May 21, 2014 - EARTH -
The following constitutes the latest reports of unusual animal
behavior, mass die-offs, beaching and stranding of mammals, and the
appearance of rare creatures.
Mass Death Of Birds Found Washed Up On Humboldt National National Reserve In Chile
 |
Less than a month after the death of hundreds of cormorants guanay, there was another
mass stranding of dead birds by inappropriate fishing practices. |
"On 15 April this year, inform the
community about the massive death and stranding hundreds of guanay
Cormorant on the coast of Playa Grande Los Choros, in the Commune of La
Higuera, product incompatible with conservation fishing practices marine
birds. Today, again we face the same event and we must account for the
death of many birds like cormorants and guanay yeko, occurred on
Saturday, May 10, less than a month after the alleged killing of
cormorants guanay. We insist on our challenge to the Chilean Navy and
in particular the Maritime Governor of the Region of Coquimbo, his duty
to protect the Marine Reserve Isla Choros - Ladies, overseeing the
fishing activities in the vicinity follow a strict compliance with the
legislation. Ensuring the conservation of protected areas is fulfilled
in the protection of biodiversity that inhabits and justifies and
determines its protected area. It comes down to territoriality, but its
multiple habitats, and enriches particularized reason these areas. The
Environmental Defense Movement ( MODEMA ) calls to institutions to not
be separated from their responsibility to the death of these animals. In
less than a month, the biotic balance of Humboldt Penguin National
Reserve and Marine Reserve Isla Choros - Damas has been affected by the
massive death of two of its rich bird species. " -
Eldinamo. [Translated]
Species Of Snake Lost For Nearly 80 YEARS Found On Mexican Island
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| A Clarion nightsnake slithers on the ground in the Revillagigedo Islands, over 400 miles off Mexico's Pacific coast.AP |
A
species of snake that had been "lost" for almost 80 years has been
re-discovered on a remote Mexican island. According to a study
published in the PLOS ONE scientific journal, the Clarion nightsnake was
found again on one of the Revillagigedo Islands, more than 400 miles
off Mexico's Pacific coast. The original, and until recently the only,
spotting of the species was made by American naturalist William Beebe in
a 1936 visit to Clarion, one of the four Revillagigedo Islands. He
returned with one snake preserved in a glass jar. Subsequent visits
failed to find more nightsnakes, and no further sightings were reported
over the years from the island, which is inhabited only by a small
detachment of Mexican marines. The existing dead sample was assumed to
be a labelling error and the snake was largely struck from taxonomic
registries. But Daniel Mulcahy, a researcher for the National Museum of
Natural History in Washington, suspected it might still exist. He and
Juan Martinez Gomez of Mexico's Ecology Institute set out to find it.
Martinez Gomez, an expert on the Revillagigedo Islands, noted the
islands change a lot from season to season, so they timed the expedition
last May to replicate Beebe's steps as they looked for the snake, which
blends in with the island's rock formations and is largely active at
night. And they used Beebe's original field notes as a guide.
"Basically, following those directions, we essentially put ourselves in
his place," Martinez Gomez said. One of his graduate students, Juan
Alberto Cervantes, was the first to spot one of the snakes for the first
time since 1936.
The researchers performed DNA analysis to
establish the long, dark spotted snake as its own species and see where
it had come from. The tests showed it is most closely related to snakes
from Mexico's Sonora-Sinaloa coast more than 500 miles away. Martinez
Gomez said the snake's ancestors may have made the trip from the
mainland on a tree trunk felled by a storm and washed out to sea. The
National Museum of Natural History said Mulcahy "uncovered the
controversy surrounding the inclusion of this snake in the scientific
record, and found that it appears to be the only species ever to be
discarded due to a presumed locality error." Patricia Escalante, a
biologist who curates bird collections at Mexico's National Autonomous
University and who was not involved in the snake project, said the
re-discovery of the Clarion nightsnake was "very interesting" and
significant because of the fragility of island ecosystems. One
inhabitant of the Revillagigedo Islands, the Socorro dove, went extinct
in its natural habitat sometime in the 1970s. But live specimens had
been taken off the islands in the 1920s, and their descendants were
recently re-introduced to the islands. -
FOX News.
"Sea Anemone" Is Actually A First Known Organism In A NEW ORDER Of Animals
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The newly named Relicanthidae sea creature, which lives near
hydrothermal vents, was previously thought to
be a giant sea anemone
(order Actiniaria). New research places this animal in a new order—
a
classification equal to Carnivora in mammals©NERC CHESSO project |
Lurking in the deep sea is a marine creature thought to be one of the world's largest sea anemones. But the animal, which has tentacles measuring more than 6 feet long, isn't an anemone but rather the first known organism in a new order of animals, according to new research. In the four-year study, researchers created a "tree of life" for sea anemones, which are sometimes called "flowers of the sea" but are actually stationary meat-eating animals. In doing so, they examined the DNA of Boloceroides daphneae discovered in 2006 in the deep Pacific Ocean and found the creature stood out as not fitting on the sea anemone tree of life at all. Researchers have now renamed the species Relicanthus daphneae, placing it into a new order (the equivalent of Carnivoria for mammals, Crocodilia for reptiles or Actiniaria for sea anemones) within the subclass Hexacorallia, which also includes anemones, black corals and stony corals. "The discovery of this new order of Cnidaria a phylum that includes jellyfish, corals, sea anemones and their relatives is the equivalent to finding the first member of a group like primates or rodents," Estefana Rodrguez, an assistant curator in the American Museum of Natural History, said in a statement. "This amazing finding tells us that we have so much more to learn and discover in the ocean," added Rodriguez, who led the research.
Not an anemone
So why does the oddball look like a sea anemone? Its similarity to anemones is an example of
convergent evolution, which means that two different branches of the tree of life form features that look the same, the researchers said. "Both groups of animals lack the same character[istic]s, but our
research shows that while the anemones lost those character[istic]s over
millions of years of evolution,
R. daphneae never had them," Rodriguez said in a statement. The group hopes other members of the same order will be found soon,
which will help provide more information on how the tree of life is
structured.
From characteristics to DNA
In addition to giving the boot to
Boloceroides daphneae,
the new study sheds light on sea anemones, a group of animals that are
difficult to classify because they have few distinctive structures. "Anemones are very simple animals," Rodrguez said. "Because of this,
they are grouped together by their lack of characteristics for example,
the absence of a skeleton or the lack of colony-building, like you see
in corals. So it wasn't a huge surprise when we began to look at their
molecular data and found that the traditional classifications of
anemones were wrong." The four-year study aimed to classify the known species of anemones
based on their evolutionary relationships with one another. DNA and
structural comparisons of more than 112 species worldwide revealed there
are only two suborders of anemones (not four, as previously thought).
The findings were published online May 7 in the journal
PLOS ONE. -
FOX News.
Moose Stomps 2 Women Hiking With Their Dogs In Colorado
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A
young moose walks April 1, 2014, past the entrance to Steamboat Springs
High School in Steamboat Springs,
Colo. Wildlife officials say the
Colorado moose population is growing quickly and can attack humans.
(Photo: John F. Russell, AP)
|
A
moose on the rampage attacked two women walking with their dogs, injuring both severely. The animals can weigh a half ton or more. "We were just moseying along, hiking, enjoying our hike, and then all of a sudden, I looked up and he was looking right at me,"said Jacquie Boron, 50, who was hiking with her neighbor Ellen Marie Divis, 57, near their homes in Black Hawk, Colo., about 35 miles northwest of Denver. Boron said the moose grunted and immediately charged toward her, hitting her squarely in the chest and knocking her off her feet. "I knew that they were aggressive, and I knew that I should be very careful with them," she said. "But I didn't expect them just to charge me." The moose repeatedly returned to stomp on her, leaving her with four broken ribs, 15 stitches in her leg and 10 staples in her head. "He kept coming back for me," Boron said. "I had to get away from him."
WATCH: Moose stomps 2 women hiking with their dogs.
Boron said she tried to get away by hiding behind a tree and then moved from tree to tree until the moose wandered away. Her neighbor, who was also injured, managed to escape and call for help. Their two dogs ran off as well but are home now. State wildlife experts said it's possible the dogs triggered the moose's aggressive behavior. "They do not like having dogs anywhere near them, so very often they will try and stomp the dog or will actually follow the dog," said Jennifer Churchill, a Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman. Boron said she won't be hiking around her home any time soon. "I think I'll stay away from there as long as I know that moose is back there because they're quiet and they're stealthy and they come up on you," she said. "And you can come up on them so quickly and then they react immediately." Boron expects to be released from the hospital Tuesday. Divis is in fair condition in St. Anthony hospital in this Denver suburb. State wildlife officials say the moose population is growing fast in Colorado. A hiker who comes across one should walk away and put something large between the two of you. -
USA Today.
Woman Attacked By Bear Near Alaska Military Base
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| A brown bear, similar to the one pictured, attacked a woman who was jogging on a trail near an Anchorage military base. |
A woman jogging through an Alaska trail was mauled by a brown bear defending her two cubs before the bloodied woman staggered for 2 miles searching for help, authorities said. The woman, who did not want to be identified, was attacked after she became separated with her soldier husband as they went for a run near the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage on Monday. As she rounded a bend in the trail in the wooded area, she encountered a brown bear with two bears in tow. The bear, fearing the safety of its young, suddenly pounced. “The bear attacked her, defending her babies, seeing her as a threat,” said Mark Sledge, senior conservation law enforcement officer at the base. The bear took at least one swipe at the woman and knocked her down, officials said. It wasn’t immediately clear if the woman was knocked unconscious or played dead until the beast finally walked away. Officials were unsure how long the woman lay on the ground after the attack, but she eventually managed to get to her feet and walked about 2 miles through the rough terrain until a soldier driving in the area spotted her.
“The survival instinct for that woman is phenomenal,” Sledge said. “The trauma that she went through and the walk out was heroic.” The Good Samaritan took her to the base hospital, where she was treated before she was transferred to the Alaska Native Medical Center. Her husband, who had turned back to search for his missing wife, was picked up by base security officers and taken to the hospital. The woman — who had lacerations to her neck arms and legs — was listed in stable condition Monday afternoon. Sledge said the bear was likely between 7 and 8 feet tall, because of the 7-inch rear paw pads, and that the woman was lucky to be alive. He said it was unlikely officials will take any action against the bear, because it was simply acting in a defensive way to protect her cubs. And people need to remember how easy it can be for someone to fall victim to an attack, Sledge said. “The main message is don’t get complacent. I’m not saying she was,” he told reporters, according to the Alaska Dispatch. “I don’t care if you’re in downtown Anchorage or on the base, bears are everywhere.” -
NY Daily News.
Apocalyptic Invasion Of Millions Of Grasshoppers In Albuquerque, New Mexico
An invasion of grasshoppers in Albuquerque has been disturbing the peace among residents.
WATCH: Grasshoppers invaded Albuquerque.
-
AccuWeather.
Farmers Concerned Over Dozens Of Cattle And Horses Dying From Disease In Mazatan, Mexico
Mazatán Ranchers are concerned about the death of dozens of cattle and horses, which have died from a disease that is affecting people. Humberto Tapia Solis, farmer of this county, said that so far have no attention of the appropriate authorities so fear these deaths are becoming an epidemic. Tapia Solis said in your field is 10 animals have died so far, seriously affecting the rest of its production, and it does not have the resources to hire a vet who can give you advice on the treatment that should have their animals. The farmer who is originally from Ejido Vicente Guerrero noted that in the same way they have killed their fellow ejidatarios a lot of animals , with about more than 100 cows and some horses , suspecting it might be a kind of anger about the conditions under that animals get sick. He said a few days ago arrived staff of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa) to take samples, leaving only the brain of one animal that was dying after presenting " desmayamiento " the body and other conditions that gradually undermine the existence of animals . Finally, he said that so far the authorities maintain complete secrecy regarding this situation, since they should already know the causes of death of the animals to alert if necessary, as there are some producers to avoid losing completely their cattle, when symptoms of illness, selling them to butchers slaughtered at the lowest prices. -
Pendulo. [Translated]
Masses Of Fish Turn Up Dead In A Marina In Pultneyville, New York
The Pultneyville Yacht Club was inundated with dead fish and plump, happy seagulls last week leaving local boaters with questions. Why all the dead and dying fish and just how many seagulls can fit in to one square foot? Yacht Club members and customers of the adjacent Landing at Pultneyville became victims of sudden bird flights and accompanying cars also felt the brunt of bird droppings. Jim Deatsch, member and Environmental Officer for the Yacht Club said he noticed struggling and dying fish cropping up about 10 days ago. “The gulls were having a field day. I even saw a couple of turkey buzzards come by, but they were chased off by the seagulls,” said Deatsch. “This is not a good thing. The gulls won’t eat the dead ones,” he added. Yacht Club member Don Byrnes of Walworth said he noticed the tens of thousands of dead fish and accompanying seagulls last Wednesday.
The main channel of the Yacht Club remained clear, but the offshoot dock areas remained cluttered with dead and dying fish. The small fish, known as alewives, often exhibit seasonal die-offs and can be seen, usually in mid-May, washed up on the shorelines of the Great Lakes. Alewives were introduced to the Great Lakes as food fish for the species such as lake trout and the introduced Pacific salmon. Ironically, the DEC (Department of Conservation) had poured thousands of 4” to 6” brown trout off the Pultneyville Point a week before. Was this a case of nature taking its course and an alewives die-off, or was there something amiss with the fish? Why did the fish die just in the Pultneyville channel and nowhere else along the shoreline in either direction? The DEC was not taking any chances. On Tuesday (5/13) the DEC took samples of the dead fish and sent them to Cornell for testing. Some on the scene believed it could be viral hemorrhagic septicemia, a deadly infectious fish disease that afflicts over 50 species of freshwater and marine fish in several parts of the northern hemisphere. Webster (Web) Pearsall, the Regional Fishery Manager for the DEC out of the Avon Office, was leaning more to the natural cause of the fish die-off. “This is part of a normal cycle.” The cold winter and warm waters feeding the lake cause a sudden rift in water temperatures that the alewives simply cannot tolerate. He noted that since the fish die-off in the Pultneyville channel, similar reports are now coming in from other Lake Ontario feeds, including the Genesee River outlet. “It is an issue of thermal shock on the fish,” concluded Pearsall. He added that the fish scoop-up and samples sent to Cornell was just to confirm what he believed. Sodus Town Supervisor and longtime boat captain, Steve Leroy, said he has seen this type of fish kill numerous times in his boating career. “I could be wrong, but I believe they will find no contaminants in the fish.” -
Wayne Times.
MILLIONS Of Bees Suddenly Die In Nanjing County, China
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| A large number of bees died overnight. |
The busy honey bees, but now strewn with dead bodies ; originally exudes a faint scent of hives, but now it is the stench. May
2, a pair of Zhangzhou in the peaceful transition of beekeeping couple
Jing Nanjing County farm town of Jinfeng flowering rush, a lot of bees
died that night. The
couple suffered clients suspected poisoning, just three days ago,
three agricultural school near Zhangzhou beekeepers suffered similar
incidents. Currently, Nanjing County Public Security Bureau of Criminal
Investigation Department and Jing town police station has been involved
in investigating the matter, whether to initiate an investigation,
police said, to have the authority to identify department finds cause
of bee deaths.
 |
| Buried in the forest bees sporadic bursts of odor. |
Around
15:30 yesterday, the reporter came to the incident, in the village of
longan farm forest trees neatly stocked with 104 beehives. Ms Tsang said that long ago, they finished flowering rush pomelo from home, it transitions to here. Right here, the couple already familiar with, never appeared unexpectedly. However,
this time no one thought that after night, 104 boxes of bees have died
94 boxes, each box according to their home has 10 hives, each have
more than 2000 bees calculation, there are about 1.88 million bees died, the remaining small some of the affected honey bees can not properly, the loss of nearly 50,000 yuan . Seeing no hope of harvest, the couple several times tearful, sleep well, and could not eat. Ms
Tsang said that on May 2, she and her husband, as usual, around 20
o'clock break, evening 7 o'clock, the husband also viewed once, and
found no abnormalities, but woke up the next day they found the bees
appeared trembling, different symptoms tongue, etc., and then found a large number of bee hives near death, the couple rushed to the police. In order to prevent infection is still a small part of the bees to
survive, the couple will be the death of the bees collect landfill near
the forest, there are still some beehives not finishing, there will be
a stench blowing approached ... -
163. [Translated]
Dozens Of Dead Pigs Found Floating Along A River In Minhou, China
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| There are a few dead pig stuck in the shore, already rancid. |
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| Oolong river, the river came the stench, passers-by have their noses through. |
Dozens dead pigs floating down along the river, the river section in the front side of the float of the company a long time, it is learned that the section of the river belong to the gates of secondary water source protection areas. It was unbearable stench , organizing workers got close to the shore of the dead pig bamboo expelled until the river rose high, most dead pig was only washed downstream. The rest were stranded dead pig , last night the relevant department staff rushed to the scene to be buried . As for the dead pig origin , the relevant departments expressed the need for further investigation. -
DNKB. [Translated]
