Giant South America river turtles babies are seen during a recent mass hatching event along the Purus River in Brazil. WCS Brazil
Conservationists have captured video footage of an extremely adorable turtle "tsunami."
<p>Sound impossible? What the videographers are calling a "tsunami" is actually comprised of an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/turtles" target="_self">turtle</a> that hatches en masse as a survival strategy.</p><p>"For the giant South America river turtle, birth is an explosion of life, but also it is most fragile phase," Camila Ferrara, an aquatic turtle specialist for the <a href="https://newsroom.wcs.org/" target="_blank">World Conservation Society</a> (WCS) in Brazil said in a <a href="https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/15614/TURTLE-TSUNAMI-WCS-releases-incredible-footage-of-mass-hatching-of-locally-endangered-turtle.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">press release</a>. "In some areas, hatchlings use mass birth to increase their survival. The synchronization of birth allows them to travel together to the river to start a new journey."</p><p>WCS released video footage of the mass turtle hatching Dec. 14.</p>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/489453121" width="100%" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3da5fcb743c86ef87cbf55e253a7064d"></iframe>
<p>The births were filmed on a sandy beach along the Purus River in Brazil, a tributary of the Amazon River. It is located in the protected Abufari Biological Reserve.</p><p>For giant South American river turtles, there really is safety in numbers. The new turtles must travel to the river after hatching in the sand, the video released by WCS explained. By traveling in a pack, they are protected from the many predators that live there.</p><p>There have been three mass turtle hatchings so far this season, according to WCS. Approximately 71,000 new turtles hatched the first day, followed by 21,000 more a few days later. On Dec. 1, another 8,000 emerged, WCS <a href="https://twitter.com/TheWCS/status/1338563961059471364" target="_blank">tweeted Dec. 14</a>, for a total of 100,000.</p>
<div id="6f31d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c70d1e26caa0396e90f81183a9526320"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1338563961059471364" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Good news: On Dec. 1, another 8,000 giant South American river turtles hatched in Brazil's Abufari Biological Reser… https://t.co/DNlZ7cDGuT</div> — WCS (@WCS)<a href="https://twitter.com/TheWCS/statuses/1338563961059471364">1607973492.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The footage was taken as part of WCS Brazil's ongoing study of the species. Conservationists are monitoring female turtles and their nests before, during and after birth in order to understand the best conditions for mass hatchings and boost turtle <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a>.</p><p>"Witnessing mass outbreak is always a great privilege, but it is also witnessing the effort to conserve turtles generating new lives," Ferrara told <a href="https://www.treehugger.com/rare-turtles-hatch-beach-brazil-5092340" target="_blank">Treehugger</a>.</p><p>Mass turtle hatchings are rare, Ferrara told Treehugger, and only occur in a few places in the world. Further, only a few other turtle species use this strategy, including green and olive sea turtles.</p><p>While they look tiny in the video footage, giant South American river turtles are actually the largest freshwater turtles in Latin America. They can grow to be up to three-and-a half-feet long and weigh up to 200 pounds, WCS explained. However, not all of the babies in the video will grow to their full size. In fact, less than one percent of the babies survive, Ferrara told Treehugger.</p>In addition to natural predators, the turtles are threatened by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> trafficking for their meat and eggs, according to WCS.
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The red handfish, a relative of the extinct smooth handfish. Thor Carter / CSIRO Marine Research / CC BY 3.0
By John R. Platt
A few months ago a group of scientists warned about the rise of "extinction denial," an effort much like climate denial to mischaracterize the extinction crisis and suggest that human activity isn't really having a damaging effect on ecosystems and the whole planet.
<p>That damaging effect is, in reality, impossible to deny.</p><p>This past year scientists and conservation organizations declared that a long list of species may have gone extinct, including dozens of frogs, orchids and fish. Most of these species haven't been seen in decades, despite frequent and regular expeditions to find out if they still exist. The causes of these extinctions range from diseases to invasive species to habitat loss, but most boil down to human behavior.</p><p>Of course, proving a negative is always hard, and scientists are <a href="https://therevelator.org/extinction-time/" target="_blank">often cautious about declaring species truly lost</a>. Do it too soon, they warn, and the last conservation efforts necessary to save a species could evaporate, a problem known as the Romeo and Juliet Effect. Because of that, and because many of these species live in hard-to-survey regions, many of the announcements this past year declared species <em>possibly</em> or <em>probably</em> lost, a sign that hope springs eternal.</p>
<p>And there's reason for that hope: When we devote energy and resources to saving species, it often works. A study published in 2019 found that conservation efforts have <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/new-study-conservation-action-has-reduced-bird-extinction-rates-40" target="_blank">reduced bird extinction rates by 40%</a>. Another recent paper found that conservation actions have <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12762" target="_blank">prevented dozens of bird and mammal extinctions</a> over just the past few decades. The new paper warns that many of the species remain critically endangered, or could still go extinct, but we can at least stop the bleeding.</p><p>And sometimes we can do better than that. This year the IUCN — the organization that tracks the extinction risk of species around the world — <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/species/202012/european-bison-recovering-31-species-declared-extinct-iucn-red-list" target="_blank">announced</a> several conservation victories, including the previously critically endangered Oaxaca treefrog (<em>Sarcohyla celata</em>), which is now considered "near threatened" due to protective actions taken by the people who live near it.</p><p>"We can turn things around. We don't just have to sit there and cry," says conservation scientist Stuart Pimm, founder of the organization Saving Nature.</p><p>But at the same time, we need to recognize what we've lost, or potentially lost. We can mourn them and vow to prevent as many others as possible from joining their ranks.</p><p>With that in mind, here are the species that scientists and the conservation community declared lost in 2020, culled from media reports, scientific papers, the IUCN Red List and my own reporting.</p>
<p><strong></strong><a href="https://therevelator.org/orchids-extinct-bangladesh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>32 orchid species in Bangladesh</strong></a> — One of the first papers of 2020 to report any extinctions announced the probable loss of 17% of Bangladesh's 187 known orchid species. Some of these still exist in other countries, but even regional extinctions (or extirpations, as they're called) tell us that we've taken a toll on our ecological habitats. A similar paper published just days later suggested that <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/inferring-the-extinction-of-species-known-only-from-a-single-specimen/446C333A40039167E16065F2A12E8B37" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nine more orchid species from Madagascar</a> may have also gone extinct.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2MTAxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2ODgxNzQyMn0.tJZLpHZcVYq6Z9KtR08RWSxtsr-gkFp-vnF4qg5k0z4/img.jpg?width=980" id="2862b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ef8218d21aad0543b43a1bea3a5d0536" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1024" data-height="576" />
19th-century drawings of orchid species recently declared extinct in Bangladesh.
<p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/123423283/123424374" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Smooth handfish (<em>Sympterichthys unipennis</em>)</a></strong><strong> </strong>— One of the few extinctions of 2020 that received much <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smooth-handfish-extinction-marks-a-sad-milestone/" target="_blank">media attention</a>, and it's easy to see why. Handfish are an unusual group of species whose front fins look somewhat like human appendages, which they use to walk around the ocean floor. The smooth species, which hasn't been seen since 1802, lived off the coast of Tasmania and was probably common when it was first collected by naturalists. Bottom fishing, pollution, habitat destruction, bycatch and other threats are all listed as among the probable reasons for its extinction. Even though the local fishery collapsed more than 50 years ago, the remaining handfish species are still critically endangered, so this extinction should serve as an important wake-up call to save them.</p><p><a href="https://therevelator.org/plant-species-extinct-america/" target="_blank"><strong>65 North American plants</strong></a> — This past year researchers set out to determine how many plants in the continental United States had been lost. They catalogued 65, including five small trees, eight shrubs, 37 perennial herbs and 15 annual herbs. Some of these had been reported before, but for most this is the first time they've been declared extinct. The list includes <a href="https://therevelator.org/extinction-hotspot-appalachia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Marshallia grandiflora</em></a>, a large flowing plant from the American Southeast that was declared its own species this past year. Too bad it was last seen in 1919 (and has been confused with other species for even longer).</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2MTAyMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MzMzNDgzMX0.pD6u8m-1Oix9-ZrfxzUXRz8xGCqFlk58X9BpY9fYfjM/img.jpg?width=980" id="89637" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4f72d3ab355d44905ae9a6384538bf47" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1024" data-height="576" />
The original Marshallia grandiflora holotype. Smithsonian NMNH / Creative Commons
<p><strong></strong><strong>22 frog species</strong> — The IUCN this year declared nearly two dozen long-unseen Central and South American frog species as "critically endangered (possibly extinct)" — victims of the amphibian-killing <a href="https://therevelator.org/extinct-frogs-golden-goose/" target="_blank">chytrid fungus</a>. They include the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/56423/109538689" target="_blank">Aragua robber frog (<em>Pristimantis anotis</em>)</a>, which hasn't been observed in 46 years, and the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/54542/109529302" target="_blank">Piñango stubfoot toad (<em>Atelopus pinangoi</em>)</a>, which mostly disappeared in the 1980s. A single juvenile toad observed in 2008 leads scientists to say this species "is either possibly extinct or if there is still an extant population, that it is very small (<50 mature individuals)."</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/54498/54340769" target="_blank">Chiriqui harlequin frog (<em>Atelopus chiriquiensis</em>)</a> and <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/55201/54344718" target="_blank">splendid poison frog (<em>Oophaga speciosa</em>)</a> </strong>— Last seen in 1996 and 1992, these frogs from Costa Rica and Panama fell victim to the chytrid fungus and were declared extinct in December.</p><p><strong><a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-09-mite-extinctions-natural.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">15% of mite species</a> </strong>— This requires a lot more research, but a paper published this past August announced "evidence of widespread mite extinctions" since the year 2000 following similar disappearances of plants and vertebrates. Mites may not look or sound important, but they play key roles in their native ecosystems. If 15% of the world's 1.25 million mite species have been lost, we're talking more than 8,300 extinctions — a number the researchers predict will continue to rise.</p><p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ibi.12839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Simeulue Hill mynas</strong></a> — An alarming paper called this an "extinction-in-process" of a previously undescribed bird that probably went extinct in the wild in the past two to three years due to overcollection for the songbird trade. A few may still exist in captivity — for now.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>17 freshwater fish from Lake Lanao, Mindanao, the Philippines </strong>— A combination of predatory invasive species, overharvesting and destructing fishing methods (such as dynamite fishing) wiped these lost species out. The IUCN this year listed 15 of the species as "extinct" following extensive searches and surveys; the remaining two as "critically endangered (possibly extinct)." The predators, by the way, are still doing just fine. Here are the 15 extinct species:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18888/90996412" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes disa</em></a> — last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15634/90997535" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes truncatulus</em></a> – last seen in 1973.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/4135/90997158" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes pachycheilus</em></a> – last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15633/90997194" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes palaemophagus</em></a> – last seen in 1975.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18882/90996027" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes amarus</em></a> – Last seen in 1982.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18904/90997073" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes manalak</em></a> – Once a commercially valuable fish, last seen in 1977.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18886/90996370#assessment-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes clemensi</em></a> – last seen in 1975.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18889/90996574" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes flavifuscus</em></a> – last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18891/90996925" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes katolo</em></a> – last seen in 1977.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/20687/90997252" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes palata</em></a> – last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18884/90996105" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes baoulan</em></a> — last seen in 1991.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18890/90996625" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes herrei</em></a> — last seen in 1974, when just 40 pounds' worth of fish were caught.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18892/90996974" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes lanaoensis</em></a> — last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/12751/90997332" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes resimus</em></a> — last seen in 1964.</li><li><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18901/90997500" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Barbodes tras</em></a> — last seen in 1976.</li></ul><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2MTA2Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMDg3Njg3M30.XLY38NFYhCjUPIJsZtRbrDzsKU8K__LTtlzc_9KvuXo/img.jpg?width=980" id="3c40e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="802d2acf447e6d0a50e10dfec771c393" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="989" data-height="882" />
Some of the extinct species from Lake Lanao. Photo © Armi G. Torres courtesy IUCN.
<p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/17365/22123157" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bonin pipistrelle (<em>Pipistrellus sturdeei</em>)</a></strong><strong> </strong>— Scientists only recorded this Japanese bat one time, back in the 19th century. The IUCN listed it as "data deficient" from 2006 to 2020, a period during which its taxonomy was under debate, but a paper published in March <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4755.1.8" target="_blank">settled that issue</a>, and the latest Red List update placed the species in the the extinct category. The Japanese government itself has listed the bat as extinct since 2014.<strong></strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/44792108/44798207" target="_blank"><em>Pseudoyersinia brevipennis</em></a> </strong>— This praying mantis from France hasn't been seen since 1860. Its declared extinction comes after some extended (and still unresolved) debate over its validity as a unique species.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/123986030/123986038" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Agave lurida</strong></em></a> — Last seen in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2001, this succulent was finally declared extinct in the wild this year after numerous expeditions searching for remaining plants. As the IUCN Red List notes, "There are only a few specimens left in <em>ex-situ</em> collections, which is a concern for the extinction of the species in the near future."</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/136808736/137376234" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Falso Maguey Grande (<em>Furcraea macdougallii</em>)</a> </strong>— Another Oaxacan succulent that's extinct in the wild but still exists in cultivated form (you can buy these cacti online today for as little as $15). Last seen growing naturally in 1973, the plant's main habitat was degraded in 1953 to make way for agave plantations for mezcal production. Wildfires may have also played a role, but the species' limited distribution also made it easier to kill it off: "The restricted range of the species also made it very vulnerable to small local disturbances, and hence the last few individuals were easily destroyed," according to the IUCN.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/140416589/140416594" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Eriocaulon inundatum</em></a> </strong>— Last scientifically collected in Senegal in 1943, this pipewort's only know habitat has since been destroyed by salt mining.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/113204000/113309830" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Persoonia laxa</em></a> </strong>— This shrub from New South Wales, Australia, was collected just two times — in 1907 and 1908 — in habitats that have since become "highly urbanized." The NSW government still lists it as "<a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedSpeciesApp/profile.aspx?id=20230" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">presumed extinct</a>," but the IUCN placed it fully in the "extinct" category in 2020.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/147088627/149821996" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nazareno (<em>Monteverdia lineata</em>)</a> </strong>— Scientific papers declared this Cuban flowing plant species extinct in 2010 and 2015, although it wasn't catalogued in the IUCN Red List until this year. It grew in a habitat now severely degraded by agriculture and livestock farming.<strong></strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/113168368/185558142" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wynberg conebush<em> (Leucadendron grandiflorum)</em></a> </strong>— This South African plant hasn't been seen in more than 200 years and was long considered the <a href="https://wynbergresidents.wordpress.com/2016/12/01/remembering-a-lost-wynberg-flower/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">earliest documented extinction from that country</a>, although it only made it to the IUCN Red List recently. Its sole habitat "was the location of the earliest colonial farms," including vineyards.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/113166006/185559739" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Wolseley conebush (<em>Leucadendron spirale</em>)</strong></a> — Another South African plant, this one last seen in 1933 and since extensively sought after, including high <a href="https://www.proteaatlas.org.za/ldspir.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rewards</a> for its rediscovery. The IUCN says the cause of its extinction is unknown "but is likely the result of habitat loss to crop cultivation, alien plant invasion and afforestation." Oh yeah, and it probably didn't help that in 1809 a scientist wrote that the species possessed "<a href="https://www.ispotnature.org/communities/southern-africa/view/observation/545420/the-ugly-duckling-conebush-wolseley-conebush" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">little beauty</a>" and discouraged it from further collection.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/169838762/169838772" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Schizothorax saltans</strong></em></a> — This fish from Kazakhstan was last seen in 1953, around the time the rivers feeding its lake habitats were drained for irrigation. The IUCN did not assess the species before this past year.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/190888/1960457" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Alphonsea hortensis</em></a> </strong>— Declared "extinct in the wild" this year after no observations since 1969, the last specimens of this Sri Lankan tree species now grow at Peradeniya Royal Botanic Garden.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15006/22009211" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Lord Howe long-eared bat (<em>Nyctophilus howensis</em>)</strong></a> — This island species is known from a single skull discovered in 1972. Conservationists held out hope that it still existed following several possible sightings, but those hopes have now been dashed.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/126612397/126613386" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Deppea splendens</strong></em></a> — This IUCN declared this beautiful plant species "extinct in the wild" this year. All living specimens exist only because botanist Dennis Breedlove, who discovered the species in 1973, collected seeds before the plant's sole habitat in Mexico was <a href="https://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/view/?id=2209" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plowed over</a> to make way for farmland. Now known as a "holy grail" for some gardeners, cultivated plants descended from Breedlove's seeds can be purchased online for as little as $16.95.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/54549/54358350" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pass stubfoot toad (<em>Atelopus senex</em>)</a> </strong>— Another Costa Rican chytrid victim, last seen in 1986.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/56782/54369332#threats" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Craugastor myllomyllon</em></a> </strong>— A Guatemalan frog that never had a common name and hasn't been seen since 1978 (although it wasn't declared a species until 2000). Unlike the other frogs on this year's list, this one disappeared before the chytrid fungus arrived; it was likely wiped out when agriculture destroyed its only habitat.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/44791445/170111359" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Spined dwarf mantis (<em>Ameles fasciipennis</em>)</a> </strong>— This Italian praying mantis was only scientifically collected once, in or around 1871, and never seen again. The IUCN says the genus's taxonomy is "rather confusing and further analysis need to be done to confirm the validity of this species." Here's what we do know, though: There are none to be found today, despite extensive surveys.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/140414966/140414986" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Scleria chevalieri</em></a> </strong>— This Senagalese plant, last seen in 1929, once grew in swamps that have since been drained to irrigate local gardens.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/33562/83804687" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hawai'i yellowwood (<em>Ochrosia kilaueaensis</em>)</a> </strong>— This tree hasn't been seen since 1927. Its rainforest habitat has been severely degraded by invasive plants and goats, as well as fires. It's currently listed as <a href="https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/5248" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">endangered</a> under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, but the IUCN declared it extinct this past year.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/38690/87708976#threats" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Roystonea stellate</em></a> </strong>— Scientists only collected this Cuban palm tree a single time, back in 1939. Several searches have failed to uncover evidence of its continued existence, probably due to conversion of its only habitats to coffee plantations.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/59376/54381158" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jalpa false brook salamander (<em>Pseudoeurycea exspectata</em>)</a> </strong>— Small farms, cattle grazing and logging appear to have wiped out this once-common Guatemalan amphibian, last seen in 1976. At least 16 surveys since 1985 did not find any evidence of the species' continued existence.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/126612753/126613426#assessment-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Faramea chiapensis</em></a> </strong>— Only collected once in 1953, this Mexican plant lost its cloud-forest habitat to colonialism and deforestation.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/31679/149812995" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Euchorium cubense</em></a> </strong>— Last seen in 1924, this Cuban flowing plant — the only member of its genus — has long been assumed lost. The IUCN characterized it as extinct in 2020 along with <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/35254/149816104#assessment-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Banara wilsonii</em></a>, another Cuban plant last seen in 1938 before its habitat was cleared for a sugarcane plantation.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/110097724/110113066#text-fields" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Aloe silicicola</em></a> </strong>— Last seen in 1920, this plant from the mountains of Madagascar enters the IUCN Red List as "extinct in the wild" due to a vague reference that it still exists in a botanical garden. Its previous habitat has been the site of frequent fires.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/157719927/89815479" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Chitala lopis</em></a> </strong>— A large fish from the island of Java, this species hasn't been seen since 1851 (although many online sources use this taxonomic name for other "featherback" fish species that still exist). It was probably wiped out by a wide range of habitat-degrading factors, including pollution, unsustainable fishing and near-complete deforestation around nearby rivers.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/140416686/140416698" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Eriocaulon jordanii</em></a> </strong>— This grass species formerly occurred in two known sites in coastal Sierra Leone, where its previous habitats were converted to rice fields in the 1950s.</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/152357598/154696297" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Amomum sumatranum</strong></em></a> — A relative of cardamom, this plant from Sumatra was only scientifically collected once, back in 1921, and the forest where that sample originated has now been completely developed. The IUCN says one remaining cultivated population exists, so they've declared it "extinct in the wild."</p><p><a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/115696622/115696628" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Lost shark (<em>Carcharhinus obsoletus</em>)</strong></a> — This species makes its second annual appearance on this list. Scientists <a href="https://therevelator.org/lost-shark/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">described this species in 2019</a> after examining decades-old specimens, noting that it hadn't been observed since the 1930s. This year the IUCN added the species to the Red List and declared it "critically endangered (possibly extinct)."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2MTEwMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjE3MTkyMn0.Tm2BAY1LuWPDBgvHrdArhWA0Ah_XF7MMZfKUxEgvDxE/img.jpg?width=980" id="2d633" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="01f5eea468a9a3ea17dd3b3ef92aeb96" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1920" data-height="1080" />
"Lost shark." Photo: PLOS One
<p><strong><em><a href="https://bioone.org/journals/the-bryologist/volume-123/issue-4/0007-2745-123.4.657/----Custom-HTML----iCora/10.1639/0007-2745-123.4.657.short?tab=ArticleLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cora timucua</a></em></strong><strong> </strong>— This lichen from Florida was just identified from historical collections through DNA barcoding. Unfortunately no new samples have been collected since the turn of the 19th century. The scientists who named the species this past December call it "potentially extinct" but suggest it be listed as critically endangered in case it still hangs on in remote parts of the highly developed state. They caution, however, that it hasn't turned up in any recent surveys.</p><p><strong><a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202004190028.html?fbclid=IwAR33mKWioEaLjHXIBdJqOyB40tp90UA-DEi69IecBTMQ8SQUyt1fEOCGf4g" target="_blank">Dama gazelle (<em>Nanger dama</em>) in Tunisia</a> </strong>— This critically endangered species still hangs on in a few other countries, and in captivity, but the death of the last individual in Tunisia marked one more country in which the gazelle has now been extirpated and serves as a stark reminder to keep the rest from fading away.</p><p><em><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/john/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">John R. Platt</a> is the editor of The Revelator. An award-winning environmental journalist, his work has appeared in Scientific American, Audubon, Motherboard, and numerous other magazines and publications. His "Extinction Countdown" column has run continuously since 2004 and has covered news and science related to more than 1,000 endangered species. He is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and the National Association of Science Writers. John lives on the outskirts of Portland, Ore., where he finds himself surrounded by animals and cartoonists.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/species-extinct-2020" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Jordan Lye / Moment / Getty Images
Drinking regular green tea is a lot like boiling kale and drinking the water. You get some of the nutrients, but most of it goes in the trash. With matcha tea, on the other hand, you consume the whole tea leaves and get all the nutrients. Plus, matcha is more nutrient-dense to begin with.
<h2>What's the Difference Between Matcha and Green Tea?<br></h2><p>Matcha and green tea are both made from the leaves of the <em>Camellia sinensis</em> plant. However, there are some key differences. </p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Matcha is ground into a fine powder, whereas with regular green tea the leaves are left whole.</li><li>Matcha plants are <a href="https://health.bastyr.edu/news/health-tips/2017/06/matcha-green-tea-quality-matters" target="_blank">kept in complete shade</a> two weeks before harvesting, whereas regular green tea plants are exposed to sunlight. </li><li>Matcha leaves are steamed after harvesting, whereas green tea leaves are not. </li><li>Matcha tea uses the whole leaf, whereas with regular green tea the stems and veins are removed. </li><li>Matcha contains higher levels of the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). </li><li>Matcha contains higher concentrations of amino acids like L-theanine and L-arginine. </li><li>Matcha contains more caffeine.</li></ul><p>Plus, matcha tea powder can be added to food bars and baked goods.</p><h2>Health Benefits of Matcha vs. Green Tea </h2><p>Matcha tea and green tea <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2855614/" target="_blank">both possess the same general health benefits</a>. Each has the potential to:</p><ol class="ee-ol"><li>Relieve stress and anxiety</li><li>Support cardiovascular health</li><li>Reduce inflammation</li><li>Promote weight loss</li><li>Speed muscle recovery</li><li>Reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes</li><li>Enhance cognition</li></ol><p>According to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28056735" target="_blank">2017 meta-analysis</a>, the compounds in green tea may boost cognition in healthy individuals. The study found "reliable evidence showing that L-theanine and caffeine have clear beneficial effects on sustained attention, memory, and suppression of distraction." This may be where the subtle differences lie. Overall, matcha has higher concentrations of L-theanine and caffeine. Therefore matcha tends to exert a more powerful feeling of "alert calm."<br></p><p>If you decide to drink green tea later in the day, opt for regular green tea. The lower caffeine content should be less likely to disrupt your sleep cycle.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="09cddfb8518b6c6c98ec96fc2bec222a"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2DCyov2kAfs?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">A Week of Matcha 🍵 7 Ways to Enjoy</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DCyov2kAfs" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p><p><br></p><h2>How Each Tea is Produced and Prepared</h2><p>Regular green tea is entirely sun-grown, meaning it's exposed to normal sunlight right up until the day it's harvested.</p><p>Matcha tea, on the other hand, is kept in the shade for the final 2-3 weeks before harvesting. The lack of sunlight triggers the plant to produce more chlorophyll, resulting in higher concentrations of therapeutic compounds. Shade harvesting is also responsible for the plant's distinct earthy aroma. Unlike regular green tea, matcha is steamed and then stone-ground into a fine powder. </p><p>Regular green tea is prepared by steeping the dried leaves in hot water for 30-45 seconds, then straining the liquid and removing the leaves. </p><p>Matcha tea, however, is prepared by mixing 1-2 teaspoons of matcha powder in a small amount of hot water using a traditional bamboo whisk or spoon. Once the powder is thoroughly mixed, more hot water can be added to taste.<br></p><h2>Nutritional Content of Matcha vs. Green Tea</h2><p>Although matcha and green tea both come from the same species of plant, <em>Camellia sinensis</em>, matcha has a higher concentration of therapeutic compounds. This is because the shade-harvesting practices of matcha yield higher levels of the alkaloid caffeine, the amino acid L-theanine, and the antioxidant EGCG.</p><p>According to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14518774" target="_blank">2003 study</a>, matcha contains roughly three times more EGCG than the average green tea. EGCG is thought to be responsible for several of green tea's health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease and <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/health/cbd-oil-for-inflammation/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fighting inflammation</a>.</p><p>In a recent study published in <a href="https://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/8617188" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition</em></a>, researchers demonstrated that EGCG can effectively guard against oxidative damage. The L-theanine in green tea is largely responsible for green tea's calming effects. </p><p>According to a 2006 study published in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17182482" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy</em></a>, L-theanine accomplishes this by increasing levels of dopamine, serotonin, and GABA.</p><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><em><br></em><h2>The Best Matcha Green Tea To Buy Online</h2>
PureChimp Matcha Green Tea
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDkzODEyMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTk5MTQ2N30.LFnBSXXdXDaTauZKFHzhUlTD_oWW-iASKWSOAZ1yD1k/img.jpg?width=980" id="4a026" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d38755744f58860d3d54c04960da3f1e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1214" data-height="1082" />Amazon
<ul><li>5% of the company's profits go to charity </li><li>Packaged in a recyclable glass jar with an aluminum lid</li><li>High-quality Japanese matcha with a less bitter taste</li></ul>
$15
Chalait Matcha (Organic Grade)
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDkzODE1NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjMzMDI1OX0.PTEKQZ5q7xuQYR5t9UY2oIrnnJo5WaXO2JUsmW6X3n0/img.jpg?width=980" id="6813f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="22157d69139a0b693561544109d0f2a0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1204" data-height="1172" />Amazon
<ul><li>Tested annually for pesticides and heavy metals like lead</li><li>Smooth mellow flavor with hints of chocolate, leafy greens, and snow peas</li><li>Small batch product made from hand-picked leaves<span class="redactor-invisible-space"></span></li></ul>
$35
MatchaBar Ceremonial Grade Matcha
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDkzODIwMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NDAxNjk3MX0.gcR7gkvP8zLaPQEOWVnrt4TpghTvWAgFvI1yilOj238/img.jpg?width=980" id="4336a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a1ae90855a0799a95c60e38a75fc27fa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1346" data-height="1056" /><ul><li>Highest caffeine and antioxidant levels on the market, according to the brand</li><li>Small batch product that is hand blended </li><li>Graded by a certified Chasi tea master</li></ul>
$30
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Edinburgh Zoo May Have to Give up Giant Pandas Due to Budget Woes From Coronavirus, Brexit
04 January
Animals
A giant panda in its enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo on June 29, 2020 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
The coronavirus pandemic may cost UK zoo visitors the only two giant pandas in the country.
<p>Giant pandas Yang Guang and Tian Tian arrived in Scotland's Edinburgh Zoo in December 2011, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/giant-pandas-at-edinburgh-zoo-may-have-to-return-to-china-12178394" target="_blank">Sky News reported</a>. But the pair was on a 10 year loan from China. And budget shortfalls mean it may not be possible to renew it.</p><p>"Yang Guang and Tian Tian have made a tremendous impression on our visitors over the last nine years, helping millions of people connect to nature and inspiring them to take an interest in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a>," Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Chief Executive David Field said in a PA Media story published in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jan/03/edinburgh-zoo-may-have-to-send-giant-pandas-back-to-china?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0RBYVynLBZ5-MWOYxYtl5MGSFYoqtaVO3WmExzOxMXkzamgslxTJUnOD4#Echobox=1609703618" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> Sunday. "I would love for them to be able to stay for a few more years with us and that is certainly my current aim."</p>
<div id="898d0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="914ac2ec1184dc3c378c337d36b20288"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1345385830878212096" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">No one. Not one person:
Yang Guang ⬇️ https://t.co/Jor4GKTk3n</div> — Edinburgh Zoo (@Edinburgh Zoo)<a href="https://twitter.com/EdinburghZoo/statuses/1345385830878212096">1609599952.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Standing between Field and that goal is the problem of finances. The pair cost about £1 million (approximately $1.36 million) to lease a year. But the Society, which runs the Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park, lost £2 million (approximately $2.72 million) when the parks were closed for three months during the summer.</p><p>"The closure of Edinburgh zoo and Highland Wildlife Park for three months due to Covid-19 has had a huge financial impact on our charity because most of our income comes from our visitors," Field told PA Media.</p>
<p>While the parks are open once again, social distancing rules mean that the number of visitors remains reduced. To address the shortfall, the charity has taken a loan from the government, furloughed or laid off staff and launched a fundraising campaign. But all of that may not be enough.</p><p>"We have to seriously consider every potential saving and this includes assessing our giant panda contract and the cost of their daily care. At this stage, it is too soon to say what the outcome will be. We will be discussing next steps with our colleagues in China over the coming months," Field told PA Media.</p>
<p><br>Yang Guang and Tian Tian are also known by zoo visitors as Sunshine and Sweetie, according to Sky News. They are potentially a breeding pair, but have never reproduced together since being brought to the UK. They are kept in separate enclosures and meet once a year during mating season. Yang Guang had both of his testicles removed in 2018 after tumors were discovered.</p><p>The coronavirus isn't the only financial challenge facing the Edinburgh Zoo, however; and the pandas may not be the only <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">animals</a> impacted.</p><p>The zoo relied on grants from the European Union for some conservation projects, which it is no longer eligible for because of Brexit. For example, Field told PA Media that the zoo received a £3.2 million (approximately $4.3 million) grant from EU Life for its Saving Wildcats partnership project, which works to breed Scottish wildcats and reintroduce them to the wild.</p><p>The Scottish wildcat is one of the most <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered</a> mammals left alive in the UK, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/britains-mammals-extinct-2577703340.html?share_id=3659178" target="_self">a 2018 report found</a>.</p><p>"We still need to reduce costs to secure our future. It may be that some of our incredibly important conservation projects, including the vital lifeline for Scotland's wildcats, may have to be deferred, postponed or even stopped," Field told PA Media.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a4700226a4fe4a1ff33bec89f60fd701"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bCniVnbx4is?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
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A baby Sumatran rhino. Rhett A. Butler / Mongabay
By Malavika Vyawahare
Humans are driving species to extinction 1,000 times faster than what is considered natural. Now, new research underscores the extent of the planet's impoverishment.
<p>Extinctions don't just rob the planet of species but also of functional and phylogenetic diversity, the authors of a paper<em> </em><u><a href="https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1921849118" target="_blank">published</a></u> in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em> argue. "They are much newer ideas than species richness, so not as much exploration has been done about patterns of decline in these two metrics, particularly globally," said Jedediah Brodie, first author of the study and conservation biologist at the University of Montana.</p><p>For example, rhinos loom large in public imagination but are, in fact, marching into oblivion. The Bornean rhinoceros (<em>Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni</em>), a subspecies of the Sumatran rhinoceros, has <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/11/malaysias-last-sumatran-rhino-dies-leaving-indonesia-as-the-final-refuge/" target="_blank">gone extinct</a> in Malaysia. "It is such a tragedy because it's an iconic and culturally important species," Brodie said, "but also because they are super important both functionally and phylogenetically."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2MTk0My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzY0NTc0MX0.qiQst_7HsVMVBDKuzWiV6fj47nzqJaiDVadD5ueGXog/img.jpg?width=980" id="c99af" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a44198ac04d55665e5bf8ea7c8bccea0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="800" />
A baby African elephant at Kruger National Park. Rhett A. Butler
<p>Harvesting animals for subsistence or sale is the greatest threat to land-dwelling mammals, the new study found. About 15% of people in the world depend on wild animals, particularly vertebrates, for food. But hunting, illegal and legal, also feeds the global supply chain for wildlife and wildlife parts.</p><p>Rhino populations plummeted in the second half of the 20th century; they are heavily poached for their horns, and their ranges have shrunk dramatically over the decades. Of the five existing rhino species, three are critically <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered</a>.</p><p>The study focused on terrestrial mammals, one of the most extensively studied groups. They used the IUCN Red List, the most widely cited and comprehensive compilation of endangered species and the threats they face.</p><p>By removing animals from their habitats, humans also remove them from ecosystems in which they evolved and play critical roles. To gauge the consequences is not a simple calculus.</p><p>"Say there are twenty species of grazing animals and only two species of seed-eating animals. If two species of the grazers go extinct, that doesn't have that much impact on the functional diversity because there are still eighteen grazers left," Brodie said. "But if the two species of seed-eating animals go extinct, it has a huge impact on functional diversity because all of a sudden you've lost this entire ecological function."</p><p>In both cases, Brodie said, the species richness would decrease by two, but the effects would be very different.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTI2MTk0NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDQ1ODU3M30.gCb7rq19DrDh5HnMQWy_7Us4VRf6kFPkban7J-xWpkw/img.jpg?width=980" id="727b3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fb4e5de4d7061bab9d282e491c816047" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="768" data-height="496" />
A Bornean rhino. Jeremy Hance and Tiffany Roufs / Mongabay
<p>Despite their fearsome reputation and bulk, rhinos, some of which can weigh as much as two cars, are herbivores. Bornean rhinos are one of the few large-bodied frugivores and herbivores on Borneo, an island shared between Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. It is also home to another herbivore, the island's famous pygmy elephants. However, rhinos eat different plants than the elephants, so losing them would alter plant seed dispersal and plant evolution.</p><p>The research shows that extinctions driven by human activities lead to a more significant decline in functional diversity than if species were randomly going extinct.</p><p>"Some species groups are very vulnerable. Be an antelope, and people want to eat you. Be a parrot, and people want you as a pet. Live only on Cuba — as a subfamily of mammals does — and you're in trouble," said Stuart Leonard Pimm, an ecologist and leading authority on the extinction crisis, who was not involved in the recent study. "This leads to a disproportionate loss of ecological function as human actions drive species to extinction."</p>
<p>The disappearance of species doesn't just wipe away entire ecological functions. It also leads to the irredeemable loss of evolutionary history. Millions of years of evolution are encoded into species that coexist with humans today; to lose them is to lose that biological heritage.</p><p>The disappearance of the remaining five rhino species would sever an entire evolutionary lineage, the <em>Rhinocerotidae</em> family that arose about 40 million years ago, from the tree of life.</p><p>"They are the last remnants of what was a hugely diverse and amazing family found all across the world in the not too distant past," Brodie said of <em>Rhinocerotidae</em>, <a href="https://research.amnh.org/paleontology/perissodactyl/evolution/groups/rhinocerotidae" target="_blank">which counts more than 40 extinct</a> species.</p><p>But conservationists warn that it is not just wholesale extinctions that we should be worried about, but also disappearing populations — what Brodie and his co-authors call "biotic annihilation." Only one in every 10 dramatic declines in populations results in extinctions, but those losses have repercussions for ecosystems which experience them.</p><p>"Species extinction is an endpoint, and it's a really, really, bad endpoint. Before that happens, species will start to go extinct in individual countries first," Brodie said. "The focus on population decline is really important because it's in some ways a better illustrator of the magnitude of the extinction crisis."</p>
<p>Their research maps out the relationship between species richness and functional and phylogenetic loss for individual countries to aid national-level policymaking.</p><p>The work shows that habitat destruction results in more functional diversity loss in Indonesia, Argentina and Venezuela. "This suggests that instead of focusing on harvest management and human diets, conservation actions in these areas might be better directed toward protected areas and land use policy to best conserve this component of biodiversity," the researchers write.</p><p>The study also found that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a> is emerging as a major driver of biodiversity loss. What remains to be seen is how these relationships pan out for other animal groups, like reptiles, amphibians and birds.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/study-warns-of-biotic-annihilation-driven-by-hunting-habitat-destruction/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a></em><em>.</em><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
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A manatee is seen in Three Sisters Springs on Crystal River in Citrus County, Florida. Keith Ramos / USFWS
<p>The incident, first reported by the <a href="https://www.chronicleonline.com/news/local/federal-officials-seek-information-on-manatee-harassment/article_c84a3b66-5423-11eb-93b6-1bf69750167f.html" target="_blank">Citrus County Chronicle</a> on Monday, prompted a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) investigation and outrage from conservationists and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">animal</a> lovers. The <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD) is even offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.</p><p><span></span>"Manatees aren't billboards, and people shouldn't be messing with these sensitive and imperiled animals for any reason," CBD Florida Director Jaclyn Lopez said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch. "However this political graffiti was put on this manatee, it's a crime to interfere with these creatures, which are protected under multiple federal laws."</p>
<div id="de844" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ab3a320267dae121ae3e306d5c993559"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1348755040798871553" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Harassment of a manatee is a federal criminal offense punishable by a $50,000 fine and up to one year in prison.… https://t.co/BZzk19XBeu</div> — Center for Bio Div (@Center for Bio Div)<a href="https://twitter.com/CenterForBioDiv/statuses/1348755040798871553">1610403235.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The Florida manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, which was classified as an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> in 1973, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/01/12/manatee-trump-florida/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>, although their status has since been lowered to threatened. Currently, manatees are protected federally under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and on the state level under the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/florida-manatee-trump.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported. Harassing a manatee carries a federal penalty of up to $50,000 and a year in jail, and a state penalty of up to $500 and 60 days in jail.</p><p>The affected manatee was first discovered in the Homosassa River in Citrus County by Hailey Warrington, a family boat charter operator, <a href="https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2021/01/11/investigation-manatee-trump-etched-algae-back-florida/6631493002/" target="_blank">the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported</a>. Warrington said she saw the manatee while on a boat tour and took photos and a video to report the incident.</p><p>"This is just disturbing. One hundred percent disturbing," Warrington told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "It's something we don't see very often. When we do see it, it hurts our heart."</p><p>The USFWS said that the letters appear to have been etched in algae and that the animal was not seriously harmed. Warrington claimed that while the etching reached the skin, it did not appear to leave a wound. The animal seemed healthy, but stressed.</p>
<p>Elizabeth Fleming, senior Florida representative for the <a href="https://defenders.org/" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife</a>, told The Washington Post that the perpetrator either had to restrain the manatee to write the message, or the manatee was so used to humans that it allowed the action.</p><p>There are more than 6,300 West Indian manatees living in Florida, <a href="https://www.fws.gov/southeast/wildlife/mammals/manatee/#conservation-challenges-section" target="_blank">according to the USFWS</a>. While that number has increased significantly in the last 25 years, the animals still face threats from habitat loss and boat collisions. About 100 manatees die every year from boat strikes, according to The Washington Post, accounting for 20 percent of total manatee deaths.</p><p>For Elizabeth Neville, Defenders of Wildlife senior Gulf Coast representative, the harassment of this particular manatee is a striking example of politics impacting <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a>.</p><p>"The content of this manatee's mutilation, however, highlights a broader and darker truth: that wildlife, despite having no ability to vote or otherwise participate in our political systems, exist and suffer profoundly at the mercy of human politics," she said in a <a href="https://defenders.org/newsroom/defenders-of-wildlife-politically-motivated-manatee-mutilation-incident-beyond-cruel-and?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=newsroom-ManateeTrump-01112" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">statement</a>. </p><p>"Based on the choice of the word carved in the manatee's flesh, one can only assume that this act of mutilation was politically motivated. But, this is far from the only scar borne by manatees due to politicians' destructive choices. Other scars include policies that favor unsustainable development and polluting industries, hamper communities' abilities to address plastic trash in our waters and impede progress on fighting climate change."</p><p>Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 888-404-3922, the Citrus County Chronicle shared. </p>
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A Northwest Indian Ocean blue whale fluke breaks the surface before a dive off the Arabian Sea coast of Oman. Robert Baldwin / Environment Society of Oman
A new population of endangered blue whales has been hiding in the western Indian Ocean. According to NOAA, these gentle giants weigh up to 330,000 pounds and grow up to 110 feet long. The largest creature to have ever lived on Earth would seem hard to miss, but this group has been unknown to researchers – until now.
<p>All blue whales sing in loud, low-pitched, recognizable songs, <a href="https://www.neaq.org/about-us/news-media/press-kit/press-releases/new-population-of-blue-whales-discovered-in-the-western-indian-ocean/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New England Aquarium (NEAQ)</a> reported. Distinct populations have distinct songs. According to the <a href="https://www.int-res.com/prepress/n01096.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">study</a>, which was published in the journal <em>Endangered Species Research</em>, there are currently two or three known subspecies of blue whales in the Indian Ocean, believed to constitute four populations, each with a specific, diagnostic song-type.</p>
<p>"It's like hearing different songs within a genre – Stevie Ray Vaughan versus B. B. King," Salvatore Cerchio, a marine mammal biologist at the African Aquatic Conservation Fund in Massachusetts and the study's lead author, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/23/science/blue-whales-indian-ocean.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "It's all blues, but you know the different styles."</p><p>Scientists discovered the new population on accident when they overheard their song, a slow, bellowing ballad that could serve as a mating call, the Times reported. Despite extensive study of blue whale songs, it was unlike any other whale song ever recorded. According to <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-population-blue-whales-emerges-singing-indian-ocean-180976650/" target="_blank">Smithsonian Magazine</a> and the study, while the team lacks genetic data to support its findings, because blue whale melodies are unique population to population, the new song suggests an undetected population or one that was previously conflated with another population.</p>
<p>Recordings of the new song from three sites around the Indian Ocean, each separated by hundreds or thousands of miles, matched, and scientists began to piece together the routes of the previously-unknown pod of whales "moseying about in the Indian Ocean's northwest and perhaps beyond," singing their unique song, the Times reported.</p><p>The new song is now one of only a dozen or so other blue whale songs ever documented, each the "calling card" of a unique population of whales, the report continued. The latest melody has been labeled the "Northwest Indian Ocean" song-type and is the only blue whale song identified in the western Arabian Sea, the study reported.</p>
<p>"It was quite remarkable to find a whale song in your data that was completely unique, never before reported, and recognize it as a blue whale," Cerchio told NEAQ.</p><p>Each discovery of a new blue whale population brings renewed hope for the species' continued recovery. According to Smithsonian Magazine, intense whaling in the 19th and 20th centuries culled hundreds of thousands from the world's population and left them on the brink of extinction. The 1967 International Whaling Commission ban on hunting helped stop the slaughter, the report added. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishandegnarain/2021/12/29/singing-whale-unmasks-new-giant-blue-whale-species-hidden-in-indian-ocean/?sh=5cbeb48e10e5" target="_blank">Forbes</a> estimated that blue whale populations plummeted from 350,000 at the turn of the 20th century to between 10,000 to 25,000 today. The species remains critically <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered</a>.</p>
<p>The study authors suggested that the new population off the coast of Oman could be survivors recovering from historic whaling. In the 1960s, intense illegal Soviet Union whaling in the region took 1,294 blue whales in total, "suggesting" that the fleet likely targeted this population and that "if there is a northern Indian Ocean subspecies ... it is likely this population."</p><p>The authors concluded that because the population remained undetected for so long, the new group is likely small and "in critical need of status assessment and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> action." The whale group's identification also highlights how much of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">ocean</a> remains unexplored and how many other potential discoveries remain.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTE2NTQxMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0MjA3N30.QrrXyerWNoUpT3aOA4XZjYFhp5vVJMydWlrlo5-lBsQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="8f947" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ee7c24544861e53a865a2b54940eb532" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="750" data-height="500" />
Blue whales are the largest animals ever to live on our planet. NOAA
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A giraffe in the Nairobi National Park with the Nairobi skyline in the background in Nairobi, Kenya on Sept. 27, 2017.
Buena Vista Images / Stone / Getty Images
Buena Vista Images / Stone / Getty Images
Unless global food systems are transformed, the world could face severe ecological damage in just a few decades. A recent study in Nature Sustainability suggests that nearly 90% of land animals could lose some of their habitat by 2050 if current agricultural systems continue as is.
<p>"We need to change what we eat and how it is produced if we are going to save <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a> on a global scale," said David Williams, one of the study's lead authors, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/21/global-food-industry-to-drive-rapid-habitat-loss-research" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. Without a proactive policy, current agricultural systems could cause the loss of millions of square kilometers of natural ecosystems.</p><p>From eating less meat to reducing food waste, the study examined how potential changes could make an impact on food systems in various geographical regions.</p>
<p>The team from the University of Leeds and the University of Oxford designed a geographically specific model for agricultural land use, adding outputs with species-specific habitat preferences for almost 20,000 species of terrestrial vertebrates, according to the study.</p><p>"Nearly 1,300 species are likely to lose at least a quarter of their remaining habitat, and hundreds could lose at least half," Williams said according to <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201221121825.htm#:~:text=%22Our%20research%20suggests%20that%20without,could%20be%20lost%20by%202050.&text=%22Nearly%201%2C300%20species%20are%20likely,more%20likely%20to%20go%20extinct" target="_blank">Science Daily</a>. "This makes them far more likely to go extinct."</p><p>The majority of this loss is projected to take place in sub-Saharan Africa, the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil, eastern Argentina, and parts of South and Southeast Asia, <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/digest/agriculture-will-threaten-habitat-for-90-percent-of-animal-species-by-2050" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yale Environment 360 reported</a>.</p>
<p>The study provides both a tool for scientists to estimate how agriculture expansion will contribute to species and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity">biodiversity</a> loss and suggests solutions food systems could undertake for the transformation necessary. The study's results "highlight the importance of proactive efforts to safeguard biodiversity by reducing demand for agricultural land," Michael Clark, another lead author of the study said, as reported by <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201221121825.htm#:~:text=%22Our%20research%20suggests%20that%20without,could%20be%20lost%20by%202050.&text=%22Nearly%201%2C300%20species%20are%20likely,more%20likely%20to%20go%20extinct" target="_blank">Science Daily</a>.</p><p>"The good news is that if we make ambitious changes to the food system, then we can prevent almost all these habitat losses," he added.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00656-5.epdf?sharing_token=HXK3-BvBaJxuadixtKWastRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0O6RrkjpmW9fP_y1r0KlZ-Jx6UWX_jcBOXnlP2cYuEslvZu1-m7EgvCszD8mx-fwAIyiIh3Gx1tvRg-Geb5oZYMrgHYywVW7ovXIyZGEpuBr79zSzsD8wwHk_mBt8B8l1kD4xX_vLU2HtS04lrY7S9dTPE2uBW6UFWvOPGd3COAVeEapR8itu6kLFhGgteZq4vvnQYYrXlP-A1_GS-sCMvuEY_SEzLFR1YJYsQhjFL1PslhWEt8UOnJnqd7TbOiav9k__oCyf98Ziv7UPQpPC_BfV3sMXNL06DCQZbuWdv5Kg%3D%3D&tracking_referrer=www.theguardian.com" target="_blank">study</a> proposed a multi-pronged technique that is region-specific, suggesting closing crop yield gaps, promoting healthier diets, curtailing food loss and waste, and implementing early planning when it comes to land-use to avoid conflict between food production and habitat protection.</p><p>"No one approach is sufficient on its own. But with global coordination and rapid action, it should be possible to provide healthy diets for the global population in 2050 without major habitat losses," Clark said according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/21/global-food-industry-to-drive-rapid-habitat-loss-research" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>The study's publication comes at the same time 135 groups called on president-elect Joe Biden to sign an executive order, urging him to prioritize the extinction crisis as a threat to humanity in the U.S., according to a <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/biden-urged-sign-executive-order-end-extinction-crisis-2020-12-21/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">press release</a> by the Center for Biological Diversity.</p><p>"The unsustainable exploitation of wildlife can have profound consequences, as evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which almost certainly came about due to the trade in wildlife," the proposed <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/pdfs/Executive-Order-on-Halting-the-Global-Extinction-Crisis-and-Restoring-Wildlife-Populations-12_21_20.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">executive order</a> states.</p>
<p>Among its goals to protect 30% of America's lands and waters by 2030, the proposed order requires all federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, to review how its actions cause harm to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered species</a> and biodiversity.</p><p>The order calls for federal agencies to develop <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> programs that comply with <a href="https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/section-7.html" target="_blank">Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act</a>, which states that any action authorized by a federal agency must not "jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of habitat."</p><p>When nearly <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01448-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">75% of global lands and 66%</a> of ocean areas have been altered by people, and nearly <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01448-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">25% of global greenhouse emissions</a> are attributed to agriculture, studies like the one published by Nature Sustainability and demands by the Center for Biological Diversity could motivate drastic change in food systems and promote sustainable land management, reversing both international and national trends towards ecological destruction via their agricultural systems.</p><p>"The time for half measures has passed," Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity said in a <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/biden-urged-sign-executive-order-end-extinction-crisis-2020-12-21/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">press release</a>. "President Biden must take bold, immediate action to end extinction because the survival of not just wildlife but humanity is now at stake."</p>
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Asian elephants have been added to a list of species that need migratory protection. Steve Evans / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.0
By Karin Jäger
"They begin on a fall night, preferring the light of a full moon … Driven by the currents, they're pulled to the mouth of the river and out into the ocean," writes the WWF, rather poetically, of the European eel's long journey from the rivers of Central Europe to the far reaches of the Atlantic Ocean.
<p>Slithering eels don't usually conjure up such lyrical language. But the creature's life journey does have something of an epic quality.</p><p>Some 8000 kilometers (4971 miles) from its start point, the European eel meets up with its American counterpart in the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic, just east of Florida.</p><p>There they lay eggs and die. Their offspring then begin journeys that can take years back to the rivers from which their parents came. </p><p>But like any story, the eel's tale has its share of tragedy.</p><p>Many don't survive the strenuous journey. Hydropower turbines finish off many, while others fall victim to overfishing, perish in polluted rivers or waste away from parasitic infections. In the last 40 years, Europe's eel population has decreased by 98%.</p>
Think Beyond Borders to Protect Species
<p>When an animal crosses so many territories, how can it be protected? That's where the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS), sometimes known as the Bonn Convention, comes in. Every three years, the European Union and an additional 129 countries signed up to the CMS meet to discuss cross-border measures to protect eels and other animals on the move.</p><p>In February 2020, the convention met in Gandhinagar, India, where 10 migratory species, including the Asian elephant, jaguar and the oceanic whitetip shark, were added to the international wildlife treaty for the first time.</p><p>Nature's travelers face specific challenges, particularly as humans encroach more on animal habitat and carve up the landscape with roads and settlements, say experts. Wildlife needs to be taken into consideration at the planning stages of such infrastructure projects.</p><p>"Improving connections between habitats is important if we want to stop or even reverse extinctions," said Arnulf Köhncke, an ecologist with conservation group WWF. "You need to look at where an area cuts through as few migration routes and habitats as possible and plan and implement corresponding, cross-border (wildlife migration) corridors."</p><p>Such planning also requires cooperation between states.</p><p>Several bilateral agreements to protect migratory species already exist within the framework of the Bonn Convention. For instance, Chile and Argentina have committed to saving the endangered south Andean deer, which moves up and down the South American Andes, crossing through both countries as it does.</p>Unprecedented Global Biodiversity Loss
<p>Not all animals move across borders of their own accord. International trade in animals also requires international protection efforts. In the case of the eel, considered a delicacy from Europe to Asia, criminals smuggle young European "glass eels" in and out of countries, although international trade is strictly regulated under CITES, an international treaty governing trade in wildlife.</p><p>The trade is in animals caught in the wild. Breeding eels in captivity has so far proved impossible because of their complicated life cycle, which until recently, scientists still knew little about.</p><p>It's a lucrative gig and one that is driving down eel numbers. Although, the trade is regulated, enforcement is often lacking. People should avoid eating the animals, according to WWF. And we should avoid consuming too much fish and meat in general to halt species loss, says the conservation group.</p><p>Veronika Lenarz, who works with the secretariat of the Bonn Convention, agrees. But several major countries, like the USA, Russia and China, aren't party to the convention, while Japan refuses to sign up because of its whaling industry.</p><p>"We are in a crisis that threatens global biodiversity," said Lenarz.</p><p>In a major assessment of the world's wildlife published in September 2020, the UN warned of "unprecedented biodiversity loss" and said the global community had failed to fully achieve any of the 20 biodiversity targets set by the international organization 10 years ago.</p><p>While migratory animals are also impacted, not enough is known about many of the species to gauge to what extent. Researchers estimate there could be anywhere between 5,000 to 10,000 migratory species, ranging from storks and butterflies, to dolphins and wolves.</p>Climate Change: An Ever-Present Threat
<p>Regions in which the climate is changing most rapidly and on a large scale present a particular danger for migratory species. The animals, following a deeply embedded evolutionary instinct, will search for seasonal habitats in search of food and shelter. However, food is increasingly scarce in these places due to climate change.</p><p>Some animals are adapting. Compared to 20 years ago, fewer migratory birds are flying to their wintering grounds. But because these nomads are dependent on the many different habitats they use as resting points on their journeys, they are more vulnerable than their settled counterparts. By staying put, they're also in increased competition for scarce winter food supplies.</p><p>And while animals can adapt, not many can keep up with the pace of climate change.</p><p>"Reports from the UN climate group IPCC show that only a few species can move with the speed of climate change. And often alternative habitats are already occupied by humans," said Köhncke from the WWF.</p><p>The climate crisis and species loss shouldn't be viewed as unrelated issues, because both are damaging to the planet, added Köhncke.</p><p>"Migratory species help to maintain life on Earth. They contribute to the structure and functions of ecosystems as pollinators and seed dispersers, deliver food to other animals and regulate the number of species," said Köhncke. </p>Creating Conditions to Thrive
<p>Ensuring the conditions for the survival of these species should be considered when planning measures for dealing with the consequences of climate change, he added, referring to the WWF study "Wildlife in a Warming World."</p><p>Published in 2018, the study found that around 50% of species in some of the world's key natural regions, such as the Amazon, could disappear if climate change continues unabated.</p><p>Reindeer for instance, some of which migrate in the northern hemisphere, are no longer able to find enough food. Usually in winter, the animals clear snow with their hooves to uncover the lichens and moss they feed on. But temperatures now vary wildly, causing snow to melt or fall as rain instead. When the ground cools again, ice forms and the reindeer cannot get to their grub. </p>Simple Solutions to Protect Endangered Species
<p>Looking to the example of Mexico, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has shown protecting endangered migratory species doesn't have to be complicated.</p><p>Industrial farming has contributed to the jaguar's habitat shrinking by 50% in South and Central America in the last century. As a result, they began roaming near villages looking for food and attacking villagers' dogs. People retaliated by killing them. The IFAW hired community members to build dog houses, meaning the canines are no longer out roaming at night when they could run into big cat predators.</p><p>However, with the global conservation failures of the past decade looming, all eyes will be on the UN Biodiversity Conference scheduled to take place in China in 2021 and whether it can pull off a plan for protecting migratory and non-migratory animals like.</p>From Your Site Articles
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An example of a New Guinea singing dog that's singing. R.G. Daniel / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.0
The New Guinea singing dog is a rare breed of dog that makes a unique howl similar to the song of a humpback whale. Sadly, however, scientists thought its call had been forever silenced in the wild.
<p>Until now. A study published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/08/26/2007242117" target="_blank">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> Monday revealed that a New Guinea population of highland wild dogs were in fact related to the New Guinea singing dogs surviving in captivity.</p><p>"For decades we've thought that the New Guinea singing dog is extinct in the wild," study coauthor Heidi G. Parker of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/science/singing-dog-new-guinea.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "They are not extinct. They actually do still exist in the wild."</p>
<div id="a1fba" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8afdd6263e6601e508a726ea96fbcabd"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1300534709533978625" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">You can read the full research paper here: https://t.co/9D44ENkECz.</div> — National Human Genome Research Institute (@National Human Genome Research Institute)<a href="https://twitter.com/genome_gov/statuses/1300534709533978625">1598906612.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Scientists aren't exactly sure when New Guinea singing dogs first arrived on the island, but they think it was around 3,500 years ago, the same time that dingoes arrived in Australia, according to <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/08/new-guinea-s-mysterious-singing-dogs-found-again-wild#" target="_blank">Science</a>. The dogs were first described in 1897, a <a href="https://www.genome.gov/news/news-release/Scientists-use-genomics-to-discover-ancient-dog-species-that-may-teach-us-about-human-vocalization" target="_blank">press release from the NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute pointed out</a>.</p><p>The dogs are especially famous for the singing that gives them their name.</p><p>"Most of the singing dog's vocalizations are similar to that of the wolf, dingo, and domestic dog, but their howl is incredibly unique," <a href="https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animals/new-guinea-singing-dog" target="_blank">the San Diego Zoo explained</a>. "Sonograms show the howl is similar to the song of the humpback whale! The singing dog's howl sounds like a yodel, with the tones going up and down. And when in a group, one dog starts singing and others join in at different pitches, each with its own unique voice."</p>
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<p>But habitat loss put pressure on this musical canine's population, Science reported, and none had been seen in the wild since the 1970s. It was thought the only ones left were the 200 to 300 living in captivity.</p><p>Then, in 2012, an ecotourism guide photographed a wild dog in the highlands of the Indonesian province of Papua on New Guinea, The New York Times reported. That photo was seen by James McIntyre, a researcher and president of the New Guinea Highland Wild Dog Foundation. He secured funding from a company that operated a gold mine near the wild dog sightings and documented 15 dogs in 2016.</p><p>Efforts to protect the environment around the Grasberg gold and copper mine had created an inadvertent habitat for the dogs, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/31/asia/singing-dog-found-in-wild-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN pointed out</a>. But just documenting the dogs did not prove that they were related to the captive singing dogs. So McIntyre and his team returned in 2018 to take DNA samples.</p><p>The result? The highland wild dogs overlapped 70 percent with the captive singing dogs.</p>
<p>"We found that New Guinea singing dogs and the Highland Wild Dogs have very similar genome sequences, much closer to each other than to any other canid known. In the tree of life, this makes them much more related to each other than modern breeds such as German shepherd or bassett hound," Parker said in the press release.</p><p>The researchers think that the genetic differences are due to the fact that the captive populations are extremely inbred. Their descendants came from eight dogs brought to the U.S., which is why their wild counterparts have more genetic variation.</p><p>The discovery has important <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> implications. The researchers now hope they can breed the wild and captive dogs.</p><p>"New guinea singing dogs are rare, they're exotic (and) they have this beautiful harmonic vocalization that you don't find anywhere else in nature, so losing that as a species is not a good thing. We don't want to see this (animal) disappear," study senior author and NIH distinguished investigator Elaine Ostrander told CNN.</p>
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Two Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Calves Are Spotted Off U.S. Coast
09 December 2020
Animals
North Atlantic right whale Chiminea swims with her new calf off Cumberland Island in Georgia on Dec. 4, 2020. Clearwater Marine Aquarium / NOAA Fisheries Southeast
Like most of us, North Atlantic right whales have not had a very good 2020. First, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report found that there were no more than 366 of the critically endangered species left. Then, the first known baby born this calving season washed up dead on a North Carolina beach. But things are finally starting to look up.
<p>Two live right whale calves were spotted off the coasts of Georgia and Florida within the last week.</p><p>"Uplifting news for this fragile species especially during the first week of December," Melanie White, a <a href="https://www.cmaquarium.org/" target="_blank">Clearwater Marine Aquarium</a> research biologist and North Atlantic Right Whale Conservation Project Manager, told <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/12/07/north-atlantic-right-whale-endangered-species-newborns/6484190002/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">USA TODAY</a>.</p><p>An aerial survey team from <a href="https://mission.cmaquarium.org/research-institute/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute</a> (CMARI) spotted the first calf Dec. 4 off of Cumberland Island in Georgia.</p><p>"During our third survey of the season, CMARI aerial observer Marcy Lee sighted a whale. She knew in that moment it was a North Atlantic right whale calf. The first large whale of the season and it was a calf! Soon enough the team knew the mother would surface for a breath of air and the calving season would have the first live mother-calf right whale pair," White told <a href="https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2020/12/08/first-right-whale-calves-of-season-spotted-off-florida-and-georgia-coasts/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click Orlando</a>.</p><p>The new calf was born to a first-time mom named Chiminea, who is 13 years old, NOAA Fisheries Southeast <a href="https://twitter.com/NOAAFish_SERO/status/1336046825388843008" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted</a>.</p>
<div id="a94bd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="99ce4194528974b5b796b419733a21d7"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1336046825388843008" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We have a first time mom! The first live right whale calf of the season was spotted by biologists with @CMAquarium … https://t.co/riHW3XqZtN</div> — NOAA Fish Southeast (@NOAA Fish Southeast)<a href="https://twitter.com/NOAAFish_SERO/statuses/1336046825388843008">1607373360.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The second calf was spotted Monday off of Florida's Vilano Beach by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), <a href="https://twitter.com/NOAAFish_SERO/status/1336048021696606211" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to NOAA</a>. This is the second calf for a 16-year-old mother named Millipede. The new calf was seen swimming with a pod of bottlenose dolphins.</p>
<div id="9900e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0ed25edf946ea7dc6a9832ae46fa7b37"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1336048021696606211" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Great news! Yesterday, the second live right whale calf of the season was spotted (swimming with a pod of bottlenos… https://t.co/hjQzK7Ntrb</div> — NOAA Fish Southeast (@NOAA Fish Southeast)<a href="https://twitter.com/NOAAFish_SERO/statuses/1336048021696606211">1607373645.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>While the births are a bit of good news for the species, they do not mean that North Atlantic right whales are out of danger. FWC warned that calving season is an especially vulnerable time for the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/whales" target="_self">whales</a>.</p><p>"Every winter, many right whales travel more than 1,000 miles from their feeding grounds off Canada and New England to the warm coastal waters off the southern United States," the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute wrote on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FWCResearch/posts/4355187344497298" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. "These waters are where right whales give birth and nurse their young. This is a vulnerable phase, making it extremely important for boaters to be aware of the whales' presence and tendency to rest near the surface of the water. #GiveThemSpace."</p><p>North Atlantic right whales have long faced danger from human activities. The very name "right whale" comes from the fact that they were the "right" whales to hunt, because they swim slowly and close to the shore and do not sink when they die, USA TODAY explained. They were hunted nearly to extinction, but began to make a comeback after whaling was banned. Today, that comeback has reversed.</p><p>"Recovery had been slow and steady until 2010 when we started to see a decline. Most recent population models show that the numbers are declining again for various reasons including a slow reproduction rate, threats from entanglement in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fishing" target="_self">fishing</a> gear, collisions with large vessels, and possibly other factors not yet identified" CMARI Executive Director Dr. James Powell told Click Orlando.</p>
<p>Last year, the species gave birth to 10 calves, USA TODAY reported. This was three more from the previous year, but scientists say the species needs to average 20 calves a year to survive.</p><p>To give the species a chance at survival, more than 55 <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> groups sent a <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/North_Atlantic_right_whale/pdfs/Emergency-funding-for-NA-right-whales_letter.pdf" target="_blank">letter</a> to Congress Dec. 3 urging lawmakers to free up $100 million in emergency funding for their protection, including the development of ropeless fishing gear.</p><p>"The right whale is one of the most endangered species on the planet, and the population has now reached crisis status," the letter read. "These iconic whales desperately need additional recovery funding to prevent them from becoming extinct."</p>
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Pollution on the Ganges River. Kaushik Ghosh / Moment Open / Getty Images
The most polluted river in the world continues to be exploited through fishing practices that threaten endangered wildlife, new research shows.
<p>The Ganges River is a quagmire of raw sewage, toxic waste and overfishing from the crowded cities along its waterway. It is also home to the endangered Ganges <a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2020/nov/24/rare-dolphin-trapped-in-net-in-odishas-govari-river-dies-2227377.html" target="_blank">river dolphin</a> and the critically endangered three-striped roofed turtle, along with other threatened marine species.</p><p>As part of the National Geographic Society's "Sea to Source: Ganges" expedition, a study was conducted to understand how much plastic pollution or "ghost" fishing threatens the native <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a>. Fishing nets are common in the river, and entanglements frequently occur.</p>
<p>According to interviews conducted with the local fishing community as part of the study, nets and equipment are commonly left in the river. Researchers at the University of Exeter, who gathered data for the study, found disposal systems in short supply.</p><p>"The Ganges River supports some of the world's largest inland fisheries, but no research has been done to assess plastic pollution from this industry, and its impacts on wildlife," said Dr. Sarah Nelms, a postdoctoral associate at the Center for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter, and an author of the study.</p><p>"Ingesting plastic can harm wildlife, but our threat assessment focused on entanglement, which is known to injure and kill a wide range of marine species."</p>
<p>Professor Heather Koldewey, of the Zoological Society of London and the University of Exeter, and a National Geographic Fellow believes the "circular economy" – the reuse of products and equipment that have monetary value – can play a role in keeping nets out of the river, especially when nets are made of durable nylon material which can be reused to make carpet or clothing.</p><p>"Collection and recycling of nylon 6 has strong potential as a solution because it would cut plastic pollution and provide an income," she said.</p><p>Plastic pollution in <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">marine </a>and <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/11/30/how-humanity-lost-control-of-plastic-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">freshwater</a> ecosystems continues on an increasing scale to cause wildlife death. But Koldewey believes behavior changes through this new research could have positive effects.</p><p>"This is a complex problem that will require multiple solutions – all of which must work for both local communities and wildlife."</p>
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Trump Administration Rule Proposal Would Further Undermine Endangered Species Act
02 August 2020
Animals
Whooping cranes fly in Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Decatur, Alabama. There were only 48 whooping cranes in the country when the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, and thanks to the law's protections there are now over 600. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
By Eoin Higgins
Environmental groups on Friday condemned the announcement of a new rule proposed by President Donald Trump that would further weaken the Endangered Species Act by making it easier to destroy habitats vulnerable species rely on for survival.
<p>"President Trump is back for another whack at another key environmental law," <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/07/31/president-trump-again-takes-aim-endangered-species-act" target="_blank">said</a> Oceana senior federal policy director Lara Levison.</p><p>At issue is a planned rule change to the Endangered Species Act, or ESA, from the Department of Fish and Wildlife that would redefine "habitat" as "areas with existing attributes that have the capacity to support individuals of the species," precluding the restoration and repair of historical habitats that could, with time, support endangered species. </p>
<p>"The Trump administration won't be satisfied until it removes all protections for the natural world, including clean air and water, land, and now even habitat for our most vulnerable wildlife," Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/07/31/trump-administration-proposes-new-limits-protecting-endangered-species-habitat" target="_blank">said</a> in a statement.</p><p>As the Center for Biological Diversity explained:</p><blockquote>The definition stems from a 2018 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that said the Service needed to define the term habitat in relation to the highly endangered dusky gopher frog. The frog survives in one ephemeral pond in Mississippi. Recognizing that to secure the frog would require recovering it in additional areas, the Service designated an area in Louisiana that had the ephemeral ponds the frog requires. However, this area would need forest restoration to provide high-quality habitat.<br> <br>Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, the landowner, and Pacific Legal Foundation, a private-property advocacy group, challenged the designation, resulting in today's definition and the frog losing habitat protection in Louisiana.<br></blockquote><p>"This will have real life-and-death consequences for some of our nation's most vulnerable species," said Greenwald.</p><p>Oceana's Levison concurred with Greenwald's bleak assessment.</p><p>"The president's newly proposed rules will make it even harder to save species from extinction," she said. "The ESA protects threatened and endangered species like sea turtles and the North Atlantic right whale, as well as the habitats they depend on, but the draft rule released today reduces these protections."</p><p>Cathy Liss, president of the Animal Welfare Institute, called on the president and the administration to do the right thing for the planet by saving "an effective and popular law that serves as the last line of defense for rare species facing extinction." </p><p>"At a time of unprecedented wildlife extinction and habitat destruction, we should be working to strengthen — not weaken — the Endangered Species Act," said Liss.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/01/back-another-whack-trump-administration-rule-proposal-would-further-undermine" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </em><em></em></p>
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