Tracking equipment could be harming wild birds, experts warn

Hi-tech tracking equipment that maps the lives of bird species appears to be damaging the health and welfare of the birds to which it is attached, wildlife experts have warned.

A study involving postmortems on red kites fitted with radio transmitters in England has aroused suspicions that the equipment could cause lesions and reduce the breeding prospects of those being tracked.

Natural England, the government's environmental body, and the British Trust for Ornithology, are so worried that they have issued new guidance for postmortems on wild birds in the hope of establishing the long-term effects of such equipment.

Bird-tracking programmes involving radio and satellite transmitters or GPS devices are becoming ever more popular with the public as well as researchers, while the reintroduction of red kites, once on the verge of extinction in England, has proved a remarkable success. Twenty-two years after the programme started, there are an estimated 1,000 breeding pairs.

The new concerns are raised in the Veterinary Record in a report by experts, including staff from the Zoological Society of London, and Natural England, and in an accompanying editorial. Since 2000, 180 red kites have undergone postmortems, one in 10 of which had been fitted with radio transmitters carried in harness backpacks. Four of these, which had carried the battery-operated equipment for between three and five years, had moderate to severe lesions, said the report. These probably led to the death of one bird and precipitated the deaths from other causes of the others, say the researchers. Two of the four had also reportedly failed to breed over preceding years although it was not known if the tracking equipment was a factor.

The report added that it was "reasonable to assume" that some cases of harness-associated disease in red kites had gone undetected. Those fitted with the tracking device were left to carry them after their batteries failed because recapture was deemed likely to further stress the birds. Tail-mounted transmitters, also used for tracking birds, do not last as long because they can only be fitted after birds have left their nests with tails fully grown and they fall off when feathers moult. No lesions were found in birds known to have carried such transmitters. This suggested that for short-term monitoring of less than a year, tail-mounted transmitters on birds could be preferable.

Rebecca Vaughan-Higgins, from the Zoological Society of London, who was involved in the study, said: "It is important that we consider both the costs and benefits of the use of harness-mounted radio transmitters and other tracking devices. Radio transmitters are used worldwide in avian species to study habitat use, mortality, migration, home range and physiology. In our own work, they have been valuable because free-living sick and dead red kites can be quickly detected, and health and post-mortem examinations carried out within a short period. The examination of fresh carcases increases the value of the information we can obtain on the threats to red kite health. For example, we have published evidence for harm due to lead poisoning in red kites and these findings allowed mitigation measures to be implemented to reduce the threat to these birds."

Separate from the red kites that had undergone postmorterms in the study, Vaughan-Higgins said that of 142 red kites fitted with harness-mounted transmitters between 2000 and 2009, only 12% have been found dead. She said: "Unless and until further long-term studies have been carried out it is not possible to determine whether the findings are a sign of a greater problem in kites. Studies on other birds fitted with these devices are also warranted because we do not know whether kites have a predisposition to develop these lesions in association with harnesses or whether other birds are at risk."

Ian Carter, a co-author of the report and an ornithologist for Natural England, told the Guardian: "Any time you add any kind of weight to a bird, it will have some kind of effect. It is important to keep that to a minimum."

The accompanying editorial by Andrew Dixon, of International Wildlife Consultants, in Carmarthen, Wales, said the study highlighted the need to "carefully consider the impacts of tagging methods" on birds of prey. The relative lack of previous research on the issue was "somewhat surprising, given the high profile of many bird tracking projects and the depth of public feeling in relation to animal welfare."

James Meikle

guardian.co.uk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/20/tracking-equipment-birds-health

SEA MONSTER DEBATE

Sea monsters like those described in ancient mariners' tales down the ages really could exist, some experts claim. But they are probably not Jurassic Park-style survivors from the dinosaur age.

Scientists are to discuss the possibility of large undiscovered creatures in the sea at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Read on...

Get Kraken: Why Scientists Should Study Sea Monsters

From the Loch Ness Monster to the Kraken, sea monsters still capture the imagination centuries after medieval cartographers doodled them in the blank spots of their maps. But to Charles Paxton, a researcher at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, sea monster sightings are more than fish tales.

A collection of the weird and mysterious creatures found on Olaus Magnus's 16th-century "Carta marina," or "map of the sea."

CREDIT: Public domain

Paxton is no wild-eyed cryptozoologist who spends his weekends imagining Bigfoot behind every tree. He's a fisheries ecologist and statistician who believes that, with the right methods, anecdotes about mysterious monsters can become scientific data to tell us about human perception and the odd reports that science can't fully explain.

On July 12, Paxton and other bonafide, peer-reviewed researchers like him will discuss ways to bring cryptozoology into the scientific fold at the Zoological Society of London Communicating Science event "Cryptozoology: Science or Pseudoscience?"


http://www.livescience.com/14928-kraken-study-sea-monsters.html

Why Cleaner fish punish their partners for putting on weight

Largest fish in harem will turn into rival male

June 2011: Telling your partner to watch her weight is not recommended - unless you're a male cleaner fish, reports a new study.

Cleaner fish feed in male-female pairs by removing parasites from larger ‘client' fish. While providing this cleaning service, cleaners may get greedy and bite clients rather than sticking to parasites. This cheating by cleaners causes mealtimes to come to an abrupt end as the irritated client fish swims off.

RICH PICKINGS: Cleaner fish remove parasites from larger fish - but are not averse to sometimes taking a bigger bite. Picture: Joao Paulo Krajewski

But it's not just the client fish that is disgruntled. Females males that bite clients receive aggressive punishment from their male partners for such greedy behaviour. And with good reason.

Greedy females kept in check with harsh punishments
Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and a number of other leading scientific institutions have now shown that male fish lose more than just a meal from their partner's big appetite - they also risk the female becoming so large that she will turn into a rival male.

Cleaner fish live in groups led by one dominant male with a harem of up to 16 females. All cleaner fish are born female and turn into males when they become the biggest fish in their group. A male cleaner fish usually partners with the biggest female fish in the harem for cleaning duties.

‘Our research shows that male cleaner fish are sensitive to their female partner's size. One reason for keeping a cheating female in check may be to stop her eating too much and then challenging his position as the dominant male on the reef,' says Dr Nichola Raihani, lead author from ZSL.

Deterrent alters the female's behaviour
The research also shows that the male cleaner fish distinguish between high and low value meals and will punish the female more severely if she drives off a high-value client.

The female fish will respond to this punishment by providing better service to high value clients in the future. This is the first non-human example of where punishment fits the crime and results in the offender adjusting their behaviour according to the potential penalties.

Dr Nichola Raihani says: ‘Cleaner fish and humans may not share many physical traits, but cleaner fish punish cheating individuals, just as we punish people who step outside of the law. In both situations, harsher punishment may serve as a stronger deterrent against future crimes.'

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/cleaner-fish2011.html

Nature's 'ugly ducklings' teetering on the edge of extinction

A tiny bushbaby with over-sized ears and an almost blind dolphin that swims upside down have joined a list of the most unusual and important mammals that are teetering on the edge of extinction.

British scientists compiled the list after identifying endangered mammals with the fewest living relatives, making them profoundly valuable for the world's biodiversity.

The creatures are among the forgotten fauna that are confined to precious few habitats and are feared to be steadily dying out, while receiving little or no attention from conservationists.

Led by the Zoological Society of London, the list of 100 evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered (Edge) species of mammals aims to highlight nature's ugly ducklings that struggle to compete with the poster boys of conservation and are most in need of protection.

"These species are not only seriously threatened, they have the fewest living relatives and so represent an extraordinary amount of evolutionary diversity. Losing a high-rank species from this list can have an enormous impact on diversity," Craig Turner, a conservation biologist at ZSL, said.

The latest version of the list, which is published today, adds eight species that were not included when it was first drawn up two years ago. Then, the Yangtze river dolphin topped the list, but is now thought to have gone extinct.

Three species of long-beaked echidna, which live in New Guinea and have light-brown, spiny coats, now rank equal first on the list. Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, one of the most primitive mammals on the planet, was presumed extinct until it was spotted by ZSL researchers in 2007. Alongside platypuses, echidnas are the only mammals that lay eggs like a reptile.

One mammal that joins the list is the saola, or "Asian unicorn", which lives in the Annamite mountains of Laos and Vietnam. The antelope-like animal was unknown to western science until 1992, and a confirmed sighting in Laos in August this year was the first in more than 10 years.

Villagers in a province in central Laos captured an adult male saola, but the animal died from the ordeal days after a team of experts arrived to examine it. The saola is critically endangered and probably only a few hundred exist.

The Chinese pangolin, which resembles an anteater covered with scales made from fused hair, also joins the list. The creature has powerful claws and nearly a half-metre-long tongue that it uses to raid termite and ant nests. The population is under threat as the animals are hunted for their meat, which is considered a delicacy, and their skin and scales, which are used in traditional medicine.

Dams and irrigation projects have damaged the habitat of the Ganges river dolphin, the last descendant of one of the oldest groups of long-beaked dolphins that lived in the world's oceans millions of years ago. The dolphin has an unusual, thin beak and is almost completely blind. It swims on its side and upside down and uses its fins to find food on the river bed.

Several other species added to the list include the pygmy three-toed sloth, the smallest and most threatened of all sloth species, which lives on a single island off the coast of Panama; the Asian tapir; and the Rondo dwarf galago, the smallest kind of bushbaby, which lives in only seven highly threatened patches of forest in Tanzania. The black and white ruffed lemur of Madagascar, which helps the island's Traveller's tree reproduce by getting covered in pollen when it sips nectar from the tree's flowers, joins the list too.

"There are mammals across the world requiring conservation attention, but Edge species must be our top priority," said Turner. "Variety is truly the spice of life when it comes to the natural world and if we fail to preserve this variety, we are threatening our very own existence."

Ian Sample, science correspondent guardian.co.uk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/nov/19/nature-ugly-mammals-extinction

Nature's 'ugly ducklings' teetering on the edge of extinction

A tiny bushbaby with over-sized ears and an almost blind dolphin that swims upside down have joined a list of the most unusual and important mammals that are teetering on the edge of extinction.

British scientists compiled the list after identifying endangered mammals with the fewest living relatives, making them profoundly valuable for the world's biodiversity.

The creatures are among the forgotten fauna that are confined to precious few habitats and are feared to be steadily dying out, while receiving little or no attention from conservationists.

Led by the Zoological Society of London, the list of 100 evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered (Edge) species of mammals aims to highlight nature's ugly ducklings that struggle to compete with the poster boys of conservation and are most in need of protection.

"These species are not only seriously threatened, they have the fewest living relatives and so represent an extraordinary amount of evolutionary diversity. Losing a high-rank species from this list can have an enormous impact on diversity," Craig Turner, a conservation biologist at ZSL, said.

The latest version of the list, which is published today, adds eight species that were not included when it was first drawn up two years ago. Then, the Yangtze river dolphin topped the list, but is now thought to have gone extinct.

Three species of long-beaked echidna, which live in New Guinea and have light-brown, spiny coats, now rank equal first on the list. Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, one of the most primitive mammals on the planet, was presumed extinct until it was spotted by ZSL researchers in 2007. Alongside platypuses, echidnas are the only mammals that lay eggs like a reptile.

One mammal that joins the list is the saola, or "Asian unicorn", which lives in the Annamite mountains of Laos and Vietnam. The antelope-like animal was unknown to western science until 1992, and a confirmed sighting in Laos in August this year was the first in more than 10 years.

Villagers in a province in central Laos captured an adult male saola, but the animal died from the ordeal days after a team of experts arrived to examine it. The saola is critically endangered and probably only a few hundred exist.

The Chinese pangolin, which resembles an anteater covered with scales made from fused hair, also joins the list. The creature has powerful claws and nearly a half-metre-long tongue that it uses to raid termite and ant nests. The population is under threat as the animals are hunted for their meat, which is considered a delicacy, and their skin and scales, which are used in traditional medicine.

Dams and irrigation projects have damaged the habitat of the Ganges river dolphin, the last descendant of one of the oldest groups of long-beaked dolphins that lived in the world's oceans millions of years ago. The dolphin has an unusual, thin beak and is almost completely blind. It swims on its side and upside down and uses its fins to find food on the river bed.

Several other species added to the list include the pygmy three-toed sloth, the smallest and most threatened of all sloth species, which lives on a single island off the coast of Panama; the Asian tapir; and the Rondo dwarf galago, the smallest kind of bushbaby, which lives in only seven highly threatened patches of forest in Tanzania. The black and white ruffed lemur of Madagascar, which helps the island's Traveller's tree reproduce by getting covered in pollen when it sips nectar from the tree's flowers, joins the list too.

"There are mammals across the world requiring conservation attention, but Edge species must be our top priority," said Turner. "Variety is truly the spice of life when it comes to the natural world and if we fail to preserve this variety, we are threatening our very own existence."

Ian Sample, science correspondent guardian.co.uk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/nov/19/nature-ugly-mammals-extinction

Conservationists welcome Chagos fishing ban in world’s largest no-take marine protected area

Chagos Archipelago becomes a no fishing zone

November 2010. Commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago has now ended making it the largest no-take marine protected area (MPA) in the world.

The remaining fishing licenses have expired, following the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) decision to create the MPA. This landmark comes on the same day that conservationists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) highlight in a new paper the damaging effects of over-exploitative commercial fishing in the area.

60,000 sharks
It is estimated that around 60,000 sharks, an equivalent number of rays, and potentially countless other species have been legally caught as by-catch from commercial fisheries over the past five years in Chagos.

Tuna
The paper also draws together evidence that large-scale MPAs can have a positive effect on migratory species such as tuna. Until now, tuna was the main target of commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago.

Conservationists now hope this scientifically important MPA, which has the world's cleanest sea water, can be used as a comparative site to ailing reefs affected by human impact, climate change and rising sea temperatures.

Dr Heather Koldewey, who manages ZSL's international marine and freshwater conservation programme, says: "The implementation of a no-take marine reserve in the Chagos will provide a highly unique scientific reference site of global importance for studies on both pelagic and benthic marine ecosystems and the effects of climate change on them.


"Governments across the world have the power to stop over-exploitation in marine protected areas. We need more ocean reserves like the Chagos Archipelago if we are ever to sustain the world's oceanic ecosystems."

Tiny % of the oceans are protected
Currently it is estimated that 1.17 per cent of the world's ocean is under some form of marine protection, with only 0.08 per cent of these protected areas classified as no-take zones. Scientists are urging governments to establish more MPAs if they are ever to meet the agreed target of 10 per cent by 2012, agreed at the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Alistair Gammell, director of the Pew Environment Group's Chagos campaign, said: "We are thrilled that the protection of the Chagos announced by the British Government has come into effect. This end to commercial fishing in the Chagos will help its marine wildlife to recover and thrive."
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/chagos-mpa.html

Conservationists welcome Chagos fishing ban in world’s largest no-take marine protected area

Chagos Archipelago becomes a no fishing zone

November 2010. Commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago has now ended making it the largest no-take marine protected area (MPA) in the world.

The remaining fishing licenses have expired, following the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) decision to create the MPA. This landmark comes on the same day that conservationists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) highlight in a new paper the damaging effects of over-exploitative commercial fishing in the area.

60,000 sharks
It is estimated that around 60,000 sharks, an equivalent number of rays, and potentially countless other species have been legally caught as by-catch from commercial fisheries over the past five years in Chagos.

Tuna
The paper also draws together evidence that large-scale MPAs can have a positive effect on migratory species such as tuna. Until now, tuna was the main target of commercial fishing around the Chagos Archipelago.

Conservationists now hope this scientifically important MPA, which has the world's cleanest sea water, can be used as a comparative site to ailing reefs affected by human impact, climate change and rising sea temperatures.

Dr Heather Koldewey, who manages ZSL's international marine and freshwater conservation programme, says: "The implementation of a no-take marine reserve in the Chagos will provide a highly unique scientific reference site of global importance for studies on both pelagic and benthic marine ecosystems and the effects of climate change on them.


"Governments across the world have the power to stop over-exploitation in marine protected areas. We need more ocean reserves like the Chagos Archipelago if we are ever to sustain the world's oceanic ecosystems."

Tiny % of the oceans are protected
Currently it is estimated that 1.17 per cent of the world's ocean is under some form of marine protection, with only 0.08 per cent of these protected areas classified as no-take zones. Scientists are urging governments to establish more MPAs if they are ever to meet the agreed target of 10 per cent by 2012, agreed at the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Alistair Gammell, director of the Pew Environment Group's Chagos campaign, said: "We are thrilled that the protection of the Chagos announced by the British Government has come into effect. This end to commercial fishing in the Chagos will help its marine wildlife to recover and thrive."
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/chagos-mpa.html

Disease Decimates UK Frog Populations

ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2010) - Common frog (Rana temporaria) populations across the UK are suffering dramatic population crashes due to infection from the emerging disease Ranavirus, reveals research published in the Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) journal Animal Conservation.

Using data collected from the public by the Frog Mortality Project and Froglife, scientists from ZSL found that, on average, infected frog populations experienced an 81 per cent decline in adult frogs over a 12 year period.

"Our findings show that Ranavirus not only causes one-off mass-mortality events, but is also responsible for long-term population declines. We need to understand more about this virus if we are to minimise the serious threat that it poses to our native amphibians," says Dr Amber Teacher, lead author from ZSL.

Despite a number of populations suffering from infection year-on-year, other populations bounced-back from mass-mortality events. This suggests that some frogs may have some form of immunity to ranaviral infection.

"The discovery of persistent populations in the face of disease emergence is very encouraging and offers hope for the long-term future of this species" says Lucy Benyon, Froglife. "However, we still need regular information from the public on what is happening in their ponds to continue this essential research."

In the 80s and 90s, the disease was particularly associated with the southeast of England. In recent years new 'pockets' of diseases have turned up in Lancashire, Yorkshire and along the south coast.

"It is very difficult to treat wildlife diseases and so the mystery that we desperately need to solve is how the disease spreads. Understanding more about the ecology of the disease will allow us to offer advice to the public on how to limit the spread of infection, which could also prevent the movement of other frog diseases in the future," says co-author Dr Trent Garner from ZSL.

HerpDigest Volume # 10 #44 10/20/10‏

Disease Decimates UK Frog Populations

ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2010) - Common frog (Rana temporaria) populations across the UK are suffering dramatic population crashes due to infection from the emerging disease Ranavirus, reveals research published in the Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) journal Animal Conservation.

Using data collected from the public by the Frog Mortality Project and Froglife, scientists from ZSL found that, on average, infected frog populations experienced an 81 per cent decline in adult frogs over a 12 year period.

"Our findings show that Ranavirus not only causes one-off mass-mortality events, but is also responsible for long-term population declines. We need to understand more about this virus if we are to minimise the serious threat that it poses to our native amphibians," says Dr Amber Teacher, lead author from ZSL.

Despite a number of populations suffering from infection year-on-year, other populations bounced-back from mass-mortality events. This suggests that some frogs may have some form of immunity to ranaviral infection.

"The discovery of persistent populations in the face of disease emergence is very encouraging and offers hope for the long-term future of this species" says Lucy Benyon, Froglife. "However, we still need regular information from the public on what is happening in their ponds to continue this essential research."

In the 80s and 90s, the disease was particularly associated with the southeast of England. In recent years new 'pockets' of diseases have turned up in Lancashire, Yorkshire and along the south coast.

"It is very difficult to treat wildlife diseases and so the mystery that we desperately need to solve is how the disease spreads. Understanding more about the ecology of the disease will allow us to offer advice to the public on how to limit the spread of infection, which could also prevent the movement of other frog diseases in the future," says co-author Dr Trent Garner from ZSL.

HerpDigest Volume # 10 #44 10/20/10‏