The Netherlands is a densely populated nation, but could be a good example of how to practice wildlife management in the coming century. Rapid human population growth on the planet is creating pressure on wildlife populations, and many places will thus come to resemble the present situation in The Netherlands.
In such situations, it is essential for good practice that all those with interests in wildlife are able to participate as full partners. It is surprising that the Dutch, otherwise so practiced at negotiation and consensus-building in their heavily urbanized country, are having difficulties with this model, because interested parties do not always regard each other as valid partners, says Dr. Ron Ydenberg, Professor in Wildlife Management, at Wageningen University, Netherlands.
Earth Changes
Listening for faint rustling noises made by tasty beetles on a quiet day is simple for bats hunting with their exquisitely sensitive hearing. So try imagining what it must be like trying to locate rustling treats just metres from a roaring highway. It would seem to be almost impossible to pick out a centipede's footsteps as a juggernaut hurtles past; or is it? How animals that locate their prey by sound alone cope in our increasingly noisy world puzzles Björn Siemers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany.
Siemers explains that no one had ever measured whether bats that hunt by listening for rustling insects are affected by man-made noise. However, this is a question that Siemers is frequently asked by urban planners keen to minimise our impact on local wildlife populations. Curious to know how sharp-eared bats react to loud background noise, Siemers and his colleagues Andrea Schaub and Joachim Ostwald monitored foraging bats' responses to rustling mealworms in noisy environments and publish their results on 19th September 2008 in The Journal of Experimental Biology
Siemers explains that no one had ever measured whether bats that hunt by listening for rustling insects are affected by man-made noise. However, this is a question that Siemers is frequently asked by urban planners keen to minimise our impact on local wildlife populations. Curious to know how sharp-eared bats react to loud background noise, Siemers and his colleagues Andrea Schaub and Joachim Ostwald monitored foraging bats' responses to rustling mealworms in noisy environments and publish their results on 19th September 2008 in The Journal of Experimental Biology
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| ©Unknown |
A waterspout was photographed off the South Devon coast as a storm swept inland at the same time, bringing high winds and a downpour.
Alison Heather, 21, a student, photographed the twister from her home in Livermead, Torquay. She said: "It was moving across the bay and you could actually see it was drawing the sea spray up a couple of hundred feet into the air."
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| ©Ariel Jerozolimski [file] |
| Ramat Hovav, in southern Israel |
A certain number of aerosol particles in the air increases rainfall, but an overabundance of them retards it, according to new research by a group of international scientists, led by Prof. Daniel Rosenfeld of the Institute of Earth Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Uttar Pradesh forest authorities are at a loss to explain the mysterious deaths of 14 black bucks in Agra and Kanpur districts of the state.
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| ©Avinash K J |
To the relief of climate scientists around the world, it appears that the polar ice cap hasn't shrunk as much this summer as it did last summer.
A University of Alaska Fairbanks professor emeritus known for his belief that carbon dioxide is not the sole cause of climate change presented his latest research Thursday.
More than 40 researchers and students gathered into a room at the International Arctic Research Center, now named after Syun-Ichi Akasofu, for the hour-long presentation.
More than 40 researchers and students gathered into a room at the International Arctic Research Center, now named after Syun-Ichi Akasofu, for the hour-long presentation.
Snails, crabs, insect larvae - the shores of rivers and lakes are populated by thousands of small animals that play an important role in the food chain of the freshwater ecosystem. They eat the leaves, among other things, which fall into the water, and so keep the waters clean.
Up to 10,000 organisms can be found on a square meter of water bottom, of which a lot are also terrestrial insect larvae. Scientists call the whole group macrozoobenthos - these are all invertebrates living on the bottom and still visible with naked eyes. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) now study the impact that ship-induced waves can have on these small animals.
The larva of Calopteryx splendens, a dragonfly, crawls on a stone in shallow water. Then operates Friederike Gabel the wave machine. A wave, comparable to that of a sport boat, runs along the three-metre-long canal.
The larva is washed out - "detached" say the researchers - and paddle around several minutes helplessly in the water until it found again the "solid ground" under its feet. "If they stay suspended in the water, the larvae take the risk to be eaten" explains F. Gabel, a specialist of the effect of waves on invertebrates. In addition, the larva spent energy to fix them back, which has negative effects on their growth and reproduction. The researchers fear that ship-induced waves increase larval mortality and subsequently biodiversity, which would have a long-term effect on the ecological quality of rivers and lakes.
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| ©iStockphoto/Brent Bossom |
| Okanagan Lake in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Waves affect snails and insect larvae more on sandy shores than shores with tree roots or reeds. |
Up to 10,000 organisms can be found on a square meter of water bottom, of which a lot are also terrestrial insect larvae. Scientists call the whole group macrozoobenthos - these are all invertebrates living on the bottom and still visible with naked eyes. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) now study the impact that ship-induced waves can have on these small animals.
The larva of Calopteryx splendens, a dragonfly, crawls on a stone in shallow water. Then operates Friederike Gabel the wave machine. A wave, comparable to that of a sport boat, runs along the three-metre-long canal.
The larva is washed out - "detached" say the researchers - and paddle around several minutes helplessly in the water until it found again the "solid ground" under its feet. "If they stay suspended in the water, the larvae take the risk to be eaten" explains F. Gabel, a specialist of the effect of waves on invertebrates. In addition, the larva spent energy to fix them back, which has negative effects on their growth and reproduction. The researchers fear that ship-induced waves increase larval mortality and subsequently biodiversity, which would have a long-term effect on the ecological quality of rivers and lakes.
Hundreds of new kinds of animal species surprised international researchers systematically exploring waters off two islands on the Great Barrier Reef and a reef off northwestern Australia -- waters long familiar to divers.
The expeditions, affiliated with the global Census of Marine Life, help mark the International Year of the Reef and included the first systematic scientific inventory of spectacular soft corals, named octocorals for the eight tentacles that fringe each polyp.
The explorers have released some initial results and stunning images from their landmark four-year effort to record the diversity of life in and around Australia's renowned reefs.
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| ©Gary Cranitch, Queensland Museum, 2008 |
| Ctenophore, or comb jelly, collected off Wassteri Reef, Heron Island. |
The expeditions, affiliated with the global Census of Marine Life, help mark the International Year of the Reef and included the first systematic scientific inventory of spectacular soft corals, named octocorals for the eight tentacles that fringe each polyp.
The explorers have released some initial results and stunning images from their landmark four-year effort to record the diversity of life in and around Australia's renowned reefs.
Tehran - A magnitude 5 earthquake struck southern Iran on Wednesday near the port of Bandar Abbas, site of a major oil refinery, Iranian media reported, without mentioning any casualties or damage.
The same region was hit by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake last week that killed at least seven people.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the magnitude of Wednesday's quake at 5.2 and said it happened at 9:13 p.m. local time (1643 GMT).
Iran's official IRNA news agency said the quake hit the island of Qeshm off the coast and cut electricity there. People had rushed onto the streets, it said, giving no further details.
USGS said it struck 40 km (25 miles) southwest of Bandar Abbas.
The same region was hit by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake last week that killed at least seven people.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the magnitude of Wednesday's quake at 5.2 and said it happened at 9:13 p.m. local time (1643 GMT).
Iran's official IRNA news agency said the quake hit the island of Qeshm off the coast and cut electricity there. People had rushed onto the streets, it said, giving no further details.
USGS said it struck 40 km (25 miles) southwest of Bandar Abbas.
