The coniferous forest that wraps around the subarctic latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere offers the world's best opportunity to apply conservation as a climate change strategy, according to a report released today.

The boreal forest, as it is called, must be preserved because it is holding vast amounts of carbon in and under its trees, and also because it offers a buffer for plants and animals impacted by climate change.

Cut down those trees and develop the land and all that carbon will be released into the atmosphere--and the animals and plants seeking sanctuary from the warmer lower latitudes will have nowhere to go.

Carbon-rich wetlands in Canada's Northwest Territories.

Photo by Chad Delany, Ducks Unlimited

"When the world thinks of forests and their value to offset global warming, tropical forests come to mind," say the Boreal Songbird Initiative and the Canadian Boreal Initiative, sponsors of the report The Carbon the World Forgot.

The report released today shows that the global impact of Canada's boreal forest, which stores nearly twice as much carbon per acre as tropical forests, has been vastly underestimated.

Canada's boreal forest

Map courtesy of Boreal Songbird Initiative

"The Carbon the World Forgot identifies the boreal forests of North America as not only the cornerstone habitat for key mammal species, but one of the most significant carbon stores in the world, the equivalent of 26 years of global emissions from burning fossil fuels, based on 2006 emissions levels. Globally, these forests store 22 percent of all carbon on the earth's land surface," says a statement accompanying the release of the report.

Breakdown of carbon stored by global forest biome

Chart courtesy of Boreal Songbird Initiative

"Past accounting greatly underestimated the amount and depth of carbon stored in and under the boreal forest," says Jeff Wells, an author of the report. "In addition to carbon storage in trees, organic matter accumulated over millennia is stored in boreal peatlands and areas of permafrost. Some of this boreal carbon has been in place for up to 8,000 years."

"The boreal forest's status as the most intact forest left on Earth also offers a unique opportunity for plants and animals forced to adapt to shifting habitats."

The boreal forest's status as the most intact forest left on Earth also offers a unique opportunity for plants and animals forced to adapt to shifting habitats. Most other habitats today are highly fragmented by human activity, creating a variety of additional obstacles for species survival, the statement added.

Oscar Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories

Photo by D. Langhorst, Ducks Unlimited

"In light of these findings, today's report urges that international negotiations on carbon and forest protection consider ways to account for and protect the boreal," the authors say.

"Any effective and affordable response to climate change should include preserving the world's remaining, carbon-rich old-growth forests," said Steve Kallick, director of the Pew Environment Group's International Boreal Conservation Campaign. "This report makes clear that nations must look not just at the tropics but at all the world's old-growth forests for climate change solutions."

Map courtesy of Boreal Songbird Initiative

"Keeping that carbon in place by protecting boreal forests is an important part of the climate equation," said Andrew Weaver, "If you cut down the boreal forest and disturb its peatlands, you release more carbon, accelerating climate change." Weaver of the University of Victoria is a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Nobel Prize.

Photo by Jeff Wells, Boreal Songbird Initiative

"The collision of climate disruption and massive human degradation of ecosystems is seriously worrying globally," said conservation biologist Stuart Pimm of Duke University. "These changes are surely novel in earth's history. Maintaining the boreal forest's intactness will be critical to slowing ecosystem shifts and to providing migratory corridors for displaced wildlife." Stuart Pimm is a regular contributor to NatGeo News Watch. 

Photo by Larry Innes, Canadian Boreal Initiative

"Conservation can be an important tool in the fight to mitigate climate change," said Larry Innes, director of the Canadian Boreal Initiative, a sponsor of the report. "International protocols and legislation need to create opportunities to maintain the carbon stored in intact boreal forest soils, peatlands, and wetlands while enabling indigenous and local communities to take a leadership role in determining how to best conserve not only carbon, but the full suite of ecological, cultural and economic values that the boreal forest represents."

Photo by Jeff Nadler

More than 1,500 international scientists led by authors for the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommended in 2007 that at least half of Canada's boreal forest be protected from further disturbance--in large part to keep both the boreal forest carbon bank and internationally significant wildlife habitats intact.

Despite the current lack of international protocol, several Canadian First Nation, provincial, and federal governments have taken important steps to protect hundreds of millions of acres of Canada's carbon rich boreal forest. In all, scientists are recommending that at least 300 million hectares be protected.

Read on for more photos, maps, and the full text of the executive summary of the report The Carbon the World Forgot:

The 2009 update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species shows that 17,291 species out of the 47,677 assessed species are threatened with extinction, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature said today.

Threatened with extinction are:

• 21 percent of all known mammals
• 30 percent of all known amphibians
• 12 percent of all known birds
• 28 percent of assessed reptiles
• 37 percent of assessed freshwater fishes
• 70 percent of assessed plants
• 35 percent of assessed invertebrates

"The scientific evidence of a serious extinction crisis is mounting," said Jane Smart, director of IUCN's Biodiversity Conservation Group, in a news statement accompanying the 2009 Red List.

This gorgeted puffleg (Eriocnemis isabellae) entered the IUCN Red List in 2009 as Critically Endangered. The species is known from southwest Colombia, where it occurs in a tiny area of the Serraníadel Pinche. The global population is not known but is presumably very small given that the area of suitable habitat available for this species is thought to be less than 2,500 acres, and it is suspected to be decreasing as elfin forest habitat is converted for agriculture and illegal coca plantations. The primary threat to this bird is the shifting of the agricultural border towards remaining primary forests, causing a loss of vegetation cover, contamination of watersheds and soil degradation. Illegal coca cultivation is a major threat due to the lack of governmental presence, with 8.3 percent of potentially suitable habitat reportedly damaged annually by coca cultivation.

Photo © Alex Cortes. Photo supplied by BirdLife International.

"It's time for governments to start getting serious about saving species and make sure it's high on their agendas for next year, as we're rapidly running out of time."

"January sees the launch of the International Year of Biodiversity," Jane Smart added in today's statement. "The latest analysis of the IUCN Red List shows the 2010 target to reduce biodiversity loss will not be met.

"It's time for governments to start getting serious about saving species and make sure it's high on their agendas for next year, as we're rapidly running out of time."

Tip of the iceberg

"This year's IUCN Red List makes for sobering reading," said Craig Hilton-Taylor, manager of the IUCN Red List Unit. "These results are just the tip of the iceberg. We have only managed to assess 47,663 species so far; there are many more millions out there which could be under serious threat. We do, however, know from experience that conservation action works so let's not wait until it's too late and start saving our species now."

Rabb's fringe-limbed treefrog (Ecnomiohyla rabborum) entered the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered in 2009.

It is known only from central Panama, where it occurs in tropical forest canopy. In 2006, the chytrid fungus was reported in the area where this species is known to occur. Since then, only one individual has been heard calling. There is also some ongoing forest clearing within the species' range for the development of luxury holiday homes, although this potential threat has not yet reached critical levels. This treefrog is one of several species collected for captive breeding efforts, however so far attempts at captive breeding have not produced positive results.

Photo © Brad Wilson

Switzerland-based IUCN is a global environment organization that works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world economy by supporting research, managing field projects, and bringing governments, NGOs, the United Nations and corporations together to develop policy, laws and best practice.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is a comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of plant and animal species. It is based on an objective system for assessing the risk of extinction of a species should no conservation action be taken. Species are assigned to one of eight categories of threat based on whether they meet criteria linked to population trend, population size and structure and geographic range. Species listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable are collectively described as "Threatened."

Photo © Gerald Allen

Highlights from today's IUCN statement:

Mammals

Of the world's 5,490 mammals, 79 are Extinct or Extinct in the Wild, with 188 Critically Endangered, 449 Endangered and 505 Vulnerable.

The eastern voalavo (Voalavo antsahabensis) appears on the IUCN Red List for the first time in the Endangered category. This rodent, endemic to Madagascar, is confined to montane tropical forest and is under threat from slash-and-burn farming.

Reptiles

There are now 1,677 reptiles on the IUCN Red List, with 293 added this year. In total, 469 are threatened with extinction and 22 are already Extinct or Extinct in the Wild.

The 165 endemic Philippine species new to the IUCN Red List include the Panay monitor lizard (Varanus mabitang), which is Endangered. This highly-specialized monitor lizard is threatened by habitat loss due to agriculture and logging and is hunted by humans for food.

The rare Panay monitor lizard occurs in large trees in primary lowland tropical moist forest. The species is a highly specialized frugivorous monitor lizard (it feeds on fruit). The loss and degradation of lowland forest habitat through conversion of land for agricultural use and logging operations is a threat to this lizard. The species is also hunted by humans for food and overhunting is a serious threat to the remaining population.

Photo © Tim Laman 

The sail-fin water lizard (Hydrosaurus pustulatus) enters in the Vulnerable category and is also threatened by habitat loss. Hatchlings are heavily collected both for the pet trade and for local consumption.

"The world's reptiles are undoubtedly suffering, but the picture may be much worse than it currently looks," says Simon Stuart, chair of IUCN's Species Survival Commission. "We need an assessment of all reptiles to understand the severity of the situation, but we don't have the U.S.$2-3 million to carry it out."

Amphibians

The IUCN Red List shows that 1,895 of the planet's 6,285 amphibians are in danger of extinction, making them the most threatened group of species known to date. Of these, 39 are already Extinct or Extinct in the Wild, 484 are Critically Endangered, 754 are Endangered and 657 are Vulnerable.

Photo © Tim Herman

The fungus also affected the Rabb's fringe-limbed treefrog, which enters the Red List as Critically Endangered. (See photo and description higher on this page.)

Plants

Of the 12,151 plants on the IUCN Red List, 8,500 are threatened with extinction, with 114 already Extinct or Extinct in the Wild.

The Queen of the Andes (Puya raimondii) has been reassessed and remains in the Endangered category. Found in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia, it only produces seeds once in 80 years before dying. Climate change may already be impairing its ability to flower and cattle roam freely among many colonies, trampling or eating young plants. Other threats include young plants being eaten or trampled by livestock, fires, and removal of pith from trunks.

Photo © Antonio Lambe (Acción Ambiental)

Toussaintia patriciae is an Endangered shrub species native to Tanzania. It is known from less than 30 trees in the Udzwunga Mountains National Park and West Kilombero Nature Reserve, and occurs in very low numbers where found, though it is cryptic when not flowering and may be more common that is currently known. It is considered relatively secure at present, as the population is present in protected areas and occurs above the altitude to which firewood collectors are allowed to operate. However, this species could become more threatened very quickly if the impacts of human activities, especially wood collection, were to increase.

Photo © Quentin Luke

Invertebrates

There are now 7,615 invertebrates on the IUCN Red List this year, 2,639 of which are threatened with extinction. Scientists added 1,360 dragonflies and damselflies, bringing the total to 1,989, of which 261 are threatened.

The giant jewel (Chlorocypha centripunctata) is known from the Obudu Plateau, Nigeria and from Mount Kupe and the Bakossi Mountains Cameroon. The species occurs in and around rain forest streams above 700-meter altitude. Habitat loss through selective logging and forest destruction for agricultural expansion is the main threat to this species. The species entered the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable in 2009.

Photo © Kai Schütte

Molluscs

Scientists also added 94 molluscs, bringing the total number assessed to 2,306, of which 1,036 are threatened.

All seven freshwater snails from Lake Dianchi in Yunnan Province, China, are new to the IUCN Red List and all are threatened. These join 13 freshwater fishes from the same area, 12 of which are threatened. The main threats are pollution, introduced fish species and overharvesting.

Freshwater Fishes

There are now 3,120 freshwater fishes on the IUCN Red List, up 510 species from last year. Although there is still a long way to go before the status all the world's freshwater fishes is known, 1,147 of those assessed so far are threatened with extinction.

Photo © Chavalit Vidthayanon

The brown mudfish (Neochanna apoda), found only in New Zealand, has been moved from Near Threatened to Vulnerable as it has disappeared from many areas in its range. Approximately 85-90 percent of New Zealand's wetlands have been lost or degraded through drainage schemes, irrigation and land development.

The status of the Australian grayling (Prototroctes maraena), a freshwater fish, has improved as a result of conservation efforts. Now classed as Near Threatened as opposed to Vulnerable, the population has recovered thanks to fish ladders which have been constructed over dams to allow migration, enhanced riverside vegetation and the education of fishermen, who now face heavy penalties if found with this species

"Creatures living in freshwater have long been neglected."

"Creatures living in freshwater have long been neglected. This year we have again added a large number of them to the IUCN Red List and are confirming the high levels of threat to many freshwater animals and plants. This reflects the state of our precious water resources. There is now an urgency to pursue our effort but most importantly to start using this information to move towards a wise use of water resources," said Jean-Christophe Vié, deputy head of the IUCN Species Programme.

Downlisted bird species

The Mauritius fody (Foudia rubra) was downlisted from Critically Endangered to Endangered because its extremely small population has been stable since the early 1990s and is now increasing following an island translocation. The species is restricted to southwest Mauritius, and suffered rapid population declines between 1975 and 1993. However, since 1993 the population has been stable, and there is evidence that dispersing juveniles are now setting up new breeding territories, expanding the range of the species. Historically, clearance of upland forest, particularly for plantations in the 1970s, catastrophically affected this species. Introduced predators (e.g. black rat (Rattus rattus) and crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis)) caused almost total breeding failure in most areas, and nest predation is still the major threat to the species.

Photo © Lucy Garrett (Rare Birds Yearbook). Photo supplied by BirdLife International.

Global figures for 2009 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:
Total species assessed = 47,677
Total Extinct or Extinct in the Wild = 875 (2%) [Extinct = 809; Extinct in the Wild = 66].
Total threatened = 17,291 (36%) [Critically Endangered = 3,325; Endangered = 4,891; Vulnerable = 9,075].
Total Near Threatened = 3,650 (8%).
Total Lower Risk/conservation dependent = 281 (<1%) [this is an old category that is gradually being phased out of the Red List]
Total Data Deficient = 6,557 (14%)
Total Least Concern = 19,023 (40%)

Global figures for 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:
Total assessed = 44,838
Total Extinct or Extinct in the Wild = 869 (2%) [Extinct = 804 ; Extinct in the Wild = 65]
Total threatened = 16,928 (38%) [Critically Endangered = 3,246; Endangered = 4,770; Vulnerable = 8,912]
Total Near Threatened = 3,513 (8%)
Total Lower Risk/conservation dependent = 283 (<1%) [this is an old category that is gradually being phased out of the Red List]
Total Data Deficient = 5,570 (12%)
Total Least Concern = 17,675 (39%)

Not all species on the IUCN Red List are threatened. There are now more species on the IUCN Red List. This means that the overall percentage of threatened species has gone down by two percent. This is not because the status of the world's biodiversity is improving, IUCN noted, but because we have assessed more species.

"In the past, Red List assessments often focused on species that were already thought to be threatened, but as the Red List grows to include more complete assessments across entire groups, we are beginning to have a better idea of the relative proportion of species which are threatened against those which are not threatened."

I've heard of birds eating spiders and spiders eating birds--but who knew that praying mantises can catch hummingbirds!

The photo here proves mantises can turn the tables on birds. It was submitted to National Geographic Magazine's "Your Shot" feature and was picked as one of the "Daily Dozen" images featured on September 2.

Photo by Sharon Fullingim, published on

"Like many bird watchers in our area, we keep hummingbird feeders filled in our front yard, from April until October," says Sharon Fullingim, who submitted the photo to "Your Shot." "Black chinned, broad tailed, rufous, and calliope hummingbirds visit them, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I was greeted with this shot this week. I've seen the mantis hanging around the feeders before, but didn't quite believe it would ever 'score' lunch!"

Now the photo of the mantis catching the hummingbird has become a Web phenomenon, much like another "Your Shot" photograph, featuring the squirrel crashing a couple's photograph in Banff.

This is not the first time a mantis snaring a hummingbird has been documented. Bird Watcher's Digest published photos of a praying mantis catching a hummingbird earlier this year.

A quick perusal of YouTube finds that mantises are accomplished hunters of a range of species, including mice.

The National Geographic profile of the praying mantis describes the insect as a formidable predator. "They have triangular heads poised on a long 'neck,' or elongated thorax. Mantids can turn their heads 180 degrees to scan their surroundings with two large compound eyes and three other simple eyes located between them.

"Typically green or brown and well camouflaged on the plants among which they live, mantis lie in ambush or patiently stalk their quarry. They use their front legs to snare their prey with reflexes so quick that they are difficult to see with the naked eye. Their legs are further equipped with spikes for snaring prey and pinning it in place," says the Nat Geo profile. You can read more on the praying mantis page.

On the other hand, hummingbirds are tiny birds, smaller, and presumably lighter, than some insects.

Mantises are cool insects and I have enjoyed watching a number of them in my yard. But I'm relieved that they are not of a size large enough to prey on humans, say about as large as this one downstairs, in the courtyard of  National Geographic headquarters:

Photo of praying mantis scultpture by David Braun

DNA "fingerprinting" has become a reliable way to identify individual humans or animals. A biological sample such as blood, semen, or hair can be matched to an individual.

Eastern imperial eagle chick in Kazahkstan picture courtesy Andrew DeWoody

In the world of bird research a DNA match can be made with a feather. Each feather found in a nest or on the ground can be mapped back to the individual that shed it, much like a sampling of scat can be used to identify individual leopards, wolves or other animals.

Purdue University researcher Andrew DeWoody gathers feathers shed by endangered eagles, a technique that yields plenty of information about them.

Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell

"Many birds are small, easy to catch and abundant," said DeWoody, professor of genetics, in a Purdue University news release. "With eagles, the effort can be 100 to 1,000 times greater than catching chickadees."

"Eagles can be hard to find, they often require live bait to attract and, with sharp talons and beaks capable of snapping off human fingers, they pose a risk to their would-be captors," DeWoody added.

"Instead of catching eagles, DeWoody collects their feathers and uses the small amount of DNA in them to create a tag that corresponds to a particular bird. Those tags can be used to determine population, parentage, roosting patterns and sex ratio."

"In an afternoon, you can go out and pick up hundreds of feathers," DeWoody said. "As field work goes, it's about as easy as it gets."

Most birds are studied by catching them in nets and attaching tracking devices. Researchers can then follow the birds and use radio technology to triangulate their locations.

Eagles and other large birds present several challenges, however, even beyond catching them.

"Eagles will literally fly hundreds of miles in two days," DeWoody said. "They fly in areas where you can't track them in a pickup truck."

Capturing a bird as large as an eagle can often be traumatic to the animal.

"They're wild animals that don't want to be caught," DeWoody said. "They can get hurt as well.

"Using feathers, you avoid all that."

Costs can be as high as U.S. $5,000 for the tracking technology that researchers must attach to eagles, a prohibitive cost if studying more than a few birds.

"The feathers give a good picture of recent eagle habits because they do not survive long in Kazakhstan's winters," Purdue said. "Any feathers collected after the winter thaw, then, had to have been recently dropped.

"In one study, DeWoody's team found that an area thought to have about 40 juvenile eagles living in it based on human observation actually had closer to 300."

The work also helped researchers understand more about the roosting habits of some eagles that use a nest for months at a time versus others who float around from roost to roost.

Another study showed that DNA could be used to distinguish eagle species from one another, and that imperial, golden and white-tailed eagles often utilized the same roosts at the same time.

Eastern imperial eagle chick in Kazahkstan picture courtesy Andrew DeWoody

Are pollutants causing a surge in cancers in wildlife, threatening the conservation and even survival of some species? And is their fate a flashing light for the health of humans?"

"Cancer is one of the leading health concerns for humans, accounting for more than 10 percent of human deaths," said Denise McAloose, chief pathologist for the Wildlife Conservation Society's Global Health Program.

"But we now understand that cancer can kill wild animals at similar rates."

Photo by Sharon Deem

McAloose is the lead author of an article published in the July issue the journal Nature Reviews Cancer, which makes the point that some wild animal species suffer from cancer at the same rates that humans and some species serve as early-warning sentinels for animal and human health.

Many species living within polluted aquatic environments suffer high rates of cancerous tumors, and studies strongly suggest links between wildlife cancers and human pollutants, says the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, in a statement about the research.

"These whales have an extraordinarily high rate of intestinal cancer, which is their second leading cause of death.

"One type of pollutant in these waters--polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (or PAHs)--is a well-known carcinogen in humans, and PAHs are suspected carcinogens for beluga whales as well."

A beluga whale in New York Aquarium. Wild belugas in the nearby St. Lawrence River system suffer from intestinal cancer.

NGS photo by Winfield Parks

Fish in other industrialized waterways, including brown bullhead catfish and English sole, also exhibit high levels of cancer.

Virus-induced cancers can affect the ability of some wildlife populations to reproduce.

"Genital tumors in California sea lions on North America's western coast occur at much higher rates than previously documented. Oceanic dolphin species, such as the dusky dolphin and Burmeister's porpoise (both found in the coastal waters of South America), are also showing higher rates of genital carcinomas."

Other virus-induced cancers can affect the feeding ability or eyesight of wildlife.

"Green sea turtles--a migratory species in oceans across the globe--suffer from fibropapillomatosis, a disease that causes skin and internal organ tumors. A virus is suspected as the cause these tumors, and environmental factors such as human-manufactured carcinogens might exacerbate their severity or prevalence."

Green turtle with a tumor.

Photo by Cynthia Lagueux

In certain situations, cancer threatens the survival of entire species.

"The Tasmanian devil, the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, is at risk of extinction due to a cancer known as devil facial tumor disease. This form of contagious cancer spreads between individual Tasmanian devils through direct contact (primarily fighting and biting).

The authors highlight the critical need to protect both animals and people through increased health monitoring.

"Monitoring the health of wildlife can illuminate the causes of cancer in animal populations; thereby, better safeguarding animals and humans against possible disease.

"Evaluating cancer threats in wildlife populations requires the collaborative efforts of biologists, veterinarians, and pathologists as well as the earnest engagement of governments and international agencies."

The paper concludes that more resources are necessary to support wildlife health monitoring.

"Examining the impact of cancer in wildlife, in particular those instances when human activities are identified as the cause, can contribute to more effective conservation and fits within the One World-One Health approach of reducing threats to both human and animal health," said William Karesh, vice president and director of WCS's Global Health Program.

Today is the second Father's Day celebration for a male rhea at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Rhea chicks are raised by their fathers, who incubate their eggs and rear the chicks once they are hatched, the zoo said in a caption accompanying these pictures. Rheas are large, flightless birds native to South America and are part of the ratite family, which also includes the ostrich, emu, kiwi, and cassowary.

Six weeks after they hatched, the rhea chicks continue to sleep nestled in their father's feathers on his back.

The father rhea is more relaxed with this second brood, according to the zoo, making it easier for keepers to care for and examine the chicks.

"The babies enjoy wandering, but Dad watches out for their safety, guarding them from any potential threat, including humans and even female rheas.

"When his chicks meander too far away, a rapid clacking of his bill will bring them all running.

"Despite the babies' penchant for eating everything in sight--including rocks--this father is raising a healthy brood of lively chicks."

This year's hatch is the second flock of rhea chicks born at the Zoo in thirty years.

Smithsonian's National Zoo photos by Mehgan Murphy

Good news for polar bears, walruses, caribou:

Russia will create a new 3.7 million-acre (1.5 million-hectare) park in the Arctic, a central area for the Barents and Kara Sea polar bear populations, WWF said today.

NGS photo of polar bear in the Russian Arctic by Gordon Wiltsie

Announcing the park, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he hoped it would be a major attraction for tourism, and announced that he personally plans to vacation there, WWF said.

The new Russian Arctic park is located on the northern part of Novaya Zemlya, a long island that arcs out into the Arctic Ocean between the Barents and Kara Seas, WWF said. It also includes some adjacent marine areas.

"WWF has long been lobbying for the park, which is also a key area for walrus, wild reindeer and bird population," the conservation charity said.

Industrial activities are prohibited in the new park.

NGS photo of walruses swimming in Arctic waters by Bruce Dale

"This is exactly the sort of thing we need to see from Arctic governments," said Neil Hamilton, director of WWF International's Arctic Programme.

"The only way these Arctic populations are going to survive the ecological havoc caused by global warming is by providing them with enough breathing room."

"If industrial activity is kept far enough from key habitat, the animals have a chance."

"We also need urgent global action on climate change to ensure that the parks stay cold enough."

Biologists have found no sign of the invasive Norway rats that have decimated native bird populations for more than 200 years on Alaska's remote Rat Island, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reports.

Rat Island, an island in the Aleutian chain that is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, was treated with a rat poison dropped by helicopter last year in an effort to eliminate the alien rodents and restore seabird populations and other parts of the native ecosystem.

The island is thought to have been invaded by Norway rats after a Japanese ship ran aground on the island in 1870, causing rats on board to jump ship.

The poisoning of the rats a few months ago seems to have worked.

While looking for the rodents after the extermination attempt, the biologists noted several bird species, including Aleutian cackling geese, ptarmigan, peregrine falcons, and black oystercatchers are nesting on the ten-square-mile island.

Photo of Norway rat courtesy NSF

However, the search also found "a higher-than-expected number of carcasses of two non-target species," FWS said. Biologists found 157 juvenile and 29 adult glaucous-winged gull carcasses and a total of 41 bald eagle carcasses that appear to have died in recent months. Seventy-five percent of the eagle carcasses appear to be juvenile birds.

Map of Rat island courtesy FWS

"The cause of death of these birds is currently unknown. Many of the carcasses were in advanced stages of decomposition, but some were relatively fresh," FWS said.

"Several of the gull carcasses found initially are now at the National Wildlife Health Center's laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin, and it is estimated that information on the cause of death will be available by late June."

Eagle carcasses and tissue samples were picked up from Rat Island by the refuge ship Tiglax on June 10 and were to be shipped to the Wildlife Health Center lab after the ship made port late last week.

     Bird die-offs "are cause for concern and further investigation."

While some level of winter die-off of these species is not unusual on islands in the Aleutians, and avian die-offs are not uncommon in Alaska, these numbers are cause for concern and further investigation, FWS said. "The Service is very concerned by these levels of mortality and is doing everything possible to expeditiously determine the cause of death."

Field personnel are collecting additional tissue samples for study before destroying any remaining bird carcasses to eliminate any possibility of ongoing risk.

"Reports from the camp indicate that all bird species on the island except eagles are present in equal or greater numbers than were counted during pre-treatment surveys. Although adult and juvenile eagles are still present on the island, numbers of sub-adult eagles are lower than pre-treatment totals."

There is no evidence of any ongoing mortality at this time. Results of the testing being performed by the National Wildlife Health Center laboratory will be released as soon as they are available

NGS Photo by Chris Johns

"While the Service regards any unnecessary loss of wildlife as a matter of utmost importance, these mortalities will not significantly impact either the Aleutian or the Alaskan bald eagle populations," FWS predicted. "The former is estimated at 2,500 birds and the latter at approximately 50,000 eagles, and both are considered to be healthy populations."

The Rat Island Restoration Project, a partnership among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Nature Conservancy, and Island Conservation, began operations in 2008 after a two-year planning process.

It included an environmental analysis by federal regulators, who issued a Finding of No Significant Impact on April 15, 2008. Components of the Rat Island Restoration Project were reviewed and issued the necessary permits by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and National Marine Fisheries Service.

"Introduced and non-native Norway rats are the most significant threat to seabird populations in the Aleutians. Rat spills can be far worse than oil spills. Oil degrades over time while rats multiply and continue to prey on native ground nesting birds that have no other land-based predators," FWS said.

USFWS photo of Rat Island by Art Sowls

Aerial displays of the latest fighter jets wow crowds at air shows. Few symbols of power stoke national pride as much as much as the power and might of technology capable of such speed, agility, and intimidation.

In the world of birds some species adopt similar aerial displays to woo their mates.

Clark filmed diving male Anna's Hummingbirds at California's East Shore State Park between 2006 and 2008 with a combination of high-speed and conventional video cameras.

After powering the initial stage of the dive by flapping, males folded their wings by their sides, at which point they reached an average maximum velocity of 385 body lengths a swecond (90 feet a second). "This is the highest known length-specif velocity attained by any vertebrate," the scientist noted.

Clark's videos also documented that the hummingbirds spread their wings to pull up, "and experienced centripetal accelerations nearly nine times greater than gravitational acceleration. This acceleration is the highest reported for any vertebrate undergoing a voluntary aerial maneuver, except jet fighter pilots, Clark said.

Why does this hummingbird do this?

Female animals utilize diverse male signals to select a mate, including various body ornaments and behavioural displays, Clark notes in his research paper.

"Male mating success based on these signals can place them under directional selection for exaggeration, resulting
in the classic examples of exaggerated male morphological characters, such as the long tails of birds.

Just as male morphological traits can become exaggerated, female preferences could also place behavioral displays
under directional selection, causing them to become exaggerated in some way, until physiological, neurobiological
or other performance limits are reached.

"Performance, broadly defined, could include any aspect of locomotion that stimulates the sensory systems of a
female."

This phenomenon is also of great interest to biologists like Clark, who test and study animal power output, endurance, velocity, acceleration, maneuverability, coordination and more. As Clark observed in his research paper, "Understanding locomotor performance limits is a is a goal of the fields of animal behaviou and biomechanics."

A trio of laughing kookaburra chicks fledged from their nest this week at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo's McCormick Bird House. The chicks are the first offspring for an adult pair that arrived at the zoo in 2003.

Kookaburra photo courtesy Lincoln Park Zoo

"The chicks, which have yet to be sexed or named, hatched in late April," The zoo said in a statement accompanying these pictures. "They have recently started voicing their iconic namesake chuckling 'koo koo koo kaa kaa kaa' vocalization that family members sing together."

Laughing kookaburras, a member of the kingfisher family, are native to Australia. "They are believed to pair-bond for life. Fledgling kookaburras generally remain with their parents to help care for the subsequent clutch. Mature offspring feed and protect their siblings before moving on to nests of their own," Lincoln Park Zoo said.

Kookaburra photo courtesy Lincoln Park Zoo

Great British Bustards! That's how The Great Bustard Group, a charity striving to re-establish a self-sustaining population of the world's heaviest flying bird in the UK, greeted this week's news that years of hard work had paid off with the sighting of hatchlings in the wild.

Photo courtesy The Great Bustard Group

"For the first time since 1832, the great bustard--one of Europe's most threatened birds has ... nested in the UK with two females successfully hatching chicks," the charity said in a news release yesterday.

"This is a tremendous step forward for the Great Bustard Reintroduction Project, the wildlife of the UK, great bustards, and for me," said David Waters, founder and director of the Great Bustard Group. "It has been a hard struggle to get this far. I am exhausted and nearly broke, but to see great bustards breeding after an absence of 177 years is brilliant."

Said Mark Avery, conservation director for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds,"This fantastic news marks another chapter in the struggle to bring back England's lost wildlife."

Tamas Székely, of the University of Bath--a partner of the Great Bustard Consortium--said: "The Great Bustard is a difficult species to reintroduce as it is a long-lived, slow-maturing bird. But this is a very encouraging sign that the reintroduction trial will be successful."

Photo courtesy The Great Bustard Group

The cause of the hubbub was the sighting this week of great bustard chicks following their mother and being fed. A day later another female was seen feeding a chick. During May a female great bustard was observed incubating a clutch of eggs.

The nest sites, on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, are being kept secret.

The great bustard is the only bird nesting in the UK that is facing global extinction, according to the RSPB's Mark Avery. "Establishing a new population here should ensure a brighter future for this Globally Threatened bird, which continues to decline across parts of Europe."

The successful hatching of the eggs marks a huge milestone for the project to reintroduce the great bustard to Britain, according to the Great Bustard Group. "The last wild great bustard chick to hatch in the UK was in 1832, when a female was seen with a single chick in Suffolk."

The Great Bustard Group was formed in 1998. The reintroduction effort began in 2004 with annual releases of between six and 32 birds each autumn. The birds are released under a licence issued by UK authorities to the Great Bustard Consortium (the Great Bustard Group and the University of Bath).

The reintroduction trial uses great bustards reared from eggs rescued from cultivation in Saratov Oblast, southern Russia. The chicks are reared in the Russian Federation in a partnership with the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Evolution and Ecology--a branch of Russia's Academies of Science.

When the chicks are about six weeks old they are imported into the UK and after a period of quarantine they are released on to Salisbury Plain.

"The first known nest from this project was in 2007, and there was at least one further nest in 2008," the news statement said. "However, the eggs from these clutches were found to be infertile, most likely due to the young age of the males. It is widely considered that male Great Bustards become fertile at an age of four or five years, so 2009 is the earliest that eggs were expected to hatch."

David Waters added: "The Great Bustard is a slow bird to mature, so it has been a long wait to get this far, but this could not be speeded up. A small UK population of about 18 birds has been built up, but it is only when this population begins to produce its own young and becomes self-sustaining that the project can be judged as successful. The indications are extremely positive".

The reintroduction project is essentially self-supporting, funded by membership subscriptions, private donations and self-generated income.

After years of lobbying, planning, and months of hard work, conservationists have built the first island ever created in Turkey for wildlife.

Ruddy sherduck is the flagship species at Lake Kuyucuk, where researchers have documented 10-12 percent of the bird's world population.
Photo © Cagan H. Sekercioglu

Photo © Cagan H. Sekercioglu

The manmade island in the center of the lake becomes a safe place for birds to roost and breed. It also restores the natural water regime of the lake by connecting the southern and northern sections formerly bisected by the old Kars-Akyaka road.

Local authorities expect that the new 200-yard-long island will increase nature tourism in the region.

The artificial island was finished and announced during the Eleventh Turkish Birding Conference, which was hosted by Kars Kafkas University and the KuzeyDoğa Society in Eastern Turkey ast week.

"The island was the big surprise of the conference and exhilirated Turkey's birdwatchers," according to a media statement sent by Sekercioglu.

Photo of White Stork © Cagan H. Sekercioglu

The island was converted from the old road across the lake after local authorities, conservationists and surrounding communities agreed last year on the conservation zones and the Ramsar boundaries of Lake Kuyucuk. Ramsar is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework under UN auspices for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their associated resources.

It was agreed at that time to remove the road from the lake as soon as possible.

The KuzeyDoğa Society, a bird research and conservation organization led by Sekercioglu, proposed that the dirt road be converted into an island as an easy and affordable way to provide a haven for breeding birds.

Photo of Jack Snipe © Cagan H. Sekercioglu

Fifty yards road were removed from both ends of the dirt and the excavated soil was added to the southern bank of the remaining 200-yard road segment to expand the width of the island.

Photo © Cagan H. Sekercioglu

Ninety-three trees of local species such as birch and willow, suited to the local steppe wetland ecosystem, were planted along the northern side of the island.

The soil addition on the south bank created a more gradual slope (half as steep) into the lake. This new, shallow bank will enable more species of birds to use and breed on the island, the news statement said.

"The entirety of the island is now inaccessible to people, cattle, sheep, horses, foxes, wolves, dogs and cats and therefore any birds nesting or feeding there will be free of these human and animal disturbances common elsewhere around the lake."

Photo of Black-necked Grebe © Cagan H. Sekercioglu

Additional Information:

KuzeyDoğa Society

Cagan H. Sekercioglu Web site

Related NatGeo News Watch entry:

Why Do Bird Species Lay Different Number of Eggs? (More of Cagan Sekercioglu's research)

More than 1,200 species were identified in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore bioblitz this weekend.

The number is expected to rise significantly as scientists crunch data and examine specimens in laboratories in coming weeks.

Among the species found that were previously unreported for this national park were 20 types of rove beetles and a handful of tardigrades, said Tim Watkins, the bioblitz science coordinator.

In the shallows of Lake Michigan an invasive species of fish, the round goby, which is believed to have come from Russia in ship ballast water in the 1980s, was found to have displaced native benthic fishes--indicating a loss of species for the park.

A small number of hatchlings of spotted turtle was seen, Watkins said. The turtle is rare and, in the state of Indiana, is regarded by conservationists as a species of special concern.

"What's encouraging is that the find is an indication that there is a breeding population of this turtle in the park," Watkins said. "That's very good news for both the turtle and the park, and a tribute to the dedication of the scientists and citizens who took part in the bioblitz."

Watch this video to hear Stuart Pimm, professor of conservation biology at Duke University, North Carolina, explain why the Indiana Dunes bioblitz was so important.

video by David Braun

Database for Research

When the bioblitz data is completed and verified, the full list of species, and their locations will be secured in NPSpecies, a National Park Service database, where it will be a reference for future surveys and additional research.

Fieldscope, a National Geographic education initiative, and the Encyclopedia of Life, an Internet project to create a Web page for every species on the planet, will also record the data.

Organized jointly by the U.S. National Park Service and the National Geographic Society, the 24-hour event, that ended midday Saturday, was the third in a series of ten bioblitzes in urban parks.

The first two bioblitzes were held in Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek Park in 2007 and in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in the Los Angeles area last year. The tenth and last bioblitz in this series is scheduled to be held in 2016, the 100th anniversary of the U.S. National Park Service..

This year's bioblitz was held in the dunes on the southern shore of Lake Michigan within sight of Chicago. More than 150 scientists from across the U.S. participated, among them botanists, entomologists (insect experts), ornithologists (birds), herpetologists (reptiles and amphibians), ichthyologists (fish), mycologists (fungi), myrmecologists (ants), and various mammal specialists.

The experts, ably assisted by some 2,000 grade school students and other members of the public, fanned out across much of Indiana Dunes' 15,000 acres of forests, wetlands, prairie, streams, sand dunes and lake shore.

Heavy Rains, High Winds

By day and by night, and at times in heavy rain and high winds, the army of professional and citizen scientists looking for species waded into marshes, bog, and lake shallows, crawled over towering dunes, scratched in leaf litter, poked the soil, and peered up tall trees and under rocks and logs.

"A bioblitz is always an adventure, and this one was no different," said John Francis, National Geographic Vice President for Research, Conservation, and Exploration, who went out on as many as he could of the 176 scheduled scientist-led forays to look for species.

"We had drenching rain and rivers flowing through our base camp, but science was undaunted," Francis added. "The bioblitz helped put Indiana Dunes further on the map as a national park important for its extraordinary diversity of species.

"The big turnout of scientists, students, and families showed how excited people are about this place. This can only help build the community that supports this park, not only in the minds of the local population but also nationally."

Bioblitz 2010

Planning for the fourth bioblitz in the series, in Florida's Biscayne Bay next year, started earlier today, Francis said.

"The next bioblitz is likely to be even bigger and better than the first three because with each one we learn how to do them better, and more people are becoming aware of how important and fun they are. Bioblitz fever is alive and well."

Under consideration for the 2010 bioblitz is a Web component that will allow students across the country to not only follow the event in Florida but also to emulate it with mini bioblitzes in their own communities.

For more details and updates, please visit the official National Geographic BioBlitz Web site.

Read more stories about the Indiana Dunes bioblitz on NatGeo News Watch and BlogWILD.

Photo by David Braun

Photo by David Braun

Conservation biologist Stuart Pimm (watch his video above) and blogger David Braun (right)  take a break during the bioblitz in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Friday night.

Photo by Mark Christmas

The recipient of numerous prizes, including the 2006 Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences, Pimm has published scores of scientific papers and written a number of books, including "The World According to Pimm: a Scientist Audits the Earth" (McGraw Hill, New York, 2001).

Pimm was also until recently a member of the National geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration, which is how I came to travel with him to different parts of the world. I will always have vivid memories of early morning bird walks with Stuart Pimm in Madagascar and Honduras--and now at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, where he led two bird walks during the bioblitz, a 24-hour species census that ended at midday today.

Accompanying Pimm on a bird walk involves a lot more than hearing about the birds in front of you. It's a lecture about birdbehavior and habitat and the wider context of the local ecology.

At the end of the bird walk this morning--in which we heard much about not only the birds we encountered (mallards, red-wing blackbirds, swifts, swallows, terns, and more), but also got into a wider discussion about the sexual dimorphism of peacocks and other birds--I asked Pimm if he would share his tips about how to go about birding. Watch the video to hear what he said:

Video and photo by David Braun

Today's bioblitz in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is an enormous event that required meticulous planning and logistics to coordinate thousands of people and as many different needs of specialized teams of scientists and volunteers. 

Commanding the NPS Incident Management Team overseeing the seamless coordination of the bioblitz is Bryce Canyon Park Superintendent Eddie Lopez.

Lopez heads a six-person team that has come from different parts of the National Park system to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to assist their colleagues who are directly responsible for management of the park. They monitor all aspects of the bioblitz from a special mobile command post.

Lopez talks about the work of the Incident Management Team in this video interview:

Video by David Braun

The birds are getting ready to go to bed and the bugs are trying to get into the tent.

It's getting dark enough to light the kerosene lamp. But although I don't have access to power, thanks to Verizon Wireless, who lent me a USB modem, I am able to connect my laptop to the Internet from anywhere in the park, including my tent.

This whole week I am in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a patchwork collection of enormous sand dunes, bogs, marshes, forests, and prairie along the southern shore of Lake Michigan in Indiana, not too far from Chicago, which I can see across the water.

Together these patches total something like 15,000 acres of preserve. More than two million people visit the park every year.

The occasion is the third in a series of ten annual bioblitzes organized by the National Geographic Society and the U.S. National Parks Service. The first two were in Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C., and Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles.

The purpose of a biolblitz is to document every species in a park within 24 hours. Scientists work through the entire cycle to be sure they get both daytime and nightime species.

"Part scientific endeavor, part festival and part outdoor classroom, the BioBlitz will bring together leading scientists and naturalists from around the country with teams of public volunteers of all ages, including more than 2,000 students from the tri-state region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan)," is how the National Geographic Society news statement about the event puts it. "Together they will comb the park, observing and recording as many plant and animal species as possible in 24 hours. Inventory activities include exploring the dunes, catching insects, searching for hidden wildflowers in woodlands, seining fish and other aquatic organisms, and observing and catching bats with nets at night."

Photo of Indiana Dunes lagoon by David Braun

I spent the entire day wandering around the dunes, enjoying the solitude of an immensely beautiful and fragile place. Imagine giant sand dunes being pushed out of Lake Michigan and blown by winds over many years to form a unique and very rare ecosystem.

But the truly amazing thing about this park is that it is bisected by freeways and a railroad. There are factories, including steel mills, inside and alongside the areas protected for nature. The park is threaded through residential areas and small business corridors. As you drive through it you constantly see signs that you are leaving or entering a national park.

Even as I write this in the park campground, surrounded by nature, I hear droning aircraft overhead, the loud wooshing of the traffic on the freeways, and the incessant noises of heavy trains rolling by.

The cacophany of urban noise serves as a bass throb to the notes of the many birds. They and the other wildlife appear to be unaware of the human world.

Photo of Lake Michigan and sand dunes by David Braun

Only a few hours ago I sat quietly on the dunes and watched as swallows flitted in and out of the holes they made in the sand. You don't need a bioblitz to tell you that the place teems with life.

The special opportunity and challenge of a big urban national park like this one is how we can hold on to a national treasure in a setting of so much human activity. I hope I will find some answers this week.

Photo of Indiana Dunes by David Braun

Albatrosses, penguins, seals, and killer whales are among the charismatic species that will benefit from South Africa's declaration of a vast new marine protected area in the Southern Ocean.

At 70,000 square miles (180,000 square kilometers), the Prince Edward Islands Marine Protected Area will be the fourth largest ocean preserve on the planet. Only the protected zones around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Great Barrier Reef, and Phoenix Islands are larger.

The Oklahoma-size territory that South Africa is adding to Earth's protected marine areas is a haven for millions of birds, mammals, and other marine animals being squeezed out of safe places to feed and breed as overfishing and climate change impact their traditional range in the Southern Ocean.

Antartic fur seal photo courtesy Fritz Pölking/WWF South Africa

The announcement by South Africa's Environmental Affairs Minister, Christoffel Johannes van Schalkwyk, came after many years of close cooperation between the South African government and WWF, a multinational conservation organization with world headquarters in Switzerland.

"South Africa's declaration to establish one of the world's largest marine protected areas around its Prince Edward Islands is a marine conservation achievement of global importance that will help protect a suite of spectacular wildlife," WWF said.

Penguin colony photo courtesy Sam Petersen/WWF South Africa

The new conservation zone around the Prince Edward and Marion Islands is almost 800 miles (2,000 kilometers) south of South Africa in the Southern Ocean (see map below), and forms an important global biodiversity hotspot, which was subject to rampant poaching during the late 1990s, WWF said.

"This is a historic day in marine conservation in South Africa," said Deon Nel, head of the WWF Sanlam Living Waters Partnership, a collaboration between WWF and Sanlam, a leading financial services group in South Africa. "All of South Africa's current marine protected areas are located very close inshore. The commitment of the first large offshore marine protected area moves South Africa into a new era of marine conservation."

The Prince Edward Islands are among the world's most important and diverse regions, WWF added. "But the islands, home to albatrosses, penguins and killer whales, have been threatened by illegal and irresponsible fishing practices in the past. The illegal fishing vessels around the Prince Edward Islands were targeting Patagonian toothfish. And the albatross species were killed as bycatch in these operations," the conservation charity said in a news statement.

Grey-headed albatross photo courtesy Sam Petersen/WWF South Africa

Given the scarcity of land masses in the Southern Ocean, sub-Antarctic islands contain vast populations of seals and seabirds, which use these islands to breed and molt and are therefore critical to the conservation of such species, WWF added.

Prince Edward Islands support 450,000 king penguins and 750,000 macaroni penguins. An estimated 5 percent of the world's southern rockhopper penguins also live there, as does a small population of about 3,000 gentoos.

Other birds colonizing the islands include 7,300 wandering albatrosses (44 percent of the total world population), 21,800 grey-headed albatrosses (the albatrosses in the two pictures above), 15,000 Indian yellow-nosed albatrosses (22 percent of the world population), 4,400 dark-mantled albatrosses, and a small population of 700 light-mantled sooty albatrosses.

Photo of gentoo penguins courtesy Kevin Shafer/WWF South Africa

Among the marine mammals raising their young on the islands are 16,000 sub-Antarctic fur seals (a third of the world's population), 760 Antarctic fur seals, and 1,800 southern elephant seals.

Said WWF International's Jim Leape, "South Africa plays a key role with several other countries, including Australia, France and New Zealand, in protecting the amazing biodiversity and commercially important fisheries of the sub-Antarctic and, through this, helps to establish a fully representative, viable and effective marine protected area network for the Southern Ocean."

National Geographic News related stories:

Extinction Near for Albatross, Experts Warn

Antarctic Wildlife at Risk From Overfishing, Experts Say

King Penguins Declining Due to Global Warming

Southern elephant seals photo courtesy Michel Gunther/WWF South Africa

Photos by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo

A colony of Humboldt penguins was introduced today to the new penguin exhibit at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo.

"The 20 tuxedoed birds waddled outdoors onto the beach and naturally did what penguins in the wild do--they went swimming," said a caption the zoo released with these photos.

The penguins, 10 males and 10 females, arrived three weeks ago from five other U.S. zoos and aquariums. The birds range in ages 1 to 20 years old and moved from Brookfield Zoo (Chicago), SeaWorld (San Diego), Rosamond Gifford Zoo (Syracuse, NY), Saint Louis Zoo and Aquarium of Niagara (Niagara Falls, New York).

"Watching the penguins take their first steps outdoors was truly remarkable," said Celine Pardo, a penguin keeper at Woodland Park Zoo. "They took to the water immediately, and showed off their innate prowess of diving and 'flying' underwater. It was very rewarding to see them behave just like wild penguins."

The new exhibit replicates the desert coast of Punta San Juan--home of the largest colony of wild Humboldt penguins in Peru."The 17,000-square-foot naturalistic home features shoreline cliffs, viewable entrances to nesting burrows, rocky tide pools, crashing waves and a beach," the zoo says.

Windows and acrylic walls offer guests "nose-to-beak viewing" as penguins splash, dive and swoop underwater. Other observations for visitors may include seeing the birds feeding, preening, and squabbling over nesting sites during the breeding season (February/March)--much like they do on the Peruvian shores in the wild, the statement said.

The penguin exhibit is built with the environment in mind, including geothermal energy; an innovative filtration system that will save 3 million gallons of water and nearly 22,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year--"the equivalent of saving 24 million pints of drinking water, and heating five, new two-bedroom townhouses each year"; containment of and recycled stormwater runoff to conserve tap water and prevent pollution of surrounding streams and other natural water sources.

The penguins arrived at Woodland Park through recommendations by the Humboldt penguin Species Survival Plan (SSP) to ultimately form a breeding colony, said Mark Myers, a curator at Woodland Park Zoo. "Our plan to grow the colony also involves acquiring more penguins through the SSP."

Species Survival Plans are cooperative breeding programs that work to ensure genetic diversity and demographic stability in North American zoos and aquariums. The Humboldt penguin SSP is among 39 SSPs that Woodland Park Zoo participates in, including plans for the western lowland gorilla, ocelot, Komodo dragon and red panda. SSPs also involve a variety of other collaborative conservation activities such as research, public education, reintroduction and field projects.

As conservation ambassadors, the endangered penguins at the zoo will help heighten awareness about their plight in the wild, Woodland Park Zoo says. "It is estimated that only 12,000 endangered Humboldt penguins survive in the wild. Overfishing of anchovies--the penguin's primary food source--and other human activities, such as the harvesting of guano deposits, which penguins rely on to build nests in, pose the greatest threats to their survival."

Woodland Park Zoo is also committed to conserving Humboldt penguins in Peru, by supporting the Humboldt Penguin Conservation Center at Punta San Juan, breeding endangered penguins through the Species Survival Plan, and encouraging visitors to choose sustainable seafood options, the zoo says.

The majority of threatened species are found in South Africa, largely reflecting the greater levels of development activity here when compared to other countries in the region, IUCN said in a report released at the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey.

In collaboration with the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), IUCN conducted a regional assessment of the status and distribution of 1,279 freshwater fishes, molluscs, insects, crabs, and selected families of aquatic plants from across southern Africa.

Basket fishing in Zambia photo by Denis Tweddle/SAIAB

"This level of threat may appear low relative to other taxonomic groups but, following comparison with similar studies in other parts of the world, the level of threat is predicted to increase dramatically unless the ecological requirements of freshwater species are given much greater consideration in future development planning, in particular for development of water resources such as for improved water supply, irrigation and provision of hydro-electric power."

Photo by Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

"You say tomato, I say tomaaato, let's fall in love!" Tomato frogs are a favorite among visitors to New York's Bronx Zoo as they venture through the new permanent Madagascar! exhibit. The frogs enjoy a diet of ants and in nature are terrestrial and often make their home in waterlogged ditches, the Wildlife Conservation Society said.

Photo by Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

Bronx Zoo's lions, male M'wasi and female Sukari, have recently been introduced on the Zoo's Africa Plains exhibit. A typical lion greeting last less than a minute, and includes touching heads, WCS said.

"Outside of Africa's largest national parks, lions are disappearing rapidly. They are losing habitat to human encroachment. Field scientists Luke Hunter and Laurence Frank of the Wildlife Conservation Society, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo, are working to maintain African predators in unprotected areas, by helping people and livestock to live with lions," WCS said.

Photo by Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium's twenty-month-old baby Pacific walrus, Akituusaq, shows his love to Keeper Paul Moylett for Valentine's Day. "The winter months are the best time to visit the Aquarium when the walruses enjoy the cold weather," WCS said.

Photo by Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

Residents of the Bronx Zoo Monkey House, these squirrel monkeys' native range includes Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru in South America.

Related NatGeo News Watch posts:

Love Looms Large at the Zoo

U.S. Zoos Feel Pain of Budget Cuts

Zoo News

Illustration of moa by Charles R. Knight/NGS

Feces dropped by moa, giant birds now extinct, are providing scientists with an idea of what the vegetation of New Zealand looked like before the first humans colonized the islands.

A team of ancient DNA and paleontology researchers from the University of Adelaide, University of Otago and the New Zealand Department of Conservation published their analyses of plant seeds, leaf fragments and DNA found in the dried feces. The work appeared in in a recent issue of Quaternary Science Reviews, an international geological research journal.

"When animals shelter in caves and rock shelters, they leave feces which can survive for thousands of years if dried out," said Professor Alan Cooper, Director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, which analyzed moa feces found beneath the floor of caves and rock shelters.

All photos by Cagan Sekercioglu

Why do some bird species lay only one egg in their nest, and others ten?

The substantial variation in number of eggs in the nest (clutch size) between bird species has long puzzled behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary biologists. One method to explain it focused on the biology of species, such as body weight. Another approach looked at the environment, such as seasonality.

By using data on clutch size for 5,290 species, and combining it with a wealth of information on the biology and the environment of these species, scientists believe they may have some answers.

As tall as a deer and weighing up to 45 pounds (20 kilograms)--equivalent to over two wild turkeys--the great bustard was hunted to extinction in England by the 1840s.

Photo courtesy Great Bustard Group