Study of hibernation in black bears brings unexpected bonanza

Scientists studying hibernation by black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) were surprised to observe that hibernating American black bears exhibit profound abilities in mounting inflammatory responses to infection and/or foreign bodies. The bears resolve injuries during hibernation while maintaining mildly hypothermic states (30–35 °C) and without eating, drinking, urinating or defecating.  Usually even mildly hypothermic body or limb temperatures can retard healing processes in mammals. 

The researchers induced small, full-thickness cutaneous wounds (biopsies or incisions) during early denning, and re-biopsied sites 2–3 months later (near the end of denning). Routine histological methods were used to characterize these skin samples. All biopsied sites with respect to secondary intention (open circular biopsies) and primary intention (sutured sites) healed, with evidence of initial eschar (scab) formation, completeness of healed epidermis and dermal layers, dyskeratosis (inclusion cysts), and abilities to produce hair follicles.

The researchers say further research in to the underlying mechanisms of wound healing during hibernation could have applications in human medicine. They add that unique approaches may be found to improve healing for malnourished, hypothermic, diabetic and elderly patients or to reduce scarring associated with burns and traumatic injuries.

Journal reference

Wound healing during hibernation by black bears (Ursus americanus) in the wild: elicitation of reduced scar formation

Paul A. IAIZZo,Timothy G. LASKE,Henry J. HARLOw,Carolyn B. McCLAy and David L. GARSHELIS

Integrative Zoology,Volume 7, Issue 1, pages 48–60, March 2012

Carbon stock data for the world's tropical forests

Based on satellite measurements from NASA including LiDAR and MoDIS data plus on-the-ground field measurements, researchers have posted carbon stock data for the world's tropical forests on ArcGIS Online.

 

The data of the biomass of tropical forests is at a 500-meter resolution.This kind of resolution for the biomass of tropical forests has  never been seen before. The national level data set is freely available for use for scientific, conservation, and educational purposes. Users should agree to cite the dataset as: A. Baccini, S J. Goetz, W.S. Walker, N. T. Laporte, M. Sun, D. Sulla-Menashe, J. Hackler, P.S.A. Beck, R. Dubayah, M.A. Friedl, S. Samanta and R. A. Houghton.

 

To access data click HERE

 

Guest post from Ramesh

Here is another guest post from Ramesh.

Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife management once wrote “Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher "standard of living" is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free. For us of in the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech.”

My recent visit to some of the wildlife reserves of Kerala makes me wonder whether most of the managers, managing the wildlife reserves, are really aware of what they are doing. Most of the guys I met are foresters with no deep roots in wildlife management. How come the state Government is not sending these guys at least for short term courses in wildlife management? Some of the costly mistake they are doing right now could be avoided with proper training. My friend Mohanji once told me “If you want to know exactly what to do with landscape management you should know what are the requirements of the animals that you manage, you should be able to think like an animal. For example your boss asks you to make water holes. Does the species that you manage needs water at the specific points mentioned by your boss? To come to proper conclusion you should read everything that you can lay your hands on, concerning the ecology and behaviour of the animals that you manage. Here comes the appropriateness of the idea of thinking like an animal”. How many of our manager guys read the latest literature?

 I am still baffled why the Government does not send the guys for management training at the Wildlife Institute. The institute is finding it difficult to get trainee officers. The entire expenses are born by the central Government. Is it tardiness from the Government officials or are the guys unwilling to let go their cushy posting? Where is the hitch?

 I keep on hearing about the unnecessary thrust on eco-tourism. This in the long run will only harm the wildlife and the environment. Eco-tourism is a nice management tool but let us not kill the golden goose. I also hear about the idea of introduction of exotic fishes in the water bodies of the wildlife reserves? Is it being done after a proper study of the ecological implications?

 I am a wee bit pessimistic about the future of wildlife in Kerala. When charlatans manage wildlife reserves, by-passing properly trained guys the future looks very bleak indeed.

Nice camera trap video

I ran into this video recently. It clearly shows the potential of camera traps. I was particularly fascinated by the golden cat shown in the video. It looks exactly like the elusive “Pohayan” which I once espied in Eravikulam National Park.

Book Recommendation

Birds of the Indian Subcontinent Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp
 Softcover | 2012 | Edition: 2 Publisher: Princeton University Press, Date: February, 2012 Binding: paperback, Pages: 528, Size: 5.5″ x 8.5″
 ISBN-10: 0691153493
ISBN-13: 978-0691153490

 Yesterday I had a look at the second edition of the groundbreaking book "Birds of the Indian Subcontinent" (1998). This sure is an eminently useful guide. It covers all the bird species found in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. Some of the plates in the previous edition were a wee bit gawky. The plates have been repainted for this edition. This new edition is now the best book available for birding. It is up-to-date taxonomically than all the competing guides except Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (Rasmussen and Anderton 2005, Lynx Editions). Many new species have been added based on recent taxonomic changes

 Recommended unconditionally

 Richard Grimmett is Head of Conservation at BirdLife International. Carol and Tim Inskipp are freelance wildlife consultants.

Sex and the fruit fly

I was fascinated to read this report about Male fruit flies that have been rejected by females drinking significantly more alcohol. The authors of this report says the brain’s reward systems reinforce behaviours required for species survival, including sex, food consumption, and social interaction. Drugs of abuse co-opt these neural pathways, which can lead to addiction.

The researchers used Drosophila melanogaster to investigate the relationship between natural and drug rewards. The researchers think alcohol stimulates the flies' brains as a "reward" akin to sexual conquest.

In males, mating increased, whereas sexual deprivation reduced, neuropeptide F (NPF) levels. Activation or inhibition of the NPF system in turn reduced or enhanced ethanol preference. According to the researcher NPF levels are some kind of 'molecular signature' to the experience.

 Journal reference

Sexual Deprivation Increases Ethanol Intake in Drosophila

G. Shohat-Ophir1,2,, K. R. Kaun, R. Azanchi, U. Heberlein

Science 16 March 2012: ,Vol. 335 no. 6074 pp. 1351-1355

Here is one prime example showing why we should conserve natural forests

Natural forests, particularly rainforest are a treasure trove of medicinal plants. Many discoveries are waiting to come to light. Sadly many are gone forever before we even study them. Currently less than 5 percent of the world's tropical forest plants have been tested for medicinal properties.

  

Spilanthes extract (Acmella Oleracea) is a plant traditionally used by Peruvian indigenous people Keshwa Lamas, for toothache. Now scientists from Cambridge University headed by Dr Françoise Barbira Freedman have discovered that this is a potent anaesthetic that could put an end to some injections in the dentist’s surgery. The medicinal gel is currently in trials and is expected to be in the market by 2014 or 2015.

Identifying which species should be given restoration priority in the context of different restoration targets

Understanding and planning ecological restoration of plant–pollinator networks 
Mariano Devoto,Sallie Bailey,Paul Craze and Jane Memmott
 Ecology Letters, Volume 15, Issue 4, pages 319–328, April 2012  

 It is a fact that theory developed from studying changes in the structure and function of communities during natural or managed succession can give us clues to the restoration of particular communities.

Here the researchers constructed 30 quantitative plant–flower visitor networks along a managed successional gradient to identify the main drivers of change in network structure. They then applied two alternative restoration strategies in silico (restoring for functional complementarity or redundancy) to data from their early successional plots to examine how different strategies changed restoration trajectories.

 The researchers explain changes in network structure by a combination of age, tree density and variation in tree diameter, even when variance explained by undergrowth structure was accounted for first. A combination of field data, a network approach and numerical simulations helped the researchers to identify which species should be given restoration priority in the context of different restoration targets.

 The researcher says their combined approach provides a powerful tool for directing management decisions, particularly when management seeks to restore or conserve ecosystem function. 

Favourable ocean currents and the dispersal of leatherback turtle hatchlings

On the dispersal of leatherback turtle hatchlings from Mesoamerican nesting beaches

George L. Shillinger, Emanuele Di Lorenzo, Hao Luo,Steven J. Bograd, Elliott L. Hazen, Helen Bailey and James R. Spotila

Proc. R. Soc. B, Published online before print February 29, 2012, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2348

Very little is known about the early life history of leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) from hatchling to adulthood. This lack of information has led scientists to call this period as the ‘lost years’.

 Here the researchers investigate leatherback hatchling dispersal from four Mesoamerican nesting beaches using passive tracer experiments within a regional ocean modelling system.

The strong influence of eddy transport and coastal currents were clearly discernible. The researchers say modelled hatchlings from Playa Grande, Costa Rica, were most likely to be entrained and transported offshore by large-scale eddies coincident with the peak leatherback nesting and hatchling emergence period. They go on to add that eddies potentially serve as ‘hatchling highways’, providing a means of rapid offshore transport away from predation and a productive refuge within which newly hatched turtles can develop.

The researchers hypothesize that the most important leatherback nesting beach remaining in the eastern Pacific (Playa Grande) has been evolutionarily selected as an optimal nesting site owing to favourable ocean currents that enhance hatchling survival.

Understanding the relevance of Ecological Traps

How the type of anthropogenic change alters the consequences of ecological traps

Robert J. Fletcher Jr, John L. Orrock, and Bruce A. Robertson

 Proc. R. Soc. B, Published online before print February 29, 2012, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.0139

To understand species responses to rapid environmental change a proper understanding of ecological and evolutionary dynamics in novel environments is vital. One fundamental concept relevant in this respect is the ecological trap.

 Ecological trap arises from rapid anthropogenic change and can be a causative factor for extinction. The researchers here say ecological traps occur when formerly adaptive habitat preferences become maladaptive because the cues individuals preferentially use in selecting habitats lead to lower fitness than other alternatives. Traps can arise from different types of anthropogenic change but the resulting consequences of these different types of traps remain unknown.

Using a novel model framework that builds upon the Price equation from evolutionary genetics, the researchers provide the first analysis that contrasts the ecological and evolutionary consequences of ecological traps arising from two general types of perturbations known to trigger traps. Their model suggests that traps arising from degradation of existing habitats are more likely to facilitate extinction than those arising from the addition of novel trap habitat. The framework also reveals the mechanisms of these outcomes and the substantial scope for persistence via rapid evolution that may buffer many populations from extinction. The framework will also come in handy to resolve the paradox of continued persistence of many species in dramatically altered landscapes.

A classic case of myrmecotrophic mutualism

In the association between the carnivorous pitcher plant, Nepenthes bicalcarata, and Camponotus schmitzi ants in Borneo, the ants benefit by getting food and nesting space. In return C. schmitzi ants regularly clean the pitcher rim (peristome), which is the main surface used by the plant for prey capture. This behaviour increases the carnivorous plant’s prey capture efficiency. It also helps the plant to keep the pitchers effective over long periods of time.

Journal reference

Setting the trap: cleaning behaviour of Camponotus schmitzi ants increases long-term capture efficiency of their pitcher plant host, Nepenthes bicalcarata

Daniel G. Thornham,Joanna M. Smith,T. Ulmar Grafe and Walter Federle , Functional Ecology, Volume 26, Issue 1, pages 11–19, February 2012

The need for a shakeup in wildlife setup - Another guest post from Ramesh

Guest post from Ramesh

This post is an adjunct to my last post on my visit to Eravikulam.

Why is it that we are unable to build a cadre of officers truly dedicated to wildlife conservation? The knowledge about wildlife of some of our officers’ manning wildlife reserves is abysmally poor. Commitment to welfare of wildlife is unheard of in their dictionary. Pandering to the whims and fancies of higher ups and politicians gets them the kind of posting they want in their preferred areas.

Last year my friend Mohanji made a quick reconnaissance of untrained officers manning some of our wildlife reserves. What he found was shocking. Many of the officers had absolutely no inkling about the advances in wildlife management. They don’t read the scientific literature pertaining to their filed. When confronted with questions pertaining to wildlife they beat around the bush in their effort to make an impression and in the process cut a very sorry figure.

The rot is very serious in the lower echelons. Building a band of dedicated frontline staff is not that difficult. In every recruitment programme of forest department there are at least a couple of good guys who are keen about wildlife. Why is it that we are unable to identify them and post them in wildlife and keep them there? If there is will we can easily assemble a dedicated team in a matter of 5 years.  Again another quote from Mohanji “  Trying to inculcate the ethics of wildlife conservation in forest guards who have put in years of service in regular forestry operations is sheer waste of time’.  I have absolutely no hesitation in emphasising that the main stumbling block is lack of political will. The local cronies of big time politicians call the shots and even dedicated guys that you can count on your fingers lose heart within a short span.

Time is running out. The imperative for a major shake up in the wildlife set up is clearly visible. If we don’t wake up and do something immediately the story of disappearing tigers, rhinos et al will continue to haunt us.

First satellite-tagging study of tiger sharks

Researchers from the University of Miami, Florida have completed the first satellite-tagging study of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier). The main aim of the researchers was to find out how ecotourism impacts tiger sharks .Companies offering shark dives offer food to attract the sharks. There is raging debate whether this is OK or not. The researchers studied two separate populations of tiger sharks: one that originated in Florida and the other in the Bahamas.

Have a look at the video to finds out what the researcher say

Cheetahs facing crunch situation

I read this excellent report in Guardian about Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) losing its ability to reproduce because of climate change. The conclusions were arrived at by Scientists with the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and the Kenya Wildlife Service after extensive research. Cheetahs have developed abnormal coils in its sperm as a result of warmer temperatures, affecting the big cat's ability to reproduce. Read the full report in Guardian HERE

Wildlife mangers, it time to keep your eyes peeled.Look for any unusual changes in your area and work hand in hand with field biologists to stem things in the beginning itself.

Environmental Toxicants can manifest for generations

Latest research on environmental toxicants indicates that that a variety of environmental toxicants can have negative effects for generations.

 The researchers found that even though the animal’s DNA sequence remains unchanged, the deleterious effects manifests clearly on the epigenetic effect. Jet fuel, dioxin, plastics and the pesticides DEET and permethrin have been shown to be causative agents of epigenetic disease across generations.

 The plastics, dioxin and jet fuel were found to promote early-onset female puberty transgenerationally.  Spermatogenic cell apoptosis was affected transgenerationally.

 Exposure-specific epigenetic biomarkers were identified. The researchers say this  may allow for the assessment of ancestral environmental exposures associated with adult onset disease.

Journal Reference:

Mohan Manikkam, Carlos Guerrero-Bosagna, Rebecca Tracey, Md. M. Haque, Michael K. Skinner.Transgenerational Actions of Environmental Compounds on Reproductive Disease and Identification of Epigenetic Biomarkers of Ancestral Exposures. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (2): e31901 DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0031901

An attempt at integrating history and ecology

Advancing the Integration of History and Ecology for Conservation

PÉTER SZABÓ* and RADIM HÉDL

Conservation Biology, Volume 25, Issue 4, pages 680–687, August 2011

Even though the role of humans in shaping current ecosystems was recognized decades ago, the integration of history and ecology as conservation too has been difficult.

The researchers here identified four issues that hinder historical ecological research and discuss possible solutions.

1) Differences in concepts and methods between the fields of ecology and history are large. The fact is that differences arise from miscommunication between ecologists and historians. The researchers say the differences are less substantial than is usually assumed. Cooperation can be achieved by focusing on the features ecology and history has in common and through understanding and acceptance of differing points of view.

2) Historical ecological research is often hamstrung by differences in spatial and temporal scales between ecology and history. The researchers argue that historical ecological research can only be conducted at extents for which sources in both disciplines have comparable resolutions. Researchers must begin by clearly defining the relevant scales for the given purpose.

3) The periods for which quantitative historical sources are not easily accessible (before AD 1800) have been neglected in historical ecological research. However data from periods before 1800 are as relevant to the current state of ecosystems as more recent data. The researchers suggest that historical ecologists actively seek out data from before 1800 and apply analytic methods commonly used in ecology to these data.

4)Humans are not usually considered an intrinsic ecological factor in current ecological research. In the view of researchers human societies should be acknowledged as integral parts of ecosystems and societal processes should be recognized as driving forces of ecosystem change.

Biodiversity conservation and the identification of areas that need to be linked.

Linking like with like: optimising connectivity between environmentally-similar habitats

Diogo Alagador, Maria Triviño, Jorge Orestes Cerdeira, Raul Brás, Mar Cabeza and Miguel Bastos Araújo

LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY, Published online 10^th January 2012

With human population burgeoning habitat fragmentation is increasingly becoming a threat to biodiversity. The best way to overcome the problem is to ensure connectivity between o isolated habitats. However, the identification of linkages favoring connectivity is not as easy as it sounds. Firstly, they compete with other land uses which means they need to be cost-efficient. Secondly, linkages for one species might be counterproductive for others, which mean they should effectively account for distinct mobility requirements. Thirdly, detailed information on the auto-ecology of most of the species is lacking, so linkages may have to be defined based on surrogates.

In order to address the challenges enumerated above the researchers of this paper developed a framework that (a) identifies environmentally-similar habitats; (b) identifies environmental barriers (i.e., regions with a very distinct environment from the areas to be linked), and; (c) determines cost-efficient linkages between environmentally-similar habitats, free from environmental barriers.

It is assumed that species with similar ecological requirements occupy the same environments, so environmental similarity provides a rationale for the identification of the areas that need to be linked. The researchers used a variant of the classical minimum Steiner tree problem in graphs to address c). They present a heuristic for this problem that is capable of handling large datasets.

To illustrate the framework, the researchers identify linkages between environmentally-similar protected areas in the Iberian Peninsula. The Natura 2000 network is used as a positive ‘attractor’ of links while the human footprint is used as ‘repellent’ of links. They compare the outcomes of their approach with cost-efficient networks linking protected areas that disregard the effect of environmental barriers. The researchers say as expected, the latter achieved a smaller area covered with linkages, but with barriers that can significantly reduce the permeability of the landscape for the dispersal of some species.

National Geographic runs in to controversy

Greenpeace says there is direct link between National Geographic Society (NGS) products and rainforest destruction in Indonesia.

According to greenpeace an analysis of National Geographic publications found Sumatran rainforest fibre from Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a company that has gained notoriety for rain forest destruction. One of the products tested positive was the book Global Birding.

The report has put in a fix National Geographic Society known the world over for championing environmental and conservation issues.

National Geographic Society says while there may be a few books in their inventory that were printed on APP paper, they no longer use materials supplied by APP and have not sourced for several years. They now purchase paper from Verso Paper in Maine.

Other names in the report include Xerox, Wal-mart, Barnes and Noble, Parragon Publishing, and Danone.

Read the Greenpeace report HERE

Have a look at the video produced by Greenpeace

Managing forests – The challenge of managing them as ecologically sustainable ecosystems

Six principles for managing forests as ecologically sustainable ecosystems

David B. Lindenmayer and Saul A. Cunningham

 LANDSCAPE ECOLOGYDOI: 10.1007/s10980-012-9720-9

When we manage a landscape with the focus on its natural resources it is pretty difficult to ensure an ecologically sustainable future. Here the researchers suggest 6 principles for sustainable forest landscape management derived from insights in an array of natural and commodity production ecosystems in south-eastern Australia. Even though the thrust is on Australia it is likely to have broad applicability to many forested ecosystems worldwide.

These principles are.

(1) Landscape management problems are typically underpinned by human-use drivers that over-commit natural resources and undermine the ecosystem services which support the replenishment of those resources.

(2) Not all parts of a landscape are equal in their contribution to species persistence and ecological processes. Special steps are needed to secure the ecological integrity of these disproportionately important areas.

 (3) Managing connectivity is critical, but it is essential to determine what kind of connectivity is desirable, and for what species and processes.

 (4) Land use practices can produce spatial and temporal cumulative effects with negative impacts on biodiversity and ecological processes.

(5) Land use decisions on the land sparing–land sharing spectrum are highly scale and context dependent.

(6) Our understanding of landscape-scale processes is shaped by our conceptual model of the landscape. It is therefore important to check if a given mental model is appropriate for a given landscape and the species or ecological processes of concern.

The researchers affirm that these six principles should not be applied uncritically. They say it is best to treat them as a checklist of considerations that will help guide our thinking about landscape change, so that we can orient toward more ecologically sustainable landscape management.

Rhino poaching

Rhino poaching: 'These animals are all too easy to kill’

I read this excellent article in “The Telegraph”. Victoria Moore talk to the conservationist Ian Craig about the brutal murder by poachers of a very special and rather famous white rhinoceros called Max.   Craig is appalled by the senseless slaughter of Rhinos. Rhino horn can be traded illegally for up to £60,000 a kilogram in some Asian countries. Poachers now deploy helicopters as well as night-vision goggles in search of their bounty Read the full article HERE