Due to #wildfires, the #sagegrouse might soon become #endangered. - http://clapway.com/2015/09/14/sage-grouse-wildfires123/

The sage grouse is a stocky bird with a long spiky tail and feathers to its toes. It’s well known for its courtship theatrics – the male inflates yellow sacs on his chest while his tail splays out like a handheld fan.

According to a report by the U.S. Geological Survey, the future of the sage grouse is in jeopardy. Scientists say if increasingly destructive wildfires in the Great Basin can’t be stopped, the sage grouse population will be cut in half over the next three decades.

The U.S. Fish and Wild Life Service were court-ordered to decide whether to add the bird to its endangered species list by September 30. It’s a decision that comes with a hefty price tag.

Those In Favor of Saving the Sage Grouse

“The sagebrush steppe and sage ecosystem are in trouble,” said Matt Brooks, a fire ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and one of the report’s authors.

Scientists provided strategies to further prevent sage grouse declines by determining which areas call for greater protection. In the report, focus was placed on the management of cheatgrass, an invasive species that can create extreme wildfire hazards. Cautionary steps have already been taken to prevent wildfire destruction of the habitat. “It adds to the science that managers, and especially fire managers, can use,” said John Freemuth, a Boise State University professor and public lands expert.

The sage grouse lives among 400 other species in the sagebrush steppe. Scientists use the bird as a sign of the overall health of sagebrush, which ranges across 11 Western states up through Canada.

“It’s so much beyond a bird,” Freemuth said of the potential listing. “It’s people’s lifestyle. It’s people’s recreational opportunities. It’s everything. The bird is just the symbol of all that.”

The Sage Grouse, A $5.6 billion Investment?

The proposal to add the sage grouse to the endangered species list has been met with opposition, mostly from pro business who view it as an economic blockade. It would mean shutting down large areas of land for other uses in 11 states. A study from 2013 projects that declaring the sage grouse as endangered would cost the U.S. more than $5.6 billion in annual economic output. Economies is western states would be hit hardest.

Joel Bousman, a Wyoming rancher and a Sublette County commissioner said to NPR, “When they listed the spotted owl in the Northwest, it literally devastated the counties and communities” whose economies depended on timber.

We’ll have to wait until September 30th to see how saga of the sage grouse ends. Let’s hope a middle ground can be reached where the environment and businesses can work together to find a solution that protects the land while benefiting the animals and humans it supports.

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PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT WE LIVE IN AND BRING IT INTO YOUR HOME:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD63kwQuZ2I

Sage Grouse Population Threatened By Wildfires

African Penguin Population Mysteriously Declines #AfricanPenguin #endangered #extinction - http://clapway.com/2015/08/28/african-penguin123/

The African penguin, also referred to as the jackass or black-footed penguin, is at risk of extinction. As the continent’s only species of the flightless bird, these animals have become an immensely popular tourist attraction near Cape Town, but that soon may change. Since 2004, the population has plummeted by 90 percent along South African’s west coast due to the mass migration of anchovies and sardines – primary food source for this species.

WHY IS THE AFRICAN PENGUIN POPULATION IN DECLINE?

Much to the confusion of scientists, it is still uncertain why the fish have moved in the first place; climate change and overfishing have been suggested as the two likeliest causes, but mathematical modelers of the fish populations have insisted that this is not the case. In fact, they ascertain that the impact of fishing is minimal, blaming predators, boat disturbances, nest flooding, and heat stress as the culprits instead.

Recently, Janet Coetzee, a fisheries scientist with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, led a team of researchers on a boating mission that incorporated the use of a “hefty oblong device” to determine the amount of fish that are around. The survey, according to Fox News, found that there were “plenty of anchovies for penguins during certain months,” even with consideration to fish migration.

In any case, in light of the decline, four main fishing grounds, spanning a 20-kilometer (12.4 miles), have been declared off-limits seven years ago in an attempt to save the species. According to penguin biologists, this strategy should leave more fish for consumption and boost the survival rate of chicks by a lofty 18 percent. However, Coetzee has noted that African penguins should have plenty of fish, even despite the fishing quota.

In the meantime, the fishing bans are still in effective, although experts have already emphasized the need for effective management. Currently 100,000 birds remain, a drastic decline from the one million African Penguins that were present back in the 1930s. In light of the decrease, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared the African penguin as an endangered species. A panel of experts will also reconvene in December to review the problem, after having met for the first time last year.

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The decline of the African Penguin population is a reason for alarm. If you love nature, preserve it with the Atmoph window:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD63kwQuZ2I

African Penguin Population Mysteriously Declines

Sloths have a contender in pandas, apparently. - http://clapway.com/2015/07/11/study-reveals-why-pandas-are-lazy-124/

Have you ever found yourself wondering why you were not born panda — sitting on a tree branch all day, eating bamboo and doing nothing? A recent study on the metabolism of giant pandas, however, found out that the animal requires low energy use daily — a reason why it can simply live off a vegetarian diet.

Only 1,800 pandas left

The giant Panda is a rare animal and it is classified as a conservation-reliant endangered species. It is native to south-central China and it is believed that only 1,800 are remaining in the wild. The animal’s diet is made up of 99% bamboo, and they sometimes feed off of with other grasses and wild tubers.

By tracking the daily life of five captive pandas and three wild ones, the study, which was published in the journal Science last Thursday, discovered that the energy expenditure of pandas is as sluggish as that of sloths. This study, in fact, suggests that pandas use only about 38 percent of the energy which is usually used by smaller-sized animals.

More sluggish than sloths

According to the research: “The giant pandas’ energy measurements are among the lowest (relative to body mass) ever made for mammals not in torpor, which is a sort of suspended animation. The daily energy expenditure values for giant pandas are substantially lower than those for koalas, for example, and more akin to those of three-toed sloths”.

Scientists found out that the low-energy demand of pandas is also due to the size of their brains, livers and kidneys which are substantially smaller if compared to those of other bears. Also, the levels of thyroid hormone of giant pandas are very low and are comparable to those of an hibernating black bear. The thyroid hormones play a big role in regulating body weight and energy, therefore low levels could be considered the reason why pandas are so sluggish.

Not “couch potatoes” after all

So, although the stomach of a giant panda is perfectly structured and equipped for meat, the animal’s exceptionally low energy consumption and metabolism rates lead to a bamboo-based diet only. So, while we were all thinking that pandas are just “couch potatoes” doing nothing but eating green sticks, they are actually just following their daily energy requirements.

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Study Reveals Why Pandas Are "Lazy"

New Zealand: Rare Species of Dolphin Near Extinction - http://clapway.com/2015/05/26/new-zealand-rare-species-of-dolphin-near-extinction-123/

Our fragile planet contains many rare species which are threatened or endangered by our manipulation of the circle of life. The latest victim in a series of species threatened to near extinction is the Maui’s Dolphin. Most conservation experts are calling for drastic measures to be taken In order to ensure the rare species does not go extinct. Currently only about 50 of these dolphins exist in the wild making them a critically endangered species.

The Main Threat to the Maui’s Rare Species of Dolphin

The Maui’s dolphins are only found off the coast of New Zealand, only live in shallow water, and their primary killer is large fishing nets as well as other man made devices. These marine mammals get tangled in the fishing nets, and aren’t able to surface to breath so they suffocate under water. Efforts have been made in the past to restore the species to a larger population, but not enough was done. Hundreds of experts have gathered for the annual International Whaling Commission meeting, and conservation efforts for the at-risk dolphins will be discussed.

Dr. Barbara Maas discusses the significance of the data regarding the remaining Maui’s Dolphins, “These new figures are a loud wakeup call: New Zealand has to abandon its current stance which places the interest of the fishing industry biodiversity conservation, and finally protect the Dolphins’ habitat from harmful fishing nets, seismic air-gun blasts, and oil and gas extraction.” She believes that if direct intervention is not made immediately, it is inevitable that the species will become extinct.

While there have been regulations enforced by the New Zealand government, nothing that they have done so far has been enough to restore the Maui’s Dolphin population to what it was since its decline due to an increase in fishing in the region. In fact there has been a drop in population since 2011 when there were approximately 59 of the Maui’s Dolphins remaining in the wild at that time, which has decreased by about 12 to what they believe are only 47 remaining in the wild off the coast of New Zealand. With little regard for the invasiveness of their tactics, fisherman have drawn in and killed the Maui’s Dolphin, to the point where directly intervention is now essential to ensure the continuation of the exceptionally rare marine mammals.

 

New Zealand: Rare Species of Dolphin Near Extinction