Community wisdom and conservation

The contribution of community wisdom to conservation ecology

Martin Predavec, Daniel Lunney,Ben Hope, Eleanor Stalenberg, Ian Shannon, Mathew S. Crowtherand Indrie Miller

Conservation Biology, Volume 30, Issue 3, pages 496–505, June 2016

Collecting population data is often limited by geographic scale and time frame.  Understanding of trends comes from only part of their ranges at particular periods. The researchers say Working with citizen scientists is an excellent way to overcome these limits. This has the added benefit of exposing citizens to the scientific process and engaging them in management outcomes. 

The researchers asked community members to answer a question directly and thus examined whether community wisdom can inform conservation. They reviewed the results of 3 mail-in surveys that asked community members to say whether they thought koala populations were increasing, decreasing, or staying the same. They then compared the survey results with population trends derived from more traditional research. Population trends identified through community wisdom were similar to the trends identified by traditional research. The community wisdom surveys, however, allowed the question to be addressed at much broader geographical scales and time frames. The researchers sign off saying “Studies that apply community wisdom have the benefit of engaging a broad section of the community in conservation research and education and therefore in the political process of conserving species.”

Portable nanopore DNA sequencers to combat wildlife crime

DNA sequencing device, the MinION  an innovation of  University of Leicester,  developed by Oxford Nanopore Technologies  to read the 'barcode genes' of animals is expected to render a big help in the fight against illegal wildlife trafficking.

The technique developed under the leadership of by Jon Wetton from the University of Leicester's Department of Genetics, uses DNA barcode genes to identify animal species in real time.  The team will also explore the use of VolTRAX, a sample preparation device designed to allow non-scientists to prepare samples outside a laboratory environment. Together these technologies are intended to fully automate DNA analysis.

Rescue role for wolverines

Alaskan conservationists are training wolverines to sniff out humans trapped in debris and avalanches. Wolverines have incredible power of smell and shovelling abilities. Sceptics scoff at the idea, but Alaskan Conservationists working on it insists that wolverines can very well do what dogs do, sometimes even better. The only constraint according to them is the fact that wolverines are hard to breed in captivity. Environmentalists worldwide are eagerly waiting to see the results of this path breaking initiatives.

Worldwide Leopards have lost nearly 75 percent of their historic range

According to a paper published in the scientific journalPeerJ. Leopard (Panthera pardus), has lost as much as 75 percent of its historic range. The study was conducted jointly by National Geographic Society's Big Cats Initiative, international conservation charities the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Panthera and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Cat Specialist Group.

Leopards historically occupied a range approximately 35 million square KM throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Today, it has dwindled to approximately 8.5 million square KM. Of the nine recognized subspecies, three (P. p. pardus, fusca, and saxicolor) account for 97% of the leopard’s extant range while another three (P. p. orientalis, nimr, and japonensis) have each lost as much as 98% of their historic range.  The study underlies the fact that leopards are increasingly threatened throughout its range. Habitat loss, prey decline, conflict with livestock owners, illegal trade in leopard skins and parts are factors contributing to leopard decline. The researchers say that while leopard research was increasing, research effort was primarily on the subspecies with the most remaining range whereas subspecies that are most in need of urgent attention were neglected. Small patch size, few remaining patches, and isolation further threaten those subspecies with the least amount of remaining range (P. p. orientalis, nimr, melas, kotiya, and japonensis).

Bee inspired breakthrough in the development of autonomous robots

Scientists at the University of Sheffield have created a computer model mimicking how bees avoid hitting walls. This they expect will pave way for breakthrough in the development of autonomous robots.

The researchers add “We are interested in how bees are capable of navigating complex environments. Experimental evidence shows that they use an estimate of the speed that patterns move across their compound eyes (angular velocity) to control their behaviour and avoid obstacles; however the brain circuitry used to extract this information is not understood. We have created a model that uses a small number of assumptions to demonstrate a plausible set of circuitry. Since bees only extract an estimate of angular velocity they show differences from the expected behaviour for perfect angular velocity detection, and our model reproduces these differences.”

Details appear in the latest issue of journal PLOS Computational Biology

Stunning Alien-like jellyfish discovered

A stunning alien-like jellyfish has been discovered on the Enigma Seamount near the Mariana Trench, located in the Pacific Ocean between the Philippines and southern Japan. Scientists identified the creature as a hydromedusa belonging to the genus Crossota. The jellyfish was glowing with red and yellow lights in as deep as 3,700 meters.

Researchers' understanding of the Long-eared bats' flying technique could lead to better drones

According to a study by researchers at Lund University in Sweden understanding of the Long-eared bats  ' flying technique could be significant for the future development of drones.

The researchers found that air behind the body of a long-eared bat accelerates downwards, which means that the body and ears provide lift.  Large ears do not merely create strong resistance, but also assist the animal in staying aloft. The forward motion is generated when the wings are held high and away from the body at the end of each beat. Researchers say "This specific way of generating power could lead to new aerodynamic control mechanisms for drones in the future, inspired by flying animals," 

Details appear in the latest issue of journal Scientific Reports13

6th WORLD CONGRESS ON MOUNTAIN UNGULATES – SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT

Message from Dr Eleftherios Hadjisterkotis, Chairman of the Organizing Committee

Participation fee is free for the scientists who are going to submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation until the 31^st of June 2016. All other participants who are not going to submit an abstract please follow the instructions below.

PREREGISTRATION: 

€150 for non-students (early registration fee until June 31^st 2016, €200 from July 1^st until August 29), and €100 for students (official confirmation is requested). Registration fees will cover all administrative cost, printing of conference materials, refreshment breaks, three conference lunches, all social events including a cocktail party and the conference dinner, a full day trip to the center of Pafos Forest the habitat of the Cyprus Mouflon, a visit to cedar valley, and a visit to the historic Kykko monastery. The fee for accompanying persons is €100. It includes a cocktail party, the official dinner, ladies program in Nicosia, and one day excursion with lunch, etc. 

For full details please log on to http://www.mountainungulates.gov.cy  

Sea Urchin inspired space exploration device

A team of engineers and marine biologists from the University of California have devised a tool, taking inspiration from sea urchins’ (Strongylocentrotus fragilis) intricate mouth and teeth, to sample sediments on other planets. The device was attached to a remote-controlled small rover and used to claw on sand that simulates Martian soil in density and humidity. It is worth mentioning here that a colony of sea urchins can destroy an entire kelp forest by churning through rock and uprooting seaweed. 

Details appear in the latest issue of the Journal of Visualized Experiments.

Have a look at this video also

The wonderful world of fireflies

I just finished reading Silent Sparks, a beautiful book about fireflies, borrowed from a visiting American friend. In Silent Sparks, noted biologist and firefly expert Sara Lewis walks us through the fascinating world of fireflies and gives us an update about latest discoveries .The book is profusely illustrated. Sara Lewis is a professor in the Department of Biology at Tufts University. 

Silent Sparks

Published by Princeton University Press

223 pages, 50 colour photos and illustrations, 8 b/w illustrations, 6 colour distribution maps

ISBN-13: 9780691162683

Convincing evidence to show that drones can add substantial value to long-term ecological monitoring by providing low cost, high resolution data

Seeing the forest from drones: Testing the potential of lightweight drones as a tool for long-term forest monitoring

Jian Zhang,Jianbo Hu, Juyu Lian, Zongji Fann, Xuejun Ouyang and Wanhui Ye

Biological Conservation, Volume 198, June 2016, Pages 60–69

Here is a paper that provides Convincing evidence that drones can add substantial value to long-term ecological monitoring by providing low cost, high resolution data.

Long-term ecological monitoring has contributed significantly towards advancements in theoretical and applied ecology. The flip side is that the costs to maintain a long-term monitoring site are enormous. Here the researchers used a lightweight drone to map in detail forest canopy structure across a 20-ha subtropical forest dynamics plot. They examined the added benefit of incorporating drone-derived variables in explaining local variation in both stand and species measures. The researchers were convinced that Drone-derived canopy variables contributed substantially towards explaining spatial patterns in biodiversity. Species with different light requirements responded to canopy variables supporting gap dynamics successional theories and Lightweight drone technologies offer great potential for long-term ecological studies.

The researchers sign off saying Drones should be included in the ecologist's toolbox to complement traditional field surveys.

Ravens and crows may be just as clever as chimps, new study suggests

A new study by researchers at Lund University in Sweden suggests that corvid birds can be as clever as chimpanzees, despite having much smaller brains.

The team first trained the birds to obtain a treat in an opaque tube with a hole at each end. They repeated the test with a transparent tube. The animal impulse would naturally be to go straight for the tube as they saw the food. However, all of the ravens chose to enter the tube from the ends in every try. The researchers say the performance of the jackdaws and the crows came very close to 100%.This is comparable to a performance by bonobos and gorillas.

The researchers signs off saying “What is without doubt is that great apes and Corvus corvids have pronounced motor self-regulatory behaviour in relation to the cylinder task, despite very different absolute different brain sizes”.

Details of the research appear in the latest issue of journal Royal Society Open Science.

Large animals play a key role in mitigating climate change in tropical forests

Experts from 15 institutions, including the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds and the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India have found out that large animals play a key role in mitigating climate change in tropical forests. The animals do it by spreading the seeds of large trees that have a high capacity to store carbon.  Using simulations, the researchers showed that declines of large animals will result in forests having fewer large trees.   Carbon stored in terrestrial ecosystems, such as forests, reduces the amount of carbon that would otherwise accumulate in the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change.

Details of the research appear in the latest issue of journal Nature Communications.

Clues from plants to improve wound healing

A research group led by Dr  Kosuke Fujita of  Osaka University has discovered that  a plant-based polyphenol, promotes the migration of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) in blood circulation and accumulates them in damaged tissues to improve wound healing. The researchers had previously found that ethanol extracts of Mallotus philippinensis bark promoted migrationof mesenchymal stem cells and improved wound healing in a mouse model.  In the present study, the researchers analyzed the effects of cinnamtannin B-1 on MSC migration in vivo and demonstrated that it mobilized the MSCs from the bone marrow to the blood from where they moved to accumulate at the wound site. It is cinnamtannin B-1, or vegetable-based polyphenol that promotes the migration of Mesenchymal Stem Cells. MSCs were released from bone marrow to the blood in cinnamtannin B-1-administered mice. Cinnamtannin B-1 enhanced wound healing.

The researchers say that these results will be used for stem cell treatments for cutaneous disorders associated with various damage and lesions.

Details appear in the latest issue of journal PLOS ONE

Animal inspired artificial whiskers that allow robots to "see" the surroundings in dark and murky places

Scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Illinois' Advanced Digital Sciences Centre in Singapore have developed artificial whiskers inspired by animal whiskers that allow robots to "see" the surroundings in dark and murky places. Whiskers are critical to many mammals to survive in their environment.

The newly developed tactile static soft-sparse imaging technique offers a strong alternative to existing flow-field measurement systems. Underwater vehicles may benefit from using a whisker sensor system for navigation around obstacles and target detection, as the flow is altered before the actual contact .Researchers say “The unified tactile sensing approach may potentially also be used in biomedical applications such as cardiac procedures, in which the installation of whisker-like sensors on a thin catheter would help a surgeon track the catheter position relative to the heart more easily, eventually reducing the amount of risk for ablation surgeries for atrial fibrillation.”

Details of the research appears in the latest issue of journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics

Three new primate species from Madagascar

Scientists from the German Primate Center (DPZ), the University of Kentucky, the American Duke Lemur Center and the Université d'Antananarivo in Madagascar have described three new species of mouse lemurs from Madagascar

The new lemurs are Microcebus ganzhorni), Microcebus manitatra and Microcebus boraha.

Microcebus ganzhorni was named after the ecologist Professor Jörg Ganzhorn from Hamburg University, who has been engaged in research and protection of lemurs for decades. Microcebus manitatrais name symbolizes the expansion of the range of a subgroup from western Madagascar. The third member, Microcebus boraha, is named after its location on the Island of Sainte Marie (in Malagasy Nosy Boraha).

Details appear in the latest issue of journal Molecular Ecology

New research adds a new dimension to the role of mycorrhizal fungi in forests

Dr. Tamir Klein and Prof. Christian Körner of the University of Basel together with Dr. Rolf Siegwolf of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) have discovered that forest trees trade large quantities of carbon with their neighbours. This exchange is conducted via symbiotic fungi in the soil. Carbon dioxide that carried a label was used to arrive at the finding.

The researchers discovered that roots of the neighbouring trees also showed the same marker, even though they had not received labelled carbon dioxide. This included trees from other species. The only way the carbon could have been exchanged is via the network of tiny fungal filaments of the shared mycorrhizal fungi.

Details appear in the latest issue of journal Science

Use of modelling software and satellite imagery for the conservation of endangered species

 A new Duke University-led case study has demonstrated that habitat mapping software and satellite imagery can help conservationists predict the movements of endangered species in remote or inaccessible regions and pinpoint areas where conservation efforts should be prioritized. The scientists used Aster and Landsat satellite images showing the pace and extent of recent forest loss, and GeoHAT, a downloadable geospatial habitat assessment toolkit developed at Duke. The target species was Peru’s critically endangered San Martin titi monkey (Callicebus oenanthe). With the help of these two tools the scientists were able to easily identify the 10 percent of remaining forest in the species’ range that presents the best opportunity for conservation. San Martin titi monkey was recently added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s list of the 25 most endangered primates in the world.

Danica Schaffer-Smith, a doctoral student at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, who led the study, said “Using these tools, we were able to work with a local conservation organization to rapidly pinpoint areas where reforestation and conservation have the best chance of success,” “Comprehensive on-the-ground assessments would have taken much more time and been cost-prohibitive given the inaccessibility of much of the terrain and the fragmented distribution and rare nature of this species.”

Details of the study appear in the latest issue of journalEnvironmental Conservation.

An excellent drug for osteoporosis developed from Tequila agave is round the corner

Tequila agave is famous for the traditional Tequila drink of Mexico. According to Mexican researcher Dr. Mercedes López , her studies have indicated that the blue variety of the Agave tequilana has substances capable of improving the absorption of calcium and magnesium, essential minerals to maintain bone health.

Dr Lopez says “"the consumption of fructans contained in the agave, in collaboration with adequate intestinal micriobiota, promotes the formation of new bone, even with the presence of osteoporosis."

 Dr Lopez has already applied for a patent for her discovery.

Moss as a bio indicator of cadmium air pollution

A study by scientists of USDA Forest Service and Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University has discovered that Moss growing on urban trees is a useful bio-indicator of cadmium air pollution. The scientists used moss to map atmospheric cadmium in Portland, Oregon. They used moss to track down previously unknown pollution sources in a complex urban environment with many possible sources.The new finding could provide a low-cost source of information to complement existing monitoring.