Animals
S


Life Preserver

Wind farms could drive bird species to extinction: conservationists


terradaily.com
Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:36 UTC
More than 60 years after it was pushed to the edge of extinction, one of North America's rarest birds, the whooping crane, faces new danger from environmentally-friendly wind farms, conservationists warned.

"Companies want to put their farms where the best wind is, and that overlaps with the migration corridor of the whooping crane," Tom Stehn, the whooping crane coordinator of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, told AFP.
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Life Preserver

China water supplies resume along China's algae-affected Hanjiang river


Xinhua
Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:29 UTC
Water supplies resumed on Wednesday to almost 200,000 people along the three tributaries of Hanjiang river affected by an algae bloom, local authorities of central China's Hubei Province said.

The algae bloom had turned the water red since Sunday, forcing authorities to cut supplies to nearby residents and eight schools.

Image
©chinadaily.com.cn
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Fish

Pygmy sperm whale rescued off Florida Keys


news.yahoo.com
Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:18 UTC
A pygmy sperm whale found stranded off the Florida Keys was in critical condition at a rehabilitation center on Sunday.

The 10 1/2-foot long male was discovered Saturday off Islamorada and transferred to the Marine Mammal Conservancy in Key Largo.

pygmy sperm whale
©Florida Keys News Bureau, Bob Care
In this photo released by the Florida Keys News Bureau, marine mammal rescue volunteers Bob Coakley, left, and Lloyd Brown, right, closely examine a pygmy sperm whale at the Marine Mammal Conservancy Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008, in Key Largo, Fla. The 10-foot-long male, estimated to weigh 1,000 pounds, was discovered stranded off the Florida Keys early Saturday, Feb. 23, and was subsequently transported to the Conservancy for care.
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Info

Python Snakes, An Invasive Species In Florida, Could Spread To One Third Of US


Science Daily
Sun, 24 Feb 2008 11:17 UTC
Burmese pythons - an invasive species in south Florida - could find comfortable climatic conditions in roughly a third of the United States according to new "climate maps" developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Although other factors such as type of food available and suitable shelter also play a role, Burmese pythons and other giant constrictor snakes have shown themselves to be highly adaptable to new environments.

The just-released USGS maps can help natural resource agencies manage and possibly control the spread of non-native giant constrictor snakes, such as the Burmese python, now spreading from Everglades National Park in Florida. These "climate match" maps show where climate in the U.S. is similar to places in which Burmese pythons live naturally (from Pakistan to Indonesia).

A look at the map shows why biologists are concerned.

pythons native range
©USGS
Areas of the continental United States with current climate matching that of the pythons' native range in Asia. By 2100 the yellow "maybe" area is expected to extend north substantially, due to projected climate change.
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Fish

Panic after 'Franken-fish' that is deadlier than a piranha is caught in Britain

Jaya Narain
The Daily Mail (UK)
Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:56 UTC
With its razor-sharp teeth, the fish known as the giant snakehead terrorises the warm waters of south-east Asia.

Which is why an angler was particularly startled to hook a 2ft specimen from a river in Lincolnshire.

Andrew Alder caught the snakehead using a sprat for bait while fishing for pike in the River Witham near North Hykeham.

Giant Snakehead
©Daily Mail
Known as the 'gangster' of the fish world, a snakehead was caught in Lincolnshire
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Bizarro Earth

U.N. says world fisheries face collapse


Reuters
Fri, 22 Feb 2008 22:32 UTC
Monaco - A deadly combination of climate change, over-fishing and pollution could cause the collapse of commercial fish stocks worldwide within decades, said Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Environment Program.
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Cow Skull

Record cold kills cattle and rice in Vietnam


The Earth Times
Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:10 UTC
Record-setting cold weather has killed more than 8,000 cattle and 100,000 hectares of paddy rice in northern Vietnam since mid-January, officials said Tuesday. Most of the cattle have died in northern mountainous provinces, where temperatures during the month-long cold spell have sometimes dropped to below zero Celsius, a rarity in Vietnam.
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Fish

Mysterious Creatures Found in Antarctica


Associated Press
Tue, 19 Feb 2008 17:00 UTC
Sydney, Australia -- Scientists investigating the icy waters of Antarctica said Tuesday they have collected mysterious creatures including giant sea spiders and huge worms in the murky depths.

Antarctic Sealife
©Unknown
Antarctic sealife
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Fish

Sharks In Peril: Ocean's Fiercest Predators Now Vulnerable To Extinction


ScienceDaily
Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:55 UTC
Sharks are disappearing from the world's oceans. The numbers of many large shark species have declined by more than half due to increased demand for shark fins and meat, recreational shark fisheries, as well as tuna and swordfish fisheries, where millions of sharks are taken as bycatch each year.
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Question

Why are thousands of bats dying in New York?

Michael Hill
MSNB/Associated Press
Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:25 UTC
Mysterious 'white nose syndrome' spreading at alarming rate

Bats dying
©Mike Groll / AP
A team led by Alan Hicks, a wildlife biologist for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, looks for bats in an abandoned limestone mine in Rosendale, N.Y., on Feb. 7.
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