It's good to be rare, for some species

Date:  December 6, 2017

Source:  University of California - Davis

Summary:

For many species, rarity is not a guarantee of impending extinction. Instead, the traits that enable some species to be rare may hold the ticket to their survival. A new paper predicts what these traits might be and how having them could place chronically rare species at an advantage during crises.

Continued 

Venezuela crisis: population eats lizards, pigeons and anteaters to survive – via Herp Digest

In the midst of a severe economic crisis, desperate people flee from the drama of hunger by eating any animal.

U.S. Blastingnews.com, 2/22/17 by Raquel Oliver

"The diet of Maduro makes you hard". The comic phrase in Spanish spoken by the President of the Republic in September last year, when he mocked the thinness of a Venezuela, does not awaken today a humorous tone for the rest of the population of the country. 

In the midst of a severe economic crisis, with inflation in the three digits, famine has been severely scourging the Venezuelans. According to Encovi, an institution that verifies living conditions in the country, on average, Venezuelans lost 8.7 kg of their weight, uncontrolled only in the last year.

To escape the drama of hunger, the population has been feeding on any kind of animal: dogs, cats, lizards, donkeys, anteaters and even flamingos, which are protected by law in order to survive. 

Not infrequently, one finds carcases of these animals in the garbage of the city. "Sometimes we only find heads, guts and legs of the animal. We are used to seeing a bit of this in the past, but now this practice is out of control and on the rise, "Robert Linares, a waste disposal worker, told the Miami Herald. 

The lack of food has gained the name of 'Mature Diet'. In the words of Doris Rubio, CEO of the Association for the Protection of Animals, there is a synthesis on the suffering of the population subjugated to the notorious diet: "We find these deaths grotesque, but how can we be critical of someone who hunts a pigeon, a dog, a cat or any other animal because he or she is hungry People used to hunt lizards for sport.Now they do it out of necessity.  

The collapse of the country's economy has made it difficult to import basic goods such as food and medicines, creating scarcity across the country. Faced with a lack of resources, the population has been looting supermarkets in desperate search for food. 

Besides the opprobrium experienced by the population, there are still risks of consuming wild animals unfit for human consumption, where the ingestion of bacteria from these animals are human health hazards.

Frogs that can take the heat expected to fare better in a changing world

July 7, 2016 by Kat Kerlin

Amphibians that tolerate higher temperatures are likely to fare better in a world affected by climate change, disease and habitat loss, according to two recent studies from the University of California, Davis.

Frogs are disappearing globally, and the studies examine why some survive while others perish. The studies reveal that thermal tolerance—the ability to withstand higher temperatures—may be a key trait in predicting amphibian declines.

Heat-tolerant frogs escape deadly fungus

One of the world's deadliest wildlife pandemics is caused by a fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd. The fungus is linked to several amphibian extinctions and global declines.

A study published online June 24 in the journal Ecology Letters describes how amphibians that can tolerate high temperatures are at lower risk of infection by the fungus. This is likely because Bd grows best in cool environments. Frogs with low thermal tolerances are essentially trapped in the same thermal niche as the fungus, whereas species with high thermal tolerance can escape infection.

Read more at: 

Will animals of the future only be safe in captivity?

David Shukman

Science editor

28 June 2015 

From the section

Science & Environment

David Shukman goes in search of lemurs in their natural habitat

Look ahead towards the middle of the century and much-loved animals such as lemurs, rhinos and tigers will only survive in some form of captivity.

And extinction will be even more of a threat than it is now.

An overly bleak and pessimistic view? Maybe.

But after reporting on the state of wildlife in Madagascar this past week, I cannot see how many of the most iconic creatures will be able to roam in their natural habitats for much longer.

I don't mean a future necessarily confined to zoos, but one in which lives are led in special zones guarded by fences and patrols and CCTV. Free, but only up to a point.

The reasons are obvious: growing populations and the thirst for resources and the black market for animals all mean that humans and animals are increasingly competing for territory and survival. And the animals usually lose.

As we picked our way through the remaining pockets of forest in Madagascar, I heard that less than 10% of the original cover is left.

And those remaining stretches of jungle - the sole habitats for the country's famous lemurs - are under constant attack as local people seek to create farmland or hunt for fresh meat.

Continued ...

Did Mammals Sleep Through Cosmic Impact That Ended Dinosaurs?

y Charles Q. Choi, Live Science Contributor | October 22, 2014 07:25am ET

A shrewlike creature in Madagascar that can hibernate for at least nine months of the year without waking may help reveal how mammals survived the cataclysm that ended the age of dinosaurs, researchers suggest.

These findings could also help lead to a way to put astronauts in a state of suspended animation on journeys in deep space and for victims of medical emergencies, scientists added.

The disaster that killed off all dinosaurs except birds about 67 million years ago, the so-called end-Cretaceous extinction event, was probably a giant cosmic impact that struck near what is now Chicxulub, Mexico. To find out how the ancestors of today's mammals survived this catastrophe to inherit the Earth when so many other, more dominant groups of animals did not, researchers investigated the life of "Shrëwdinger" — a virtual example, developed in a prior study, of the small, insect-eating, furry-tailed creature that was the likely forerunner of most living mammals. 

Continued ...

Specialization: Choosy wasps survive better, study shows

Date:

August 27, 2014

Source:

Université de Fribourg

Summary:

Specialized parasitic wasps, such as those using only a few host species, have a greater chance of establishing stable populations than generalist species, a new study shows. These results help with understanding the appearance of specialists in the history of animal evolution and could improve the effectiveness of biological control programs against insect pests.

Continued

Frozen Frogs: How Amphibians Survive the Harsh Alaskan Winters

Jan. 6, 2014 — As winter approaches, many of us hunker down and virtually "hibernate" for the season. Classic hibernation in the wild conjures images of furry bears, but other animals are not so lucky to have immense fat stores or fur to protect them from the elements. Frogs that live at northern latitudes have neither of these, but must find ways to survive the harsh winter season. Their solution? Freezing…but not to death.

Wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) freeze upwards of 60% of their bodies during the winter months. "For all intents and purposes, they are dead," said Don Larson, a Ph.D. student at Fairbanks who is interested in how frogs in some of the harshest conditions of Alaska alter their physiology to survive the long and extremely cold winters. Unlike previous studies, Larson used standard lab-based experiments, but also included measurements to track a population in the wild.

Continued

Smokey the goldfish survives house fire and two years with no food

A goldfish thought to have been killed in a house fire was found alive and well despite not being fed for two years.

Smokey spent 21 months under a plastic sheet in a pond following the blaze in Harwich, Essex.

Owner Jackie Broadley said: ‘Having him back has really lifted our spirits.’

The 60-year-old said she thought she had retrieved all the fish from her pond and was amazed when she was told Smokey had been found alive and well.

‘When I got the phone call to say there was a surviving fish from the old pond, I thought somebody was winding me up,’ she added.

‘It’s really nice to have Smokey as it was a horrible experience for us to lose our house and have to re-home all our other fish.’

An RSPCA spokeswoman said she was surprised the fish had survived because they normally required oxygen in the water to breathe and there wasn’t an obvious source of this.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/09/20/smokey-the-goldfish-survives-house-fire-and-two-years-with-no-food-4060574/

Jump for Your Life: Bipedal Rodents Survive in the Desert With a Hop, a Skip and a Jump

July 5, 2013 — Researchers have found that bipedal desert rodents manage to compete with their quadrupedal counterparts by using a diverse set of jumps, hops and skips. A new study, to be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting in Valencia on July 6, suggests that it is this unpredictable movement that allows the bipedal rodents to coexist in Old World deserts with quadrupedal rodents.

Indian desert jird

Research headed by Talia Moore at Harvard University analysed, for the first time, jerboas' bipedal locomotion. She said: "Bipedal jerboas and quadrupedal jirds share the same habitat, predators, food source, and active hours. It appears that their different forms of locomotion create differing predator evasion abilities, allowing jerboas to forage further from their burrows, thus limiting interspecific competition. In this way these Old World desert rodents can occupy different niches."

The researchers found that bipedal desert rodents move with highly unpredictable trajectories, while sympatric quadrupedal desert rodents move in much more predictable trajectories.

Continued

Moths Wired Two Ways to Take Advantage of Floral Potluck

Dec. 6, 2012 — Moths are able to enjoy a pollinator's buffet of flowers -- in spite of being among the insect world's picky eaters -- because of two distinct "channels" in their brains, scientists at the University of Washington and University of Arizona have discovered.

One olfactory channel governs innate preferences of the palm-sized hawk moths that were studied -- insects capable of traveling miles in a single night in search of favored blossoms. The other allows them to learn about alternate sources of nectar when their first choices are not available.

For moths, the ability to seek and remember alternate sources of food helps them survive harsh, food-deprived conditions. Scientists knew bees could learn, but this is the first proof that moths can too.

A better understanding of the moth's neural basis of olfactory specialization and learning also might lead to insights into how human noses and brains process odor, according to Jeffrey Riffell, a UW assistant professor of biology and lead author of a paper published Thursday (Dec. 6) in ScienceExpress, the early online edition of the journal Science. Many of the mechanisms insects use to process olfactory information are similar to humans, and moths have long served as a model system for behavior and neurobiology, he said

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121206141321.htm

Crash cat found after two days in Everglades

LAKE WORTH — He's a death-defying cat who stayed put and stayed alive — for two days in the Everglades.

Sam, an 11-year-old gray feline, was feared lost after he ran into the bush after his owner Nikki Saltzburg's minivan was involved in a wreck with another vehicle on Alligator Alley east of Naples Monday.

Now, thanks to social media and the generosity of strangers, the cat will soon be reunited with his owners.

"I couldn't even believe it," Saltzburg said of Sam's rescue. "I said, 'You're kidding, right?' "

On Friday, the Saltzburgs were in Lake Worth visiting relatives and recuperating from their ordeal. They were excited to know their beloved cat was safe.

The crash happened on Monday at about 3 p.m. while Saltzburg, her wife Mara, 40, Sam and their infant son Parker were moving across the country from Los Angeles to Miami. Sam, in his cat crate, was in the front passenger seat. They were driving on Interstate 75 approaching Big Cypress National Preserve when another vehicle collided with theirs, causing Saltzburg to lose control of the minivan.

"It was terrifying," Saltzburg said. "It was really scary."

Saltzburg remembers looking up after her minivan had rammed into a tree off the highway. Sam's cat crate, which had been on the passenger seat, was no longer there. It had been ejected through the window.

After being pulled from the minivan, Saltzburg, who has been a paraplegic since she was only a few days old, saw the broken cat crate in the grass. Sam had dashed off into the bush.

Amid the chaos, Saltzburg was bleeding from multiple cuts and Mara had suffered a fractured pelvis. Their infant son, Parker, was somehow unharmed.

Saltzburg wanted to look for the cat but couldn't. They all needed to be taken to a hospital.

"At that point I was devastated," said Saltzburg, 34, realizing she'd have to leave behind the cat she had since it was an 8-week-old kitten.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/animals/

Hunter Lost For 5 Days Ate Worms To Survive

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A man who became separated from his friends in dense forest during a squirrel hunting trip in western Tennessee says he ate worms and drank muddy water to survive five days in the wild before he was found.

Bill Lawrence said he gathered rainwater in his hunting vest and tried to stay calm throughout his ordeal. Authorities say they conducted the longest search in decades in the 13,000-acre Meeman Shelby Forest State Park before the man was discovered Sunday.

"This is when I got turned around," said Lawrence, a corrections officer, adding he tried in vain to find his friends or their truck.

At the time he became separated, Lawrence was clad in camouflage pants and jacket, a hat and snake boots.

His friends reporting him as missing. Searchers used trained dogs, horses, all-terrain vehicles, boats, police vehicles and helicopters as they scoured the thick woods.

Meanwhile, Lawrence kept walking, searching for food and water.

"I was drinking muddy water ... eating worms. Yeah, I'd seen that on TV. I ate worms."

Lawrence said he had a shotgun, 15 shells, 2 bottles of water, a flashlight, a can of bug spray, a squirrel call and a can of dipping tobacco. But he did not have a cell phone to summon help.

He shot his gun whenever he thought he heard someone, but his shotgun shells ran out on Saturday.

"Everything was against him from the very beginning," Park Manager Steve Smith said, noting the helicopter spotters had difficulty peering into the dense forest canopy and searchers were hampered by extreme heat.

Messages left by The Associated Press at the park office for Smith were not immediately returned. A telephone listing for Lawrence couldn't be located.

Lawrence eventually reached a road on Sunday. It was about three miles from where he started out, but Lawrence estimated that he had covered about 35 miles by then.

Lawrence said he collapsed and was found by some passers-by.

"Man I was happy," he said. "I laid down in that road and just sat there. ... By then I was just wore out."

Authorities said Lawrence suffered from dehydration and severe insect bites. He was taking antibiotics because of the things he ate in the forest.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/08/hunter-lost-for-5-days-at_n_954439.html

Castaway: Dog survives five-month island ordeal

By Alison McRae

Posted Mon Apr 6, 2009 9:00am AEST

A pet dog survived for five months stranded on a remote island after falling from a boat off the Mackay coast in north Queensland.

Owner Jan Griffith says the cattle dog was lost overboard while she was sailing to Scawfeld Island in November, and reportedly survived by eating young goats.

She says the dog was found on a nearby St Bees Island, and she is surprised and delighted to see the family pet again.

"She surprised us all. She was a house dog and look what she's done, she's swum over five nautical miles, she's managed to live off the land all on her own," Ms Griffiths said.

"We like to think that because she wouldn't go to anybody when she had the chance that she didn't want to be anybody else's dog except ours."

Ms Griffiths says she is surprised that the dog has been returned to the family.

"We wish she could talk, we truly do, but the story goes that she had been hunting baby goats and doing very nicely off the local goats there," she said.

"Nobody minded her eating goats, but they were afraid that she'd eat other things and that's exactly what they didn't want."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/06/2535609.htm