Yangtze Finless Porpoise: Highly Endangered Mammal Trying to Cope With Constant Shipping, Dredging and Underwater Construction

Oct. 21, 2013 — The Yangtze finless porpoise, which inhabits the high-traffic waters near the Three Gorges Dam in China, is highly endangered, with only about 1,000 animals alive today. Scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and their Chinese colleagues are using medical technology to shed new light on this species' critical sense of hearing in a waterway punctuated by constant shipping, dredging, and underwater construction.

"We want to understand how they may be impacted by noise," said Aran Mooney, a biologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and a lead author on the study published online this week in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Marine mammals such as dolphins and porpoises rely on their hearing to navigate, communicate, and find food in the typically deep, dark, and murky waters they inhabit. But what we know about how they hear has been limited to research on just a few species, particularly bottlenose dolphins, because they are relatively common in marine parks and aquaria. This can be a problem when natural resource managers and regulators base aquatic noise pollution policy decisions on data from a limited number of "representative species" when there are over 70 species of toothed whales or odontocetes that live in a variety of aquatic habitats.

This new research shows how variability in the size and shape of toothed whales' heads across species can result in marked differences in how they receive sound and how sensitive they are to a range of frequencies.

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Jacksonville Zoo celebrates hatching of three endangered Temple Turtles - via Herp Digest

June 11, 2013 -The Times Union, The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has three new arrivals — highly endangered Yellow Headed Temple Turtles, the first hatched at the Northside Jacksonville facility.

Temple Turtles come from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Lao. The species earned its name because they are often captured in the wild and “liberated” into Buddhist temple pools, according to zoo officials.

One of the largest aquatic turtles in Southeast Asia, the species can get to 2 feet in length. But temple turtles are often exploited for meat, eggs or use in traditional medicines or as pets.

The zoo’s temple turtles were part of a shipment confiscated in October 2010 in Hong Kong. The Turtle Survival Alliance raised the money needed to airlift them to the Jacksonville zoo, where more than 40 of them were processed. The zoo retained six for display and breeding purposes.

For two photos of turtle go to 

http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2013-06-11/story/jacksonville-zoo-celebrates-hatching-three-endangered-temple-turtles#ixzz2WUWNlDmg

Large seizure of wildlife made from Singapore flat

Slow loris, marmoset, Indian star tortoise and ball python amongst wildlife seized

June 2013. Following a tip off, staff from Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) seized over 30 wild animals from an individual living in a high rise flat. The seizure, which includes highly endangered and threatened species like the slow loris, marmoset, Indian star tortoise and ball python, is AVA's largest inland seizure of wildlife since 2002. These animals are not allowed to be kept as pets in Singapore. 

The animals that were seized have been sent to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore for proper care and custody, and a man has been arrested. 

1 Sunda slow loris

1 Common marmoset

2 Indian star tortoise

3 Leopard tortoise

2 Red-footed tortoise

2 Yellow-footed tortoise

2 Alligator snapping turtle

3 Ball python

5 Ornate horned frog

2 Green iguana

1 Inland bearded dragon

2 Sailfin dragon

1 Lined flat-tail gecko

3 Black-tailed prairie dog

2 Degu

Maximum fine of $50,000 per item

In Singapore, a permit is required for any import and export/re-export of animals. In addition, as Singapore is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), it is an offence to be in possession or to trade in any illegally imported or acquired CITES species. If found guilty, the offender shall be liable on conviction for a maximum fine of $50,000 per specimen (not to exceed an aggregate of $500,000) and/or jail term of up to 2 years.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/wildlife-singapore.html

Genetic Analysis Calls for the Protection of Two Highly Endangered Portuguese Fish Species

Mar. 21, 2013 — A chromosome study of the endemic Portuguese fish Squalius aradensis and S. torgalensis draws attention to their current status of highly endangered species. Rapid habitat loss in combination with ongoing geographic confinement and a poor genetic bank of the two species requires the fast application of specific conservation measures to preserve the integrity of their genomes.

The two endangered fish species, Squalius aradensis and S. torgalensis, most generally belong to the Cyprinidae, or the carp family. This is the largest fish, and vertebrate family, formed of freshwater fish with a diversity of more than 2,400 species. The family also has an important economic value as a food source. More specifically, the two species studied are members of the subfamily Leuciscinae, formed of small freshwater fish commonly known as minnows. A new genetic study of the two endangered fish was recently published in the open access journal Comparative Cytogenetics.

S. aradensis and S. torgalensis are sister-species endemic to Portugal. These fish were listed as critically endangered in 2005 due to the rapid loss and destruction of their natural habitat, formed of local rivers and intermittent streams. Although the two species have adjacent distributions, they live in relative habitat isolation, which is believed to have enforced the differentiation process.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130321111013.htm