Animals
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Bizarro Earth

Corn insecticide linked to great die-off of beneficial honeybees


Terra Daily / SPX
Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:55 UTC
Image
© Unknown
New research has linked springtime die-offs of honeybees critical for pollinating food crops - part of the mysterious malady called colony collapse disorder - with technology for planting corn coated with insecticides.

The study, published in ACS' journal Environmental Science and Technology, appears on the eve of spring planting seasons in some parts of Europe where farmers use the technology and widespread deaths of honeybees have occurred in the past.

In the study, Andrea Tapparo and colleagues explain that seeds coated with so-called neonicotinoid insecticides went into wide use in Europe in the late 1990s. The insecticides are among the most widely used in the world, popular because they kill insects by paralyzing nerves but have lower toxicity for other animals.

Almost immediately, beekeepers observed large die-offs of bees that seemed to coincide with mid-March to May corn planting. Scientists thought this might be due to particles of insecticide made airborne by the pneumatic drilling machines used for planting.

Comment: Or, could the bee die-off be related to this: Study Says Insecticide Used with GM Corn Highly Toxic to Bees

For a more in depth look at What is killing the bees? read the following articles carried on SOTT.NET:

Wik-Bee Leaks: EPA Document Shows It Knowingly Allowed Pesticide That Kills Honey Bees

Beekeepers Suggest Pesticide is Destroying Insect Colonies

Bayer in the Dock Over Pesticide Linked to Colony Collapse Disorder

Germany Suspends Pesticide Approvals After Mass Death Of Bees

Have Bees Become Canaries In the Coal Mine? Why Massive Bee Dieoffs May Be a Warning About Our Own Health
The decline of bees has been in the headlines for several years, and theories to explain their deaths abound. But perhaps there is not just one single cause. University of California San Diego professor of biology James Nieh studies foraging, communication and health of bees. "I would say it's a combination of four factors; pesticides, disease, parasites, and human mismanagement," says Nieh. Bees might be weakened by having a very low level of exposure to insecticides or fungicides, making them more susceptible if they are attacked by viruses or parasites. "It's kind of like taking a patient who is not doing so well - very weak, poor diet, exposing them to pathogens, and then throwing more things at them. It's not surprising that honeybees are not very healthy."

One class of pesticides, neonicotinoids in particular has received a lot of attention for harming bees. In late 2010, the EPA came under fire from beekeepers and pesticide watchdog organizations. This happened when Colorado beekeeper Tom Theobald spoke out about how the EPA allowed clothianidin to be used without any proof it was safe and despite the fact that the EPA's own scientists believed it "has the potential for toxic risk to honey bees, as well as other pollinators."


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Magnet

Australia: Shark attack on Gold Coast beach

Marissa Calligeros
Brisbane Times
Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:23 UTC
Shark Attack 2
© fearbeneath.com
A man has been taken to hospital with a gash to his lower leg after being attacked by a shark at a Gold Coast beach this evening.

Lifeguards believe the 20-year-old engineering student who was surfing at Nobby Beach may have been attacked by a small bull shark about 5.05pm. *

He suffered a deep wound to his lower left leg.

Gold Coast chief lifeguard Warren Young told brisbanetimes.com.au lifesavers were on the scene within minutes and were able to stem the bleeding, before ambulance paramedics arrived to take the man to Gold Coast Hospital.
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Life Preserver

Shark Attack: Mom Saves Daughter in Florida While Surfing

Olivia Katrandjian
ABC News
Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:42 UTC
Image
© Nicholas Eveleigh/Getty Images
A brave mother fought off a shark that attacked her daughter as the two were surfing, the same day another surfer was attacked on the same Floriday beach.

The two incidents Wednesday are among a series of shark attacks in recent days, as the underwater predators have seemed to enter shallow coastal waters earlier than usual, with the warmer than usual weather this year.

Valeh Levy and her 15-year-old daughter, Sydney, were paddling on their surfboards Wednesday off New Smyrna Beach when a shark suddenly pulled the teen underwater - twice. Levy pulled her daughter onto her board.

"It was to me like a scene out of Jaws, where the girl's getting sucked under, and I said, 'There's no way this thing is going to kill my daughter,' and I grabbed her shoulders and I pulled her up and I threw her on the nose of my board," Levy told WKMG-TV.

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The shark continued circling Levy and her daughter until two nearby surfers heard their screams and helped them to shore.
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Bizarro Earth

Monarch Butterfly Numbers Take a Hit

Andrea Mustain
OurAmazingPlanet
Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:24 UTC
Monarch Butterflies
© naturepl.com /Ingo Arndt / WWFA cloud of monarch butterflies flutters above the overwintering colony in Mexico.

Monarch butterflies have taken a hit this year, according to researchers who monitor the colorful insects' numbers at their traditional overwintering grounds in a forest in central Mexico.

This winter's surviving population covers only about 7 acres (2.89 hectares), almost a third less than the area the butterflies covered in the 2010-2011 season.

Each winter, the world's monarchs gather in a single swath of evergreen forest in Michoacán, Mexico, to spend the cooler months clustered together in a state of torpor, blanketing the trees by the thousands.

This so-called "supergeneration" flies from its birthplace, in the northern United States and Canada, to the same patch of Mexican forest, year after year.

The announcement from researchers with WWF and Mexico's National Commission for Natural Protected Areas appears to confirm the fears of some biologists, who said it was likely that scalding temperatures and extreme droughts affecting Texas and other parts of the United States in 2011 would take a toll on the butterflies.
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Fish

Whale and Dolphin Strandings in Ireland On the Rise in 2012


AFLOAT.ie
Wed, 14 Mar 2012 08:28 UTC
Image
© Irish Whale and Dolphin Group
The rate of cetacean strandings on the Irish coast remains unusually high, according to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG).

The group's Cetacean Stranding Scheme recorded 162 strandings in 2011 which, while numbers do vary from year to year, was 25-30 more than anticipated.

And already this year the numbers are up on last year's 'inexplicable' records for the first quarter.

Some 21 strandings were reported to the IWDG in January alone - the highest ever number recorded for that month, well above the average of 13.

February's figures are even more worrying, with 30 strandings reported this year compared to a five-year average of 11.4.
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Info

Early Spring Is Bad News for Butterflies


OurAmazingPlanet
Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:00 UTC
Fritillary butterfly
© Carol BoggsA Mormon Fritillary butterfly feeding on an aspen fleabane daisy, a main nectar source.

Butterflies in the Rocky Mountains are likely taking a hit from climate change, according to new research.

Lab experiments suggest that Mormon fritillaries, dainty butterflies with gold, orange and brown-flecked wings, are dying off in Colorado's Rockies because earlier snowmelts are killing off the wild flowers they feed on.

Long-term data gathered by the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory reveal that snowmelts are occurring earlier in the year, and wildflower and butterfly populations are declining. Now, a group of scientists says they have found a connection among the observed trends.

Early, springlike weather may be pleasant for humans, but the mild temperatures can have serious consequences for other organisms.

The balmy weather can trick plants into thinking spring has actually arrived, so they begin to bud - only to be killed off by subsequent freezing weather. And when the plants die off, butterflies don't have as much access to nectar, their required food source.

And when female butterflies don't eat as much nectar, they don't lay as many eggs, according to laboratory work.
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Stop

Jellyfish invading Australian Gold Coast canals, numbering in their thousands

Greg Stolz
Courier Mail
Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:51 UTC
Image
© Adam HeadThousands of jellyfish are invading the canals behind Macintosh Island in Surfers Paradise.
(Australia) In a sight that has locals and tourists amazed, the stingers have floated into the waterway, behind Macintosh Island at Surfers Paradise, from the ocean.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Steve Williams, who manages the Capricorn One highrise overlooking the canal.

"There are thousands upon thousands of them that seem to come in every day on the incoming tide and the water has been thick with them . Many of our guests are from overseas and they're loving it.

"It's a bit of a phenomenon and quite spectacular."
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Magnify

Study Shows: Monsanto's Roundup Ravaging Butterfly Populations

Mike Barrett
Truthout
Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:07 UTC
Image
© Arturo / Flickr
Monsanto's Roundup, containing the active ingredient glyphosate, has been tied to more health and environmental problems than you could imagine. Similar to how pesticides have been contributing to the bee decline, Monsanto's Roundup has been tied to the decrease in the population of monarch butterflies by killing the very plants that the butterflies rely on for habitat and food. What's been shown to be an even greater threat to the population, though, is Monsanto's Roundup Ready corn and soybeans.
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Life Preserver

Dolphins rescued by beachgoers in Brazil


The Telegraph
Thu, 08 Mar 2012 02:52 UTC
A tourist has captured on camera the frenzied rescue of a pod of beached dolphins on a beach north of Rio de Janeiro.

The footage shows over 20 dolphins trapped in the surf and thrashing their flippers in distress.

Realising the dolphins' plight, a dozen beachgoers began to pull the dolphins back into deeper water by their tails.

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Stop

Bats Invasion: Colony of fruit bats in northern Australian town prompt disease warning


BBC
Wed, 07 Mar 2012 02:39 UTC
Image
© Agence France-PresseHundreds of thousands of fruit bats like these arrived in the town in late February
A town in northern Australia has been invaded by more than 250,000 bats, prompting warnings of a potentially fatal disease related to rabies.

The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) warned residents in Katherine to stay away from the fruit bats, which could carry the Australian Bat Lyssavirus.

The disease can be transmitted to people if they are bitten or scratched.

Authorities have closed down the main sports ground in the town 300 km south of Darwin in the Northern Territory.

The colony of fruit bats - little red flying foxes - arrived in the town late last month. In recent days numbers have begun to fall but large numbers continue to roost on the outskirts of town, reports the BBC's Phil Mercer.
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