Indonesia reneges on promises to international community

Indonesia had assured the recently concluded World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, its commitment to protect the natural forests and ecosystems of Sumatra in deference to the wishes of the international conservation community. But the words ring hollow now. Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) has built a 45-kilometre, logging highway through prime Sumatran tiger habitat. The road passes protected areas, proposed protected areas and deep peat areas. Draining or disturbance of the deep peat soils under forests results in massive emissions which has global significance. The clearing in the past has disturbed wildlife and resulted in increased human – wildlife conflicts.
If Indonesia waits for some more time there is a golden opportunity coming up. The financial mechanisms for avoided deforestation which is on the anvil could result in countries like Indonesia getting more from investors for forest preservation than forest destruction. Indonesian environmentalists have appealed to current and future buyers and investors of APP not to have any business with APP. Staples Inc of United States, Ricoh and Fuji Xerox Groups of Japan, Metro Group of Germany and Woolworths of Australia have already heeded to their call.

EBay ban on ivory trade

EBay announcement of worldwide ban on the sale of ivory has been welcomed by conservationists worldwide. The new policy will be effective from December, and will be enforced from January with diligence. The EBay announcement came just hours after the release of the report "Killing with Keystrokes“by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). IFAW had found over 49000 elephant ivory listings on the auction site. Over 70 percent of all endangered species products listed for sale on the Internet occur in the United States. The volume of trade in endangered species products in the U.S. is around 10 times the trade from U.K. and China, the next two leading countries. Interpol page on wildlife crime indicates that illegal wildlife products are worth billions of dollars every year worldwide. Even though elephants are protected under the International Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), death rate of elephants from poaching is on the rise. More than 20,000 elephants are mercilessly slaughtered every year in Africa and Asia.
I was talking to prominent elephant conservationist Dr Easa the other day. According to him this is positive step, but much more needs to be done. Those who are determined to sell and buy will try and find ways to bypass the ban. So a close watch has to be continuously maintained.

Electric eels study inspires invention of new biomedical devices.

Here is yet another example of how study of wildlife can benefit man. Benefits from study of wildlife are a cornucopia waiting to be tapped in future. Scientists who have studied electric eels feel that the cells electric eels use to shock predators and prey can be mimicked and engineered to power implanted biomedical equipments. The researchers are from Yale University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Electric eels channel the output of thousands of specialized cells called electrocytes to generate electricity. The scientists have deciphered the mechanism of how natural electric eel cells work. Electric eel produces electric charges powerful enough to stun a person or kill small fish.The artificial cells deliver better performance than the real ones and can generate electric potentials of up to 600 volts.
You would be surprised to know that an electric eel is not an eel at all. It belongs to a family of bony fish known as knifefish. The scientific name is Electrophorus electricus. It is the only member of the family Electrophoridae.

Madagascar community leader gets Paul Getty conservation award

Here is something that is sure to fire your enthusiasm about nature conservation. You need not have degrees in conservation to espouse the cause of nature conservation. Ordinary folks can very well do it. What is needed is will and commitment. The prestigious Paul Getty award for 2008 has gone to dedicated Madagascar community leader Roger Samba, with no formal training in conservation. The award honours outstanding contributions to international conservation and carries a $200,000 prize. The award recognizes today's leaders in conservation and also helps develop conservation leadership for tomorrow by establishing graduate fellowships in the name of the winner and J. Paul Getty. Samba was responsible for organizing the world's first community run no-take zone for octopus, a local species of critical economic importance to the community.
For generations, the indigenous semi-nomadic Vezo people of Andavadoaka, Madagascar (Samba's hometown) have depended on artisanal fishing activities for their livelihoods. Their culture and tradition was intimately interwoven with it. In recent years unsustainable tourism and an increase in international fishing vessels and burgeoning population was creating a resource crunch.
Samba created a plan for empowering local communities to take up management of coral reefs and the region's fragile marine biodiversity. Alternative livelihood and environmental education initiatives were simultaneously launched. The project was so successful that eight neighbouring villages formed their own protected areas for octopus in order to reap similar benefits. Here is a shining example of how economic development can inspire and benefit from the conservation of natural resources.
Samba will use his award to establish fellowships for students pursuing masters, doctoral, and post-doctoral degrees in conservation-related fields at a university of his choice in Madagascar.
Well done Samba. You are indeed a shining example for the whole world.

Sound pollution affecting wildlife

I was disturbed to read some of the latest findings on how sound pollution is threatening the existence of wildlife.
Have you tried to hail someone amidst the cacophony of blaring sounds? It is pretty tough on your vocal cord. Exactly the same thing is happening to birds calling out for its mates. Biologist Henrik Brumm of the Free University of Berlin has found that male territorial nightingales in Berlin had to sing five times as loud in an area of heavy traffic. Henrik is sure that this could be affecting their vocal musculature and he wonders what is going to happen in future if the noise levels keep going up.
Bernie Krause, a bioacoustics expert has collected over 3,500 hours of sound recordings from the wild. Bernie calls it Soundscapes. In the early recordings each animal had its own niche, its own acoustic territory, akin to an orchestra. Noise from airplanes, automobiles and other blaring sounds produced by man has affected this perfect scenario. At least 40 percent of those natural symphonies have become radically altered.
Extraneous sounds can mask some of the quieter yet important sounds of nature like footfalls and breathing. It is these sounds that that predators latch on to, to catch prey. The prey uses it to escape predators.
So the whole equation of nature is undergoing changes due to man’s inexorable drive for progress. We have the danger signals. It is time to do something about it at least in areas near wildlife reserves.

Indigenous people demand say in conservation schemes.

Gone are the days when you could ride roughshod over the indigenous people. They are slowly becoming vociferous.
Indigenous rights groups are meeting in Oslo this week to voice their demands. They say discussions on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is doomed for failure unless they are based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples and forest communities. In places where indigenous land rights have not been clearly defined, the whole process could be used to evict forest people from lands upon which they have been living for generations. The apprehension is that this would open floodgates of land grabs and evictions by parties seeking to capitalize on carbon payments. Indigenous peoples are concerned about how these new investments could affect their access to the forests, but here is an opportunity to create sustainable livelihoods for forest people and safeguarding biodiversity if the whole process is handled with sang-froid.
The meeting in Oslo will come up with ideas of how the rights of indigenous people can be respected under "forest carbon" schemes. The choice of Oslo for the meeting is deliberate. Norwegian government has pledged to spend up to 3 billion Norwegian kroner ($500 million) annually to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in tropical countries. Participants of Oslo conference have proposed the formation of independent bodies to advise and monitor the UN Convention on Climate Change to ensure that the rights forest people are put in place. They demand that Indigenous peoples must be accepted as full and fair participants in all parleys.

Internet use good for the brain of the elderly

This blog usually concentrates on matters relating to wildlife and environment affairs. Here is something of great interest that goes beyond my usual realm. I thought this piece of news about the good effects of use of internet on elderly persons is a germane bit of information. It is sure to bring cheer to senior citizens.

A University of California team led by Professor Gary Small has found that searching the web stimulated centres in the brain that controlled decision-making and complex reasoning. Professor Gary Small says that browsing the internet may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults improving brain function. This also enhances brain circuitry in older adults. The study was based on volunteers aged between 55 and 76. The study appears in the latest issue of American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Happy surfing senior citizens.

Sumatran Muntjac rediscovered

When a lost species is rediscovered it sends waves of joy to the conservationists. Here is a piece of news from Indonesia that will warm the cockles of your heart. Sumatran muntjac (Muntiacus montanus) a species thought to have been extinct and not seen in the wild since 1930 has been rediscovered. A team working for Fauna & Flora International and the Kerinci-Seblat National Park Tiger Protection rescued it from a hunter's snare on an anti-poaching patrol in Sumatra's Kerinci-Seblat National Park.The team also managed to take photographic proof of the rescued deer; the first ever photographs of a live specimen. The species was first discovered in 1914. IUCN has listed the species in its Red List as "data deficient".

Mammal species are at risk of extinction

World’s denizens of the wild are disappearing at a faster rate than previously calculated. Nearly a quarter of the world's land mammal species are at risk of extinction according to an extensive survey of global wildlife, conducted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 1,700 experts in 130 countries took part in this massive exercise. At least 1,141 of the 5,487 known species of mammal are threatened. 188 have been listed in the "critically endangered" category. Among the critically endangered species is the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), with only 84 to 143 adults remaining. One in three marine mammals is also threatened. The survey, has been published by the journal Science

Critical health risks from plastic

Latest research is throwing fresh light on Critical health risks from plastic. A special section in the October 2008 issue of Environmental Research, "A Plastic World" provides startling new information. Plastic has "endocrine disrupting chemicals" that can block the production of the male sex hormone testosterone (The villain is phthalates used in PVC plastic), mimic the action of the sex hormone estrogen (Here the villain is bisphenol A or BPA used in polycarbonate plastic), and interfere with thyroid hormone (The villain brominated flame retardants or PBDEs used in many types of plastic). The chemicals are also contaminating the oceans and causing considerable harm to aquatic wildlife. It is now imperative that new products with less impact on environment and human health have to be developed. The dangers signals have been broadcast.

Brazilian Air force comes to the rescue of penguins

I was fascinated to hear the news about Brazilian Air force coming to the rescue of stranded penguins.
Every year penguins fly towards north from the colder waters near Patagonia in search of food. This year they have traversed distances hitherto unreported. The birds are thought to have made a journey of more than 3,000km. Hundreds of birds have been washed up on the coast of Brazil. This has puzzled the scientists. Penguin migration is closely linked to their need for food, and the altered pattern of journey suggests that something has gone awry with their normal fish supply. There has also been evidence that they are eating fish that are not part of their usual diet. Reasons could be changes in water temperatures and ocean currents or man-made pollution. Scientists are raking their brains to find out the exact cause.
Hundreds of birds were completely exhausted by their long journey. It is here that the air force came to the rescue. They were flown this week in a Hercules plane down to the southern tip of Brazil, where they are being released into the ocean

All is not lost for Amphibians

All recent reports about amphibians worldwide had projected a bleak future for them. One in three amphibians worldwide are threatened with extinction.200 species have already been lost since the 1980s.Last week Zoological Society of London stated that 50 percent of Europe’s amphibians will go extinct by 2050. Against this backdrop discovery of three new frog species and the rediscovery of one thought to be extinct provide a whiff of respite. Conservationists worldwide are elated.
The new species were discovered in the Upper Pastaza Watershed in Ecuador. The region harbours 28 orchids and 190 plant species that are found no-where else. Other rare inhabitants include mountain tapir, the red-brocket deer, and the spectacled bear.

Suicidal defense by Ants

The mysterious ways in which nature operates leaves me spellbound at times. New researches makes me realize that we have only touched the tip of the ice-berg. Here is another piece of news that makes you wonder. Ants are well-known for their willingness to die for their colonies. This usually occurs when enemies are present. New research by Adam Tofilski of the Agricultural University of Krakow, Poland, et al shows that the Brazilian ant Forelius pusillus goes for self-sacrifice to defend the colony. This is the first known example of a suicidal defense that is preemptive rather than a response to danger posed. At sunset the ants seal off entrances with sand, and a few ants remain outside to complete the job. These ants that remain outside are unable to reenter the colony. They die by the next morning. A short report appears in the latest issue of science magazine and the full paper appears in the in the November issue of the journal American Naturalist.

Prehistoric ant discovered in Amazon rainforest

An ancient ancestor of ants has been discovered living in the Amazon rainforest. The discovery was made by evolutionary biologist Christian Rabeling of the University of Texas at Austin, USA. The new ant is named Martialis heureka, which translates in to "ant from Mars," .This is to highlight the ant’s characteristics never before recorded. Ants evolved 120m years ago from wasp-like ancestors and quickly adapted to living in soil, trees and leaf litter. This is the first time that a new subfamily of ants with living species has been discovered since 1923. The discovery will help biologists better understand the biodiversity and evolution of ants. Tabeling says "This discovery hints at a wealth of species, possibly of great evolutionary importance, still hidden in the soils of the remaining rainforests,” The study appears in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Live and let live - Predator species help each other while competing for a single prey

All of us are familiar with apportionment and rationing when there is a resource crunch. Nature resorting to this ploy might sound a wee bit farfetched. But this is exactly what scientists from Sweden and Netherlands have found out in their pursuit of intricacies of predator prey relationships. I was fascinated to read the paper “Stage-specific predator species help each other to persist while competing for a single prey” by A. M. De Roos et al. It gave me insights in to the myriad and mysterious ways in which nature works. In the wild state prey are usually shared by many predator species. One of the fundamental questions in ecology is how predators coexist while competing for the same prey. De Roos and associates with their research show that competing predator species may not only coexist on a single prey but even help each other to persist if they specialize on different life history stages of the prey. The research comes up with the finding that a predator may not be able to persist at all unless its competitor is also present. Net result is asymmetric increases in the rate of prey maturation and reproduction when predation relaxes competition among prey. This interdependence suggests that the network of feeding interactions in a community is, in fact, an emergent property of the system, which to a large extent arises through self-organization. Part and parcel of this self-organized character of the food web is an inherent fragility whereby the loss of a facilitating predator species may lead to subsequent extinction of some of its guild members, making the community collapse like a house of cards.

Stage-specific predator species help each other to persist while competing for a single prey
A. M. De Roos,T. Schellekens, T. Van Kooten and L. Persson
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94084, 1090 GB Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden

DNA bar-coding hitches

The ambitious project to DNA barcode all species (International Barcode of Life) has run in to a bit of rough weather. Scientists use a portion of the gene found in an organism's mitochondria for bar-coding. A new study by Brigham Young University has shown that the current techniques can mistakenly record the "broken" copy of the gene found in the nucleus of the organism's cells. This lapse will make present bar-coding technique to call it another unique species by mistake. This could lead to overestimating the number of species. To overcome this hitch, Brigham Young University has recommended specific quality control procedures to ensure that correct genes are captured. The day is not far off when a handheld device like a supermarket scanner is used to identify species. All that needs to be done is to compare the DNA marker from an organism with the known encyclopedia of life and immediately come out the species' name. 400,000 species have already been bar-coded to date. Exciting times are ahead for field biology scientists.

Why flies are so hard to swat? Caltech scientists unravel the mystery.

I have been at times flabbergasted by the alacrity with which the flies avoid the swat. If you have tried to swat flies you know how difficult it is to get a proper swat that delivers. You must have wondered why flies are so hard to swat. Here is the answer for that. Scientists of Caltech in US have come up with an explanation for the riddle. Using high-resolution, high-speed digital imaging of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) Professor Michael Dickinson and graduate student Gwyneth Card of Caltech (California Institute of Technology) have unravelled the secret to a fly's evasive maneuvering. Long before the fly leaps, its tiny brain calculates the location of the impending threat and comes up with an escape plan. It places its legs in an optimal position to hop out in the opposite direction. All of this takes place in less than100 milliseconds after the fly first spots the swatter. The rapidity with which the fly's brain processes sensory information into an appropriate motor response is incredible. This means that the fly must integrate visual information from its eyes with mechanosensory information from its legs at an amazing speed. Here is a piece of advice from the researchers. Dickinson says "It is best not to swat at the fly's starting position, but rather to aim a bit forward of that to anticipate where the fly is going to jump when it first sees your swatter,” The study has been published in the journal Current Biology dated August 28.

From poachers to protectors: IUCN honours young Rwandan conservationist

It has become a routine to hear news about depredation of nature from developing countries. Any news that runs counter to this trend is welcome relief. Here is a whiff of fresh air from Africa brought in by the dedicated effort of a young conservationist. Edwin Sabuhoro, 35, from Rwanda has been selected as the winner of the 2008 Young Conservationist Award, by the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and the International Ranger Federation. The award is bestowed for outstanding achievements by young people in protected areas.
Rwanda was resigned to a bleak future for Gorillas with the poachers ruling the roost in forest areas. One of the main contributing factors for poaching was poverty. To wean away poachers from their nefarious activities Edwin developed incentives for local people by founding the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village, a community-based tourism initiative. Proceeds from tourism have acted as an incentive for communities to protect gorillas and develop small-scale businesses. Living standards have showna marked improvement.The project is 100% of owned by Local people. Tourist arrivals have been shooting up as news about the community initiative in conservation is spreading abroad. Conservationists around the world are delighted with this effort from a young conservationist to protect nature. Edwin Sabuhoro will be presented with the award at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona this October. To cap the honour Edwin has been be invited to become a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and its Young Professionals Working Group.

Earth's magnetic fields and animal behavior

Mysteries of nature are a source of constant wonder for me. Here is something that shows that our behavior is influenced by heavenly bodies. Dr Sabine Begall, from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany using Google earth map has come to the firm conclusion that earth’s magnetic fields have profound influence on animal’s behavior. Cattle and Wild deer tend to align their bodies in a north-south direction. In Africa and South America, the cattle were shifted slightly to a more north-eastern-south-western direction. The researchers recorded the body positions of 2,974 wild deer in 277 locations across the Czech Republic and 8,510 grazing and resting cattle in 308 pasture plains across the globe before coming to firm conclusions. The details appear in the Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences.

Surprise - Magpies recognise their own reflections

I have seen Magpies preening before my motorbike mirror and pecking at their images several times. I had never given it any serious thought. Today I was surprised to read in the journal Plos Biology that the latest research indicates the ability of Magpies to recognize themselves in the mirror. Till recently only humans were thought to have this ability. Then came chimps and orangutans. and a host of other mammals. The research was led by German psychologist Dr Helmut Prior, from the Goethe University in Frankfurt. The researchers placed yellow and red stickers on the birds in positions where they could only be seen in a mirror. The magpies focused on the marks and tried to reach the stickers with their beaks and claws. On a number of occasions they succeeded in scratching the stickers’ off. This put an end to their mark-orientated behavior. When no mirror was present, the birds took no notice of the coloured marks. The scientist say magpies are capable of understanding that a mirror image belongs to their own body. If you are keen to read the entire paper click here