Meet the World’s Newest—and Most Endangered—Whale

By Taylor Hill | Takepart.comOctober 6, 2014 6:41 PM Takepart.com

A genetically distinct group of whales—possibly an entirely new species—has been discovered off the coast of Florida’s Panhandle region.

That’s the good news. The bad news is they could be the most endangered whales in the world.

Scientists discovered the genetically unique set of about 50 whales during recent research in the Gulf of Mexico. The whales, which are members the Bryde’s (pronounced “broodus”) family, lives year-round in the Gulf. The whales reside in an underwater canyon near Florida’s west coast—an area highly susceptible to offshore oil spills.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has petitioned the U.S. government list the whale as endangered, citing the whales’ tiny population and vulnerability.

“Clearly the whales are in need of special protection, and not simply for their small numbers,” wrote NRDC policy analyst Michael Jasny in a blog post. “The massive industrialization of the northern Gulf threatens them six ways to Sunday.”

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Wolves From British Columbia’s Mainland And Coast Are Genetically Distinct

April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

In a rare mix of Heiltsuk First Nation wisdom and scientific curiosity, a new study from the University of Calgary has revealed that British Columbia’s mainland and coastal wolves are two distinct populations.

UC alumna Erin Navid led the study published in a recent issue of BMC Ecology, which was motivated by the insight of Chester Starr, an elder of the Heiltsuk First Nation on BC’s remote west coast. Starr and his people have always known that the mainland of the coast is the home of the “Timber Wolves” and the nearby islands are the home of the “Coastal Wolves.”

“What makes this study special is the fact that differentiation is not supposed to occur on such a small-scale,” says Navid, who graduated from the Faculty of Environmental Design, Environmental Science Program in 2009. “Wolves are highly mobile animals, capable of crossing many types of natural barriers, including small bodies of water. We did not expect to uncover a genetic gradient in an area that is only 2,000 square kilometers [775 square miles] and relatively permeable to wolf movement.”

Significantly different ecological environments are the main cause for the genetic differentiation, according to the study. Preferences for food are passed from generation to generation. On the islands, the main food source is marine-based, such as salmon and marine mammals. Over time, wolves with a preference for these foods bred more frequently with one another than with their deer-loving relatives on the mainland.

Navid collected wolf scats as part of her masters’ thesis in the Faculty of Environmental Design, and then analyzed them for the study.

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Big Manes Make 'Rasta' Lions Special

The Addis Ababa Zoo in Ethiopia is home to the descendants of a collection of lions that belonged to the late emperor Haile Selassie, revered by the Rastafarian movement. Unlike other lions, these big cats have dark manes that extend all the way to their chest and belly. Now researchers say their genes also set them apart.

A group of scientists led by Susann Bruche, of Imperial College London, studied the DNA of eight males and seven females in the zoo. The team found the zoo lions are genetically distinct from all other existing lions. In total, the zoo houses 20 lions that belonged to the collection of Emperor Selassie who founded the zoo in 1948 with seven founding lions (five males and two females); these were said to have been captured in south-western Ethiopia though their geographical origin remains controversial.

The males currently at Addis Ababa Zoo are thought to be the last lions with such thick, dark manes. Wild populations are believed to have vanished due to overhunting for the manes, the researchers said, but some sightings of lions with similar locks have been reported in the east and northeast of Ethiopia.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/23905-big-manes-make-rasta-lions-special.html