Calling citizen scientists: more data needed to protect echidnas

These masters of disguise are some of the world’s oldest surviving mammals, but they are threatened by habitat loss, traffic and feral cats – and they need our help

Alexandra Spring

Wed 21 Feb 2018 17.00 GMT Last modified on Wed 21 Feb 2018 17.02 GMT

They may be one of the world’s oldest surviving mammals – around for at least 25m years – but scientists don’t know much about echidnas. Now researchers believe the remaining Australian population may be threatened and they need citizen scientists’ help to save them. 

The short-beaked echidna is found only in Australia and Papua New Guinea. In 2015 the Kangaroo Island echidna, a once significant subspecies, was listed as endangered. While the remaining population is listed as “least concern”, researchers question the listing. As Tahlia Perry, a PhD researcher at the University of Adelaide’s Grutzner Lab, which is studying the molecular biology of echidnas, says: “When you don’t have exact numbers, it’s really hard to give something a listing.”

In September 2017, the lab, in association with the CSIRO’s Atlas of Living Australia, launched the free echidna CSI app to encourage Australians to photograph wild echidnas and collect their scat, or droppings. “What we are hoping to find out is [whether there are] other pockets of populations around the rest of the country that are in the same sort of threat level [as the Kangaroo Island species] because they face the exact same threats,” says Perry.

The main threats to echidnas are land clearing and habitat loss. This was demonstrated on Kangaroo Island when the population shrank as development increased. Echidnas can travel great distances – often several kilometres in a day – they have very large home ranges and so land clearing and rapid developments can cause problems in their ability to travel by removing viable habitat, says Perry. Other major threats include traffic, feral cats and potentially the rapidly changing climate.

Read on 

Water vole areas in England and Wales fall by 30% in a decade

Species remains UK’s fastest declining mammal despite large reintroduction programme

Haroon Siddique

Mon 26 Feb 2018 00.01 GMT

The number of areas where water voles are found across England and Wales has fallen by almost a third in 10 years, research has found.

The species, which provided the model for the much-loved character Ratty in The Wind of the Willows, has suffered catastrophic declines over several decades and is the UK’s fastest declining mammal.

Habitat loss, water pollution and the introduction of American mink – originally farmed for their fur, but which escaped into the wild and proved a voracious predator – have all contributed to the slump in the number of voles.

Analysis led by the Wildlife Trusts found a decline of 30% in the areas where they live between 2006 and 2015. A slight increase in their distribution was recorded in the last few years, thanks to conservation efforts by wildlife groups – the biggest reintroduction of water voles in the UK began last year – but the situation remains bleak.

Ellie Brodie, the senior policy officer for the Wildlife Trusts, said: “Water voles are an essential part of our wild and watery places and it’s terribly sad that we’re continuing to witness huge declines of this much-loved mammal.

“The Wildlife Trusts and others are working hard to help bring them back again and care for the places they need to survive – but much more is needed if we’re going to stop this charismatic creature disappearing altogether.”

Continued  

Marine scientists urge protection for endangered shellfish reefs

Shellfish reefs, formed by oysters or mussels in or near estuaries, have declined by up 99% since British colonisation

Calla Wahlquist

Wed 14 Feb 2018 17.00 GMTLast modified on Wed 14 Feb 2018 22.41 GMT

Marine scientists are lobbying the federal government to ensure protection for Australia’s most endangered – but least known – ocean ecosystem.

Shellfish reefs, formed by millions of oysters or mussels clustering together in or near the mouths of estuaries, have declined by up 99% since British colonisation.

Yet they are not formally recognised as a threatened ecosystem under Australian environmental law.

A study led by the Nature Conservancy Australia and published in the peer-reviewed open access journal Plos One on Thursday found that the number of reefs formed by Australian flat oysters, Ostrea angasi, had declined 99% from 118 found in historical records to just one, in Tasmania’s Georges Bay.

The number of reefs formed by rock oysters, Saccostrea glomerata, which are found on coastal banks around Sydney, declined 90% from 60 known historical locations to six surviving reefs.

It is even more drastic than the decline in the Great Barrier Reef, which suffered unprecedented mass bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 that are believed to have killed up to half of the coral, and the shrinking of kelp forests, which have declined 90% off the coast of Western Australia due to successive marine heatwaves.

Read on  

Rare butterfly found breeding in Scotland for first time in 130 years

Eggs laid by white-letter hairstreak found on elm trees in Berwickshire

Patrick Barkham

Thu 15 Feb 2018 07.01 GMTLast modified on Thu 15 Feb 2018 07.03 GMT

The microscopic eggs of an endangered butterfly have been found in Scotland, suggesting the insect has returned to breed in the country for the first time in more than 130 years.

Lepidopterists discovered white-letter hairstreak eggs on wych elm trees at Lennel, Berwickshire, this month after an adult butterfly was spotted last summer 10 miles away – the first sighting in Scotland since 1884.

“Last year was an impossible find, but this year’s egg discovery is beyond anything we thought possible,” said Iain Cowe, butterfly recorder for the Borders, who found the adult butterfly last summer.

While most butterflies hibernate as caterpillars, the white-letter hairstreak spends nine months of the year as an egg, which is smaller than a grain of salt and stuck to slender branches of elm.

The eggs were detected by Jill Mills and Ken Haydock, volunteers for Butterfly Conservation who travelled from Bolton to scour trees in the Borders.

“We were searching the elm trees by the River Tweed at Lennel when Jill called me over,” said Haydock. “I could see by the look on her face that she had found something.

Continued 

Four Australian mammals deemed under greater threat of extinction

Status of northern hairy-nosed wombat, central rock-rat, numbat and Christmas Island shrew upgraded in latest threatened species list

Calla Wahlquist

Thu 15 Feb 2018 05.24 GMTLast modified on Thu 15 Feb 2018 05.26 GMT

Four mammals – including the northern hairy-nosed wombat and the numbat – have been upgraded to endangered or critically endangered on the updated Australian threatened species list published on Thursday.

The northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii) has been steadily contracting its range to a single area within Queensland’s Epping Forest national park, 855km north-west of Brisbane.

Numbers had been increasing in that park from a low of 35 in the 1980s to 240 in 2016, according to a census conducted by the Queensland environment department. The recovery is due in part to the construction of a predator fence in 2002.

A small insurance colony of about 10 wombats is held at Richard Underwood Nature Refuge. The species was moved up from endangered to critically endangered this year.

Similarly upgraded was the central rock-rat or antina (Zyzomys pedunculatus) a native mouse that was rediscovered in the West MacDonnell Ranges of central Australia in 1996.

It is a critical weight range mammal – meaning it is the right size to make an ideal snack for a feral cat – and is one of 20 mammals listed as a priority species for federal government recovery efforts.

Read on  

No record of some threatened species in area government says it's protecting them

Experts say growling grass frog and southern brown bandicoot not likely to be found at Endeavour Fern Gully

Lisa Cox

Fri 16 Feb 2018 21.10 GMTLast modified on Sat 17 Feb 2018 23.18 GMT

Experts have cast doubt on government claims the Coalition is funding a conservation project in Victoria’s Endeavour Fern Gully to benefit threatened species – because the listed species are unlikely to occur in the area.

Endeavour Fern Gully is a 27-hectare (65 acre) rainforest property on the Mornington Peninsula. The environment and energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, says the government had funded a broad Green Army project that “improves habitat through weed control and promotes greater conservation awareness of native vegetation in remnant bushland at Endeavour Fern Gully”.

“This is where a number of threatened species are known or likely to be, including the grey-headed flying-fox, the southern brown bandicoot (eastern), the growling grass frog and the clover glycine.”

Yet ecologists said there was no record of some of these species in the area.

Geoff Heard, a lecturer of wildlife ecology at Charles Sturt University who studies the growling grass frog, said the species was unlikely to be found at that site.

Continued  

Should we give up half of the Earth to wildlife?

Populations of all kinds of wildlife are declining at alarming speed. One radical solution is to make 50% of the planet a nature reserve

Robin McKie

Observer science editor

Sun 18 Feb 2018 00.05 GMT

The orangutan is one of our planet’s most distinctive and intelligent creatures. It has been observed using primitive tools, such as the branch of a tree, to hunt food, and is capable of complex social behaviour. Orangutans also played a special role in humanity’s own intellectual history when, in the 19th century, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, co-developers of the theory of natural selection, used observations of them to hone their ideas about evolution.

But humanity has not repaid orangutans with kindness. The numbers of these distinctive, red-maned primates are now plummeting thanks to our destruction of their habitats and illegal hunting of the species. Last week, an international study revealed that its population in Borneo, the animal’s last main stronghold, now stands at between 70,000 and 100,000, less than half of what it was in 1995. “I expected to see a fairly steep decline, but I did not anticipate it would be this large,” said one of the study’s co-authors, Serge Wich of Liverpool John Moores University.

For good measure, conservationists say numbers are likely to fall by at least another 45,000 by 2050, thanks to the expansion of palm oil plantations, which are replacing their forest homes. One of Earth’s most spectacular creatures is heading towards oblivion, along with the vaquita dolphin, the Javan rhinoceros, the western lowland gorilla, the Amur leopard and many other species whose numbers are today declining dramatically. All of these are threatened with the fate that has already befallen the Tasmanian tiger, the dodo, the ivory-billed woodpecker and the baiji dolphin – victims of humanity’s urge to kill, exploit and cultivate.

Continued  

'It's given the children a love of wildlife': the schools letting nature in

In school fields and communities, pupils are learning about the fragility of nature – and restoring depleted environments

Emma Sheppard

Sat 17 Feb 2018 09.00 GMTLast modified on Sat 17 Feb 2018 12.13 GMT

After the long slog of winter, pupils at Evelyn Community primary school in Merseyside are getting outside with a mission in mind: to count and record the number of different bird species in the school grounds. The challenge is part of the Big School’s Bird Watch, an event which last year involved 73,000 school children and their teachers.

But the children have been taking an active interest in the wildlife at their school for a while. Since creating a garden in an unused corner of their field more than two years ago, the pupils have attracted a variety of birds. They’ve planted wildflower seeds, created a vegetable plot, made bird nests, and learned about biodiversity. The school has a wicker bird hide and has bought binoculars to encourage bird spotting all year round.

The school’s headteacher, Carole Arnold, says the impact of the children’s work on biodiversity in the garden has been significant. A group of 12 children spend time in the garden each week, for a full term, before giving a new group their turn. “Our school field had absolutely no birds at all [before]. It’s really given the children a love of wildlife,” she says. “We use it with some vulnerable children as well who sometimes need help to be calm.”

Read more 

Duplicate genes help animals resolve sexual conflict

February 19, 2018, University of Chicago Medical Center

Duplicate copies of a gene shared by male and female fruit flies have evolved to resolve competing demands between the sexes. New genetic analysis by researchers at the University of Chicago describes how these copies have evolved separate male- and female-specific functions that are crucial to reproduction and fertility. These changes occurred in just 200,000 years since the genes duplicated, meaning that this process can resolve selective pressures between sexes and specialize relatively quickly.

"Even though males and females share nearly all of their genomes, they each have to deal with very distinct selective pressures," said Nicholas VanKuren, a graduate student at UChicago and co-author of the study, published this week in Nature Ecology & Evolution. "The really unexpected result from this study is that despite being so young, these genes rapidly evolved, not only in a way to mitigate the sexual conflict but also to develop essential, sex-specific functions."

Read more at: 

'Fantasy documents': recovery plans failing Australia's endangered species

Environment

Expired, unfinished or undeveloped: conservationists call for more transparency and accountability in species management systems

Lisa Cox

Mon 19 Feb 2018 17.00 GMTLast modified on Mon 19 Feb 2018 22.24 GMT

Less than 40% of Australia’s nationally-listed threatened species have recovery plans in place to secure their long-term survival.

And close to 10% of listed threatened species are identified as requiring plans to manage their protection but the documents are either unfinished or haven’t been developed, according to data published by the environment and energy department.

Other critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable species have plans that are years or decades out of date and contain no detail on what actions have been taken to ensure a species avoids extinction.

Conservationists want an overhaul of Australia’s national environment laws – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) act – to bring transparency and accountability to the country’s opaque system of species management.

“Nobody seems to have ultimate responsibility for protecting them,” said the Wilderness Society national director Lyndon Schneiders.

Read on  

'Loneliest tree' records human epoch

Jonathan Amos

Science correspondent

19 February 2018

It’s been dubbed "the loneliest tree on the planet" because of its remote location, but the Sitka spruce might represent something quite profound about the age in which we live.

The tree, sited on Campbell Island in the Southern Ocean, records in its wood a clear radioactive trace from the A-bomb tests of the 1950s and 60s.

As such, it could be the "golden spike" scientists are seeking to define the start of the Anthropocene Epoch - a new time segment in our geological history of Earth.

The suggestion is that whatever is taken as the golden spike, it should reflect the so-called "Great Acceleration" when human impacts on the planet suddenly intensified and became global in extent.

This occurs after WWII and is seen for example in the explosion in plastics production.

Chris Turney, from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and colleagues, say the Sitka spruce captures this change exquisitely in the chemistry of its growth rings.

"We're putting this forward as a serious contender to mark the start of the Anthropocene. It's got to be something that reflects a global signal," Prof Turney told BBC News.

"The problem with any Northern Hemisphere records is that they largely reflect where most major human activity has happened. But this Christmas tree records the far-reaching nature of that activity and we can't think of anywhere more remote than the Southern Ocean."

Continued  

Monitoring bacteria on whale skin

Humpback microbiome linked to seasonal, environmental changes

Date:  February 14, 2018
Source:  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Summary:
Just like with humans, the skin on marine mammals serves as an important line of defense against pathogens in their environment. A new study sheds light on the skin microbiome -- a group of microorganisms that live on skin -- in healthy humpback whales, which could aid in future efforts to monitor their health.

Read more  

Illegal global trade of pangolins

Date:  February 17, 2018

Source:  University of Stirling

Summary:

Animal traffickers are taking advantage of remote ivory trade routes to smuggle pangolins – one of the world’s most endangered animals – out of Central Africa, a new study has found.

Continued 

World’s most controversial fruit depends on giant bats for pollination

While we debate whether the durian is the best or worst food on the planet, it turns out this wonderful oddity requires healthy populations of flying fox for survival 

Jeremy Hance

Mon 19 Feb 2018 14.48 GMTLast modified on Mon 19 Feb 2018 15.26 GMT

Durian. Depending on whom you talk to it’s either the most beloved or the most despised fruit on the planet. It suffers no moderation, no wishy-washiness. It is the king of fruits or the worst thing you’ve ever tasted. Due to its potent odour – delicate and sweet to its advocates and sewage-like to its detractors – durian has been banned from airplanes, subways, and hotels (though punishments appear light if non-existent). But a recent study in Ecology and Evolution finds there may be no durians at all without bats: big, threatened bats. The scientists found that flying foxes – bats in the Pteropus and Acerodon genus and the largest in the world – are likely vital pollinators for the polarising durian.

“We already knew that flying foxes feed on durian flowers, but there was this unsubstantiated belief, even among some researchers, that flying foxes just destroyed the flowers,” said Sheema Abdul Aziz, the lead researcher on the project that was done as part of her PhD at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in France. “It doesn’t help that a durian flower only blooms for one night, then falls off the tree naturally, regardless of whether it’s been pollinated or not. When people see all the flowers on the ground in the morning, they think it’s the bats.”

Read on  

The starry sky shows nocturnal animals the way

Date:  February 19, 2018

Source:  Lund University

Summary:

Nocturnal animals can use the stars and the Milky Way to find their way during the darkest hours.

Read on  

High levels of microplastics found in Northwest Atlantic fish

New study finds microplastics in the stomachs of 73 percent of mesopelagic fish caught in the Northwest Atlantic -- one of the highest levels globally

Date:  February 16, 2018

Source:  Frontiers

Summary:

A new study finds 73 percent of mesopelagic fish caught in the Northwest Atlantic had microplastics in their stomachs -- one of the highest levels globally. Typically living at depths of 200-1,000 meters, these fish could spread microplastic pollution throughout the marine ecosystem, by carrying microplastics from the surface down to deeper waters. They are also prey for fish eaten by humans, meaning that microplastics could indirectly contaminate our food supply.

Continued  

The more kinds of bees, the better for humans

Study of 48 farms in two states shows abundance of species means lots of pollination

Date:  February 15, 2018

Source:  Rutgers University

Summary:

The bigger the area to pollinate, the more species of wild bees you need to pollinate it.

Continued  

France to let wolf population grow despite farmers' fears

19 February 2018

France is to allow the wolf population to grow from about 360 now to 500 by 2023, despite protests from farmers worried about their livestock.

A new plan announced by the government represents a rise of nearly 40% in the wolf population.

After being eradicated by hunters in the 1930s, the wolf made its way back into France from Italy in the 1990s.

Wolves are listed as a protected species by the Bern Convention that France has signed up to.

Animal rights groups had been pushing for a more radical proposal and accused ministers of lacking political courage.

In a gesture to farmers, the government said that hunters in France would still be allowed to cull 40 wolves this year, the same as in 2017. Up to 10% of the wolf population could be culled every year from 2019, and that proportion could rise to 12% if more frequent wolf attacks were registered.

Continued 

DNA secrets of how vampire bats became bloodthirsty

By Helen Briggs BBC News

19 February 2018

DNA analysis is giving clues to how the vampire bat can survive on blood alone.

The bat can drink up to half its weight in blood a day unlike other relatives, which dine on fruit, nectar or insects.

Blood is low in nutrients and can harbour deadly viruses.

Vampire bats have key differences in genes involved in immunity and food metabolism compared with other bats.

The researchers say the bat's gut microbes are also distinct.

They found evidence of more than 280 types of bacteria in the bat's droppings that would have made most other mammals unwell.

"The data suggests that there is a close evolutionary relationship between the gut microbiome and the genome of the vampire bat for adaptation to sanguivory (feeding exclusively on blood)," said study author, Dr Marie Zepeda Mendoza of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

The common vampire bat harbours many genes that have been selected to cope with blood feeding, she added.

Continued  

Skin bacteria may predict vulnerability of amphibians to killer chytrid fungus

February 19, 2018 by Ryan O'hare, Imperial College London

Bacterial communities that live on the skin of frogs and toads could provide vital clues to species' vulnerability to the lethal chytrid fungus.

The fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or (Bd)) is currently decimating amphibian populations worldwide, and has been linked with the decline and extinction of tropical species.

According to a pioneering new genetic study, led by Zoological Society of London and involving Imperial researchers, the animals' own microbes could play a key role in the course of disease.

Previous studies indicate that the outcome of infection is linked to the virulence of the particular Bd strain the animals come into contact with, but more recent evidence suggests that bacteria living naturally on amphibian skin can actually provide protection from the fungus.

In the latest study, published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers used more than a decade of data collected from midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans) in the French and Spanish Pyrenees to investigate why certain populations of the toads demonstrated a degree of resistance to Bd, while elsewhere the disease has contributed to catastrophic declines in similar animals.

Read more at: