China – New Clues to the Evolution of Mammals

Discovery of a small fossilised animal that walked like a platypus but looked like a shrew is providing important new clues to the evolution of early mammals. The discovery was made by paleontologists Gang Li and Zhe-Xi Luo in the province of Liaoning in northeast China. The insect-eating mammal lived alongside dinosaurs some 125 million years ago. Measuring 10 to12 centimetres long and weighing 15 to 20 grams, the shrew like creature had a thick coat of fur. The animal has been given the name Akidolestes. Akidolestes strengthens the case of Asia being the place where the main mammal groups first originated. Details appear in the latest issue of the journal Nature.

Ants Offer First Example of Formal Teaching in Non-human Animals

Professor Nigel Franks and Tom Richardson from Bristol University have come up with the first proof of teaching in non-human animals - ants showing each other the way to food. The findings appear in the latest issue journal Nature. According to the researchers the ant leaders slowed down if the follower got too far behind. If the gap got smaller, they then speeded up. Professor Frank added, “teaching involves the teacher modifying its behaviour in the presence of a naive observer at some initial cost to itself. This is to our knowledge the first example of formal teaching in non-human animals"

Pain killer endangering the survival of vultures

There is disturbing news for vultures in India. A study, led by Dr Deborah Pain on behalf of the British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, published in Biology Letters, is pointing accusing finger at the drug Diclofenac. Diclofenac used to treat inflammation in cattle has been blamed, for the rapid decline of Indian vulture populations. The drug is destroying the kidneys of birds feeding off carcasses of dead, treated animals. The researchers fear that more distantly related birds may be equally endangered, and that substitutes for diclofenac might be similarly toxic. Disappearance of vultures, the scavengers, could damage the quality of the environment.

Surprising - In Bacterial Diversity, Amazon is a 'Desert'; Desert is an 'Amazon’

The first ever-continental scale genetic survey of soil bacteria has come up with surprising results. The diversity of soil bacteria in the otherwise species-rich Amazon is a more like a desert, while the arid desert is teeming with bacteria. The reason for this is the fact that the primary factor that seems to govern the diversity of soil bacteria is soil pH. Thus, the acidic soils of topical forests harbour fewer bacterial species than the neutral soils of deserts. The reserchers are Noah Fierer from the University of Colorado, and Robert Jackson from the Duke University. According to the researchers "The number of bacterial species in a spoonful of soil is likely to exceed the total number of plant species in all of the United States.". The findings appear in the Early Online Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Finland Develops New Fully Recyclable Paper

VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland and the universities of Helsinki and Joensuu have developed a new fully recyclable paper from potato starch. The paper is 20 to 30 per cent lighter. The new process will reduce the environmental impacts of paper products. However, the production costs of the new raw materials are high at the moment.

2008 declared as International Year of Planet Earth

The United Nations General Assembly, meeting in New York, has proclaimed the year 2008 to be the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth. The activities will span 2007-2009.
Thrust areas will be
• Reduce risks for society caused by natural and human-induced hazards
• Reduce health problems by improving understanding of the medical aspects of Earth science
• Discover new natural resources and make them available in a sustainable manner
• Build safer structures and expand urban areas, utilizing natural subsurface conditions
• Determine the non-human factor in climatic change
• Enhance understanding of the occurrence of natural resources so as to contribute to efforts to reduce political tension
• Detect deep and poorly accessible groundwater resources
• Improve understanding of the evolution of life
• Increase interest in the Earth sciences in society at large
• Encourage more young people to study Earth science in university

Africa Lions in Peril

African Lions are in dire straits. Lions have lost 80 percent of their historic range in the last century. Threatened everywhere in Africa, they are in real bad situation in the densely populated west. The predator is doing far better in the east and south of the continent than elsewhere. The estimates are that there are between 23,000 to 40,000 lions in Africa. Of that, only 2,000 to 4,000 are in west and central Africa and the rest in East and Southern Africa. In West most of the lion populations were small and isolated. Small numbers meant that the populations were vulnerable to disease outbreaks and other sudden impacts.

Madagascar on way to Triple its Nature Reserves

Madagascar, world's fourth largest island, is known to have at least 10,000 plant species, 316 reptiles and 109 bird species. Three quarters of Madagascar's plant and animal species are found nowhere else. At a World Parks Congress in South Africa, September 2003, President Marc Ravalomanana had pledged to boost the island's protected forests and wetlands to 6.0 million hectares from its then 1.7 million hectares. The plans are cruising along promised lines. The newly established Makira Protected Area - one of the country's five new protected areas,now forms along with existing Masoala National Park the largest contiguous tract of rain forest under protection on the island. Involvement of local communities is a key feature in all the newly established protected areas.

Five Species of Deepwater Fishes Assessed as Critically Endangered

Using the criteria of the World Conservation Union’s Red List, Jennifer A. Devine of Memorial University Newfoundland in Canada, has assessed the status of the roundnose grenadier ( Coryphaenoides rupestris); the onion-eye grenadier ( Macrourus berglax); the blue hake ( Antimora rostrata), the spiny eel ( Notacanthus chemnitzi) and the spinytail skate ( Bathyraja spinicauda) as critically endangered. The relative abundance has plummeted. Over fishing and highly destructive fishing methods, particularly bottom trawling, have been the main cause of this decline. Human use of the high and deep seas will be on the political agenda at the United Nations from 13-17 February and at the Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP8) in Curitiba, Brazil from March 20-31.

Return Of The Predator Fish and the Effect On The Coral Reef

The return of a top predator in a Bahamas marine reserve is proving beneficial to coral reefs there. The finding is the result of a study by Peter Mumby, a marine biologist and
Dan Brumbaugh, a senior conservation scientist with the American Museum of Natural History in New York.The study area was the Bahamas' Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park..
They found that while the reserve has allowed Nassau grouper to flourish, large species of parrotfish have thrived as well. Parrotfish are crucial to the health of coral reefs, because they are one of the few creatures that graze on seaweed. Left uneaten, the seaweed suffocates the corals and prevents reef growth. The sea urchins were the only other species known to eat the seaweed

DNA Analysis Offers New Insight In To Cat Evolution

The latest issue of journal Science has interesting info about cat evolution. The study by Warren E. Johnson and Stephen J. O'Brien is based on DNA analysis of the 37 living species. Their new family tree is based solely on changes in DNA, with the fossil record. Johnson-O'Brien team has been able to reconstruct a series of at least 10 intercontinental migrations by which cats colonised the world. Chris Wozencraft, an authority on the classification of carnivorous mammals, says the new cat family tree generally agreed with one that he had just published in Mammal Species of the World.

Brazil Honours British Botanist

Jimmy Ratter who has worked with Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden for more than 45 years, has been awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Brazil.The award is in recognition of the work he has done to preserve the Brazilian Cerrado. He is the first from the UK to be awarded this prestigious title. The Cerrado is a type of tree savanna with more than 5000 species of plants, many of which are unique to Brazil. Mr Ratter has published more than 80 works, half of them about the Brazilian Cerrado

Carpathian Mountain Protection Plan off the block

The seven-nation environmental plan to protect the Carpathian Mountains in Eastern Europe came into force on Wednesday. The plan aim to protect wildlife in the Carpathians from Romania to the Czech Republic, preserve the cultures of about 18 million people in the region and promote forestry, mining and tourism without spoiling the environment. The Carpathian region is a refuge for brown bears, wolves, bison, lynx, eagles and some 200 unique plant species. Slovakia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro are the participant states.

Forest Fires Threaten Rare Species in New Caledonia

Forest fires raging through rainforests in New Caledonia are wiping out rare plant species. Several plant species are being wiped out. A species of palm exclusive to New Caledonia is under threat. The damage to the rainforests also brings danger to the fauna. cagou, a bird native to New Caledonia is under threat.

International caviar trade banned

CITES the convention for trade in endangered species, which represents 169 countries, has banned International caviar trade. The ban was imposed for scientific reasons and to stop poaching in Caspian Sea. Sturgeon is suffering serious population decline.

New Mammal Named After Chocolate Giant Cadbury

Tom Rich, now curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, led a dig at Dinosaur Cove from 1984 to 1994 in an effort to find dino fossils. Rich promised a Kilo of chocolate for every dino jaw dug up. Lot of chocolate was distributed. Quite certain that a mammal bone wouldn't be found, Rich promised a cubic meter of chocolate to anyone who came up with a specimen. By 1994 Dinosaur Cove the work was over. But there remained lot of specimens to be identified. One of the fossils turned out to be a mammal bone, from an early echidna. This was a specimen new to science. Tom Rich had to make good his promise. A cubic meter is lot of chocolate.Cadbury factory in Melbourne came to his rescue. Because there was no way of knowing who had actually found the bone, Rich invited all of the volunteers who had participated in the Dinosaur Cove dig to the presentation of chocolate. It was a chocolate galore. Naming a newfound animal species is largely the prerogative of the scientist who discovered the creature. Presto the species was named Kryoryctes cadburyi . Details appear in the December issue of the Journal of Mammalian Evolution.

"Bigfoot" Fever Grips Malaysia

The whole of Malaysia is agog with news of “Bigfoot” the mysterious ape in Johar. An indigenous man claimed he saw a 10-feet-tall ape standing on two legs beside a river in the heavy rainforest in Johor State. One newspaper has published a picture of a large but vague impression of a big footprint in mud. Park Rangers are scouting the area to spot the mystery creature.Sceptics however say it is a publicity stunt meant to lure more visitors to the area. The latest remake of the movie "King Kong" has added fuel to the news circulating Malaysia.

UN launches International Year of Deserts and Desertification

The United Nations has launched its International Year of Deserts and desertification programme.The aim of this programme is to raise global public awareness of the advancing deserts, of ways to safeguard the biological diversity of arid lands covering one-third of the planet and protecting the knowledge and traditions of the 2 billion people affected by the phenomenon. Launching the programme UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said: "I look forward to working with Governments, civil society, the private sector, international organizations and others to focus attention on this crucial issue, and to make every day one on which we work to reverse the trend of desertification and set the world on a safer, more sustainable path of development."

USA - Species Rediscovered in Protected Areas and Wildlife Refuges

Seven species thought to have been extinct or extirpated in the United States were rediscovered in Protected Areas and Wildlife Refuges in 2005. The most prominent of these was the ivory-billed woodpecker, sighted for the first time in 60 years in Arkansas' Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. Others in the list are The least Bell's vireo, The Cahaba pebblesnail, cobble elimia and Nodulose Coosa River snail, The Mount Diablo buckwheat, and The California dissanthelium.

Happy New Year

Tahrcountry Wishes All Readers A Very Happy 2006