Earth Changes

Birds Call to Warn Friends and Enemies

ScienceDaily
Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:00 UTC

© iStockphoto/Frank Leung
Yellow-rumped warbler. Birds' alarm calls serve both to alert other birds to danger and to warn off predators.

Birds' alarm calls serve both to alert other birds to danger and to warn off predators. And some birds can pull a ventriloquist's trick, singing from the side of their mouths, according to a UC Davis study.

Many animals respond vocally when they detect predators, but it's not clear to whom they are signaling, said Jessica Yorzinski, a graduate student in animal behavior at UC Davis who conducted the study with Gail Patricelli, professor of evolution and ecology. They might be warning others of the threat, but they might also be telling the predator, "I've seen you."

Yorzinski used a ring of directional microphones around a birdcage to record the songs of dark-eyed juncos, yellow-rumped warblers, house finches and other birds as they were shown a stuffed owl. All the birds were captured in the wild, tested, banded and released within 24 hours.

'Killer Petunias' Should Join the Ranks of Carnivorous Plants, Scientists Propose

ScienceDaily
Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:00 UTC

Scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum believe that carnivorous behaviour in plants is far more widespread than previously thought, with many commonly grown plants -- such as petunias -- at least part way to being "meat eaters." A review paper, "Murderous plants: Victorian Gothic, Darwin and Modern Insights into Vegetable Carnivory," is published (4 December 2009) in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.

Carnivorous plants have caught the imagination of humans since ancient times, and they fitted well into the Victorian interest in Gothic horrors. Accounts of man-eating plants published in 19th century works have long since been discredited, but they continue to appear in different media including films (Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors) and books (Tentacula in the Harry Potter series). Even popular Japanese cartoon Pokémon includes some characters based on carnivorous plants (Bellsprout, Weepinbell and Victreebell).

Carnivorous plants fascinated Charles Darwin, and he and his friend Sir Joseph Hooker (Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew at that time) had an extensive correspondence concerning them. Darwin's book Insectivorous Plants played a critical role in the idea that plants could eat animals being generally accepted. Before this, many botanists (including Linnaeus) had refused to accept that this could be the case.

Stranded Tundra Swan to Hitch a Free Ride to Vancouver with Air Canada

Hanneke Brooymans
Edmonton Journal
Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:11 UTC

The tundra swan that's swimming in a small pool in Edmonton right now could soon find more paddling space off the B.C. coast.

Air Canada has offered a free flight to Vancouver for the swan, which is currently being cared for by the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton.

The swan arrived at the shelter in October with a fractured wing.

The injury is now healed, but it can't stay at the shelter for the winter.

These birds don't do well in captivity, said Cheryl Feldstein, the society's executive director, adding she is very pleased with the airline's offer of a free flight.

The bird will likely take its flight out to Vancouver on Tuesday or Wednesday, where it will join other swans that overwinter in that area.

US: Bitterroot bighorn pneumonia outbreak worsens

Perry Backus
Ravalli Republic
Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:30 UTC

Darby, Montana - An outbreak of pneumonia in bighorn sheep from the East Fork Bitterroot herd worsened over the past week.

State wildlife biologists collected almost 30 infected bighorn sheep from the area south of Darby. Some of the infected animals were shot in an effort to slow the spread of the disease. Others were found already dead.

"Any hope for a moderate infection rate is waning," said Craig Jourdonnais, the Bitterroot-based biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. "I think we are in full blown die-off mode."

Resonating Feathers Produce Courtship Song in Rare Bird

ScienceDaily
Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:00 UTC

Four years ago, a Cornell researcher reported a bizarre example of sexual selection in a rare South American bird: The male attracts the female by rubbing specialized wing feathers -- more than 100 cycles per second -- to create a high hum, similar to a sustained violin note.

While the researchers speculated how the sound was created, they have since proven that the club-winged manakin's feathers resonate at a particular frequency to create the tone.

The adaptation is a striking example of a species modifying an essential body part for the purpose of attracting a mate.

"We normally don't think of sexual selection transforming areas of critical importance," said Kim Bostwick, curator of Cornell Museum of Vertebrates and lead author of a study published in the Nov. 11 issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

Global Warming: "Fixing the Climate Data around the Policy"

Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research
Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:38 UTC

More than 15,000 people will be gathering in Copenhagen for COP 15: the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Official delegations from 192 nations will mingle with the representatives of major multinational corporations, including Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum. The representatives of environmental and civil society organizations will also be in attendance. Parties & Observers

Heads of state and heads of government are slated to be in appearance in the later part of the Summit event. (See The essentials in Copenhagen - COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen 2009)

It is worth noting that key decisions and orientations on COP15 had already been wrapped up at the World Business Summit on Climate Change (WBSCC) held in May in Copenhagen, six months ahead of COP15.

Glimpse at Earth's Crust Deep Below Atlantic Ocean

ScienceDaily
Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:00 UTC

© NOCS
TOBI sidescan sonar imagery draped over multibeam bathymetry provides a unique 3-D view of an active oceanic core complex at 13°19'N, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Long-term variations in volcanism help explain the birth, evolution and death of striking geological features called oceanic core complexes on the ocean floor, says geologist Dr Bram Murton of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.

Oceanic core complexes are associated with faults along slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges. They are large elevated massifs with flat or gently curved upper surfaces and prominent corrugations called 'megamullions'. Uplifting during their formation causes exposure of lower crust and mantle rocks on the seafloor.

Murton was member of a scientific team that in 2007 sailed to the mid Atlantic Ridge aboard the royal research ship RRS James Cook to study the Earth's crust below the ocean.

"We wanted to know why some faults develop into core complexes, whereas others don't," he says. "It had been suggested that core complexes form during periods of reduced magma supply from volcanism, but exactly how this would interact with the tectonic forces that deform the Earth's crust was unclear."

Climategate: Science corrupted

Brasscheck TV
Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:32 UTC

Russia Today interviews Peter Lilly, UK Conservative Party MP and trained physicist regarding the recent leak of thousands of emails demonstrating conclusively that the Earth's climate is cooling. He suspects this will do little to halt the global warming juggernaut as it prepares to convene in Copenhagen for a world summit that "will just agree to meet again."

Climate of Fear: Global-warming alarmists intimidate dissenting scientists into silence

Prof. Richard Lindzen
Wall Street Journal
Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:56 UTC

There have been repeated claims that this past year's hurricane activity was another sign of human-induced climate change. Everything from the heat wave in Paris to heavy snows in Buffalo has been blamed on people burning gasoline to fuel their cars, and coal and natural gas to heat, cool and electrify their homes. Yet how can a barely discernible, one-degree increase in the recorded global mean temperature since the late 19th century possibly gain public acceptance as the source of recent weather catastrophes? And how can it translate into unlikely claims about future catastrophes?

Ireland: Authorities still on alert as floods abate in many areas

Elaine Edwards
Irish Times
Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:06 UTC

Severe flooding has abated in many areas throughout the State, but the authorities are still on high alert to monitor the potential effects of rainfall and tides in the coming days, according to the emergency body coordinating the situation.

Chairman of the National Emergency Response Coordination Committee (NERCC), Sean Hogan, said today that about 1,500 people had been forced to leave between 500 and 600 homes due to flooding.

The exact figure was difficult to establish, however, as some people had 'self-evacuated' and were not being dealt with through the local authorities' systems.

Up to 6,000 personnel dealing with the flooding emergency at its peak last week, Mr Hogan said at a media briefing in Dublin this evening.