Tuesday, December 31, 2013
'Podcam' shows life of dolphins in BBC Spy in the Pod series
Film-makers have infiltrated the ocean with secret cameras to capture dolphin behaviour in the wild as it has never been seen before.
The acrobatic spinner dolphin is the most common small cetacean in many tropical open seas, where it can be seen spinning high in the air (hence its common name) or riding the bow waves of boats . The small and slender spinner dolphin varies geographically in colouration and size, but can be identified by its relatively long, slender beak and triangular dorsal fin . The most common colour pattern is three-part: dark grey on the back, lighter grey along the sides, and white or very light grey underneath. A darker grey stripe runs from the eye to the flipper, bordered above by a narrow, light line .
Spinner dolphins are well known for their acrobatics and aerial behaviours. A spinner dolphin comes out of the water, front first, and twists its body as it ascends in the air. After it reaches its maximum height, the dolphin descends back into the water, landing on its side. A dolphin can make two to 5.5 spins in one leap. The swimming and rotational speed of the dolphin spinning underwater affects the number of spins it can do while airborne. These spins may serve several functions. Dolphins may also make nose-outs, tail slaps, flips, head slaps, "salmon leaps", and side and back slaps.
- Also known as
- long-beaked dolphin, long-snouted dolphin.
- French
- Dauphin Longirostre.
- Spanish
- Delfín Tornillón, Estenela Giradora.
- Size
- Length: 129 – 235 cm
- Weight
- 23 – 78 kg
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Migrating birds lured into traps
Absolutely disgusting and outrageous!
UK sovereign base areas (SBAs) in Cyprus have become illegal bird-trapping "hot spots", according to research.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Green New Year!
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Protective measures are a 'death sentence' for rare dolphin say campaigners
Measures to protect one of the world's rarest dolphins have been denounced as a "death sentence" by campaigners
The tiny Maui's dolphins are only found off the west coast of New Zealand's North Island
Only 55 adult Maui's dolphins are known to survive off the coast of New Zealand but their numbers are being threatened by fishing and disease.
The NZ government has proposed extending a protection zone to save the tiny, black and white cetaceans.
But researchers say the actions don't go far enough and argue the Maui's could be extinct within 20 years.
The Maui's are the world's smallest and rarest dolphins and only found on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.
They are closely related to another native species called Hector's dolphins which survive in far greater numbers.
Net impact
In 2012 a survey commissioned by the New Zealand government's Department of Conservation found that there were approximately 55 Maui's left above the age of one.
They estimated there were around 20 breeding females. These give birth to one calf every two to four years.
Conservationists say the introduction of nylon filament nets in the 1970s has been a key factor in the decline of these dolphins.
The Maui's inhabit coastal waters up to a depth of 100 metres but have come into contact with trawlers and with fishermen using set nets which have proved particularly destructive to these animals.
The New Zealand government has recently announced new restrictions on fishing, extending the ban on the use of set nets by 350 square kilometres.
According to the conservation minister, Dr Nick Smith, the move will help reduce the biggest threat to the Maui's.
"We are taking a cautious approach by banning set netting where there is clear evidence the Maui's dolphins go while not unnecessarily banning fishing where they are not."
But campaigners for the small cetacean and some conservationists are outraged by the government's proposals, saying they amounted to a "death sentence" for the mammals.
They say that more than 75% of the Maui's habitat still remains unprotected from set netting and trawling.
"These new measures will do nothing to stop the dolphins' decline," said Dr Elizabeth Slooten from the University of Otago, who has studied these creatures for 30 years.
Court threat
The Maui's have been declared critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), who passed a motion urging full protection in waters up to 100m deep.
The International Whaling Commission and the Society for Marine Mammology have also urged the New Zealand government to remove fishing nets from the Maui's habitat.
The German conservation group, NABU International, is to challenge the decision in the New Zealand High Court and is calling for a boycott of seafood from the country.
"New Zealand's failure to protect the world's smallest and rarest dolphin is a bitter blow to marine conservation," said Dr Barbara Maas from NABU.
"New Zealand has ignored the facts and the advice of the world's scientific community to accommodate the commercial interests of its fishing industry," she said.
Fishing nets are the biggest threat facing New Zealand's native dolphins
As well as fishing, many campaigners are concerned about the activities of oil companies in New Zealand's waters, particularly their use of seismic surveying, which can impact mammals including whales and dolphins.
In the new protection plan, the New Zealand government says it will deal specifically with this issue.
"A mandatory code of conduct will apply to any seismic survey work in all New Zealand fisheries waters," said Dr Nick Smith.
Despite these steps, the Maui's are likely to follow the path of the Yangtze river dolphins and disappear within two decades unless more is done say campaigners.
"They are not doomed to extinction," said Dr Maas.
"Genetic variability is still high, they can bounce back but saving them is a race against time."
From BBC Sci/ Enviroment
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Aluminium: The metal that just keeps on giving
Two hundred years ago, no-one knew aluminium existed. Today it is everywhere - in cans, window frames, packaging, even car bodies. New uses for it are constantly being discovered - but it's possible that one day we'll be able to stop mining the ore, and rely completely on recycling.
A couple of months from now you could be driving these around on the streets
Aluminium has a split personality.
It may look dull, but it is one of the most reactive metals in the periodic table.
"Aluminium fires are quite terrifying," says Andrea Sella, chemistry professor at University College London.
"When you take aluminium and you burn it, you get a very, very intense fire."
From that point of view, it may not be ideal for aircraft construction - but this disadvantage is outweighed by its strength, flexibility and exceptional lightness.
The soft, malleable metal's alter ego is aluminium oxide, which forms a skin on the pure metal the moment it is exposed to air (and makes it unlikely that an aircraft will catch fire).
This oxide is so hard that it is used to make sandpaper and other abrasive materials.
Aluminium - key facts
- Soft, non-magnetic metal
- Symbol: Al
- Atomic number: 13
- Weight: 26.98
- 3rd most abundant element in Earth's crust after oxygen and silicon
- Found mainly as bauxite
- Yearly primary aluminium production: 53.4m tonnes
- Increasingly recycled
- Used in transport, packaging, construction and household goods
Among gemstones, sapphires - crystals formed from the oxide - are second only to diamonds in their hardness.
Indeed, there is a growing industry for manufacturing industrial sapphires the size of a large bucket, suitable for use in bullet-proof glass, aeroplane windows and soon -unscratchable smartphone displays.
Although Aluminium is the third most abundant element in the earth's crust, it was not isolated until 1825, and remained so scarce that it was valued more highly than silver for decades.
The reason it remained hidden for so long, unlike gold or silver, is that it is too reactive to be occur in its pure form.
Instead it is found as bauxite, a reddish-brown ore named after the French town Les Baux, where it was first discovered.
Bauxite is found across the globe, and mining it is the easy part. Far trickier is extracting the metal. It was not until 1886 that a Frenchman and an American both cracked it.
Bauxite is mined all over the world, from Australia to Brazil to India to Guinea
You have to melt the bauxite in another mineral called cryolite, and then pass an electric current through it, separating the oxygen atoms from the aluminium. It takes four tonnes of bauxite to produce one tonne of aluminium.
The process is highly energy-intensive and therefore expensive.
Baked sapphire
- Naturally-occurring sapphires can take 50,000 years to form
- Now they can be baked in a week, in ovens made of molybdenum and tungsten - which unlike steel do not melt at 2,200C
- A sapphire hard drive is reported to have been developed that can store information on nuclear waste dumps for up to a million years - enough time for safe radioactive decay
But recycling aluminium uses a fraction of the energy.
"Beverage cans get recycled within 60 days, so a can of soda is back on the shelves 60 days later," says Nick Madden, who is responsible for buying raw metal for Novelis, the world's biggest manufacturer of rolled aluminium sheets.
Once you have the metal, you can re-use it again and again, almost indefinitely.
"It is one of the few materials that is genuinely 100% recyclable," Madden says.
In theory, a day may come when we have mined all we need, and we can just keep re-using what we already have.
"If demand stops growing, and scrap comes back from older uses like buildings in the future, then that will start to reduce the required primary consumption," says Madden.
For now, though, demand is growing, and carmakers are one reason why. Lighter car bodies mean more fuel efficiency, better acceleration and braking, and lower carbon emissions.
A new aluminium Range Rover in the making - minus the family
Novelis has seen a 25% increase in demand from the motor industry in the last year, most of it coming from one of its biggest customers, Jaguar Land Rover, which has just begun manufacturing Range Rovers with aluminium.
The new car uses use 25% less fuel partly because its body is 39% lighter, helping to reduce the car's total weight by 420kg (925lb).
"That's the equivalent of five people," says Nick Rogers, the Range Rover vehicle line director.
"So, if you imagine driving around with all your family in the car - you feel the weight of the vehicle.
"When you get in the new Range Rover Sport, all of your family has gone."
Currently, Novelis obtains almost 50% of its aluminium used to make a new Range Rover from junk - empty cans, scrapped vehicles, demolition sites - and it aims to raise that to 80% by 2020.
One challenge is to ensure that more aluminium finds its way into the recycling loop.
"In the UK, I believe the recycle rate [of household aluminium waste] is about 75%," Madden says.
Whether bauxite mining is still needed in our grandchildren's day may depend on the proportion we succeed in recycling, and whether we keep coming up with new uses for aluminium - either the light, malleable metal, or the hard almost unscratchable sapphire.
From BBC news
From BBC news
Endangered pangolins rescued in Thailand
More than 100 endangered pangolins have been rescued by customs officials in Thailand, south-east Asia
The unusual looking scaly creatures, which eat ants and termites, were found in boxes on the back of a car.
It's thought they were being smuggled in from neighbouring Malaysia.
The pangolins are recovering at a national park until they're ready to be taken back to the wild.
From CBBC newsround
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Charity blames climate change for Typhoon Haiyan
Charity workers have called on world leaders to do more to tackle climate change, because they say events like Typhoon Haiyan could be caused by it.
The UK Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which is made up of 14 UK charities, say Typhoon Haiyan is an example of the sort of weather that could happen more often if the world doesn't take action.
But not all scientists agree that extreme weather events are caused by man-made climate change.
UN meeting
The United Nations, a joint committee of governments from across the world, are currently holding climate talks in Warsaw in Poland. The group is discussing ways to get countries to lower their carbon footprint.
Recent reports from the UN suggest human activities are causing a rise in gases that cause global warming. Some climate experts say this results in a change in weather and environment.
So the DEC has called on the UN to use this meeting to discuss events like Typhoon Haiyan and take action to tackle it.
But not everyone agrees that extreme weather like Typhoon Haiyan happen because of a rise in gases caused by human activities.
From CBBC Newsround
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Emissions of CO2 driving rapid oceans 'acid trip'
By Matt McGrath
The researchers conclude that human emissions of CO2 are clearly to blame.
The study will be presented at global climate talks in Poland next week.
In 2012, over 500 of the world's leading experts on ocean acidification gathered in California. Led by the International Biosphere-Geosphere Programme, a review of the state of the science has now been published.
This Summary for Policymakers states with "very high confidence" that increasing acidification is caused by human activities which are adding 24 million tonnes of CO2 to oceans every day.
Pickled waters
The addition of so much carbon has altered the chemistry of the waters.
Since the start of the industrial revolution, the waters have become 26% more acidic.
"This is the state of the art," said Prof Jean-Pierre Gattuso, from CNRS, the French national research agency.
"My colleagues have not found in the geological record, rates of change that are faster than the ones we see today."
What worries the scientists is the potential impact on many ocean species including corals.
Studies carried out at deep sea vents where the waters are naturally acidic thanks to CO2, indicate that around 30% of the ocean's biodiversity may be lost by the end of this century.
These vents may be a "window on the future" according to the researchers.
"You don't find a mollusc at the pH level expected for 2100, this is really quite a stunning fact," said Prof Gattuso.
Pteropods like this are already feeling the corrosive impact of acidic waters in the Antarctic
"It's an imperfect window, only the ocean's acidity is increasing at these sites, they don't reflect the warming we will see this century.
"If you combine the two, it could be even more dramatic than what we see at CO2 vents."
The effect of acidity is currently being felt most profoundly felt in the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. These chilly waters hold more CO2 and increasing levels of the gas are turning them acidic more rapidly than the rest of the world.
The more acidic they become, the more damaging they are to the shells and skeletons of marine organisms.
The researchers say that by 2020, ten percent of the Arctic will be inhospitable to species that build their shells from calcium carbonate. By 2100 the entire Arctic will be a hostile environment.
These effects are already visible says Prof Gattuso.
"In the Southern Ocean, we already see corrosion of pteropods which are like sea snails, in the ocean we see corrosion of the shell.
"They are a key component in the food chain, they are eaten by fish, birds and whales, so if one element is going then there is a cascading impact on the whole food chain."
The authors warn that the economic impact of the losses from aquaculture could be huge - the global cost of the decline in molluscs could be $130bn by 2100 if emissions of CO2 continue on their current pathway.
Adding alkaline substances such as crushed limestone to the waters has been mooted as a potential way of mitigating the worst impacts of acidification. But Prof Gattuso says it would only have a limited effect.
"Maybe in bays which have a restricted exchange with open oceans it may work, it may give some local relief.
"But the latest research is showing that it is not really practical at a global scale. It is very expensive and very energy intensive."
Marine protection zones would also give some short term benefit, but the scientists say that in the long term only significant cuts in emissions will slow the progress of acidification.
From BBC Sci /Environment
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Typhoon wreaks havoc on agriculture with over a million farmers affected
By Matt McGrath
Over one million farmers in the Philippines have been impacted by Typhoon Haiyan according to the UN.
The Typhoon destroyed many coconut plantations such as this one near Guiuan
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says that hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice have been destroyed.
Coconut plantations which are a big earner of foreign currency were said to be "completely flattened".
Fishing communities have also be severely affected with the storm destroying boats and gear.
The FAO says they have arrived at the figure of farmers affected by looking at the pathway the storm took as it passed across the country and from an analysis of data provided by the government.
"That area is the major rice producing area for the Philippines," FAO's Jeff Tschirley told BBC News.
"They've just finished their harvest and because it is not modernised production, they are still drying it but we suspect there is a lot of rice that is vulnerable to having been impacted by the storms."
Self sufficient
The farmers are also facing into the next planting season with much of their infrastructure such as irrigation equipment affected by the typhoon.
The Philippines has been importing less rice over the past five years, but the storm will have dramatically changed that.
"It will set them back on their goal of self sufficiency but more key is that those livelihoods will be pushed way back until they get restored irrigation infrastructure. That has been severely damaged in most cases," said Mr Tschirley.
As well as rice and sugar cane, the FAO is most concerned about coconut plantations.
Coconuts account for nearly half the Philippines agricultural exports and the country is the world's biggest producer of coconut oil. A smaller typhoon last year destroyed 500,000 tonnes.
"The sugar cane fields can be recovered relatively well even if the harvest is lost," said Jeff Tschirley.
"But numerous coconut plantations have been completely flattened, and with coconuts you are looking at multiple years to recover the productivity."
The FAO is is calling for $24m for immediate interventions in fisheries and agriculture as part of the UN appeal.
From BBC Sci/ Environment
From BBC Sci/ Environment
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Huge huntsman spider found in UK bike warehouse
A giant spider common in Australia has been found in a UK BMX warehouse.
The seven-inch-long huntsman spider is believed to have been locked up for six weeks in a container from Taiwan.
Workers spotted the animal when unpacking boxes - and it's now been safely rehomed at a nearby zoo.
John Taylor, a BMX salesman at the warehouse, told Newsround: "We knew straight away that it wasn't a UK spider. We didn't want to kill it. We are happy that it is in a good home."
"We are talking about visiting him as a team," he said.
'Running around and jumping up'
Warehouse manager Joe Woodburn said: "It was as big as the palm of my hand. We managed to get it into a big plastic container where we kept it while we called the RSPCA.
"I thought it was plastic at first as it wasn't moving, but the minute it was in the sunlight it started to warm up and it was running around and jumping up the side of the box."
RSPCA inspector Zoe Ballard said: "I've never come across a spider like this before.
"I managed to secure the spider in the container and took it to the RSPCA's wildlife centre nearby... I was worried all the way that it would get out and escape in my van."
The spider has now been rehomed at Drusillas Zoo Park near Eastbourne.
RSPCA inspector Tony Woodley said: "Huntsman spiders can give you a nasty bite, but they aren't likely to cause too much harm unless you suffer an allergic reaction.
"They are not dangerous or aggressive, but can move extremely fast if disturbed. I am sure it would have given the guys in the warehouse a bit of a fright when they found it."
From CBBC newsround
Click for less
Saturday, November 09, 2013
Concentrations of warming gases break record
By Matt McGrath
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), atmospheric CO2 grew more rapidly last year than its average rise over the past decade.
Concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide also broke previous records
Thanks to carbon dioxide and these other gases, the WMO says the warming effect on our climate has increased by almost a third since 1990.
The WMO's annual greenhouse gas bulletin measures concentrations in the atmosphere, not emissions on the ground.
Carbon dioxide is the most important of the gases that they track, but only about half of the CO2 that's emitted by human activities remains in the atmosphere, with the rest being absorbed by the plants, trees, the land and the oceans.
Upsetting the balance
Since 1750, global average levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have increased to 141% of the pre-industrial concentration of 278 parts per million (ppm).
According to the WMO there were 393.1ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in 2012, an increase of 2.2ppm over 2011.
This was above the yearly average of 2.02ppm over the past decade.
"The observations highlight yet again how heat-trapping gases from human activities have upset the natural balance of our atmosphere and are a major contribution to climate change," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud.
"It is a worry. The more we delay action the bigger the risk we cannot stay under the 2 degree Celsius limit that countries have agreed," he said.
While the daily measurement of carbon dioxide in the atmosphereexceeded the symbolic 400ppm mark in May this year, according to the WMO the global annual average CO2 concentration will cross this point in 2015 or 2016.
Levels of methane also reached record highs in 2012 of 1,819 parts per billion. Concentrations have been increasing since 2007 after a period when they appeared to be levelling off.
The WMO report says that it is not yet possible to attribute the methane increase to either human activities like cattle breeding and landfills or natural sources such as wetlands.
They believe that the rising emissions come from the tropical and mid-latitude northern hemisphere and not from the Arctic, where methane from the melting of permafrost and hydrates has long been a concern.
Emissions of nitrous oxide have also grown, with the atmospheric concentration in 2012 at 325.1 parts per billion, 120% above pre-industrial levels.
Nitrous oxide gas, although its concentrations are tiny compared to CO2, is 298 times more warming and also plays a role in the destruction of the ozone layer.
Recent research indicates that the rate of increase in emissions might be slowing down, but the gases can continue to concentrate in the atmosphere and exert a climate influence for hundreds if not thousands of years.
Scientists believe that the new data indicates that global warming will be back with a vengeance, after a slowdown in the rate of temperature increases over the past 14 years.
"The laws of physics and chemistry are not negotiable," said Michel Jarraud.
"Greenhouse gases are what they are, the laws of physics show they can only contribute to warming the system, but parts of this heat may go in different places like the oceans for some periods of time," he said.
This view was echoed by Prof Piers Forster from the University of Leeds.
"For the past decade or so the oceans have been sucking up this extra heat, meaning that surface temperatures have only increased slowly.
"Don't expect this state of affairs to continue though, the extra heat will eventually come out and bite us, so expect strong warming over the coming decades."
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