new park is home to numerous rare and endangered wildlife species.
- A newly-discovered rat species has only incisors for teeth, with no molars to back them up. This is highly unusual for a rodent species and indicates that it probably eats a soft diet.
- Two new species of forget-me-nots have been found in New Zealand.
- Yao Ming is filming a documentary meant to persuade Chinese residents to stop using elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn.
- Some scientists are investigating a new dispersant formula made from edible ingredients that would break up oil slicks and keep oil from sticking to birds' feathers but would be less harmful than current dispersants. I am skeptical of this working and being implemented on a large scale, but I see any research towards less unhealthy oil dispersants as a positive step.
- Most states do not require energy companies to tell residents if they are fracking nearby.
- In some English cemeteries, groundskeepers are trying to develop a more natural landscape that includes wildflowers and other native plants.
