Tiny snapping worms make one of the loudest noises in the ocean, study shows

AUGUST 8, 2019

by Justin Dupuis, University of Alberta

When marine biologist Richard Palmer saw a video of sea-dwelling worms snapping at each other and making one of the loudest sounds ever measured in aquatic animals, he couldn't believe his ears.

"The biomechanics allowing the animals to do this are both puzzling and extraordinary," said Palmer, a professor emeritus at the University of Alberta. "When I first saw their video and audio recordings, my eyes just popped out of my head because it was so unexpected."

The video had been sent to him by Ryutaro Goto, a Japanese scientist who asked him to help figure out how these invertebrates were capable of producing such loud sounds.

The worms were first discovered in the finger-like protuberances of glass sea sponges collected off the coast of Japan during a 2017 dredging expedition.

Isao Hirabayashi had been the first to hear the sound when a shipment of the newly discovered species was brought to the Kushimoto Marine Park, where he was the curator. Together with Goto, a marine biology professor from the University of Kyoto, they recorded the mysterious sounds and found they were made by the worms.

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Nine deer dead in Japan after eating plastic: wildlife group

JULY 10, 2019

Nine deer have died after swallowing plastic bags in Japan's Nara Park, a wildlife group said on Wednesday, warning that a surge in tourism may be to blame.

The Nara Deer Preservation Foundation said that masses of plastic bags and snack packets were found in the stomachs of the deer which died between March and June this year.

"The biggest litter found in one of the nine amounted to 4.3 kilograms (9.5 pounds)," foundation official Yoshitaka Ashimura told AFP.

"We were surprised. It was so big," he said.

The picturesque park in Japan's ancient capital is home to more than 1,000 deer, which can even be found roaming the streets in search of special tasty crackers offered by tourists.

Tourists are forbidden from feeding the deer any food besides the crackers but Ashimura said some visitors offer the animals other types of snacks.

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Japan Resumes Commercial Whaling After Decades of Slaughtering Whales 'for Science'

By Brandon Specktor, Senior Writer | July 1, 2019 03:15pm ET

Japan has officially resumed commercial whaling today (July 1) after more than 30 years of limiting whale hunts to "scientific" purposes — a policy that still resulted in the deaths of hundreds of whales every year, Reuters.com reported.

In December 2018, Japan announced that it would withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on whale hunting, which began in 1985 to give endangered and overhunted whale species a chance to rebound.

Japan joined the compact in 1988, agreeing to only hunt whales for scientific purposes (such as collecting population data) — however, according to Reuters, the gesture did little to curb commercial whaling in Japan. From 1985 to 2017, Japanese vessels caught and killed nearly 17,000 whales, whose meat often ended up for sale in stores and restaurants after any research had concluded.

Today, Japan joins Iceland and Norway as the only nations to allow commercial whaling despite the IWC moratorium. Hunting will reportedly be limited to Japan's territorial sea and exclusive economic zone, which stretches about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the nation's coasts, Reuters reported, and the nation will cease whaling in Antarctic waters.

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Japan's war on whales isn't over – the Australian government must keep fighting

Australia’s global leadership on whale conservation will be tested as Japanese hunters move to a different hemisphere

Darren Kindleysides

Mon 1 Apr 2019 18.00 BST

Japan’s whaling fleet arrived back at the port of Shimonoseki on the weekend with a barbaric tally of 333 dead whales that are no longer swimming freely in the Southern Ocean.

If the work of the Japanese whalers is anything like last year, more than 100 pregnant females and 50 or so juveniles will have been killed. But from now on, things are different.

Japan’s announcement on Boxing Day last year that it would be leaving the International Whaling Commission (IWC) means those whalers will likely never return to the Southern Ocean. Now they will only hunt whales in their own waters.

For the first time in more than 100 years, the Southern Ocean’s whales are free from the impending threat of a nation intent on hunting them.

Norway set up an Antarctic whaling station in 1904 and Japanese whalers have been heading south every summer since before the second world war, joining dozens of factory ships from Britain and the United States. The only temporary reprieve whales have had was because of the second world war.

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Woolly mammoths: Japanese scientists take ‘significant step’ towards bringing prehistoric giants back to life

Cells extracted from carcass of frozen mammoth injected into mouse tissues

Harry Cockburn

The last woolly mammoth populations died out just over 4,000 years ago, but the prehistoric giants could soon be back and plodding about just like they were during the ice age.

Scientists in Japan claim to have taken a “significant step” towards bringing the extinct species back to life, after they transplanted cells extracted from the carcass of a mammoth into a mouse, where they subsequently recorded positive biological activity.

The cells were taken from the 28,000-year-old mummified remains of a woolly mammoth, named Yuka, found in Siberian permafrost in 2010. The animal, which died when it was about seven-years-old, is one of the best preserved mammoths known to science.

The team extracted tissue samples from the animal’s bone marrow and muscle, which they described as “well preserved”.

They then began searching for cell nuclei remains. In total, 88 nucleus-like structures were collected from the muscle sample.

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What causes rats without a Y chromosome to become male?

Date:  January 31, 2019

Source:  Hokkaido University

A look at the brains of an endangered spiny rat off the coast of Japan by University of Missouri (MU) Bond Life Sciences Center scientist Cheryl Rosenfeld could illuminate the subtle genetic influences that stimulate a mammal's cells to develop as male versus female in the absence of a Y chromosome.

The root of the answer is in the chromosomes of this particular mammal. Males of the Amami spiny rat (Tokudaia osimensis) are not like most therian mammals -- a name used to group animals that give live birth including placental mammals and marsupials. Unlike in most mammals, these males have no Y chromosome, which has been shed over eons of evolution. And they only have one X chromosome.

"I'd been interested in these rats for many years now, and it's unclear how sexual differentiation of the gonads and brain occur in this species since both males and females have a single X chromosome," said Cheryl Rosenfeld, lead author on the study and an MU researcher.

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Japan to resume commercial whaling, but not in Antarctic

December 26, 2018 by Mari Yamaguchi

In this September, 2017, photo, a minke whale is unloaded at a port after a whaling for scientific purposes in Kushiro, in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido. Japan says it is leaving the International Whaling Commission to resume …more

Japan announced Wednesday that it is leaving the International Whaling Commission to resume commercial hunts for the animals for the first time in 30 years, but said it would no longer go to the Antarctic for its much-criticized annual killings.

Japan switched to what it calls research whaling after the IWC imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in the 1980s, and now says stocks have recovered enough to resume commercial hunts.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan would resume commercial whaling in July "in line with Japan's basic policy of promoting sustainable use of aquatic living resources based on scientific evidence."

He added that Japan is disappointed that the IWC—which he said is dominated by conservationists—focuses on the protection of whale stocks even though the commission has a treaty mandate for both whale conservation and the development of the whaling industry.

"Regrettably, we have reached a decision that it is impossible in the IWC to seek the coexistence of states with different views," he said at a news conference.

Suga said the commercial hunts would be limited to Japan's territorial waters and its 200-mile (323-kilometer) exclusive economic zone along its coasts. He said Japan would stop its annual whaling expeditions to the Antarctic and northwest Pacific oceans. Non-signatory states are not allowed to do so, according to Japanese Fisheries Agency officials.

The IWC imposed the moratorium on commercial whaling three decades ago due to a dwindling whale population. In 1987, Japan switched to what is calls research whaling, but the program has been criticized as a cover for commercial hunting since the meat is sold on the market at home.

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Japan proposes end to commercial whaling ban, faces pushback

September 11, 2018 by Sarah Dilorenzo

Japan proposed an end to a decades-old ban on commercial whaling at an international conference Monday, arguing there is no longer a scientific reason for what was supposed to be a temporary measure.

But the proposal faces stiff opposition from countries that argue that many whale populations are still vulnerable or, even more broadly, that the killing of whales is increasingly seen as unacceptable. Japan currently kills whales under a provision that allows hunting for research purposes.

"Science is clear: there are certain species of whales whose population is healthy enough to be harvested sustainably," reads the Japanese proposal, presented Monday at the biannual International Whaling Commission meetings taking place this week in Florianopolis, Brazil. "Japan proposes to establish a Committee dedicated to sustainable whaling (including commercial whaling and aboriginal subsistence whaling)."

Japan's proposal would also change how the international body operates, reflecting its frustration with an organization that it says has become "intolerant" and a "mere forum for confrontation."

It says it hopes that new rules—including allowing measures to be adopted by simple, rather than super, majority—would break longstanding deadlocks and allow the countries who prize conservation and those who push for sustainable use of whales to "coexist."

While Japan argues that whale stocks have recovered sufficiently to allow for commercial hunting, conservationists contend whaling on the high seas has proven difficult to manage.

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'Sick to my stomach': dolphin and penguins locked in derelict Japan aquarium

Anger after hundreds of fish and reptiles have been left in tiny pools amid crumbling concrete since January

Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Fri 31 Aug 2018 02.12 BSTLast modified on Sat 1 Sep 2018 03.12 BST

Anger is mounting in Japan after a dolphin, 46 penguins and hundreds of fish were found to have been abandoned for months in a derelict aquarium.

Animal rights campaigners have warned that the marine animals could die if they are not rescued from the Inubosaki marine park aquarium in the Pacific coastal town of Choshi north-east of Tokyo.

The plight of Honey, a female bottlenose dolphin, as well as scores of Humboldt penguins and hundreds of fish and reptiles, has triggered outrage following reports that they were abandoned when the facility closed seven months ago.

Images taken from outside the marine park in March this year show the solitary dolphin languishing in a tiny pool. In another photograph, dishevelled-looking penguins can be seen perched on a structure near what appear to be piles of loose concrete.

The marine park closed at the end of January following a dramatic drop in visitor numbers blamed on the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan’s north-east in March 2011.

Reports said employees of the marine park were feeding the animals, although it is unclear how they are sourcing food and how much they have left. It is possible that the park still has large stocks of frozen food or that employees are purchasing fresh fish in Choshi, a fishing port.

Animal rights campaigners have been refused entry to the facility, while local authorities have been unable to contact its private owner, Inubosaki Marine Park. Calls to the park’s owner went unanswered.

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Zigzag elm sawfly attacking trees in UK, warn experts

Elm leaf-eating pest has gradually travelled across Europe from Japan, leaving mark reminiscent of that by Zorro’s sword

Press Association

Thu 21 Jun 2018 18.27 BSTLast modified on Thu 21 Jun 2018 23.33 BST

A pest which leaves a signature trail of destruction on elm leaves reminiscent of the mark of the fictional sword-wielding hero Zorro appears to have arrived in the UK, experts have warned.

The zigzag elm sawfly, originally found in Japan, feeds only on elm leaves and has been progressing steadily through Europe.

Now scientists at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) have confirmed the tell-tale zigzag feeding trail left behind by the sawfly larvae has been found on leaves collected in Surrey during autumn 2017.

The discovery has raised concerns it could pose another blow to the UK’s elms, which have already been devastated by Dutch elm disease, and threaten wildlife that rely on the trees.

Elm leaf-feeding insects such as the rare white-letter hairstreak butterfly, which suffered in the 1970s due to the loss of trees to Dutch elm disease, could be hit by the new pest’s arrival.

While the zigzag elm sawfly rarely kills trees, large populations can completely defoliate elms, which could be disastrous for the white-letter hairstreak whose populations are sometimes restricted to single trees, the experts said. 

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Sex between snow monkeys and sika deer may be 'new behavioural tradition'

Following a report of monkey-deer interactions earlier this year, researchers have now recorded the behaviour in another group of monkeys

Nicola Davis

Friday 15 December 2017 14.20 GMTLast modified on Friday 15 December 2017 22.01 GMT

Sexual interactions between snow monkeys and sika deer could be a new behavioural tradition within a group of monkeys observed in Japan, researchers have suggested.

While the first report of a male Japanese macaque, or snow monkey, and female sika deer taking to each other was revealed earlier this year, scientists say they are now confident the behaviour is sexual after scrutinising adolescent females suggestively interacting with stags at Minoo in Japan.

“The monkey-deer sexual interactions reported in our paper may reflect the early stage development of a new behavioural tradition at Minoo,” said Dr Noëlle Gunst-Leca, co-author of the study from the University of Lethbridge in Canada.

While sexual interactions between closely related species have been seen for all manner of animals, from various species of fish to species of baboon, such liaisons are rare, with the sexual assault of king penguins by Antarctic fur seals the only other known example between distant species.

But earlier this year, a study revealed a male Japanese macaque had been filmed mounting a female Sika deer at Yakushima island in southern Japan. Gunst-Leca said it wasn’t clear quite what was going on.

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Native leech preys on invasive slug?

Date: July 21, 2017

Source: Hokkaido University

Summary: Citizen science has revealed the spread of the invasive giant slug Limax maximus and its potential native predator in Japan, providing new insights into predator-prey dynamics between introduced prey and native predators.

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Japan to exceed bluefin tuna quota amid warnings of commercial extinction

Conservationists call on Japan to abide by fishing agreements after reports annual quota will be exceeded two months early

Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Monday 24 April 2017 13.19 BST First published on Monday 24 April 2017 12.21 BST

Conservation groups have called on Japan to abide by international agreements to curb catches of Pacific bluefin tuna after reports said the country was poised to exceed an annual quota two months early – adding to pressure on stocks that have already reached dangerously low levels.

Japan, by far the world’s biggest consumer of Pacific bluefin, has caused “great frustration” with its failure to abide by catch quotas intended to save the species from commercial extinction, said Amanda Nickson, the director of global tuna conservation at Pew Charitable Trusts.

“Just a few years of overfishing will leave Pacific bluefin tuna vulnerable to devastating population reductions,” Nickson said in Tokyo on Monday. “That will threaten not just the fish but also the fishermen who depend on them.”

Decades of overfishing have left the Pacific bluefin population at just 2.6% of its historical high, and campaigners say Japan must take the lead at a summit in South Korea this summer.

In 2015, Japan and other members of the Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission agreed to curtail catches of immature bluefin, halving the catch of fish under 30kg from the average caught between 2002 and 2004.

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Second case of 'Down syndrome' in chimps

Chimpanzee study can help to enhance our understanding of Down syndrome (trisomy 21) in humans

Date: February 21, 2017

Source: Springer

Japanese researchers have confirmed the second case known to science of a chimpanzee born with trisomy 22, a chromosomal defect similar to that of Down syndrome (or trisomy 21) in humans. The report on Kanako, a 24-year-old female chimp born into captivity, was led by Satoshi Hirata of Kyoto University in Japan, and appears in the journal Primates, published by Springer. The authors also describe their attempts to improve the quality of life of this chimpanzee, through providing and managing opportunities for normal social interaction. Such efforts are seen as key in caring for disabled chimpanzees in captivity.

Human cells normally contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46. Down syndrome occurs when a person's cells contain a third copy of chromosome 21 (also known as trisomy 21). In turn, apes have 24 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 48. Trisomy 22 is diagnosed when the cells of apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas or orangutans contain a third copy of chromosome 22.

The first confirmed case of a chimpanzee with trisomy 22 was documented in 1969. The chimpanzee described nearly five decades ago died before its second birthday. This means that Kanako is the longest living chimp with this chromosomal disorder that scientists are aware of.

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Japan criticised after whale slaughtered in Australian waters

Australia’s environment minister says government ‘deeply disappointed’ after Sea Shepherd photos show minke whale killing in Antarctic sanctuary

Michael Slezak

Monday 16 January 2017 08.35 GMT

Australia’s federal environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, has criticised Japan following the release of photographs allegedly showing the slaughtering of protected whales inside Australia’s Antarctic whale sanctuary. 

Frydenberg’s statement came as conservationists called for tougher action from Australia.

“The Australian government is deeply disappointed that Japan has decided to return to the Southern Ocean this summer to undertake so-called ‘scientific’ whaling,” Frydenberg said.

 “Australia is opposed to all forms of commercial and so-called ‘scientific’ whaling,” he said. “It is not necessary to kill whales in order to study them.”

The photographs, taken by Sea Shepherd activists from a helicopter, appear to show a dead minke on the deck of the Japanese whaler Nisshin Maru at 11.34am on Sunday.

After the Japanese crew saw the Sea Shepherd helicopter, they covered the harpoons and attempted to hide the whale carcass with a tarpaulin, according to Sea Shepherd.

The images emerged on Sunday afternoon while the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was in Australia on a state visit.

The slaughter was the first documented killing since the international court of justice ruled Japan’s Antarctic whaling illegal in 2014. So far the Australian government has resisted calls to send official vessels to patrol its waters and intervene in illegal whaling.

But Frydenberg said no country has done more than Australia to try to end whaling.

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