Fish and Amphibians

The ability to detect threatening stimuli and initiate an escape response is critical for survival and under stringent evolutionary pressure. To detect predators, fish use a number of sensory systems including olfaction (smell) and vision, which contribute to the activation of arousal systems. Surprisingly, little is known about the neural mechanisms through which ecological perturbation shapes the evolution of escape response. When startled, do all fish respond the same way? A few fish, like Mexican cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus, have evolved in unique environments without any predators. To determine how this lack of predation impacts escape responses that are highly stereotyped across fish species, researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College explored the tiny A. mexicanus to determine if there are evolved difference in the species. A. mexicanus exist as surface fish that inhabit rivers in Mexico and S...

Credit: CC0 Public Domain The ability to detect threatening stimuli and initiate an escape response is critical for survival and under stringent evolutionary pressure. To detect predators, fish use a number of sensory systems including olfaction (smell) and vision, which contribute to the activation of arousal systems. Surprisingly, little is known about the neural mechanisms through which ecological perturbation shapes the evolution of escape response. When startled, do all fish respond the same way? A few fish, like Mexican cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus, have evolved in unique environments without any predators. To determine how this lack of predation impacts escape responses that are highly stereotyped across fish species , researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College explored the tiny A. mexicanus to determine if there are evolved difference in the species. A. mexicanus exist as surface fish th...

In 1939, a population of orangutans was found in the Batang Toru jungle in South Tapanuli on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They were thought to be Sumatran orangutangs, but in 2017 scientists discovered they were an entirely new species – the Tapanuli orangutan . Five years earlier, in 2012, Indonesia had announced a US$1.6 billion hydropower project on the Batang Toru River. Some local jungle has since been cleared for the project, which is due to be completed in 2022. This has left the Tapanuli orangutan population, already critically endangered due to habitat fragmentation, facing complete collapse. In June 2018, 25 leading environmentalists wrote to Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, calling for a halt to further development in the area. Chinese financial institutions and businesses have prominent roles in the Batang Toru hydropower project , which is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It is just one example of the impact the BRI is having – or could have –...

[embedded content] Europe's alpine lakes are often very clear, very cold, and very deep. Many weird and wonderful creatures have evolved to bear the conditions, including very scary eagles, and lots of weird fish and amphibians. Originally titled Kühle Schönheiten: Alpenseen [Cool Places: Alpine Lakes] by Sigurd Tesche. Image: YouTube / Free High-Quality Documentaries https://ift.tt/3of9vMf

The majority of protected landscapes (81 percent) across the European Union have a poor or bad conservation status, and many of them continue to decline despite targets aimed at protecting them, a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) revealed on Monday (19 October). In the 2013-2018 State of Nature in the EU report , grasslands, dunes, as well as bog, mire and fen habitats show notable deteriorating trends due to changes in land and sea use, over-exploitation and unsustainable management practices. Meanwhile, only a quarter of species have a 'good' conservation status - with forests, mammals, and birds being among the top beneficiaries of the conservation measures applied during the last decade. Nearly half (47 percent) of the bird species in the EU have 'good' status, but this represents a decline of five percent since the previous 2008-2012 reporting period - with some bird groups, such as falcons and harriers, still facing many threats. But fish ar...

Biodiversity is in critical decline across Europe and the world, experts say, raising the alarm about the devastating impact this will have on the global economy. 55% of global GDP, equal to $41.7 trillion, is dependent on high-functioning biodiversity and ecosystem services, according to a report published in September by Swiss Re , the Swiss reinsurance company. However, a fifth of the world’s countries are at risk of ecosystem collapse, the report adds, saying twenty countries around the globe are approaching a biodiversity “tipping point” where essential “services” like food provision risk being disrupted. And the problem is not limited to places like Brazil which are known for their high rates of deforestation, it also concerns Europe. Belgium and Spain were listed among the countries with a high risk to biodiversity and ecosystem services, alongside Australia, Israel, India and South Africa. Biodiversity is in rapid decline across Europe. The State of Nature report report p...

Until recently, it was something of an urban myth amongst Whistler’s environmental types and nature lovers that there are goldfish and koi—both invasive species—in Alta Lake and other local water bodies. “We had heard rumours for a few years that people had seen the occasional orange fish, and we never really got any photo evidence or confirmation of the species ID,” said Clare Greenberg, executive director of the Sea to Sky Invasive Species Council (SSISC). “Until, I think it was two years ago, one of the Whistler municipal staff members personally observed them [in Alta Lake].” This summer, numerous sightings of both fish (which can be hard to tell apart from a distance, Greenberg says) have been reported to the SSISC, prompting the organization to put together a fact sheet about the pesky invasives: ssisc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Goldfish-Factsheet-2020.pdf. The fish have been spotted in Alta Lake, Jordan Creek (between Alpha and Nita lakes) and even One Mile Lake in Pembe...