Fish and Amphibians

PEOPLE have the chance to get up close and personal with an endangered species. A twilight walk will take place through one of the Natterjack Toad's few strongholds at Talacre dunes. It will take place on April 15 between 7pm and 8.30pm and gives people chance to learn more about the endangered amphibians. The twilight period is when the toads are at the most active - and they may even sing attendees a chorus or two. The free event is being organised by Flintshire Council's Countryside and Coast - and a ranger will be guiding the tour. People are asked to meet on Gamfa Wen car park in Talacre, and booking is essential. You can do so at https://bit.ly/2wPTGoR https://ift.tt/388qF4E

A career scientist who works for the U.S. government is alleging that her supervisors have retaliated against her for sounding an alarm about biosafety and workplace hazards. Her lawyers claim that she has been unfairly targeted for complaining about a litany of issues at a government science research center since 2017, including requesting an investigation after an unknown quantity of pathogens were released from her organization’s biosafety laboratory into the second-largest body of water in Washington State. Evi Emmenegger worked at the Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC) in Seattle since 1996 until this January, when she was placed on administrative leave and served with a notice of proposed separation. The center is a branch of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which studies natural resources and environmental and ecosystem health, water use, and Earth science. Emmenegger managed an aquatic biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) lab, one of the few in the U.S. built for studying aquati...

PEOPLE have the chance to get up close and personal with an endangered species. A twilight walk will take place through one of the Natterjack Toad's few strongholds at Talacre dunes. It will take place on April 15 between 7pm and 8.30pm gives people chance to learn more about the endangered amphibians. The twilight period is when the toads are at the most active - and they may even sing attendees a chorus or two. The free event is being organised by Flintshire Council's Countryside and Coast - and a ranger will be guiding the tour. People are asked to meet on Gamfa Wen car park in Talacre, and booking is essential. You can do so at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/taith-lleffaint-cefnfelyn-natterjack-toad-walk-tickets-88918480569?aff=efbeventtix&fbclid=IwAR234i3AAGPmZQo4r0wCinRZJKYO5ARES6Qi6MkRW6FLNafz5K-s_bFj7qw https://ift.tt/3ad7YOC

Laney Griffo Tahoe Daily Tribune SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — The Tahoe Resource Conservation District is proposing a program to eradicate some invasive fish in Lake Tahoe. The Target Invasive Fish Control Program will target smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie, brown bullhead and goldfish. “This project is targeting invasive fish that were illegally introduced and are not managed by any state wildlife agency for recreational fishing,” said Mollie Hurt, Director of Programs for Tahoe RCD in an email. “These species are known to predate upon, and compete with both native and non-native aquatic species (fish and amphibians), as well as native recreational sportfish. In addition, these species are known to disrupt ecosystem function and create negative ecological effects to food web dynamics and composition.” Different control methods would include electrofishing which introduces an electric field to the water that temporarily stuns the fish, benthic el...

The 2020 Atlanta Science Festival is right around the corner and this year, more than ever before, events have expanded further throughout DeKalb and Fulton Counties to bring the love and wonder of science to more kids and adults. Check out where to get your geek on with these highlighted events: DeKalb Rock n’ Walk Sunday, 03/08/2020 – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free with parking admission Millions of years ago, a massive magma chamber cooled below ground near Atlanta, never erupting through to the surface. Now, we call it Stone Mountain. Join GSU Geosciences on a hike to explore this unique granite dome. You can start the hikes or swing by for a hands-on learning session at the Historical and Environmental Education Center where the geologists will explore the history of this notable natural landmark. You’ll also be able to ‘walk’ a Giant Traveling Map of Georgia, engage in activities with rock and mineral specimens, and explore other natural landscapes using Google Cardboard VR as you...

Bluegill is one of the fish targeted by the program. Provided by Eric Engbretson Largemouth bass is one of the fish targeted by the program. Illustration by Duane Raver Smallmouth bass is one of the fish targeted by the program. Provided by Eric Engbretson Goldfish that grow to be quite large are targeted by the program. Provided / Tahoe RCD Show Captions Hide Captions SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The Tahoe Resource Conservation District is proposing a program to eradicate some invasive fish in Lake Tahoe. The Target Invasive Fish Control Program will target Smallmouth bass, Largemouth bass, Bluegill, Black crappie, Brown bullhead and goldfish. “This project is targeting invasive fish that were illegally introduced and are not managed by any state wildlife agency for recreational fishing,” said Mollie Hurt, Director of Programs for Tahoe RCD in an email. “These species are known to predate upon, and compete with both native and non-native aquati...

click to enlarge The San Antonio Zoo is paying indigenous Peruvians for artworks to help save the Amazon Rainforest — and you can pitch in, too, for as little as $100. Overland Partners, the architecture firm whose offices abut Rosella Coffee Company on Jones, hosted zoo staff and friends of the firm on Thursday to admire and purchase art prints that sustain an international ecological project spearheaded by the San Antonio Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research. For the past seven years, the conservation center has operated Project Selva, which employs staffers in Iquitos, Peru, who purchase balsa-wood carvings of Amazonian animals such as tapirs and sloths from indigenous groups. “I would buy as many of these carved animals as they wanted from them, regularly. So if I show up and they have 50, I’ll buy 50; if I show up and they have 50,000, I’ll buy 50,000,” said Danté Fenolio, vice president of conservation and research at the San Antonio Zoo, to an audience of about 40. The...

A Saskatchewan-based researcher who left the ice-cold Prairies for humid Colombian jungles in search of vividly hued harlequin frogs says his latest discovery about the endangered amphibians gives them a better chance at survival.  In 2018, University of Saskatchewan biologist Andrés Posso-Terranova described three new species of harlequin poison frogs that were previously classified as a single species. One of them, Oophaga andresi, is named after him. Now Posso-Terranova has discovered that hybrid frogs, which show mixes of colour and pattern from different species, exist due to naturally occurring interbreeding. Originally it was thought the hybrids might be the result of human interference linked to trafficking of the frogs on the international black market.  Posso-Terranova had heard from people in Colombia that some frogs had been moved from deep in the jungle to areas closer to homes for easy access to sell to traffickers.  "We performed g...

What sort of image do you have about the country called Kazakhstan? Is it a Central Asian country, the Silk Road, nomadic people, or a country rich in natural resources such as oil and gas? Many people may answer that they cannot think of any clear image. But please look at this photo. It shows amazing landscapes -- a neo-futuristic city as depicted in a movie, breathtakingly beautiful nature, and more. People who already had a clear image and those who did not must have completely different impressions. As a result, we were prompted to take a look at Kazakhstan, a country which the more you know, the more interesting you will find it. You can see on a map that the country is sandwiched between the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest lake, in the west and the Altai Mountains on its eastern side. The Caspian Sea is known as being home to 90% of all sturgeon species, whose eggs are processed into caviar, a high-end product. Kazakhstan’s land size is the world’s seventh largest. The country...

The brains of most fish and amphibian species contain a pair of conspicuously large nerve cells. These are the largest cells found in any animal brain. They are called Mauthner cells and trigger lightning-fast escape responses when predators approach. Biologists at the University of Bayreuth have now shown that these cells have unique functions essential for survival, the loss of which cannot be compensated for by other nerve cells. In addition, they have discovered that Mauthner cells remain functional for a long time without their cell bodies (soma). The researchers have published their findings in the journal PNAS . The new findings contradict the widespread view that vital functions of nervous systems are not dependent on individual cells specifically equipped for the purpose. "For some years now, there has been a tendency in biology to assume that there are only weakly developed hierarchies in animal nervous systems. Therefore, one could basically assume that any vital func...

Zebrafish in an aquarium of the Department of Animal Physiology at the University of Bayreuth. Credit: Wolfram Schulze. The brains of most fish and amphibian species contain two types of conspicuously large nerve cells. These are the largest cells found in any animal brain. They are called Mauthner cells and trigger lightning-fast escape responses when predators approach. Biologists at the University of Bayreuth have now shown that these cells have unique functions essential for survival, the loss of which cannot be compensated for by other nerve cells. In addition, they have discovered that Mauthner cells remain functional for a long time without their cell bodies (soma). The researchers have published their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . The new findings contradict the widespread view that vital functions of nervous systems are not dependent on individual cells specifically equipped for the purpose. "For some years now, there h...

Many amphibians and fish are able to change their color in order to better adapt to their environment. Munich-based scientists have now investigated the molecular mechanisms in the cytoskeleton necessary for this and revealed potential evolutionary paths. All cells of higher organisms are permeated by a cytoskeleton that essentially consists of actin filaments and small protein tubes called microtubules. For a long time science considered the actin or microtubule networks as independent systems. Today it is known that the two network types communicate with each other and thereby make vital cellular processes such as cell division or cell migration possible in the first place. However, it was still unknown how this collaboration works at the molecular level. Dr. Zeynep Ökten from the Chair of Molecular Biophysics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Erwin Frey, Professor of Statistical and Biological Physics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München - with their teams...

The contaminant levels in Chedoke Creek are no worse than they were before 24 billion litres of sewage and stormwater spilled into the creek, a new report says. And dredging won't help.  A report from SLR Consulting says it's hard to know if there was any long-term environmental damage done by a partially opened gate at a combined sewer and stormwater tank. The spill went on from 2014 to 2018, when the city discovered the problem. Levels of toxins such as metals and nutrients are comparable to the time before the spill, said Gord Wichert of SLR. As for the contaminants there, it's impossible to know what resulted from the spill and what stems from the routine battering the creek takes from the urban area around it. While an earlier expert report recommended dredging, SLR says that would only stir up existing contaminants.  "You're actually doing more harm than good by dredging," said Mayor Fred Eisenberger after the report. The bigger message, he said, ...

The brains of most fish and amphibian species contain a pair of conspicuously large nerve cells. These are the largest cells found in any animal brain. They are called Mauthner cells and trigger lightning-fast escape responses when predators approach. Biologists at the University of Bayreuth have now shown that these cells have unique functions essential for survival, the loss of which cannot be compensated for by other nerve cells. In addition, they have discovered that Mauthner cells remain functional for a long time without their cell bodies (soma). The researchers have published their findings in the journal " PNAS ". The new findings contradict the widespread view that vital functions of nervous systems are not dependent on individual cells specifically equipped for the purpose. "For some years now, there has been a tendency in biology to assume that there are only weakly developed hierarchies in animal nervous systems. Therefore, one could basically assume that ...

Many amphibians and fish are able to change their color in order to better adapt to their environment. Munich-based scientists have now investigated the molecular mechanisms in the cytoskeleton necessary for this and revealed potential evolutionary paths. All cells of higher organisms are permeated by a cytoskeleton that essentially consists of actin filaments and small protein tubes called microtubules. For a long time science considered the actin or microtubule networks as independent systems. Today it is known that the two network types communicate with each other and thereby make vital cellular processes such as cell division or cell migration possible in the first place. However, it was still unknown how this collaboration works at the molecular level. Dr. Zeynep Ökten from the Chair of Molecular Biophysics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Erwin Frey, Professor of Statistical and Biological Physics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München - with their teams...