West Bengal Govt. want to relocate forest villages to increases the number of Bengal Tiger in BUXA TIGER RESERVE

In Buxa Tiger Reserve, you can find a village inside the forest within every 5 kms. This human habitat inside the Buxa Tiger Reserve create great opportunities for the timber mafias and the poachers.

Timber mafias and poachers give a little money to the local villagers and use them as a guide to enter the core areas. this increases the Wildlife crime inside the Buxa region rapidly.

The Govt. and the Forest ministry now looking to end or decrease this Wildlife crime by relocate the villagers. 

According to the Govt. report there are 13 villages inside the Buxa core region (unofficially the number exceeded 20) with more than thousand people who are living in those villages. Their main source of income is wood cutting, farming and dairy. For their livelihood very often they enters the core areas.

This trespassing inside the core zone makes a uncomfortable environment for the Bengal Tigers to breed. The West Bengal Govt. is criticized not only from the Wildlife NGOs but also from the Central Govt. because for a lot time no Bengal Tiger is seen in the Buxa Tiger region but the Bengal Govt claims that there are at least 6 Bengal tiger lived inside the Buxa Tiger Reserve.

The Govt. want to relocate the villagers outside the the core area beside the 31st National Highway.

Source: Ei Samay

Genetic ancestry of tigers explored

A 10-year study looked at DNA similarities of tigers -- living and extinct -- in order to better understand these animals as well as provide a new, more powerful tool for wildlife protection.

study, which is published online in the Journal of Heredity and will appear in the print edition May 1, 2015 describes DNA signatures for 145 individual tigers, including "voucher specimens" of tigers from verified geographic origins including Eurasian museum specimens that represented extinct subspecies

Tigers -- they are some of nature's most beautiful, deadly and endangered species. In fact, living tigers are severely endangered in fragmented geographic areas across Asia -- some reports show their numbers as low as 3,000 wild individuals. While there are efforts to help protect these magnificent creatures, more was needed in terms of research into the genetics of tigers.

 

The study's first results appeared in 2004 that showed Malayan tigers splitting from its Indochinese counterpart as a distinct, new fifth-living tiger subspecies. The latest results show that extinct Javan (1980s) and Bali (1940s) tigers were nearly indistinguishable from a molecular standpoint from Sumatran tigers just as the extinct Caspian tigers are nearly identical to surviving Amur tiger subspecies.

Source: Science Daily

Habitat loss threatens the world's felids

Almost half of the 36 species of felids that live in the wild in the world are at threat, according to scientists. Yet the lack of studies regarding their main threat, the loss and fragmentation of their habitat, limits the establishment of effective conservation strategies. These are the findings of a study which has only been able to find 162 scientific articles regarding this threat which clearly endangers the Iberian lynx. 

 

Despite conservation efforts, news on how Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) are hit by vehicles on Spanish roads has been reported. The status of the most endangered felid in the world is hardly improved by the continual 'incursions' into its territory.. Ever-shrinking and broken-up habitats affect the future of the lynx.

To assess the situation of the Iberian lynx and other felid species that live in the wild on our planet, a team of Brazilian and Spanish scientists has reviewed the scientific literature that exists on the main threat for these mammals: the loss and fragmentation of their habitats. The results have been published in the scientific journal Oryx. Although many scientific studies are produced (last January, for example, 60,000 scientific articles were published), researchers could only find a total of 162 studies which evaluated threats affecting felids.

North America and Europe generate the greatest amount of research on the effect of habitat loss on felids. However, in view of the lack of research in certain countries with less economic resources, the real effect of this threat is still unknown for 16 species of felids. This is the case for the Andean mountain cat (Leopardus jacobita), the Bornean bay cat (Pardofelis badia), the flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps), and the fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), in danger of extinction and for whom there are very few studies and conservation measures.

Source: Science Daily

lower-oxygen oceans will shift marine habitats

Warming temperatures and decreasing levels of dissolved oxygen will act together to create metabolic stress for marine animals. Habitats will shift to places in the ocean where the oxygen supply can meet the animals' increasing future needs. 

 

University of Washington researchers and collaborators have found that the same principle will apply to marine species under global warming. The warmer water temperatures will speed up the animals' metabolic need for oxygen, as also happens during exercise, but the warmer water will hold less of the oxygen needed to fuel their bodies, similar to what happens at high altitudes.

The study, published June 5 in Science, finds that these changes will act together to push marine animals away from the equator. About two thirds of the respiratory stress due to climate change is caused by warmer temperatures, while the rest is because warmer water holds less dissolved gases.

The study centered on four Atlantic Ocean species whose temperature and oxygen requirements are well known from lab tests: Atlantic cod that live in the open ocean; Atlantic rock crab that live in coastal waters; sharp snout seabream that live in the subtropical Atlantic and Mediterranean; and common eelpout, a bottom-dwelling fish that lives in shallow waters in high northern latitudes.

Deutsch used climate models to see how the projected temperature and oxygen levels by 2100 due to climate change would affect these four species' ability to meet their future energy needs. If current emissions continue, the near-surface ocean is projected to warm by several degrees Celsius by the end of this century. Seawater at that temperature would hold 5-10 percent less oxygen than it does now.

Results show future rock crab habitat would be restricted to shallower water, hugging the more oxygenated surface. For all four species, the equator-ward part of the range would become uninhabitable because peak oxygen demand would become greater than the supply. Viable habitats would shift away from the equator, displacing from 14 percent to 26 percent of the current ranges.

The four animals were chosen because the effects of oxygen and temperature on their metabolism are well known, and because they live in diverse habitats. The authors believe the results are relevant for all marine species that rely on aquatic oxygen for an energy source.

Previously, marine scientists thought about oxygen more in terms of extreme events that could cause regional die-offs of marine animals, also known as dead zones.

Source: Science Daily

Burmese rock python found in North Bengal

A rare python was today spotted at Haldibari Tea estate in Dooars area of Alipurduar district, a forest official said.

The 15 ft 'Burmese rock python', which is a rare species, was spotted in a nullah within the plantation area, Wildlife Ranger, Binnaguri, Dilip Das Chowdhury said.

The reptile was later released in nearby jungle, he said.

Fossil of huge 'walking' bat discovered in New Zealand

The new species, Mystacina miocenalis, was described today in the journal PLOS ONE, and is related to another bat, Mystacina tuberculata, which still lives in New Zealand's old growth forests.

Mystacina tuberculata foraging on South Island, New Zealand.

The fossils were found near Central Otago on South Island, in sediment left over from a vast prehistoric body of water known as Lake Manuherikia, which was part of warmer subtropical rainforest during the early Miocene era, between 16 and 19-million-years-ago.

Bats, belonging to the Mystacina genus, were believed to have an ancient history in New Zealand, but until now, the oldest fossil of a Mystacina bat in New Zealand was from a cave in South Island, dating to 17,500 years ago. This latest discovery forces a rethink of when these peculiar, walking bats first crossed the ditch, arriving from what is present-day Australia.

The new species has similar teeth to its contemporary relative, suggesting a broad diet that included nectar, pollen and fruit, as well as insects and spiders. Limb bones found in the deposit also showed similar structures specialised for walking.

Where they differ is body size: at an estimated 40 grams, the fossil bat is roughly three times heavier than its living cousin, and the average weight of more than 900 living bat species.

The research team also found a diverse array of plant, animal and insect fossils at the site, which shows that the 16-million-year-old subtropical ecosystem bore resemblance to the more temperate one that exists today.

Source: Science Daily

Staying cool: Saharan silver ants' heat-deflecting adaptations

Researchers have discovered two strategies that enable Saharan silver ants to stay cool in one of the world's hottest environments. They are the first to demonstrate that the ants use a coat of uniquely shaped hairs to control electromagnetic waves over an extremely broad range from the solar spectrum to the thermal radiation spectrum and that different physical mechanisms are used in different spectral bands to realize the same biological function of reducing body temperature. 

 

 

Source: Science Daily

Nine whales appear to have died at the same time, in Alaska

At least nine fin whales have been discovered floating dead in waters from Kodiak to Unimak Pass since late May. 'It is an unusual and mysterious event that appears to have happened around Memorial Day weekend,' said marine mammal specialist Kate Wynne. 'We rarely see more than one fin whale carcass every couple of years.' 

The first of several dead fin whales, later named FW01, floats outside Marmot Bay on May 23

On May 23, Wynne received a message from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration enforcement officers that crew members on the Alaska Marine Highway System's ferry MV Kennicott had photographed dead whales. During the next two weeks, boaters, fishermen and pilots reported floating dead whales in the area. Based on photos submitted with these reports, Wynne and her NOAA collaborators determined that at least nine fin whales died in a relatively small area. The dead whales are now drifting along both sides of Kodiak Island.

'It is really perplexing for a number of reasons,' Wynne said. 'They appear to have all died around the same time. And the strange thing is they are all one species, with the exception of one dead humpback whale found in a different location.'

'So part of the mystery is why just fin whales? Why not their prey? Why are there not other consumers in the system showing up in mass die-off mode?' said Wynne.

Fin whales, an endangered species, grow to 70 feet long and they feed in tight formations, so Wynne thinks the dead whales could have consumed something toxic around the week of May 20.

Only two carcasses have come ashore. Wynne and fellow marine mammal specialist Bree Witteveen were able to take samples from one. The whale had been dead and floating in the water for a week. Samples were sent to a lab for biotoxin analysis.

Source: Science Daily

Ancient DNA extracted from extinct Giant kangaroos

A team of scientists led by Dr Bastien Llamas and Professor Alan Cooper from the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) have extracted DNA sequences from two species: a giant short-faced kangaroo (Simosthenurus occidentalis) and a giant wallaby (Protemnodon anak). These specimens died around 45,000 years ago and their remains were discovered in a cold and dry cave in Tasmania.

Dr Bastien Llamas with a skull of an extinct short-faced kangaroo (Simosthenurus occidentalis)

From the out come of this research work it is found that the extinct giant wallabies are very close relatives of large living kangaroos, such as the red and western grey kangaroos. Their skeletons had suggested they were quite primitive macropods─a group that includes kangaroos, wallabies, pademelons and quokka.

The research has also confirmed that short-faced kangaroos are a highly distinct lineage of macropods, which had been predicted on their unusual anatomy.

In addition to poor DNA preservation, most of the extinct Australian megafauna do not have very close relatives roaming around today, which makes it more difficult to retrieve and interpret the genetic data.

Although ancient DNA confirms that the short-faced kangaroos left no descendants, it also shows their closest living cousin could be the banded hare-wallaby (Lagostrophus fasciatus), which is now restricted to small isolated islands off the coast of Western Australia.

The research is published online (ahead of print) in Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Source: Science Daily

Kangaroos Are Lefties

Just like humans, kangaroos prefer to use one of their hands over the other for every tasks.

Recently a research work published in the Journal Current Biology which conclude this characteristic of the kangaroos

Red necked wallaby 

According to Yegor Malashichev of Saint Petersburg State University in Russia, the main researcher of this work, just like human, kangaroos prefer one of their hands over the other for every task. Though one thing is different between the human and the kangaroos - most of the humans prefers right hand where most of the kangaroos use left hand. 

Malashichev believes that this work will help a lot in the evolutionary biology.

Source: Science Daily