A bigger nose, a bigger bang: Size matters for ecoholocating toothed whales

Whales, dolphins, and porpoises have all evolved to use similar narrow beams of high intensity sound to echolocate prey

Date:  November 15, 2018

Source:  Aarhus University

Trying to find your lunch in the dark using a narrow flashlight to illuminate one place at a time may not seem like the most efficient way of foraging. However, if you replace light with sound, this seems to be exactly how the largest toothed predators on the planet find their food. A paper out this week in the journal Current Biology shows that whales, dolphins, and porpoises have all evolved to use similar narrow beams of high intensity sound to echolocate prey. Far from being inefficient, this highly focused sense may have helped them succeed as top predators in the world's oceans.

A new sense enabled toothed whales to succeed in diverse habitats

32 million years ago, the ancestors of toothed whales and baleen whales diverged as the ancestors of toothed whales -- including dolphins, porpoises and sperm whales -- evolved the ability to echolocate; to send out sound pulses and listen for the returning echoes from objects and prey in their environment. This new sense allowed these animals to navigate and find food in dark or murky waters, during the night, or at extreme depths. Since then, this evolutionary step has allowed these animals to occupy an amazing diversity of habitats, from shallow freshwater rivers to the great ocean deeps.

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Humpback whales come to the Mediterranean to feed themselves

Experts predict that sightings of this species could increase in the Mediterranean in the coming years

Date:  November 15, 2018

Source:  University of Seville

Although the presence of humpback whales in the Mediterranean has been considered unusual, it is known that their visits have increased in the last 150 years. Until now, there had been no clear reason to justify this fact, with various options being considered, such as disorientation, following the migratory routes of other species, etc. However, a recently published study by experts from the University of Seville and from the Biological Research Area from the Seville Aquarium indicates that what motivates these cetacean mammals to enter these waters is the search for food.

This species travels long migration routes from the poles (both North and South), where the feeding areas are found, to the Equator to reproduced in the 15 DPS reproduction areas detected by the scientific community until now.

"In spring of 2016, a single young humpback whale was detected alongside a boat used from sighting cetacean mammals in the area. For almost a month, it was possible to follow the animal within the bay of Algeciras, taking exhaustive data, accompanied by photographs for photo-identification and future tracking of the animal, as well as for checking that the animal did not have any kind of problem," informs José Carlos García-Gómez, direct of the Marine Biology Laboratory at the University of Seville.

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Sumatran elephant found dead with missing tusks in Indonesia

November 17, 2018

Rampant deforestation has reduced the species' natural habitat and brought them into conflict with humans

A Sumatran elephant has been found dead with its tusks removed in an apparent poaching case targeting the critically endangered animal, an Indonesian conservation official said Friday.

The 10-year-old male's rotting corpse was found in Blang Awe village in Aceh province earlier this week.

"His tusks were missing and there were traces of blood in the location where he was found," Aceh conservation centre head Sapto Aji Prabowo told AFP.

Officials estimated the animal had been dead for at least a week when the carcass was discovered.

The cause of death was not immediately clear because the body was badly decomposed, Prabowo said.

Tissue samples will be analysed for signs of poisoning.

Rampant deforestation has reduced the species' natural habitat and brought them into conflict with humans, while their tusks are prized in the illegal wildlife trade.

At least 11 wild elephants died in Aceh last year, most of them killed by humans.

In July, a Sumatran elephant was found dead from apparent poisoning in a palm oil plantation.

The environment ministry estimates only around 500 Sumatran elephants remain in Aceh.

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Rare Sumatran tiger rescued from beneath shop in Indonesia

November 17, 2018

A rare Sumatran tiger that was trapped beneath the floor of a shop for three days has been rescued, an Indonesian official said Saturday.

The three-year old male was freed from the 75 centimetre (30 inch) crawl space on Burung Island in Riau province at about 1:50 am, the local conservation agency said.

"After the tiger was successfully put to sleep we opened up part of the shop's foundation to do the evacuation," Suharyono, head of the Riau conservation agency, told AFP.

The 80-kilo (180-pound) animal was treated by veterinarians for minor wounds on its legs and cracked canines, officials said.

The big cat became stuck between two buildings in the densely populated market area on Wednesday before freeing himself and then becoming trapped again beneath the building.

Video footage showed the tiger lying on its belly between two concrete foundations, unable to move.

The tiger has been transported to a rehabilitation centre.

Sumatran tigers are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild and environmental activists say they are increasingly coming into conflict with people as their natural habitat is rapidly deforested.

Source  

Protected northern red-legged frog re-discovered - via Herp Digest

Delta Optimist/ NOVEMBER 16, 2018

The northern red-legged frog is federally and provincially protected.

After finding a northern red-legged frog in the Delta Nature Reserve, Burns Bog Conservation Society staff are jumping with joy. The frog was thought to have been extinct locally.

“I was leading one of our field trips through the Delta Nature Reserve on Oct. 9 and one of the students saw something move,” said Nikolai Karpun, the society’s education and communications coordinator. “I looked over and saw a frog. It looked unlike any I had seen in the Delta Nature Reserve. Luckily, my first instinct was to take a photo.”

The northern red-legged frog is federally and provincially protected. It’s threatened by habitat loss as well as competition from non-native frogs.

The goal of the provincial management plan for the northern red-legged frogis to maintain self-sustaining and ecologically functioning populations in occupied watersheds throughout its range.

Burns Bog Conservation Society executive director Eliza Olson said nearby highway work will soon impact the Delta Nature Reserve.

“Before works start, we must find out if there are any more northern red-legged frogs in the Delta Nature Reserve,” said Olson. “We’d be hopping mad not to.”

Rare creatures have been found in Delta before. In 1999, a southern red-backed vole was spotted on the western side of Burns Bog, the first time since 1947 it had been seen in B.C.

“I wonder what other hidden treasures are in Burns Bog waiting to be found?” asked bog society education and research coordinator Mark Robertson.

Anyone who thinks they’ve spotted a northern red-legged frog in Delta, note the date, time and location. If possible, take a photo, but do not attempt to capture the frog. Contact the Burns Bog Conservation Society at info@burnsbog.org, or call 604-572-0373.