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Cryptic diversity - a relatively new term to describe hidden variations within a single species, identifying lineages that could be used to ascertain the survivability of the species due to the impact of climate change.
An article in Nature News describes a study published in Nature Climate Change detailing the findings of researchers from the Senckenberg Research Institutes and Natural History Museum 
in Geinhausen, Germany. The researchers studied several insect species at the mitochondrial DNA level to ascertain subtle differences within species, which they cataloged as Evolutionary Significant Units or ESUs - populations with a species that are genetically distinct from the rest of its kind.
Extrapolating their findings to insects throughout Europe, the researchers came to a sobering conclusion regarding the survivability of their test subjects as to whether they could adapt to higher temperatures or migrate to more suitable (ie: colder) conditions. 79% of the ESUs in the study group, it was theorized, would be extinct by 2080, a much higher rate than species in general. And it seems, the more diverse the species, the greater the chance of lowered survivability - something that runs counter to what some would logically believe.
Now, this may seem a bit arcane as it is a study based on using insects. Can this be extrapolated to all species? Well, it's certainly possible. Populations of any creature - plant or 
animal - that have evolved within, say, a specific geographic area may not be able to adapt to rises in temperature or just may not have the genetic disposition to migrate. There have been reports of large animals, like moose, that would not be inclined to travel further north into Canada and would therefore face possible extinction. So, the concept of cryptic diversity could be applicable to creatures large and small.
The researchers concede that there are other factors that must be studied further, along with the cryptic diversity theory, like the "dispersal capacity" or potential ability to migrate by various species.
For the most part, scientists overwhelmingly agree on the concept and reality of climate change. But it is a new arena being studied and how nature adapts and whether those adaptations lead to continued diversity or a drastic reduction of the complexity and range of species in nature remains to be seen. Indications, however, point to an inconvenient truth that is not promising and to which mankind has culpability and the responsibility to change the outcome.
"Through our work to determine climate-adaptation strategies, we realize that genetics is one way to get an overall better view of how species are affected by climate change," says Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, a United Nations-organized effort to develop plans for sustaining biodiversity.
Read more about cryptic biodiversity in Nature News.
Today is Global Tiger Day - a day when nations around the globe, particularly those nations which are home to some of these magnificent felines, recognize both the beauty of this jungle predator and the tragic situation regarding their dwindling numbers. Governments throughout Asia join with conservation groups to recognize the plight of the tiger and vow to continue or reinvigorate efforts to conserve and protect these cats which have been imperiled by declining habitat and continued poaching.
However, as well-intended as something like Global Tiger Day is, it will take a lot more than one day to make progress on the issue. As with many other animal conservation challenges, it requires manpower, enforcement and prosecution, and money. Due to the tiger's scarcity, the black market for tiger hides and genitals - yes, one of the biggest black markets is in tiger penises - makes the temptation for subsistence-level poachers just too overwhelming. The laws and regulations are on the books; its concrete and sustained action that is often lacking.
Bangladesh is trying to make just such a proactive difference in protecting the Royal Bengal tigers that inhabit the largest mangrove forest habitat on the planet, the Sundarbans.
As reported in Bangladesh's The Daily Star, "The Tk 276 crore Tiger Action Plan would be implemented as part of strengthening regional co-operation for wildlife conservation with the assistance of the World Bank," said Dr Tapan Kumar Dey, Conservator of Forests at Wildlife and Nature Conservation Circle under the Office of the Chief Conservator of Forests.
The Sundarbans is a wide delta at the confluence of the Padma, Brahmuputra, and Meghna Rivers, spreading across southern Bangladesh and extending into India. The mangrove forests cover over 3,861 sq. miles (10,000 sq. km.) but are now surrounded by encroaching agriculture and urban development to such an extant that it has been declared by UNESCO as a world heritage site in danger.
There are three promising components found in Bangladesh's proposed Tiger Plan. First, attention will be focused on enforcement and prosecution of poachers. Violators will face new 12-year prison terms for killing a tiger and repeat offenders can be awarded life sentences. But an important second step is the recognition that many of these poachers are subsistence level villagers and so a proactive approach to alternative income, wildlife sustainability, and social change has also been proposed. The government realizes that if you take away something that is bad, you must be able to replace it with something good.
The Daily Star reports that according to Dr. Dey, the government has undertaken initiatives including increasing the number of forest department officials, conducting regular tiger monitoring, assessment of threats to the tigers, raising mass awareness locally and nationally, and facilitating research for a new generation of scientists targeting to bring social changes among the Bangladesh people.
And finally, the involvement of the World Bank is a positive sign that it is understood without financial support all pronouncements of conservation and protection would ring hollow; empty promises lost in the forest.
Current world populations figures for the tiger, including all five of the known sub-species, number around only 3,700, a terrible decline from an approximate 100,000 cats at the start of the 20th century. According to a 2004 study by the United Nations and the Bangladeshi government, only 440 Royal Bengal tigers were estimated in the Bangladesh portion of the Sundarbans.
The Daily Star reports that there are only five sub-species of tigers surviving in the world which are Bengal tiger, Siberian tiger, Sumatran tiger, South-China tiger and Indo-China tiger. Balinese tigers, Javanese tigers and Caspian tigers have already vanished from the planet with experts predicting the remaining species could disappear by the next century or sooner. Bangladesh State Minister for Forest and Environment Dr Hasan Mahmud said the government would take action to double the number of tigers by 2022.
Global Tiger Day, July 29th, 2011. Have you hugged your cat today? You just might get a hug back on behalf of a distant relative.
Read about Bangladesh's Tiger Plan in The Daily Star.
A story is moving quickly through the news media like an Arizona wildfire - from England to India, from the New York Times to Al Jazeera. It's not the latest scandal by a self-indulgent politician or the embarrassment of a foul-mouthed entertainer. It's something that many of us who love and respect the oceans have been wrestling with for some time: multiple man-made stresses on the oceans are threatening marine life with inevitable extinction.
The International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) has released a summary of a study undertaken by a group of world renown scientists who examined all of the solid data on the condition of the oceans. Presented at the United Nations on June 20th, the summary's conclusions have been picked up by hundreds of media outlets and for good reason: the prognosis does not look good if things continue as they currently are, with a "high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history."
"The findings are shocking,""
said Alex Rogers, scientific director of IPSO. "As we considered the cumulative effect of what humankind does to the ocean, the implications became far worse than we had individually realised. This is a very serious situation demanding unequivocal action at every level. We are looking at consequences for humankind that will impact in our lifetime, and worse, our children's and generations beyond that."
The summary report concludes with four case studies that focus on several of the key issues. Climate change and acidification, loss of coral reefs, pollution, and overfishing are highlighted not only as activities that are threatening the oceans but also activities that mankind can actually do something about.
I could go on detailing the findings of the IPSO but, instead, I would suggest you read the report yourself - it's available in a long version and shorter version. And I would recommend you read through the IPSO website as it discusses the findings and includes several enlightening videos from many of the scientists involved in the study. These are not just names on a document, hiding behind pronouncements that were destined for oblivion on a library shelf; these are concerned individuals willing to be front and center in announcing that things must change for the better and they must change right now if we expect to have any kind of natural marine resource left for future generations. Visit the State of the Ocean.org website.
Dan Laffoley, of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said, "The world's leading experts on oceans are surprised by the rate and magnitude of changes we are seeing. The challenges for the future of the oceans are vast, but unlike previous generations we know what now needs to happen. The time to protect the blue heart of our planet is now, today and urgent."
Read about the report at State of the Ocean.org.
Starting this Wednesday in Paris, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) will hold its annual meeting to review catch quotas for the coming year. The 48 member governments of ICCAT constitute one of the few international fishery management organizations that can address the issue of rapidly declining stocks of bluefin tuna, billfish, and even sharks. But to date it has a dismal track record in the eyes of many scientific and conservation organizations.
At last year's meeting, the ICCAT ignored the recommendations of even their own scientific advisers and set catch levels at 13,5000 tons - well above the recommendations ranging from 6,000 tons to an all out ban. It became clear that ICCAT's mission was not the conservation of an aquatic species but that of propping up a dwindling industry in the short term.
So, once again, they meet to discuss the future of Atlantic commercial fishing in a time of worldwide economic pressures, a huge demand for bluefin tuna in Japan with astronomical prices to match, and political pressures to keep supporting a commercial fishing industry with the status quo - rather than transition it to a more sustainable future.
Gloomy outlook, but there is some interesting political jockeying going on.
According to the New York Times, "The European Union’s fisheries commissioner, Maria Damanaki, with backing from Sweden, Germany and Britain, has called for an Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean quota of 'less than 6,000 tons.' The union’s 27 members are supposed to reach a consensus and vote as a bloc."Ready to challenge that proposal may be France, Italy, and Spain. France has come under fire, in particular, for an apparent reversal in their support of an outright ban proposed just 3 months ago at a UN meeting on endangered species. "In addition to the apparent about-face by President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government, the hosts may find the situation delicate for another reason: the French Agriculture Ministry was singled out in the [International Consortium of Investigative Journalists] report as having allegedly connived for many years to help French fishermen understate their catch," reported the New York Times. ‘‘'France is becoming the Darth Vader of the bluefin fishery,' Rémi Parmentier, an adviser to the Pew Environment Group, said in a recent interview. 'France appears to be doing its best to sink proposals to reduce the catch.'"Following the Gulf oil spill and concerns of potential impacts on Gulf of Mexico bluefin tuna breeding grounds, the position of the United States is a mixed bag. Jane Lubchenco, head of NOAA, said that Washington would support the scientific recommendations - which lean towards radically reduced catch levels. But northeast politicians, who represent major industrial Atlantic fishing fleets, are riding the wave of unemployment concerns and resisting efforts to have the bluefin tuna listed as an endangered species under U.S. law. Again, short-term gain that serves only as a precursor to a total industry collapse.
The interesting wild card in all of this has been indications from Japan that they might consider stricter fishery management. At the recent Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) meeting, Japan stymied all efforts to protect tuna under CITES rules, declaring ICCAT to be the more appropriate forum. Now the pressure is on Japan to put their money where their mouth is. Being consumers of more than three quarters of the catch of Atlantic bluefin tuna, Japan could endorse significantly lower catch levels - or even a moratorium, as some Japanese officials have said they would be willing to support.
Or they can watch their market demand vaporize before their eyes in just a few short years with the loss of one of the ocean's great predator species. The battle of short-term versus long-term goals continues.
Read article in New York Times.
Here's a post today from Mike at Beqa Adventure Divers regarding the Bluefin Tuna fisheries in the Mediterranean:Med Tuna Fisheries closed!
Betcha you remember this!
Well, as I said, not all hope is lost! The much-reviled European Fisheries Commission has closed the Mediterranean Tuna fisheries one week early - much like they did last year! The situation of the Northern Bluefin continues to be dire and the Gulf oil spill has likely made things even worse (read this!) - still, this is good news as it clearly illustrates the desire to enforce sustainable fisheries. As is this - and I may add, very much contrary to these shenanigans!
The equally reviled ICCAT will meet in Paris this November, this after a host of preparatory meetings. This is the body that has the mandate, and contrary to CITES, the know how to regulate the Atlantic Tuna fisheries. Members here. The fisheries in the Mediterranean are regulated by the GFCM - members here.
Has anybody started talking to them - inclusive of talking to Japan? And even more importantly: is anybody stepping forward with ideas and funds aimed at mitigating the impact of possible quota reductions, especially when it comes to the poorer African and Caribbean countries - oh, and Greece? All whilst wielding the stick, as in leveraging development aid?
All kidding aside: has anybody learned the lessons of Doha and developed a realistic, and above all, unified strategy - or will the NGOs continue to be naive, badly prepared and fragmented, only to incur yet another inevitable defeat?
We shall see!I have written several posts in the past regarding the decimated bluefin tuna population, the commercial fishery agencies that have dropped the ball time and time again, and the international organizations that have caved in to pressure from countries where the market demand is high. But more meetings are coming. The big question is will anything change? Will something be done before we say "Sorry, Charlie" for the very last time and watch an important pelagic species fade into extinction?
According to a new study published last week in Science Magazine, lizards are at a high risk of extinction due to climate change. With rising temperatures, they will spend more time seeking shade and less time feeding and breeding to perpetuate the species.
Researcher Barry Sinervo of the University of Santa Cruz and his colleagues compiled data that included local population extinctions to date, climate temperature changes, and the known temperature ranges or requirements of lizard species to construct predictive models.
The research study indicates that, since 1975, local population extinctions had reached 4% worldwide and that global extinction of entire species could reach 20% by 2080 based on current rates of temperature increase.
Ever seen a lizard sunning itself? It's not actually just sunbathing or taking a snooze. As a cold-blooded "ecotherm", it is, in essence, charging its battery so that it can engage in the important activities of foraging for food and breeding. But it does so within a particular range of temperature. And since it can not sweat or pant to cool off, when it becomes too hot it heads for shade or burrows to cool down.
But when lizards are spending more time seeking cooler conditions, they are not engaged in the activities that will guarantee their long-term survival.
"So they don't die directly but they can't reproduce. It only takes a couple of generations of that and the population is going to spiral downward until it goes extinct," says Jack Sites, one of the study's collaborators and a herpetologist from Brigham Young University.
Lizards play an important role in nature's food chain, feeding on insects and being a food source for larger animals like birds. Their loss would definitely have a severe impact on local ecosystems but just how devastating that would be is hard to determine. It is something that scientists, like Sinervo, would prefer not to have to find out.
"The numbers are actually pretty scary. We've got to try to limit climate change impacts right now or we are sending a whole bunch of species into oblivion," Sinervo said.
Read the Science Magazine abstract/article.
Read MNN article about the study.
What you see in the picture above are not wild cats in a cage, but the severed heads or pelts of cheetahs, ocelots and other rare and endangered cats - all confiscated and in storage in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services' main storage facility in Colorado. It is a sobering place, a bold reminder of man's greed and perverted sense of dominion over animals - perverted because as we threatened our natural resources, we threaten ourselves.
The worldwide trade in exotic and endangered animals is as important an issue as global warming or pollution/commercial development as to its worldwide impact on species. In 1973, the U.S. Endangered Species Act was passed and two years later the international Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was ratified but while these laws and governing bodies have done much to regulate, enforce, and protect endangered species, the slaughter continues.
And why? Well, the dilemma with many endangered species is that, to the poacher, the value increases as the more endangered it becomes and in impoverished areas where much of the illegal poaching takes place, the temptation to put food on their table is too great.
Terry Grosz, former regional director of enforcement for the Fish and Wildlife Service explains, "Given the poverty and corruption that exist in other parts of the world, there will always be pressure to resort to the illegal wildlife trade. People have to eat. When people are hungry, this is what they do."
But what supports the market for these products? There is a market based on greed and status. Do we really need a tiger head or a set of white shark jaws above our mantle? Or a stuffed gorilla hand to use as an ashtray? Or how about a caiman, standing on hind legs and holding a silver tray like some reptilian butler? Man's superiority? Only in his capacity for evil.
Another pervasive motivation that drives the market is the cultural history in ancient homeopathic medicine. Rhino horns, tiger penis (freeze-dried for your convenience), black bear gallbladder bile, and many more - all for everything from libido to hangovers and more, and at times more challenging to address than the status souvenir buyer.
But it must be addressed. Scientists have been making estimates of as much 15% to over 30% of the planet's animal and plant species could be bound for extinction by 2050. Naturalist E.O. Wilson says we may be heading to a new epoch - the current Age of Mammals, or Cenozoic Period, would be followed by the Eremozoic Period, a Greek prefix denoting loneliness.
Support organizations that are working towards curtailing the illegal killing and trading of exotic and endangered animals: CITES, WildAid, Center for Biological Diversity, and there's many more. They need your help . . . and so do the plants and animals of Earth.
"Wildlife dies without a sound," says Grosz. "We're the only guys who can give them a voice." Join them.
Thanks to the Los Angeles Times.
Seaweb.org recently reported on a study published in the journal Fish and Fisheries which provided projections as to marine species invasion and extinction due to climate change, specifically the increasing ocean temperatures. The projections were based on climate change models including those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The results of William Cheung and his colleagues at Canada's University of British Columbia were also presented at a recent Chicago meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
What the report postulated was that with increasing ocean temperatures, many marine species would migrate towards the temperate to sub-polar regions. Extinctions would occur in tropical regions because of a species inability to migrate, while species in colder waters would be faced with both the same negative impact due to temperature increase plus the impact of invasive species (increased predation and competition). Semi-closed bodies of water (ex: the Mediterranean, the Red Sea), could experience high levels of extinction because of the species' inability to migrate due to geography.
The study pointed out the rate of extinction would be much lower than for terrestrial animals, the theory being that marine animals have a higher dispersal ability and can more easily migrate to suitable habitats. However, the impact by and to human populations can also enter into all of this in the form of decreased fishing in low income tropical economies - economies that depend on seafood on a very basic subsistence level, and in decreased fish populations in colder waters due to industrialized fishing for moderate to high income economies.
We often look to the Arctic and Antarctic for critical signs of climate change, indicators of profound changes. But we must realize it is a worldwide change which challenges all of nature, including man, on many different levels.
The week-long International Coral Reef Symposium, being held in Fort Lauderdale, FL, wraps up today having brought together nearly 3,000 scientists to discuss issues and possible solutions to address the ongoing degradation of our coral reef ecosystems. Many of the results and discussions are making their way into scientific journals and newspapers worldwide.
You have all probably heard about how corals reefs have been negatively impacted by pollution, climate change, and the souvenir trade from the Caribbean to the South Pacific. The latest worldwide assessment of over 700 species shows 32.8% threatened with extinction, with a capital E. With the loss of these reefs, the inevitable domino effect follows with the loss of fish and other animal life - which carries an economic impact on tourism and subsistence fisherman in many of these tropical locales.
When I do underwater presentations as a volunteer diver at the Aquarium of the Pacific back home in Southern California, I try to impress upon the audience the importance of these marine ecosystems even though they may be thousands of miles away - they can never be "out of sight, out of mind."
- Non-biodegradable trash (plastic bags, styrofoam, etc.) and chemicals (oil, fertilizers) originating from the California coast, can travel thousands of miles to tropical locales.
- Carbon emissions and its subsequent effect on temperatures impact the coral in a variety of ways, from disrupting the symbiotic relationship of internally-stored zooxanthellae (single-celled algae) to an increase in external algae and bacteria that crowds out or kills coral species.
- Conversely, the loss of faraway coral reefs effects the chemical balance of the seas and the exchange of chemicals between sea and air, which in turn can affect temperature gradients, currents, and winds - all of which can impact us worldwide.
Just another example of all we're all connected - land, sea and air - from coral to humans, we're all part of Nature. Here's some links to learn more about what you can do: NOAA, Nature.org.
in Geinhausen, Germany. The researchers studied several insect species at the mitochondrial DNA level to ascertain subtle differences within species, which they cataloged as Evolutionary Significant Units or ESUs - populations with a species that are genetically distinct from the rest of its kind.
animal - that have evolved within, say, a specific geographic area may not be able to adapt to rises in temperature or just may not have the genetic disposition to migrate. There have been reports of large animals, like moose, that would not be inclined to travel further north into Canada and would therefore face possible extinction. So, the concept of cryptic diversity could be applicable to creatures large and small.
