As we know, 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. Programming throughout the year in support of all things biodiverse has been wide-ranging. Activities for scientific explorations of climate change and habitat preservation abound as well as opportunities for local involvement and youth directed campaigns, like the 2010 International Biodiversity Art Competition.

On behalf of Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and Bioversity International, The Green Wave received over 3000 drawings from children and youth ages 6-20. Illustrating the themes and concerns surrounding biodiversity and the future of inter-connected life on this planet, the competition educates and engages young people in the ongoing discussions surounding the impact of biodiversity. The winning entries will be used as Biodiversity Challenge Badges throughout various educational campaigns.

Pictured above is the entry from 4th place winner in the 6-10 year old category, 9 year old Nethmini Ashinsana Wattetenna from Sri Lanka. Click the image to view winning entries from each age bracket.
–And stay tuned for more reports from the International Year of Biodiversity!

The modern ecological movement* can be traced back to the 1970 observance of Earth Day. Now a global celebration, the first Earth Day was conceived by a United States Senator from Wisconsin and called for nationally coordinated educational programming to raise consciousness about increasing environmental degradation. Forty years later, “Earth Day is everyday” and the UN has named 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity in an effort that mirrors Sen. Gaylord Nelson’s hopeful vision.

But there are distinctions between earlier environmental campaigns and current thinking; it’s no longer sufficient to organize efforts around the “wilderness” or far-away habitats of endangered species. The flora and fauna of your back-yard could be just as susceptible to extinction as the inhabitants of the rain forests. And unless you live under the sea, saving the whales might not be your first priority. Popularized by Michael Rosenzweig, a University of Arizona ecologist, reconciliation ecology acknowledges that “nothing influences species’ diversities more than the amount of area available to life.” And as cities continue to grow, area available to local species becomes increasingly sought-after, a veritable arena for biological competition. Traditional wisdom tells us winners and losers are functions of competition. Period. Conversely, reconciliation ecology accepts the reality of competition for finite space while insisting a win-win outcome is still possible–provided we adjust human activities in accordance with local species’ requirements for survival.

Click here for more information about reconciliation ecology and here for a look at BHL content about species in your neighborhood.

*oh, and of course, we should remember the galvanizing effect of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.
Image credit: [email protected]

The Aye-Aye. Also known as Daubentonia madagascar-iensis. This creature is peculiar, even by the lemur’s standards of peculiarity. It has a distinctively slender and very long middle finger used to seek out grubs and other possible food sources from tree trunks, like a woodpecker. They have dark brown or black fur that can have white flecks at the tip. The Aye-aye’s tail is much longer than its body in a way that frustrates our expectations for proportion and, well, let’s just say the eyes are intense. Further, the aye-aye’s mammary glands are located near the groin and persistent ova production allows reproduction for the entire life span of a female aye-aye. These strange and nocturnal primates are found almost exclusively in Madagascar and live in the canopies of rain forests.

Their status as near-threatened has two main sources. First, it’s the result of local superstition. Aye-ayes are viewed as harbingers of evil and death and they are often killed on sight. One cannot help but suspect if these creatures were perhaps a little softer around the edges, a little less freaky, they might have avoided their local status as a boogie man. And though they are currently protected by law, well meaning villagers often kill them in an effort to mitigate the bad luck. And, secondly, deforestation and the loss of their original habitat also contributes to the decline of the species. Aye-ayes are forced to move closer to villages as they lose their treetop habitats and as we’ve seen, the villages are mostly bad luck for aye-ayes!

Although there is much we still don’t know about the Aye-aye (used to be classified as a rodent, for example), check out the Primate Fact-sheet from the University of Wisconsin for information regarding morphology, behavior and other detailed descriptions.

For this week’s book of the week, we highlight another of EOL’s featured species – Sepia apama, perhaps better-known as the Australian Giant Cuttlefish. With a maximum recorded mantle length of 520 mm and a weight of 6.2 kg, the Sepia apama is the largest species of cuttlefish in the world.

Australian Giant Cuttlefish are masters of camouflage. They are capable of altering their appearance in dozens of ways in order to mimic their surroundings. For instance, not only can they alter their skin patterns, but they are also capable of changing their skin texture as the need arises. Such ingenious texture alterations are achieved by either arm contortions, which allow the animal to mimic nearby algae, or through the “sprouting” of papillae, or “spiky skin projections,” which mimic “the physical texture of the surrounding seaweed, rock or coral.”

Take a few minutes to investigate this amazing critter on EOL, and dive a little deeper into the early development of cuttlefish at large (Sepia officinalis, the Common Cuttlefish) in this week’s book of the week, Recherches sur les premières phases du développement de la seiche (Sepia officinalis), by Louis Marius Vialleton (1888). The plates located at the end of this book give a particularly detailed view of the development of these intelligent invertebrates.

This week’s Book of the Week, Recherches sur les premières phases du développement de la seiche (Sepia officinalis), by Louis Marius Vialleton (1888), was contributed by the Smithsonian Institution.

As part of our on-going series related to the International Year of Biodiversity, we’ll take a closer look at conservation status and occasionally highlight species in each rank. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is the primary global organization responsible for risk assessment organizes threat in 8 categories–Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Conservation Dependent, near Threatened, and Least Concerned.

Pictured above, we have the Oklahoma State bird, the scissor-tailed flycatcher, or Tyrannus forficatus, first described in 1789. They aggressively defend their territories against intrusions by conspecifics and in the spring, a flamboyant performance with their long scissor-like tail, is part of the courtship dance. Such self-assertive behavior has served this bird well; it’s squarely situated in the Least Concern ranking for threat of extinction, so generations to come can enjoy this fascinating species.
Enjoy. 🙂

The awareness of the need to protect endangered species has grown widely in the past few decades. The decimation of species throughout the world due to both natural and man-made conditions has pushed many species to the brink of extinction. While there are many efforts underway to protect and revive the species on the endangered list today, the struggle of many species to survive is still uncertain. This week’s book of the week, Selected vertebrate endangered species of the seacoast of the United States (1980), published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, outlines some of the species that were facing this battle for survival thirty years ago.

For this week’s post, we highlight three of the species listed as endangered in this publication, and provide an update about the species’ current status. A link to the Encyclopedia of Life entry for each species is also included, so feel free to dig a little deeper into each of these unique, threatened, and resilient creatures.

The Red Wolf (Canis rufus)

The Red Wolf was listed as Federally endangered on October 3, 1970 in the states of Delaware, Missouri, Mississippi and Texas. It was threatened due to predator control programs and federal, state, and local bounty hunter activity in these regions, as this species was seen to be a threat to livestock in these areas.

Current Status: In an effort to protect this species, “fourteen remaining red wolves were placed in a captive-breeding facility; they have become the founders of the present red wolf population. Currently, 200+ red wolves exist, and reintroductions are occurring in a few areas, including North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains.”

The Red Wolf in EOL.
The Red Wolf in this week’s Book of the Week.

The Whooping Crane (Grus americana)

The Whooping Crane was listed as Federally endangered on March 11, 1967 in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Texas. The species’ survival was put to the test due to a reduction in breeding and wintering habitats as a result of drainage, agriculture, the Gulf of Intracoastal Waterway, and human settlements. As this week’s book of the week points out, “Whooping cranes avoid areas of human disturbance even if the habitat is otherwise suitable.” In 1977, there were only 75 whooping cranes in the wild and 27 in captivity.

Current Status: With the rescue efforts that began in 1968, the number of whooping cranes gradually increased to 96 in 1995. There are now two populations in the wild.

The Whooping Crane in EOL.
The Whooping Crane in this week’s Book of the Week.

The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis)

The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker was listed as Federally endangered on October 13, 1970 in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. This species, according to
Selected vertebrate endangered species of the seacoast of the United States, was endangered as a result of a decrease in the quantity and quality of a suitable habitat, primarily due to short-term-rotation timber management. The practice of short-term-rotation timber management “prevents the development of mature, diseased pine trees” which are necessary for this species’ roosting and nesting.

Current Status: While there have been two recovery plans written to restore this population, the first, established in 1979, was never acted upon, and the second, established in 1985, has been criticised, though not revised, and no other plan has been written. “Recently, however, new approaches to conservation including old cavity restoration, artificial cavity construction, and the introduction of females into isolated groups, have made some positive advancments towards the increase in populations. The total population is now estimated at about 7,500 individuals.”

The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker in EOL.
The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker in this week’s Book of the Week.

This week’s book of the week, Selected vertebrate endangered species of the seacoast of the United States (1980), published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was contributed by the MBLWHOI library.