‘Red List’ grows to 16,306 animals and plants seen as threatened
The full Red List database is online at iucnredlist.org.
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 10:50 a.m. ET Sept. 12, 2007
Nearly 200 animals and plants have been added to a global database of threatened species, the World Conservation Union announced Wednesday, adding that the number is certainly on the low end.
From the lowland gorillas of Africa to corals of the Galapagos Islands, more than 16,300 species are threatened with extinction, the group said in releasing its annual Red List.
"The rate of biodiversity loss is increasing, and we need to act now to significantly reduce it and stave off this global extinction crisis," Julia Marton-Lefèvre, the group's director general, said in a statement.
The group noted that while extinctions are a part of nature, its findings show that humans are accelerating some extinctions. "Estimates vary greatly, but current extinction rates are at least 100-1,000 times higher than natural background rates," it said in a statement.
In what is billed as the world’s most authoritative assessment of Earth’s plants and animals, the group considered 41,415 species and found that of those, 16,306 were under threat, said Craig Hilton-Tailor, the list’s manager.
That is 188 more species than last year. Even so, Hilton-Tailor said, there are probably many more than that.
'Tip of the iceberg'“The estimate is low; we know it’s low,” he said. “We’ve only really looked at the tip of the iceberg in terms of species that are out there that are known to science.”
The total number of extinWhile it does not play a major role in U.S. decisions on wildlife conservation because the United States does this through its own Endangered Species Act, the IUCN is highly influential in other regions, particularly in developing countries that cannot afford to make their own assessments of which species are in trouble.
Its members includes nations, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and thousands of scientists.
The IUCN noted that while the total number of species on the planet is unknown, estimates vary between 10 million and 100 million — with 15 million species being the most widely accepted figure. Nearly 1.8 million species are known to exist.
Corals and warming seasFor the first time, corals were added to the list due to threats that include the warm-water Pacific Ocean pattern El Nino and global warming.
"The fact that corals are now present on the IUCN's Red List should sound warning bells to the world that the oceans are in trouble," said Simon Cripps, director of the global marine program at the World Wildlife Fund, an IUCN partner.
Hilton-Tailor said global warming is a factor in these and other species’ endangerment, but not the only factor.ct species has reached 785 and a further 65 are only found in captivity or in cultivation, the group, also known by the acronym IUCN, said in its statement.
One in four mammals, one in eight birds, one third of all amphibians and 70 percent of the world’s assessed plants on the 2007 Red List are in jeopardy, the IUCN added
“It’s really hard to identify whether it’s climate change or not that’s driving some of these species to extinction,” he said. “Climate change doesn’t operate by itself, it’s operating in tandem with other threats and it’s usually the combination of climate change and possibly the threat of a new disease ... it’s different combinations that can push species over the brink.”
The Galapagos Islands saw 10 native coral added to the list, as well as 74 seaweed species.
Besides being affected by warmer water, the seaweeds are also indirectly affected by overfishing, which removes predators from the food chain and results in an increase of sea urchins and otherEbola wiping out gorillasAsked to name a particularly troubling example of an endangered species, Hilton-Tailor mentioned the western lowland gorilla, which moves from endangered to critically endangered on the latest list. Its decline is due to the Ebola virus and commercial hunting of so-called bush meat.
"In the last 10 years, Ebola is the single largest killer of apes. Poaching is a close second," said Peter Walsh, a member of IUCN's primate specialist group. "Ebola is knocking down populations to a level where they won't bounce back. The rate of decline is dizzying. If it continues, we'll lose them in 10-12 years."
Female gorillas only start reproducing at the age of 9 or 10 and only have one baby about every five years. Walsh said even in ideal conditions, it would take the gorillas decades to bounce back.
Hilton-Tailor said the plight of gorillas points up the need for better viral controls, and for an alternative source of food for people in the gorilla’s range, from Angola to Congo to Gabon. herbivores that overgraze seaweed beds.
Development is the culprit in the decline of the Yangtze River dolphin, also known as the baiji, Hilton-Tailor said. It is critically endangered and possibly extinct, with perhaps one or two individual creatures remaining in China.
Changes in river flows due to dams, pollution, over-fishing and the use of electric shocks to fish in the Yangtze system are all factors in the cetacean’s disappearance. Heavy river traffic in fast-developing China is another cause.
“Any poor dolphin would really have to do amazing acrobatics to avoid being hit by one of those ships,” Hilton-Tailor said.
Birds in declineFor birds, the Red List shows 1,221 species are considered threatened with extinction, and 189 species are listed as critically endangered. The overall status of the world’s birds has deteriorated steadily since 1988, when they were first comprehensively assessed.
Birds did see the only success story on this year's list, however. The Mauritius echo parakeet, which was one of the world’s rarest parrots 15 years ago, went from critically endangered to endangered — the only species to see its status improve.
The IUCN tied the improvement to close monitoring of nesting sites and supplementary feeding combined with a captive breeding and release program.
But it also expressed frustration that only one species on the list showed improvement.
"This is really worrying in light of government commitments around the world, such as the 2010 target to slow down the rate of biodiversity loss," said Jean-Christophe Vié, deputy chief of the IUCN’s species program. "Clearly, this shows that much more needs to be done."
The IUCN said that humans "are the main reason for most species’ decline" given their impact on habitat, introducing invasive species, unsustainable harvesting, pollution and disease. "Climate change is increasingly recognized as a serious threat, which can magnify these dangers," it said.
The group also noted that:
Most threatened birds, mammals and amphibians are on the tropical continents — the regions whose forests are thought to hold most of Earth’s terrestrial and freshwater species.
Of the countries assessed, Australia, Brazil, China and Mexico hold "particularly large numbers of threatened species."
The vast majority of extinctions since 1500 AD have taken place on islands, but over the last 20 years extinctions on continents have become as common as island extinctions.
Jane Smart, head of the IUCN’s species Program, added that protecting wildlife is in the interest of humans. "Our lives are inextricably linked with biodiversity," she said, "and ultimately its protection is essential for our very survival."
The full Red List database is online at iucnredlist.org.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
Stem cell team wins 2007 Nobel for medicine
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Stem cell researchers Mario Capecchi, Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies won the 2007 Nobel prize for medicine or physiology for their work on gene changes in mice using embryonic cells, Sweden's Karolinska Institute said on Monday.
The prestigious 10 million Swedish crown (755,000 pound) prize recognised the international team's work, saying the benefits to mankind would increase in many years to come.
Capecchi was born in Italy and is a U.S. citizen. Both Evans and Smithies are British-born. Evans is a Briton while Smithies is a U.S. citizen.
The prize awarders said the discoveries made by the three have led to a new branch of medicine known as gene targeting.
This enables certain genes to be turned off "allowing scientists to establish the roles of individual genes in health and disease".
Almost every aspect of mammal physiology can be studied by gene targeting, the institute said.
Capecchi's research uncovered the role of the genes involved in organ development in mammals and has shed light on the causes of several human birth abnormalities.
Evans's work has helped in studying cystic fibrosis and in testing the effects of gene therapy. Smithies also worked on gene targeting for cystic fibrosis and the blood disease thalassemia as well as hypertension and atherosclerosis.
"In summary, gene targeting in mice has pervaded all fields of biomedicine," Karolinska said in a statement.
"Its impact on the understanding of gene function and its benefits to mankind will continue to increase over many years to come."
Medicine is traditionally the first of the Nobels awarded each year. The prizes for achievement in science, literature and peace bearing the name of Alfred Nobel were first awarded in 1901 according to the will of the Swedish dynamite millionaire.
The prestigious 10 million Swedish crown (755,000 pound) prize recognised the international team's work, saying the benefits to mankind would increase in many years to come.
Capecchi was born in Italy and is a U.S. citizen. Both Evans and Smithies are British-born. Evans is a Briton while Smithies is a U.S. citizen.
The prize awarders said the discoveries made by the three have led to a new branch of medicine known as gene targeting.
This enables certain genes to be turned off "allowing scientists to establish the roles of individual genes in health and disease".
Almost every aspect of mammal physiology can be studied by gene targeting, the institute said.
Capecchi's research uncovered the role of the genes involved in organ development in mammals and has shed light on the causes of several human birth abnormalities.
Evans's work has helped in studying cystic fibrosis and in testing the effects of gene therapy. Smithies also worked on gene targeting for cystic fibrosis and the blood disease thalassemia as well as hypertension and atherosclerosis.
"In summary, gene targeting in mice has pervaded all fields of biomedicine," Karolinska said in a statement.
"Its impact on the understanding of gene function and its benefits to mankind will continue to increase over many years to come."
Medicine is traditionally the first of the Nobels awarded each year. The prizes for achievement in science, literature and peace bearing the name of Alfred Nobel were first awarded in 1901 according to the will of the Swedish dynamite millionaire.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Catching Fish Evolving
2 August 2004 article taken from
http://hcgs.unh.edu/News/ScienceNOW.pdf on 6 oct 2007
The myriad of colorful cichlid fishes of the African Great Lakes is a classic example of
explosive evolution, with thousands of species having appeared in the geological
equivalent of a blink of an eye.
Now, in a paper in this month's issue of, biologists report a close-up look at one spark in that burst of evolution. Molecular Ecology Lake Malawi, shared by Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania, is home to at least 500 species of cichlids, all of which probably took less than a million years to evolve from a common ancestor. Still, evolutionary biologist J. Todd Streelman of
the University of New Hampshire, Durham, and his colleagues were not prepared for the speed of evolution they discovered at the lake's Thumbi West Island.
Here, at a 100-meter-long promontory called Mitande Point, a fish dealer in the 1960s
released , a species restricted to the other end of Lake Malawi. Twenty years later, the fish hadn't ventured beyond Mitande Point. But in 2001, when the team dipped nets into the water at six spots along the island's 5-km-long coastline, the scientists found that it had spread everywhere. At each station, they netted some 40 individuals and recorded the color pattern for each.
They also took a so-called microsatellite DNA fingerprint. Cynotilapia afra As it turned out, had evolved into two distinct varieties in less than 20 years. The ones along the northern coast of the island had developed about four vertical blue bars on the black dorsal fin, whereas the ones along the southern coast had only two or C. afra has split in two in just 20 years. Amazing powers of evolution.
(The original stock had no blue bars on the dorsal fin.) Also, DNA fingerprints of fish from the north coast sites were significantly different from those of fish in the south, making it likely that the two are well on their way toward becoming separate species. Fish evolution this hasty has been recorded so far only in salmon and sticklebacks. "We were not expecting [this]," Streelman says.
Evolutionary ecologist Jacques van Alphen of Leiden University in the Netherlands is
amazed at the speed with which has split in two. "It's a very nice finding," he
says. But he hopes the researchers will continue their work to find out what is different
about the two sides of the island to have caused the two forms to evolve.
--MENNO SCHILTHUIZEN
http://hcgs.unh.edu/News/ScienceNOW.pdf on 6 oct 2007
The myriad of colorful cichlid fishes of the African Great Lakes is a classic example of
explosive evolution, with thousands of species having appeared in the geological
equivalent of a blink of an eye.
Now, in a paper in this month's issue of, biologists report a close-up look at one spark in that burst of evolution. Molecular Ecology Lake Malawi, shared by Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania, is home to at least 500 species of cichlids, all of which probably took less than a million years to evolve from a common ancestor. Still, evolutionary biologist J. Todd Streelman of
the University of New Hampshire, Durham, and his colleagues were not prepared for the speed of evolution they discovered at the lake's Thumbi West Island.
Here, at a 100-meter-long promontory called Mitande Point, a fish dealer in the 1960s
released , a species restricted to the other end of Lake Malawi. Twenty years later, the fish hadn't ventured beyond Mitande Point. But in 2001, when the team dipped nets into the water at six spots along the island's 5-km-long coastline, the scientists found that it had spread everywhere. At each station, they netted some 40 individuals and recorded the color pattern for each.
They also took a so-called microsatellite DNA fingerprint. Cynotilapia afra As it turned out, had evolved into two distinct varieties in less than 20 years. The ones along the northern coast of the island had developed about four vertical blue bars on the black dorsal fin, whereas the ones along the southern coast had only two or C. afra has split in two in just 20 years. Amazing powers of evolution.
(The original stock had no blue bars on the dorsal fin.) Also, DNA fingerprints of fish from the north coast sites were significantly different from those of fish in the south, making it likely that the two are well on their way toward becoming separate species. Fish evolution this hasty has been recorded so far only in salmon and sticklebacks. "We were not expecting [this]," Streelman says.
Evolutionary ecologist Jacques van Alphen of Leiden University in the Netherlands is
amazed at the speed with which has split in two. "It's a very nice finding," he
says. But he hopes the researchers will continue their work to find out what is different
about the two sides of the island to have caused the two forms to evolve.
--MENNO SCHILTHUIZEN
Thursday, October 4, 2007
WANTED GREENER FISH
Wanted: greener fish
Market trends require stronger environmental performance by seafood industry
25 September 2007, Rome - The US$400 billion seafood industry has no choice but to adapt to intensifying demand from retailers and consumers for "environmentally friendly" fish, FAO said today.During opening remarks made to industry representatives attending the 2007 Seafood Industry Congress (25-27 September, Dublin), Grimur Valdimarsson, Director of FAO's Fishing Industries Division, said that the need for seafood producers to guarantee environmental performance is unavoidable."
The push towards sustainable fisheries is not just coming from government or environmental groups, but from the market itself," Valdimarsson said, noting that major seafood retailers like Unilever, Tesco, Walmart and Asda have already committed to putting on their shelves only fish that was harvested or raised sustainably."
In recent years the seafood industry has been uncertain as to whether these trends represent a momentary fad. Today, there's no question: it's real, it's a sea change, and it's the way of the future," he said.In broad terms, this means that producers will need to be able to assure retailers and consumers that their fish were not taken from overexploited stocks, farmed in ponds where mangroves once stood, or caught in nets without turtle-saving excluder devices installed.
Doing so requires monitoring fishing activities via tracking systems, labels and similar mechanisms. There are already a number of initiatives under way that seek to do this, established either by seafood retailers or public interest organizations.
While expressing concern over the proliferation of diverse and competing efforts, Valdimarsson stressed that, overall, the trend is a positive one.Transition anything but easy"Complying with these new imperatives is technically extremely difficult, and so the challenge facing industry right now is finding ways of doing so that are both adequate and economically feasible," Valdimarsson acknowledged.
The capture fisheries sector should draw lessons from the last 25 years of food safety assurance in other sectors, which moved largely from being a government-run activity to one managed by industry itself within a government-established framework and subject to spot verification.Seafood producers have been wresting with a similar problem for years now, which could help."
Already, producers have put into place internal systems to ensure that they are providing seafood that is fresh, safe to eat, and of the highest quality -- which is what today's consumers demand," Valdimarsson said. "You don't need to invent a new agency to guarantee that environmental standards are being met -- monitor for environmental performance in a similar way, as you do for safety and quality."
Developing countries will have a tough timeResource-strapped developing countries will have a particularly hard time making the transition to fully certifying their fisheries."They've already been struggling mightily to comply with health and safety regulations on fish imports put into place by importing countries in the developed world," Valdimarsson explained.
Helping resolve this problem is an issue of particular importance to FAO, he said, adding that the retailers shaping market trends have a responsibility to help suppliers in the developing world cope.And FAO and other international development organizations working on fisheries and aquaculture will need new resources to help the developing world's fisheries sector adapt.Fishing rights keyThe widespread practice of granting open or nearly-open access to fishing grounds is another challenge."
Under the open access regime, fishing is an extremely competitive, zero sum game: if a fishermen doesn't land a fish, his competitor will, leaving little incentive to conserve the resource" according to Valdimarsson, and the consequence is overfishing. "So fishermen have a vested interest in not revealing what they've been doing.""T
hat must change, because the emerging paradigm requires the industry to be able to say exactly where, when and how a fish was caught. Only fishermen who hold clear rights and are not obliged to outfish a large group of competitors will feel secure enough to operate with that level of transparency."
Safety and quality issuesThis year's World Seafood Congress was co-organized by FAO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Health Organization, the International Food Quality Certification Group, and Ireland's Sea Fisheries Protection Authority in collaboration with the International Association of Fish Inspectors and with the support of the Irish Sea Fisheries Board, Enterprise Ireland, and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
The congress has traditionally focused on seafood safety and quality issues, but environmental concerns have risen higher on its agenda in recent years.One of the most serious difficulties faced by fish exporters is coping with different safety standards being imposed by various importing countries. The need for greater harmonization of standards and more equivalence agreements, as well as the proliferation of private standards and certification schemes for fish products will also be discussed in Dublin.
Contact:George KourousMedia Relations,
FAO george.kourous@fao.org
(+39) 06 570 53168(+39) 348 141 6802
This news coming from the FAO chief are a welcome development, look at efforts the market is doing in order to save the remaining fishery resources.
The FAO State of Fisheries and Aquaculture Report 2006, clearly said that capture stocks have reached their ceiling and aqua production is increasing.
However it does not require a rocket scientist to understand that the aqua stocks will require capture bycatches as their feed stock ingredients, yes the much required 60 % protein source.
SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Ecosystem management approach .
Hastings
=======
Market trends require stronger environmental performance by seafood industry
25 September 2007, Rome - The US$400 billion seafood industry has no choice but to adapt to intensifying demand from retailers and consumers for "environmentally friendly" fish, FAO said today.During opening remarks made to industry representatives attending the 2007 Seafood Industry Congress (25-27 September, Dublin), Grimur Valdimarsson, Director of FAO's Fishing Industries Division, said that the need for seafood producers to guarantee environmental performance is unavoidable."
The push towards sustainable fisheries is not just coming from government or environmental groups, but from the market itself," Valdimarsson said, noting that major seafood retailers like Unilever, Tesco, Walmart and Asda have already committed to putting on their shelves only fish that was harvested or raised sustainably."
In recent years the seafood industry has been uncertain as to whether these trends represent a momentary fad. Today, there's no question: it's real, it's a sea change, and it's the way of the future," he said.In broad terms, this means that producers will need to be able to assure retailers and consumers that their fish were not taken from overexploited stocks, farmed in ponds where mangroves once stood, or caught in nets without turtle-saving excluder devices installed.
Doing so requires monitoring fishing activities via tracking systems, labels and similar mechanisms. There are already a number of initiatives under way that seek to do this, established either by seafood retailers or public interest organizations.
While expressing concern over the proliferation of diverse and competing efforts, Valdimarsson stressed that, overall, the trend is a positive one.Transition anything but easy"Complying with these new imperatives is technically extremely difficult, and so the challenge facing industry right now is finding ways of doing so that are both adequate and economically feasible," Valdimarsson acknowledged.
The capture fisheries sector should draw lessons from the last 25 years of food safety assurance in other sectors, which moved largely from being a government-run activity to one managed by industry itself within a government-established framework and subject to spot verification.Seafood producers have been wresting with a similar problem for years now, which could help."
Already, producers have put into place internal systems to ensure that they are providing seafood that is fresh, safe to eat, and of the highest quality -- which is what today's consumers demand," Valdimarsson said. "You don't need to invent a new agency to guarantee that environmental standards are being met -- monitor for environmental performance in a similar way, as you do for safety and quality."
Developing countries will have a tough timeResource-strapped developing countries will have a particularly hard time making the transition to fully certifying their fisheries."They've already been struggling mightily to comply with health and safety regulations on fish imports put into place by importing countries in the developed world," Valdimarsson explained.
Helping resolve this problem is an issue of particular importance to FAO, he said, adding that the retailers shaping market trends have a responsibility to help suppliers in the developing world cope.And FAO and other international development organizations working on fisheries and aquaculture will need new resources to help the developing world's fisheries sector adapt.Fishing rights keyThe widespread practice of granting open or nearly-open access to fishing grounds is another challenge."
Under the open access regime, fishing is an extremely competitive, zero sum game: if a fishermen doesn't land a fish, his competitor will, leaving little incentive to conserve the resource" according to Valdimarsson, and the consequence is overfishing. "So fishermen have a vested interest in not revealing what they've been doing.""T
hat must change, because the emerging paradigm requires the industry to be able to say exactly where, when and how a fish was caught. Only fishermen who hold clear rights and are not obliged to outfish a large group of competitors will feel secure enough to operate with that level of transparency."
Safety and quality issuesThis year's World Seafood Congress was co-organized by FAO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Health Organization, the International Food Quality Certification Group, and Ireland's Sea Fisheries Protection Authority in collaboration with the International Association of Fish Inspectors and with the support of the Irish Sea Fisheries Board, Enterprise Ireland, and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
The congress has traditionally focused on seafood safety and quality issues, but environmental concerns have risen higher on its agenda in recent years.One of the most serious difficulties faced by fish exporters is coping with different safety standards being imposed by various importing countries. The need for greater harmonization of standards and more equivalence agreements, as well as the proliferation of private standards and certification schemes for fish products will also be discussed in Dublin.
Contact:George KourousMedia Relations,
FAO george.kourous@fao.org
(+39) 06 570 53168(+39) 348 141 6802
Monday, October 1, 2007
Women divers better than men – it’s official
Do we have any regulatons on divers and lake malawi bodiversity protection. Yes we do not have coral reefs to destroy, BUT what about the bowers or nest of cichlids in the sandy shores habitants? AND do I hear ou well, OR someone is saying what about the slimy algae on the rocky habitants YES that food for the colourful mbuna??
HASTINGS UNDER WATER L. MALAWI
Makes me think some policy issue here between all stake holders, Fisheries Dept and Parks Dept, YES include tourism DEPT as well.
Should we say only women should be diving in Lake Malawi??
hastings
==============
SOURCE: University of Hull website
Yes your are right thats me underwater Lake Malawi
Increased diving activity means that environmental damage is becoming more of a problem, but research done by the Scarborough Campus at the University of Hull suggests that men are more to blame than women Recreational scuba-diving is increasing in popularity, with holidays to exotic locations providing the perfect opportunity to explore life underwater.
The experience can be enjoyed for as little as £200, bringing money into areas where it is badly needed. The down side is that divers cause damage to reefs by accidentally breaking off bits of coral when they are swimming over it – ironic when the very thing that attracts divers to the reef is their beauty and the fish that congregate around them.
Diver damage occurs due to a lack of buoyancy control, which causes sediment disturbance, covering the reef and suffocating it. But how do divers achieve good buoyancy control?
According to Mandy Shackleton, a Masters student from the University’s Centre for Environmental and Marine Sciences, relaxation and a good breathing technique are key to maintaining control and minimising damage. Mandy has spent the last three years in Kenya, where she observed 500 divers and measured their impacts on coral reefs.
Mandy, a qualified dive master, created an underwater tick sheet to assess the different types of damage caused by male and female divers. Mandy says, “When men go diving, they experience ‘sensation seeking’.
This triggers a chain reaction of hormones: the first to be released is the stress hormone cortisol, then testosterone – the hormone linked with aggression – and finally, adrenalin. The combination of these three results in erratic, dangerous diving. By contrast, female divers have better orientation underwater: they have a greater awareness of what is going on around them, they are more conscious of safety and therefore dive with greater care.”
Dr Magnus Johnson, Head of the Centre of Environmental and Marine Sciences says, “Mandy’s research is particularly interesting because above water, men are usually cited as having better spatial awareness than women. It is perhaps a good job that men don’t have to parallel park or change lanes underwater. They would lose their no clams bonus!”
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