Earth Day Photos

I know it was yesterday, but here are some of my favorites from 40 photos posted by the Boston Globe in honor of 40 years of Earth Day.

Rare Megamouth Shark Caught in the Phillipines

From SciAm.com:

On the morning of March 30, fishermen casting their nets in the Burias Pass, a centrally located channel in the Philippine archipelago, got the catch—not to mention surprise—of their lives: a megamouth shark so rare that some people still consider it a "cryptid", a creature that is seen so infrequently science can't confirm its existence.

That's likely an overstatement when it comes to the megamouth, first spotted in 1976 in waters near the Hawaiian island of Oahu. But, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) in Gainesville, which dubbed last month's catch "megamouth 41" (this being only the 41st observation of one of these sharks)—this is the eighth specimen snagged in the Pacific Ocean near the Philippines. Read more...

For the Bird Watchers

From Wired Science:

With an old computer and 30 dollars worth of off-the-shelf components, you can gear up with cutting edge avian monitoring technology and help save the birds.

For years, birdwatchers counted by sight during the daytime. The night — when most migratory birds travel — was literally hidden to them. But that's changing. Anyone can attach a microphone to a computer running birdcall-identifying software and track birds passing overhead in the darkness.

"You wouldn't be able to understand what's happening at night without this technology," said Andrew Farnsworth, a Cornell University ornithologist. "And when it comes to recording the things I work on, that's something anyone can do."

Scientists already depend on citizen birdwatchers for data that provides the foundation for estimates of species health and behavior. Their spare-time jottings are collated in efforts like the Great Backyard Bird Count, eBird, North American Bird Phenology Program and Project Feederwatch. With hundreds of species threatened by habitat loss, climate change and pollution, that data is now invaluable for conservation efforts.

But because many species migrate at night and are hard to find during the daytime, birders can miss them, said Farnsworth, or are forced to use proxy measures: If a bird seen yesterday isn't seen today, then it probably left. "It's not that the proxy methods are bad," he said, "but we're finding this method of nocturnal tracking can be incredibly powerful." Read more...

What If We Had No Forests?

From NewScientist:

THE acres upon acres of lush tropical forest in the Amazon and tropical Africa are often referred to as the planet's lungs. But what if they are also its heart? This is exactly what a couple of meteorologists claim in a controversial new theory that questions our fundamental understanding of what drives the weather. They believe vast forests generate winds that help pump water around the planet.

If correct, the theory would explain how the deep interiors of forested continents get as much rain as the coast, and how most of Australia turned from forest to desert. It suggests that much of North America could become desert - even without global warming. The idea makes it even more vital that we recognise the crucial role forests play in the well-being of the planet. Read more...

Ghost Bird

I'm not exactly an ornithology buff, but I decided to post this for two reasons: first, Cornell's involvement; and second, the passion/enthusiasm of Mary Scott is somewhat infectious (besides, I already posted about one documentary today, so why not make it a theme.) Check it out:

Happy World Water Day!

From 60 Second Science:

Happy World Water Day! Today is the 16th annual United Nations-sponsored water awareness day. This year's theme "Sharing Waters Sharing Opportunities" aims to up knowledge about all of the bodies of fresh water (263 by the U.N.'s count) that cross – or create – international borders. These can include the usual suspects, such as rivers and lakes, as well as subterranean aquifers that so many rely on for drinking water. Although H20 covers more than 70 percent of the planet's surface, only about 0.3 percent of surface water is in rivers and lakes, and underground aquifers hold about only another 1.6 percent of the earth's water.

More than half of the world's population lives in river basins shared with other countries, according to the U.N., yet only 16 countries (Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic and Uzbekistan) have signed the group's Convention on Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (an agreement to ensure countries don't hog or harm shared water resources). Per the U.N.'s decision, the agreement won't be ratified until at least 35 nations are officially on board. But some have argued that the convention, which began in discussions back in 1971, doesn't adequately cover new environmental issues or pose a strong enough legal structure to settle potential conflicts. Negotiating the use and conservation of these waters is nothing new, though. People have been making international water treaties for more than 4,500 years (dating at least back to two Sumerian city-states that quibbled over the Tigris River around 2500 B.C.E.).

Today also marks the final day of the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, which is organized and run every three years by the World Water Council, an international nonprofit. In preparation for the forum, the U.N. released its third World Water Development report last week. While the analysis found promise in increasing access to clean drinking water, U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-moon, said that the global water "situation is unconscionable… There has been a widespread failure to recognize water's vital role in providing food, energy, sanitation, disaster relief, environmental sustainability and other benefits."

But organizers of World Water Day hope to flood that awareness gap, partly through a host of events, which are happening this week from Anchorage to Australia. But to whom should we be raising our glasses of bubbly (spring water, that is)? The Danube and its tributaries, of course, which earns the claim as the most international watershed by dipping into 18 different countries.

New Program Will Pay Hawaiian Farmers to Preserve Endangered Species

From SciAm.com:

Thanks to its status as the world's most isolated island chain, Hawaii boasts hundreds of species that don't exist anywhere else on Earth. But because of that isolation, and the threat caused by invasive species, Hawaii is also the endangered species capital of the world, with "more endangered species per square mile on these islands than any other place on the planet," according to the web site of Honolulu's Bishop Museum.

State and federal officials are hoping to change that with a new program -- the first of its kind -- that will pay Hawaii farmers over the next 20 years to plant native species on unused portions of their land...

Under the program's guidelines, farmers may convert a portion of their pastures and croplands to "native trees, grasses, and other vegetation through application of conservation practices," such as planting hardwood trees, creating forest buffers to improve natural water flow, and restoring wetlands. Eligible land must be physically capable of plantings and adjacent to streams, rivers and lakes. The program aims to convert up to 15,000 acres to create these enhanced habitats over the next five years and maintain them for a total of 20 years.

Landowners will be partially reimbursed for their expenses and will also receive annual incentives and payments to maintain the replanted and restored wetlands. The land will still belong to the farmers, but under terms of the program, they will receive "rent payments" to keep the areas from being otherwise developed...

The feds will fork over some $54 million and the state the remaining $13 million over 20 years for the conservation program.

A report published last year by Hawaii's Division of Forestry and Wildlife in the journal Biological Conservation says the state received just 4 percent (or $30 million) of annual federal conservation funds for endangered birds from 1996 to 2004, even though 31 percent of the U.S.'s endangered birds are native to the islands.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service officially lists 329 Hawaiian species as endangered or threatened. The Bush administration last year proposed protecting an additional 48 Hawaiian species -- 45 plants, two birds and one insect; a final decision is pending.

Full article

Gay Ducks

First it was gays in the military, and now I'm going to talk about gay ducks (that's right, gay ducks). Apparently Blue Ducks are a dying breed in Britain. In fact, there is only one female left. In an attempt to repopulate the species, two males were introduced into the females enclosure - but rather than mate with the female, they fell for each other.

"They stay together all the time, parading up and down their enclosure and whistling to each other as a male might do with a female he wants to mate with," Paul Stevens, the warden at Arundel Wetland Center, tells the Telegraph.

Ducks aren't the only other species to engage in homosexual behavior, "1,500 species...have been observed engaging in homosexual activity."

Source:
Ducks Derail Repopulation Efforts

10 Myths About Sustainability

From SciAm.com, pretty interesting, check it out:

Top 10 Myths About Sustainability:
Even advocates for more responsible, environmentally benign ways of life harbor misunderstanding of what "sustainability" is all about

Cornell Professor Suggests Putting a Price on Endangered Species

I haven't read the actual article, but here is a tidbit from a post on Wired Science:

Rather than relying on warm, fuzzy feelings to protect animals, conservationists suggest appealing to something more reliable: greed.

By selling financial contracts pegged to species health, the government could create a market in the future of threatened animals, making their preservation literally valuable to investors.

"The incentive to conserve would increase as the likelihood of species survival decreases," said Cornell University biologist James Mandel. "If a species declines, investors have a bunch of paper that's now worthless."

It will be a hard sell, but it sounds like it might be worth a try.