The Earth Story

Emerald Green The Emerald Green Snail (Papustyla pulcherrima) lives in rainforest trees, where its outrageous colour is perfectly matched to the lush forest foliage. The calcium carbonate shell of the snail is actually yellow, not green. The unusual colour comes from a layer of proteins that encapsulates the whole shell (the periostracum). This snail has been over-harvested for the jewellery trade, and is on the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) protected species list. If you see one for sale, don't buy it! - OB Image Credit: https://goo.gl/8xa5r6 (with permission) Further Reading: - about CITES: http://goo.gl/VMv3X - the CITES lists: http://goo.gl/rDZdE

The Decline of the Maui's dolphin

Recent population estimates have revealed that the smallest marine dolphin could become extinct within 15 years. Surveys by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) have shown a decline in numbers to between 43-47 individuals with only ten mature females (age 7-9 years). This is a decline from the survey in 2010 where 59 dolphins were observed. Sadly this trend has been occurring for several decades; in the 1970s when numbers were at 150, and then dropped to 100 in 2004. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorised the Maui’s Dolphin as critically endangered. The Maui’s dolphin is a subspecies of Hector’s dolphin and is only found off the coast of New Zealand. They are usually found close to shore in a pod (group) of several dolphins. Noticeably this species has distinct markings (grey, white, and black) and rounded dorsal fins. When the females reach maturity, they will produce a calf every 2-4 years, and an individual may live up to 20 years.

The decline of these dolphins can be attributed to fishing. The DOC have released figures stating that fishing using gillnets and trawling kills up to 5 dolphins per year. Dolphins are notoriously curious creatures; however when investigating fishing nets, they can often become entangled and drown. In 2003, set nets were banned out to 4 nautical miles from shore, and this was extended to seven miles in 2008. This combined with gillnet restrictions enforced in 2012/2013 sought to curb the decline in these dolphins. Campaigners argue however that this legislation is still not enough and that fishing should be banned across the dolphin’s entire habitat.

~SA

Picture: http://bit.ly/1FdNDT0 By Steve Dawson Further Reading: http://bit.ly/1LFEwip

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Reds vs. Greys.

Since 1952, 95% of red squirrels have been wiped out from England and Wales and there are now between 120,000 and 160,000 red squirrels left in the UK (compared to 2.5 million grey squirrels). This decimation of the population can be attributed to disease (such as squirrel pox/parapox), habitat loss and competition for food from grey squirrels. Grey squirrels are first recorded to have arrived from America in 1876. This new species thrived in the UK leading to more and more importation of the species. However, in the 1920s the grey squirrels were classed as vermin following damage to commercial forestry and beech trees leading to the 1938 ban on further importation. One of the main reasons the greys have thrived so well in the UK is their higher body fat than the reds; this makes survival over winter easier for these bigger squirrels. The grey squirrel carried the disease squirrel pox that red squirrels were vulnerable to having never been exposed to it. However in 2013 the ‘famed’ squirrel nicknamed Clark Kent fought off the squirrel pox disease which was hailed as the University of Liverpool as revolutionary and proof that red squirrels can build immunity.

~SA Photo: http://bit.ly/1IkExcV By Ray Eye

WOLVES IN CENTRAL EUROPE

Thirty years ago, wolf populations in Central Europe were in a poor state.

For centuries the wolf had been villified and persecuted.

Then World War II came along, and in its aftermath, an Iron Curtain was drawn straight through the middle of the continent, impassable not just for man, but for beast as well. The few wolves which remained in Central Europe were confined to a handful of remote mountains in the Carpathians.

What happened next could possibly be one of the most spectacular instances of nature regaining a foothold in one of the most densely populated and industrialized parts of the world.

The remaining wolf populations started recovering in Poland around 1980 after they were offered more widespread protection. Since wolves are highly mobile species, capable of traversing over 100 kilometres in a single day, they managed to spread into most parts of the country within a decade. However, the game changer took place in the evening of the 9th of November, 1989.

When the Berlin Wall fell, it took the rest of the Iron Curtain along with it, together with all the mine fields and fences which separated east from west. Within ten years, the first wolves were sighted in Germany where they were hunted to extinction a century before. On the dawn of the twenty-first century, the first cubs were born in Lusatia, a region to the northeast of Dresden.

The number of wolves in Germany remained low for nearly a decade. Only a few packs called Lusatia, a relatively sparsely populated region near the Polish border their home. Around 2010, however, something happened that few saw coming - wolves started expanding their range into the densely populated regions of Western Germany and began to breed. As of 2018, the wolf population in Germany alone stands at around 73, and the first sightings have taken place in countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium. Of these places, the Netherlands will be particularly interesting to watch over the next few years, as historically wolves have not been able to adapt to civilization the way other canids have, such as coyotes or foxes.

Despite the re-expansion of wolf populations, these canines are still threatened in Europe. When they find animals on farms, they will still hunt and kill them - costing farmers money in the process. As a consequence, the environmentalists who support maintaining the population of this top-level predator often come into conflict with farmers trying to protect their own land. As of now, it is illegal to kill a wolf under EU rules unless the wolf is a threat to people, and the EU has established a fund to compensate farmers when their livestock are killed by the wolves they are protecting.

More information: http://bit.ly/1GyPI0B http://bit.ly/1FB90in (Dutch) http://theatln.tc/1NBiLCG http://bit.ly/1C07BhN

Image credits: "Wolves in Norway" by Taral Jansen / Soldatnytt from Oslo, Norway - Landskonferansen 2010. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/17/germany-wolves-farmers-environmentalists

BIG OLE BUGS MAKING A COMEBACK

In 1997, a movie entitled “Starship Troopers” was released. This movie involved Earth being attacked by giant “bug” aliens, and humans engaging in intergalactic warfare to combat the violence. Although the bug in the photo resembles something that might attack Earth, they’re completely harmless. Additionally, rather than being battled by Mobile Infantry, these insects are being rehabilitated by Australian scientists in an attempt to be reintroduced into the wild.

The Dryococelus australis, or “tree lobster”, used to roam freely around Lord Howe Island, just east of Australia, masquerading as pieces of wood. Fishermen would use these 12 cm long stick insects for bait, as they were about as long as any other bait-fish. However, in 1918, a British supply ship was evacuated on the island after being run ashore. During the nine-day repair of the vessel, a handful of stow-away black rats made their way onto the island from the ship. These furry fellas quickly discovered the tasty tree lobsters. After two years of these rats roaming and grazing, the tree lobsters presumably went extinct.

None were seen after 1920. That is until climbers scaling Ball’s Pyramid (a small but tall rock, near the island), in the 1960’s, reported seeing “recently dead” corpses of the insects. Due to the creatures’ nocturnal nature and a lack of desire to bug hunt in the dark, no follow up happened. In 2001 David Priddel and Nicholas Carlile, two Australian scientists, decided to pursue this follow up. Patches of potentially-life-supporting vegetation on the rock were visible to the men from the water. The men scaled 500 feet up the vertical face and found nothing but a few crickets. Upon their disappointed decent down the rock, the men saw what appeared to be fresh droppings of a large insect. The origin of this poop sparked curiosity and inspired a nighttime voyage to investigate. Carlile and a local ranger, Dean Hiscox scaled the rock during the dark of night to see if they could catch the owner of the poop on a midnight stroll. The men reached the bushy plant believed to be the home and saw two gigantic, shiny bodies. Beneath them were more of their friends, 24 tree lobsters total.

A few more extensive searches over the course of a couple years proved the insects on the Pyramid to be the last ones.

Logistics of the insects’ travel are still unknown, however theories exist. Another mystery is how the community thrived off of just one patch of plants. The only thing important at the moment to the scientists was the unpredictability and rarity of these bugs’ existence. The scientists immediately pushed for protection and a breeding program in order to continue the future of the tree lobsters.

The next step was to persuade the Australian government into allowing the transition of the animals. Due to the fragile state of their existence, the subject was debated until 2003. On Valentine’s Day that year the team went to retrieve four of the insects to be brought back to labs. One man received a pair which unfortunately died within two weeks of his care. The last two, named “Adam” and “Eve” were taken to the Melbourne Zoo, under the care of Patrick Honan.

Reproduction was successful after a few hiccups involving Eve almost dying, amongst other things. The population is expanding and now efforts are being made to return the insects to their original home on Lord Howe Island. However, the island is still running with the rats from before. The prominent idea to combat the rats is a mass extermination. Unfortunately, Lord Howe Island also has a human population that might not appreciate bugs that look like something out of a sci-fi movie crawling all around where they live.

There are a lot of factors right now regarding the future of these insects. However, the past is interesting and the present is fascinating. These tree lobsters have proven to be an interesting rediscovery and continue to captivate scientists and outdoorsmen like me.

-Mike

Read more via NPR: http://n.pr/1E2VgdT Photos courtesy of NPR in above link. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800916315907

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