CNN reported
When scientists heard reports that a large, mysterious fish had been caught in Cambodia in 2020, excitement stirred. Could this be the “Mekong Ghost,” they asked – an elusive fish that hadn’t been seen since 2005 and was feared extinct?
Photos of the fish and its telltale identifiers – an odd-shaped mouth and a protruding knob at its jaw – seemed to confirm it.
Read more and see photo at This large ‘ghost’ fish was just spotted for the first time in almost 20 years | CNN
Posted in Animals | Tags: Mekong Ghost Fish
The New York Times reported
Scientists say they have observed one of the highest-altitude acts of bird predation ever recorded.
But then a closer look at the data revealed something curious — whatever happened to the plover, the tracker’s GPS revealed that it happened at 9,455 feet above the ground. Starting from approximate sea level, that’s much higher than the altitude birds of prey are known to hunt at.
Read more at A Feathered Murder Mystery at 10,000 Feet
Posted in Birds | Tags: Birds of Prey
The New York Times reports
Is Ireland really all that green? Ecologically speaking, the answer is no, says Eoghan Daltun, a sculptor who restored a patch of native rainforest in the Beara Peninsula, on the country’s rugged southwestern coast.
“Ireland really coasts on its reputation as the Emerald Isle,” Mr. Daltun said in a recent interview at his West Cork home. “There is this perception that because it rains a lot in Ireland, and everything is green, and everything grows easily, that nature is doing great here.”
But nature in Ireland is not doing great. Earlier this month, the country’s Environmental Protection Agency published a report that rated Ireland’s environmental health as “poor.”
Read more at Much of the Emerald Isle Is an Ecological Desert. He’s Trying to Change That.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Much of the Emerald Isle Is an Ecological Desert
from the Nature Conservancy
Cultivating Strong Forests for ResilienceWednesday, October 30, 2024 at
3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT
Learn about the urgent race to save North America’s iconic trees imperiled by invasive pests and pathogens.REGISTER NOW
Posted in Environment | Tags: Cultivating Strong Forests for Resilience
Fall is the best time for planting in your garden so the rainy season can help them get established.
from Audubon
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Posted in Garden, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Native Plants for the Birds
Miami Herald reported
In the rainforest of Costa Rica, a soil-dwelling fish with skin-covered eyes maneuvered through the mud. Its small size and underground lifestyle likely helped it go unnoticed — until now.
When scientists finally found the “unusual” animal, it turned out to be a new species.
Read more New species of soil-dwelling fish discovered in Costa Rica | Miami Herald
Posted in Animals | Tags: Berlin’s bloodworm eel., Ophisternon berlini
The New York TImes reports
You’ve heard of a “frog in your throat,” but probably not like this.
Similarly sticky secretions are found among other frogs as well as salamanders. The animals use this natural super glue to foil both predators and overcurious scientists. The mechanism behind this speedy adhesive — including how it evolved in unrelated amphibians — had been a mystery, Dr. Roelants said. In research published last month in Nature Communications, he and his team provided an answer: Noodle-like proteins found across the amphibian family tree have been adapted by a number of species to make their own fast-acting glue.
Read more at How Glue Helps Frogs Out of Sticky Situations
Nomad Ecology is seeking a mid-level to senior level Botanist to assist with the firm’s projects and studies relating to mitigation, restoration, floristic inventories, rare plant surveys, vegetation mapping, fuels treatment and post-fire efforts, statistical analysis of field data, restoration implementation and monitoring, and other botany related work. As a member of Nomad Ecology, the person filling this position must be dedicated to having an understanding and appreciation of the flora of California and promoting the use of sound science and current technologies available to floristic professionals and restoration practitioners. The work will be both office-based and in the field throughout various locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. It requires an individual who is organized, collaborative, accustomed to physical field work, and enthusiastic about the conservation of California’s biological resources.
For more information about the position please see the attached job announcement pdf. For more information about Nomad Ecology please visit www.nomadecology.com
Attached Files
Tags: None
Posted in Job Openings | Tags: Job Opening
from the Xerces Society
One of the most valuable ways to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the shelter they need to survive the winter. Thankfully, all you need to do is do less yard work.
Posted in Butterflies, Environment | Tags: Leave the Leaves!
from Gardens Illustrated
The world’s most endangered plants: ten of the plants likely to be extinct very soon.The experts at Kew Gardens highlight ten of the world’s most at risk plants, from a tiny waterlilly to a golden fuchsia.
Read more at The world’s most endangered plants | Gardens Illustrated
Posted in Garden, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Plant Extinction
The Revelator reports
Scientists have started to debate the long-held notion that conserving so-called “umbrella species” — typically charismatic megafauna — offers the best opportunities to protect ecosystems and the rest of their wild inhabitants. We see this in a new study published in the journal Biological Conservation titled “Selecting umbrella species as mammal biodiversity indicators in tropical forest,” which focuses on the 2.6 million hectare Leuser Ecosystem in Sumatra, the last place on Earth where four classic umbrella species — orangutans, tigers, rhinoceroses, and elephants — are still found together in the wild.
The traditional idea goes like this: If species such as tigers and orangutans are protected, then all the smaller taxa beneath them enjoy protection as well. That approach still holds, but the authors of the study argue that smaller species — in this case Sunda clouded leopards and Sambar deer, as well as amphibians and invertebrates — are in fact better umbrella indicators because they tend to be found in areas with greater levels of species richness and ecological function.
Read more at Conservation of ‘Umbrella Species’ Works for Ecosystems — Especially in Southeast Asia • The Revelator
Posted in Animals | Tags: Umbrella Species
Berkeleyside reports on this year’s Monarch Butterfly Count
The monarch butterfly is counting on you
Read on www.berkeleyside.org/2024/10/21/western-monarch-butterfly-count-east-bay-parks
Posted in Butterflies | Tags: Monarch Butterflies
The Guardian reported
NSW environment minister reassures public ‘Mickey will be freed’ after false rumours of ‘kill order’ spread online
Posted in Birds | Tags: cockatoo ‘living on brioche’
East Bay CNPS
Online Presentation: Gardening for Butterflies and Caterpillars in the East Bay Wed, October 23, 7:30 pm
Speaker: Susan Karasoff
Via Zoom
Register to attend
When we plant local native plants, we build buffets to feed clouds of butterflies! Learn which local plants feed our local butterflies and caterpillars, and how you can help restore local ecosystems by growing these plants in your garden.
Posted in Butterflies, Garden | Tags: Gardening For Butterflies
Nature.com reports on efforts to same Monarchs by tree planting
High-altitude planting could buffer the trees, and the migratory butterflies that roost in them, against the effects of climate change.
Researchers in central Mexico have planted a forest of firs. Now they’re hoping the imperiled Eastern monarch butterflies will come.
Almost 1,000 oyamel firs (Abies religiosa) have been transplanted to a mountain in Michoacán, where they are growing at elevations beyond what was considered the species’ upper limit . If the trees survive over the next few decades, they could help to shield the migratory eastern population of monarch butterflies ( Danaus plexippus ), which spend the winter roosting in oyamel fir forests, from the impacts of climate change.
Read more at Mexican forest ‘relocated’ in attempt to save iconic monarch butterflies
Posted in Butterflies | Tags: Monarchs
The Revelator reports
“Collectors” threaten these tiny bats, whose big ears can’t protect them from the humans loving them to death.
Wildlife is traded for many reasons, but the trade in painted woolly bats is among the most senseless. These animals’ unique and beautiful coloration is the reason behind their popularity and the growing trend of using the species for decorative purposes — a trend we hope to help end.
Read more at Species Spotlight: Going to Bat for Painted Woolly Bats • The Revelator
Yahoo News reported
Over 300,000 animals are being killed or displaced in one Australian state by timber harvesting each year, a damning new report has warned. The Wilderness Society has called the situation “tragic”, claiming wildlife not immediately killed by machinery is
Posted in Animals | Tags: Animal Killing in Tasmania
Browse all the major meteor showers for 2024 at Meteor Showers 2024 – 2025 – American Meteor Society
Posted in Uncategorized
The New York Times reports
Recent studies show that certain feather pigments can help neutralize toxic pollution. It means darker, duller birds could have a survival advantage.
Read more at The Big City Is Vibrant. Birds There Might Be Getting Less So.
Posted in Birds, Uncategorized | Tags: Pollution May Affect the Color of City Birds
SF Gate reports
Biologists spotted a Chinook salmon in a tributary of Oregon’s Klamath River this week, the first time one had been seen in the Klamath Basin in over a century. The fish’s return marks the success of the historic dam removal project that finished removing four dams along the river in August.
Read on www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/salmon-swims-klamath-california-dam-removal-19848911.php
Posted in Animals, Environment | Tags: Dam removal, Salmon
Space.com reports
The Orionid meteor shower 2024 reaches its peak in the pre-dawn hours on Monday, Oct. 21, but this year a bright moon could make it difficult to see these shooting stars.
Posted in Astronomy | Tags: Orionid Meteor Shower
The Garden is closed today, Saturday, October 19, due to the Extreme Fire Weather warning.
Posted in Garden | Tags: UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Closed
The Fall Native Plant Sale will be Saturday November 2 from 10 am to 2 Beginning Sunday, October 20, you can pre-order your plants. Click our plant sale page (page goes live Oct 20 and pre-orders end October 31), read descriptions, and view photos of many native plant species/pot sizes to decide which plants are best suited for your yard. With pre-orders, you get to pick up your plants on the plant sale day Saturday, November 2 – look for the pre-order pickup location in the parking lot and your plants will be already organized under your name for quick pickup. If you want to do more shopping, there will be additional plants available on the day of sale as well as seeds, books, t-shirts and other great CNPS products.
VENUE: Pacific Beach High School 11950 Los Osos Valley Road San Luis Obispo, CA93405 + Google Map
Learn more at Fall Native Plant Sale – CNPS-SLO
Posted in Garden | Tags: Native Plant Sale
NPR reports
This week, scientists named seven newly described frog species.
Scientists discover thousands of new species every year — but these have a special claim to fame: They pay homage to Star Trek.
Mark Scherz is one of the authors on the paper about these amphibians and a curator of herpetology (that’s reptiles and amphibians) at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. He says these frogs’ calls sound so much like the “futuristic sounding whistles and beeps” of the Star Trek series that they named each of the seven after a captain.
Read more or listen at These 7 new frog species are named after Star Trek captains : Short Wave : NPR
Posted in Animals | Tags: New Frog Species
The U.S.and Wildlife Service report
This Conservation Introduction is Part of an Experimental Project to Re-Establish a Wild Population
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its Sihek Recovery Program partners transported nine extinct in the wild sihek (Guam kingfisher) to The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) preserve and research station on Cooper Island at Palmyra Atoll on August 28, 2024. Extinct in the wild since 1988 due to the predation by the brown tree snake, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) rescued 28 sihek and established a captive-care program, which has maintained them since.
Read more at Extinct in the Wild Sihek Arrive at New Home on Palmyra Atoll | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Guam Kingfisher, Sihek
Public Affairs and University of Michigan reports
New research studied the rate of response to climate change in California grasslands by using combined long-term datasets from sites like this one in Swanton, California, which has been monitored by UC Santa Cruz scientists since 1999.
Although all ecosystems are affected by a changing climate, the impacts can take a while to appear. Changes in forest biodiversity, for example, are known to lag behind changes in a habitat’s temperature and precipitation. Changes in forest biodiversity, for example, are known to lag behind changes in a habitat’s temperature and precipitation.
Grasslands, on the other hand, are responding to climate change almost in real time, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. Put another way, forests accumulate climate debt, while grasslands are paying as they go, say the study’s authors.
Read more at Grasslands live in the climate change fast lane
Posted in Environment | Tags: Biodiversity, Climate change, Environment, Grasslands, Grasslands and Climate Change, Nature
Posted in Garden | Tags: Native Plant Sale
from Audubon
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Posted in Birds, Garden | Tags: Gardening for Birds
Phys.org reports
A major new study reveals that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from forest fires have surged by 60% globally since 2001, and almost tripled in some of the most climate-sensitive northern boreal forests.
Read more at Global CO₂ emissions from forest fires have increased by 60% since 2001, study finds
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Increased Carbon Emissions fro Forest Fires
Natural History Wanderings 