Winter ticks killing moose at alarming rate

Date: October 17, 2018

Source: University of New Hampshire

As winter in New England seems to get warmer, fall lingers longer and spring comes into bloom earlier, areas like northern New Hampshire and western Maine are seeing an unusual continued increase in winter ticks which are endangering the moose population. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that the swell of infestations of this parasite, which attaches itself to moose during the fall and feeds throughout the winter, is the primary cause of an unprecedented 70 percent death rate of calves over a three-year period.

"The iconic moose is rapidly becoming the new poster child for climate change in parts of the Northeast," said Pete Pekins, professor of wildlife ecology. "Normally anything over a 50 percent death rate would concern us, but at 70 percent, we are looking at a real problem in the moose population."

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Tortoise evolution: How did they become so big?

Date: October 23, 2018

Source: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

Tortoises are a group of terrestrial turtles globally distributed in habitats ranging from deserts to forests and include species such as the Greek and the Galapagos tortoise. Some species evolved large body sizes with a shell length exceeding 1 metre whereas others are no larger than 6-8 centimetres. Despite a particular interest from naturalists ever since the times of Darwin, the evolution of gigantism in tortoises remains enigmatic.

The fact that all living giant tortoises are insular may suggest that their evolution followed the so-called island rule: a trend toward dwarfism of large animals and gigantism of small animals on islands. An example of insular dwarfism is the Florida key deer, a dwarf version of the mainland white-tailed deer; its small size may be an adaptation to the limited resources found on the islands. Insular gigantism is best exemplified by the famous dodo, an extinct flightless pigeon from Mauritius, probably evolving large body size due to release from predatory pressure. Previous studies on extant tortoises were partly inconclusive: giant size has been linked to the absence of predatory mammals in islands but it has been also proposed that tortoises were already giants when they reached the remote archipelagos. Since very few giant tortoise species survive to the present, these hypotheses are impossible to test without analysing extinct species through the help of the fossil record.

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Arkansas Proposes Curbing Commercial Wild Turtle Trapping, Orders Study: Protections Would Limit Some Killing, But More Restrictions Needed - via Herp Digest

For More Information- Contact: Elise Bennett, (727) 755-6950, at ebennett@biologicaldiversity.org 

Press Release, October 18, 2018, Little Rock, Ark— Responding to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity and several Arkansas-based environmental organizations, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission today proposed regulations to restrict commercial trapping of wild freshwater turtles and study the effect of commercial trapping on wild populations. 

The new regulations would ban commercial harvest in the Gulf Coastal Plain and the St. Francis River in Greene and Clay counties. The rules would also ban the harvest of the razorback musk turtle across the state and clarify permitting and reporting requirements. 

The commission will conduct a three-year study from 2019 to 2021 to determine the effect of commercial trapping on wild turtle populations in the Delta region, where the majority of trapping occurs. During the study period, the sale of commercial turtle harvest and dealer permits will be capped at 150 permits per year. 

“This is a much-needed step toward protecting Arkansas’s turtles and understanding the grim toll of commercial trapping, but stronger safeguards are critical,” said Elise Bennett, a Center attorney dedicated to protecting rare reptiles and amphibians. “Tens of thousands of turtles are taken from the wild each year. Arkansas needs to fully ban this unsustainable practice once and for all.”

Right now trappers can legally collect unlimited numbers of 14 types of turtles from roughly half the state to sell domestically or export to foreign food, pet and medicinal markets. The new regulations would still allow commercial collection of 13 types of turtles, but with additional geographic limitations. 

Scientists have repeatedly documented that freshwater turtles cannot sustain any significant level of wild collection without population-level impacts and declines. One study of common snapping turtles demonstrated that a modest harvest of 10 percent per year for 15 years could result in a 50 percent reduction in population size. And an Arkansas study found that turtles from populations in heavily harvested areas were significantly smaller than those from areas where harvesting is not permitted.

Conservative records show that more than 1.3 million wild turtles were harvested from Arkansas’s waters over the past 13 years. Most of these were large, sexually mature turtles important to the survival of wild populations.

“We’re confident the commission will reach the same conclusion through its proposed study that others across the country have already reached, that commercial trapping of wild turtles is simply not sustainable,” said Bennett. “We’ll continue to urge the commission toward a full ban.”

A growing number of states have already dedicated themselves to protecting wild turtles. In February Missouri banned commercial turtle trapping, and in August Texas followed suit. In 2017 New York ended commercial trapping of diamondback turtles, Nevada halted commercial reptile collection, and Iowa reined in trapping with new harvest limits. In the past decade, Florida and Alabama completely banned commercial turtle trapping, and Georgia and Mississippi approved stronger regulations on the industry.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is now accepting public comments on the proposed commercial trapping regulations.

Working lands play a key role in protecting biodiversity

Bringing the wild back into our working lands may help prevent mass extinction

Date: October 18, 2018

Source: University of California - Berkeley

Summary: Diversifying working lands -- including farmland, rangeland and forests -- may be key to preserving biodiversity in the face of climate change, says a new review article. These changes could extend the habitat of critters like bats, but also much larger creatures like bears, elk and other wildlife, outside the boundaries of protected areas, while creating more sustainable, and potentially more productive, working lands.

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UK government backs creation of Antarctic wildlife reserve

Reserve to cover 1.8m km will protect penguins, leopard seals, orca and blue whales

Matthew Taylor

Wed 17 Oct 2018 13.05 BSTLast modified on Wed 17 Oct 2018 16.31 BST

The UK government has thrown its weight behind the creation of the world’s biggest environmental sanctuary, covering a huge swathe of the Antarctic ocean.

The massive 1.8m sq km reserve – five times the size of Germany – would ban all fishing in a vast area of the Weddell Sea and parts of the Antarctic peninsula, safeguarding species including penguins, killer whales, leopard seals and blue whales.

Experts say it would also play a key role in tackling climate change, pointing out that the seas around the Antarctic – if protected and viable – soak up huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

A decision is due to be taken by the nations that make up the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources – the group set up to protect the seas around the Antarctic – in Hobart, Tasmania at the end of this month.

Last month the UK government backed a proposal that would see 30% of the world’s oceans protected by 2030 – a move heralded as a breakthrough moment by environmentalists.

Now the environment secretary, Michael Gove, has told the Guardian he is “fully behind” the creation of the new Antarctic sanctuary, which would be a key moment in the effort to protecting the world’s oceans.

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