Loose Feathers #384

Piping plover at Cape May NWR / Photo by Don Freiday (USFWS)

Birds and birding news

• The Center for Conservation Biology is tracking the movements of 70 Bald Eagles tagged around the Chesapeake Bay with GPS transmitters. The project was started to find out how eagles were using Department of Defense lands, but expanded to include other eagles as well.
• Here is a gallery of seven species waiting for endangered species classification, including Yellow-billed Loon.
• Last Friday, the National Geographic Society and TEDx sponsored a conference on de-extinction, the possibility that extinct species could be brought back via genetics. There have been a number of good responses, including Corey Bradshaw's. A few others are listed below.
• New research shows that the behavior of flocks — whether of birds, fish, insects, or other animals — is governed by simple rules, and individuals within a flock or swarm align themselves with the movements of their closest neighbors, sometimes with prodding from other members of the group.
• An analysis of bird fossils from Haiti shows that the extinction of many species was not simultaneous with the first arrival of humans on the island 6,000 years ago.
• Conservationists are concerned that a European ban on discarding fish at sea could have a detrimental effect on seabirds that have grown accustomed to scavenging around fishing boats.
• The American Bird Conservancy is calling for an independent review of the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on birds.
• Automobile collisions appear to be having a selective effect on Cliff Swallows, as swallows with shorter wingspans are less likely to end up as roadkill. (See also Greg Laden's discussion of the study.)

Nature and science blogging

• Culturing Science: The Narcissism of De-Extinction
• Laelaps: Reinventing the Mammoth
• Myrmecos: We really don’t know why monarch butterflies are disappearing
• The Skeptical Moth: How to Sex a Moth 
• mocosoco Birds: Three Pacific Loons in Morris County, Mar. 17, 2013
• The Birdist: Google Street View Birding
• Bug Eric: True Bug Tuesday: Exporting the Western Conifer Seed Bug 
• Extinction Countdown: Illegal Pet Trade Wiping Out Yellow-Crested Cockatoos
• 10,000 Birds: Why Did The National Audubon Society End Their Contract With Ted Williams?
• Not Exactly Rocket Science: The Global Kraken 
• Flickr Blog: Amazing landscapes of Altiplano

Environment and biodiversity

• This week is National Wildlife Week, and there is still time to celebrate.
• The first data is coming in from NASA's Landsat 8 satellite. The satellite was launched in February to replace older satellites and contains instruments for monitoring the Earth's environment, including land and water use.
• Scientists found eight new species of frogs in a nature preserve in Sri Lanka, all in the genus Pseudophilautus.
• Two new lizard species have been discovered in the Peruvian Amazon.
• A genetic study of salamanders suggests that salamanders crossed from Central to South America earlier than previously thought.
• The contractors who wrote the State Departments report on the Keystone XL pipeline had significant conflicts of interest, with financial ties to energy companies that stand to benefit from the pipeline.
• The Keystone XL pipeline has become an issue in the Massachusetts Senate race as one candidate (Edward Markey) opposes its construction while the other (Stephen Lynch) supports it. Among the many groups opposing the pipeline are Native Americans, who claim it violates treaties signed by the Canadian government.
• Meanwhile, Amazon Indians are trying to block oil exploration by a Canadian oil company in their tribal areas. 
• According to a recent study, selectively logged tropical forests harbor more biodiversity than previously thought and are deserving of conservation protection (rather than being turned into palm oil plantations).
• A new sea level mapping tool provides a view of what the New Jersey coast might look like under different climate change scenarios.
• The unusually cold weather the eastern United States is experiencing this March may be linked to the loss of Arctic sea ice, which affects the path of the jet stream.
• Canada is not adequately prepared for climate change, which will put unprecedented challenges on its infrastructure and public health systems.
• Los Angeles is trying to end its use of coal for producing energy.
• Due to the success of the High Line, another former railroad in Queens may be converted into a trail. 
• A massacre in Chad claimed the lives of 89 African Elepahants, all killed for their ivory.