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DocWatch predator depletion Twitterit? News stories about "predator depletion," with punchlines: http://apocadocs.com/d.pl?predator+depletion Related Scary Tags: hunting to extinction  ~ overfishing  ~ ecosystem interrelationships  ~ white nose syndrome  ~ marine mammals  ~ massive die-off  ~ koyaanisqatsi  ~ toxic buildup  ~ sixth extinction  ~ ocean warming  ~ jellyfish   Sun, Jul 19, 2015 from Grand Forks Herald: Bat Reclamation: Bat study hones-in on nesting trees ... The bat seemed fine -- the experts saw no sign of the deadly white-nose syndrome fungus -- and was quickly sent on her way to chase mosquitoes for the rest of the night.... And with northern long-ears newly protected by the federal Endangered Species Act, scientists are scrambling to fill in the blanks on the bat's life cycle. Bats eat lots of bugs. They winter in caves. They fly at night. Beyond that? "It's amazing how much we don't know about them,'' said Ron Moen, biologist for the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota Duluth, who is helping coordinate the effort. ... Apocaiku: The little brown bat is now deaf. Our next best hope: the Northern Long-ear. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Oct 23, 2014 from The Independent (UK): Small ocean fish are thriving while humans eat up all their predators Little fish have never had it so good, according to research showing how mankind's taste for big fish such as tuna and shark is allowing the anchovy and sardine to flourish.... Industrialised fishing practices are causing a revolution in the world's oceans, with numbers of predator fish - which also include swordfish, grouper, North Atlantic cod and salmon - tumbling by 54 per cent in the past four decades. These fish sit at the top of the food chain and are more popular with humans than the smaller species because people find them tastier. Their volume - by weight - has fallen by 67 per cent in the past century, a University of British Columbia study has found.... The volume by weight of smaller fish has more than doubled in the past century. The biggest increases are to be found in those fish that are less popular with humans, such as sticklebacks and Gobies, the research found. Over the same period, the volume of predators fell by 67 per cent.... The meteoric rise of herbivorous sea urchins as their predators such as sea otters have declined is one example of how the changes are undermining ecosystems. The sea urchins destroy the forests of kelp seaweed that host numerous species such as crabs and jellyfish. ... It's just smaller fish, all the way down. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Aug 9, 2014 from Guardian: Sales of shark fin in China drop by up to 70 percent ... The trade in shark fins, a symbol of wealth in China and other parts of Asia, has led to the decline in some shark populations by up to 98 percent in the last 15 years. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed each year with up to 73 million used for their fins. China became the world's largest market for shark fin due to its rising wealth and desire for luxury goods. However, sales of shark fin have fallen from 50-70 percent, according to a report by WildAid, a US-based organisation focusing on reducing demand for wildlife products. According to data collected by WildAid, sales of shark fin in Guangzhou, considered to be the centre of the shark fin trade in China, have dropped by 82 percent. The report complied data from a number of different sources including news reports, online surveys, undercover interviews with traders in China and trade statistics from Hong Kong, once considered to be the global hub for trade in shark fin.... “The more people learn about the consequences of eating shark fin soup, the less they want to participate in the trade,” said Knights. Pressure from conservationists has also influenced big businesses. A number of large hotel chains have stopped serving shark fin soup and more than 20 airlines have agreed not to transport it. Last year, it was reported that the owners of factories that process sharks in Puqi, a seaside town in Zhejiang province blamed such awareness campaigns for a drop in their business. ... That's tantamount to asserting that humans can use knowledge to predictively avoid catastrophe. I mean, come on. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jan 10, 2014 from BBC: More than three quarters of large carnivores now in decline When they looked at 31 big meat eaters, they found that they were under increasing pressure in the Amazon, South East Asia, southern and East Africa. "Globally, we are losing our large carnivores," said lead author Prof William Ripple from Oregon State University. "Their ranges are collapsing. Many of these animals are at risk of extinction, either locally or globally."... When they looked at wolves and cougars in Yellowstone National Park in the US, they found that having fewer of these big predators resulted in an increase in animals that browse such as elk and deer. While this might seem like good news, the researchers found that the rise of these browsers is bad for vegetation and disrupts the lives of birds and small mammals, leading to a cascade of damaging impacts. ... One quarter, however, are now morbidly obese. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Nov 10, 2013 from Foreign Affairs, via WitsEndNJ: The Devolution of the Seas: The Consequences of Oceanic Destruction Of all the threats looming over the planet today, one of the most alarming is the seemingly inexorable descent of the world's oceans into ecological perdition. Over the last several decades, human activities have so altered the basic chemistry of the seas that they are now experiencing evolution in reverse: a return to the barren primeval waters of hundreds of millions of years ago.... Over the last 50 years -- a mere blink in geologic time -- humanity has come perilously close to reversing the almost miraculous biological abundance of the deep. Pollution, overfishing, the destruction of habitats, and climate change are emptying the oceans and enabling the lowest forms of life to regain their dominance. The oceanographer Jeremy Jackson calls it 'the rise of slime': the transformation of once complex oceanic ecosystems featuring intricate food webs with large animals into simplistic systems dominated by microbes, jellyfish, and disease. In effect, humans are eliminating the lions and tigers of the seas to make room for the cockroaches and rats. ... So, you environmentalists have become 'cockroaches and rats'-ists? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Oct 17, 2013 from Washington Post: Study links warmer water temperatures to greater levels of mercury in fish In a lab experiment, researchers adjusted temperatures in tanks, tainted the killifish's food with traces of methylmercury and watched as the fish stored high concentrations of the metal in their tissue. In a field experiment in nearby salt pools, they observed as killifish in warmer pools ate their natural food and stored metal in even higher concentrations, like some toxic condiment for larger fish that would later prey on them. The observation was part of a study showing how killifish at the bottom of the food chain will probably absorb higher levels of methylmercury in an era of global warming and pass it on to larger predator fish, such as the tuna stacked in shiny little cans in the cupboards of Americans and other people the world over. "The implication is this could play out in larger fish . . . because their metabolic rate is also increasing," said Celia Chen, a professor at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and one of six authors of the study. "Methylmercury isn't easily excreted, so it stays. It suggests that there will be higher methylmercury concentrations in the fish humans eat as well." ... Finally! Something to solve the problem of overfishing! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Aug 26, 2013 from University of Hawaii, via EurekAlert: Ocean fish acquire more mercury at depth Mercury--a common industrial toxin--is carried through the atmosphere before settling on the ocean and entering the marine food web.... predatory fish that feed at deeper depths in the open ocean, like opah and swordfish, have higher mercury concentrations than those that feed in waters near the surface, like mahi-mahi and yellowfin tuna... Bacteria in the oceans change atmospheric mercury into the organic monomethylmercury form that can accumulate in animal tissue. Large predatory fish contain high levels of methylmercury in part because they eat lots of smaller, mercury-containing fish. In 2009, researchers at UH Manoa determined that the depths at which a species feeds is nearly as important as its position in the food chain in determining how much methylmercury it contains.... The finding that mercury is being converted to its toxic, bioavailable form at depth is important in part because scientists expect mercury levels at intermediate depths in the North Pacific to rise in coming decades. "The implication is that predictions for increased mercury in deeper water will result in higher levels in fish," said Joel Blum of the University of Michigan, the lead author on the new paper and a professor in the department of earth and environmental sciences. "If we're going to effectively reduce the mercury concentrations in open-ocean fish, we're going to have to reduce global emissions of mercury, including emissions from places like China and India." ... At least there's one place where the mercury is dropping! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jun 19, 2013 from Science Daily: Predators Affect the Carbon Cycle, Study Shows A new study shows that the predator-prey relationship can affect the flow of carbon through an ecosystem. This previously unmeasured influence on the environment may offer a new way of looking at biodiversity management and carbon storage for climate change.... The study found that the presence of spiders drove up the rate of carbon uptake by the plants by about 1.4 times more than when just grasshoppers were present and by 1.2 more times than when no animals were present. It was also revealed that the pattern of carbon storage in the plants changed when both herbivores and carnivores were present. The grasshoppers apparently were afraid of being eaten by the spiders and consumed less plant matter when the predators were around.... Appreciating the role of predators is also important currently, given that top predators are declining at rates faster than that of many other species in global trends of biodiversity loss. ... I can bearly understand top-predator loss. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Aug 28, 2012 from ScienceDaily: Loss of Predators in Northern Hemisphere Affecting Ecosystem Health A survey on the loss in the Northern Hemisphere of large predators, particularly wolves, concludes that current populations of moose, deer, and other large herbivores far exceed their historic levels and are contributing to disrupted ecosystems.... It found that the loss of major predators in forest ecosystems has allowed game animal populations to greatly increase, crippling the growth of young trees and reducing biodiversity. This also contributes to deforestation and results in less carbon sequestration, a potential concern with climate change.... Densities of large mammalian herbivores were six times greater in areas without wolves, compared to those in which wolves were present, the researchers concluded. They also found that combinations of predators, such as wolves and bears, can create an important synergy for moderating the size of large herbivore populations. ... Don't we disallow all scary things? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Apr 9, 2012 from PhysOrg: Loss of predators in Northern Hemisphere affecting ecosystem health A survey done on the loss in the Northern Hemisphere of large predators, particularly wolves, concludes that current populations of moose, deer, and other large herbivores far exceed their historic levels and are contributing to disrupted ecosystems. The research, published today by scientists from Oregon State University, examined 42 studies done over the past 50 years. It found that the loss of major predators in forest ecosystems has allowed game animal populations to greatly increase, crippling the growth of young trees and reducing biodiversity. This also contributes to deforestation and results in less carbon sequestration, a potential concern with climate change. "These issues do not just affect the United States and a few national parks," said William Ripple, an OSU professor of forestry and lead author of the study. "The data from Canada, Alaska, the Yukon, Northern Europe and Asia are all showing similar results. There's consistent evidence that large predators help keep populations of large herbivores in check, with positive effects on ecosystem health." ... But isn't Bambi lots cuter than the Big Bad Wolf? ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Mar 27, 2012 from Fox News: Hammerhead shark 'twin' means species is rarer than formerly thought Scientists recently confirmed that endangered scalloped hammerhead sharks have a fishy twin -- a newfound species, still unnamed, that is distinct, yet very closely resembles the threatened sharks. The case of mistaken identity indicates that scalloped hammerhead sharks are even more scarce than once thought, according to some researchers. Since it's very hard to tell the two species apart -- only differences in their DNA and number of vertebrae reveal their true identities -- it's likely that previous assessments of scalloped hammerhead sharks exaggerated their numbers because the counts likely included the look-alike sharks. "It's a classic case of long-standing species misidentification that not only casts further uncertainty on the status of the real scalloped hammerhead, but also raises concerns about the population status of this new species," Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center professor Mahmood Shivji said in a statement. ... Let's just pretend we didn't know that. It's working so far everywhere else! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Feb 13, 2012 from LA Times, through DesdemonaDespair: Canada responds to tar-sands-based caribou decline with plan to kill wolves Woodland caribou herds in Canada are declining, and tar sands development is a big part of the reason why. But Canada's national and provincial governments know what do about that: Kill the wolves. That's the crux of new posts by both Grist and the National Wildlife Federation, which are following this issue. Both are revisiting the environmental costs of tar sands development in Alberta. The federation cites numerous studies released in 2011 that found that oil and gas development in Canada is contributing to the decline of woodland caribou herds. Both the national government and the province of Alberta acknowledge that tar sands development adversely affects the herds. Environment Canada, the country's national environmental agency, announced in fall 2011 that a draft of a nationwide caribou recovery plan - which is not yet in effect - would include plans to cull the wolf population near the three herds that are directly affected by the tar sands development. Environment minister Peter Kent was quoted in numerous stories acknowledging that "thousands" of wolves might need to be killed. Many stories have focused on the use of strychnine poisoning and aerial hunting to kill the wolves. Officials in Alberta, however, want to emphasize that this program has not yet begun and, while wolves are currently controlled in the province, that images of a wholesale wolf slaughter are overblown.... ... Somehting is bakcwadr with this ygetarts. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jan 6, 2012 from Inter-Research: Modelling the effects of fishing on the biomass of the world's oceans from 1950 to 2006 Using primary production, sea surface temperature, transfer efficiency, fisheries catch and TL of species, the model was applied on a half-degree spatial grid covering all oceans. Estimates of biomass by TLs were derived for marine ecosystems in an unexploited state, as well as for all decades since the 1950s. Trends in the decline of marine biomass from the unexploited state were analyzed with a special emphasis on predator species as they are highly vulnerable to overexploitation. This study highlights 3 main trends in the global effects of fishing: (1) predators are more affected than organisms at lower TLs; (2) declines in ecosystem biomass are stronger along coastlines than in the High Seas; and (3) the extent of fishing and its impacts have expanded from north temperate to equatorial and southern waters in the last 50 yr. More specifically, this modelling work shows that many oceans historically exploited by humans have seen a drastic decline in their predator biomass, with approximately half of the coastal areas of the North Atlantic and North Pacific showing a decline in predator biomass of more than 90 percent. ... Without predator species, there's no need for fear! ApocaDoc permalink Want more context? Try reading our book FREE online: Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies! More fun than a barrel of jellyfish! Tue, Dec 6, 2011 from Canadian Press, via Huffington Post: Marine Predators Decline, As Overfishing Takes Toll: University Of British Columbia Study Overfishing is taking a heavy toll on marine predators such as sharks, tuna and swordfish, says a new study by scientists at the University of British Columbia. The study, published online Monday in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, says predator species in north Pacific and Atlantic waters have dropped by more than 90 per cent since the 1950s. The study found that predator species are also experiencing a dramatic decline in the south seas as those species are caught and sent to northern markets for consumption.... She also said fishing is a huge driving force in the deterioration of the marine ecosystem, noting that the removal of fish from the ocean can be compared to clearcuts in the Amazon. "After running out of predator fish in the north Atlantic and Pacific, rather than implementing strict management and enforcement, the fishing industry pointed its bows south," co-author Daniel Pauly said in a media statement. "The southern hemisphere predators are now on the same trajectory as the ones in the northern hemisphere. What happens next when we have nowhere left to turn?" ... One direction is always available: down. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Oct 22, 2011 from EnvironmentalResearchWeb: Polar bears ill from accumulated environmental toxins New doctoral thesis documents that industrial chemicals are transported from the industrialised world to the Arctic via air and sea currents. Here, the cocktail of environmental toxins is absorbed by the sea's food chains which are so rich in fats and of which the polar bear is the top predator.... The experiments showed that the damage seen in the polar bears was also evident in the groups of Arctic foxes and dogs which were fed environmental toxins, but not in the control groups. ... If they're predators, why can't they just toughen up? ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Aug 30, 2011 from BBC: What is killing killer whales? Marine experts are concerned about an invisible threat to the animals that has been building in our seas since World War II. That was when industries began extensively using chemical flame retardants, such as PCBs. These chemicals were later found to harm human health and the environment, and governments around the world banned their use in the 1970s. But their legacy lives on in the world's seas and oceans, say biologists, posing a modern threat to animals such as killer whales, also known as orcas.... As large mammals, killer whales consume a large amount of prey. But this position at the top of the food chain, as "apex predators", makes them particularly vulnerable to changes in their prey. That is because orca feed on fish that in turn eat polluted prey or absorb pollution from the water. So the orca ingest all of the pollution in the chain, in a process called "bioaccumulation".... Dr Jepson says this fat solubility is a considerable issue for female cetaceans such as killer whales who feed their young for up to a year on high fat milk to kick-start their development. "You get this huge maternal transfer. It's been calculated that in whales and dolphins about ninety percent or more of the mother's body burden of PCB can be offloaded, particularly to the first calf," he tells BBC Nature. ... The top of the food chain is only as strong as its bioaccumulated links. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Aug 5, 2011 from London Daily Telegraph: Was pollution responsible for mass stranding of pilot whales? Scientists are probing whether pollution may have caused 70 pilot whales to strand in north west Scotland last month. The whales may have been poisoned by years of toxic waste. Experts have now asked the UK government for £20,000 to carry out the first such major diagnostic tests on a super pod in Scotland - which could show the legacy of decades of pouring toxic chemicals into the sea. No such link between strandings and pollution has ever been proved before - but scientists say they are now finding killer whales with toxic readings "hundreds" of times over the limit. There are growing fears that Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB's) - which are now banned - are so prevalent in the marine environment that over a period of time they have entered the food chain widely. ... Turns out those so-called killer whales are softies. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jul 14, 2011 from PBS, through Scientific American: Loss of Top Predators Has More Far-Reaching Effects than Thought Sea otters eat sea urchins and sea urchins eat kelp. When sea otters are present, the coastal kelp forests maintain a healthy balance. But when the fur trade wiped out the otters in the Aleutian Islands in the 1990s, sea urchins grew wildly, devouring kelp, and the kelp forest collapsed, along with everything that depended on it. Fish populations declined. Bald eagles, which feed on fish, altered their food habits. Dwindled kelp supplies sucked up less carbon dioxide, and atmospheric carbon dioxide increased. The animal that sits at the top of the food chain matters, and its loss has large, complex effects on the structure and function of its ecosystem, according to an article published on Thursday in the online issue of the journal, Science.... "We see it on land, we see it on water, we see it in high latitudes, we see it in low latitudes," said James Estes, a research scientist at the Institute for Marine Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz and the paper's lead author. "We do not not see it anywhere." ... I'm not not uncertain whether double negatives are not not less confusing than more. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jul 8, 2011 from The Independent: Extinction of the Big Cats? "There were 450,000 lions when we were born and now there are only 20,000 worldwide," says Dereck, white-ponytailed and ramrod-straight at 55. "Leopards have declined from 700,000 to 50,000, cheetahs from 45,000 to 12,000 and tigers are down from 50,000 to just 3,000," his elegant wife and collaborator adds. The bleak prospect is that our grandchildren will never be able to see these animals - or even the elephants, buffalo, zebra and antelope who survive by fleeing their predators - in the wild. "We're expecting mass extinctions of big cats within 10 or 15 years unless something is done about it," Dereck says. He's looking to African governments to do this, without whose change of heart and legislation all efforts to save the beasts will be fruitless. "Look at tigers - despite all the conservation efforts going on around them, there are less than 900 left in India, and whatever happens to tigers will happen to lions. We are in real trouble." "Every year, 600 male lions are taken legally in safari hunts in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia - seven countries in total," Beverly adds. "You can shoot leopards in all those countries too, and 2,000 a year become a legal hunting trophy." ... Kellogg's better get on this. Frosted flakes would never be grrrrrreat again! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Jun 28, 2011 from New Scientist: Tasmanian devils were sitting ducks for deadly cancer Despite its ferocious nature, the Tasmanian devil is a creature faced with extinction, the victim of a gruesome facial tumour disease. Now the first genetic sequencing of these carnivorous marsupials has revealed that we had a hand in their decline: centuries of human interference left the devils stripped of genetic diversity and vulnerable to disease. This meant that when the parasitic face cancer dubbed "Devil facial tumour disease" appeared in 1996 it rapidly spread through the entire population. As a result, the Tasmanian devil, or Sarcophilus harrisii, population has fallen over 60 per cent since 1996. The disease is transmitted by physical contact, mostly biting during sex. It is almost always fatal and has spread across most of Tasmania.... Some studies estimate the marsupials could be wiped out within decades.... Humans had a heavy hand in this. First the devils were wiped out in mainland Australia by dingoes brought in by settlers, then those that remained in Tasmania were hunted as pests, causing several population crashes. As their genetic diversity was slashed, the devils were left vulnerable to disease. ... We didn't give the devil his due. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Jun 28, 2011 from New York Times: Greatest Threat to Caribou Herd in Canada Isn't From Wolves Humans are a much bigger problem than wolves for a caribou herd in the oil sands area of Alberta, Canada, scientists reported last week in Frontiers in Ecology. Studies of scat of moose, caribou and wolves in the area showed that caribou accounted for only 10 percent of the animals consumed by wolves. Eighty percent of the wolves' diet was deer, with moose making up the remainder. Wolves' preference for deer, the researchers conclude, draws them away from the areas where caribou thrive. But the oil sands contain the second largest reserve of petroleum in the world, and so they face a heavy human presence as they are developed. And by looking at hormone levels in caribou scat, the scientists found that when humans were most active in an area, caribou nutrition was poorest and psychological stress highest. When oil crews left, the animals relaxed and nutrition improved.... The scientists reported that removing wolves, favored by government and industry, could do serious damage to the ecosystem, and fails to help preserve the caribou. (The study was paid for by Statoil Canada, an energy company with oil leases in the area.) The scientists said if development trends continue, within 30 years the caribou herd on the east side of the Athabasca River will be no more. ... Government and industry have such a herd mentality. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Jun 19, 2011 from Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Are jellyfish a harbinger of dying seas? Jellyfish, common in the seas for eons, suck so up so much food -- and give back so little -- that a dramatic population increase would gravely threaten the future of oceans worldwide, according to a new study. Jellyfish could send once-productive seas, including the Gulf of Mexico, back to a more primitive state, if theories pointing to striking increases in the gelatinous creatures prove true. They assault the base of the food chain, creating conditions where little can survive but jellyfish and bacteria, new scientific findings published this month reveal.... The findings are a cause for concern because reports of jellyfish blooms are increasing, leading many scientists to speculate that water pollution, global warming and overfishing may be tipping the scales toward conditions more favorable for jellyfish. ... I hate it when Nature sends us a message. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, May 23, 2011 from New York Times: Mid-Atlantic Dreads Bad Summer of Foul, Hungry Stink Bugs The brown marmorated stink bug is believed to have arrived here from Asia in the 1990s. It has made its way from Pennsylvania to at least 33 states, and has been spotted as far west as California and Washington. A continuing advance is inexorable, scientists say, because the bugs have no natural predators and can travel long distances -- not by flying, but via a more convenient method: covertly hitching rides in vehicles. The insect has caused tens of millions of dollars in damage, munching apples, peppers, corn and soybeans, and has proved to be a general irritant -- in no small part because of its foul odor, which the bug secretes as a defense mechanism. "The feeling in the bug world is this is the worst bug we've seen in 40 years," said Michael J. Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland. "It eats peaches and grapes and soybeans. It's annihilated organic growers who can't use pesticides. And guess what? After it eats your crops, it comes inside your home. I've never seen another bug do that." ... The stinky side of globalization. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, May 3, 2011 from New York Times: One Fish, Two Fish, False-ish, True-ish Two University of Washington scientists have just published a study in the journal Conservation Biology in collaboration with colleagues from Rutgers University and Dalhousie University arguing that the gloomiest predictions about the world's fisheries are significantly exaggerated. The new study takes issue with a recent estimate that 70 percent of all stocks have been harvested to the point where their numbers have peaked and are now declining, and that 30 percent of all stocks have collapsed to less than one-tenth of their former numbers. Instead, it finds that at most 33 percent of all stocks are over-exploited and up to 13 percent of all stocks have collapsed. It's not that fisheries are in great shape, said Trevor Branch, the lead author of the new study; it's just that they are not as badly off as has been widely believed.... But Dirk Zeller, a scientist at the University of British Columbia who is on the other side of the debate, doesn't buy all of Dr. Branch's arguments.... "Where their argument falls down is that they extrapolate that pattern to global fisheries, and then say global fisheries aren't doing that bad," he said. "They totally ignore the fact that all of Asia, all of South America, all of Africa are not included."... “I have no argument with the point that with stocks that are well managed you can have sustainable fisheries,” Dr. Zeller said.... Dr. Branch, for his part, says that catch data has value for some uses as long as it is handled with care. ... One fish, two fish, zero fish, nothing rhymes. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Apr 11, 2011 from Center for Biological Diversity, tip via DesdemonaDespair: Bat-killing White-nose Disease Spreads to Ohio, New Brunswick Bats in Ohio have now been found with white-nose syndrome, a disease that has been sweeping through bat populations in the eastern United States since 2006. In Maryland, biologists found the disease in a second county, after it first appeared in that state last winter. Also this week, Canadian officials reported the first discovery of the lethal bat malady in New Brunswick. White-nose syndrome, or the pathogenic fungus associated with it, has now been confirmed in 17 states and three provinces. The fast-moving disease has already killed more than 1 million bats in North America. "This disease is burning through our bat populations like a five-alarm fire," said Mollie Matteson, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, which has pushed for additional research funding of the disease and urged widespread bat-cave closures. "But right now, all we've got from our wildlife agencies is the equivalent of a couple of rusty fire trucks barely out of the station."... "What a lot of people don't realize is that there's much more than just bats at stake, and we don't have a moment to spare in saving them," said Matteson.... To date, the bat-killing fungus has been found as far west as western Oklahoma, bringing it closer to Seattle and Los Angeles than the disease's initial epicenter near Albany, N.Y. ... These bats are canaries in a coal fire. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Apr 3, 2011 from CBC: Quebec hunters kill 12 times more polar bears this winter Hunters in Quebec have killed 12 times the usual number of polar bears they harvest in southern Hudson Bay this winter, leading a Canadian polar bear researcher to wonder if soaring prices for polar bear hides are to blame. Hunters in Nunavik, a predominantly Inuit region in northern Quebec, harvested 47 polar bears in southern Hudson Bay in the last seven months, according to numbers obtained by CBC News. On average, fewer than four polar bears were hunted every year for the last five years, according to the figures. Ian Stirling, a longtime polar bear researcher at the University of Alberta, said he fears the recently soaring price of polar bear hides is driving the hunt. "It's an effort for a quick buck, and it's certainly not sustainable," Stirling told CBC News. Stirling said the polar bear population in southern Hudson Bay is estimated at about 900 to 1,000 bears. That population is already being hit hard by poor sea ice conditions, he added.... Lucassie Arragutainaq, chairman of Sanikiluaq's hunters and trappers organization, said people in his community have heard even more polar bears may have been hunted in Nunavik. "People talk and we've been hearing about 60-plus. This is a lot of more bears as far as we're concerned, but it's the same population that we're hunting," he said. ... Curiously, the laws of supply and demand lead to extinctions. ApocaDoc permalink You're still reading! Good for you! You really should read our short, funny, frightening book FREE online (or buy a print copy): Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies! We've been quipping this stuff for more than 30 months! Every day! Which might explain why we don't get invited to parties anymore. Tue, Mar 29, 2011 from Science News: Big Fishing Yields Small Fish Sharks, billfish, cod, tuna and other fish-eating fish -- the sea's equivalents to lions on the Serengeti -- dominated the marine world as recently as four decades ago. They culled sick, lame and old animals and kept populations of marine herbivores in check, preventing marine analogs of antelopes from overgrazing their environment. But the reign of large predators now appears over -- probably forever. ... There's plenty of (small) fish in the sea. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Mar 14, 2011 from PhysOrg: Source of nutrients for ecosystem lost as coastal fisheries decline A new study by researchers at the University of Georgia and Florida International University has found that the elimination of large marine predators through overfishing and habitat alteration removes a vital source of nutrients for coastal ecosystems.... "When you eliminate these large predators, you also eliminate a major source of nutrients for algae and plants in the food web, especially in tropical and sub-tropical coastal areas."... Allgeier said that tropical and sub-tropical coastal waters are typically low in nutrients. "That's why places like the Bahamas have such clear water," he said. "That's also why the fish are so important there. They recycle the nutrients they take in from the food that they eat, making them available for lower-level organisms, like algae, that form the base of the food web." The researchers found significantly higher fish densities at the sites that experienced no human impacts, which led to much higher quantities of nutrients being recycled at these sites: 4.6 times more nitrogen and 5.4 times more phosphorus.... In a related paper currently in review in the journal Ecology, Allgeier and Layman continue their investigation into the mechanisms by which fish excretion enhances algal growth through a series of experiments using artificial reef habitats. ... What a load of shark shit. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Mar 2, 2011 from Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times: White-nose syndrome shows up in Yancey County Biologists have confirmed white-nose syndrome at a third site in North Carolina, meaning two counties are now positive for the disease that has killed hundreds of thousands of bats in the Eastern United States. The disease was confirmed last week in Yancey County. It was previously discovered in a retired Avery County Mine and in a cave at Grandfather Mountain State Park. While the news last week that a deadly bat disease had arrived in North Carolina was tragic, it did not come as a surprise to biologists.... "We knew that white-nose syndrome was coming and began preparing for its arrival, but we have a lot of work to do to address the impact of this disease on bats and our natural systems" said Chris McGrath, Wildlife Diversity Program Coordinator in the Commission's Wildlife Management Division. "We and our conservation partners must focus resources upon collaborative efforts, including monitoring the spread of the disease, understanding how the potential loss of a significant proportion of bats will affect the balance of nature and our lives, and finding ways to combat those effects." ... Another cave done gone. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Feb 21, 2011 from Washington Post: Predator fish in oceans on alarming decline, experts say Over the past 100 years, some two-thirds of the large predator fish in the ocean have been caught and consumed by humans, and in the decades ahead, the rest are likely to perish, too. In their place, small fish such as sardines and anchovies are flourishing in the absence of the tuna, grouper and cod that traditionally feed on them, creating an ecological imbalance that experts say will forever change the oceans. ... The answer to the prey's prayers. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Feb 18, 2011 from Guardian: Eat more anchovies, herring and sardines to save the ocean's fish stocks Cut back on tuna and salmon and load your plate instead with herring and sardines if you want to help save the world's fish. So says the scientist who led the most comprehensive analysis ever carried out of fish stocks in the world's oceans and how they have changed over the past century. The study by Villy Christensen of the University of British Columbia's Fisheries Centre confirmed some previous indications that populations of predator fish at the top of the food chain, such as cod, tuna and groupers, have suffered huge declines, shrinking by around two-thirds in the past 100 years. More than half that decline occurred in the past 40 years. Christensen found that the total stock of "forage fish", such as sardines, anchovy and capelin, has more than doubled over the past century. These are fish that are normally eaten by the top predators. "You remove the predator, you get more prey fish," said Christensen. "That has not been demonstrated before because people don't measure the number, they don't go out and count them." ... A little fish told me. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Feb 6, 2011 from AP, via MSNBC: Deadly bat fungus found in southern Indiana cave Wildlife officials say a bat found in a southern Indiana cave has tested positive for the state's first instance of a fungus blamed for killing more than a million bats in the eastern United States. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday that a brown bat with white-nose syndrome was captured in late January inside Endless Cave near the Washington County town of Salem. The agency says more bats with signs of the disease were found during routine surveys at other caves. All state-managed caves have been closed to the public the past two years in an attempt to stem spread of the fungus, which people can spread by spores on their clothing. DNR deputy director John Davis urged private cave owners to do the same. ... Those bats are dying in an "Endless Cave" of sadness. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Feb 5, 2011 from EnvironmentalResearchWeb: Wolverines threatened by climate change The wolverine - a member of the weasel family that resembles a small bear - could disappear from the US as a direct result of man-made climate change, according to predictions by researchers at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The wolverine is unique among mammals in that it is heavily dependent on spring snow pack. Deep snow is required for successful wolverine reproduction because female wolverines dig elaborate dens in the snow for their offspring. These dens are not only insulating for the newborn kits, but also protect them from predators. "While other species such as the Arctic fox or caribou are adapted to snow, their relationship with snow is not as critical as that of the wolverine," NCAR's Synte Peacock told environmentalresearchweb. "Other species may be able to adapt if there is no spring snow, but without dens, the wolverine cannot reproduce."... "The impact of their disappearance would probably be relatively low and it is possible that the wolverine may continue to thrive in parts of Canada and Scandinavia where conditions are cold year-round and snow cover persists throughout spring." ... Wolverine is in danger! Call in the other X-Men! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Feb 2, 2011 from change.org: Ban the use of Rozol (chlorophacinone) grain bait on prairie dogs (petition) Urge your elected officials to pressure the the EPA to immediately ban the use of Rozol (chlorophacinone) grain bait to exterminate black-tailed prairie dogs. This poison is inhumane. Rozol causes internal bleeding to animals who ingest it, and their suffering can be prolonged over the course of several days to two weeks until death. Black-tailed prairie dogs have declined by up to 99 percent across their range in the Great Plains. These animals are keystone species who create habitat that benefits over 100 vertebrate species. Many of the animals who depend on black-tailed prairie dogs are also declining and imperiled. Any additional poison to kill prairie dogs will only hasten their decline toward extinction. Rozol is also particularly dangerous to non-target animals. Animals such as grassland birds and other rodents that eat grain and seeds are at risk to dying from Rozol-laced bait. Birds of prey and carnivores that eat prairie dogs are also at risk. Some of these animals include hawks, eagles, foxes, badgers, and endangered black-footed ferrets. By approving Rozol, the EPA has violated the Endangered Species Act. Use of the poison to exterminate black-tailed prairie dogs can harm species listed under the Act. These species include the black-footed ferret, the American burrowing beetle, and the whooping crane. ... All we have to do is teach eagles, hawks, foxes, badgers, coyotes, and ferrets not to eat the Rozol-killed prairie dogs. How hard can that be? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jan 14, 2011 from Yale360: Massive Outbreak of Jellyfish Could Spell Trouble for Fisheries Among the spineless creatures of the world, the Nomura's jellyfish is a monster to be reckoned with. It's the size of a refrigerator -- imagine a Frigidaire Gallery Premiere rather than a hotel minibar -- and can exceed 450 pounds. For decades the hulking medusa was rarely encountered in its stomping grounds, the Sea of Japan. Only three times during the entire 20th century did numbers of the Nomura's swell to such gigantic proportions that they seriously clogged fishing nets. Then something changed. Since 2002, the population has exploded -- in jelly parlance, bloomed -- six times. In 2005, a particularly bad year, the Sea of Japan brimmed with as many as 20 billion of the bobbing bags of blubber, bludgeoning fisheries with 30 billion yen in losses.... Now, researchers fear, conditions are becoming so bad that some ecosystems could be approaching a tipping point in which jellyfish supplant fish.... Fish and jellyfish "interact in complex ways," says Kylie Pitt, an ecologist at Griffith University in Australia. Overfishing can throw this complex relationship out of kilter. ... Every "out of kilter" relationship is an economic opportunity. Somehow. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jan 5, 2011 from BBC: Bluefin tuna sets new price record in Japan A tuna has sold at auction for a record 32.49m yen in Tokyo, nearly $400,000... The fish was a blue fin, a variety prized for making the finest sushi. It was bought by a joint Japanese and Chinese bid. The first auction in January at Tokyo's Tsukji fish market is a cherished part of Japan's New Year celebrations, and record prices are often set. Japan is the world's biggest consumer of seafood. After bells rang at 0500 local time (2000 GMT on Tuesday) to start the sale, bidding was brisk.... Traders at Tsukiji market say growing Chinese demand for sushi is also helping to push up prices. ... The inexorable law of supply and consume in action. Wait, is that it? ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Dec 11, 2010 from TIME: Red Sea Shark Attacks: Killing Spree Puzzles Scientists It began 10 days ago when the normally pristine tropical waters turned a murky red, after sharks mauled three Russians and a Ukrainian over a two-day period. With the world-renowned snorkel and dive center heading into the holiday high season, local governor Mohammed Shosha closed off the beaches for 48 hours, during which time the authorities killed two sharks. He then declared the all clear and reopened the beaches. But within 24 hours, in keeping with the Jaws story line, it became brutally clear that Shosha had been wrong: a German woman standing chest-deep in the water was killed by another shark.... More startling still is that the clear, coral-rimmed waters off Sharm el-Sheikh aren't exactly shark central. "The last sharks I saw were maybe four or five months ago," says Sherrif Khairat, a local dive instructor, who leads two or three dives a day. A shark sighting is considered "lucky," he says, because the animals are so rare.... But he cautions against overanalyzing, because sharks are still just big predators with little brains. "They're not connect-the-dots kind of animals," he says. "They're basically swimming, sensory machines." Sometimes, a killing spree, however rare, could be explained by little more than a convergence of the right variables. "Sometimes we make mistakes, sometimes they make mistakes. And sometimes we just happen to be in the wrong place at the right time - for them." ... What would sharks have against humans, I wonder? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Dec 6, 2010 from Ohio State, via EurekAlert: Researchers: Include data about societal values in endangered species decisions In the case of the gray wolf in the northern Rocky Mountains, public opinion about wolves varies considerably among livestock owners, hunters and wildlife conservationists. But social science research about those opinions was essentially disregarded when the Fish and Wildlife Service removed wolves in the northern Rockies from Endangered Species Act protections in 2009, the scientists assert. "The Fish and Wildlife Service didn't use the data as required by law and they need to start doing this, especially when a species is so clearly subject to human-caused threats," said Bruskotter, an assistant professor in Ohio State's School of Environment and Natural Resources. "There is a lot of theory and data in the social science literature that could assist the Fish and Wildlife Service in evaluating human threats. What is holding them back is the agency's myopic focus on biological data." That delisting decision was recently reversed by a federal court for reasons unrelated to the data used in the agency's ruling.... In the few studies that have evaluated attitudes about wolves over time, Bruskotter and colleagues noted that findings are mixed on the subject. And the only study cited by the Fish and Wildlife Service in its ruling concluded that attitudes about wolves had been "stable over the last 30 years," which contradicts the agency's own contention that attitudes had improved over this time period. ... Or just visualize the ratio of quality guns per wolf, over those thirty years. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Nov 28, 2010 from BBC: Fishing nations criticised over deal on bluefin tuna Fishing nations have agreed a small cut in Atlantic bluefin tuna quotas, after meeting in Paris. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) set the 2011 quota at 12,900 tonnes, down from 13,500 tonnes. Conservationists say the bluefin tuna is threatened by overfishing, and much deeper cuts are needed. They have criticised ICCAT in the past for failing to ensure that the species and others are fished sustainably. Correspondents say the 48 countries represented at the talks were divided over what action to take, with some calling for a lower quota or even a temporary suspension of bluefin fishing to allow stocks to recover. But industry representatives and the governments that back them said the limits agreed at the meeting were sufficient. "The actual catch level will be around 11,000, which is a large reduction from current levels," the head of the Japanese delegation, Masanori Miyahara, said, adding that some members had promised not to use up their quotas. ... That five percent reduction took tough negotiating skillz. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Nov 24, 2010 from AFP, via DesdemonaDespair: More than a million Atlantic sharks killed yearly At least 1.3 million sharks, many listed as endangered, were harvested from the Atlantic in 2008 by industrial-scale fisheries unhampered by catch or size limits, according to a tally released Monday. The actual figure may be several fold higher due to under-reporting, said the study, released by advocacy group Oceana on the sidelines of a meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).... Of the 21 species found in the Atlantic, three-quarters are classified as threatened with extinction. North Atlantic populations of the oceanic white tip, for example, have declined by 70 percent, and hammerheads by more than 99 percent, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).... Regional studies have shown that when shark populations crash the impact cascades down through the food chain, often in unpredictable and deleterious ways. ... A little shark's-fin soup never hurt me! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Nov 21, 2010 from BBC: Only 3,000 tiger left in the wild Governments of the 13 countries where tigers still live aim to agree moves that could double numbers of the endangered big cats within 12 years. The International Tiger Conservation Forum in St Petersburg will discuss proposals on protecting habitat, tackling poaching, and finance. About 3,000 tigers live in the wild - a 40 percent decline in a decade. There are warnings that without major advances, some populations will disappear within the next 20 years.... A recent report by Traffic, the global wildlife trade monitoring organisation, said that body parts from more than 1,000 tigers had been seized in the last decade.... "Some people are saying 'well, doubling the tiger population is good, but we have no room' - I've heard that said [in preliminary meetings]," he told the BBC. "It needs to be done everywhere - especially we need to see a doubling where you have significant populations. ""If you leave tigers alone and don't kill them and don't poach them, then naturally they will double in 10 years." ... What kind of vicious, voracious alien could be a predator of tigers? ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Nov 21, 2010 from EnvironmentalResearchWeb: Widely adopted indicator of fisheries health questioned The most widely adopted measure for assessing the state of the world's oceans and fisheries led to inaccurate conclusions in nearly half the ecosystems where it was applied. The new analysis was performed by an international team of fisheries scientists, and is reported in this week's issue of the journal Nature. "Applied to individual ecosystems it's like flipping a coin; half the time you get the right answer and half the time you get the wrong answer," said Trevor Branch, a University of Washington (UW) aquatic and fisheries scientist.... In 1998, the journal Science published a groundbreaking paper that was the first to use trends in the trophic levels of fish that were caught to measure the health of world fisheries. The trophic level of an organism shows where it fits in food webs, with microscopic algae at a trophic level of one and large predators such as sharks, halibut and tuna at a trophic level around four.... An example of the problem with the measure is in the Gulf of Thailand where the average trophic level of what is being caught is rising, which should indicate improving ecosystem health according to proponents of that measure. Instead, it turns out fish at all levels have declined tenfold since the 1950s because of overharvesting. "The measure only declines if fisheries aimed for top predators first, but for the Gulf of Thailand the measure fails because fisheries first target mussels and shrimp near the bottom of the food web, before shifting to fish higher up," Branch said. ... So half the time the cream I'm skimming is at the bottom of the barrel? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Nov 8, 2010 from Huffington Post: Bluefin Tuna Black Market: How A Runaway Fishing Industry Looted The Seas The rapid demise of Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna, the source of prized sushi around the world, is due to a $4 billion black market and a decade of rampant fraud and lack of official oversight, according to Looting the Seas, a new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. As regulators gather in Paris this month to decide the fate of the threatened bluefin, ICIJ's investigation reveals that behind plummeting stocks of the fish is a supply chain riddled with criminal misconduct and negligence, from fishing fleets to sea ranches to distributors. Each year, thousands of tons of fish have been illegally caught and traded, the seven-month investigation found. At its peak - between 1998 and 2007- this black market included more than one out of every three bluefin caught, conservatively valued at $400 million per year. "Everyone cheated," said Roger Del Ponte, a French fishing captain. "There were rules, but we didn't follow them."... The widely hunted bluefin has also become a bellwether, the latest threatened species in a feeding frenzy that has seen the disappearance of as much as 90 percent of the ocean's large fish. ... Rules? We're talkin' the rules of the marketplace! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Nov 7, 2010 from ScienceAlert: Ecosystems need sharks The study reports that when hunted by large predators, such as sharks and snapper, small fish hide and move around less. When predator numbers are seriously reduced, their prey move greater distances, take more risks, and change feeding behaviours. These behavioural responses in prey species also drive significant changes in the balance of ecosystems.... The study looked at coral reefs of the central Pacific Ocean's northern Line Islands, a small equatorial archipelago thousands of miles from the nearest landmass. Predators had been heavily fished near some islands and virtually never fished near others.... "By removing predators and changing the grazing behaviour of small fish, there were dramatic changes in the seaweed patterns on coral reefs, giving the reefs a new look," Dr Madin said. "Seaweed is important because lush areas of seaweed inhibit the settling and growth of coral - the critically important engineers of the reef. By changing where seaweed grows, fishing may be limiting where coral can grow." ... Sharks... change seaweed and coral? Things are that connected? ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Oct 20, 2010 from Mongabay: Already Critically Endangered, bluefin tuna hit hard by BP oil disaster Using satellite data from the European Space Agency, researchers estimate that over 20 percent of juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico were killed by the BP oil spill. Although that percentage may not seem catastrophic, the losses are on top of an 82 percent decline in the overall population over the past three decades due to overfishing. The population plunge has pushed the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to categorize the fish as Critically Endangered, its highest rating before extinction. Given the perilous state of bluefin tuna worldwide, the US National Marine Fisheries Service announced in September, following the BP oil spill, that it would consider listing the species under the Endangered Species Act. ... "The federal government could have predicted the effects of the spill during spawning season prior to the disaster; listing Atlantic bluefin tuna as endangered will prevent such an oversight from ever occurring again." A report by WWF has warned that if fishing continues the bluefin tuna will likely be functionally extinct by 2012. ... There's always more fish in the sea. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Oct 17, 2010 from Guardian: Russian tiger summit offers 'last chance' to save species in the wild Leaders of the few remaining countries where tigers are still found in the wild are preparing for a make-or-break summit in Russia, which they believe offers the last chance to save the critically endangered animal. The Global Tiger Summit in St Petersburg next month will bring together the 13 countries that still have wild tigers, along with conservation organisations, in an attempt to thrash out a global recovery plan. Britain and the US are also being urged to attend. The WWF (formerly the World Wide Fund for Nature) says it is optimistic about the summit's chances of success, but warns that failure will lead to the extinction of the tiger across much of Asia. The draft communique for the summit, seen by the Observer, notes that in the past decade tiger numbers worldwide have fallen by 40 percent and warns that "Asia's most iconic animal faces imminent extinction in the wild". It concludes: "By the adoption of this, the St Petersburg Declaration, the tiger range countries of the world call upon the international community to join us in turning the tide and setting the tiger on the road to recovery." ... Glad they're not holding the summit in Copenhagen. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Aug 21, 2010 from Mongabay: Lion populations plummet in Uganda's parks Lion populations across Uganda's park system have declined 40 percent in less than a decade, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The results, based on the country's first ever carnivore survey, indicate that bushmeat poaching remains a problem in one of Africa's most biodiverse countries. Hunters poach lion prey animals and kill lions as a perceived threat to their livestock.... "If we outlive this iconic African species, we will have to explain what has happened to future generations--that lions had no protection, that these wild animals were unfairly judged, and are no more." Lion populations across Africa are estimated to have fallen by roughly 80 percent over the past 100 years due to habitat destruction, loss of prey, and direct killing. WCS found 415 lions remain in Uganda's network of national parks. 132 live in Murchison Falls National Park, the country's largest protected area. ... With 3D High Def IMAX versions recorded, do we truly need the real thing? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Aug 5, 2010 from PhysOrg: Bats facing regional extinction from rapidly spreading disease A new infectious disease spreading rapidly across the northeastern United States has killed millions of bats and is predicted to cause regional extinction of a once-common bat species, according to the findings of a University of California, Santa Cruz researcher. The disease, white-nose syndrome, first discovered near Albany, N.Y. in 2006, affects hibernating bats and has caused millions to perish, writes lead author Winifred F. Frick, in a study published in the August 6 issue of Science.... "This is one of the worst wildlife crises we've faced," Frick said. "The bat research and conservation communities are trying as hard as possible to find a solution to this devastating problem." Frick notes that "bats perform valuable ecosystem services that matter for both the environments they live in and have tangible benefits to humans as well. Bats affected by this disease are all insect-eating species, and an individual bat can consume their body weight in insects every night, including some consumption of pest insects," Frick said. "The loss of so many bats is basically a terrible experiment in how much these animals matter for insect control," she said. ... My skin is itching just thinking about it. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Aug 4, 2010 from Telegraph.co.uk: What Lies Beneath The Sea: Census of Marine Life The Census of Marine Life also points to the effect of so-called "alien species" being found in many of the world's marine ecosystems. The Mediterranean has the largest number of invasive species - most of them having migrated through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea. So far, more than 600 invasive species have been counted, almost 5 per cent of the total marine creatures in the Mediterranean. Those annoying jellyfish on the Spanish holiday beaches may be sending us a message, or at least a warning. In recent years there have been other jellyfish "invasions". In 2007, 100,000 fish at Northern Ireland's only salmon farm were killed by the same "mauve stingers" that are affecting the Spanish beaches. The swarming jellies covered 10 square miles of water. In 2005, and again last year, Japanese fishermen battled swarms of giant Nomura jellyfish, each measuring six feet across and weighing 200kg. Once seen infrequently, they now regularly swarm across the Yellow Sea, making it impossible for Japanese boats to deploy their nets. One fishing boat capsized after the jellyfish became entangled in its nets. There is evidence that the global jellyfish invasion is gathering pace. As Mediterranean turtles lose their nesting sites to beach developments, or die in fishing nets, and the vanishing population of other large predators such as bluefin tuna are fished out, their prey is doing what nature does best: filling a void. Smaller, more numerous species like the jellyfish are flourishing and plugging the gap left by animals higher up the food chain. According to the Spanish environment ministry: "Jellyfish blooms have been increasing in recent years, and one of the suggested causes is the decline in natural predators - as well as climate change and pollution from land-based sources." ... I'm so happy that I can choose to believe that our actions don't have consequences. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jul 8, 2010 from New Scientist: Sea otters worth $700 million in carbon credits Want to slow global warming? Save a sea otter. So says Chris Wilmers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, whose team has calculated that the animals remove at least 0.18 kilograms of carbon from the atmosphere for every square metre of occupied coastal waters. That means that if sea otters were restored to healthy populations along the coasts of North America they could collectively lock up a mammoth 1010 kg of carbon - currently worth more than $700 million on the European carbon-trading market.... The figures are part of a growing realisation that predators play a crucial ecological role, promoting the growth of vegetation by controlling herbivore populations. Just as wolves benefit trees and shrubs by killing deer, sea otters allow the luxuriant growth of kelp by consuming sea urchins. In former kelp forests that have lost their otters, Wilmers says, "all you are left with is piles of urchins and very little else". ... Are you crazy? We're not even paying them minimum wage! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jul 1, 2010 from Oregon State University: 'Trophic cascades' of disruption may include loss of woolly mammoth, saber-toothed cat A new analysis of the extinction of woolly mammoths and other large mammals more than 10,000 years ago suggests that they may have fallen victim to the same type of "trophic cascade" of ecosystem disruption that scientists say is being caused today by the global decline of predators such as wolves, cougars, and sharks. In each case the cascading events were originally begun by human disruption of ecosystems, a new study concludes, but around 15,000 years ago the problem was not the loss of a key predator, but the addition of one - human hunters with spears. In a study published today in the journal BioScience, researchers propose that this mass extinction was caused by newly-arrived humans tipping the balance of power and competing with major predators such as saber-toothed cats. An equilibrium that had survived for thousands of years was disrupted, possibly explaining the loss of two-thirds of North America's large mammals during this period. "For decades, scientists have been debating the causes of this mass extinction, and the two theories with the most support are hunting pressures from the arrival of humans, and climate change," said William Ripple, a professor of forest ecosystems and society at Oregon State University, and an expert on the ecosystem alterations that scientists are increasingly finding when predators are added or removed.... "Rather, we think humans provided competition for other predators that still did the bulk of the killing. But we were the triggering mechanism that disrupted the ecosystem."... "The tragic cascade of species declines due to human harvesting of marine megafauna happening now may be a repeat of the cascade that occurred with the onset of human harvesting of terrestrial megafauna more than 10,000 years ago. This is a sobering thought, but it is not too late to alter our course this time around in the interest of sustaining Earth's ecosystems." ... What can we learn from early times?/ that history's different, but still, it rhymes. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jun 28, 2010 from Duke University, via EurekAlert: Why mercury is more dangerous in oceans Even though freshwater concentrations of mercury are far greater than those found in seawater, it's the saltwater fish like tuna, mackerel and shark that end up posing a more serious health threat to humans who eat them. The answer, according to Duke University researchers, is in the seawater itself. ... "The most common ways nature turns methylmercury into a less toxic form is through sunlight," Hsu-Kim said. "When it is attached to dissolved organic matter, like decayed plants or animal matter, sunlight more readily breaks down the methylmercury. However, in seawater, the methlymercury remains tightly bonded to the chloride, where sunlight does not degrade it as easily. In this form, methylmercury can then be ingested by marine animals." ... Mercury enters the environment through many routes, but the primary sources are coal combustion, the refinement of gold and other non-ferrous metals, and volcanic eruptions. The air-borne mercury from these sources eventually lands on lakes or oceans and can remain in the water or sediments. ... When the ocean's warming, y'gotta expect the mercury to rise. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jun 9, 2010 from BBC: Snakes in mysterious global decline Snakes may be declining across the world, according to a global study. Researchers examined records for 17 snake populations covering eight species over the last few decades, and found most had declined markedly. For reasons that are not entirely clear, some populations shrank in number abruptly around 1998. Writing in the journal Biology Letters, the researchers describe the findings as "alarming" but say much more work is needed to understand the causes.... The researchers believe they amassed most, if not all, long-term datasets for this study - although "long-term" in this context means going back more than one decade, in some cases more than two. Nevertheless, within this relatively short timeframe, eight of the 17 populations were seen to fall markedly in size - some by more than 90 percent - with only one showing any sign of a rise. ... Enough is enough! I've had it with these mother#!"!ing snakes down the mother#!"?ing drain! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jun 9, 2010 from BBC: Cane toad threat spreads beyond Australia to Caribbean Cane toads, one of the world's most destructive invasive species, have started killing native wildlife outside of Australia. Cane toads are poisonous, secreting a toxin that kills predators not adapted to eat them, and as a result the toads have caused a decline in native Australian reptiles and marsupials. Now scientists have discovered that the toads are also killing boa snakes in the West Indies, suggesting that other predators in the Caribbean and elsewhere may also be at risk.... In the early to mid 19th Century, the toad was intentionally introduced to islands in the Caribbean, including Jamaica in 1844, and then through the South Pacific. The toad was introduced to eat and control pests of sugar cane, including rats and beetles. However, the toad has had a destructive impact in many places where it has spread, out-competing native species.... Now scientists have documented the cane toad killing rare native fauna in the Caribbean. ... We cane, we saw, we canequored. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, May 30, 2010 from AP, via PhysOrg: Alaska sues feds over predator control The state of Alaska sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Friday, seeking a court order allowing it to go ahead with a controversial predator control program. At issue is the state's plan to kill wolves to preserve a caribou herd inside the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge on Unimak Island, beginning as early as Tuesday.... While the program is in place in at least six locations around Alaska, it would be the first time in recent history that aerial predator control would be used inside a national refuge in Alaska.... The feds responded Monday, cautioning the state that killing the wolves without a special use permit would be considered "a trespass on the refuge" and immediately referred to the U.S. attorney. ... Natural systems out of whack? Just call Humans™ and we'll set things right! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, May 9, 2010 from AP, via PhysOrg.com: Montana, Idaho consider tripling wolf hunt quotas Hunters in Montana would be allowed to kill nearly three times as many gray wolves this fall compared with last year's inaugural hunt, under a proposal announced Friday by state wildlife officials. Wolves in neighboring Idaho also face a potentially higher quota. And hunters there could be allowed to use traps, electronic calls and, in some regions, bait to increase their odds of a successful kill. Final details are pending.... "We've learned a lot over the past year," [Montana Chief of Wildlife] McDonald said. "It's our responsibility to address the fact that more than 200 sheep and about 100 head of cattle were killed by wolves last year and that wolves have depressed deer and elk populations in some areas." ... Killing 200 wolves to save 200 sheep and 100 cows seems a fair compromise. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Mar 30, 2010 from New Scientist: A killer in the bat cave CORPSE upon corpse they lie, a carpet of emaciated, fungus-ridden carcasses. Where once healthy animals hung in slumber from the cave roof, now there is a mass grave on the floor. It is a scene that is repeated throughout the eastern US, from Vermont to West Virginia. America's bats are in crisis, under threat from a mysterious killer. The first sign that something was up emerged in February 2006, when a caver photographed hibernating bats with white muzzles at Howe's Cave in Albany, New York state. Soon afterwards bats were observed behaving strangely - waking from hibernation early and in a state of serious starvation. Some even ventured out of their roosts during daylight to search for food. Inside the caverns, the floors were littered with bodies, most with the characteristic fuzzy white mould growing on their noses, ears and wings... The fungus has recently been identified as Geomyces destructans.... It is the prime suspect and the focus of an intense research effort. Even so, there remains the possibility that it is not actually the killer but just an opportunistic pathogen hitching a ride on the back of some other deadly foe.... "It terrifies everybody in the bat community," says Emma Teeling at University College Dublin, Ireland.... The most promising candidate kills the fungal spores on culture plates and does not harm healthy bats, but it does not seem to cure sick ones. "[It has] very strange results on the pathology of WNS bats," is all Barton will say. ... I'm sure ubiquitous pesticides wouldn't weaken bat immune systems. After all, they're birds. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Mar 20, 2010 from Winnipeg Free Press: Mysterious bat-killing illness previously seen in the U.S. now in Ontario A mysterious illness that has killed upwards of 500,000 bats in the northeastern United States has now been detected in the animals in Ontario. The Ministry of Natural Resources is confirming the first case of bats with a disease known as white-nose syndrome in the Bancroft-Minden area, in eastern Ontario.... It was first documented in Albany, N.Y., in the winter of 2006. Since then, the syndrome has spread across nine states in the northeastern U.S. and has wiped out anywhere from 75 to 98 per cent of the overwintering bat population. Ontario says it will continue monitoring for the syndrome until bats leave hibernation sites in May. ... And I was scared when it was moving south! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Mar 18, 2010 from New York Times: Alaskan Aerial Wolf Hunt Begins State employees began an aerial wolf hunt on the Yukon border on Tuesday in what officials describe as an effort to preserve caribou for shooting by hunters. Officials at the adjacent Yukon-Charlie Rivers National Preserve argued against the hunt, saying that the wolves have had a particularly hard winter and need to recover. The state plans to kill as much as 80 percent of the local wolf population in the next week, or 185 wolves; there are an estimated 46,500 caribou. Since 2006 the state has regularly granted hunting licenses or assumed the task itself in planes or helicopters. ... You betcha. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Mar 17, 2010 from AP, through DesdemonaDespair: Nonbinding shark conservation proposal defeated at UN meeting China, Japan and Russia helped defeat a U.S.-endorsed proposal at a U.N. wildlife trade meeting Tuesday that would have boosted conservation efforts for sharks, expressing concern it would hurt poor nations and should be the responsibility of regional fisheries bodies. The opposition to the shark proposal came hours after the marine conservation group Oceana came out with a report showing that demand for shark fin soup in Asia is driving many species of these big fish to the brink of extinction. The nonbinding measure, which called for increased transparency in the shark trade and more research into the threat posed to sharks by illegal fishing, had been expected to gain approval by a committee of the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES.... Oceana, a Washington, D.C.-based group, found that as many as 73 million sharks are killed each year, primarily for their fins, with much of the trade going to China.... Shark fin soup has long played central part in traditional Chinese culture, often being served at weddings and banquets. Demand for the soup has surged as increasing numbers of Chinese middle class family become wealthier. ... It's as if our short-sighted rapaciousness never stops moving forward. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Mar 16, 2010 from BBC, distilled by DesdemonaDespair: 'Failed miserably.' Tigers 'now literally on the verge of extinction' Governments need to crack down on illegal tiger trading if the big cats are to be saved, the UN has warned. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Doha, Qatar heard that tiger numbers are continuing to fall. Organised crime rings are playing an increasing part in illegal trading of tiger parts, CITES says, as they are with bears, rhinos and elephants.... "If we use tiger numbers as a performance indicator, then we must admit that we have failed miserably and that we are continuing to fail," said CITES secretary-general Willem Wijnstekers. "Although the tiger has been prized throughout history, and is a symbol of incredible importance in many cultures and religions, it is now literally on the verge of extinction...." ... Cockroach, Cockroach, burning bright/ In the forests of the night,/ What immortal hand or eye/ Could frame thy fearful symmetry? ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Mar 9, 2010 from Guardian: Humans driving extinction faster than species can evolve, say experts Conservation experts have already signalled that the world is in the grip of the "sixth great extinction" of species, driven by the destruction of natural habitats, hunting, the spread of alien predators and disease, and climate change. However until recently it has been hoped that the rate at which new species were evolving could keep pace with the loss of diversity of life.... "Measuring the rate at which new species evolve is difficult, but there's no question that the current extinction rates are faster than that; I think it's inevitable," said Stuart.... Stuart said it was possible that the dramatic predictions of experts like the renowned Harvard biologist E O Wilson, that the rate of loss could reach 10,000 times the background rate in two decades, could be correct. "All the evidence is he's right," said Stuart. "Some people claim it already is that ... things can only have deteriorated because of the drivers of the losses, such as habitat loss and climate change, all getting worse. But we haven't measured extinction rates again since 2004 and because our current estimates contain a tenfold range there has to be a very big deterioration or improvement to pick up a change." ... That's so fast that we won't even have to know what we missed! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Mar 9, 2010 from Orlando Sentinal: Orcas have 2nd-biggest brains of all marine mammals Neuroscientist Lori Marino and a team of researchers explored the brain of a dead killer whale with an MRI and found an astounding potential for intelligence.... It's not clear whether they are as well-endowed with memory cells as humans, but scientists have found they are amazingly well-wired for sensing and analyzing their watery, three-dimensional environment. Scientists are trying to better understand how killer whales are able to learn local dialects, teach one another specialized methods of hunting and pass on behaviors that can persist for generations -- longer possibly than seen with any other species except humans.... These researchers have yet to find evidence that an orca in the wild has ever killed a person.... They swim the world's oceans -- they are more widely distributed than any whale, dolphin or porpoise -- in at least three distinct populations. There are fish-eating orcas that stay in one area, flesh-eaters that wander more widely along coasts, and a third group that roams the deep-blue waters. The three groups have starkly different diets, languages, hunting techniques and manners of behaving around other marine life, and they don't seem to interact much with one another.... Hal Whitehead, a biology professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, awakened the world of cetacean research in 2001 when he co-authored a controversial paper that suggested no species other than humans are as "cultural" as orcas. "Culture is about learning from others," Whitehead said. "A cultural species starts behaving differently than a species where everything is determined genetically." ... If they're so smart, why did Tilly murder his prison guard? ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Mar 7, 2010 from Boston Post-Gazette: Can bats be saved? The bats appear to die of starvation during hibernation, but scientists still cannot confirm that the fungus is the primary cause of death. What they know: White-nose Syndrome is spreading fast, but not uniformly. It leapfrogs from affected areas to popular recreational caving sites, leading researchers to suspect that microscopic fungal spores get onto clothing worn by cavers, who unintentionally carry it to new sites. Some researchers speculate that European cavers may have innocently brought the spores to America, where native bats have no natural resistance. Others suspect spread of the fungus is more likely a naturally occurring anomaly. In three years since the onset of the outbreak, more than a million bats have died in the Northeast. They would have eaten 694 tons of insects, and scientists are worried about the impact of the sudden break in the food chain. "Our work here may save them farther west, but we are not going to be able to save the bats in Pennsylvania. What that means to us we don't know, but it can't be good." "You try not to over-interpret, but at the same time I won't sugarcoat it," Dr. Reeder said. "We're seeing 80, 90, 95 percent mortality in some of these caves. We come back the next year -- another 90 percent mortality. I mean, how long can that go on?" ... I didn't think math could make me cry. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Mar 5, 2010 from Freeport Tribune: 'Too great a risk for the Bahamas' The commercial fishing of Yellow-fin Tuna using purse seine nets in Bahamian waters poses too great a risk for the Bahamas, fisheries conservationist Dr David Philip warned. He is urging the government not to permit the use of this technique - in which, he says, large game fish, dolphins, sea turtles, and other species are likely to be caught and killed along with the tuna in the large nets. "This is a huge issue and the Bahamas should take leadership and stand to be leaders in this manner and say no to this kind of fishing," said Dr Philips, a representative of the Fisheries Conservation Foundation.... Craig Riker, president of the Grand Bahama Dive Association, says no one wins with purse seine fishing. "If you take the big fish out of the ocean, what fills its place is jellyfish. Jellyfish eat baby fish and fish eggs, and even if you leave some fish to breed they can't because the jellyfish get them. "Once that happens there is very little chance of getting fish back. It is a very dangerous slope to jump off," he said. ... You want to take away my freedom to fish just to save the ecosystem? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Mar 4, 2010 from CBC: Alberta grizzly bears number less than 700 An Alberta grizzly bear count by an independent scientist pegs the population at 691, but the province has not stated if that's enough to list the species as threatened. Dr. Marco Festa-Bianchet, an expert on large mammals, noted in a report released Wednesday that some local grizzly bear populations may be declining. Cutting down on "human-caused mortality" such as vehicle collisions with bears and "motorized access to habitat" would help stabilize the number of grizzlies, according to the report. Environmental groups have been lobbying the Alberta government to declare the grizzly -- currently considered "may be at risk" -- as threatened, so that a current hunting ban becomes permanent and steps can be taken to protect their habitat. There were 841 bears in Alberta in 2000, according to a count done that year by the provincial government. ... I can bearly believe it. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Feb 10, 2010 from WWF: Tigers in serious trouble around the world, including here in the US As many Asian countries prepare to celebrate Year of the Tiger beginning February 14, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports that tigers are in crisis around the world, including here in the United States, where more tigers are kept in captivity than are alive in the wild throughout Asia. As few as 3,200 tigers exist in the wild in Asia where they are threatened by poaching, habitat loss, illegal trafficking and the conversion of forests for infrastructure and plantations.... Three tiger sub-species have gone extinct since the 1940s and a fourth one, the South China tiger, has not been seen in the wild in 25 years. Tigers occupy just seven percent of their historic range. But they can thrive if they have strong protection from poaching and habitat loss and enough prey to eat. "Tigers are being persecuted across their range – poisoned, trapped, snared, shot and squeezed out of their homes," said Mike Baltzer, Leader of WWF's Tiger Initiative. "But there is hope for them in this Year of the Tiger. There has never been such a committed, ambitious, high-level commitment from governments to double wild tiger numbers. They have set the bar high and we hope for the sake of tigers and people that they reach it." ... Good thing we've got Discovery Channel reruns. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Feb 4, 2010 from BBC: Climate change causes wolverine decline across Canada The wolverine, a predator renowned for its strength and tenacious character, may be slowly melting away along with the snowpack upon which it lives. Research shows wolverine numbers are falling across North America. Their decline has been linked to less snow settling as a result of climate change. The study is the first to show a decline in the abundance of any land species due to vanishing snowpack.... In all bar the Yukon, he found that snowpack depth declined significantly between 1968 and 2004.... "It occurred to me that a good first place to look for ecological impacts of that snowpack decline would be with a snow-adapted species like the wolverine," Dr Brodie told the BBC. They found a striking correlation between declining snowpack and falling numbers of the predator. "In provinces where winter snowpack levels are declining fastest, wolverine populations tend to be declining most rapidly," the researchers wrote in the journal article. ... Call the X-Men -- they'll want to solve that problem! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Dec 16, 2009 from Agence France-Presse: Koalas, penguins at risk of extinction: study Climate change threatens the survival of dozens of animal species from the emperor penguin to Australian koalas, according to a report released Monday at the UN climate summit. Rising sea levels, ocean acidification and shrinking polar ice are taking a heavy toll on species already struggling to cope with pollution and shrinking habitats, said the study from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an intergovernmental group. "Humans are not the only ones whose fate is at stake here in Copenhagen -- some of our favourite species are also taking the fall for our CO2 emissions," said Wendy Foden, an IUCN researcher and co-author of the study. ... To hell with our not-so-favourite ones. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Nov 30, 2009 from BBC (UK): Save 'special' carnivores plea Giant otters, monk seals, walruses, spectacled bears, giant and red pandas and the odd-looking fossa are among the carnivores most in need of conserving. That is according to the most-detailed study yet of the evolutionary history of carnivores and their relationships. It examined 222 carnivore species including big cats, wolves, bears, seals, otters and their relatives. It found that some species are so distinctive that special efforts should be made to ensure their survival.... "Some of the high-priority taxa for conservation have received very little attention and should be considered carefully in future conservation planning," says Prof Agnarsson. ... We're the top carnivore, so we get to decide who'll go extinct. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Nov 2, 2009 from Michigan Technical University, via EurekAlert: Wolves, moose and biodiversity: An unexpected connection Moose eat plants; wolves kill moose. What difference does this classic predator-prey interaction make to biodiversity? A large and unexpected one, say wildlife biologists from Michigan Technological University. Joseph Bump, Rolf Peterson and John Vucetich report in the November 2009 issue of the journal Ecology that the carcasses of moose killed by wolves at Isle Royale National Park enrich the soil in "hot spots" of forest fertility around the kills, causing rapid microbial and fungal growth that provide increased nutrients for plants in the area. "This study demonstrates an unforeseen link between the hunting behavior of a top predator -- the wolf -- and biochemical hot spots on the landscape," said Bump.... And he adds that on the Arctic tundra, where soil nutrients are limited, others have found that the impact of a muskox carcass on surrounding vegetation is dramatic even after 10 years. ... Predators have value beyond scary bedtime stories? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Oct 12, 2009 from Treehugger.com: What do Sharks Have to do With Sustainable Seafood? So, if you're not eating sharks, why do you have to worry about shark safe food? The Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research and Education developed their Shark Safe Certification Program so that businesses and restaurants can demonstrate their commitment to shark protection to their customers. Members of the program must demonstrate that they are not selling any shark products and that seafood that is offered, be cause with shark safe techniques, such as no "longlines, fish aggregating devices, gillnets or trawl netting." Applicants to the program, which was developed by scientists and researchers around the globe based on the Monterey Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program, must undergo an application process to document their non-use or sale of shark products.... Sharks are at the top of the food chain, which means that they have few predators. Therefore sharks mature slower than other species and have fewer young, making them easier to wipe out. ... But... sharks are s-s-s-scary! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Oct 4, 2009 from Oregon State University via ScienceDaily: Loss Of Top Predators Causing Surge In Smaller Predators, Ecosystem Collapse The catastrophic decline around the world of "apex" predators such as wolves, cougars, lions or sharks has led to a huge increase in smaller "mesopredators" that are causing major economic and ecological disruptions, a new study concludes. The findings, published October 1 in the journal Bioscience, found that in North America all of the largest terrestrial predators have been in decline during the past 200 years while the ranges of 60 percent of mesopredators have expanded. The problem is global, growing and severe, scientists say, with few solutions in sight....In case after case around the world, the researchers said, primary predators such as wolves, lions or sharks have been dramatically reduced if not eliminated, usually on purpose and sometimes by forces such as habitat disruption, hunting or fishing. Many times this has been viewed positively by humans, fearful of personal attack, loss of livestock or other concerns. But the new picture that's emerging is a range of problems, including ecosystem and economic disruption that may dwarf any problems presented by the original primary predators. ... Life... is just one big game of Jenga. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Sep 9, 2009 from EcoWorldly: Japanese Dolphin Slaughter to Continue Despite Current Suspension "It has been an exciting morning and the people here are very hostile, but as long as this goes on and we keep the pressure on, they cannot hunt the dolphins." Sadly, O'Barry admits solemnly, this is only temporary. O'Barry keeping a watchful eye on the dolphin fishermen, has managed to disrupt the first two days of the annual dolphin hunt in the Japanese town of Taiji, but accepts that as soon as he leaves the fishermen will resume the killing.... According to the Japan Fisheries Agency, around 20,000 dolphins will be killed all around Japan this season. The documentary revealed that dolphin meat is often sold illegally to the Japanese school system, and that school children often have no idea that what they are eating is dolphin meat. Dolphin meat has been shown to have high levels of mercury, which can be a huge problem for developing children. ... Some stories you just can't get out of your head. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Sep 9, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: North Sea cod 'doomed by climate change' Species of plankton, on which cod larvae feed, have moved away in search of cooler waters. The decline in cod stocks has led to an explosion in the populations of crabs and jellyfish, on which the adult fish feed. The shortage of predators at the top of the food chain has had a knock-on effect on flat fish, such as plaice and sole, whose offspring are eaten by crabs.... The researchers studied the distribution of surface-dwelling copepod plankton on which young cod feed. Copepod's numbers have declined by more than 60 per cent as the sea has warmed over the last four decades. Dr Kirkby said: "The plankton that young cod usually eat during March, April and May, a species of copepod that is the size of a grain of rice, prefer cold water and so they have become much less frequent as the North Sea has warmed.... "As top predators such as cod are declining, this appears to have had a cascading effect on the whole ecosystem." ... What's that? You don't like crab 'n' chips? ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Aug 18, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Lions face extinction in Kenya within 20 years Kenya is annually losing an average of 100 of its 2,000 lions due to growing human settlements, increasing farming, climate change and disease, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service.... There were 2,749 lions in Kenya in 2002 and their population dropped to 2,280 by 2004 and to roughly 2,000 today, according to KWS figures. "The trend of lion population decline is disturbing and every effort needs to be made to ensure that Kenya either stabilises its population at the current population of 2,000 lions or increases the numbers to an ecologically acceptable level," said Mr Udoto. "Quick and decisive actions need to be taken to create public awareness as well as formulation of national guidelines on lion conservation and management in the long term." ... Awim-a-woe, awim-a-woe, the lion sleeps tonight... ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Aug 7, 2009 from New Scientist: Video: Aftermath of a Japanese whale hunt Baird's beaked whales are rare, but are exempt from whaling bans since they are still classified as small cetaceans. Around 60 Baird's a year are hunted commercially in northern Japan and sold in Japanese supermarkets. However, tests have revealed extremely high levels of mercury in the meat, which could pose a serious health risk. EIA campaigner Clare Perry says the Japanese government should act to stop the consumption of contaminated whale and dolphin products. "The cumulative effects of this toxin could be devastating," she says. ... The cumulative effect of hunting sentient beings could be soul death, you barbarians. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Aug 7, 2009 from Science, via Science Daily: Scientists Find Universal Rules For Food-web Stability New findings, published in the journal Science, conclude that food-web stability is enhanced when many diverse predator-prey links connect high and intermediate trophic levels.... Natural ecosystems consist of interwoven food chains, in which individual animal or plant species function as predator or prey. Potential food webs not only differ by their species composition, but also vary in their stability. Observable food webs are stable food webs, with the relationships between their species remaining constant over relatively long periods of time.... Applying this innovative modeling approach ... the scientists have succeeded in discovering not just one, but several universal rules in the dynamics of ecosystems. "Food-web stability is enhanced when species at high trophic levels feed on multiple prey species and species at intermediate trophic levels are fed upon by multiple predator species," says Ulf Dieckmann of IIASA. ... OK: biodiversity, interdependence, and varied predator-prey relationships yield ecosystem stability. Good work! Now: what happens when we screw it up? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Aug 6, 2009 from Desdemona Despair: Dramatic Decline in SE Coastal Sharks The eastern seaboard’s longest continuous shark-targeted survey (UNC), conducted annually since 1972 off North Carolina, demonstrates sufficiently large declines in great sharks to imply their likely functional elimination. Declines in seven species range from 87 percent for sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus); 93 percent for blacktip sharks (C. limbatus); up to 97 percent for tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier); 98 percent for scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini); and 99 percent or more for bull (C. leucas), dusky (C. obscurus), and smooth hammerhead (S. zygaena) sharks (Fig. 1 and table S5). Because this survey is situated where it intercepts sharks on their seasonal migrations, these trends in abundance may be indicative of coastwide population changes. ... What happens when there are no sharks left to jump? ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jul 22, 2009 from Sea Around Us, via DesdemonaDespair: Ocean Biomass Depletion, 1900-2000 This frightening graphic (http://www.seaaroundus.org/flash/NorthAtlanticTrends.htm) demonstrates the "high trophic-level" biomass depletion of the last century. Most estimates are between 80 to 90 percent loss, and the rate of continuing depletion between three and four times faster than are reborn. Note: "high trophic-level" means they are fish-eating fish, not plankton-eating fish, nor bottom-feeding fish -- which have also suffered dramatic declines. [The 'Docs] ... Biomass? We don't need no stinkin' biomass. We need fish! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jul 20, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Just 1000 tigers left in India A century ago, India had about 40,000 tigers. By 1988, as a result of extensive hunting and poaching, there were just 4,500 left. Now the true figure is probably 1,000.... The decline is said to be largely down to poachers serving an insatiable demand for tiger bones, claws and skin in China, Taiwan and Korea, where they are used in traditional medicine. Other factors include electric fences erected by farmers, illegal logging and fights between male tigers over diminishing territory.... Just before my visit a gang had been caught with seven tiger skins. I was told that the men involved were from Tamil Nadu in the south and that they had struck -- with local help -- on the orders of a Nepalese-based gang. ... A whole thousand? That's practically metric! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jun 25, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Sharks threatened with extinction The first assessment of the global fortunes of 64 species of pelagic, or open ocean, sharks and rays found 32 per cent were under threat including the great white shark and basking shark. The study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) blamed tuna and swordfish fisheries that often catch sharks as accidental "by-catch". Sharks are also being increasingly targeted themselves to supply growing demand for shark meat and fins. The valuable fins are used for shark fin soup – a delicacy in Asia. To supply the market the wasteful process of "finning" often takes place, in which the fins are cut off the shark and the rest of the body is thrown back into the sea. Bans on the practice have been introduced in most international waters but are seldom enforced according to Sonja Fordham, deputy chairwoman of the IUCN shark specialist group. ... I want to know: what about the Jets? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, May 11, 2009 from Mongabay: As wolves face the gun, flawed science taints decision to remove species from ESA On Monday the gray wolf was removed from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in Idaho and Montana, two states that have protected the wolf for decades. According to the federal government the decision to remove those wolf populations was based on sound conservation science -- a fact greatly disputed in conservation circles. For unlike the bald eagle, whose population is still rising after being delisted in 1995, when the wolf is removed from the ESA it will face guns blazing and an inevitable decline. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar decided to delist the wolves in March after meeting with scientists from the Fish and Wildlife Service. This followed a decision in January 2008, when former President George W. Bush decided to take the gray wolf off the ESA in the Rockies, namely Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The removal angered conservation organizations, who argued that wolf populations were not yet large enough to sustain the hunt that would follow. Subsequent months proved them right. Removed in March of 2008, wolf hunting commenced in Wyoming until July -- five months later -- when a judge agreed with environmentalists and placed an immediate halt to the hunts. In those five months Wyoming lost at least a quarter of its wolves. ... I better get my wolfskin while the gettin' is good! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Mar 29, 2009 from San Francisco Chronicle: Fish tales, sad ones, from S.F. fishermen But the runs of salmon back to the rivers to spawn went into a sharp decline, and last year, for the first time in 150 years, the state banned fishing for salmon. Seven years ago, 800,000 salmon returned to the Sacramento River to spawn, part of a mysterious ancient cycle; in 2007, only 68,000 were counted. Dams and water diversions were blamed, overfishing, warming waters in the ocean, mismanagement of the fishery. Whatever the reasons, it is almost certain the salmon season will be closed again this year.... "What we have is two lost salmon seasons in a row, plus the worst crab season in 40 years," said Pete Kellogg, who is 47 and has been fishing out of San Francisco for 30 years. "The first day of crab season was a disaster," said Don Ashwin. "And then it got worse." ... We need to retrain these fishermen for something practical, like credit default swaps and derivative hedging. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Mar 2, 2009 from The Canadian Press: Large fish going hungry as supplies of smaller species dwindle: report HALIFAX, N.S. -- Dolphins, sharks and other large marine species around the world are going hungry as they seek out dwindling supplies of the small, overlooked species they feed on, according to a new study that says overfishing is draining their food sources. In a report released Monday, scientists with the international conservation group Oceana said they found several species were emaciated, reproducing slowly and declining in numbers in part because their food sources are being fished out. "This is the first time that we're seeing a worldwide trend that more and more large animals are going hungry," Margot Stiles, a marine biologist at Oceana and the author of the report, said from Washington, D.C. "It's definitely starting to be a pattern." ... And humans can be so good at reproducing patterns. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Feb 19, 2009 from Desdemona Despair: Dramatic decline in size of trophy fish Archival photographs spanning more than five decades reveal a drastic decline of so-called "trophy fish" caught around coral reefs surrounding Key West, Florida.... large predatory fish have declined in weight by 88 percent in modern photos compared to black-and-white shots from the 1950s. The average length of sharks declined by more than 50 percent in 50 years, the photographs revealed. The study mirrors others that reveal stark changes to animal sizes caused by hunting or fishing, in which the largest of a species are often sought as trophy specimens. ... So those old fishermen holding their arms out wide weren't telling fish tales? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Feb 9, 2009 from Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: As bat deaths rise, mosquito invasion looms Here's a prediction: We will see more mosquitoes this summer. Why? Because something is killing bats. Wiping out entire populations of the insect-eating mammals, and nobody knows why or how to stop it. Considering a single little brown bat can eat more than 2,000 mosquitoes in a night, and factoring in that bats in our area are starting to perish just like bats in New York and New England did, one of our top insect predators might be absent from the evening sky this summer. Last week the Pennsylvania Game Commission discovered dead bats in two mine sites in Lackawanna County.... Something is causing the thousands of bats to use up their winter energy reserves early. As a result, the bats are emerging from hibernation six weeks early and flying out of the mines in search of insects. The problem is there aren't any bugs in February, and the bats are literally starving to death in mid-air. ... With their high-frequency screams sending out "eek eek eek ek ek ek eek eek eek" ... ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jan 29, 2009 from Guardian (UK): Absence of wolves causes imbalance in US ecosystem, say scientists Settlers and trappers killed them all in little more than three decades. But the loss of the stealthy predators in the early 1900s left a hole in the landscape that scientists say they are just beginning to grasp. The ripples extend throughout what is now Olympic National Park, leading to a boom in elk populations, overbrowsing of shrubs and trees, and erosion so severe it has altered the very nature of the rivers, says a team of Oregon State University biologists. The result, they argue, is an environment that is less rich, less resilient and - perhaps - in peril. "We think this ecosystem is unravelling in the absence of wolves," said OSU ecologist William Ripple. Everything from salmon to songbirds could feel the fallout from the missing predators, the scientists say. ... It's as if we barely understand the interrelated complexities of ecosystems. Could that be? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jan 29, 2009 from New Scientist: Caterpillar plague strikes west Africa A throng of crop-eating caterpillars is threatening food supplies across west Africa, and could prove hard to control with pesticides. The crawling menace has appeared in northern Liberia, where hundreds of millions of the black larvae are devouring plants, fouling wells with their faeces and even driving farmers from fields. They are now crossing into neighbouring Guinea, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that in two to three weeks they will turn into moths that can fly hundreds of kilometres and could spread across west Africa, worsening food shortages in the region. ... West... Africa...? ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Nov 29, 2008 from NPR: Bluefin Tuna On Edge Of Collapse, Scientists Say Many of the world's fish are heading toward commercial extinction. The next one to go could be the majestic Atlantic bluefin tuna. This week, an international committee meant to protect the species approved fishing levels that far exceed what scientists say is sustainable. Conservationists fear that in just a few years, the remaining stocks of bluefin tuna in the Western Atlantic and Mediterranean could collapse completely. ... The spokestuna for the bluefin is heart-breakingly eloquent. Listen in! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Nov 13, 2008 from The Economist: The population of bluefin tuna is crashing Yet Raul Romeva, a green MEP from Spain, says this summary is a "sanitised" version. He believes the full report has been suppressed by the commission at the request of national governments because its contents are so embarrassing. The full report is said to contain details about the scale of infringements, including which countries are responsible. One-third of inspections, says Mr Romeva, led to an apparent infringement, such as inadequate catch documentation. The commission, he says, is covering this up. ... That pink in the sushi? That's from embarrassment. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Oct 25, 2008 from Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Are the orcas starving? Showing signs of starvation as salmon runs faltered up and down the West Coast, Puget Sound's orca population lost seven of its number over the past year, bringing the population to just 83, anxious scientists reported Friday. The development marks the biggest reduction in the orca population since a series of bad chinook salmon seasons in the 1990s battered the killer whales' numbers. Revealing the degree to which the orcas are interrelated to a far-flung marine ecosystem, the collapse of California's Sacramento Valley chinook run seems likely to be partly to blame for declining killer whale numbers... ... Feed Willy ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Oct 3, 2008 from Ecology Society of America, via EurekAlert: Decline in Alaskan sea otters affects bald eagles' diet Sea otters are known as a keystone species, filling such an important niche in ocean communities that without them, entire ecosystems can collapse.... [S]ea otters can have even farther-reaching effects that extend to terrestrial communities and alter the behavior of another top predator: the bald eagle. In nearshore marine communities, towering kelp can reach heights of 250 feet and function much like trees in a forest, providing food, homes and protection for fish and invertebrates. The most important enemies of these giant algae are tiny sea urchins, only inches in diameter, which live on the kelp's holdfasts and eat its tissue. When urchin populations become too large, they can defoliate entire kelp forests, leaving only barren remains.... Otters can eat the spiky urchins whole, making them the major urchin predator. The otters' presence keeps urchin populations in check and maintains the balance of the ecosystem.... The results are the first to show that the presence or absence of otters influences a terrestrial animal, and that the complex food web linkages can reach as far as five different food chain levels: from sea otters to sea urchins, kelp, marine fish and finally bald eagles. ... Our country's symbol is at risk? TO THE BARRICADES! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Aug 20, 2008 from Divemaster (UK): Shark numbers worry over fin export The WWF says 230 tonnes of shark fin have been exported from Australia in the past 13 months.... Conservationists say they have major concerns about Australia's contribution to the shark fin industry. WWF's Dr Gilly Llewellyn says the appetite for shark fin overseas which Australia appears to be feeding, is insatiable, and in the past 13 months 230 tonnes of shark fin have been exported from our shores, mainly to Asian markets. "Using a really conservative estimate using the largest possible size of shark, using a low fin to weight ratio, that's still 10,000 sharks that would have needed to be killed for that amount of fin," she says. ... "Insatiable" -- until there are no sharks left. Burp. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Aug 14, 2008 from Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal (WI): State studies hunt of formerly endangered wolves Wisconsin officials are laying the groundwork for the first public hunting of wolves in more than 50 years.... Last winter's population estimate was 537 to 564 wolves, more than the recovery goal of 350, according to Adrian Wydeven of the DNR. The population was about the same during the winter of 2007, he said. By comparison, wolves totaled less than 250 in 2000.... A wolf season would require approval from the Natural Resources Board, which sets policy for the DNR, and from the Legislature. But the measure would likely prompt a lawsuit from wolf advocates. ... About 550 wolves, in the entire state. Sounds like overpopulation to me! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Aug 3, 2008 from San Jose Mercury News (California): Porpoise deaths raising questions "It's the tip of the iceberg," said Mary Jane Schramm, spokeswoman for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. "These are open ocean animals. For every one we find dead there are probably many others that are out there."... Harbor porpoises are not commonly tracked by the state and so little is known about where they feed or mate. Over time, state records show the mammals have a tendency to die during the summertime calving season, but researchers don't know why. "It could be that the acid bio-accumulated in the fetus," Schramm said. "If it's something that the mother ingested and passed through the placental barrier, it could be something that she passed on to her fetus." ... If only we could translate Porpoise: "Ack-ack-Brrreee-ack-ee-ack": "Something's wrong with us." ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jun 9, 2008 from The Whig Standard (Ontario): Little known about wolverine, study shows Jason Fisher has spent six years studying wolverines in Alberta, and in all that time he's never bumped into one of the elusive, fierce and hellishly hard to count animals without the use of a trap or remote camera. As Fisher wraps up his multi-year pilot study into the animal -- legendary for its tenacity and strength -- just how many wolverines are still prowling the western Canadian forests remains very much a mystery. That makes it a poster child for all species of lesser-known critters that are actively hunted in the province without evidence of whether their populations are sustainable. ... What we don't know can hurt us. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, May 23, 2008 from Aquatic Conservation, via EurekAlert: Over 50 percent of oceanic shark species threatened with extinction The experts determined that 16 out of the 21 oceanic shark and ray species that are caught in high seas fisheries are at heightened risk of extinction due primarily to targeted fishing for valuable fins and meat as well as indirect take in other fisheries. In most cases, these catches are unregulated and unsustainable. The increasing demand for the delicacy 'shark fin soup', driven by rapidly growing Asian economies, means that often the valuable shark fins are retained and the carcasses discarded. Frequently, discarded sharks and rays are not even recorded. ... If only sharks were warm and fuzzy and cute. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, May 17, 2008 from Redding News: Recovery plan kills species' foe, thins fire-prone forests Protecting the northern spotted owl from wildfire and killing a competing owl should restore the controversial species in 30 years, federal scientists said Friday. "Unless the barred owl threat is lessened, land management alone will not recover the owl," said Ren Lohoefener, director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific region. The shotgunning of barred owls, a cousin of the spotted owl that encroached from back East on its old growth turf, to see if it improves spotted owl numbers is part of the final Northern Spotted Owl Recovery Plan released Friday by the Fish and Wildlife Service. So is a new strategy to thin fire-prone forests, leaving behind patches of spotted owl habitat. ... Shotgunning a competitor seems a little Sopranos, doesn't it? ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Apr 26, 2008 from Globe and Mail (Canada): U.S. hunters targeting polar bears while they can The rules of engagement are simple: The trophy must be male and at least 2.4 metres tall. And since March, big-game hunters, mainly Americans, clad head to toe in caribou-skin outfits and riding dogsleds, have been on the hunt in Canada's Arctic for one of the most controversial animals on the planet: polar bears. In this male-dominated, high-priced world, where Inuit-guided hunts can run more than $40,000 (U.S.), bigger is better, right down to the animal's baculum, or penis bone. ... Trophies! Git yer trophies here! Git 'em before it's hot! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Feb 21, 2008 from Associated Press: Wolves to be removed from species list "BILLINGS, Mont. - Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies will be removed from the endangered species list, following a 13-year restoration effort that helped the animal's population soar, federal officials said Thursday. An estimated 1,500 wolves now roam Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. That represents a dramatic turnaround for a predator that was largely exterminated in the U.S. outside of Alaska in the early 20th century." ... We're guessing the deer aren't so pleased with this announcement. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Dec 11, 2007 from The Washington Post (2005, US): Wave of Marine Species Extinctions Feared "Sitting in a small motorboat a few hundred yards offshore on a mid-July afternoon, Samuel H. Gruber -- a University of Miami professor who has devoted more than two decades to studying the lemon sharks that breed here -- plunged into despondency. The mangroves being ripped up to build a new resort provide food and protection that the sharks can't get in the open ocean, and Gruber fears the worst." ... "It's been a slow-motion disaster," said Boris Worm, a professor at Canada's Dalhousie University, whose 2003 study that found that 90 percent of the top predator fish have vanished from the oceans. "It's silent and invisible. People don't imagine this. It hasn't captured our imagination, like the rain forest." ... "At the end of my career, I get to document the destruction of the species I've been documenting for 20 years," [Gruber] lamented as he watched the bulldozers. "Wonderful." ApocaDoc permalink Copyright 2009 The Apocadocs.com