Insect collapse: ‘We are destroying our life support systems’

Scientist Brad Lister returned to Puerto Rican rainforest after 35 years to find 98% of ground insects had vanished

Damian Carrington Environment editor

Tue 15 Jan 2019 06.00 GMTLast modified on Tue 15 Jan 2019 06.02 GMT 

 “We knew that something was amiss in the first couple days,” said Brad Lister. “We were driving into the forest and at the same time both Andres and I said: ‘Where are all the birds?’ There was nothing.”

His return to the Luquillo rainforest in Puerto Rico after 35 years was to reveal an appalling discovery. The insect population that once provided plentiful food for birds throughout the mountainous national park had collapsed. On the ground, 98% had gone. Up in the leafy canopy, 80% had vanished. The most likely culprit by far is global warming.

“It was just astonishing,” Lister said. “Before, both the sticky ground plates and canopy plates would be covered with insects. You’d be there for hours picking them off the plates at night. But now the plates would come down after 12 hours in the tropical forest with a couple of lonely insects trapped or none at all.”

“It was a true collapse of the insect populations in that rainforest,” he said. “We began to realise this is terrible – a very, very disturbing result.”

Continued  

Whip spiders only look terrifying

 Date: March 15, 2016

Source: University of California - Los Angeles

A biologist spent several weeks in dark caves in Puerto Rico inhabited by an estimated 300,000 bats -- many of which whizzed right by him -- as well as snakes, cockroaches and spiders. He was studying poorly understood whip spiders, which are related to spiders and scorpions.

Would you be willing to spend each night in the company of 300,000 bats -- all in the service of science?

UCLA biologist Kenneth Chapin did just that, for several weeks in 2012 and 2014, while conducting research in darkened caves in Puerto Rico. In addition to bats, the habitats were home to snakes, cockroaches and spiders.

He was studying whip spiders, a poorly understood relative of spiders and scorpions. Unlike other spiders, whip spiders do not build webs, and they have very long claws.

"They look terrifying, but are actually delicate, timid and afraid of you," said Chapin, a UCLA doctoral candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology. "I was more excited than terrified."

A whip spider made a prominent appearance in the movie version of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," when a Hogwarts professor tortures the animal with magic. (In the J.K. Rowling book that the movie on which the movie is based, the creature is described as a spider that doesn't actually exist in nature.)

Continued ...

Turtle Trafficking Prompts Arrests in Puerto Rico

Eight people were arrested in Puerto Rico on charges of selling endangered sea turtles for human consumption, federal authorities said.

The suspects were allegedly involved in selling the meat of 15 hawksbill turtles and seven green turtles, an undercover operation revealed.

The eight individuals, all residents of Patillas and Arroyo, were taken into custody Thursday (July 18) on felony and misdemeanor charges. They face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

- See more at:
http://www.livescience.com/38348-turtle-trafficking-arrests-puerto-rico.html#sthash.iHVuTYy3.dpuf

New law to protect Puerto Rico leatherback turtles

Puerto Rico has introduced a new law protecting a swathe of the island's coast that has become a major nesting site for the world's largest turtle, the leatherback.

The Northeast Ecological Corridor comprises 14 sq km (5.4 sq miles) of the island's coast.

The law ends a 15-year battle which pitted developers against green activists and several celebrities.

Leatherback turtles are a highly endangered species.

"Today this important, highly ecologically valuable resource is being protected forever... History is being made," said Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla, according to the island's Vocero news site.

Developers had been looking to build hotels, golf courses and luxury homes in the area, arguing that this would boost the local economy and create jobs.

But the area - boasting lush vegetation and pristine beaches - is now likely to become a centre for eco-tourism.

As well as being a nesting site for the leatherback turtle, the area is home to more than 860 different types of flora and fauna.

It also contains a bioluminescent bay, featuring micro-organisms which glow in the dark.

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22140670

Endangered Tadpoles' Mission: Help Restore Toad Species

Thousands of tadpoles are on a journey from Cleveland to Puerto Rico as part of an effort to save their critically endangered species.

The traveling tadpoles are Puerto Rican crested toads, and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is part of the Species Survival Plan that works to breed the toads and release them back to the wild. The plan is managed by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

"The Puerto Rican crested toad Species Survival Plan has been very successful," said Lynn Koscielny, the associate curator of animals at the zoo. "Field researchers in Puerto Rico have observed toads with transponders that were released into the wild returning to the protected ponds to reproduce."

Read more:  http://www.livescience.com/25542-endangered-tadpoles-bred.html

Boa Constrictors Invade Puerto Rico

Scientists are urging swift action to stop the spread of boa constrictors in Puerto Rico now that new research shows the invasive species has established a breeding population on the island.

"We've learned from dealing with other invasive snakes that understanding the source of these populations and preventing spread as soon as possible is important to protect ecosystems," Bob Reed, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) who was involved in the new study, said in a statement. "Once non-native snakes become established across a large area, especially in densely forested areas, they become much more difficult to find and almost impossible to eradicate."

The thick-bodied snakes, native to parts of Central and South America, can grow up to 10 feet (3 meters) long, weighing up to 75 pounds (34 kilograms); they have no natural predators in Puerto Rico to keep their numbers in check. The population represents the first breeding group of boa constrictors found in the United States outside of south Florida, where these snakes, as well as pythons, have become a serious problem.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/25169-boa-constrictors-invade-puerto-rico.html

Puerto Rico manatees threatened by isolation

Isolation of Puerto Rico's manatees affects survival odds

October 2012. New evidence shows there is no cross-breeding between endangered manatees in Puerto Rico and those in Florida, resulting in less genetic diversity in Puerto Rico's small manatee population and impacting its odds of survival.

The findings, which come from a study of West Indian manatees by the U.S. Geological Survey and Puerto Rico Manatee Conservation Center, could help resource managers make decisions about how to conserve the endangered marine mammal.

Wake up call
"Wildlife management has been one of the fields to benefit greatly from the ability to determine relatedness of individuals from DNA analysis, allowing management decisions to be based on concrete scientific evidence for genetic diversity and prospects for it to increase," said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "These results for Puerto Rico's manatees are a wake-up call."

Just 250 manatees in Puerto Rico
One key management concern is the ability of Puerto Rico's manatees to absorb and rebound from population declines. Current estimates suggest as few as 250 individual manatees may currently live in Puerto Rico. Furthermore, the population's genetic diversity is low, a fact which decreases a wildlife population's capacity to adapt to changing conditions and rebound after critical events that can cause deaths, such as hurricanes, boat strikes, or disease.

This latest finding - that Puerto Rico's manatees are genetically isolated - shows the population's vulnerability to future ups and downs is not being offset by migration from Florida manatees, as was once hoped.

"Puerto Rico's Antillean manatees have low overall numbers and low genetic diversity, both of which present risks for the population's long-term survival," said Margaret Hunter, Ph.D., a USGS geneticist and lead author of the study. "The lack of gene flow is another risk factor. We detected no signs that the Puerto Rico population is being supplemented by Florida manatees, through migration or breeding. This means that Puerto Rico's population must absorb shocks - such as environmental change or disease - on their own. It's a trifecta of genetic vulnerability."

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/puerto-rico-manatees.html

Manatees in Puerto Rico Face Low Genetic Diversity

Puerto Rico's small and secluded manatee population is extra vulnerable to setbacks because its genetic diversity is low, researchers warn.

Conservationists had hoped that manatees from Florida were helping to offset the marine mammal's isolation problem in Puerto Rico through migration and mating, but a lack of diversity suggests this is not the case.

"Puerto Rico's Antillean manatees have low overall numbers and low genetic diversity, both of which present risks for the population's long-term survival," Margaret Hunter, a geneticist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and lead author of the study, said in a statement. 

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/24202-manatees-puerto-rico-low-genetic-diversity.html

US Expedition Explores Mysterious Puerto Rican Reef

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico –  A 12-foot hammerhead shark, an undersea canyon that suddenly plunges 900 feet and an enormous orange-and-brown barrel sponge are only a few things in an unexplored Puerto Rican reef that U.S. scientists are using sonar and submersibles to explore.

"You could actually live in that thing it was so big," said Tim Battista, the expedition's chief scientist.

Perhaps more significant, however, is what they are not finding: brightly colored coral and many big fish, the absence of which signals a troubled ecosystem.

"We're not seeing those vibrant, rich coral communities that all of us love to see," Battista said.

In the three-week project that wraps up Saturday, Battista and other scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are mapping an area of 96 square miles (250 square kilometers). The results will help officials determine what sort of rules are needed to protect Puerto Rico's first officially designated marine corridor in the Northeast Great Reserve.

"There is very little information about what exists there now," Battista said. That is partly because the shelf is too deep for scuba diving.

While there are not as many native creatures as scientists had hoped to find, the reefs abound with an invading species, the lionfish. About 100 have been spotted per square acre, ecologist Chris Taylor said. The lionfish, which have no natural predators, have been gobbling up a variety of species and disrupting the balance of the reef ecosystems.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2012/04/18/us-expedition-explores-mysterious-puerto-rican-reef/#ixzz1sfheHQCU

Puerto Rico plans massacre of invasive iguanas, export of harvested meat (via Herp Digest)

The invasive species outnumber humans on the US Caribbean territory but the local government is drawing up plans for a volunteer force to eradicate the lizards.

Global Post.com, News Desk, February 3, 2012 , Puerto Rico has announced plans for a massive cull of an invasive species of iguana and for the sale of harvested meat, according to The Associated Press.

The US territory hopes to eradicate the species with a population of four million, which the AP says outnumbers humans on the island and has long been considered an invasive nuisance.
More from GlobalPost: Coquí llanero, tiny frog, should be endangered species, say U.S. officials
According to the AP, Daniel Galan Kercad, secretary of natural resources, said his agency had been granted permission to draft plans for volunteers to bring the iguanas to a slaughter house which would distribute the meat.

The AP said he claimed the meat was popular in areas with large Asian and Latino populations.
Puerto Rico may not be the only place trying to eradicate pesky herbivorous lizards. Daniel Klein of The Huffington Post wrote yesterday that the city of Boca Grande in Florida "has hired a man to drive around in a golf cart, shooting iguanas." Klein said the Florida Iguana was just one of many invasive species in the US that authorities were encouraging people to hunt and which were increasingly considered for sustainable food dishes.

Despite their plentiful population, iguanas may still be valuable. Reuters reported in June that US Customs and Border Protection agents on the Mexican border had seized 159 pounds of smuggled iguana meat with an estimated value of $4,500.

"There could be a number of reasons but one of the main ones that comes to mind is that there are parts of the world where people do eat iguana meat as a delicacy," Jackie Wasiluk, a spokeswoman, said.

PETA Calls for Gov't Investigation Into Apparently Illegal Monkey Import Permit

Group Joins Sen. Melinda Romero Donnelly in an Outcry Against Permit Granted to Bioculture Puerto Rico, Inc. 

For Immediate Release:May 31, 2011
Contact:Robbyn Brooks 202-483-7382

San Juan, Puerto Rico — Today, PETA fired off an urgent letter to the Puerto Rico Department of Justice calling for a full investigation into an apparently illegal monkey import and export permit granted by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (DRNA) to Bioculture Puerto Rico, Inc.—even though it would be illegal for Bioculture to operate in the city where the company is being built. PETA's complaint follows a similar request from Sen. Melinda Romero Donnelly, who states that the DRNA has no legal authority to grant Bioculture a permit to import animals and that the agency has ignored Bioculture's blatant and repeated violations of laws and regulations.

"The DRNA's full embrace of Bioculture is as troubling as it is meaningless," says PETA's Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo. "No permit could allow Bioculture to follow through with its plans—to tear monkeys away from their homes in the wild, breed them, and sell their babies for use in experiments—because all these shameful acts are illegal in Guayama."

Bioculture hopes to capture more than 4,000 monkeys from Mauritius, confine them to cages at the company's planned Guayama facility, and sell their offspring to U.S. and foreign laboratories for use in painful and deadly experiments. But last year, the Guayama government unanimously adopted municipal ordinances No. 9 and 11, Series 2010–2011, which explicitly ban the import, export, breeding, and use of monkeys in experiments within its territorial boundaries.

In addition, in November 2009, the Puerto Rico Senate Environmental Committee found that Bioculture's facility was improperly built on land that was not zoned for the business's purposes. PETA's challenge of the permit stopped construction. In March 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined Bioculture thousands of dollars for violating the federal Clean Water Act. In October 2010, the Puerto Rico Senate approved R.S. 1514 to "[e]xpress the most forceful objection" to Bioculture's plans and to request that the U.S. government deny "any and all permit request by Bioculture Mauritius … with the purpose of importing Macaca fascicularis into Puerto Rico."

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

Monkey farm nixed again at Guayama hearing (via Sally Tully-Figueroa)

August 17, 2010


The committee which opposes establishing a farm to breed monkeys in Guayama objected Monday to Senate Bill 1628 that seeks to legalize the raising of these animals on the island.

Community leader Roberto Brito reported that hundreds of residents from Pueblito del Carmen in Guayama showed up at the Guayama Convention Center, where the Federal Affairs Committee heard testimony on the measure that “would allow the breeding of wild monkeys for the sole purpose of scientific experimentation.”

The committee’s operations were supervised by Sen. Melinda Romero, of the New Progressive Party, Popular Democratic Party Sens. Juan Hernández Mayoral and Eder Ortíz.

The panel comprised Brito, Dr. Eduardo Ibarra (president of the Health Rights Foundation) and municipal legislators Angel Sanabria ,of the PDP and Rey Catalino of the NPP, among others.

“We are against this bill, because if it is approved it will allow the breeding of monkeys, serpents, crocodiles, lions, and all kinds of exotic animals,” said Brito.

The community leader indicated that the Bio Culture company “wants to open its doors here in our town and is trying to intimidate us by filing a million dollar lawsuit, but that doesn’t scare me because I know it is a
pressure tactic.”

In the meantime, Ibarra, medical adviser for the committee in Guayama, said “there is a movement afoot [in the world] to eliminate the use of animals for experimentation purposes. [Such a movement] favors not
breeding these animals in Puerto Rico, as the Senate is proposing.

“Recently a scientific congress in Europe unanimously approved the elimination of experimenting on animals for medical or cosmetic purposes. Therefore, we understand that the Puerto Rican government should not make an alliance with a company from Israel involved in this unethical practice.”

Municipal legislators Sanabria and Catalino agreed that if a catastrophe like a hurricane occurred in Guayama, as many as 17,000 monkeys could escape.

Brito indicated “this bill sent to the Senate of Puerto Rico by the “Fortaleza is a sly way to approve a measure that would overthrow all the rules and regulations that would prevent people from raising monkeys in P.R.”

He said the Senate should “not promote a measure to please a special interest group of people from Israel while creating a negative effect on Puerto Rico.”

http://www.prdailysun.com/news/Monkey-farm-nixed-again-at-Guayama-hearing

UNPLEASANT PUERTO RICAN GOAT STORY

In a scene conjuring images of “The Godfather,” a disemboweled goat was found dead Friday, a rope around its neck, on the front lawn of a controversial Rehoboth town official.The goat was first spotted about 5:30 a.m. by a neighbor walking by Chris Morra’s Summer Street home. About 90 minutes later, another neighbor also saw it and called him.“I’m not putting up with it. I’m not being intimidated,” Morra said yesterday. “It’s a shame they would harm an innocent animal.”--

full story:http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100808official_not_intimidated_by_goat_corpse_says_unhappy_residents_targeting_him/

Dog who survived Barceloneta massacre dies

Dog who survived Barceloneta massacre dies
June 25, 2010
by Peggy Ann Bliss

The last survivor of the animal massacre of Barceloneta has died and will be honored tonight. Yoli, the mixed breed dog who almost three years ago miraculously outlived almost 90 other cats and dogs ordered killed by the
town mayor, breathed her last June 19, according to her protector Maritza Rodríguez.

“She did it without my permission, but I forgive her for the intense love that I have and always will have for her,” said Rodríguez in an e-mail message to all animal lovers. The message was addressed to “all who shared and in any way carried the message and raised the cry of alert so that justice could be done.”

On October 8 and 10, 2007, police made two raids, seizing some 90 pets from their owners at three public housing projects, causing widespread anger.

Residents say many of the animals were later thrown off the 50-foot Indian Bridge in Vega Alta, just outside of town. Many of the decaying bodies were later found, but a few managed to escape.The news traveled around the world, causing outrage among animal advocates.

Mayor Sol Luis Fontanes allegedly ordered the raids after instituting a no-pet policy at the projects. Nevertheless, it was discovered later that no such rules existed. Forty five residents filed a $22.5 million federal
lawsuit on Friday against the town, the Public Housing Administration, the owner of an animal control company and several others. The suit claims the pets were beaten, drugged and thrown to their deaths.

Rodríguez said she was so overcome by emotion that she could not inform the community of the death or the dog that spent her last years with her. “I thank everyone for all the words of compassion and encouragement, for
which I am eternally grateful,” said Rodríguez, who has rescued hundreds of mistreated and abandoned cats and dogs.

As for Yoli, “I called her “My little Queen,”(Mi Reinecita) she said. Everyone who knew her personally knew that she loved life and loved to be around people. She was so sociable and affectionate. “Yoli was a symbol
of strength and she belongs to the people of Puerto Rico. I know she would like us to say good bye to her as she deserves, The service is for people who understand and who struggle daily to improve the quality of life and justice for our animals.

The service will be held tonight at 6 at Unity Church in Santurce, 1955
Victoria Street.

http://www.prdailysun.com/news/Dog-who-survived-Barceloneta-massacre-dies



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P.R. Manatee Conservation Center partners with world’s largest aquarium

The Puerto Rico Manatee Conservation Center, directed by the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, joined efforts with the Georgia Aquarium through a partnership agreement that aims to promote the conservation and preservation of marine species.

The partnership will feature the mutual support from the entities in developing new projects and expanding current ones, particularly efforts that promote the development of the P.R. Manatee Conservation Center, that works for the conservation of manatees through scientific investigations, rescue missions, rehabilitation and community outreach projects.

“We have worked with the vice-president of the Aquarium, Dr. Bossart, who’s been in charge of veterinary medicine, since 1990. He has actively participated in our manatee mortality research since that time by reading
us the pathology of dying manatees in Puerto Rico. This led into developing a partnership between our university and the aquarium to continue working together,” stated Antonio Mignucci, head of the PRMCC.

The Georgia Aquarium, located in Atlanta, is the world's largest aquarium with more than 8.1 million gallons of both salt and fresh water, housing more than 100,000 animals of 500 different species. Chief veterinary officer for the Aquarium, Dr. Gregory Bossart, will serve as adjunct professor of the Center, as well as a consulting veterinarian, providing support to the institution’s veterinarians. In exchange, Mignucci will serve as adjunct researcher of the Aquarium.

As Mignucci explained, this partnership will help develop exchanges between the staff of the Center and the Aquarium, as well as offering students, volunteers and technicians the chance to go to the aquarium for training and internships.

“The Georgia Aquarium is highly regarded and has a tremendous expertise in animal care, water quality and veterinary medicine. This provides us with the knowledge that will helps us get a better Center and help the manatees more effectively,” added Mignucci.

Meanwhile, the formal facilities for the P.R. Manatee Conservation Center will presumably begin construction in July, on the campus of the Inter American University in Bayamón, with an investment of about $700,000. The
project includes laboratories for scientific research, food supply resources and veterinary care for manatees in captivity and /or rehabilitation. It will also includes a multipurpose room to receive and guide students from schools and universities so they can see at first-hand the research, rehabilitation and conservation efforts of manatees that the CCMPR features.

"Once completed, the Center will continue to conduct manatee rescue and rehabilitation work authorized under permits from the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as carrying out other research, conservation and community outreach initiatives. Beginning in August, the Center will also house two Florida manatees, that will serve as surrogate parents to Puerto Rican manatee calves rescued in the island," said Mignucci.

The P.R. Manatee Conservation Center also has a cooperative agreement with the Puerto Rico National Guard for the support of manatee liberations by providing a space for a seapen in Punta Salinas, in Toa Baja. In addition, the Center also has an agreement with the Omacha Foundation in Colombia to provide advice on manatee rehabilitation care.

http://www.prdailysun.com/news/PR-Manatee-Conservation-Center-partners-with-worlds-largest-aquarium

EPA: Monkey facility may need more permits

The top Environmental Protection Agency official in Puerto Rico said Friday that Bioculture Puerto Rico Inc. has met the federal requirements to build its monkey breeding facility in Guayama.

However, the Israeli company had to yet to inform federal officials whether it intends to build a treatment plant to process the monkey waste generated at the facility under construction in the Pozo Hondo area of Guayama, said Carl Axel Soderberg, EPA director for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

“Federal regulations require any construction to have an erosion and sedimentation control permit during the building process. We investigated and they comply with EPA requirements,” Soderberg said.

The EPA official said Bioculture Puerto Rico Inc. may still need to seek a federal discharge permit depending on how they plan to handle monkey waste.

Soderberg said if the company aims to use a treatment plant it would need to seek a permit through the EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) or Prevention of Serious Deterioration (PSD) programs.

If Bioculture opts to use septic tanks, it would be up the commonwealth Environmental Quality Board to grant a permit allowing that process.

Some residents of Guayama are vowing to fight the planned monkey-breeding facility for fear that the primates will escape and overrun their community.

The facility, which will supply monkeys to pharmaceutical companies for research, was cleared for construction this summer.

Locals in Guayama said they don’t want their southern coastal town to become another Lajas — a town in southeast Puerto Rico that today is plagued by monkeys that escaped decades ago from research facilities.

But Mauritius-based company Bioculture’s local development and community coordinator, Jacinto Rivera Solivan said the “probability of a monkey escaping is zero.”

Hundreds of people are signing an online petition asking Gov. Luis Fortuño and Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi to halt the project, community leader Roberto Brito said.
Construction of the 13,000-square-foot facility was temporarily suspended because Bioculture did not have the appropriate environmental permits, said Francisco González Suárez, Guayama city planner.

They were awarded the permits last month, he said, but residents question why public hearings were not held.

The facility will hold at least 3,000 macaque monkeys that will be sold for up to $3,000 each, González said.

Bioculture had considered building the facility in south Florida, but opted for Puerto Rico because the island’s pharmaceutical companies could test the animals without having to transport them elsewhere, Rivera said. The monkeys will be used to test a range of medications for humans, possibly even swine flu vaccines.

The facility will have two emergency rooms for injured or sick monkeys. It also will feature cages with a triple-lock system, meaning that workers will have to access two doors before reaching the monkeys, he said.

Animal activists have called the project cruel and warn it will damage Puerto Rico’s image.
Hundreds of monkeys from the new breeding facility will be killed when they are no longer needed for research, said Hope Ferdowsian, research policy director of the Washington D.C.-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Authorities in Puerto Rico have resorted to shooting monkeys they catch that belong to an estimated population of 1,000 running around the Lajas Valley in the island’s southwest region.
The monkeys arrived in the 1960s and ‘70s after escaping labs on nearby islands. They are blamed for causing nearly $300,000 in damage each year as they plunder crops such as pineapples and melons.

Puerto Rico is so anxious to get rid of those runaway primates that officials sent a group of them to a zoo in Iraq earlier this year.

Meanwhile, almost 1,000 monkeys run wild on Cayo Santiago, an uninhabited, 37-acre islet off Puerto Rico’s coast that supplies primates for behavioral research at the site as well as AIDS experiments at the University of Puerto Rico and top U. S. laboratories.

They are provided with food and water, and are tattooed for identification, but otherwise live freely, as they would in the wild. Rhesus macaques are the main species used to test AIDS vaccines, but they’re in short supply.

By CB Online Staff
http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news03.php?nt_id=32906&ct_id=1

PUERTO RICAN PARROT RECOVERY PLAN

The second revision of the recovery plan for the Puerto Rican parrot, one of the most endangered birds in the world, is ready for public review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said Wednesday.
FWS Regional Director Sam D. Hamilton said the updated plan would continue to focus on captive breeding of the endangered parrots for release into the wild..

“We continue working with the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), the U.S. Forest Service and the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust to increase the captive and wild populations of this majestic species,” Hamilton said in a statement.

Work to save the species dates back to 1968 but a formalized Puerto Rican parrot recovery plan was not implemented until 1987. The second revision of that plan specifically details the recovery goals that should be met to reclassify them from a major risk to a minor risk under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, the FWS official said.

The revised plan also outlines the estimated timeframe and costs of carrying out the recovery efforts.

The current wild population is estimated at fewer than five dozen – between 22 and 28 in El Yunque and another 22 to 28 in the Río Abajo State Forest in Arecibo. Fewer than 300 are in captivity in two breeding facilities near El Yunque and Río Abajo.

There were an estimated 1 million Puerto Rican parrots when Christopher Columbus reached the island 500 years ago. By the 1950s, however, the number had dwindled to just 200 or so, due to poisoning from insecticides on crops, predation by exotic species and loss of habitat.

The effort to breed the birds at a Luquillo aviary to boost the El Yunque wild population was dealt a heavy blow in 1989 when Hurricane Hugo churned across northeastern Puerto Rico and decimated the rainforest, killing half of the parrot population.

The DNER got involved in the recovery program in 1993, and established a new captive population in the Río Abajo area. The first of those aviary-bred birds were released into the wild in 2006.

http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news03.php?nt_id=31843&ct_id=1

Caiman spends night in police holding cell

A caiman - smaller cousins of the crocodile - spent the night at a Police Department precinct house after being captured Monday in Toa Baja.

The five-foot long reptile was snagged by personnel from the State Emergency Management Agency near the La Virgencita Bridge in the San José sector of Toa Baja on Monday night.
The caiman was then kept in a holding cell at the Toa Baja precinct house for nearly eight hours before it was picked up for processing by personnel from the Natural and Environmental Resources Department (DNER for its English initials)..

“There was no place to put it and since the bars are narrow we put it in the holding cell so it wouldn’t escape,” said Police Department spokeswoman Beatriz González.

The DNER took the captured caiman to its wildlife shelter in the Cambalache State Forest in Arecibo, according to police.

Caimans are not native to Puerto Rico but have been spotted in an increasingly wide area of the island. The crocodile-like caimans, from South America, were apparently exotic pets that were released into the wild in the 1960s, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and have been multiplying ever since.

They are often spurred out of rivers and swamplands like the Tortuguero Lagoon in Vega Baja by heavy rains and in recent years have been captured in pastureland and even the patios of homes along the north coast area from Arecibo to Toa Baja.

http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr..com/news03.php?nt_id=31787&ct_id=1&ct_name=1