New Insights on birds
Pollution and bees
Polar bears
WILL THEY SURVIVE? WILL POLLUTION DRASTICALLY AFFECT BEES? VISITING POLAR BEARS OBSERVING LAR GIBBONS
Greater Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea apoda)Badigaki Forest, Wokam Island in the Aru Photographer:Tim Lamen
CONTENTS 1. Phillipines is on board.
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2. To bees or not to bees?
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3. Will they survive?
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4. Polar Bear.
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5. Winged Wonders
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5. How tides affect marine life.
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6. Top 5 places for wildlife.
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Philippines
ON BOARD There was some good news as the Philippines joined the international community yesterday in marking World Wildlife Day. On the eve of the annual event, the chair of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, Cynthia Villar, announced that developers had called off reclamation proposals for a marine and bird sanctuary in Manila Bay. This paves the way for the development of the area, visible from the Coastal Road from Parañaque to Las Piñas, into an ecotourism zone. The mangrove forest that has sprung up in the area is home to thousands of numerous vulnerable and threatened wildlife including the Philippine Duck and certain species of egrets and other birds. The project deserves public support. The Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area, which covers about 175 hectares of the bay, is the last bird sanctuary in Metro Manila and the only one in an urban setting in the country. Four years ago this month, the area was included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance – areas of rich biodiversity that require special protection. Thanks to heightened public awareness about the need to preserve wildlife, progress has been made in recent years to save species endemic to the country from extinction. The Philippine Eagle has been successfully bred in captivity, although an adult raptor released
into the wild by conservationists was later found dead with a gunshot wound. Some success has also been achieved in saving the tarsier and tamaraw from endangered status. Many other species of Philippine flora and fauna, however, remain endangered or vulnerable. The animals include the warty pigs of Cebu and Negros, the naked-backed fruit bat, red-vented cockatoo, Hawksbill sea turtle and Mindoro bleeding heart dove. Pangolins and seahorses, collected for their supposed medicinal properties, are rapidly being depleted. Human activities and climate change can be a lethal combination for threatened creatures. In marking Wildlife Day this year, the United Nations is hoping that the youth will take a more active role in conservation efforts. “Listen to the Young Voices” is the theme for this year as the UN moves to save thousands of species around the world. The UN adopted the theme after noting a declining sense of personal responsibility for wildlife and the environment as a whole among the world’s 1.8 billion people aged between 10 and 24. Young people, however, aren’t the only ones responsible for preserving wildlife and the environment. People of all ages are custodians of the rich blessings of the planet.
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About THE
PHILLIPINE DUCK
The Philippine duck (Anas luzonica) is a large dabbling duck of the genus Anas. It is endemic to the Philippines. As few as 5,000 may remain. Overhunting and habitat loss has contributed to its decline. It has a black crown, nape and eye stripe, with a cinnamon head and neck. Rest of body is greyish brown with a bright green speculum. Its legs are greyish brown, and its bill is blue grey. It eats shrimp, fish, insects, and vegetation, and it frequents all types of wetlands
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BEES AND POLLLUTION
To Bees or Not to Bees? The increasing pollution is taking a toll on the life of the bees.Smoke resulting in decrease in number of bees.
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ative bees and honey bees (above) rely on wind-borne floral scent molecules to lead them to pollen-producing plants. “Many insects have nests that are up to 3,000 feet away from food sources, which means that scents need to travel long distances before insects can detect them,� says Pennsylvania State University meteorologist Jose Fuentes. He and his colleagues discovered that atmospheric contaminants such as ozone cause chemical interactions that reduce the life spans of the plants’ scent molecules and the distances they travel. Reporting in Atmospheric Environment, the researchers write that pollution-modified plant odors can confuse bees, increasing the time bees must forage while decreasing their pollination efficiency and the amount of food they bring back to a colony. The discovery adds to a growing list of factors that may be contributing to bee declines. Bees play an important role in pollinating flowering plants, and are the major type of pollinator in many ecosystems that contain
flowering plants. It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on pollination by insects, birds and bats, most of which is accomplished by bees, whether wild or domesticated. Contract pollination has overtaken the role of honey production for beekeepers in many countries. From 1972 to 2006, feral honey bees declined dramatically in the US, and they are now almost absent. The number of colonies kept by beekeepers declined slightly, through urbanization, systematic pesticide use, tracheal and Varroa mites, and the closure of beekeeping businesses. In 2006 and 2007 the rate of attrition increased, and was described as colony collapse disorder. [100] In 2010 invertebrate iridescent virus and the fungus Nosema ceranae were shown to be in every killed colony, and deadly in combination. Winter losses increased to about 1/3. Varroa mites were thought to be responsible for about half the losses.
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Will They Survive? W
hite-handed gibbons are small tailless apes with soft, thick fur. They live in trees and like to stay high up in the canopy of trees. Their very long arms allow them to swing effortlessly among the tree branches. They can also change direction in a split second, and can catch birds in midair and eat them after landing. Gibbons are among the fastest of all primates. White-handed gibbons have white fur on the upper sides of their hands and feet. They live in small family groups made up of a male and female pair and their young. They sing duets, with the male and female complementing each other’s part. These duets help the couple bond and mark their territory. White-handed gibbons are found in tropical and subtropical rain forest of Southern China to South East Asia and the distribution of the five subspecies differ slightly. Being arboreal primates, they are found mainly in the canopy layer. Gibbons are very vocal and one can usually follow the calls to their exact location.
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Observing Lar Gibbons
There is no reliable population estimate for most countries; the population in Thailand was estimated to range between 15,000 to 20,000 individuals in 2010. However, the IUCN redlist believes that the global population of the white-handed gibbon has declined about 50% in the past 45 years; in Yunan, China, they are believed to have been extirpated as of 2008. Thisdecline in population is due mainly to anthropogenic causes. Over-hunting is one of the causes for population decline. Gibbons are hunted as subsistence food for consumption. However, with the increasing wealth in developing countries, the demand for exotic bushmeat is increasing and has resulted in increased hunting pressure.
Conservation efforts would first need to understand gibbons’ needs during and after rehabilitation process in order to endure the needs of each gibbon is met and its survival ensured after costly rehabilitation efforts. Lar gibbons are threatened in various ways: they are sometimes hunted for their meat, sometimes a parent is killed to capture young animals for pets, but perhaps the most pervasive is the loss of habitat. Lar gibbon habitats are already threatened by forest clearance for the construction of roads, agriculture, ecotourism, domesticated cattle and elephants, forest fires, subsistence logging, illegal logging, new village settlement, and palm oil plantations
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P O L A R BEAR Polar bears are classified as marine mammals because they spend most of their lives on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean. They have a thick layer of body fat and a water-repellant coat that insulates them from the cold air and water. Considered talented swimmers, they can sustain a pace of six miles per hour by paddling with their front paws and holding their hind legs flat like a rudder.vPolar bears spend over 50% of their time hunting for food, but less than 2% of their hunts are successful. Their diet mainly consists of ringed and bearded seals because they need large amounts of fat to survive. The total polar bear population is divided into 19 units or subpopulations.
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YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO BEAR IT
Because of ongoing and potential loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change, polar bears were listed as a threatened species in the US under the Endangered Species Act in May 2008.
Of those, the latest data from the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group show that three subpopulations are in decline and that there is a high estimated risk of future decline due to climate change. Because of ongoing and potential loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change, polar bears were listed as a threatened species in the US under the Endangered Species Act in May 2008. As the Arctic heats up twice as fast as the rest of the world and sea ice and snow declines rapidly, polar bears will struggle to survive, according to a US government report. Rising global temperatures is the single most important threat to the polar bears, which rely on sea ice to catch prey. In 2008 the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and in its new conservation management plan it outlines a number of shortterm actions to tackle the threat. It calls for the reduction of human-bear conflict and hunting, the protection of habitats and themanaging and minimizing the risk of oil spills.
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BIRD
BEHAVIOUR Bird behavior refers to the actions of a bird in response to environmental situations. Some bird behavior is instinctive, whilst other behavior is learned. Behavior includes caring for itself, feeding and interaction with others (birds, humans, other animals).
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WINGED WONDERS Armed with innovative tools, scientists are making some surprising discoveries about bird behavior during spring migrations. Big Flocks Fly Faster In Sweden, biologists from Lund University used telescopic devices with laser rangefinders to measure flight speeds of different tern species (such as sandwich and royal terns, above). Reporting in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, they note that factors such as wind direction and wing shape affect velocity. One surprise: The scientists document, for the first time, that flock size affects flight speed. The larger the flock, the faster birds fly, a principle that likely applies to all bird species. Harnessing Radar’s Power New visualization software is allowing researchers to analyze data from weather surveillance radar systems
on a scale never before used in avian flight investigations. “Many migration studies look at a few individuals,” University of Oklahoma ornithologist Kyle Horton reports in The Auk: Ornithological Advances. “But with radar, we’re now documenting the behavior of millions of individuals at given times in different seasons.” In a recently completed study, Horton and his colleagues documented for the first time that birds migrating north after winter fly much faster and put more effort into staying on course than they do during autumn flights south. The study, which focused on songbirds flying over the eastern U.S. seaboard, found that the birds travel an average of 39 percent faster in spring than in fall.The researchers speculate that the birds are racing to claim the best breeding sites. “By grabbing the best spots,” Horton says, “those birds can attract fitter mates and raise more chicks.”
Traffic Jam In a separate study in the Great Lakes region, researchers from the University of Delaware used weather radar to examine bird behavior over water at night, when many species travel. Their data, reported in The Auk, show that spring migrants flying over the lakes increase their elevation as dawn approaches to gauge the distance to the far shoreline, and they often turn back to the closest land rather than continue to fly north in daylight. As a result, large masses of birds can pile up at stopover sites along the southern shores of the lakes. “Our study justifies the high value of shoreline habitats for conservation of migratory bird populations in the Great Lakes,” says biologist Jeff Buler.
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How Tides Affe “Left unchecked, the combination of sea level rise and extreme storms pose an unprecedented threat to coastal communities, ecosystems, and wildlife. As communities up and down the eastern seaboard have experienced, the impacts will range from widespread flooding and inundation of protective tidal marshes to beach erosion and saltwater intrusion. Such consequences damage state economies that depend on the rich natural resources and outdoor recreation opportunities the coast provides. Important places and wildlife all along the coast from the Everglades in Florida to Acadia National Park in Maine are at risk if action is not taken. We look forward to working with coastal communities and conservation partners to implement comprehensive solutions to both reduce harmful climate-disrupting carbon pollution and bolster natural systems that will help mitigate the impacts of sea-level rise we are not able to avoid.� As th risks
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ect Marine Life from sea-level rise continue to grow, so, too, has the impetus for states and communities to prepare for changes that are occurring, or will occur in the near future, by takingaction to mitigate impacts and improve coastal resilience – a strategy referred to as adaptation.In the wake of increasingly dire projections for sea-level rise, however, it is equally essential that we prevent the worst outcomes by significantly reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions that are the root cause of sea level rise – a strategy known as mitigation.
Along with the atmosphere, oceans even out the climate, shuttling heat between the equator and the poles. Without this circulation, temperatures would skyrocket in the tropics and plummet at higher latitudes like Europe. Some researchers worry that global warming will throw this circulation off, changing local climates or even shut it down entirely, jerking the globe into the next ice age.
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TOP FIVE SPOTS FOR W Wild Animal Safari, Pine Mountain, Georgia Okay, not every animal you’ll see here is native to Georgia. The habitat may not be native, but the activities of the critters are. Think of this as more like an all-star attraction. Have you ever seen a liger (hybrid cross between a male lion and a tigress)? How about a vervet (that’s a tiny monkey). Or maybe you’d like to meet a southern pig-tailed macaque (a slightly bigger monkey)? Hop on a park tour vehicle, and you just might. Or you can drive your own car through the preserve … all in all, it features animals from six continents.
Galapagos Islands, Ecuador Few places in the world can rival the Galapagos Islands as a wildlife destination. Situated in the Pacific Ocean, 1,000km from the South American continent, the Galapagos has over 875 species of plants and 289 types of fish. This isolated group of volcanic islands, with its very fragile ecosystem, is home to creatures that can be found nowhere else in the world and is a wildlife lovers dream.
The Pantanal, Brazil The Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland area and sprawls an area between 140,000 and 195,000 square kilometres. The open marshes of the Pantanal make it a wonderful place for spotting wildlife – even giving the Amazon a run for its money! The marshes are home to an immense variety of wildlife and there is estimated to be around 1000 bird species, 300 mammals and 900 invertebrates.
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WILDLIFE IN THE WORLD Botswana
Yellowstone National Park
Botswana stands out for its diverse ecosystems: on a wildlife safari in Botswana, you’re never limited to just one transport mode. Besides game-tracking by 4WD, you’ll be exploring Botswana’s mixture of salt pans and savannahs by mokoro (dugout canoe, Botswana specialty) and riverboat. Places not to miss include the Chobe National Park, home to the world’s largest herds of elephant, and the Okavango Delta, an exquisite wetland area. Botswana lodges are also world class, often found in the heart of African wilderness
The largest concentration of watchable wildlife in the lower 48 states. Depending on what type of wildlife you want to see, you’ll have better luck finding it certain parts of the Park. For example, you’re likely to run into the resident elk herd who has taken up residence in the Mammoth area, munching on the tender green shoots of grass that grow around the hotel and visitor center. You just might see a grizzly bear while cruising through the open valleys of the Park at sunset or a black bear when weaving around U-turns over Washburn Pass. The only continuously free-ranging bison herd in the lower 48 since prehistoric times will almost always be found in Hayden Valley, often right in the middle of the road. Last but not least, spotting a wolf in Lamar Valley at sunrise is a special treat!
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