Fish and Amphibians

The conservation organisation, the WWF, has warned that global food production is devastating wildlife and destroying land. A new report by the WWF says populations of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and amphibians has fallen by 60 percent in less than fifty years. Among the declining animal species are elephants, orang-utans and whale sharks. Dr Robin Freeman from the Zoological Society in London unpicks the causes and the extent of the damage. (Photo: Deer forage for food in Glen Clunie in Scotland. Credit: Getty Images) https://ift.tt/2qkxhtt

BAR HARBOR — College of the Atlantic herpetology and biology professor Dr. Steve Ressel joins the COA Human Ecology Forum for a presentation about salamander adaptation in the intertidal zone on Tuesday, Nov. 6. The free event starts at 4:10 p.m. in McCormick Lecture Hall. Spotted salamanders are large, boldly colored amphibians that breed in the early spring, often when snow and ice are still clinging to the recently thawed ground. These salamanders are thought to rely on woodland vernal pools as the preferred breeding habitat on the island and throughout their range. In Acadia National Park, however, a population of spotted salamanders breed in coastal pools within close proximity to the ocean, which exposes them to salinity levels that can approach that of undiluted seawater. Intrigued by the particulars of this population, Ressel has been studying their physiology and ecology for the past three years, and will present his findings to date in this talk. Ressel joined the faculty...

Species of reptiles, amphibians and other vertebrates are becoming extinct in Haiti as deforestation has claimed more than 99 percent of the country's original wooded areas. A research collaboration that included two scientists affiliated with Oregon State University found that 42 of Haiti's 50 largest mountains have lost all of their primary forest. Moreover, mountaintop surveys of vertebrates showed that species are disappearing along with the trees, highlighting the global threat to biodiversity by human causes. Along with the mass extinctions, the findings, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , suggest that over the next two decades Haiti will lose all of its remaining primary forest cover. The National Science Foundation and the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund supported this research. Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the developing world, is a small, densely populated Caribbean nation that shares the island of Hispaniola...

Unbridled consumption has decimated global wildlife, triggered a mass extinction, and exhausted Earth's capacity to accommodate humanity's expanding appetites, a conservation group warned on Tuesday. From 1970 to 2014, 60 percent of all animals with a backbone - fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals - were wiped out by human activity, according to WWF's Living Planet report, based on an ongoing survey of more than 4,000 species spread over 16,700 populations scattered across the globe. "The situation is really bad and it keeps getting worse," WWF International director general Marco Lambertini told AFP news agency. "The only good news is that we know exactly what is happening." For freshwater fauna, the decline in population over the 44 years monitored was a staggering 80 percent. Regionally, Latin America was hit hardest, seeing a nearly 90 percent loss of wildlife over the same period. Another dataset confirmed the depth of an unfolding ma...

By Sonia Fernandez for UCSB | October 27, 2018 | 4:00 p.m. Tropical frogs are adept at camouflage. (Graziella DiRenzo) After suffering mass mortality for years due to infection with the deadly Batrachochytrium dendrobatridis fungus, or chytrid, some frog populations in El Copé, Panama, now seem to be co-existing with the pathogen and stabilizing their populations. “Our results are really promising because they lead us to conclude that the El Copé frog community is stabilizing and not drifting to extinction,” said Graziella DiRenzo, a postdoctoral researcher in ecology, evolution and marine biology (EEMB) at UCSB. “(Extinction) is a big concern with chytrid worldwide,” DiRenzo said. “Before this study, we didn’t know a lot about the communities that remain after an outbreak. In some areas, it’s still a black box.” DiRenzo, a scientist in the lab of EEMB professor Cherie Briggs, has outlined her findings in the paper Eco-Evolutionary Rescue Promotes Host-pathogen Coexistence...

     (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/773597/Gibbs_Humdinga_047.jpg )      (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/773598/Gibbs_Humdinga_031.jpg )      (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/773599/Gibbs_Humdinga_033.jpg ) The demonstrations will allow interested parties to experience the Humdinga and Aquada both on land and water first hand. Gibbs expects that the significant interest from the region will complement its continuing business development efforts. The Humdinga is one of the more rugged vehicles created by Gibbs, capable both off-road and on-water. It can carry up to 9 passengers, with the signature Gibbs central driving position and can carry a tonne in payload. It reaches speeds of 40mph on water and over 80mph on land, with twin Gibbs proprietary water jets and 4WD. Gibbs has locations in the U.K. ( Nuneaton ) and New Zealand , utilising engineers and expertise from both countries to continue...

Detroit Zoo-born dusky gopher frogs released into the wild    WDIV ClickOnDetroit Full coverage https://ift.tt/2RkUCXx

Oldest known footprints in the Grand Canyon found    National Geographic Full coverage https://ift.tt/2CFBZcz

Endangered Detroit Zoo-born dusky gopher frogs released into wild    WXYZ Full coverage https://ift.tt/2D5hFCe

October 24-31 is Bat Week , an annual, international celebration of the role bats play in the natural world. Bats are truly amazing creatures. There are more than 1,400 species of bats in the world, about 20 percent of all mammal species. About two-thirds of bats are insectivorous. They consume between 50 and 100 percent of their own weight every night. They protect our food crops and timber industry—worth more than $57 billion per year—and if it weren’t for bats, farmers would surely use more chemical pesticides than they do now. This slideshow requires JavaScript. Nationwide, the service bats provide by suppressing insect populations has been estimated worth something between $4 billion and $50 billion per year to American agriculture. CDFW Senior Environmental Scientist Scott Osborn notes, “Even the low end of that broad estimate, $4 billion, is an impressive amount. Bats are an important part of integrated pest management systems.” Some bat species pollinate many species of plan...

Hilary Turner works for the Idaho Fish and Game Department as a roadside carcass surveyor in the Upper Snake Region. She drives US-20 from Idaho Falls to the Montana border searching for carcasses and collecting data. “Why?” you may ask. Ecology is the study of interactions and relationships between organisms and their environments. Road ecology is an emerging science where scientists study the ecological effects of roads, which Turner does by collecting data on road kills. From two-tracks to interstates, most people use some kind of road in their daily lives. The United States alone contains 4.12 million miles of road (2.68 million paved miles) and the ecological effects (direct and indirect) of this transportation system are vast. The ecological effects of roads have been studied in Idaho since at least the late 1960s, when Fish and Game documented the effects of the completion and opening of Interstate 84 in southern Idaho on the migratory Sublett mule deer herd. The freeway op...

Hilary Turner works for the Idaho Fish and Game Department as a roadside carcass surveyor in the Upper Snake Region. She drives US-20 from Idaho Falls to the Montana border searching for carcasses and collecting data. “Why?” you may ask. Ecology is the study of interactions and relationships between organisms and their environments. Road ecology is an emerging science where scientists study the ecological effects of roads, which Turner does by collecting data on road kills. From two-tracks to interstates, most people use some kind of road in their daily lives. The United States alone contains 4.12 million miles of road (2.68 million paved miles) and the ecological effects (direct and indirect) of this transportation system are vast. The ecological effects of roads have been studied in Idaho since at least the late 1960s, when Fish and Game documented the effects of the completion and opening of Interstate 84 in southern Idaho on the migratory Sublett mule deer herd. The freeway op...

Hilary Turner works for the Idaho Fish and Game Department as a roadside carcass surveyor in the Upper Snake Region. She drives US-20 from Idaho Falls to the Montana border searching for carcasses and collecting data. “Why?” you may ask. Ecology is the study of interactions and relationships between organisms and their environments. Road ecology is an emerging science where scientists study the ecological effects of roads, which Turner does by collecting data on road kills. From two-tracks to interstates, most people use some kind of road in their daily lives. The United States alone contains 4.12 million miles of road (2.68 million paved miles) and the ecological effects (direct and indirect) of this transportation system are vast. The ecological effects of roads have been studied in Idaho since at least the late 1960s, when Fish and Game documented the effects of the completion and opening of Interstate 84 in southern Idaho on the migratory Sublett mule deer herd. The freeway op...

Hilary Turner works for the Idaho Fish and Game Department as a roadside carcass surveyor in the Upper Snake Region. She drives US-20 from Idaho Falls to the Montana border searching for carcasses and collecting data. “Why?” you may ask. Ecology is the study of interactions and relationships between organisms and their environments. Road ecology is an emerging science where scientists study the ecological effects of roads, which Turner does by collecting data on road kills. From two-tracks to interstates, most people use some kind of road in their daily lives. The United States alone contains 4.12 million miles of road (2.68 million paved miles) and the ecological effects (direct and indirect) of this transportation system are vast. The ecological effects of roads have been studied in Idaho since at least the late 1960s, when Fish and Game documented the effects of the completion and opening of Interstate 84 in southern Idaho on the migratory Sublett mule deer herd. The freeway op...

Gibbs Amphibians (Gibbs), in partnership with Madaeen Al Doha Group, showcased high-speed amphibious vehicles Humdinga and Aquada at the Katara Beach. “We will be exhibiting the Humdinga at Milipol Qatar, the 12th International Exhibition of Internal Security and Civil Defence 2018,” Gibbs Sports Amphibians chairman Neil Jenkins told Gulf Times. Milipol Qatar, under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, is scheduled to take place from October 29 to 31 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre. Gibbs will also be holding several free demonstrations at Katara, both on land and water, after the exhibition. The Humdinga, primarily directed towards corporate and government customers, can carry up to nine passengers, with the signature Gibbs central driving position and a tonne in payload. The amphibious vehicle reaches speeds of 40mph on water and over 80mph on land, with twin Gibbs proprietary water jets and 4WD. Gibbs has locations in the UK (Nu...

Gibbs Amphibians (Gibbs), in partnership with Madaeen Al Doha Group, showcased high-speed amphibious vehicles Humdinga and Aquada at the Katara Beach. “We will be exhibiting the Humdinga at Milipol Qatar, the 12th International Exhibition of Internal Security and Civil Defence 2018,” Gibbs Sports Amphibians chairman Neil Jenkins told Gulf Times. Milipol Qatar, under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, is scheduled to take place from October 29 to 31 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre. Gibbs will also be holding several free demonstrations at Katara, both on land and water, after the exhibition. The Humdinga, primarily directed towards corporate and government customers, can carry up to nine passengers, with the signature Gibbs central driving position and a tonne in payload. The amphibious vehicle reaches speeds of 40mph on water and over 80mph on land, with twin Gibbs proprietary water jets and 4WD. Gibbs has locations in the UK (Nu...

Weeks Bay Foundation accepting entries for photo contest Amateur photographers from across the Gulf Coast have two more weeks to get their entries in for the 19th Annual Weeks Bay Photo Contest. The official deadline is October 22 at 5 p.m. With four categories and two divisions, adult and junior (16 and under), there are numerous ways to compete for the prizes, and the honor of having your photos seen throughout the year in Weeks Bay Foundation literature, website, social media and more. Winners will be chosen for first place, second place, third place, and honorable mention in each of the four categories in each division. Plus, the Best of Show honoree will receive a $100 grand prize. Judges this year are Rodney Kilgore, Stephen Savage and Lynn Oldshue. The categories are: Flora: plants, trees, shrubs, flowers, etc; Fauna: animals, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, etc.; Habitat: outdoor scene or landscape; People in Nature: people recreating or enjoying the c...

Weeks Bay Foundation accepting entries for photo contest Amateur photographers from across the Gulf Coast have two more weeks to get their entries in for the 19th Annual Weeks Bay Photo Contest. The official deadline is October 22 at 5 p.m. With four categories and two divisions, adult and junior (16 and under), there are numerous ways to compete for the prizes, and the honor of having your photos seen throughout the year in Weeks Bay Foundation literature, website, social media and more. Winners will be chosen for first place, second place, third place, and honorable mention in each of the four categories in each division. Plus, the Best of Show honoree will receive a $100 grand prize. Judges this year are Rodney Kilgore, Stephen Savage and Lynn Oldshue. The categories are: Flora: plants, trees, shrubs, flowers, etc; Fauna: animals, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, etc.; Habitat: outdoor scene or landscape; People in Nature: people recreating or enjoying the c...

Recently Published market study ” Global Reptile Amphibian Food Market 2018-2025 ” in-depth analysis of the Reptile Amphibian Food market state and also the competitive landscape globally. It analyses the necessary factors of the Reptile Amphibian Food Market based on present trade situation, market demands, business ways utilised by Reptile Amphibian Food market players and also the future prospects from numerous angles thoroughly. The report additionally presents forecast for Reptile Amphibian Food Market from 2018 until 2025. In this report, the Reptile Amphibian Food market value concerning X billion USD in 2017 and it’s expected to achieve XX billion USD in 2025 with a median growth rate X %. USA is that the largest production of Reptile Amphibian Food Market and consumption region within the world, whereas China is quickest growing region. Geographically, Reptile Amphibian Food market report is segmental into many key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue. the most ...

LADDERS to help frogs and toads escape from roadside drains have been installed in Warwick and Norton Lindsey by volunteers from Warwickshire Amphibian and Reptile Team (WART). Frogs and toads fall in the drains when they migrate to and from their breeding ponds. Since 2017 volunteers from WART have been rescuing animals from drains at a site in Warwick using nets and buckets. Warwickshire County Council gave permission to install ladders that help animals escape roadside drains. The ladders were designed by Trevor Rose of The British Herpetological Society to help tackle the problem of trapped amphibians in drains, which often happens where roads are located near ponds. The ladder consists of a metal base with polyethylene fibre mesh on the top. Animals are able to grip on the material and climb out of drains. This was tested on a number of sites in the UK including Norton Lindsey in Warwickshire and Balsall Common, Solihull and shown in studies to be the most effective means of e...

LADDERS to help frogs and toads escape from roadside drains have been installed in Warwick and Norton Lindsey by volunteers from Warwickshire Amphibian and Reptile Team (WART). Frogs and toads fall in the drains when they migrate to and from their breeding ponds. Since 2017 volunteers from WART have been rescuing animals from drains at a site in Warwick using nets and buckets. Warwickshire County Council gave permission to install ladders that help animals escape roadside drains. The ladders were designed by Trevor Rose of The British Herpetological Society to help tackle the problem of trapped amphibians in drains, which often happens where roads are located near ponds. The ladder consists of a metal base with polyethylene fibre mesh on the top. Animals are able to grip on the material and climb out of drains. This was tested on a number of sites in the UK including Norton Lindsey in Warwickshire and Balsall Common, Solihull and shown in studies to be the most effective means of e...

LADDERS to help frogs and toads escape from roadside drains have been installed in Warwick and Norton Lindsey by volunteers from Warwickshire Amphibian and Reptile Team (WART). Frogs and toads fall in the drains when they migrate to and from their breeding ponds. Since 2017 volunteers from WART have been rescuing animals from drains at a site in Warwick using nets and buckets. Warwickshire County Council gave permission to install ladders that help animals escape roadside drains. The ladders were designed by Trevor Rose of The British Herpetological Society to help tackle the problem of trapped amphibians in drains, which often happens where roads are located near ponds. The ladder consists of a metal base with polyethylene fibre mesh on the top. Animals are able to grip on the material and climb out of drains. This was tested on a number of sites in the UK including Norton Lindsey in Warwickshire and Balsall Common, Solihull and shown in studies to be the most effective means of e...

REGARDING the approval process for quarries on farmland, I believe we must consider the possibility actively-farmed paddocks could be a viable habitat for native species. A century or more of intensive agriculture on Yorke Peninsula has destroyed most of the native habitat. We have to accept the original ecosystem that existed for thousands of years has gone. However, a new ecosystem has evolved around agricultural activity. Fauna and flora can be adaptable — some will have developed strategies to survive in the new habitat. Within and along the edges of the paddocks native species exist and some may be vulnerable or endangered. If we consider specific examples such as local skinks we need to be careful about assuming agricultural practices extinguish conservation value in and around farming paddocks. Many species of reptile and amphibians are nomadic and as such I believe can coexist with agricultural activities. Skinks and frogs burrow and I believe can survive invasive agricul...

'Narrative of hope': A beaver Bringing back animals such as beavers and giant tortoises could help stop flooding, forest fires and even climate change , according to research. A study looking at the impact of reintroducing wild animals to where they once belonged has found that doing so can help damaged habitats recover. The earth lost 58 per cent of amphibians, fish, reptiles, mammals and birds between 1970 and 2012, according to the Zoological Society of London . But experts at the University of Stirling say ‘rewilding’ represents a ‘narrative of hope’ that can reverse the downward trend. They found that the reintroduction of beavers in Sweden boosted wildlife, creating ‘ponds’ with dams made from trees and branches. The research, published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, found 15 per cent more plant species in areas with beaver ponds compared to wetlands where beavers – which are also being reintroduced in Britain – were not pres...

“Saturday Night Live” star Leslie Jones live tweeted while watching Guillermo del Toro’s sci-fi love story “The Shape of Water” and had one thing to say about that odd girl-on-amphibian-man sex scene: “What am I watching?” Most of Jones’ tweets were simple observations, like, “Ok I need to barf now!” after Michael Shannon’s character proudly announced that he doesn’t wash his hands after using the urinal. But it’s the interaction between Sally Hawkins’ Elisa and Doug Jones’ amphibian man that left the comedian flummoxed. Also Read: 'Shape of Water' Actor Doug Jones Says Sex Toy Based on His Character Is 'Not Exactly What I'd Hoped For' For those who haven’t seen “The Shape of Water,” it’s about a lonely mute cleaning lady in a secret research facility who forms a unique relationship with an amphibian man held in captivity. Take a look at just a few of Jones’ tweets. Oh, and be warned, Jones’ language gets a little racy. Ok I need to barf now! You believe yo...