Plant species discovery Perth's most significant in six years
A NEW plant species has been discovered by West Australian scientists in the Perth suburb of Kenwick.
Described as the most significant botanical find in the Perth metropolitan area since 2005, Ptilotus christineae was discovered late last year by botanical consultant Cate Tauss while working on behalf of the V&C Semeniuk Research Group.
Western Australian Herbarium director Dr Kevin Thiele says the species is one of the rarest in its genus.
“It’s currently known from only one locality and differs from other species in details of its habitat and flowers,” he says
“Most other species of Ptilotus grow in arid parts of WA such as the Pilbara, although there are a number around Perth and the south west.”
Ms Tauss found the new species while surveying a variety of habitats near Kenwick’s Brixton Street wetlands.
“These are important—and now very rare—clay-based wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain and contain a number of rare and localised species,” Dr Thiele says.
“Whenever plant surveys are conducted in WA there’s always a chance of finding something new or rare, so in that sense Cate was on the lookout… But the actual discovery of the new species was serendipity.”
Botanists working at or in association with the WA Herbarium discover and name about 30 to 50 new species of plants, algae and fungi every year.
Dr Thiele says this is one of the highest rates of discovery in the world, highlighting the extraordinary richness of WA’s biodiversity and the expertise of the botanists studying it.
“Perth is built on the Swan Coastal Plain which is a region with extraordinarily high native plant richness in global terms.The region has been relatively well-explored by botanists for more than 200 years but new species still occasionally turn up in the Perth region,” he says.
“Ptilotus christineae is only known from one small population in Kenwick and its area of occupancy is less than 0.2 ha.
“It’s unlikely more populations will be found because most of its wetland habitat has been lost to urban development.”
Ptilotus christineae was named in recognition of scientist Christine Semeniuk’s contribution to the study of wetland environments across the State.
The species faces multiple threats including the immediate threat of illegal off-road vehicle traffic through the bushland every weekend, which Dr Thiele says could be stopped by more adequate fencing.
“Climate change, industrial development and inappropriate water management in the local catchment are probably the most serious threats in the medium and long term,” he says.
Details of the new species have been published in the scientific journal Nuytsia.
http://www.sciencewa.net.au/3782-plant-species-discovery-perths-most-significant-in-six-years.html
Showing posts with label botany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label botany. Show all posts
Friday, December 23, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Bats Use Carnivorous Pitcher Plant as Living Toilet
posted: 25 January 2011 07:11 pm ET
Birds may bomb cars with airborne droppings, but apparently bats use living toilets made of carnivorous plants, gracing them with their fecal matter, scientists find.
Pitcher plants get their name from the long jug-like structures they form from rolled-up leaves. These pitchers serve as pitfall traps, with digestive fluids to liquefy any hapless victims (typically insects) that fall in.
Scientists recently discovered that small mammals known as tree shrews on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo don't end up as doomed victims of the carnivorous plant — instead, they sit on the rims of one such pitcher plant Nepenthes lowii and then poop inside.
As ignoble as this might seem, this is a win-win situation for both the pitchers and tree shrews. The plants cover the pitcher lids with nectar that the critters readily lick for nourishment, while the excrement serves as much-needed fertilizer. (This is why carnivorous plants normally trap insects — to get valuable nutrients.)
Now it turns out pitcher plants are not exclusive bathrooms. Scientists have discovered the small woolly bat Kerivoula hardwickii uses a different type of pitcher in Borneo, Nepenthes rafflesiana elongata, as a lavatory and home as well.
Bat roosts
Tropical ecologist Ulmar Grafe at the University of Brunei Darussalam in Brunei first started working on the island of Borneo investigating how tadpoles can survive within the fluid of pitcher plants.
"It was a hot and humid day in the peat swamp forest and a student calls out, 'Ulmar, have a look at this — there's a bat in this pitcher,'" Grafe recalled. "We squeezed it out the top, and it was alive and well, obviously using the pitcher as a daytime roost."
Other people had seen bats roosting in the pitchers but they put it off as coincidental. "We were seeing it too often, however," Grafe said.
The pitchers of N. rafflesiana elongata are actually poor insect traps, capturing up to seven times fewer insects than typical varieties and possessing relatively little in the way of insect-attracting scents and digestive fluid. As such, "maybe the pitchers are modified in a way that attracts bats," Grafe said. "Bat roosting may not be coincidental." [Pitcher Plant Eats Rodents]
To learn more about the relationship between the small woolly bats and the plants, the researchers stuck radio transmitters onto 17 bats they found in pitchers.
"We had to use the lightest, custom-made transmitters possible, weighing only 0.4 grams, probably the smallest ones used to track animals so far, to minimize any effect of transmitter weight on bat behavior — the bats weigh 4 grams on average," Grafe said.
Not only was it tricky gluing transmitters onto the bats, "one of my students was in the peat swamp one day checking the roosts with her mother of all people, and she calls me all excited saying that she doesn't dare check one of the pitchers because a pit viper is perched beside it," Grafe said. "I told her not to worry and in just over an hour I arrived at the site and removed the viper, not wanting to be responsible for any mishap. I took the viper home as a pet, to the enjoyment of my two young kids."
Also, "my students from Germany were living with local hosts nearby who mentioned that bats were quite tasty and also healthy for pregnant women," he added. "Needless to say, we did not let them know where 'our' bats were to be found."
After their hard work, the scientists found these bats exclusively used pitchers of N. rafflesiana elongata as their daytime roosts. During the course of a roughly six-week period in 2009, they saw that 64 plants out of 223 they monitored harbored at least one bat in one of its pitchers.
The pitchers lent ample space for the bats to roost above the digestive fluid — the pitchers of N. rafflesiana elongata are up to four times longer than typical varieties of pitcher plant. Indeed, on two separate occasions, young bats shared the same pitchers with their mothers.
The scientists also compared pitchers of N. rafflesiana elongata that served as roosts and ones that were never occupied, which the researchers had monitored since they opened. They found leaves of roost pitchers had significantly higher levels of the vital nutrient nitrogen, with which excrement is loaded.
Mutually beneficial
As is the case with tree shrews and N. lowii, the bat and N. rafflesiana elongata mutually benefit from their relationship. The pitchers get excrement as fertilizer, while the bats gain valuable shelter. Indeed, these pitchers taper distinctly in their lower halves — the bats can thus rest inside by just wedging in their heads instead of trying to cling to the slippery pitcher walls.
It seems likely these different cases of poop-scooping are independent evolutionary events. N. lowii grows in areas where there seem to be low numbers of insects, so they need to get nitrogen from somewhere, and tree shrews turned up as the answer. In the case of N. rafflesiana elongata, small forest bats often find it difficult to find appropriate roosts, and coincidental use of pitchers may have evolved into a regular practice if the pitchers responded by making them more attractive as roosts.
"We believe our study is the most conclusive case to date of a mutualistic association between a carnivorous plant and a mammal," Grafe said. "I hope that more people will become fascinated by the extraordinary biology of pitcher plants. We are still learning so much about these plants and their ecology."
The scientists detailed their findings online Jan. 26 in the journal Biology Letters.
Bats Use Carnivorous Pitcher Plant as Living Toilet
posted: 25 January 2011 07:11 pm ET
Birds may bomb cars with airborne droppings, but apparently bats use living toilets made of carnivorous plants, gracing them with their fecal matter, scientists find.
Pitcher plants get their name from the long jug-like structures they form from rolled-up leaves. These pitchers serve as pitfall traps, with digestive fluids to liquefy any hapless victims (typically insects) that fall in.
Scientists recently discovered that small mammals known as tree shrews on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo don't end up as doomed victims of the carnivorous plant — instead, they sit on the rims of one such pitcher plant Nepenthes lowii and then poop inside.
As ignoble as this might seem, this is a win-win situation for both the pitchers and tree shrews. The plants cover the pitcher lids with nectar that the critters readily lick for nourishment, while the excrement serves as much-needed fertilizer. (This is why carnivorous plants normally trap insects — to get valuable nutrients.)
Now it turns out pitcher plants are not exclusive bathrooms. Scientists have discovered the small woolly bat Kerivoula hardwickii uses a different type of pitcher in Borneo, Nepenthes rafflesiana elongata, as a lavatory and home as well.
Bat roosts
Tropical ecologist Ulmar Grafe at the University of Brunei Darussalam in Brunei first started working on the island of Borneo investigating how tadpoles can survive within the fluid of pitcher plants.
"It was a hot and humid day in the peat swamp forest and a student calls out, 'Ulmar, have a look at this — there's a bat in this pitcher,'" Grafe recalled. "We squeezed it out the top, and it was alive and well, obviously using the pitcher as a daytime roost."
Other people had seen bats roosting in the pitchers but they put it off as coincidental. "We were seeing it too often, however," Grafe said.
The pitchers of N. rafflesiana elongata are actually poor insect traps, capturing up to seven times fewer insects than typical varieties and possessing relatively little in the way of insect-attracting scents and digestive fluid. As such, "maybe the pitchers are modified in a way that attracts bats," Grafe said. "Bat roosting may not be coincidental." [Pitcher Plant Eats Rodents]
To learn more about the relationship between the small woolly bats and the plants, the researchers stuck radio transmitters onto 17 bats they found in pitchers.
"We had to use the lightest, custom-made transmitters possible, weighing only 0.4 grams, probably the smallest ones used to track animals so far, to minimize any effect of transmitter weight on bat behavior — the bats weigh 4 grams on average," Grafe said.
Not only was it tricky gluing transmitters onto the bats, "one of my students was in the peat swamp one day checking the roosts with her mother of all people, and she calls me all excited saying that she doesn't dare check one of the pitchers because a pit viper is perched beside it," Grafe said. "I told her not to worry and in just over an hour I arrived at the site and removed the viper, not wanting to be responsible for any mishap. I took the viper home as a pet, to the enjoyment of my two young kids."
Also, "my students from Germany were living with local hosts nearby who mentioned that bats were quite tasty and also healthy for pregnant women," he added. "Needless to say, we did not let them know where 'our' bats were to be found."
After their hard work, the scientists found these bats exclusively used pitchers of N. rafflesiana elongata as their daytime roosts. During the course of a roughly six-week period in 2009, they saw that 64 plants out of 223 they monitored harbored at least one bat in one of its pitchers.
The pitchers lent ample space for the bats to roost above the digestive fluid — the pitchers of N. rafflesiana elongata are up to four times longer than typical varieties of pitcher plant. Indeed, on two separate occasions, young bats shared the same pitchers with their mothers.
The scientists also compared pitchers of N. rafflesiana elongata that served as roosts and ones that were never occupied, which the researchers had monitored since they opened. They found leaves of roost pitchers had significantly higher levels of the vital nutrient nitrogen, with which excrement is loaded.
Mutually beneficial
As is the case with tree shrews and N. lowii, the bat and N. rafflesiana elongata mutually benefit from their relationship. The pitchers get excrement as fertilizer, while the bats gain valuable shelter. Indeed, these pitchers taper distinctly in their lower halves — the bats can thus rest inside by just wedging in their heads instead of trying to cling to the slippery pitcher walls.
It seems likely these different cases of poop-scooping are independent evolutionary events. N. lowii grows in areas where there seem to be low numbers of insects, so they need to get nitrogen from somewhere, and tree shrews turned up as the answer. In the case of N. rafflesiana elongata, small forest bats often find it difficult to find appropriate roosts, and coincidental use of pitchers may have evolved into a regular practice if the pitchers responded by making them more attractive as roosts.
"We believe our study is the most conclusive case to date of a mutualistic association between a carnivorous plant and a mammal," Grafe said. "I hope that more people will become fascinated by the extraordinary biology of pitcher plants. We are still learning so much about these plants and their ecology."
The scientists detailed their findings online Jan. 26 in the journal Biology Letters.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
An unusual twist in war against invasive species
Sent to help rid park of Japanese barberry, NCC student discovers its medicinal value.
By Christopher Baxter, OF THE MORNING CALL
11:27 p.m. EST, January 21, 2011
As ruthless invaders go, the Japanese barberry has quite the reputation. Sent from Russia more than a century ago, the spiny shrub with red berries lures onlookers like a Siren of the garden, enticing green thumbs to plant its seeds and then escaping to conquer the land.
The best way to stop it: Don't fall for its song. But that strategy failed long ago.
Battles these days are more like lopsided skirmishes, pitting swaths of entrenched barberry against small groups of nature's militiamen. They use their hands, herbicides, even blowtorches, anything to gain the high ground on the forest foreigner.
Bethlehem native Michael MacDonald joined the ranks about a year ago. As part of his biology course at Northampton Community College, he elected to fight a patch of barberry in Jacobsburg state park. He discovered, however, that the foe may not be so bad after all.
"While I was writing a paper on our work in Jacobsburg, I stumbled on some interesting stuff about how barberry has these medicinal compounds," said MacDonald, a sophomore biological science major. "So I thought it would be cool to extract the chemicals from the plant."
In partnership with professors William Magilton and David Gelormo, MacDonald and another student tested the leaves, stems and roots of the barberry to determine what chemicals they contain and how they might help someone with an ailment who happens to be lost in the forest.
"The project allowed first- and second-year students to use instrumentation and research methods that a lot of biology and chemistry majors wouldn't be able to do until graduate school," Gelormo said.
Medicinal use of barberry dates back more than 2,500 years, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. One of its primary chemicals, berberine, has been used to ease inflammation and bladder infection, sore throat, nasal congestion and diarrhea, among other ailments.
Barberry is often taken by steeping its roots or berries in a pot of tea, but is also available in capsules or as a topical ointment. It should not be taken over a long period of time without consulting a doctor, according to the center, and is not recommended for children.
"We wanted to know what someone could do if they were to go into the park, or go somewhere where the barberry is invasive, which is pretty much anywhere in Pennsylvania, and needed to get the highest concentration of berberine," MacDonald said.
Two rounds of research, which involved some high-tech instrumentation, revealed that the roots have the highest concentration of berberine, MacDonald said. Ailing forestgoers should note, however, that the amount of berberine depends on the age of the plant.
MacDonald will present the findings at an upcoming meeting of the local chapter of the American Chemical Society. Though he's never tried barberry to cure any of his ills, he's open to the idea. And as for his interest in botany, well, that's something that just grew naturally.
"I love watching plants grow," he said.
He admits, however, that not everyone shares his affinity for botany. So when he explains his work to friends, he often talks about how many of the medicines they use every day are derived from plants. That he knows from his father, a pharmacist.
MacDonald, now 26, dropped out of Northampton shortly after high school but has returned with a vengeance. He has a 4.0 grade-point average after four semesters, and hopes to get his bachelor's degree, his master's degree and maybe even a doctorate.
"I'm kind of riding a fence between medicine and agriculture," MacDonald said. "I've got my hand in both pots."
christopher.baxter@mcall.com
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-ncc-barberry-testing-20110121,0,142695.story
By Christopher Baxter, OF THE MORNING CALL
11:27 p.m. EST, January 21, 2011
As ruthless invaders go, the Japanese barberry has quite the reputation. Sent from Russia more than a century ago, the spiny shrub with red berries lures onlookers like a Siren of the garden, enticing green thumbs to plant its seeds and then escaping to conquer the land.
The best way to stop it: Don't fall for its song. But that strategy failed long ago.
Battles these days are more like lopsided skirmishes, pitting swaths of entrenched barberry against small groups of nature's militiamen. They use their hands, herbicides, even blowtorches, anything to gain the high ground on the forest foreigner.
Bethlehem native Michael MacDonald joined the ranks about a year ago. As part of his biology course at Northampton Community College, he elected to fight a patch of barberry in Jacobsburg state park. He discovered, however, that the foe may not be so bad after all.
"While I was writing a paper on our work in Jacobsburg, I stumbled on some interesting stuff about how barberry has these medicinal compounds," said MacDonald, a sophomore biological science major. "So I thought it would be cool to extract the chemicals from the plant."
In partnership with professors William Magilton and David Gelormo, MacDonald and another student tested the leaves, stems and roots of the barberry to determine what chemicals they contain and how they might help someone with an ailment who happens to be lost in the forest.
"The project allowed first- and second-year students to use instrumentation and research methods that a lot of biology and chemistry majors wouldn't be able to do until graduate school," Gelormo said.
Medicinal use of barberry dates back more than 2,500 years, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. One of its primary chemicals, berberine, has been used to ease inflammation and bladder infection, sore throat, nasal congestion and diarrhea, among other ailments.
Barberry is often taken by steeping its roots or berries in a pot of tea, but is also available in capsules or as a topical ointment. It should not be taken over a long period of time without consulting a doctor, according to the center, and is not recommended for children.
"We wanted to know what someone could do if they were to go into the park, or go somewhere where the barberry is invasive, which is pretty much anywhere in Pennsylvania, and needed to get the highest concentration of berberine," MacDonald said.
Two rounds of research, which involved some high-tech instrumentation, revealed that the roots have the highest concentration of berberine, MacDonald said. Ailing forestgoers should note, however, that the amount of berberine depends on the age of the plant.
MacDonald will present the findings at an upcoming meeting of the local chapter of the American Chemical Society. Though he's never tried barberry to cure any of his ills, he's open to the idea. And as for his interest in botany, well, that's something that just grew naturally.
"I love watching plants grow," he said.
He admits, however, that not everyone shares his affinity for botany. So when he explains his work to friends, he often talks about how many of the medicines they use every day are derived from plants. That he knows from his father, a pharmacist.
MacDonald, now 26, dropped out of Northampton shortly after high school but has returned with a vengeance. He has a 4.0 grade-point average after four semesters, and hopes to get his bachelor's degree, his master's degree and maybe even a doctorate.
"I'm kind of riding a fence between medicine and agriculture," MacDonald said. "I've got my hand in both pots."
christopher.baxter@mcall.com
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-ncc-barberry-testing-20110121,0,142695.story
An unusual twist in war against invasive species
Sent to help rid park of Japanese barberry, NCC student discovers its medicinal value.
By Christopher Baxter, OF THE MORNING CALL
11:27 p.m. EST, January 21, 2011
As ruthless invaders go, the Japanese barberry has quite the reputation. Sent from Russia more than a century ago, the spiny shrub with red berries lures onlookers like a Siren of the garden, enticing green thumbs to plant its seeds and then escaping to conquer the land.
The best way to stop it: Don't fall for its song. But that strategy failed long ago.
Battles these days are more like lopsided skirmishes, pitting swaths of entrenched barberry against small groups of nature's militiamen. They use their hands, herbicides, even blowtorches, anything to gain the high ground on the forest foreigner.
Bethlehem native Michael MacDonald joined the ranks about a year ago. As part of his biology course at Northampton Community College, he elected to fight a patch of barberry in Jacobsburg state park. He discovered, however, that the foe may not be so bad after all.
"While I was writing a paper on our work in Jacobsburg, I stumbled on some interesting stuff about how barberry has these medicinal compounds," said MacDonald, a sophomore biological science major. "So I thought it would be cool to extract the chemicals from the plant."
In partnership with professors William Magilton and David Gelormo, MacDonald and another student tested the leaves, stems and roots of the barberry to determine what chemicals they contain and how they might help someone with an ailment who happens to be lost in the forest.
"The project allowed first- and second-year students to use instrumentation and research methods that a lot of biology and chemistry majors wouldn't be able to do until graduate school," Gelormo said.
Medicinal use of barberry dates back more than 2,500 years, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. One of its primary chemicals, berberine, has been used to ease inflammation and bladder infection, sore throat, nasal congestion and diarrhea, among other ailments.
Barberry is often taken by steeping its roots or berries in a pot of tea, but is also available in capsules or as a topical ointment. It should not be taken over a long period of time without consulting a doctor, according to the center, and is not recommended for children.
"We wanted to know what someone could do if they were to go into the park, or go somewhere where the barberry is invasive, which is pretty much anywhere in Pennsylvania, and needed to get the highest concentration of berberine," MacDonald said.
Two rounds of research, which involved some high-tech instrumentation, revealed that the roots have the highest concentration of berberine, MacDonald said. Ailing forestgoers should note, however, that the amount of berberine depends on the age of the plant.
MacDonald will present the findings at an upcoming meeting of the local chapter of the American Chemical Society. Though he's never tried barberry to cure any of his ills, he's open to the idea. And as for his interest in botany, well, that's something that just grew naturally.
"I love watching plants grow," he said.
He admits, however, that not everyone shares his affinity for botany. So when he explains his work to friends, he often talks about how many of the medicines they use every day are derived from plants. That he knows from his father, a pharmacist.
MacDonald, now 26, dropped out of Northampton shortly after high school but has returned with a vengeance. He has a 4.0 grade-point average after four semesters, and hopes to get his bachelor's degree, his master's degree and maybe even a doctorate.
"I'm kind of riding a fence between medicine and agriculture," MacDonald said. "I've got my hand in both pots."
christopher.baxter@mcall.com
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-ncc-barberry-testing-20110121,0,142695.story
By Christopher Baxter, OF THE MORNING CALL
11:27 p.m. EST, January 21, 2011
As ruthless invaders go, the Japanese barberry has quite the reputation. Sent from Russia more than a century ago, the spiny shrub with red berries lures onlookers like a Siren of the garden, enticing green thumbs to plant its seeds and then escaping to conquer the land.
The best way to stop it: Don't fall for its song. But that strategy failed long ago.
Battles these days are more like lopsided skirmishes, pitting swaths of entrenched barberry against small groups of nature's militiamen. They use their hands, herbicides, even blowtorches, anything to gain the high ground on the forest foreigner.
Bethlehem native Michael MacDonald joined the ranks about a year ago. As part of his biology course at Northampton Community College, he elected to fight a patch of barberry in Jacobsburg state park. He discovered, however, that the foe may not be so bad after all.
"While I was writing a paper on our work in Jacobsburg, I stumbled on some interesting stuff about how barberry has these medicinal compounds," said MacDonald, a sophomore biological science major. "So I thought it would be cool to extract the chemicals from the plant."
In partnership with professors William Magilton and David Gelormo, MacDonald and another student tested the leaves, stems and roots of the barberry to determine what chemicals they contain and how they might help someone with an ailment who happens to be lost in the forest.
"The project allowed first- and second-year students to use instrumentation and research methods that a lot of biology and chemistry majors wouldn't be able to do until graduate school," Gelormo said.
Medicinal use of barberry dates back more than 2,500 years, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. One of its primary chemicals, berberine, has been used to ease inflammation and bladder infection, sore throat, nasal congestion and diarrhea, among other ailments.
Barberry is often taken by steeping its roots or berries in a pot of tea, but is also available in capsules or as a topical ointment. It should not be taken over a long period of time without consulting a doctor, according to the center, and is not recommended for children.
"We wanted to know what someone could do if they were to go into the park, or go somewhere where the barberry is invasive, which is pretty much anywhere in Pennsylvania, and needed to get the highest concentration of berberine," MacDonald said.
Two rounds of research, which involved some high-tech instrumentation, revealed that the roots have the highest concentration of berberine, MacDonald said. Ailing forestgoers should note, however, that the amount of berberine depends on the age of the plant.
MacDonald will present the findings at an upcoming meeting of the local chapter of the American Chemical Society. Though he's never tried barberry to cure any of his ills, he's open to the idea. And as for his interest in botany, well, that's something that just grew naturally.
"I love watching plants grow," he said.
He admits, however, that not everyone shares his affinity for botany. So when he explains his work to friends, he often talks about how many of the medicines they use every day are derived from plants. That he knows from his father, a pharmacist.
MacDonald, now 26, dropped out of Northampton shortly after high school but has returned with a vengeance. He has a 4.0 grade-point average after four semesters, and hopes to get his bachelor's degree, his master's degree and maybe even a doctorate.
"I'm kind of riding a fence between medicine and agriculture," MacDonald said. "I've got my hand in both pots."
christopher.baxter@mcall.com
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-ncc-barberry-testing-20110121,0,142695.story
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Thousands of plant species 'undiscovered in cupboards'
More than 35,000 new species of flowering plants may be lying undiscovered in cupboards around the world, it is claimed.
Botanists looked at how long it takes for new species collected in the field to be identified, and found it often took decades.
They concluded that of the 70,000 flowering plants that experts believe are yet to be found, over half may already be in collections, awaiting identification.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Plants have been catalogued for hundreds of years. Traditionally, potential new species are dried and mounted on cardboard, labelled and placed in what is known as a herbarium for safekeeping.
There are around 3,000 herbaria worldwide, containing thousands and thousands of specimens.
Dr Robert Scotland of Oxford University spent some 15 years using these herbaria to research one particular genus of flowering plants called Strobilanthes. He found 60 new species lying undiscovered in such collections.
Together with colleagues, he decided to try and calculate how many undiscovered species of all flowering plants may be lying in such collections.
They assembled data for over 3,200 species identified since 1970 and looked at the lag between collection and identification.
They calculated that only 16% were described within five years of collection, while nearly one quarter were described over 50 years after they were first collected and placed in herbaria. One species took 210 years to be identified.
When the same pattern was projected into the future, the team concluded that over 35,000 species were likely to emerge from the herbaria collections over the next 35 years. That is half the estimated 70,000 new species of flowering plant that botanists still expect to find.
Number crunching
"We'd been doing a particular study on a group of tropical plants called Strobilanthes. It's called a monographic study when botanists look at variation in different species across the whole of the globe," Dr Scotland told the BBC.
The BBC's Neil Bowdler found out more at the world's largest herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
It is during these studies that botanists can eliminate duplications arising from different names being used for the same species in different countries, for example. But Dr Scotland's study delivered 60 new species from the depths of the herbaria collections.
"I was looking at those 60 species and what I noticed was that most of them were first collected by botanists over 60 years ago. I was quite surprised by that."
A new investigation and some number crunching led to perhaps more surprising results yet.
"What our study has shown is that only 16% of species were collected within five years of being described, whereas most get collected, they then make it into herbarium cabinets, then they sit there for up to 150 years until someone comes along and spots them."
So why are so many plants lying unidentified?
Dr Scotland puts it down to a lack of expertise and a lack of resources, but says examining these vaults may be every bit as important as future field studies.
"There are certainly places in the world which are under-collected where there's many things to be found. Botanists visit a particular rainforest, for example, and come back with a haul of species.
"[But] out of that 70,000 species still to be found, more than half of those have already been collected in the world herbaria and are waiting for someone with the relevant expertise and time to say 'that's a new one'."
Dr Mark Carine, of London's Natural History Museum and another member of the study team, said: "Lack of manpower and lack of expertise is obviously a major issue here. There's no doubt we just don't have enough people to complete the process as rapidly as we might like.
"I think what the study does is highlights the importance of collections such as the one at the Natural History Museum and elsewhere. We need to think about creative ways of unlocking information that we have in those herbaria as quickly as possible."
By Neil Bowdler
Science reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11913076
Botanists looked at how long it takes for new species collected in the field to be identified, and found it often took decades.
They concluded that of the 70,000 flowering plants that experts believe are yet to be found, over half may already be in collections, awaiting identification.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Plants have been catalogued for hundreds of years. Traditionally, potential new species are dried and mounted on cardboard, labelled and placed in what is known as a herbarium for safekeeping.
There are around 3,000 herbaria worldwide, containing thousands and thousands of specimens.
Dr Robert Scotland of Oxford University spent some 15 years using these herbaria to research one particular genus of flowering plants called Strobilanthes. He found 60 new species lying undiscovered in such collections.
Together with colleagues, he decided to try and calculate how many undiscovered species of all flowering plants may be lying in such collections.
They assembled data for over 3,200 species identified since 1970 and looked at the lag between collection and identification.
They calculated that only 16% were described within five years of collection, while nearly one quarter were described over 50 years after they were first collected and placed in herbaria. One species took 210 years to be identified.
When the same pattern was projected into the future, the team concluded that over 35,000 species were likely to emerge from the herbaria collections over the next 35 years. That is half the estimated 70,000 new species of flowering plant that botanists still expect to find.
Number crunching
"We'd been doing a particular study on a group of tropical plants called Strobilanthes. It's called a monographic study when botanists look at variation in different species across the whole of the globe," Dr Scotland told the BBC.
The BBC's Neil Bowdler found out more at the world's largest herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
It is during these studies that botanists can eliminate duplications arising from different names being used for the same species in different countries, for example. But Dr Scotland's study delivered 60 new species from the depths of the herbaria collections.
"I was looking at those 60 species and what I noticed was that most of them were first collected by botanists over 60 years ago. I was quite surprised by that."
A new investigation and some number crunching led to perhaps more surprising results yet.
"What our study has shown is that only 16% of species were collected within five years of being described, whereas most get collected, they then make it into herbarium cabinets, then they sit there for up to 150 years until someone comes along and spots them."
So why are so many plants lying unidentified?
Dr Scotland puts it down to a lack of expertise and a lack of resources, but says examining these vaults may be every bit as important as future field studies.
"There are certainly places in the world which are under-collected where there's many things to be found. Botanists visit a particular rainforest, for example, and come back with a haul of species.
"[But] out of that 70,000 species still to be found, more than half of those have already been collected in the world herbaria and are waiting for someone with the relevant expertise and time to say 'that's a new one'."
Dr Mark Carine, of London's Natural History Museum and another member of the study team, said: "Lack of manpower and lack of expertise is obviously a major issue here. There's no doubt we just don't have enough people to complete the process as rapidly as we might like.
"I think what the study does is highlights the importance of collections such as the one at the Natural History Museum and elsewhere. We need to think about creative ways of unlocking information that we have in those herbaria as quickly as possible."
By Neil Bowdler
Science reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11913076
Thousands of plant species 'undiscovered in cupboards'
More than 35,000 new species of flowering plants may be lying undiscovered in cupboards around the world, it is claimed.
Botanists looked at how long it takes for new species collected in the field to be identified, and found it often took decades.
They concluded that of the 70,000 flowering plants that experts believe are yet to be found, over half may already be in collections, awaiting identification.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Plants have been catalogued for hundreds of years. Traditionally, potential new species are dried and mounted on cardboard, labelled and placed in what is known as a herbarium for safekeeping.
There are around 3,000 herbaria worldwide, containing thousands and thousands of specimens.
Dr Robert Scotland of Oxford University spent some 15 years using these herbaria to research one particular genus of flowering plants called Strobilanthes. He found 60 new species lying undiscovered in such collections.
Together with colleagues, he decided to try and calculate how many undiscovered species of all flowering plants may be lying in such collections.
They assembled data for over 3,200 species identified since 1970 and looked at the lag between collection and identification.
They calculated that only 16% were described within five years of collection, while nearly one quarter were described over 50 years after they were first collected and placed in herbaria. One species took 210 years to be identified.
When the same pattern was projected into the future, the team concluded that over 35,000 species were likely to emerge from the herbaria collections over the next 35 years. That is half the estimated 70,000 new species of flowering plant that botanists still expect to find.
Number crunching
"We'd been doing a particular study on a group of tropical plants called Strobilanthes. It's called a monographic study when botanists look at variation in different species across the whole of the globe," Dr Scotland told the BBC.
The BBC's Neil Bowdler found out more at the world's largest herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
It is during these studies that botanists can eliminate duplications arising from different names being used for the same species in different countries, for example. But Dr Scotland's study delivered 60 new species from the depths of the herbaria collections.
"I was looking at those 60 species and what I noticed was that most of them were first collected by botanists over 60 years ago. I was quite surprised by that."
A new investigation and some number crunching led to perhaps more surprising results yet.
"What our study has shown is that only 16% of species were collected within five years of being described, whereas most get collected, they then make it into herbarium cabinets, then they sit there for up to 150 years until someone comes along and spots them."
So why are so many plants lying unidentified?
Dr Scotland puts it down to a lack of expertise and a lack of resources, but says examining these vaults may be every bit as important as future field studies.
"There are certainly places in the world which are under-collected where there's many things to be found. Botanists visit a particular rainforest, for example, and come back with a haul of species.
"[But] out of that 70,000 species still to be found, more than half of those have already been collected in the world herbaria and are waiting for someone with the relevant expertise and time to say 'that's a new one'."
Dr Mark Carine, of London's Natural History Museum and another member of the study team, said: "Lack of manpower and lack of expertise is obviously a major issue here. There's no doubt we just don't have enough people to complete the process as rapidly as we might like.
"I think what the study does is highlights the importance of collections such as the one at the Natural History Museum and elsewhere. We need to think about creative ways of unlocking information that we have in those herbaria as quickly as possible."
By Neil Bowdler
Science reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11913076
Botanists looked at how long it takes for new species collected in the field to be identified, and found it often took decades.
They concluded that of the 70,000 flowering plants that experts believe are yet to be found, over half may already be in collections, awaiting identification.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Plants have been catalogued for hundreds of years. Traditionally, potential new species are dried and mounted on cardboard, labelled and placed in what is known as a herbarium for safekeeping.
There are around 3,000 herbaria worldwide, containing thousands and thousands of specimens.
Dr Robert Scotland of Oxford University spent some 15 years using these herbaria to research one particular genus of flowering plants called Strobilanthes. He found 60 new species lying undiscovered in such collections.
Together with colleagues, he decided to try and calculate how many undiscovered species of all flowering plants may be lying in such collections.
They assembled data for over 3,200 species identified since 1970 and looked at the lag between collection and identification.
They calculated that only 16% were described within five years of collection, while nearly one quarter were described over 50 years after they were first collected and placed in herbaria. One species took 210 years to be identified.
When the same pattern was projected into the future, the team concluded that over 35,000 species were likely to emerge from the herbaria collections over the next 35 years. That is half the estimated 70,000 new species of flowering plant that botanists still expect to find.
Number crunching
"We'd been doing a particular study on a group of tropical plants called Strobilanthes. It's called a monographic study when botanists look at variation in different species across the whole of the globe," Dr Scotland told the BBC.
The BBC's Neil Bowdler found out more at the world's largest herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
It is during these studies that botanists can eliminate duplications arising from different names being used for the same species in different countries, for example. But Dr Scotland's study delivered 60 new species from the depths of the herbaria collections.
"I was looking at those 60 species and what I noticed was that most of them were first collected by botanists over 60 years ago. I was quite surprised by that."
A new investigation and some number crunching led to perhaps more surprising results yet.
"What our study has shown is that only 16% of species were collected within five years of being described, whereas most get collected, they then make it into herbarium cabinets, then they sit there for up to 150 years until someone comes along and spots them."
So why are so many plants lying unidentified?
Dr Scotland puts it down to a lack of expertise and a lack of resources, but says examining these vaults may be every bit as important as future field studies.
"There are certainly places in the world which are under-collected where there's many things to be found. Botanists visit a particular rainforest, for example, and come back with a haul of species.
"[But] out of that 70,000 species still to be found, more than half of those have already been collected in the world herbaria and are waiting for someone with the relevant expertise and time to say 'that's a new one'."
Dr Mark Carine, of London's Natural History Museum and another member of the study team, said: "Lack of manpower and lack of expertise is obviously a major issue here. There's no doubt we just don't have enough people to complete the process as rapidly as we might like.
"I think what the study does is highlights the importance of collections such as the one at the Natural History Museum and elsewhere. We need to think about creative ways of unlocking information that we have in those herbaria as quickly as possible."
By Neil Bowdler
Science reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11913076
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Birmingham woman names endangered British species
Aug 31 2010 by Sophie Cross, Birmingham Mail
A NATURE-loving Birmingham woman has won the chance to give an endangered British species a common name to help save it from extinction.
Lisa Bassett, from Sutton Coldfield, came up with the name “Witches’ whiskers” for a type of lichen when she entered a “Name a Species” competition organised by Natural England.
The organism, renowned for its medicinal qualities, is one of ten endangered species of native lichens, beetles, bees, jellyfish and shrimps now enjoying new titles after previously only being listed in Latin.
It is hoped the common names will help the public become more familiar with species the country is in danger of losing.
Lisa’s lichen was previously only known by its Latin name, Usnea florida.
Describing how she came up with the name, Lisa said: “The lichen looks hairy, and the witches who would have been making the plant into medicines – at least in the stories – would have been warty and whiskery.” The competition’s overall winner was Josh Clare from Market Drayton, who named a larvae-eating beetle found only in Windsor Great Park “Queen’s executioner”.
Natural England say 430 species have become extinct in England over the last 200 years.
Chief scientist Dr Tom Tew said: “The continued decline of biodiversity in England is a seriously worrying issue as every species matters – from the newly-named sea piglet to the more familiar hedgehog.
“Biodiversity is the foundation of our own existence and we cannot afford to take it for granted, which is why we are getting the issue out from under the microscope and into the limelight.”
All ten species will be on display at an exhibition in Oxford’s Museum of Natural History.
Other winning names included “Skeetle”, a beetle that escapes predators using natural “jet skis”; “Mab’s lantern”, a rare four-spotted beetle; “St John’s jellyfish”, a tiny 1cm jellyfish in the shape of a Maltese cross and “Scabious cuckoo bee”, which lays its eggs in the nests of other bees.
http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2010/08/31/birmingham-woman-names-endangered-british-species-97319-27167390/
A NATURE-loving Birmingham woman has won the chance to give an endangered British species a common name to help save it from extinction.
Lisa Bassett, from Sutton Coldfield, came up with the name “Witches’ whiskers” for a type of lichen when she entered a “Name a Species” competition organised by Natural England.
The organism, renowned for its medicinal qualities, is one of ten endangered species of native lichens, beetles, bees, jellyfish and shrimps now enjoying new titles after previously only being listed in Latin.
It is hoped the common names will help the public become more familiar with species the country is in danger of losing.
Lisa’s lichen was previously only known by its Latin name, Usnea florida.
Describing how she came up with the name, Lisa said: “The lichen looks hairy, and the witches who would have been making the plant into medicines – at least in the stories – would have been warty and whiskery.” The competition’s overall winner was Josh Clare from Market Drayton, who named a larvae-eating beetle found only in Windsor Great Park “Queen’s executioner”.
Natural England say 430 species have become extinct in England over the last 200 years.
Chief scientist Dr Tom Tew said: “The continued decline of biodiversity in England is a seriously worrying issue as every species matters – from the newly-named sea piglet to the more familiar hedgehog.
“Biodiversity is the foundation of our own existence and we cannot afford to take it for granted, which is why we are getting the issue out from under the microscope and into the limelight.”
All ten species will be on display at an exhibition in Oxford’s Museum of Natural History.
Other winning names included “Skeetle”, a beetle that escapes predators using natural “jet skis”; “Mab’s lantern”, a rare four-spotted beetle; “St John’s jellyfish”, a tiny 1cm jellyfish in the shape of a Maltese cross and “Scabious cuckoo bee”, which lays its eggs in the nests of other bees.
http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2010/08/31/birmingham-woman-names-endangered-british-species-97319-27167390/
Monday, June 21, 2010
Carnivorous mammals track fruit abundance
Photo: Minette Layne14-Jun-2010
The scientific community already knew that many carnivores eat fruit, but had thought this was something purely anecdotal. Now researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) have shown that carnivorous animals such as foxes and martens play an important role in helping fruiting plants to reproduce and disperse their seeds.
Far from viewing the relationship between carnivorous mammals and plants as irrelevant, a team of researchers from the USC studied how foxes and (Vulpes vulpes) and the European pine marten (Martes martes) consumed the fruit of the rowan tree (Sorbus aucuparia) in the Cordillera Cantábrica mountain range, and found that both species were capable of tracking yearly differences in the abundance of rowan fruit in Cantabrian forests, and in addition showed a marked preference for the most productive trees.
"Carnivores are not indifferent to seasonal and spatial variations in the amount of fruit they can obtain from the rowan tree", Ignacio Munilla, co-author of the study and a researcher at the USC' Department of Botany, tells SINC.
The study, published in the journal Acta Oecologica, suggests that some of the ecological paradigms about seed dispersal developed in tropical environments should be reconsidered for temperate climates. Munilla says: "The rowan is important to carnivores and carnivores are important to the rowan".
The rowan appears at altitudes of over 1,000 metres in the mountains of the Cordillera Cantábrica, and is a pioneer species that colonises secondary scrub and "prepares the way towards mature forest".
"Given its abundance and wide distribution, the rowan is a very important resource in European forests, from the mountains of the south of the continent right up to Scandinavia", says José Guitián, another co-author of the report and a researcher at the Department of Cell Biology and Ecology of the USC.
However, the amount of fruit this tree produces varies widely from year to year. Periods without any fruit alternate with years of extremely abundant harvests with more than 50,000 fruits per tree. Despite these enormous year-on-year fluctuations, a study over an uninterrupted test series of 11 years into the significance of the rowan in the diet of the fox and marten compared with the environmental abundance of this resource showed that both factors – harvest and consumption – followed very similar patterns.
Monitoring of 20 trees
The same research team also carried out another study published in the same article, in which they monitored 20 rowan trees over 10 days and nights. They found that carnivores visited the 10 trees with the largest fruit production most often, picking up fallen fruit and helping to disperse the seeds.
"The probability of a tree being visited by a carnivore seemed to depend directly on the number of fruits that had fallen below it. The carnivores went off with a considerable proportion of the fallen fruit (much more than the amount destroyed by rodents during the same period)", says Guitián.
The carnivores also help the rowan to thrive by dispersing the seeds contained inside the fruits that fall from the tree.
According to the researchers, the rowan-fox-marten system could be important in mountain ecosystems on the Iberian Peninsula. In addition, the fruit falling under the mother plant may not necessarily represent a failure in terms of dispersal "since there could be a high likelihood of these seeds being mobilised by carnivores".
###
References:
Guitián, J.; Munilla, I. "Responses of mammal dispersers to fruit availability: Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) and carnivores in mountain habitats of northern Spain". Acta Oecologica 36: 242-247, 2010. doi:10.1016/j.actao.2010.01.005
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/f-sf-cmt061410.php
(Submitted by Chad Arment)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Council mows rare orchids - again
11 June 2010, 9:07
A council has admitted accidentally mowing down one of Britain's rarest orchids - for the third year running.
Hampshire County Council has again mowed a grass verge containing endangered narrow-leaved helleborines.
The mistake has astonished and angered conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts who fear the orchids may never recover at the site.
Narrow-leaved helleborines are officially classed as one of the world's most vulnerable flowers, reports the Daily Mail.
For more than 50 years, the orchids have grown on a road verge at Mascoombe Bottom in the Meon Valley, Hampshire.
But three years ago Hampshire County Council changed its roadside mowing routine and cut down the flowers before they could seed.
The charity Plantlife contacted the council and was given a guarantee the mistake would not happen again. But it was repeated last year and again this year.
Dominic Price, Plantlife's species recovery officer, said: "When I found out last week that for the third year running the few remaining orchids had been cut before they could flower I was absolutely speechless.
"This is nothing short of a massacre of one of the UK's rarest species."
Coun Mel Kendal, executive member for environment, said he would be ensuring all verges of ecological importance were individually assessed to protect rare species in future.
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Council_mows_rare_orchids_again
A council has admitted accidentally mowing down one of Britain's rarest orchids - for the third year running.
Hampshire County Council has again mowed a grass verge containing endangered narrow-leaved helleborines.
The mistake has astonished and angered conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts who fear the orchids may never recover at the site.
Narrow-leaved helleborines are officially classed as one of the world's most vulnerable flowers, reports the Daily Mail.
For more than 50 years, the orchids have grown on a road verge at Mascoombe Bottom in the Meon Valley, Hampshire.
But three years ago Hampshire County Council changed its roadside mowing routine and cut down the flowers before they could seed.
The charity Plantlife contacted the council and was given a guarantee the mistake would not happen again. But it was repeated last year and again this year.
Dominic Price, Plantlife's species recovery officer, said: "When I found out last week that for the third year running the few remaining orchids had been cut before they could flower I was absolutely speechless.
"This is nothing short of a massacre of one of the UK's rarest species."
Coun Mel Kendal, executive member for environment, said he would be ensuring all verges of ecological importance were individually assessed to protect rare species in future.
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Council_mows_rare_orchids_again
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Lotus plant grown from 700-year-old seed
A Lotus has been grown from a 700-year-old seed which dates back to Korea's Goryeo Dynasty.
Published: 11:27AM BST 26 Apr 2010
The plant has been grown in Haman County, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
The flower has been grown from one of the 10 lotus seeds discovered during an excavation of an ancient castle last year.
Scientists at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, have confirmed two of the seeds to be as old as 650 years and 760 years, respectively
The county also planted the eight other seeds and three of them sprouted.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/southkorea/7634236/Lotus-plant-grown-from-700-year-old-seed.html
Published: 11:27AM BST 26 Apr 2010
The plant has been grown in Haman County, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
The flower has been grown from one of the 10 lotus seeds discovered during an excavation of an ancient castle last year.
Scientists at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, have confirmed two of the seeds to be as old as 650 years and 760 years, respectively
The county also planted the eight other seeds and three of them sprouted.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/southkorea/7634236/Lotus-plant-grown-from-700-year-old-seed.html
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Ghost Orchid Reappears in Britain After 23 Years
Contributed by ontheway (Reporter)21 March 2010 01:04:55
It is the most mysterious wildflower in Britain, the strangest, the rarest, the hardest to see, and it was given up for lost. But like a wandering phantom, the ghost orchid has reappeared.
After an absence of 23 years, during which it was declared extinct, this pale, diminutive flower, the most enigmatic of all Britain's wild plants, rematerialised last autumn in an oak wood in Herefordshire.
Its sighting, initially kept a close secret, has electrified the British botanical community. Forget your black tulip. This has been British botany's holy grail, searched for annually and ardently by a small army of enthusiasts for more than two decades, but never found.
Its eventual rediscovery was due to the painstaking detective work of an amateur botanist, Mark Jannink, who identified 10 possible sites in the Welsh borders and visited them regularly throughout the summer, until on 20 September he found a single example of Epigogium aphyllum, bearing a single white flower on a white stem only five centimetres tall.
The plant was so unobtrusive that it was invisible from a few yards away. On spotting it, Mr Jannink exclaimed: "Hello you – so there you are!"
Read more here.
http://beforeitsnews.com/news/26521/Ghost_Orchid_Reappears_in_Britain_After_23_Years.html
(Submitted by Caty Bergman)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Insect that fights Japanese knotweed to be released
Tuesday, 9 March 2010By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News
A tiny Japanese insect that could help the fight against an aggressive superweed has been given the go-ahead for a trial release in England.
Since Japanese knotweed was introduced to the UK it has rapidly spread, and the plant currently costs over £150m a year to control and clear.
But scientists say a natural predator in the weed's native home of Japan could also help to control it here.
The insect will initially be released in a handful of sites this spring.
This is the first time that biocontrol - the use of a "natural predator" to control a pest - has been used in the EU to fight a weed.
Wildlife Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said: "These tiny insects, which naturally prey on Japanese Knotweed, will help free local authorities and industry from the huge cost of treating and killing this devastating plant."
Alien invaders
Japanese knotweed was introduced to the UK by the Victorians as an ornamental plant, but it soon escaped from gardens and began its rampant spread throughout the UK.
It grows incredibly quickly - more than one metre a month - and rapidly swamps any other vegetation in its path.
It is so hardy that it can burst through tarmac and concrete, causing costly damage to pavements, roads and buildings.
But removal is difficult and expensive; new estimates suggest it costs the UK economy £150m a year.
However, in Japan, the plant is common but does not rage out of control like it does in the UK, thanks to the natural predators that keep it in check.
Scientists at Cabi - a not-for-profit agricultural research organisation - used this as their starting point to track down a potential knotweed solution.
They looked at the superweed's natural predators - nearly 200 species of plant-eating insects and about 40 species of fungi - with the aim of finding one with an appetite for Japanese knotweed and little else.
After testing their candidates on 90 different UK plant species, including plants closely related to Japanese knotweed such as bindweeds and important crops and ornamental species, they discovered a psyllid called Aphalara itadori was the best control agent.
The little insect feeds on the sap of the superweed, stunting its growth.
Dr Dick Shaw, the lead researcher on the project from Cabi, told BBC News: "Safety is our top priority. We are lucky that we do have an extremely specific agent - it just eats invasive knotweeds."
Following peer review by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment and a public consultation, the UK government has now given the go-ahead for release of Aphalara itadori, under licence, in England.
The Welsh Assembly is expected to announce its decision on the psyllid soon.
The insects will initially be released on a handful of sites.
These will be isolated and, in addition to as having the superweed present, will also have UK species that are closely related to Japanese knotweed planted there to check that the psyllid only targets the invasive species.
Dr Shaw said: "In the early stages, a contingency plan is in place so that should, in the unlikely event, any unintended consequences be detected, we will be able to do something about it.
"Insecticide and herbicide treatment will be on standby for rapid response."
If this phase is successful, the insect will be released at further sites, where it will undergo an intensive monitoring programme over the next five years.
Dr Shaw said: "On the localised sites, I would expect to see damaged knotweed this season.
"However, biocontrol is a long-term strategy - it could take five to 10 years to have a real impact."
The government believes that if the plan is successful it will reduce the costs to the building and engineering industries of clearing the plant.
However, some critics say that it is impossible to be certain that the Japanese insect will only target the superweed and could attack other species once in the wild.
See more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8555378.stm
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Do Herbie's tree rings hold secrets?
Scientists hope to track climate, and the elm's age
Jan. 31, 2010
YARMOUTH, Maine - Herbie, the giant American elm tree, is giving his trunk over to science.
Since the tree was felled two weeks ago, scientists from Columbia University, the University of Maine and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have contacted the Maine Forest Service about examining Herbie's trunk to see what can be learned about the tree's age and about the climate over the years.
Peter Lammert of the Maine Forest Service said his computer has been clogged with e-mails from scientists interested in the stories that Herbie's growth rings might tell.
In particular, Herbie's demise is bringing out of the woodwork highly specialized scientists who study tree rings: Dendroclimatologists, who look to tree rings for answers about the climate, and dendrochronologists, who specialize in determining the age of trees based on rings.
The tallest American elm in New England, the 110-foot-tree survived 14 bouts of Dutch elm disease, thanks to the town's long-time tree warden, Frank Knight, who's now 101.
But Herbie was cut down on Jan. 19 after the fungal disease became fatal. Most of the tree's remains will go to artisans who'll create salad bowls, cutting boards and furniture, but several cuttings will be displayed prominently in the town hall, state arboretum and elsewhere. Scientists are interested in taking a look, as well. The tree, with a circumference of 244 inches, had a diameter of about 6.5 feet.
Looking to track anomalies
George Jacobsen, Maine state climatologist, said it'll be interesting to see whether Herbie's trunk reflects climatic anomalies such as the "year without a summer" in 1816, when volcanic activity halfway around the world led to an exceptionally cold summer in New England.
That year, frost was recorded in every month of the summer, and the colder temperatures and lack of sunlight caused by volcanic ash might be seen in Herbie's rings, Jacobsen said.
"I'm glad that people are interested in this type of analysis. We'd have to know more about the tree and its environment and its history before we know what its scientific value is," he said.
For now, Lammert is focused simply on determining the tree's age. Based on the growth rings, Lammert announced after Herbie was cut down that the tree was about 212 years old. But that's subject to change.
On Friday, Lammert and others returned to Herbie's stump to slice away a cross-section of the stump. An examination indicated Herbie likely grew in the wild for 10 to 20 years under the shade of other trees before being transplanted, said Jan Ames Santerre, senior planner with the Maine Forest Service.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35169907/ns/us_news-environment/
(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)
Jan. 31, 2010
YARMOUTH, Maine - Herbie, the giant American elm tree, is giving his trunk over to science.
Since the tree was felled two weeks ago, scientists from Columbia University, the University of Maine and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have contacted the Maine Forest Service about examining Herbie's trunk to see what can be learned about the tree's age and about the climate over the years.
Peter Lammert of the Maine Forest Service said his computer has been clogged with e-mails from scientists interested in the stories that Herbie's growth rings might tell.
In particular, Herbie's demise is bringing out of the woodwork highly specialized scientists who study tree rings: Dendroclimatologists, who look to tree rings for answers about the climate, and dendrochronologists, who specialize in determining the age of trees based on rings.
The tallest American elm in New England, the 110-foot-tree survived 14 bouts of Dutch elm disease, thanks to the town's long-time tree warden, Frank Knight, who's now 101.
But Herbie was cut down on Jan. 19 after the fungal disease became fatal. Most of the tree's remains will go to artisans who'll create salad bowls, cutting boards and furniture, but several cuttings will be displayed prominently in the town hall, state arboretum and elsewhere. Scientists are interested in taking a look, as well. The tree, with a circumference of 244 inches, had a diameter of about 6.5 feet.
Looking to track anomalies
George Jacobsen, Maine state climatologist, said it'll be interesting to see whether Herbie's trunk reflects climatic anomalies such as the "year without a summer" in 1816, when volcanic activity halfway around the world led to an exceptionally cold summer in New England.
That year, frost was recorded in every month of the summer, and the colder temperatures and lack of sunlight caused by volcanic ash might be seen in Herbie's rings, Jacobsen said.
"I'm glad that people are interested in this type of analysis. We'd have to know more about the tree and its environment and its history before we know what its scientific value is," he said.
For now, Lammert is focused simply on determining the tree's age. Based on the growth rings, Lammert announced after Herbie was cut down that the tree was about 212 years old. But that's subject to change.
On Friday, Lammert and others returned to Herbie's stump to slice away a cross-section of the stump. An examination indicated Herbie likely grew in the wild for 10 to 20 years under the shade of other trees before being transplanted, said Jan Ames Santerre, senior planner with the Maine Forest Service.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35169907/ns/us_news-environment/
(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Cryptolichenology?
A new species of lichen discovered in the Iberian Peninsula
11 January 2010 Plataforma SINC
Spanish scientists have described the lichen Phylloblastia fortuita, new to the Iberian Peninsula and to science. Another species from the same family, Phylloblastia dispersa, is also a new entry for Europe and is the first time it has been found outside the tropics. Foliicolous lichens, symbiosis between fungi and algae, are organisms associated with tropical or sub-tropical climates, and their presence in environments such as the Iberian Peninsula, outside of the tropics, is associated with conditions of very stable ecological and environmental conditions
"We have identified three Phylloblastia lichens in the Iberian Peninsula, one of which is new to science (Phylloblastia fortuita), and we present a fourth species new to European flora, Phylloblastia dispersa", Esteve Llop, main author and research at the Departamento de BiologÃa Vegetal-Botánica [Department of Plant-Botanical Biology] of the University of Barcelona (UB) explains to SINC.
Together, the scientists Esteve Llop and Antonio Gómez-Bolea analysed the lichen flora in a protected area near Barcelona. Although some species of lichen have already been recorded on leaves in the North East of the Iberian Peninsula, this is the first time new species have been described.
The study, recently published in The Lichenologist, brings together biological material that had not been identified by researchers in a previous study carried out in 2006, as well as new material related to previous samples. Llop points out that "the literature about the group to which the samples belong had increased because of contributions from intertropical zones with extratropical species".
The field of study where the lichens were found in Catalonia is also important for science. The presence of Phylloblastia fortuita in the Iberian Peninsula and of Phylloblastia dispersa in Europe reveals areas of "great sensitivity" to environmental changes and may serve as indicators of climatic change.
The biologist states that "we have found a new area with Foliicolous lichen flora, rich in important plant life, which, as in other locations, is associated with conditions of ecological and environmental stability", and concludes: "Scientists consider the importance of protecting these locations based on their relevance to ecology and biodervsity".
Full bibliographic information
Llop, Esteve; Gómez-Bolea, Antonio. “The lichen genus Phylloblastia (Verrucariaceae) in the Iberian Peninsula, with a new species from Western Europe”, Lichenologist 41: 565-569 Part 6, noviembre de 2009
http://www.plataformasinc.es/index.php/esl/Noticias/Descubren-una-nueva-especie-de-liquen-en-la-Peninsula-Iberica
(Submitted by Tim Chapman)
11 January 2010 Plataforma SINC
Spanish scientists have described the lichen Phylloblastia fortuita, new to the Iberian Peninsula and to science. Another species from the same family, Phylloblastia dispersa, is also a new entry for Europe and is the first time it has been found outside the tropics. Foliicolous lichens, symbiosis between fungi and algae, are organisms associated with tropical or sub-tropical climates, and their presence in environments such as the Iberian Peninsula, outside of the tropics, is associated with conditions of very stable ecological and environmental conditions
"We have identified three Phylloblastia lichens in the Iberian Peninsula, one of which is new to science (Phylloblastia fortuita), and we present a fourth species new to European flora, Phylloblastia dispersa", Esteve Llop, main author and research at the Departamento de BiologÃa Vegetal-Botánica [Department of Plant-Botanical Biology] of the University of Barcelona (UB) explains to SINC.
Together, the scientists Esteve Llop and Antonio Gómez-Bolea analysed the lichen flora in a protected area near Barcelona. Although some species of lichen have already been recorded on leaves in the North East of the Iberian Peninsula, this is the first time new species have been described.
The study, recently published in The Lichenologist, brings together biological material that had not been identified by researchers in a previous study carried out in 2006, as well as new material related to previous samples. Llop points out that "the literature about the group to which the samples belong had increased because of contributions from intertropical zones with extratropical species".
The field of study where the lichens were found in Catalonia is also important for science. The presence of Phylloblastia fortuita in the Iberian Peninsula and of Phylloblastia dispersa in Europe reveals areas of "great sensitivity" to environmental changes and may serve as indicators of climatic change.
The biologist states that "we have found a new area with Foliicolous lichen flora, rich in important plant life, which, as in other locations, is associated with conditions of ecological and environmental stability", and concludes: "Scientists consider the importance of protecting these locations based on their relevance to ecology and biodervsity".
Full bibliographic information
Llop, Esteve; Gómez-Bolea, Antonio. “The lichen genus Phylloblastia (Verrucariaceae) in the Iberian Peninsula, with a new species from Western Europe”, Lichenologist 41: 565-569 Part 6, noviembre de 2009
http://www.plataformasinc.es/index.php/esl/Noticias/Descubren-una-nueva-especie-de-liquen-en-la-Peninsula-Iberica
(Submitted by Tim Chapman)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Wildwood Goes Nuts
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Wildwood are asking wildlife lovers to help us harvest the autumn nuts that fall on the paths around our unique Woodland Discovery Park!Unfortunately, the acorns and sweet chestnuts are falling out of the trees faster than Wildwood's animal keepers can collect them, and Wildwood are asking for help collecting them to make sure we have enough to feed our animals this coming winter.
Wildwood's wild boar adore the sweet chestnuts and acorns that fall on the forest floor and our red squirrels can't wait to get their paws on this season's hazel nuts. But they need your help. As a big thank you we are giving away a free children's return ticket, or a special prize for members, for every carrier bag full we receive.
TV celebrity Boris the big wild boar, star of Blue Peter and Sir David Attenborough's Life with Mammals, loves acorns and cannot wait to be fed the acorns that visitors to Wildwood pick up.
As a charity we have to save every penny so we can spend it on our innovative conservation projects, that is why it is so important that we get help to harvest our natural food source.
All children handing in a bag of nuts will be given a FREE ticket to come to Wildwood again.
Wildwood's 'Wildlife Conservation Park' is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, wild boar and many more.
Wildwood is situated close to Canterbury, just off the A291 between Herne Bay and Canterbury. For more information visit our website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871 782008.
KEEP SAFE!
- Don't feed any of the animals. Some of them may bite and if an animal is given the wrong food or too much food it can make them very ill.
- Don't eat any of the nuts; they could make you feel very sick!
Top 10 Acorn and Oak Tree Facts
- Pigs love Acorns and up until recently many farmers allowed their pigs to run through woodlands in the autumn eating this excellent food which helps fatten them up so they can survive the winter.
- Oak trees don't have acorns until they are at least 50 years old.
- The Anglo-Saxon name for oak was aik, so the seed was known as aik-com. English oaks bear them on stalks, sessile acorns are stalkless.
- In a good year a mature oak tree may produce around 50,000 acorns.
- Oak trees are an important habitat for wildlife and provide a home for more species of wildlife than any other European tree. Squirrels and many birds shelter, feed or nest in the canopy and many insects eat the leaves. Mosses, lichens and algae and insects live on or in the bark, and acorns feed all sorts of animals such as deer, squirrels, rabbits, mice and birds. Even when a tree dies it continues to provide food and shelter for wildlife as it slowly decays. In fact an oak tree is really just like a big wildlife hotel!
- Oak trees are deciduous which means they lose their leaves in winter. Like other deciduous trees, oaks have wide flat leaves from which water is easily evaporated. In winter when the ground is cold or frozen, it is difficult for trees to take up enough water through their roots, so in autumn as the days become shorter and darker, trees lose their leaves and 'sleep' through the winter. Then in spring as the days become longer and brighter, the tree produces a whole new set of leaves.
- In May oak trees also produce two types of flowers. Male flowers hang in long catkins from the twigs and female flowers appear at the tips of the twigs. Pollen from the male flowers is carried to the female flowers by the breeze and the female flowers eventually turn into seeds called acorns. By the autumn the acorns are ripe and fall to the ground. Many are eaten by animals such as deer, squirrels, mice and rabbits and by birds such as jays and rooks. But hopefully some will land or be dropped on the soil and germinate the following spring.
An oak seedling may reach a height of 30cm in its first year but it has a long way to go! Oak trees are very long lived and can live for 1000 years or more! - There are two species of oak native to Britain:
- The English Oak (Quercus robur) is a massive tree and can grow up to 40 metres in height. It has a short trunk, long branches and a huge crown. The leaves have 4 or 5 lobes (rounded wiggles) on each side and don't have stalks. The acorns of English oaks are attached to the twig by long stalks.
- The Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea) can also grow up to about 40 metres in height. It has a longer trunk than the English Oak. and a fan shaped crown. Its leaves are also a rounded wiggly shape in outline, but unlike the English oak, leaves of the sessile oak grow on stalks. The acorns are stubbier and they don't have stalks.
Top 10 conker facts
- In some countries, like Corsica, where wheat does not grow well their staple food is a flour made from chestnuts (sweet chestnuts and not horse chestnuts) which can be baked into cakes and bread.
- A conker is the seed of the horse chestnut tree (not the sweet chestnut tree where we get edible chestnuts from). It is a hard brown nut which is found in a prickly casing. They fall from the tree when they are ripe during the autumn months. Conkers is the name given to a game played between two people at a time.
- The World Conker Championships take place at Ashton near Peterborough every October. 'Conker' is a corruption of the word 'Conquerer'.
- Conkers are eaten by deer and cattle but not necessarily by horses. The horse part of the name means they are unsuitable for human consumption.
- The horse chestnut is a native in the Balkan Peninsula. (This peninsula is in SE Europe, bounded by the Adriatic, the Aegean and the Black Seas.)
- Britain is believed to be the only country in the world where the game of conkers is traditionally played with horse chestnuts in the autumn.
Prepare your conker for playing
The best conkers to play with are uncracked, firm and symmetrical. Make a hole through the middle of your chosen conker. Thread a strong piece of string about 25cm long, through the hole and tie a knot at one end, so that it doesn't pull through.Each player has a conker hanging on its string. Players take turns at hitting their opponent's conker. If you are the one whose conker is to be hit first, let it hang down from the string which is wrapped round your hand. The conker is held at the height your opponent chooses and is held perfectly still.
Your opponent, the striker, wraps his conker string round his hand just like yours. He then takes his conker in the other hand and draws it back for the strike. Releasing the conker he swings it down by the string held in the other hand and tries to hit his opponents conker (yours) with it.
If he misses he is allowed up to two further goes.
If the strings tangle, the first player to call "strings" gets an extra shot.
If a player drops his conker, or it is knocked out of his hand the other player can shout 'stamps' and jump on it; but should its owner first cry 'no stamps' then the conker, hopefully, remains intact.
The game goes on in turns until one or other of the two conkers is completely destroyed.
Hints on how to make your conkers harder
- Soak your conker in vinegar.
- Bake your conker in the oven.
- Use an old conker from previous years.
Wildwood Goes Nuts
Wildwood are asking wildlife lovers to help us harvest the autumn nuts that fall on the paths around our unique Woodland Discovery Park!Unfortunately, the acorns and sweet chestnuts are falling out of the trees faster than Wildwood's animal keepers can collect them, and Wildwood are asking for help collecting them to make sure we have enough to feed our animals this coming winter.
Wildwood's wild boar adore the sweet chestnuts and acorns that fall on the forest floor and our red squirrels can't wait to get their paws on this season's hazel nuts. But they need your help. As a big thank you we are giving away a free children's return ticket, or a special prize for members, for every carrier bag full we receive.
TV celebrity Boris the big wild boar, star of Blue Peter and Sir David Attenborough's Life with Mammals, loves acorns and cannot wait to be fed the acorns that visitors to Wildwood pick up.
As a charity we have to save every penny so we can spend it on our innovative conservation projects, that is why it is so important that we get help to harvest our natural food source.
All children handing in a bag of nuts will be given a FREE ticket to come to Wildwood again.
Wildwood's 'Wildlife Conservation Park' is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, wild boar and many more.
Wildwood is situated close to Canterbury, just off the A291 between Herne Bay and Canterbury. For more information visit our website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871 782008.
KEEP SAFE!
- Don't feed any of the animals. Some of them may bite and if an animal is given the wrong food or too much food it can make them very ill.
- Don't eat any of the nuts; they could make you feel very sick!
Top 10 Acorn and Oak Tree Facts
- Pigs love Acorns and up until recently many farmers allowed their pigs to run through woodlands in the autumn eating this excellent food which helps fatten them up so they can survive the winter.
- Oak trees don't have acorns until they are at least 50 years old.
- The Anglo-Saxon name for oak was aik, so the seed was known as aik-com. English oaks bear them on stalks, sessile acorns are stalkless.
- In a good year a mature oak tree may produce around 50,000 acorns.
- Oak trees are an important habitat for wildlife and provide a home for more species of wildlife than any other European tree. Squirrels and many birds shelter, feed or nest in the canopy and many insects eat the leaves. Mosses, lichens and algae and insects live on or in the bark, and acorns feed all sorts of animals such as deer, squirrels, rabbits, mice and birds. Even when a tree dies it continues to provide food and shelter for wildlife as it slowly decays. In fact an oak tree is really just like a big wildlife hotel!
- Oak trees are deciduous which means they lose their leaves in winter. Like other deciduous trees, oaks have wide flat leaves from which water is easily evaporated. In winter when the ground is cold or frozen, it is difficult for trees to take up enough water through their roots, so in autumn as the days become shorter and darker, trees lose their leaves and 'sleep' through the winter. Then in spring as the days become longer and brighter, the tree produces a whole new set of leaves.
- In May oak trees also produce two types of flowers. Male flowers hang in long catkins from the twigs and female flowers appear at the tips of the twigs. Pollen from the male flowers is carried to the female flowers by the breeze and the female flowers eventually turn into seeds called acorns. By the autumn the acorns are ripe and fall to the ground. Many are eaten by animals such as deer, squirrels, mice and rabbits and by birds such as jays and rooks. But hopefully some will land or be dropped on the soil and germinate the following spring.
An oak seedling may reach a height of 30cm in its first year but it has a long way to go! Oak trees are very long lived and can live for 1000 years or more! - There are two species of oak native to Britain:
- The English Oak (Quercus robur) is a massive tree and can grow up to 40 metres in height. It has a short trunk, long branches and a huge crown. The leaves have 4 or 5 lobes (rounded wiggles) on each side and don't have stalks. The acorns of English oaks are attached to the twig by long stalks.
- The Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea) can also grow up to about 40 metres in height. It has a longer trunk than the English Oak. and a fan shaped crown. Its leaves are also a rounded wiggly shape in outline, but unlike the English oak, leaves of the sessile oak grow on stalks. The acorns are stubbier and they don't have stalks.
Top 10 conker facts
- In some countries, like Corsica, where wheat does not grow well their staple food is a flour made from chestnuts (sweet chestnuts and not horse chestnuts) which can be baked into cakes and bread.
- A conker is the seed of the horse chestnut tree (not the sweet chestnut tree where we get edible chestnuts from). It is a hard brown nut which is found in a prickly casing. They fall from the tree when they are ripe during the autumn months. Conkers is the name given to a game played between two people at a time.
- The World Conker Championships take place at Ashton near Peterborough every October. 'Conker' is a corruption of the word 'Conquerer'.
- Conkers are eaten by deer and cattle but not necessarily by horses. The horse part of the name means they are unsuitable for human consumption.
- The horse chestnut is a native in the Balkan Peninsula. (This peninsula is in SE Europe, bounded by the Adriatic, the Aegean and the Black Seas.)
- Britain is believed to be the only country in the world where the game of conkers is traditionally played with horse chestnuts in the autumn.
Prepare your conker for playing
The best conkers to play with are uncracked, firm and symmetrical. Make a hole through the middle of your chosen conker. Thread a strong piece of string about 25cm long, through the hole and tie a knot at one end, so that it doesn't pull through.Each player has a conker hanging on its string. Players take turns at hitting their opponent's conker. If you are the one whose conker is to be hit first, let it hang down from the string which is wrapped round your hand. The conker is held at the height your opponent chooses and is held perfectly still.
Your opponent, the striker, wraps his conker string round his hand just like yours. He then takes his conker in the other hand and draws it back for the strike. Releasing the conker he swings it down by the string held in the other hand and tries to hit his opponents conker (yours) with it.
If he misses he is allowed up to two further goes.
If the strings tangle, the first player to call "strings" gets an extra shot.
If a player drops his conker, or it is knocked out of his hand the other player can shout 'stamps' and jump on it; but should its owner first cry 'no stamps' then the conker, hopefully, remains intact.
The game goes on in turns until one or other of the two conkers is completely destroyed.
Hints on how to make your conkers harder
- Soak your conker in vinegar.
- Bake your conker in the oven.
- Use an old conker from previous years.
7 Glow-in-the-Dark Mushroom Species Discovered
By Betsy Mason
October 5, 2009
Seven new glowing mushroom species have been discovered in Belize, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia and Puerto Rico.
Four of the species are completely new to scientists, and three previously known species were discovered to be luminescent. All seven species, as well as the majority of the 64 previously known species of luminescent mushrooms, are from the Mycena family.
“What interests us is that within Mycena, the luminescent species come from 16 different lineages, which suggests that luminescence evolved at a single point and some species later lost the ability to glow,” said biologist Dennis Desjardin of San Francisco State University, lead author of the study published Monday in the journal Mycologia.
The new discoveries might help scientists understand when, how and why mushrooms evolved the ability to glow. Desjardin suspects that luminescence might attract nocturnal animals, which would then help the mushrooms spread their spores.
See photos at: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/luminescent-mushrooms/
(Submitted by T. Peter Park)
October 5, 2009
Seven new glowing mushroom species have been discovered in Belize, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia and Puerto Rico.
Four of the species are completely new to scientists, and three previously known species were discovered to be luminescent. All seven species, as well as the majority of the 64 previously known species of luminescent mushrooms, are from the Mycena family.
“What interests us is that within Mycena, the luminescent species come from 16 different lineages, which suggests that luminescence evolved at a single point and some species later lost the ability to glow,” said biologist Dennis Desjardin of San Francisco State University, lead author of the study published Monday in the journal Mycologia.
The new discoveries might help scientists understand when, how and why mushrooms evolved the ability to glow. Desjardin suspects that luminescence might attract nocturnal animals, which would then help the mushrooms spread their spores.
See photos at: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/luminescent-mushrooms/
(Submitted by T. Peter Park)
7 Glow-in-the-Dark Mushroom Species Discovered
By Betsy Mason
October 5, 2009
Seven new glowing mushroom species have been discovered in Belize, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia and Puerto Rico.
Four of the species are completely new to scientists, and three previously known species were discovered to be luminescent. All seven species, as well as the majority of the 64 previously known species of luminescent mushrooms, are from the Mycena family.
“What interests us is that within Mycena, the luminescent species come from 16 different lineages, which suggests that luminescence evolved at a single point and some species later lost the ability to glow,” said biologist Dennis Desjardin of San Francisco State University, lead author of the study published Monday in the journal Mycologia.
The new discoveries might help scientists understand when, how and why mushrooms evolved the ability to glow. Desjardin suspects that luminescence might attract nocturnal animals, which would then help the mushrooms spread their spores.
See photos at: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/luminescent-mushrooms/
(Submitted by T. Peter Park)
October 5, 2009
Seven new glowing mushroom species have been discovered in Belize, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia and Puerto Rico.
Four of the species are completely new to scientists, and three previously known species were discovered to be luminescent. All seven species, as well as the majority of the 64 previously known species of luminescent mushrooms, are from the Mycena family.
“What interests us is that within Mycena, the luminescent species come from 16 different lineages, which suggests that luminescence evolved at a single point and some species later lost the ability to glow,” said biologist Dennis Desjardin of San Francisco State University, lead author of the study published Monday in the journal Mycologia.
The new discoveries might help scientists understand when, how and why mushrooms evolved the ability to glow. Desjardin suspects that luminescence might attract nocturnal animals, which would then help the mushrooms spread their spores.
See photos at: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/luminescent-mushrooms/
(Submitted by T. Peter Park)
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Alan Rodgers: conservator of the forests of East Africa
From The Times
April 25, 2009
April 25, 2009
W. Alan Rodgers was for nearly 30 years the driving force behind the protection of East Africa’s globally important forests. For although the region is famous for its magnificent wildlife and landscapes — readily conjuring up images of vast herds of game on the great plains around Mount Kilimanjaro — most of its rare animals and plants are found outside the national parks and game reserves, being restricted to the remaining fragments of forests on the mountains and near the coast. Alan Rodgers was instrumental in virtually every major initiative in recent years to conserve those forest patches, most of which have now been given formal protection.
In 1979 Rodgers — as he was affectionately known to his friends — was on a field trip with the anthropologist Katherine Homewood to survey a remote forest on the Udzungwa Mountains in southwest Tanzania when they heard an unusual monkey call which they recognised as a mangabey, a species not previously known to exist within hundreds of kilometres of the spot. It turned out to be a completely new species which was later named the Sanje Mangabey and was the first new primate found in East Africa for many years. Its discovery alerted biologists and conservationists to the potential importance of the forests on the chain of mountains known as the Eastern Arc in Tanzania.
Numerous biological expeditions to the Eastern Arc over the ensuing 30 years have found — and continue to find — a wealth of new species, including another new species of mangabey in the Southern Highlands and nearby Udzungwa Mountains in 2003. The forests on these isolated mountain blocks are now recognised to be the richest tropical ecosystem in Africa for rare plants and animals, with the Udzungwa forests being the most important. Rodgers was among the first to understand their significance, and he spent the remainder of his life vigorously lobbying various Tanzanian authorities and the conservation movement to protect these forests. His efforts were partly rewarded in 1992 with the creation of the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, the first new national park in Tanzania in decades, and the first that was not set up to protect large mammals.
William Alan Rodgers was born in Liverpool in 1944 and moved to Kenya as a child when his father took up a lectureship in Nairobi. Here Rodgers later read zoology and botany, followed by a master’s degree in conservation at Aberdeen. He then spent 11 years in the vast Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania as an ecologist for the Game Department, where he took part in anti-poaching patrols and conducted wildlife census counts in the aircraft that he piloted. He set up the Miombo Research Centre and produced a flurry of scientific papers on the ecology of Africa’s largest wilderness reserve, on topics ranging from lions, elephants and the ivory trade to the effects of fire on vegetation.
By 1976 Rodgers was recognised to be a world expert on miombo woodland ecology and was given a position as a lecturer at the Zoology Department of the University of Dar es Salaam. Here he eagerly shared his knowledge and inspired a generation of students, many of whom were later to join his informal army of conservationists in the common cause of protecting East Africa’s natural heritage. During this time Rodgers’s many initiatives included a permanent research station on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater to discourage corrupt officials from getting involved in rhinocerus poaching. He further co-founded the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group in 1982 and led students on field trips to spearhead research into the remaining fragments of Coastal Forest, another overlooked ecosystem with large numbers of rare animals and plants. Rodgers oversaw the activities of the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group for the rest of his life, and it is today Tanzania’s foremost forest conservation organisation, with 45 staff supporting the management of more than 100,000hectares of forest.
From 1984 until 1991 there followed a seven-year stint in India where Rodgers joined the Wildlife Institute of India. His energy produced another flurry of scientific papers on subjects ranging from snow leopards to sacred groves, together with his monumental work A Biogeographical Classification of India, which is now one of the most cited and used documents in the field of wildlife conservation in India. Rodgers was the key architect in developing “wildlife science” in India, and through his contribution the institute has subsequently produced a vast array of competent biologists who are now contributing to the cause of conservation across the globe. He pioneered a novel technique for preventing tiger attacks by encouraging people walking in forests to wear “face” masks on the back of their heads, as tigers are less likely to attack if they think you can see them. He also put together the Action Plan for Protected Areas Networks in a country with a far greater human population pressure than in East Africa. This experience was to emphasise to Rodgers the urgent need to formally protect as much habitat as possible before it was too late.
Rodgers returned to East Africa in 1992, on the eve of the Earth Summit in Rio and the UN Convention on Biodiversity, to set up a project financed by the Global Environment Facility to support the management of East African Biodiversity. As chief technical adviser for this initiative, Rodgers skilfully used his prominent position to increase the protection afforded to the most important remaining patches of forest. His two great causes, the Eastern Arc Forests and the Eastern African Coastal Forests, which were hardly known at the start of the 1980s, were included in the internationally recognised list of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots by the end of the millennium. After years of dormancy, many new forest reserves and nature reserves were gazetted through his efforts, as well as the Jozani National Park on Zanzibar Island.
Rodgers later served as the regional technical adviser to the UN Development Programme and Global Environment Facility initiatives in East Africa, where he sought to ensure that biodiversity conservation was advanced as part and parcel of the larger development agenda. He led an initiative to put together a manifesto for the environment to the Government of Tanzania in 1994, overcoming resistance from a number of government officials. His infectious enthusiasm held strong, despite his inevitable engagement with bureaucracy. He sought every opportunity to get people out into the field and do practical conservation. He was a mentor to many, who sought him out for his wisdom and encouragement, and who risked his ruthless editing of any documents that crossed his desk — wielding his red pen with pleasure to eliminate redundant prose and unsubstantiated claims.
As a person, Rodgers had more interest promoting and encouraging the right people to achieve action and results than personal recognition. It is therefore largely to his credit that a coherent and effective conservation movement exists in East Africa today, and that so much of the Eastern Arc and Coastal Forests are now protected. They still face enormous challenges and pressures from a growing population hungry for natural resources, but their situation would be far bleaker were it not for him.
Rodgers’s energy was not limited to conservation; he was also a fine rugby player, an enthusiastic actor, a keen fisherman and a generous and jolly host, who with a scratch of his grizzled beard would captivate his audiences with many a mischievous anecdote about his wild youthful years. He is survived by his first wife Bobbi Jacob and their daughter; his second wife Nicky Tortike and their two sons; and his partner Mercy Njoroge. His three children are now following his passion for East Africa and conservation.
Alan Rodgers, ecologist, botanist, zoologist and conservationist, was born on October 25, 1944. He died on March 31, 2009, aged 64.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6163828.ece
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