National Geographic Society

A powerful earthquake in the South Pacific hurled a massive tsunami at the shores of Samoa and American Samoa yesterday, flattening villages and sweeping cars and people out to sea, leaving at least 99 dead and dozens missing, the Associated Press reported.

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The earthquake, which the Japanese Meteorological Agency measured as a magnitude 8.3 on the Richter scale, struck at 6:48 a.m. local time at a reported depth of 32 kilometers [20 miles] and a distance of 190 kilometers [120 miles] from the Samoan islands, Nature.com's The Great Beyond blog posted today. "But most of the damage came with the tsunami waves, measuring up to 6 meters [20 feet] in American Samoa, that hit shore shortly afterwards."

The Nature blog went on to say that residents in Samoa complained of having little or no warning, "some saying they only had three minutes."

"Had it happened in darkness, there could have been more disaster in terms of the number of those who died or are missing."

"Had it happened in darkness, there could have been more disaster in terms of the number of those who died or are missing," the BBC reported the prime minister of Samoa, Tuila'epe Sailele Malielegaoi, said.

Other news organizations quoted the prime minister as saying it all happened "like lightning."

Some media coverage focused on whether the lessons of the 2004 tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people in the Indian Ocean had been heeded. Others wondered if the Pacific tsunami-warning system, that was supposed to have been extended to the Indian Ocean after the 2004 tsunami, had been effective.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii sent out a "tsunami watch" warning three minutes after the earthquake was detected to islands in the vicinity, including Samoa, American Samoa, the Cook Islands and Fiji, predicting that an earthquake of this size was likely to result in a tsunami, TimesOnline reported.

"Computer modeling allowed the center to predict arrival times and the likely height of incoming waves. It warned that American Samoa, which is around 200 kilometers [125 miles] from the epicenter, was likely to be hit by 3-meter [10-feet] waves within ten minutes and Samoa within 20 minutes of the quake," TimesOnline said.

The earthquake is the warning.

Jonathan Bathgate, a seismologist from government agency Geoscience Australia. said that in a case like yesterday's tsunami that struck Samoa, the earthquake was the warning, according to Time.com. "In an island nation, he said, 'Once the earth shakes residents should take that as the warning and immediately find higher ground. Residents had roughly an hour to do so, as waves started to hit Samoa's coast at 8 a.m.," Time reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured a magnitude of 8.0 for the earthquake, posting this illustration on its Web site:

The purple lines show major tectonic boundaries of subduction zones. A subduction zone is the place where two tectonic plates come together, one riding over the other, according to the USGS.

You can read more about the forces that cause these seismic events on the National Geographic Web site Earthquakes.

National Geographic News coverage:

Tsunami Warning Signs, Facts in Wake of Samoa Quake

TSUNAMI PICTURES: Samoa, Tonga Hit by Deadly Waves

VIDEO: Samoa Tsunami Flattens Villages

Dragonflies and damselflies are ancient insects that have been around since the age of the dinosaurs. But now the aerial predators may be in trouble as climate change and human development are drying up the freshwater habitat they need to survive.

One in five Mediterranean dragonflies and damselflies is threatened with extinction because of Increasing scarcity of freshwater in the region, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said today.

Climate change and habitat degradation, due to the way land is managed, are also affecting the insects, says a report by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Photo of Large White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia pectoralis) by Fabio Pupin/IUCN

Dragonflies and damselflies belong to the order of insects called Odonata. They have been around in one form or another since the Jurassic era, well more than a hundred million years ago. Giant specimens with wingspans of more than two feet have been found in the fossil record. About 6,500 species survive today.

Aerial predators that hunt by sight, dragonflies and damselflies generally are found at or near fresh water. The larvae are predatory, aquatic and occur in all manner of inland waters, according to the Web of Life.

Common Pond Damsel  (Ceriagrion glabrum) photo by Elisa Riservato/IUCN

The Red List assessment of 163 Mediterranean dragonflies and damselflies shows five are Critically Endangered, 13 are Endangered, another 13 are Vulnerable, 27 are Near Threatened, 96 are Least Concern and six are Data Deficient, meaning there is not enough information to classify them, but they might also be threatened.

"It is likely things will only get worse for these unique species as climate change and increased water demand take their toll," says Jean Pierre Boudot, member of the IUCN Dragonfly Specialist Group and co-author of the report. "Lower levels of precipitation and drought will lead to degradation of the habitats where the majority of dragonflies and damselflies live."

Photo of Glittering Demoiselle (Calopteryx exul) by Jean-Pierre Boudot/IUCN

Four species are already listed as Extinct in the Mediterranean, including the Little Whisp (Agriocnemis exilis), the Common Pond Damsel (Ceriagrion glabrum), the Phantom Flutterer (Rhyothemis semihyalina) and the Darting Cruiser (Phyllomacromia africana).

"Dragonflies are generally known for being good indicators of water quality," IUCN says in a statement about the report. "Major threats for 67 percent of these Mediterranean species are habitat degradation and pollution. The Spotted Darter (Sympetrum depressiusculum), which used to be common in the Mediterranean, is now listed as Vulnerable and is declining due to the intensification of agricultural practices in rice fields."

Banded Darter (Sympetrum pedemontanum) photo by Fabio Pupin/IUCN

Fourteen percent of these insect species can be found only in Mediterranean freshwater ecosystems, some of the richest and most threatened habitats, among which nine have been assessed as Endangered or Vulnerable. According to the report, the highest numbers of endemic dragonflies are present in the South and West of the Mediterranean, with the Maghreb and the Levant areas being regional hotspots of endemism.

"The Glittering Demoiselle (Calopteryx exul), for example, is listed as Endangered and is in decline. It inhabits the aquatic habitats of the Maghreb, whose ecosystems are under pressure due to water-harnessing for human use, water pollution, irrigation and drought," IUCN says.

"Long-term coordinated actions are needed at regional, national and international level, and the results of this report highlight the responsibility that Mediterranean countries have to protect the global populations.

"Though some species are already receiving some conservation attention thanks to international laws, such as the Ornate Bluet (Coenagrion ornatum) which is included in the European Habitat Directive, others are not protected at all, despite their high risk of extinction."

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) photo by Jean-Pierre Boudot/IUCN

"The selection and protection of key sites are essential to ensure the survival of these species," says IUCN's Annabelle Cuttelod, co-author of the report. "Their ecological requirements need to be taken into account in the planning and management of water use, especially for agriculture purposes or infrastructure development. IUCN Red List data can inform both processes."

In addition to the Mediterranean odonata assessment, 1,912 species of amphibians, birds, cartilaginous fishes, endemic freshwater fishes, crabs and crayfish, mammals, and reptiles have been assessed to date in the Mediterranean region. About 19 percent of these species are threatened with extinction: 5 percent Critically Endangered, 7 percent Endangered and 7 percent Vulnerable, IUCN says.

Spotted Darter (Sympetrum depressiusculum) photo by Jean-Pierre Boudot/IUCN.

The assessment was carried out with the support of relevant scientists from the countries bordering the Mediterranean Basin in collaboration with the IUCN Dragonfly Specialist Group, to which they contributed with their expertise to gather the data, and to assess the conservation status that would be the basis for future conservation action.

Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo meridionalis) photo by Jean Pierre Boudot/IUCN

This project was funded by the European Commission, the Mava Foundation and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID).

Ornate Bluet (Coenagrion ornatum) photo by Jean-Pierre Boudot/IUCN

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Dragonfly Mating Game (National Geographic Magazine)
From a distance, dragonfly rituals of courtship and sex look harmless, even romantic. But a close look at their mating game reveals a harsher tale of sexual harassment and conflict.

Let the clean economy begin!

With this rallying cry, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Climate Savers program has been joined by National Geographic and a number of large corporations committed to making substantial reductions in their emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas that is accelerating the warming of the Earth's climate.

National Geographic will work with WWF to reduce the Society's CO2 emissions from operations by 80 percent by the end of 2010 and to reduce CO2 emissions from its magazine paper and printing materials supply chain by 10 percent by 2015. The emissions reductions are based on a 2005 baseline.

National Geographic is one of 22 participants, including HP, Nike, The Coca-Cola Company, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson, in WWF's Climate Savers program.

"Collectively, WWF's Climate Savers partners will reduce emissions by an estimated 50 million tons by 2010, an amount equivalent to the annual emissions of Switzerland," WWF said in a statement announcing National Geographic's participation in the program.

The commitment by National Geographic and the others comes on the heels of the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in New York and at the start of the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, WWF added.

"National Geographic's commitment to further reduce emissions could not be more timely or relevant," said Keya Chatterjee, acting director of WWF's climate program. "More than 100 world leaders gathered at the UN summit...to show they are committed to building a strong climate agreement. Leaders representing 85 percent of the world's economy [met at the] G-20 summit to foster a global economic recovery. National Geographic understands that emissions reductions and strong economic performance go hand in hand."

"Conservation has been at the core of National Geographic throughout our 121-year-history."

"Conservation has been at the core of National Geographic throughout our 121-year-history. We're delighted to be joining other like-minded organizations with strong climate action plans," said Ted Prince, National Geographic's executive vice president of Global Media. "Investing in energy efficiency and clean energy technology is a highly effective way to grow our business while protecting the planet from catastrophic climate change."

National Geographic is the first media organization to join WWF's Climate Savers program, according to WWF. "As such, it will help communicate the message of WWF's 'Let the Clean Economy Begin' campaign. The campaign calls on world leaders to find a solution to climate change. It also demonstrates, using results from WWF's partners, that it is possible to grow a business while reducing its CO2 emissions."

Overall, partners in the program say these efforts are resulting in greater operational efficiency and significant cost reductions, WWF said.

The Climate Savers program is a collaboration between some of the world's foremost corporations and WWF to show leadership in reducing emissions and heading off catastrophic climate change. By participating in Climate Savers, companies work with WWF to develop a climate action plan that includes absolute emission reductions and steps to meet their goals. Independent technical experts monitor and verify compliance.

Hope for the survival of two of the world's most endangered primates has been renewed after China and Vietnam created sanctuaries for them last month.

One reserve, in Khau Ca forest, Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam, contains 90 Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus avunculus), the UK-based conservation charity Fauna & Flora International said in a news statement this week.

FFI Photo by Xi Zhinong, Wild China

The new 2000-hectare [5,000-acre] nature reserve also supports a relatively pristine subtropical forest with a wide range of other wildlife like macaques, lorises, small carnivores and rare plants, FFI said.

"This new reserve protects the most viable Tonkin snub-nosed monkey population and so represents the species' best chance for survival," said Paul Insua-Cao, FFI's Vietnam Primate Programme Manager. "FFI is proud to have helped to establish the protected area and congratulates the provincial government and local communities on their new nature reserve."

The other reserve, just across the border in China, more than quadruples the amount of protected forest for the cao vit gibbon (Nomascus nasutus), FFI said.

FFI photo of cao vit gibbon by Zhao Chao

"The cao vit gibbon is considered the world's second most endangered primate and both species are in the top 25 most endangered primates.

"These two protected areas together contain the world's last cao vit gibbons."

"The new 6,530-hectare [16,000-acre] Bangliang Nature Reserve, in Guangxi Province, is directly adjacent to Vietnam's Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Area, which FFI helped to establish in 2007. These two protected areas together contain the world's last cao vit gibbons."

"FFI has been encouraging the local government to establish this new reserve ever since the species was discovered in China in 2006," said Luo Yang, FFI's China Programme Manager. "The cao vit gibbon currently lives mainly on the Vietnamese side of the border, but it now has the chance to safely extend its population into China. The future for the species now looks much brighter."

FFI photo of Tonkin snub-nosed monkey  by Xi Zhinong, Wild China

There are just 110 cao vit gibbons and around 200 Tonkin snub nosed monkeys left in the world, according to FFI. Both species are listed as Critically Endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

The main threat to both the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and the cao vit gibbon is habitat-loss. according to FFI.

"They live in rain forests with unique and fragile limestone mountain ecosystems, which are suffering from the collection of firewood, livestock grazing, agricultural encroachment, all of which stem from poverty."

FFI photo of cao vit gibbon by Zhao Chao

FFI engages with local communities to reduce the threats to the two primates. For example, simple and cost-effective measures such as providing villagers with fuelefficient stoves are helping to relieve pressure on the cao vit gibbon's habitat, the charity said.

"In addition, FFI has established community groups to patrol and protect the forest.

"The organization was a critical player in the creation of the two new nature reserves. The in-country teams worked with Chinese and Vietnamese authorities to ensure local people were consulted during the protected area planning process."

FFI will continue to support conservation in both new protected areas by monitoring biodiversity, facilitating community engagement, helping to improve local livelihoods, enhancing the local conservation authorities' skills and resources and also encouraging trans-boundary cooperation for the cao vit gibbon.

Watch this FFI video of cao vit gibbons in their habitat: 

Video by FFI, posted on YouTube

Additional information:

Transboundary Cao Vit Gibbon Conservation Project (FFI)

25 Most Endangered Primates Named (National Geographic News picture gallery)

Extinction Risk for 1 in 3 Primates, Study Says (National Geographic News)

A spectacular and extremely rare textile, woven from naturally golden-colored silk thread produced by more than one million spiders in Madagascar, went on display today in the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

"This magnificent contemporary textile, measuring 11 feet by 4 feet, took four years to make using a painstaking technique developed more than 100 years ago," AMNH said in a statement.

"This unique textile was created drawing on the legacy of a French missionary, Jacob Paul Camboué, who worked with spiders in Madagascar in the 1880s and 1890s.

"Camboué worked to collect and weave spider silk but with limited success, and no surviving textile is now known to exist.

"Previously, the only known spider-silk textile of note was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, and it was subsequently lost."

Webs on telephone wires

Producing the spider silk---the only example of its kind displayed anywhere in the world---involved the efforts of 70 people who collected spiders daily from webs on telephone wires, using long poles, AMNH said.

"These spiders were all collected during the rainy season (the only time when they produce silk) from Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, and the surrounding countryside.

"These giant spider webs are a well-known feature of the capital, and frequently surprise international visitors."

"These giant spider webs are a well-known feature of the capital, and frequently surprise international visitors."

A dozen more people were needed to draw the silk from the spiders with hand-powered machines, with each spider producing about 80 feet of silk filament, the museum explained.

"This intricately-patterned spider silk features stylized birds and flowers and is based on a weaving tradition known as lamba Akotifahana from the highlands of Madagascar, an art reserved for the royal and upper classes of the Merina people (who are concentrated in the Central highlands).

"Silkworm silk has been used for a long period in Madagascar, however, there is no tradition of weaving spider silk in Madagascar."

In this unique lamba cloth, the individual threads used for weaving are made by twisting 96 to 960 individual spider silk filaments together.

Photo of spider silk textile by R. Mickens/courtesy American Museum of Natural History 

By the American Museum of Natural History

• The silk fiber was gathered from the female golden orb spider (Nephila madagascariensis), which is renowned for the lustrous golden hue of its silk fiber. The male spider does not produce silk.
• The golden orb spider of Madagascar is one of about 36 members of the Nephila genus. These spiders are found throughout the tropics and are known as golden orb weavers for their big, gold-colored webs. The webs can often be seen between telephone and electrical wires---and are sometimes large enough to span a one-lane road.
• Almost all silk fabric is made from silkworm moth cocoons, but people have occasionally tried to make cloth from spider silk. One of the biggest challenges is the cannibalistic nature of spiders, which makes it very difficult to raise them in captivity, unlike silkworms. Spiders can be collected in the wild and then placed in a device to keep them still so the silk can be drawn. Afterward, the spiders are released back into the wild.
• For its weight, spider silk is stronger than steel, but---unlike steel---it can stretch up to 40 percent of its normal length. Scientists are trying to produce this intriguing material artificially on a large scale for possible uses on the battlefield, in surgery, for space exploration, and elsewhere.
• Since raising spiders has proven difficult, researchers are investigating ways to replicate spider silk to avoid harvesting. However, spider silk is difficult to mimic in a lab because the silk begins as a liquid in the spider's gland, becoming a remarkably strong, water-resistant solid after following a complicated course through the spider's interior.

Golden-silk spider (Nephila clavipes) photo courtesy USGS

By James G. Robertson, National Geographic Digital Media

Imagine having to wait for a whale to drop from the sky before you could eat.

At least nine new species of bristleworms that have adapted to feed from the unpredictable food source of dead whales have been discovered by Swedish scientists, according to a release from the University of Gothenburg.

Photo of submerged whale remains: Craig R Smith, courtesy University of Gothenburg, Sweden

The researchers say that some of these previously-undiscovered species are so highly specialized they would have trouble surviving anywhere else. For example, the Osedax worm uses a root system to burrow into the bones and search for food there. Others eat the bacteria that congregate on the surface of the bones.

One whale cadaver "offers the same amount of nutrients that normally sinks from the surface to the seafloor in 2,000 years."

"A dead whale is an enormous source of nutrients," the University of Gothenburg says in its statement. "In fact, one cadaver offers the same amount of nutrients that normally sinks from the surface to the seafloor in 2,000 years, and this is of great benefit to innumerable species: First the meat is eaten by for example sharks and hagfish, then tremendous amounts of various organisms come to feast on the skeleton."

Researchers discovered the new worms, which are related to the earthworm, by placing underwater cameras near whale carcasses they planted on the seafloor 125 meters (410 feet) deep off the coasts of Sweden and California. They retrieved samples and compared the DNA of the worms, and made another discovery: although some worms looked similar, their DNA varied widely.

The difference in DNA suggests that the highly-specialized worms developed from different ancestors and at different times, say the researchers.

Combined with the worms' similar appearances, the DNA also suggests that there may be other wide-ranging species of undersea animals that look similar but in fact are separate species, perhaps making the ocean a more diverse place than previously thought.

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Yale University anthropologist Gary P. Aronsen was studying primate behavior in Uganda last year when an infrared camera trap he set captured nighttime images of a cat so rare few researchers working in African forests have seen it.

Photo courtesy G. P. Aronsen, Department of Anthropology, Yale University

The three images made by the camera trap of the African golden cat (Profelis aurata), a cougar-like feline about twice the size of a domestic cat, were released by Yale this week.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists the African golden cat as Near Threatened, "as it seems reasonable to believe that the species could have declined on the order of 20 percent over the course of the last 15 years across its range, due mainly to the impact of habitat loss, hunting and loss of prey base."

Photo courtesy G. P. Aronsen, Department of Anthropology, Yale University

Although seldom seen or photographed, skins of the golden cat are more frequently encountered in museums, and among hunters and bushmeat markets, according to IUCN. The golden cat preys occasionally on tree-living primates, but its diet consists mainly of rodents and squirrels, according to analysis of its scat, which is about the only research that has been done about the feline.

Cryptic Animal

"It is a very cryptic animal. Almost nothing is known about it," said Aronsen, research associate in the Department of Anthropology, who described the photographs in the online edition of the African Journal of Ecology.

"The camera traps often capture images of elephants, chimpanzees, and small antelopes, so seeing this cat was a very welcome surprise," Aronsen added.

Aronsen showed the images to three experts, who confirmed the identification as the golden cat, Yale said in a statement.

A colleague of Aronsen's has worked for years in Kibale National Park, Uganda where the photos were taken, and has seen the animal only once, Aronsen said.

The researcher knows of only one other published photograph of the cat in the wild, taken in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Photo courtesy G. P. Aronsen, Department of Anthropology, Yale University

The cat looks much like a mountain lion of the American West and is much smaller than the lions and leopards that once roamed the park, Aronsen said. "While these larger cats have been eradicated by human encroachment in the park, the golden cat's smaller size may have helped it survive in Uganda's shrinking forests.

"Hopefully, the presence of this predator is a good sign of the forest's health--even though it's a smaller cat, the forest has to have enough resources to sustain it."

"Hopefully, the presence of this predator is a good sign of the forest's health--even though it's a smaller cat, the forest has to have enough resources to sustain it."

Aronsen is a member of a Yale research team working at Mainaro, in Uganda's Kibale National Park, including David P. Watts, professor of anthropology, and Simone Teelen, research affiliate. Support for this work is provided by the Great Ape Trust of Iowa and the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation.

Olive groves with low production close to the Natural Park of the Sierra de Cardeña y Montoro, in Córdoba, are the most appropriate sites for restoring habitat suitable for reintroduction of the critically endangered Iberian lynx, Spanish scientists have determined.

This is also the the only place, along with Doñana National Park, where this species lives, FECYT (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology) said in a statement this week.

Photo of Iberian lynx courtesy Miguel Rodríguez / SINC

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Iberian lynx, or Spanish lynx, as "critically endangered," meaning it faces "an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild."

WWF says the Iberian lynx is the most endangered cat species on Earth. Only a few hundred individuals survive in isolated patches of mountain forest in southern and central Spain.

The Iberian lynx could be the first big cat to become extinct since the saber-toothed cat, says Fauna & Flora International. Watch this FFI video about the cat:

Video courtesy FFI.

The comprehensive study to find land suitable for habitat restoration for the cat had to weigh a range of factors, including optimal land use, the impact of human resettlement, and geographical features.

The process involves tough choices and illustrates how difficult it is to reverse human development.

"Researchers from the regional government of Andalusia's Institute for Agricultural and Fishing Research and Training (IFAPA) have studied the impact and risk of these mountain olive groves being abandoned, in order to come up with an appropriate management system for them (conventional, mixed or organic), or to suggest they should be reconverted to Mediterranean forest," FECYT said.

The risk of these olive groves being abandoned is "due to their location, which has serious socioeconomic implications (mainly in terms of the population leaving rural areas) and environmental ones (erosion and risk of fires)," said Manuel Arriaza, director of the study and a researcher at IFAPA.

"Although the olive groves have low production levels and high production costs, they are areas with great environmental value," Arriaza added.

The researchers used georaphical information systems (GIS), and also took into account experts' opinions about the commercial and noncommercial functions of the olive groves, as well as those of 480 people in the province of Córdoba about the importance that society places on these functions in agricultural areas, FECYT said.

"The scientists evaluated the socioeconomic functions (olive oil production and retention of the rural population), environmental ones (prevention of erosion and fires, conservation and improvement of biodiversity, with special focus on the habitat of the Iberian lynx), and cultural ones.

"The results suggest that the most highly-valued function of mountain olive groves is their ability to retain the rural population (24%), followed by production of olive oil (17%) and the prevention of erosion (16%).

"On the basis of the interviews and the geographical features of the area, the model's final proposal suggests that 36% of the land should be planted to conventional olive groves, 23% should be reconverted to Mediterranean forest, 22% should be mixed olives and forest, and 19% organic olive groves."

However, once the best areas for restoration of Iberian lynx habitat have been generically identified, "other aspects not covered by the initial land analysis should also be looked at before any action is taken, such as the size of the rabbit population present, or fragmentation of certain areas," Arriaza said.

More than 20,000 North Americans are afflicted each year by Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that is carried by the blacklegged tick (also known as the deer tick).

But although the ticks are spreading across the continent, Lyme disease is not a problem everywhere they are found. Scientists are hoping that if they can find out why, they might be able to unravel the secrets of Lyme disease that would help people avoid infection.

A penny illustrates the size of the deer tick.

Photo by Graham Hickling, University of Tennessee.

"These ticks are on the move. As ticks expand into new areas, more people will likely become infected," said Michigan State University fisheries and wildlife assistant professor Jean Tsao, who will lead the four-year study. (Tsao is in the picture below, courtesy MSU.)

"Our study also has practical goals--we aim to provide the health community and the public in the various states with some reassurance, or warning, about what their future will hold for spread of Lyme disease.

"Understanding the reasons why Lyme disease is such a problem in some areas will help us manage the disease better, and lower the risk to human health."

In 30 years, the tiny blacklegged tick has cut a huge swath through 10 northern states by carrying a bacterial infection now annually afflicting more than 20,000 North Americans, according to MSU. "Curiously, the same parasite commonly known as the deer tick also is found in southern states, where Lyme disease is comparatively rare," the university said in a statement about Tsao's project.

"Researchers do not know how climate, vertebrate biodiversity, tick genetics or other factors affect the maintenance of the pathogen and its relative abundance in an area," Tsao said. "So as the ticks spread, will tick populations in new areas be infected like northern populations or mainly clean of infection like southern populations?"

Lyme disease risk map courtesy CDC

The disease has a range of symptoms including rash, fatigue, joint aches and shooting pain, and now is widespread in Minnesota and Wisconsin and along the northeastern seaboard, MSU added.

"And although ticks also are found in the forests of the Upper Peninsula and eastern Lake Michigan shoreline, the disease has yet to make serious inroads in Michigan beyond Menominee County in the southwestern Upper Peninsula."

That might not be the case for long, Tsao said, as infected ticks ride deer, mice, birds and other hosts into new areas.

Illustration courtesy CDC

Her colleague Edward Walker's lab discovered recently established populations of Lyme disease ticks in southwestern Michigan in the early 2000s, she noted, and during the last six years MSU doctoral student Sarah Hamer has tracked the invasion up the shore of Lake Michigan.

Lyme disease patients who are diagnosed early, and receive proper antibiotic treatment, usually recover rapidly and completely. A key component of early diagnosis is recognition of the characteristic Lyme disease rash called erythema migrans. This rash often manifests itself in a "bull's-eye" appearance, and is observed in about 80 percent of Lyme disease patients.

Photo and caption courtesy CDC

Tsao and colleagues are looking into potential new explanations for the uneven incidence of Lyme disease, MSU said. "The researchers plan to study how various ecological factors affect the Lyme disease cycle by simultaneously applying standardized survey methods at 12 sites spanning Massachusetts to Georgia and Minnesota to Mississippi."

Participating with MSU in the National Science Foundation-funded study are researchers from the University of Montreal, the University of Rhode Island, Hofstra University, the University of Tennessee and Georgia Southern University.

Instructions on how to remove a tick courtesy New York State Department of Health

Travel back in time to visit "The World Before Darwin," courtesy of a free webcast lecture with Everett Mendelsohn, emeritus professor at Harvard University.

Mendelsohn explored the milieu in which Darwin published "On the Origin of Species" 150 years ago, reveal its other evolutionary thinkers, and shed light on skeptics from the worlds of religion and science.

By Brian Handwerk
Special contributor to NatGeo News Watch

Charles Darwin's evolutionary ideas shook up the scientific world when On the Origin of Species appeared 150 years ago--but just what was "The World Before Darwin" like?

But Mendelsohn explains that society had begun to shift during the decades before Darwin's book was published in 1859. Political and industrial revolutions had unfolded, traditional religious orthodoxies were being unsettled, and science was also shifting with the times.

"By the time Darwin wrote there was a readiness to accept the basis of the theory," Mendelsohn said. "It was [really] opposed at the religious end, and by some I'd call scientific fundamentalists, who are those committed to a scientific creationist view of a great design in nature."

Photo of Everett Mendelsohn courtesy Harvard University

Evolution Before Darwin

Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Lamarck penned an embryonic theory of evolution in his 1809 "Zoological Philosophy," which influenced Darwin. In 1844, Robert Chambers anonymously published "Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation," which was short on sound science but "Darwin's argument at the core," Mendelsohn said in an interview.

But Darwin painstakingly gathered data for his sure-to-be controversial theory for another two decades--and was almost beaten to the punch.

In 1858 Darwin received a letter from naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. Wallace had collected specimens in the Amazon and islands of Southeast Asia and developed his own theory of evolution--which had striking parallels to Darwin's, though Darwin had written the core of his own idea long before and shared it with some select colleagues.

"I never saw a more striking coincidence," Darwin wrote to his friend the eminent geologist Charles Lyell in June, 1858. "If Wallace had my M.S. sketch written out in 1842 he could not have made a better short abstract!"

Fear of preemption finally spurred Darwin to take his own views to the public.

"On the Origin of Species" exploded onto the scene and sold briskly--but not everyone was a fan.

Monkey Business at Oxford

The book sparked a now-legendary June, 1860 debate at the Oxford University Museum involving Bishop Samuel Wilberforce, Thomas Henry Huxley, Joseph Dalton Hooker and others.

The botanist Hooker reported to his friend Charles Darwin in a July, 1860 letter that the room was crammed with perhaps a thousand people.

"The battle waxed hot. Lady Brewster fainted, the excitement increased as others spoke--my blood boiled."

How a British satirist saw Charles Darwin in the 19th Century

Darwin himself was sensitive to the continuing and sometimes spiteful attacks on his book. "But the effect on me is that I will buckle on my armour & fight my best," he wrote to Asa Gray in May, 1860.

By his death in 1882, Darwin's well developed argument and overwhelming evidence had won that fight and convinced most of the scientific community that the evolution of species was a reality--leaving the world after Darwin a much different place than it once had been.

Darwin: Live on the Web

Later speakers will include Jonathan Weiner (October 7) and Sean Carroll (November 4) on "On the Origin of Species" itself, and E.O. Wilson on the future frontiers of evolutionary biology (November 24).

The series was organized by a group of volunteer Darwin devotees who also hope to rally 1,000,000 users to a Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=53320310123) celebrating this year's 150th anniversary of "On the Origin of Species."

Darwin Facebook campaign:

Darwin Devotees Make "Father of Evolution" Facebook Superstar
Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life joined a Facebook group devoted to the celebration of this year's 200th anniversary of the birth of the "Father of Evolution," Charles Darwin. Now the organizers of the Facebook group are hoping hundreds of thousands more will sign up to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publishing of Darwin's famous book, On the Origin of Species.

Darwin resources:

Darwin's First Clues (National Geographic Magazine)

Was Darwin Wrong? (National Geographic Magazine)

PHOTOS: 7 Major "Missing Links" Since Darwin (National Geographic News)

"Instant" Evolution Seen in Darwin's Finches, Study Says (National Geographic News)

Darwin's Secret Notebooks (National Geographic Channel)

PHOTOS: How Do Species Evolve? (National Geographic News)

The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online

Darwin Correspondence Project

Darwin Digital Library of Evolution

The Charles Darwin Trust

Chimpanzees in the wild use specialized "tool kits" to forage food, it is known.

Scientists reported earlier this year that chimps raiding beehives used several tools in a single tool-using episode and could also use a single tool for many different purposes.

Now the same researchers report that not only do chimps use specialized tool kits to forage for army ants, but they are selecting tools and techniques that will not overly disturb and cause the ants to abandon the area--a sustainable method of harvesting that secures a renewable source of food.

Photo courtesy Sanz/Morgan, Goualougo Triangle Ape Project, Republic of Congo

Behaviors like these are fascinating because they hint at tool choices and strategies that might have been used by common ancestors of chimps and humans.

The latest chimp tool study was published earlier this month in the American Journal of Primatology. The research was funded in part by the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration.

A team from the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project, led by Crickette Sanz, a biological anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis, studied several communities of chimpanzee throughout the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo.

"After spending a collective 111 months in the Goualougo Triangle, the team recovered 1,060 tools and collected 25 video recordings of chimpanzees using them to forage for army ants," said a statement about the research by Washington University.

"It is already known that chimpanzees use tools when foraging for honey or collecting termites. However, the variation in techniques and the relationship between the ants and the chimpanzees has perplexed scientists for decades," the university added.

Photo courtesy Sanz/Morgan, Goualougo Triangle Ape Project, Republic of Congo

"The use of tool sets is rare and has most often been observed in great apes," Sanz said . "Until now there have been no reports of regular use of more than one type of tool to prey upon army ants.

"In other studies, based across Africa, chimpanzees have been seen to prey on army ants both with and without tools, and it was inexplicable why some chimpanzees used different techniques to gather the same prey."

The average number of tools recovered by the team at each site was 3.37, while 36 percent of recovered tools sets contained two types of tools, nest-perforating tools like (woody saplings) and ant-dipping probes (such as herb stems).

Ant-dipping probes are the most commonly observed method of catching army ants, the scientists found. "The chimpanzee inserts a probe into a nest or column of ants and gathers the individuals who stream up the tool."

Perforating tools are used to open nests so the chimpanzee can gather the ants within.

Adult male chimpanzee uses a tool set when visiting an army ant nest. He first uses a sapling with leafy branches intact on the unused end to perforate the nest, and then follows with an herbaceous dipping wand.

Video Credit: Goualougo Triangle Ape Project, Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo.

"While the tools sets observed during this study were similar to other recorded tools, this research suggests that chimpanzees are selecting tools depending on the characteristics of the ant species they are foraging," Washington University said.

"There are several varying species of ants found throughout the triangle, but their characteristics can be divided into two categories, epigaeic or intermediate.

"Epigaeic ants have longer legs so can run faster and can inflict a more painful bite. They forage on the ground and in the vegetation and when attacked the workers counter-attack in large swarms.

"Intermediate species forage only in the leaf litter and withdraw into underground tunnels or into the leaf litter when attacked."

Preventing an ant counter-attack

Chimpanzees that harvest ants simply by raking a nest open with their hands cause a massive counter-attack from the ants, Washington University said. "This results not only in bites but the attack may provoke the ants to migrate and build a new nest at a different location.

"However, by using the perforation tools the chimps can entice the ants out and can allow the insertion of the second tool for dipping.

"This not only reduces the ant's aggressive behaviour but may also be a 'sustainable harvesting' technique as the ants will stay in that location allowing the chimpanzees to revisit this renewable source of food."

Tool set used by chimpanzees to prey upon army ants in the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo. The top two tools are herbaceous dipping probes. The bottom tool is a perforating tool with the leafy branches intact at one end. Above the perforating tool is a measuring tape totaling about 8 inches in length.

Photo courtesy Sanz/Morgan, Goualougo Triangle Ape Project, Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo.

The chimpanzees practise recycling by recognising tool forms and re-using tools which have been discarded by other individuals during previous visits, Washington University added..

"It has only recently been discovered that these particular chimpanzees use several different types of tool sets which could be their cultural signature of sorts," concluded co-author David Morgan, research fellow at Lincoln Park Zoo. "There is an urgency to learn about these behaviours as the existence of the apes in the Congo Basin is threatened by commercial logging, bushmeat hunting, and emerging diseases."

The research was funded by the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,  Columbus Zoological Park, Brevard Zoological Park, and Lowry Zoological Park.

A second species of python--the African rock python--has been found to be breeding in the Florida wild, National Geographic News reports today.

"Already squeezed by the invasion of the giant Burmese python, Florida now faces what one scientist calls one of the U.S. state's "worst nightmares," writes NG News editor Chrstine Dell'Amore. "Africa's largest snake--the ill-tempered, 20-foot-long (6.1-meter-long) African rock python--is colonizing the U.S. state, new discoveries suggest." (Read the full story: Python "Nightmare": New Giant Species Invading Florida.)

Burmese python picture courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

The news follows a spate of recent reports of giant pythons being seized in Florida by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the agency responsible for regulating exotic species in the Sunshine State.

Four-hundred-pound python

A few days ago the FWC seized a pet Burmese python weighing 400 pounds (180 kilograms) and stretching 18 feet long, according to news reports. The snake was taken away from a backyard by authorities after being deemed unsafe.

"Concerns about the size of the snake and whether the chain-link cage she was in was secure enough to contain her, prompted the visit from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Friday," the Telegraph reported.

And only a week or so before that, an anonymous tip to the Wildlife Alert Hotline sent FWC investigators to a Florida residence in search of two illegally kept Burmese pythons.

"What was hidden from the world shocked even investigator Daryl Amerson, a 24-year FWC veteran who thought he had seen it all." 

"What was hidden from the world shocked even investigator Daryl Amerson, a 24-year FWC veteran who thought he had seen it all," the FWC said afterward in a statement accompanying the picture below.

"Amerson discovered an 11-foot-long male Burmese python, dwarfed by its female companion, a 17-foot behemoth of the same species that weighed more than 150 pounds."

Burmese python picture courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

The owner did not have the permits required by state law to keep them, FWC added.

The FWC lists Burmese pythons as reptiles of concern. Burmese pythons have escaped or been released into the Everglades National Park where they are breeding and munching a range of indigenous species that have not evolved protection from such predators. They have even been challenging the alligator to be top of the park's food chain.

Owners of pythons in Florida are required to have the pets microchipped and must follow specific caging requirements based on the size of the reptile, according to the FWC. They also must keep a written and approved contingency plan in case of escape or natural disaster.

The recently confiscated snakes were taken to a licensed facility.

New rules for captive wildlife went into effect in January 2008. People who owned reptiles of concern prior to the effective date are still required to purchase a permit.

Pet Amnesty Day

The FWC hosts pet amnesty days several times a year. At these events, people who can no longer keep nonnatives as pets can turn them over to the FWC for placement. The next pet amnesty day will be for reptiles of concern only, at Gatorland in Orlando on October 3.

Florida Wildlife Alert Hotline:

888-404-3922 

The FWC has appealed to residents of the state to report wildlife law violations, by calling the toll-free Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.

Pythons first appeared in South Florida nearly two decades ago, and they now take center stage as efforts to control their proliferation in the Everglades continue by wildlife managers at both the federal and state levels, according to the FWC.

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These NASA images represent all man-made objects, both functioning and useful objects and debris, currently being tracked by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network.

NASA illustrations courtesy Orbital Debris Program Office. Caption by Holli Riebeek

The images were made from models used to track debris in Earth orbit, NASA said in a caption accompanying the release of these images. "Of the approximately 19,000 manmade objects larger than 10 centimeters [4 inches] in Earth orbit as of July 2009, most orbit close to the Earth, top image. The lower image shows all items in orbit, both close to and far from the Earth," NASA said.

The images were posted on NASA's Earth Observatory Web site.

Orbital debris, or "space junk," is any man-made object in orbit around the Earth that no longer serves a useful purpose, the space agency explained.

"Space junk can be bad news for an orbiting satellite. On February 11, 2009, a U.S. communications satellite owned by a private company called Iridium collided with a non-functioning Russian satellite. The collision destroyed both satellites and created a field of debris that endangers other orbiting satellites."

the U.S. Space Surveillance Network tracks all debris larger than 10 centimeters to minimize the risk of collision between spacecraft and space junk.

A distinctive ring (seen in the lower image) marks the geostationary orbit, a unique place where satellites orbit at the same rate that the Earth turns, allowing them to essentially remain over a single spot on Earth at all times, NASA said.

"This orbit is invaluable for weather and communications satellites.

"When satellites in geostationary orbit are taken out of operation, they are moved to another orbit to keep the geostationary orbit clear.

"The dots between the geostationary orbit and the low-Earth orbit are in an orbit used by GPS satellites or a highly elliptical orbit, called Molniya, used to monitor the far north or south. To read more about common satellite orbits, see Catalog of Earth Satellite Orbits on the Earth Observatory."

Space junk not as dire as it appears

Though the black dots that represent objects in space swarm around the Earth, obscuring the surface in the lower image, the space junk situation is not as dire as it may appear, NASA said.

"The dots are not to scale, and space is a very big place. Collisions between large objects are fairly rare. The orbit of each piece is well known. If any debris comes into the path of an operating NASA satellite, flight controllers will maneuver the satellite out of harm's way.

"As of May 2009, satellites in NASA's Earth Observing System had been maneuvered three times to avoid orbital debris. NASA flight engineers are carefully tracking the debris from the Iridium collision, since much of it is near the altitude at which EOS satellites orbit."

To read more about what it takes to maintain a satellite's orbit, common Earth orbits, and the science behind calculating an orbit, please see the Earth Observatory series About Orbits.

What's it like to be a National Geographic explorer/filmmaker/scientist, hip-deep in a swamp in equatorial Africa, edging up to a family of grumpy lowland gorillas?

Photo courtesy Mireya Mayor

It's anything but comfortable. Sweat bees get in the eyes, tsetse flies bite, worms can burrow into the skin, and there's always the prospect of being charged by an elephant that thinks you're up to no good.

All these things have been endured by Mireya Mayor, who is working on a documentary about western lowland gorillas for the National Geographic Channel.

She is on her way to the eastern Congo to resume filming--but thanks to the wonders of digital technology we will be able to keep track of her whereabouts via the Mireya Tracker on her Web site and receive live updates from the field.

"The last time I was in close proximity to the gorillas," Mayor told me in a phone interview while she was boarding a plane en route to Africa earlier today, "a silverback ran up to me and gave me a swat. It's the ultimate experience one can have with a gorilla."

Photo courtesy Mireya Mayor

It's a good thing that Mayor gets a thrill from such wild encounters. Not many people would relish the arduous schlep into swampland only to be charged by a 350-pound gorilla at the destination. It's like a scene out of an Indiana Jones movie.

But this is all in a day's work for Mireya Mayor, who has been described by the New York Times as a female Indiana Jones.

The former Miami Dolphins cheerleader and model has a Ph.D. in anthropology and is one of the world's foremost experts on primates. Her work has taken her to some of the most forbidding places on the planet.

Mayor is an emerging explorer for the National Geographic Society and a National Geographic Television correspondent. Most recently she starred in the History Channel series "Expedition Africa: Stanley & Livingstone," as one of four explorers to retrace the nearly 1,000-mile trip through Africa of Henry Stanley and David Livingstone.

Mayor knows her primates. She is credited with the scientific co-discovery of the world's smallest primate, the mouse lemur, in Madagascar in 2002.

NGS photo by Mark Thiessen

Now Mayor is going back to one of the remotest corners of Africa, deep into the Congo rain forest, where one of the world's largest primates, the lowland gorilla, has been observed behaving in fascinating ways.

Gorillas Mating Face-to-Face

"They're the same gorillas that were documented mating facing one another," Mayor reminded me. You can see pictures and read about this behavior in the National Geographic News story "Gorillas Photographed Mating Face-to-Face--A First." Though the behavior had been observed before in mountain gorillas, it had never before been seen in the lowland gorilla subspecies--and had never before been photographed in the wild.

"And among these gorillas the males display some unusual splashing behavior to woo females," Mayor said.

It's gorilla behavior like this that Mayor and the National Geographic film crew are documenting. They will be trekking into Mbeli Bai, a swampy clearing in the Congo where at least a dozen gorilla families come to feed at a giant salad bar. The seasonal gathering of the clans is also an opportunity for males to find mates, and this is when they display some very interesting gorilla rituals.

"We still have so much to learn about them," Mayor said. "Unlike mountain gorillas, these lowland gorillas are not easily habituated to the presence of people. They have been hunted for centuries, so they are very wary. They hang around in places difficult for us to get into and we aren't able to get up very close to them."

I asked Mayor if there were a lot of snakes in the swamp. "I've seen them ... but I'm more on the look-out for elephants," she said. "They can run faster they we can when they charge, so I like to know where they are and what they're doing."

Bookmark Mireya Mayor's Web site for regular updates from her from the Congo. The documentary she is working on will air on the National Geographic Channel next year.

Over the last ten years in Australia, scientists have unearthed an average of at least two new species a week, WWF said in a recent report.

"The extent of Australia's rich biodiversity is astounding, to the point where science is regularly being used to describe new species," Michael Roache of WWF-Australia said.

Photograph courtesy Ross Knowles, WWF-Australia

Tragically, many of the newfound species may already be heading for extinction. At least 1,300 species are thought to be endangered, according to the report released by WWF to mark Australia's National Threatened Species Day on September 7.

Take the the carbine barred frog (pictured above), for example. It lives only in cool, high-elevation rain forests of the Carbine Tablelands, a region in northern Australia that is vulnerable to the effects of global warming, conservationists say.

"The frog--among 13 new amphibians found in the country in the past decade--may lose its habitat by 2050, due to an intense temperature rise," National Geographic News reported yesterday.

Read more about the the 1,300 new plant and animal species found in Australia since 1999, and see a small gallery of pictures:

NEW SPECIES PICTURES: "Fast Talking" Frog, Snubfin Dolphin Found >>

National Geographic grantee Cagan H. Sekercioglu was in Istanbul this week to witness the heaviest one-day rainfall in the capital of Turkey in 80 years--more than seven inches in 24 hours.

He posted an account of the experience and the floods, and the reasons why it was such a disaster, on iReport, a user-generated news site. It is republished here. The video is an Al Jazeera account of the disaster posted on YouTube.

Debris and damaged vehicles are seen after flash floods in Ikitelli, Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009. Flash floods gushed across a major highway and a commercial district in Istanbul, killing 20 people and stranding dozens in cars on rooftops, the city's governor said. As waters rose more than a meter (3 feet) high in the city's Ikitelli district, motorists climbed on roofs of their vehicles waiting to be rescued. The floods occurred in the early hours as people began making their way to work, washing over a main road linking the city to an industrial area, an airport and a highway to Greece and Bulgaria.(AP Photo/Ibrahim Usta)

Revenge of the Ayamama: the Istanbul Flood

By Cagan H. Sekercioglu

Istanbul, Turkey--I am a Turkish ecologist, ornithologist, and conservation biologist at Stanford University Center for Conservation Biology. I am in Istanbul, on my way to our wetland and bird conservation project in Kars, eastern Turkey. [Read about this project in an earlier NatGeo News Watch entry: Turkey's First Island Sanctuary for Birds Is Built From an Old Dirt Road.]

My parents live 300 meters [330 yards] away from the Ayamama Stream, which flooded parts of Istanbul today.

A lot of people got affected because buildings and roads were built in or near the stream bed, which was flooded.

Where my parents live, in Atakoy, there are no apartment buildings near the stream, just hobby gardens and a construction zone. I watch birds along the stream regularly and was last there only two days ago.

The stream is extremely polluted, carrying all the industrial waste and sewage of the part of Istanbul that got flooded. Still, there are 3-meter-tall reedbeds along the stream and I recorded 31 bird species so far.

Before it got polluted and industrialized, this stream and surrounding habitats would have supported over 150 bird species, especially during migration.

"The bridge I normally walk across had disappeared under reeds and trash."

I went back today at 3 p.m. and it was quite a sight. The bridge I normally walk across had disappeared under reeds and trash. The stream had risen three meters and construction workers told me in the morning it was five meters above normal and had flooded their sheds.

Ayamama Stream was full of garbage and mud, and a TV set floated past me. The reeds were almost completely covered by water. The reeds you see on the right side of the photos [see photos here] normally form the left border of the stream.

Still, no buildings got flooded in Atakoy and nobody got hurt because there were no houses near the stream, mostly green space, construction and hobby gardens.

Video by Al Jazeera

Many watersheds in Istanbul have been built over, often illegally, and this is what happens every a few decades.

Yesterday, Istanbul received the highest daily rainfall of the last 80 years.

In Ikitelli district, ground zero, 181 millimeters/m2 of rain fell in the past 24 hours. That equals 7.24 inches, about the rainfall Phoenix, Arizona gets in an entire year.

Most loss of lives and property happened because of illegal, unplanned construction in stream beds and watersheds.

Where there was no such construction, like in Atakoy, Ayamama stream rose five meters but no one got hurt.

All these polluted streams in Istanbul need to be cleaned and turned into green spaces for the public to enjoy.

On the other hand, Atakoy itself is built upon former wetlands and is on soft ground. It is prone to earthquakes and flooding is not out of question in the future.

Cagan H. Sekercioglu is an ecologist, ornithologist and conservation biologist at Stanford University Center for Conservation Biology. His first grant from the National Geographic Committee For Research and Exploration was in 2004. His most recent grant in 2008 supports a project in Costa Rica, where he is studying what happens to birds after they leave the nest and before they become independent. Tropical songbirds in the area are on the decline, and Sekercioglu hopes to learn whether their dwindling population is mainly tied to mortality during the fledgling period of their lives.

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Geographic Explorer Gets His Photo in Spite of Machete Attack

Cagan H. Sekercioglu and a colleague were on a night-time mission in Costa Rica, in quest of photographing a rare owl. Instead, they were attacked by a machete-wielding mob who thought they were thieves. 

Why Do Bird Species Lay Different Number of Eggs?

Why do some bird species lay only one egg in their nest, and others ten? Literally having fewer eggs in one basket spreads the risk of predation, says conservation biologist Cagan Sekercioglu. 

Pythons have invaded the Everglades, where they flourish in warm, wet habitat that has an abundant buffet of native species to feast on.

The giant snakes were imported to North America as pets, but released or escaped into Florida's wetlands they are proliferating, challenging alligators for the top of the food chain, and potentially positioning themselves to invade much more of the United States.

Conservation biologist Stuart Pimm has dedicated his life to protecting species--but an infestation of 16-foot alien snakes in Florida's iconic Everglades National Park has got him wondering how to eradicate this one. He is worried about the impact on indigenous species--and what could happen if pet owners release other big reptiles into the watery wilderness.

An American alligator and a Burmese python struggle to prevail in Everglades National Park. Pythons have been known to kill and eat alligators in the park.

Photo by Lori Oberhofer, National Park Service.

By Stuart L. Pimm
Special Contributor to NatGeo News Watch

Everglades National Park, Florida--Most April mornings for the last 15 years have started well before dawn, with a cup of coffee and the drive into Everglades National Park. We're in the helicopter while the sun is still below the horizon. No brilliant conversation at this hour.

Through my headset I hear, "Seven eight four, one six three bravo hotel." A women's voice echoes, "seven eight four, one six three bravo hotel." Our pilot replies, "heading west from the Beard Center to 80 46 30, 25, 41 15, four souls on board, two and half hours of fuel." The women's voice repeats the numbers.

"Roger that, thank you," and the conversation ends. There is no chit chat. We let the Park know where we're going just in case the helicopter breaks down--which happens, but not often.

Photo courtesy Stuart Pimm

The sun is still not up and the colors are muted. The stands of pine trees are dark green, the prairies are dark buff. There's a mist over them, gray in this light, but thin, translucent, rumpled by the most gentle breeze. Anything stronger would destroy the veil. It's thin enough, sometimes, that I will stand with my head above it when we land.

The helicopter leaves and I listen in complete solitude. There's a faint "bzzzz" to the north, so I check "one" on my clipboard. The Cape Sable sparrow-- one of the rarest birds in North America and one found only in the Florida Everglades, is at home. [Find a link to a video report of Pimm's sparrow research in the Everglades, at the bottom of this page.]

I know what you want to ask. Alone--and a very long, tough walk from the nearest road--what happens if I run into an alligator (there are lots of them), or a cottonmouth (you smell them first), or a Burmese python? A Burmese python?

Photo courtesy NPS

The alligator and cottonmouth belong in the Everglades, but I really don't relish the prospect of meeting a 4-meter (13-foot) constrictor, curled up on her eggs, as I wait for the helicopter to return to pick me up. I'm just not a snake person. And the pythons do not belong there.

There are snake people, of course. And the problem is that there are people who thought they were snake people, but grew out of it. Well, the snake grew them out of it, more correctly.

One of the Ten Largest Snakes in the World

The Burmese python grows to be one of the ten largest snakes in the world. Without doubt, it's a beautiful animal. And a very popular pet. Type the name into Google and you immediately get advice on how to care for one.

It also comes with a warning too few people heed: They can grow to more than 5 meters long (16 feet) and weigh more than 80 kilos (200 pounds). And you have to feed them. And they get very large very quickly.

"What starts out as a cute, mouse-eating novelty, can become a liability in a couple of years."

What starts out as a cute, mouse-eating novelty, can become a liability in a couple of years.

I talked to Dr. Nicolette Cagle, a Duke University colleague who did her Ph. D on snakes. Her husband, Mark--a vet--was an essential part of the conversation: It took both of them to hold Boa, their pet boa, as can be seen in the photo below and in my video interview with them at the bottom of this page.

Picture by Stuart Pimm--watch this video at the bottom of the page

Boas are snakes related to pythons and, like pythons, grow quickly to a large size. "They're fascinating creatures," Nicolette told me, "so many people are afraid of them--but there's no reason to be.

"For the most part, they're even-tempered--we like to show her to school groups."

Nicolette and Mark have had Boa since she was just over a meter (four feet) long. But handling such a large snake requires dedication.

"If you live in South Florida, the temptation often proves irresistible--you let your pet go."

So, what to do if you are unable to manage such a large reptile? If you live in South Florida, the temptation often proves irresistible--you let your pet go.

Many people have done this, even though this is against the law and there are humane alternatives. The result is that today the Everglades is home to perhaps thousands of Burmese pythons. And they're breeding.

It's not just pythons that are immigrants in the Everglades. The waters of this unique freshwater marsh have been populated by a veritable United Nations of tropical fish species. They too were dumped by owners who tired of them.

There are green iguanas across southern Florida, too--and the list of alien species that have taken up residence in the Sunshine State goes on.

Photo by Stuart Pimm

The damage that such invasive species cause is huge and, in the Everglades, many native species could be at risk. Alien species of all kinds are eating native species, or their food. Pythons could be emerging as the Everglades' alpha predator.

Photo of alligator in the Everglades by Stuart Pimm

On the far side of the world, the brown treesnake was responsible for eating all of Guam's birds to extinction in the wild. That's what can happen when an alien predator is introduced into a habitat where it has no natural enemies. (You can read more about the Guam situation on the USGS Web site.)

Python hunters have been recruited to go after the snakes in Florida. But even with the help of snake-sniffing dogs, the bag has not been impressive thus far.

What I do for a living is to understand why species go extinct-- and what we can do to prevent extinction. In this case, we want to know how to make Burmese pythons extinct in the U.S. wilderness, somewhere they do not belong.

So what are this species' vulnerabilities?

I talked to Dr. Lucas Joppa, another Duke University snake expert. "These pythons have an amazing advantage in the Everglades," he told me. "They are superb predators on the land--and they are superb predators in water, too."

Picture by Stuart Pimm--watch this video interview at the bottom of the page

A weakness, however, may be the python's need for warm places to lay its eggs. After giving birth, female snakes remain with their eggs for over a month to keep them warm," Joppa added.

Professor Stuart L. Pimm is a conservation biologist at Duke University, North Carolina. A former member of the National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration, Pimm is the author of dozens of books and research papers, including the book "The World According to Pimm: A Scientist Audits the Earth."

David Blinken has produced this video interview with Stuart Pimm on Pimm's research in the Everglades on the endangered Cape Sable sparrow.

Read earlier blog posts by Stuart Pimm>>

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When the brown tree snake was transported accidentally to the Pacific island of Guam sixty years ago it slithered into paradise: a banquet of birds that had no fear of snakes--and no predators to keep snakes in check. Today Guam is the text book example of what invasive species can inflict on an ecosystem.

Wildlife Trade Threatens Health of U.S.

Wildlife trade is so poorly regulated in the United States that it threatens ecosystems, native species, food supply chains and human health, several agencies and institutions have warned.

Less than two decades after it was discovered by science, the saola, an enigmatic antelope that lives in the remote valleys of the Annamite Mountains along the border of Vietnam and Laos, is on the brink of extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said today.

© WWF-Canon / David Hulse

"We are at a point in history when we still have a small but rapidly closing window of opportunity to conserve this extraordinary animal," said William Robichaud, coordinator of the Saola Working Group, set up by IUCN's Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group.

"That window has probably already closed for another species of wild cattle, the kouprey, and experts at this meeting are determined that the Saola not be next," he said.

The Saola Working Group includes staff of the forestry departments of Laos and Vietnam, Vietnam's Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, and Vinh University, as well as biologists and conservationists from non-government organizations, including the Wildlife Conservation Society and WWF. Experts from the Smithsonian Institution and Gilman Conservation International also joined the meeting.

The group met in Vientiane, Laos, last month, and agreed that saola numbers appear to have declined sharply since its discovery in 1992, when it was already rare and restricted to a small range, IUCN said.

"Today, the saola's increasing proximity to extinction is likely paralleled by only two or three other large mammal species in Southeast Asia, such as the Javan rhinoceros...The situation is compounded by the fact that there are no populations of saola held in zoos," IUCN added.

"The animal's prominent white facial markings and long tapering horns lend it a singular beauty, and its reclusive habits in the wet forests of the Annamites an air of mystery," said Barney Long, of the IUCN Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group.

"Saola have rarely been seen or photographed, and have proved difficult to keep alive in captivity. None is held in any zoo, anywhere in the world. Its wild population may number only in the dozens, certainly not more than a few hundred."

The saola is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which means it faces "an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild."

"With none in zoos and almost nothing known about how to maintain them in captivity, for saola, extinction in the wild would mean its extinction everywhere, with no possibility of recovery and reintroduction."

"With none in zoos and almost nothing known about how to maintain them in captivity, for saola, extinction in the wild would mean its extinction everywhere, with no possibility of recovery and reintroduction," IUCN said.

The Vientiane meeting identified snaring and hunting with dogs, to which the saola is especially vulnerable, as the main direct threats to the species.

"Experts at the meeting emphasized that the saola cannot be saved without intensified removal of poachers' snares and reduction of hunting with dogs in key areas of the Annamite forests," IUCN said. "Improved methods to detect Saola in the wild and radio tracking to understand the animal's conservation needs are needed, according to the biologists.

"In addition, there needs to be more awareness in [Laos], Vietnam and the world conservation community of the perilous status of this species and markedly increased donor support for saola conservation."

IUCN is the world's oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,000 government and NGO members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in 160 countries. Its headquarters are in Switzerland. The organization works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world economy by supporting scientific research, managing field projects all over the world, and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.