Study Confirms Amphibians' Ability To Predict Changes In Biodiversity

Study Confirms Amphibians' Ability To Predict Changes In Biodiversity

Study Confirms Amphibians' Ability To Predict Changes In Biodiversity

Biologists have long suspected that amphibians, whose moist permeable skins make them susceptible to slight changes in the environment, might be good bellwethers for impending alterations in biodiversity during rapid climate change.

Now two University of California biologists have verified the predictive power of this sensitive group of animals in a global study of species turnover among amphibians and birds. The study appears this week in the advance online version of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Our study supports the role of amphibians as 'canaries in the coal mine'," said Lauren Buckley, a postdoctoral fellow at UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and the first author of the study. "Amphibians are likely to be the first to respond to environmental changes and their responses can forecast how other species will respond."

"Amphibians are much more tuned in to the changes in their specific environments," said Walter Jetz, an associate professor of biology at UC San Diego and the other author of the study. "They are much more sensitive to differences in environmental conditions as you move geographically from one location to another."

The two scientists used maps of the environment and amphibian and bird distributions to answer the question of how the environment - as well as the distribution of birds and amphibians - changes as one moves from one place to another around the globe.

The researchers found that if the environment changes rapidly as one travels from one location to another, the amphibian and bird communities also change rapidly. However, the species of amphibians would change more quickly than species of birds. This confirms that amphibians are particularly sensitive to changes in the environment, the researchers conclude, and that this sensitivity is particularly acute given their narrow distributions.

Whether one is traveling through a tropical or temperature region also influences how quickly the types of animals change. Given a mountain of a certain size, the researchers found, the amphibian and bird communities change more quickly if one is climbing a mountain in the tropics than in a temperate region.

"There are more species in the tropics and the species are generally more specially adapted to particular environmental conditions," said Jetz. "This suggests that tropical species may be more severely impacted by a given temperature increase as a result of climate change."

For the study, he and Buckley produced a series of global maps of environmental turnover and the associated changes in amphibian and bird communities that reveal that the identities of birds and amphibians change particularly quickly in mountainous regions such as the Andes and Himalayas.

"Understanding how environmental changes over space influence biodiversity patterns provides important background for forecasting how biodiversity will respond to environmental changes over time such as ongoing temperature increases," said Buckley.

The study was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, UC Santa Barbara and the State of California.

By Arunava Das

Feasible Emission Scenarios Identified That Could Keep CO2 Below Climate Threatening Levels

Feasible Emission Scenarios Identified That Could Keep CO₂ Below Climate Threatening Levels

(In response to news published by ANI on September 11, 2008)

NASA researchers have identified feasible emission scenarios that could enable keeping carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels below that considered dangerous for climate by scientists.

When and how global oil production will peak or will decrease has been debated, making it difficult to anticipate emissions from the burning of fuel and to precisely estimate its impact on climate.

To justify how emissions might change in the future, Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York considered a wide range of fossil fuel consumption scenarios.

For a better understanding of the possible trajectory of future carbon dioxide emissions, Kharecha and Hansen devised five carbon dioxide emission scenarios that span the years 1850-2100. Each scenario reflects a different estimate for the global production peak of fossil fuels, the timing of which depends on reserve size, recoverability and technology.

The first scenario estimates carbon dioxide levels, if emissions from fossil fuels are unconstrained and follow along “business as usual” growing by two percent annually until half of each reservoir has been recovered, after which emissions begin to decline by two percent annually.

The second scenario considers a situation in which emissions from coal are reduced first by developed countries starting in 2013 and then by developing countries a decade later, leading to a global phase out by 2050 of the emissions from burning coal that reach the atmosphere.

The reduction of emissions to the atmosphere in this case can come from reducing coal consumption or from capturing and sequestering the carbon dioxide before it reaches the atmosphere.

The remaining three scenarios include the above-mentioned phase out of coal, but consider different scenarios for oil use and supply.

Next, the team proposes to use a simplified mathematical model, called the Bern Carbon Cycle model, to convert carbon dioxide emissions from each scenario into estimates of future carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere.

The unconstrained “business as usual” scenario resulted in a level of atmospheric carbon dioxide that more than doubled the pre-industrial level and from about 2035 onward levels exceed the 450 ppm threshold of this study.

Even when low-end estimates of reserves were assumed, the threshold exceeded from about 2050 onwards.

The other four scenarios, however, resulted in carbon dioxide levels that peaked in various years but all fell below the prescribed cap of 450 ppm by about 2080 at the latest, with levels in two of the scenarios always staying below the threshold.

The researchers suggested that the results illustrated by each scenario have clear implications for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal, as well as “unconventional” fuels such as methane hydrates and tar sands, all of which contain much more fossil carbon than conventional oil and gas.

By Arunava Das

Forest Love: Do You Love Your Children???? Then You Should Love The Forest

Forest Love: Do You Love Your Children???? Then You Should Love The Forest
Tag: GreenPeaceBuzz
By: Arunava Das, Green Peace India

(A promotionary blog for GreenPeace Campaign: Forest Love highlighting the Illegal Timber Business in the European Continent.)

The Request to “Saviour of Forests” Blogspot from Green Peace:

Blogger Alert

This is the first email of its kind for us. Remember that time you told us you have a blog or webpage where you can spread the word about Greenpeace campaigns? Well, this email is all about doing exactly that!

31 JULY 2008: Check out our latest campaign and video:

ForestLove video

Blog this within the next few hours - and help us get this video to the top of the video viral charts!

On September 10, the EU will be voting on a vital law against illegal logging. ForestLove is a controversial campaign to push the EU's vote in the right direction.

This summer we want people to take photos and video of themselves expressing love amongst the trees.

After the deadline of August 31, Greenpeace will edit this material into a collaborative video that will show the EU commissioners just how much everyone loves the forests...

So get blogging to stop the logging!
Read about our campaign
Grab the embedding code for the video page on YouTube
Spread the word on your blog or webpage!
(Do you tag your posts? Then please use this one today: greenpeacebuzz)

Get Social
Can you do more?
Share the campaign on facebook
Stumble Upon
Tell us your promotion ideas (Greenpeace Forum)

Thank you and good luck out there on the web!

Giona and the forests campaign!!

A link to the Forest Love Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AEZbWtELQI&eurl=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/forests/eu-ban-illegal-timber/forest-love

The story behind the plot: The European Commission has delayed a vital vote on protecting forests from illegal logging till September. We want to make sure the commissioners don't forget about it during their summer holiday. We need you to help us make an extra impression before the September vote.

Forests are the lifeline for all activities on the planet. It supports a number of rare land ecosystems that balance the seasonal changes on the planet. The heavy the forests are, the denser and greener they are more will be the amount of rainfall in the areas covering the forests and more will be the flora and fauna type of these regions. Moreover, lost of forest cover results in ultimate climate change that can lead to varied types of after effects, like unseasonal and irregularities in rainfalls, rise in global temperature, rise in sea level and increase of intensities of cyclones that in turn cause huge losses in terms of economy and loss of lives and domestic livestocks. It also results in an onslaught on climate and the resultant change is known as Climate Change.

As the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) warns a warming of 0.2 degree Celsius can lead to a staggering rise of 8.6 degrees till the end of the century that can spell havoc as far as the Global Temperature is concerned. The scientific evidence is already evident in the fact that we are getting longer summers, rainfalls not at the right time, heavy rainfalls at unexpected quarters of the year resulting in flooding and loss of lives and government property, no rainfall in some dry parts of the country for a long time creating drought like situations, decreased irritability and poor production of soil, flooding in low lying areas due to increase in sea level. Already we have lost around 56 acres of Mangrove forests due to increase in sea level and also we are on the verge of loosing our cities on the coastal areas if this continues.

Forest also plays a crucial role to the village economy. Half of India’s population is in the villages and they solely depend upon the forest products. When there is forest loss, there will be loss of income for the scores of people who inhabit these villages.

Nearly 2,00,000 villages and 70 million tribals in India are dependent on the forests for their daily bread. As a result, people from the rural areas are forced to migrate to urban areas for feeding their families. In Economics, we call this as “Workforce Migration” that brings about a population burst to already overcrowded Indian cities that serve as lifeline to Indian Economy. Thus we can see that Climate Change is not only impacting the Forest Biodiversity hampering the crucial ecosystems (that serve as linkers between the food chain) but also affecting the economy of almost all countries including India.

Climate Change Projections:

Studies were carried out at the Indian Institute of Science (by Professors Ravindranath, Joshi and Sukumar), using the climate change projections from regional climate model of Hadley centre (HadRM3), obtained from Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, and a global vegetation response model called BIOME (Biogeochemical In¬formation Ordering Management Environment).

The impacts were assessed for the period around 2085 for two (high and moderate) greenhouse gas emission scenarios, with projections of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere at 740 and 575 parts per million by 2085.

An assessment of the impact of climate change projections on forest ecosystems for the two greenhouse gas emission scenarios for 2085 showed that 68 per cent and 77 per cent of forested grid are likely to experience shifts in forest vegetation type.

In other words, there may not be a total replacement of one forest type by another under the projected climate change scenarios, due to differing climate tolerance of the various plant species in a forest. For example researchers at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun and Kerala, India have given an interesting example:

• If the Montane grasslands of the Western Ghats are invaded by woody plants, including exotic weeds, the endemic Nilgiri Tahr may be threatened.

• Similarly, upward altitudinal migration of plants in the Himalayas could reduce the Alpine meadows and related vegetation, adversely impacting the habitats of several high-altitude mammals including wild sheep, goat, antelope and cattle.

• Further, increased precipitation in Northeastern India may lead to severe flooding of the Brahmaputra and place the wildlife of the Kaziranga National Park at risk.

Biodiversity of the existing forest types will not be totally replaced by the new forest type or species-mix under the changed climate due to complexities of climate tolerance of different species in a forest and the barriers to species migration.

Forest ecosystems are highly vulnerable to climate change. According to IPCC reports, that the unprecedented warming observed in the past few decades has already made an impact on forest ecosystems, such as, pole-ward and upward shift in ranges of plant, insect, bird and fish species. Further, plant flowering, bird arrival, migratory bird patterns, seasonal breeding patterns of animals like tigers, panthers, olive ridley turtles, as well as flowering plants have been observed to be occurring earlier than expected.

See for yourself how much forest cover is deforested for Palm Plantations to feed the DOVE Soap Industries with palm oil, a major component of Dove soaps.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odI7pQFyjso&feature=user

Efforts And Planning To Reduce The Onslaught:

Changing climate requires dynamic forest planning and management strategies. There is a need to incorporate climate change concern in the long-term forest planning and policy making process. The traditional Working Plan approach of managing forests adopted by the Forest Departments, which is not adequate even in a situation of no climate impacts, may need to be improved and made dynamic to incorporate the climate impacts.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as State Forest Departments do not have the luxury of waiting for a perfect understanding of the climate projections or the impacts on forest biodiversity and biomass production at micro level, to plan and implement adaptation practices and strategies. Many of the precautionary and win-win practices and strategies mentioned above could be evaluated and considered for implementation. Forest and biodiversity conservation, prevention of forest fragmentation and multi-species based afforestation are examples of such strategies.

Examples of forest policies, which may reduce the vulnerability of forest ecosystems to climate change, include preventing fragmentation of forests, forest conservation, enhancing the coverage under protected areas and linking them, large afforestation with multiple species to reduce pressure on natural forests, and involvement of local communities in forest conservation and management. India has a large afforestation programme of over one million hectares annually and also has a plan to bring a third of the geographic area under forest cover. These newly planted forests, particularly the long-rotation species such as teak, will be subjected to changing climate parameters. Thus, it is important to consider and incorporate adaptation practices even in the afforestation programme.

A Small Tribute To Verghese Sir On His Last Day At EmPower

Dear Sir,

Perhaps we all have seen glowing stars in the night sky illuminating others on their path. They are rare and they are regarded as “Pathfinders”. They are like light houses showing the way to a lost traveler in the endless sea of struggle. That’s how Sir has been to me all these three months that I spent at EmPower. It is also my end of Probation at EmPower and I am looking to go out there ready to bloom in full majesty, ready to be a bright star at EmPower. The two events, my confirmation this week and Sir’s last day at EmPower this week have coincided. Like a tigress bids goodbye to its cubs 8 months after they are born to face the jungle music, she is rest assured that her efforts in bringing up her dear will not go in vain. Similar, on the last day of Verghese Sir at EmPower, we, Team Green Horns will make sure EmPower Earth Campaign will go on as stealthily as it has done so far, barely 3 weeks since its inception and we are proud that you are leaving the firm on a winning note.

As of me, I will miss you as a person who rekindled my writing passions and will not be on his desk to see me blossom, but you will certainly hear from me as I owe my writing prowess to three beings, first my mom who has been there in all my hard times and who has sown the seeds of strong foundation in me, second you who have rekindled in me the lost art of writing and given me the exposure required to get noticed in the global corporate world and last but not the least, the Almighty for whom I have been on the planet against all odds. It is a matter of passion that you have shown in our upbringing of Green Horns Team and given courage to all who have shown great writing skills at 80 Feet Road and EmPower Blog and are glad enough that they can now freely express their ideas to the world.

Last we feel proud that you are still chasing your dreams and we look up to you as a legend who has changed us and our personality in a radical process. You have pushed us and your constant encouragement will remain as a solace in your absence at EmPower. I on the behalf of Team Green Horns wish you success in all your future endeavors.

Yours…
Gurunava!!
Arunava Das
Team Green Horns
Guru, Shilpa Sri, Sowjanya, Gunajit, Rakesh, Vijay Sir

Climate Change: Take Action Now

Climate Change: Take Action Now

Fig. 3: Around 70 million tribals in India are dependent on the forests
© Copyrighted under S. Mahinsha

Fig. 2: Exotic Forest Hotspot at the Western Ghats
©Copyrighted with The Hindu Photo Library and CES, Indian Institute of Science




Fig. 1: Left panel: Solid lines are multi-model global averages of surface warming (relative to 1980-1999) for the SRES scenarios A2, A1B and B1, shown as continuations of the 20th century simulations. The orange line is for the experiment where concentrations were held constant at year 2000 values.
The bars in the middle of the figure indicate the best estimate (solid line within each bar) and the likely range assessed for the six SRES marker scenarios at 2090-2099 relative to 1980-1999. The assessment of the best estimate and likely ranges in the bars includes the Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models (AOGCMs) in the left part of the figure, as well as results from a hierarchy of independent models and observational constraints.
Right panel: Projected surface temperature changes for the early and late 21st century relative to the period 1980-1999. The panels show the multi-AOGCM average projections for the A2 (top), A1B (middle) and B1 (bottom) SRES scenarios averaged over decades 2020-2029 (left) and 2090-2099 (right). [Source: IPCC, 2007]

Aftermath Of Bhopal Gas Tragedy ---- A Shameful Example Set By IIT Alumni At The US

The Western Influence Showing On As IIT Alumni In The US Decides To Take Dow Chemicals As Sponsors For Their 50^th Alumni Meet At The US

EmPower Research Knowledge Services, By Arunava Das (Media Analyst)

July 15, 2008

(In response to an article, “IITians say no to Dow” published in Silicon India on July 15, 2008)

It is really a shameful act of blemishes committed by a host of IIT’ians at the US to invite Dow Chemicals as sponsors for their upcoming 50^th Alumni Meet in the country. As far as I know and everybody will agree that to get into any one of the IIT is a big ask which requires umpteen dedication towards studies and those who eventually get into are considered the gems of the country. As gems of the country, we have responsibilities on our shoulders, we Indians rest our hopes on them that they graduate with flying colors and bring name and fame to the country. India shines with them. India’s economy grows with them as she finds a place in the global economy chart. No doubt the past decade has seen a real bloom in Indian economy and will continue to bloom this way as it heads towards the future. We are one of the few countries with China who has the youngest pool source of youth who are considered to contribute big time to the country’s growth, be it economy, politics, industry, finance, revenue, foreign trade, healthcare sector, hospitality sector or retail sector. Hence, as responsible citizens of India, we need to refrain from acts that can harm the Indian policy and the fame that India is a proud owner of.

United Carbide is one such company that will remain etched in the history books as being responsible for one of the worst industrial tragedies of all time, The Bhopal Gas Tragedy that took place on the fateful night of December 3, 1984 that left 3800 people dead and thousand affected of the gas leak. Many are suffering still now and many have not even got justice till date. The Dow Chemicals now owns Union Carbide. Under such circumstances, when IITians in India have already rejected either campus recruitment or call for sponsors from Dow Chemicals, the India based IITians would have expected their states based counterparts to also follow the suit but instead they were in with a sudden shock and surprise as they discovered that their counterparts in the US have infact endorsed Dow Chemicals as the sponsors of their 50^th Alumni Meet Golden Jubilee function which will be organized under the aegis of IIT-Bombay Heritage Fund in New York between July 18-20. This shows that once we leave our motherland for a career in the western world, we also leave behind our cultural heritage in India. According to a Mumbai based IIT-Bombay alumni, Mr. Janak Daftari, a group of IIT-B alumni, mostly from Silicon Valley, in total disregard to the sentiments and the callous practices being followed by the firm (Dow Chemicals) in their (alumini's) origin country, has gone ahead and under the aegis of IIT-Bombay Heritage Fund are organizing a two-day golden jubilee function in New York between July 18-20. Following this incident, many IIT alumni including faculty and current students in India have decided to boycott the grand event. Another Delhi based IITian, Ravi Kuchimanchi, said, “In 1984 when the gas leaked in Bhopal, I and other students in IIT-Bombay were shocked and angry. Today I am shocked to see, instead of forcing Dow to fork up money and clean up the Bhopal site, the organisers of the 50th anniversary celebrations have sought its money. As IIT alumni we can do better.”

It needs to be seen now whether the event goes on smoothly and how many alumni attend the meet. According to ex IIT-B, Janak Daftari, "Obviously, the golden jubilee celebration is being done privately but then there is a tacit approval from the senior administrators. After all they are seriously contemplating to attend the event even though scores of faculty members have opposed the sponsorship itself.” However, it would be better as to see that such blemishes do not occur again as this tarnishes the global image of India and as the responsible gems of the country, we need to respect our identity.

Please Stand Up And Voice Ur Protest Against Maharashtra Government’s Silly Attitude---- By Arunava ---- Saviour of Forests (hopethane@yahoogroups.com

On Sun, 6/7/08, Rajesh Sachdev wrote:

From: Rajesh Sachdev
Subject: [hopethane] Maha Govt to approach SC for reducing bird sanctuary area

To: "BOB" , "Mumbainaturalists" , defendingwildindia@yahoogroups.com, "nathistory" , "Maharashtra Pakshimitra Pakshimitra" , "wild mumbai" , hopethane@yahoogroups.com, "orientalbirding yahoogroups" , forestrights@yahoogroups.com, ecwatch@yahoogroups.com, moefchalo-owner@yahoogroups.com

Date: Sunday, 6 July, 2008, 3:54 PM

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Government will approach the Supreme Court next week, for approval to limit the area of the Great Indian Bustard sanctuary in the state to around 350 sq km.

This is a drastic climb down from the original proposal of the State Government in 1985 to have the sanctuary, spread in Solapur and Ahmednagar districts, in a 8,500 sq km area.

"The apex court has asked for a compliance report and next week, we will be making a submission before the Court, for limiting the sanctuary area to around 347 sq km", a senior Forest Department official said.

Vociferous protest by people's representatives in these areas, at a meeting in Pune recently, is among the reasons for reducing size of the sanctuary, whose core area is around Nannaj in Solapur district.

Forest Minister Babanrao Pachpute's appeal to drastically shrink the sanctuary, home to the endangered bird species, has been rejected by the apex court-appointed panel.

The committee, headed by V B Savarkar, had insisted that the state should retain at least 1,222 sq km area of the sanctuary to protect the rare bird.

The apex court has the powers to de-notify areas of the sanctuaries, under the wildlife protection laws.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Maha_Govt_ to_approach_ SC_for_reducing_bird_sanctuary_area/articleshow /3202661.cms

Regards
Rajesh Sachdev
Wild Mumbai Nature Conservation

"The tiger cannot be preserved in isolation. It is at the apex of a large and complex biotope. Its habitat, threatened by human intrusion, commercial forestry, and cattle grazing, must first be made inviolate." - Mrs. Indira Gandhi

We Can Solve The Climate Crisis

Runaway Ice Chunk In Antarctica Worries Scientists
The Associated Press
March 26, 2008
(Taken by Arunava Das, Media Analyst, EmPower Research, Bangalore with special permission from Alfred Albert Al Gore, Environmental Activist, UN for Blog Display on 3 June, 2008… Details: http://www.wecansolveit.org/content/entry/giant_chunk_of_ice_collapses_in_antartica/
Saviourofforests is a registered user with http://www.wecansolveit.org --- We Can Solve The Climate Crisis)

WASHINGTON: A chunk of Antarctic ice seven times the size of Manhattan Island has suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, according to scientists.

Satellite images starting Feb. 28 show the runaway disintegration of a chunk covering 414 square kilometers, or 160 square miles. The ice was on the edge of the Wilkins Ice Shelf and had been there for possibly 1,500 years.

This is the result of global warming, David Vaughan, a scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, said Tuesday.

Because scientists noticed satellite images within hours, they diverted satellite cameras and even flew an airplane over the ongoing collapse for rare pictures and video.

"It's an event we don't get to see very often," said Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. "The cracks fill with water and slice off and topple. That gets to be a runaway situation."

While icebergs naturally break away from the mainland, collapses like this are unusual but are happening more frequently in recent decades, Vaughan said. The collapse is similar to what happens to hardened glass when it is smashed with a hammer, he explained.

The rest of the Wilkins Ice Shelf, which totals about 14,500 square kilometers, is holding on by a narrow beam of thin ice. Scientists worry that it, too, may collapse. Larger, more dramatic ice collapses occurred in 1995 and 2002.

There is still a chance the rest of the ice shelf will survive until next year, Vaughan said, because this is the end of the Antarctic summer and colder weather is setting in.

Scientists said that they were not concerned about a rise in sea level from the latest event but that it was a sign of worsening global warming.

Firefly (Direct pick up from Wikipedia, Taken with permission purely for blog display)

Lampyridae is a family in the beetle order Coleoptera, members of which are commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs or (ambiguously) "glow worms" due to their conspicuous nocturnal (or, more accurately, crepuscular) use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey. Fireflies are capable of producing a "cold light" containing no ultraviolet or infrared rays, with a wavelength from 510 to 670 nanometers, pale reddish, yellowish or green in color, with a lighting efficiency of up to 96%[1].

There are more than 2000 species of firefly found in temperate and tropical environments around the world. Many species can be found in marshes or in wet, wooded areas where their larvae have abundant sources of food.

Biology

Fireflies tend to be brown and soft-bodied, often with the elytra more leathery than in other beetles. Though the females of some species are similar in appearance to males, larviform females are found in many other firefly species. These females can often be distinguished from the larvae only because they have compound eyes. The most commonly known fireflies are nocturnal, though there are numerous species that are diurnal. Most diurnal species are non-luminescent, though some species that remain in shadowy areas can produce light.

A few days after mating, a female lays her fertilized eggs on or just below the surface of the ground. The eggs hatch 3-4 weeks later and the larva feed until the end of the summer. The larvae are commonly called glowworms, not to be confused with the distinct beetle family Phengodidae or fly genus Arachnocampa. Lampyrid larvae have simple eyes. The term glowworm is also used for both adults and larvae of species such as Lampyris noctiluca, the common European glowworm, in which only the non-flying adult females glow brightly and the flying males glow only very weakly and intermittently. Fireflies overwinter (some species for several years) during the larval stage. Some do this by burrowing underground, while others find places on or under the bark of trees. They emerge in the spring. After several weeks of feeding, they pupate for 1 to 2.5 weeks and emerge as adults. The larvae of most species are specialized predators and feed on other larvae, terrestrial snails, and slugs. Some are so specialized that they have grooved mandibles which deliver digestive fluids directly to their prey. The diet of adults is variable. It has been reported that some are predatory, while others feed on plant pollen or nectar.

Light production

Light production in fireflies is due to a chemical reaction that occurs in specialized light-emitting organs, usually on the lower abdomen. The enzyme luciferase acts on luciferin in this organ to stimulate light emission. Genes coding for these substances have been inserted into many different organisms (see Luciferase - Applications). Luciferase is also used in forensics, and the enzyme has medical uses.

For adult beetles, it is primarily used to locate other individuals of the same species for reproduction. Many species, especially in the genus Photinus, are distinguished by the unique courtship flash patterns emitted by flying males in search of females. Photinus females generally do not fly, but give a flash response to males of their own species.
Bioluminescence is a very efficient process. Some 90% of the energy a firefly uses to create light is actually converted into visible light. By comparison, an incandescent electric bulb can convert only 10 percent of total energy used into visible light, and the remainder is emitted as heat.

Tropical fireflies, particularly in Southeast Asia (Thailand and Malaysia), routinely synchronize their flashes among large groups, a startling example of spontaneous biological order. This phenomenon occurs through the night along river banks in the Malaysian jungles every day of the year. Current hypotheses about the causes of this behavior involve diet, social interaction, and altitude. In the United States, one of the most famous sightings of fireflies blinking in unison occurred near Elkmont, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains during the second week of June 2005[1]. Congaree National Park in South Carolina is another host to the phenomenon [2].

Female Photuris fireflies are known for mimicking the mating flashes of other fireflies for the sole purpose of predation. Target males are attracted to what appears to be a suitable mate, and are then eaten. For this reason the Photuris female is sometimes referred to as "femme fatale".

Many fireflies do not produce light. Usually these species are diurnal, or day-flying, such as those in the genus Ellychnia. A few diurnal fireflies that primarily inhabit shadowy places, such as beneath tall plants or trees, are luminescent. One such genus is Lucidota.

All fireflies glow as larvae. Bioluminescence serves a different function in lampyrid larvae than it does in adults. It appears to be a warning signal to predators, since many firefly larvae contain chemicals that are distasteful or toxic.

Systematics

Firefly systematics, as with many insects, are in a constant state of flux, as new species continue to be discovered. The five subfamilies listed above are the most commonly accepted ones, though others such as the Amydetinae and Psilocladinae have been proposed. This was mainly done in an attempt to revise the Lampyrinae, which by and by had become something of a "wastebin taxon" to hold incertae sedis species and genera of fireflies. Other changes are occasionally proposed, such as merging the Ototetrinae into the Luciolinae, but the arrangement used here appears to be the most frequently-seen and stable layout, at least for the time being.

Fireflies and humans

Fireflies were a part of ancient Mayan mythology, often being associated with the stars. Further, they were associated with cigar smoking and may have had at least one representative in the pantheon of Mayan gods (Lopes 2004).

In East Asia, the ancient Chinese sometimes captured fireflies in transparent or semi-transparent containers and used them as (short-term) lanterns[citation needed]. Some species of the genus Luciola (hotaru, 蛍) rival the famous sakura cherry blossoms as regards their significance in Japanese culture and folklore[citation needed].

The Pennsylvania Firefly (Photuris pennsylvanica) is the state insect of Pennsylvania, and the Common Eastern Firefly (Photinus pyralis) one of the state insects of Tennessee. At one point, Indiana seriously considered making the State's insect a firefly, but the legislature never put the measure to a vote.

The spectacular synchronized flashing by Pteroptyx and other Luciolinae fireflies has potential economic significance. Notably on the Selangor River at Kampong Kuantan (close to Kuala Selangor, Malaysia), it has become a major attraction for tourists which create considerable revenue.

References

^ Firefly / Lightning Bug - Photuris lucicrescens. Retrieved on 2008-06-28.
• http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/hotaru-net/. A site about Japanese aquatic firefly habits, life-history, biology, resources, and activities.
• http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/hotaru-net/photo/firefly.html
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi
• http://www.iisc.ernet.in/academy/resonance/Sept2002/pdf/Sept2002p49-55.pdf
• Branham, M. A., and J. W. Wenzel. 2003. The origin of photic behavior and the evolution of sexual communication in fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae). Cladistics 19: 1-22.
• Lopes, Luís. 2004. Some notes on fireflies. Mesoweb. http://www.mesoweb.com/features/lopes/Fireflies.pdf
• Stous, Hollend. 1997. A review of predation in Photuris, and its effects on the evolution of flash signaling in other New World fireflies. http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Entomology/courses/en507/papers_1997/stous.html
• http://www.fireflies.tk . A site about the Firefly meeting 2007 in Portugal and information on fireflies in general.
• http://pirilampos-lightalive.blogspot.com/. A site about bioluminescence and Firefly project in Portugal.

A Sad Story: Destruction Of Another Forest Zone Of Interest: Please Forward This To Your Friends To Raise Awareness

A Sad Story: Destruction Of Another Forest Zone Of Interest: Please Forward This To Your Friends To Raise Awareness

From Balakrishnan Valappil <balakrishnan_ valappil@yahoo.com>

To Yahoo Hope Thane Group Members and butterflyindia@yahoogroups.com

Hi friends

Palaparamba is a typical hill top near my house, just five minutes walk away! It is above 400 ft from MSL and around 40 km from the west coast and the same distance away from Western Ghats. It is a private land of extend less than 2 hectares; there are cashew nut plants amidst open and bushy land the flora and fauna diversity is very interesting, especially insects. I am a regular visitor here since the last three years. Apart from the common butterflies I have sighted are Silver streaked blue ciliate, blue and redspot (M&F) here regularly and I haven’t seen these butterflies elsewhere. Some of other species to be mentioned are Buddha peacock, Short banded sailor, Chestnut steaked sailor, Blue admiral, Southern birdwing, and at least three types of lineblues, blackvein, sergeant, peacock royal, WC and Manytailed oakblue, White banded owl and a Common tinsel (to be confirmed). I will be posting a complete checklist soon; the most interesting thing is that I have seen fresh specimens of all the butterflies mentioned and hence could be assumed that they are born here. A ciliate blue sighting chance is 75% on anyday on the calendar. Between August and December I can guarantee the sighting of Blue admiral, WC oakblue, Buddha peacock and all the three sailors here are high.

But the most saddening part of the story is that as many of the hundreds of such hilltops in our district Palaparamba is also under threat an approach road is already constructed and surveying and markings are in progress to convert it into a housing project and within a couple of years the fauna and flora will be lost forever. In Kerala, majority of insects breed in such pristine locations which are basically private lands and were of no economical importance till a couple of years ago and they were safe to some extent due to that matter of fact that now laterite quarrying, housing projects, other institutions like hospitals, schools, colleges, IT parks are built in lieu of wonderful fauna and flora. There is considerable awareness and conservation on the part of wildlife in the forested lands but as far as I know there is nothing done to protect these uncared biodiversity. My question to the members from Kerala is how often you have sighted Ciliate blue, Redspot and Silver streak blue in the reserve forests? (Dr Unni, Dr Kalesh, Rafeek and others please respond) the answers will decide the importance of the matter. Not square kilometers but square meters that matter as far as butterflies are concerned. Can anyone help tracing the larva plant and hence larvae of the above mentioned butterflies?

Attached pictures are shots from a recent visit to Palaparamba.

Help ID the Line blue other butterfly links on my stream all from Palaparamba peacock royal

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 760342851/budha peacock

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1490190054/Imperial

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 2552726909/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 2552727017/manytailedoakblue

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1797804209/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1797794137/redspot

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1523117205/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1616548060/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 746904897/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 746904909/silverstreak blue

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 693955223/wcoakblue

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1690054061/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 693955247/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1467545259/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 2043427250/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 2181671183/commonleopard

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1672597594/blue admiral

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1025754644/lascar

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1050426385/yeomon and rustic

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 630223807/jezebel

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1797941929/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1797941921/birdwing

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 1345924306/

Some other insects sighted on June 22, 2008

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 2614605753/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 2615431184/ hitlerbugsmating

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 2614601629/

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ balakrishnan_ valappil/ 2614601851/

All these links are to demonstrate the biodiversity of Palaparamba

--

Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

--

Regards

Rajesh Sachdev

Wild Mumbai Nature Conservation

--

"The tiger cannot be preserved in isolation. It is at the apex of a

large and complex biotope. Its habitat, threatened by human intrusion,

commercial forestry, and cattle grazing, must first be made

inviolate." - Mrs. Indira Gandhi

Napoleons Fatal Ruso Expedition

Charles Minard's Carte figurative (1869), which details the losses of men, the position of the army, and the freezing temperatures on Napoleon's disastrous 1812 invasion of Russia. Created in an effort to show the horrors of war, the graph "defies the pen of the historian in its brutal eloquence" and has been called the best statistical graphic ever drawn.

Photo In The News: Mars Lander Finds Ice, NASA Says

Fig: Ice on Mars - lander photo

Photo In The News: Mars Lander Finds
Ice, NASA Says

Associated Press, By John Antczak

June 20, 2008

Ice on Mars - lander photo

June 20, 2008—Before-and-after photos taken by NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander show "perfect evidence" of water ice on Mars, according to Peter Smith, the mission's principal investigator, in a statement released Thursday.

The dice-size crumbs of bright material seen in the bottom left corner of the so-called Snow White trench in the left image, taken June 15, appear to have vanished by the time the right image was taken, on June 19.

Scientists are convinced the material was frozen water that vaporized after the lander's robotic arm dug up the material.

"There had been some question whether the bright material was salt," Smith, of the University of Arizona, said. "Salt can't do that."

Phoenix is studying whether the Mars's arctic region could be suitable for life as we know it—a key ingredient of which is water.

More recently, Phoenix's arm encountered a hard surface on Thursday while digging another trench. The arm went into a "holding position" after three attempts to dig further, which is expected when the arm reaches a hard surface, NASA said.

Scientists, who hope to uncover an icy layer, have dubbed the newer trench Snow White 2, in keeping with the Phoenix team's practice of using names from fairy tales and mythology to designate features at the lander's "Wonderland" site.

In 2002 the Mars Odyssey orbiter had detected hints of a vast store of ice below the surface of Mars's polar regions.

The arctic terrain where Phoenix touched down has polygon shapes in the ground similar to those found in Earth's permafrost regions. The patterns on Earth are caused by seasonal expansion and shrinking of underground ice.

Images from AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University

Oh, Barn The Superstition! It's Just A Harmless Owl

Oh, Barn The Superstition! It's Just A Harmless Owl

Daily News and Analysis, By Ashwin Aghor

June 21, 2008

Experts say though the bird is thriving in the city, it faces threat as it consumes rodents killed with poison

The next time you spot a pair of eyes glowing in the dark or hear a sinister hoot, don’t be alarmed. It’s just your friendly neighbourhood barn owl, which bird experts say is thriving in the city.

“If the number of distress calls received for bird rescue are any indication, there is no doubt that barn owl population in the city has increased. The majority of the calls are for the rescue of injured juvenile as well as adult barn owls,” said Adesh Shivkar, bird expert.

The large quantity of garbage generated in the city every day attracts rodents, which are the main prey of barn owls.

The bird got its name because of its adaptability to living close to human settlements. “Even in the United Kingdom, the bird is found in barns, abandoned castles,” Shivkar said. However, despite a consistent growth in its population, barn owl is facing severe threats.

Contradicting superstitions shroud all types of owls in general. Some people consider the bird a bad omen and kill it the moment it is spotted. “On the other hand, it is considered to be the vehicle of goddess Lakshmi. There is a need to educate people to protect the bird, by telling them that getting rid of the bird is akin to getting rid of wealth,” Shivkar says. “There is a general belief that barn owl claws bring prosperity to the person who possesses them. A considerable chunk of people in the city believe in superstitions,” said naturalist Sunjoy Monga.

Recently, in the Mantralaya when an owl was seen on a painting frame on sixth floor, news spread like wildfire and people started speculating about fate of the chief minister himself as his office is on the same floor.

Though domesticating the owl is illegal, many people keep the bird as a pet and even supply them to Bollywood and tantriks.

Another threat the bird is facing is rat poison. “Rodents being their main prey, many times owls eat rats killed with poison, which proves fatal for the bird, too,” said Anand Pendharkar, founder director of Sprouts, an institution working for the environment.

There is a great deal of misbelief about the hissing sound made by the barn owls. “It is the defence mechanism of most of the birds which nest in tree hollows or holes in walls. On sensing danger, the juvenile birds emulate the hissing sound of a snake,” Shivkar said.

The rescue calls for the bird are the maximum during winter, the breeding season of the owls. “In majority of cases, it lands in wrong hands due to superstitions,” said Sunish Subramanian of Plant and Animal Welfare Society, Mumbai.

a_ashwin@dnaindia.net

From Yahoo Group HopeThane: Save Our Water Bodies!!!! Urgent!!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Leo Saldanha To: Arunava Das by arunavadas1983@yahoo.co.in

FYI....

Dear All,

Acting on the Public Interest Litigation filed by Environment Support
Group against Privatisation of Lakes in Bangalore (WP 817/2008), the
Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka has directed the Forest Department to
file a report on the status of lakes in Bangalore.

The petition challenges the Lake Development Authority's move of leasing
lakes to private entities, who will be exploiting the water bodies for
commercial activities like setting up of hotels, boating, amusement
parks and so on. Apart from destroying nesting grounds of birds (both
local and migratory) such activities will ruin the water bodies and also
impact the ecological cycle. It will also mean giving away our public
commons to private entities, who will make profits without any regard
for the resources.

If you endorse this idea, please sign the online representation to the
Principal Chief Conservations of Forests at
http://www.ipetitio ns.com/petition/ blorelakes/ signatures. html

Regards
Divya

PS: More details about the PIL are accessible at www.esgindia.org

Blue Iguana (Direct pick up from Wikipedia, Taken with permission purely for blog display)

[Pictures of Cayman Islands(Iguana is endemic to this region) and Iguana]

Blue Iguana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blue Iguana

Conservation status

Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Order: Squamata Family: Iguanidae Genus: Cyclura Species: C. lewisi

Binomial name

Cyclura lewisi Grant, 1940

The Blue Iguana or Grand Cayman Iguana (Cyclura lewisi) is a critically endangered species of lizard of the genus Cyclura endemic to the island of Grand Cayman. Previously listed as a subspecies of the Cuban Iguana, it was reclassified as a separate species in 2004 due to genetic differences discovered four years earlier. The Blue Iguana is one of the longest-living species of lizard (possibly up to 69 years) and is a national symbol of the Cayman Islands.

The Blue Iguana prefers rocky, sunlit, open areas in dry forests or near the shore, as females must dig holes in the sand to lay eggs in June and July. Their vegetarian diet includes plants, fruits, and flowers. Their coloration is tan to gray with a bluish cast that is more pronounced during the breeding season, and more so in males. They are large and heavy-bodied with a dorsal crest of short spines running from the base of the neck to the end of the tail.

The fossil record indicates that the Blue Iguana was abundant before European colonization; but fewer than 15 animals remained in the wild by 2003, and this wild population was predicted to become extinct within the first decade of the 21st century. The species' decline is mainly being driven by predation by feral pets (cats and dogs) and indirectly by the destruction of their natural habitat as fruit farms are converted to pasture for cattle grazing. Since 2004, 219 captive-bred animals have been released into a preserve on Grand Cayman run by a partnership headed by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, in an attempt to save the species. Some success with naturally laid eggs has been reported in the wild. At least five non-profit organizations are working with the government of the Cayman Islands to ensure the survival of the Blue Iguana.

Taxonomy

The Blue Iguana (Cyclura lewisi) is endemic to the island of Grand Gayman.^[1] Its generic name (Cyclura) is derived from the Ancient Greek words cyclos (κύκλος) meaning "circular" and urus (οὔρος) meaning "tail", after the thick-ringed tail characteristic of all Cyclura iguanas.^[2] Its specific name is a Latinized form of the name of the scientist who first described this species, Bernard C. Lewis.^[3] Its closest relatives are the Cuban Iguana (C. nubila nubila) on Cuba, and the Andros Island Iguana (C. cychlura cychlura) in the Bahamas, the three species having diverged from a common ancestor some three million years ago.^[1][4] The species has a low genetic diversity but does not seem to suffer the same lack of vitality that afflicts other such species of rock iguana.^[5][6] One theory is that the species evolved from a single female Cuban Iguana (C. nubila nubila) with eggs inside her who drifted across the sea, perhaps during a storm.^[4] It is distinct from the subspecies found on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac known as C. nubila caymanensis, although it can breed with this subspecies and produce fertile offspring.^[7][8]

In 1938, Bernard C. Lewis of the Institute of Jamaica joined an Oxford University biological expedition to the Cayman Islands.^[3] Lewis was able to obtain two Blue Iguanas, a male and a female, which were later lodged with the British Museum of Natural History.^[3] Chapman Grant, in a monograph published in 1940,^[9] formally described the Blue Iguana for the first time as Cyclura macleayi lewisi.^{[3][10][7][11]} Schwartz and Carey established the trinomial (Cyclura nubila lewisi) in 1977.^[7][11] They held that the Blue Iguana was a strongly distinct subspecies of the Cuban Iguana (C. nubila), the species which it evolved from and can breed with. They emphasized its overall bright blue coloration, and noted that further study could reveal it to be a distinct species.^[7][11] Frederic Burton reclassified the Blue Iguana as a distinct species in 2004,^[7] after years of research comparing scale counts on the heads of Caribbean iguanas, including those found on Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, Cuba, and the Bahamas, as well as mitochondrial DNA analysis performed by Dr. Catherine Malone, to re-examine the phylogeography of the different species.^[7]

Description

The Blue Iguana is the largest native land animal on Grand Cayman with a total nose-to-tail length of 5 ft (1.5 m) and weighing as much as 30 lb (14 kg).^[12][13] Its body length is 20–30 inches (51–76 cm) with a tail equal in length.^[14] The Blue Iguana's toes are articulated to be efficient in digging and climbing trees.^[15] Although not known to be arboreal, the Blue Iguana has been observed climbing trees 15 feet (4.6 m) and higher.^[14] The male is larger than the female by one third of his body size.^[14] The mature male's skin color ranges from dark grey to turquoise blue, whereas the female is more olive green to pale blue.^[14] Young animals tend to be uniformly dark brown or green with faint darker banding.^[14] When they first emerge from the nest the neonates have an intricate pattern of eight dark dorsal chevrons from the crest of their necks to their pelvic area.^[16] These markings fade by the time the animal is one year old, changing to mottled gray and cream and eventually giving way to blue as adults.^[16] The adult Blue Iguana is typically dark gray matching the karst rock of its landscape.^[16] The animal changes its color to blue when it is in the presence of other iguanas to signal and establish territory.^[16] The blue color is more pronounced in males of the species.^[16] Their distinctive black feet stand in contrast to their lighter overall body color.^[14] Male Blue Iguanas have femoral pores, which are used to release pheromones.^[15] Females lack these pores and have a less prominent dorsal crest, making the animal somewhat sexually dimorphic.^[12][15]

Eyes and vision

The Blue Iguana's eyes have a golden iris and red sclera.^[14] They have excellent vision, which allows them to detect shapes and motions at long distances.^[17] As Blue Iguanas have only a few rod cells, they have poor vision in low-light conditions. At the same time, they have cells called "double cones" which give them sharp color vision and enable them to see ultraviolet wavelengths.^[17] This ability is highly useful when basking so the animal can ensure that it absorbs enough sunlight in the forms of UVA and UVB to produce Vitamin D.^[12]

Blue Iguanas have evolved a white photosensory organ on the top of their heads called the parietal eye (also known as the third eye, pineal eye or pineal gland).^[17] This "eye" does not work the same way as a normal eye as it has only a rudimentary retina and lens and thus, cannot form images.^[17] It is however sensitive to changes in light and dark and can detect movement.^[17]

Distribution and habitat

The Blue Iguana is found only on the island of Grand Cayman. Comparison with other Cyclura species in the region strongly suggests that there was once a coastal population of Blue Iguanas which was gradually displaced or extirpated by human settlements and the construction of roads.^[10] The Blue Iguana now only occurs inland in natural xerophytic shrubland and along the interfaces between farm clearings, roads, and gardens and closed-canopy dry forest or shrubland.^[10][18] The interior population is believed to have been attracted to agricultural clearings and fruit farms which provide thermoregulatory opportunities, herbaceous browse, fallen fruit, and nesting soil, but this also brought the Blue Iguana into contact with humans and feral animals.^[10] Females often migrate to coastal areas to nest.^[19]

Blue Iguanas released into the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park on Grand Cayman were radiotracked in 2004 to determine ranges for each animal.^[20] Females were found to occupy territories of 0.6 acres (0.24 ha) and males an average of 1.4 acres (0.57 ha) with overlap in common territories, indicating that they chose to maintain a population density of four to five animals per hectare.^[20]

The Blue Iguanas occupy rock holes and tree cavities, and as adults are primarily terrestrial.^[13] Younger individuals tend to be more arboreal.^[13] Hatchlings are preyed upon by the native snake Alsophis cantherigerus.^[18] The adults have no natural predators but can fall victim to feral dogs.^[10][18] They typically reach sexual maturity at three to four years of age.^[14]

Diet and longevity

Like all Cyclura species, the Blue Iguana is primarily herbivorous, consuming leaves, flowers, and fruits from over 45 species of plant.^[10][18] This diet is very rarely supplemented with insect larvae, crabs, slugs, dead birds, and fungi.^[14][18] The iguanas are presented with a special problem for osmoregulation: plant matter contains more potassium and as it has less nutritional content per gram, more must be eaten to meet the lizard's metabolic needs.^[21] As they are not capable of creating urine more concentrated than their bodily fluids, they excrete nitrogenous wastes as uric acid salts through a salt gland in the same manner as birds.^[21] As a result, they have developed this lateral nasal gland to supplement renal salt secretion by expelling excess potassium and sodium chloride.^[21]

Longevity in the wild is unknown but is presumed to be many decades. A Blue Iguana named "Godzilla" captured on Grand Cayman in 1950 by naturalist Ira Thompson was imported to the United States in 1985 by Ramon Noegel and sold to reptile importer and breeder, Tom Crutchfield in 1990.^[22] Crutchfield donated Godzilla to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas in 1997 and the lizard remained there until its death in 2004.^[22][23] Thompson estimated Godzilla to be 15 years-of-age at the time of his capture.^[23] At an estimated 69 years of age (54 of which were spent in captivity), Godzilla may be the world's longest-living lizard for which there is reliable record.^[23] A closely related Lesser Caymans Iguana (C. nubila caymanensis) has been documented as living 33 years in captivity.^[24]

Reproduction

Mating occurs from May through June.^[10][14] Copulation is preceded by numerous head-bobs on the part of the male, who then circles around behind the female and grasps the nape of her neck.^[14] He then attempts to restrain the female in order to maneuver his tail under hers to position himself for intromission.^[14] Copulation generally lasts from 30 to 90 seconds, and a pair is rarely observed mating more than once or twice a day.^[14] A clutch of anywhere from 1 to 21 eggs are usually laid in June or July depending on the size and age of the female, in nests excavated in pockets of earth exposed to the sun.^[10][18][25] Several exploratory nests are begun before one is completed.^[14] These burrows can range from 16 inches (0.41 m) to over 60 inches (1.5 m) in length, with an enlarged chamber at its terminal portion to allow the female to turn around.^[14] The temperature within nests that have been monitored by researchers remained a constant 32 °C (90 °F) throughout the incubation period which ranges from 65–90 days.^[14] The Blue Iguana's eggs are among the largest laid by any lizard.^[14]

Individuals are aggressively territorial from the age of about three months onward.^[18] Females occupy overlapping areas of the order of 0.6 acres (0.24 ha) seemingly regardless of age, while males occupy progressively larger and more extensively overlapping territories as they age and grow.^[10]

Conservation

Endangered status

The Blue Iguana is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.^[10] The population is restricted to the eastern interior of Grand Cayman, where it had been reduced to a critically low level, only three animals having been observed before the survey in 1988.^[3][10] The range of the Blue Iguana has contracted significantly over the past 25 years, with many sites once populated now showing no signs of iguanas.^[3] Surveys in 2003 indicated a total population in the range of 5–15 individuals.^[18] By 2005 the unmanaged wild population was considered to be functionally extinct.^[26][27] The species is one of the most endangered animals on Earth.^[6][28] A further blow to the dwindling population came in May of 2008 when six individuals were found butchered in a nature preserve.^[29]

As the Blue Iguana consumes a variety of plant material, favoring fruits and flowers over leaves and stems when available, it is valuable on Grand Cayman as a seed disperser throughout its range.^[10][18][30] A study in 2000 by Dr Allison Alberts revealed that seeds passing through the digestive tracts of Cycluras germinate more rapidly than those that do not.^[30][31] These seeds in the fruits consumed by the Blue Iguana have an adaptive advantage by sprouting before the end of very short rainy seasons.^[30] The Blue Iguana is also an important means of distributing seeds to new areas and, as the largest native herbivore of Grand Cayman's ecosystems, it is essential for maintaining the delicate balance between climate and vegetation necessary to survive under harsh conditions.^[30]

Restored free-roaming subpopulations in the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park and the Salina Reserve numbered approximately 125 individuals in total after a release in December 2005.^[28] The restored subpopulation in the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park has been breeding since 2001, and the subpopulation in the Salina Reserve was deemed to be breeding in 2006 after a nest of three hatched eggs was discovered in the wild.^[5][32] As of April 2007, after another large-scale release, there are 299 Blue Iguanas living in the wild, with hundreds more being raised in captivity on Grand Cayman.^[26]

Causes of decline

Habitat destruction is the main factor threatening imminent extinction for this iguana. Land clearance within remnant habitat is occurring for agriculture, road construction, and real estate development and speculation.^[26] Conversion of traditional crop lands to cattle pasture is also eliminating secondary Blue Iguana habitat.^[10]

Predation and injury to hatchlings by rats, to hatchlings and sub-adults by feral cats, and killing of adults by roaming dogs are all placing severe pressure on the remaining wild population.^[5][10] Automobiles and motorscooters are an increasing cause of mortality as the iguanas rarely survive the collisions. Trapping and shooting is a comparatively minor concern, but occasional trapping continues despite legal protection and sustained efforts to increase public awareness.^[1][10][27]

The common Green Iguana, (Iguana iguana), has been introduced from Honduras and is well-established on Grand Cayman as an invasive species. It far outnumbers the endemic Blue Iguana.^[33][34] No direct negative consequences of this introduction on the Blue Iguana are known, but the mere presence of the Green Iguana confuses public attitudes and understanding.^[10][35] For example, the people of the island are told that Blue Iguanas are endangered and rare, and when they subsequently see large numbers of the introduced Green Iguana, they do not understand the difference.^[8][35]

Blue Iguanas used to regularly be sold to tourists as pets, as their rarity made them appealing to exotic-animal collectors, despite this being illegal under the CITES treaty.^[36] In 1999 a World Wildlife Fund international conservation officer, Stuart Chapman, said, "The British government has turned a blind eye for over 20 years to these overseas territories which are home to many rare and endangered species. Many of these face extinction if Britain fails to honour its treaty obligations. The British Caribbean islands are extremely rich in biodiversity with many critically endangered species that are unique to the islands—yet there is virtually zero enforcement or implementation of CITES."^[36]

In May of 2008, six Blue Iguanas were found dead in the preserve within Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park on Grand Cayman.^[37] The iguanas were apparently killed by human vandals armed with knives and two of the slaughtered animals were gravid females about to lay eggs.^[37]

The wild population of Blue Iguanas had been reduced from a near island-wide distribution to a non-viable, fragmented remnant.^[26][33] By 2001, no young hatched in the unmanaged wild population were surviving to breeding age, meaning the population was functionally extinct, with only five animals remaining in the wild.^[26]

Recovery efforts

In 1990 the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) designated the genus Cyclura as their highest priority for conservation.^[38] Their first project was an in situ captive breeding program for the Blue Iguana, which at the time was the most critically endangered of all the species of Cyclura.^[38]

One of the early difficulties encountered was that the captive stock of the early 1990s was found not to be pure.^[14][38] It was discovered through DNA analysis that the captive population contained a number of animals that were hybrids with C. nubila caymanensis.^[14][38] The program contains only pure specimens, as these hybrids were sterilized by means of hemipenectomies and hence excluded.^[13][18][38] This program was created to determine the exact genealogies of the limited gene pool of the remaining animals and DNA analysis revealed that the entire North American captive population was descended from a single pair of animals.^[38] After five years of research two captive breeding populations were established and are managed as a single unit, with cross-breeding between the populations to promote genetic diversity.^[38]

As a hedge against disaster striking the Blue Iguana population on Grand Cayman, an off-island captive population was established in 25 zoos in the USA.^[18][38] A minimum of 20 founder lines represented by at least 225 individuals is being maintained by captive breeding and recorded in a studbook for the species by Tandora Grant of the San Diego Zoo's Center for Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES).^[18][20][38] The Indianapolis Zoo has had success with breeding the Blue Iguana in captivity twice since the year 2000.^[39]

In October 2006, hatchlings were released into the wild for the first time to boost the species and help bring them back from the brink of extinction.^[28] Each released Blue Iguana wears a string of colored beads through its nuchal crest for visual identification at a distance, backed up by an implanted microchip and a high-resolution photograph of its head scales.^[15] (Head scale patterns are as unique among Blue Iguanas as fingerprints are among humans.)^[15]

The Blue Iguana is established in captivity, both in public and private collections.^[12] As there are very few pure-bred animals in private collections, private individuals have established these animals in captive breeding programs as hybrids with the Lesser Caymans Iguana (C.nubila caymanensis) and occasional hybrids with the Cuban Iguana (C.n.nubila) minimizing the demand for wild-caught specimens for the pet trade.^[12]

Blue Iguana Recovery Programme

Efforts to save the Blue Iguana are being implemented as of 2007 by the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme (BIRP) which, with local and international partners, operates under the auspices of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands.^[26] This program operates under a special exemption from provisions in the Animals Law of the Cayman Islands which normally would make it illegal for anyone to kill, capture, or keep iguanas.^[18][35] BIRP's conservation strategy involves generating large numbers of genetically diverse hatchlings, head-starting^[40] them for two years where their chance of survival in the wild is high, and using these animals to rebuild a series of wild sub-populations in protected, managed natural areas.^[1][18][41] This is accompanied by field research, nest site protection, and monitoring of the released animals.^[30][42][43] A rapid numerical increase from a maximum possible number of founding stock is sought to minimize loss of genetic diversity caused by the "population bottleneck".^[18]

Restored sub-populations are already present in two non-contiguous areas—the Salina Reserve and the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park.^[13] Habitat protection is still vital,^[18][26][13] as the Salina Reserve has only 88 acres (35.61 ha) of dry shrubland, which is not enough to sustain the 1,000 Blue Iguanas that must be restored to the wild to remove this species from the Critically Endangered List.^[15][18] Additional separate sub-populations will be restored in one or more other areas.^[18] The overall captive population is likely to remain genetically fragmented in the long term.^[18] Individuals will be translocated between sub-populations to maintain gene flow so that the entire population remains a single genetic management unit.^[18][38] When the wild sub-populations have reached the carrying capacity of their respective protected areas, release of head-started animals will be phased out, and they will be left to reproduce naturally.^[18] In addition, guided by research and monitoring, control or eradication of non-native predators will be implemented to the degree necessary to allow young Blue Iguanas to survive to maturity in sufficient numbers to maintain these sub-populations.^[18][38]

Maintenance of Blue Iguanas in the wild requires active management into the indefinite future.^[18] To sustain this activity, a range of commercial activities generates the funding required, while an ongoing education and awareness effort ensures continued involvement and support by the local community.^[18][26][35]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Kenyon, Georgina. "SOS call for ancient blue iguana", BBC News, 2005-05-23. Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
2. ^ Sanchez, Alejandro. Family Iguanidae: Iguanas and Their Kin. Father Sanchez's Web Site of West Indian Natural History Diapsids I: Introduction; Lizards. Kingsnake.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Blue Iguanas get helping hand to recovery", Cayman Net News, 2005-04-26. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
4. ^ ^{a b} Kenyon, Georgina (2005-09-17). "Re-enter the Dragon". New Scientist (2517): 42–43. Simone Coless.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Hudson, Rick (2007-04-01). "Big Lizards, Big Problems". Reptiles Magazine 15 (4): 54–61.
6. ^ ^{a b} Malone, Catherine (2004). Genetic Contributions to Caribbean Iguana Conservation. University of California Press, 54–57. ISBN 9780520238541.
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Burton, Frederic (2004). "Taxonomic Status of the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana" (PDF) 8 (1): 198–203. Caribbean Journal of Science.
8. ^ ^{a b} "Green and Blue a world of difference to Iguanas", Cayman Net News, 2006-02-14. Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
9. ^ ^{a b} Grant, Chapman (1940). "The Herpetology of the Cayman Islands" 2: 1–55. Bulletin Institute of Jamaican Science.
10. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} Burton, F.J. (2004). Cyclura lewisi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 9 May 2006.
11. ^ ^{a b c} Hollingsworth, Bradford D. (2004). The Evolution of Iguanas an Overview and a Checklist of Species. University of California Press, 35–39. ISBN 9780520238541.
12. ^ ^{a b c d e} De Vosjoli, Phillipe; David Blair (1992). The Green Iguana Manual. Escondido, California: Advanced Vivarium Systems. ISBN 74886904040.
13. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Dorge, Ray (1996). "A Tour of the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana Captive-Breeding Facility". Reptiles: Guide to Keeping Reptiles and Amphibians 4 (9): 32–42.
14. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s} Blair, David (1991). "West Indian Iguanas of the Genus Cyclura: Their Current Status in the Wild, Conservation Priorities and Efforts to Breed Them in Captivity" (PDF) SE (6): 55–56. Northern California Herpetological Society.
15. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Winker, Carol. "Iguanas get royal attention", Caymanian Compass, 2007-02-08. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
16. ^ ^{a b c d e} Burton, Fred (2004). "Color and Pattern in Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas". Iguana Journal of the International Iguana Society 11 (3): 148–151.
17. ^ ^{a b c d e} Brames, Henry (2007). "Aspects of Light and Reptile Immunity". Iguana: Conservation, Natural History, and Husbandry of Reptiles 14 (1): 19–23. International Reptile Conservation Foundation.
18. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x} Alberts, Allison (2001), “Species Recovery Plan 2001 - 2006 for the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana, Cyclura nubila lewisi”, The Grand Cayman Blue Iguana - Species Recovery Plan 2001 – 2006, Grand Cayman: Blue Iguana Recovery Program, pp. 29, <http://www.blueiguana.ky/download/BlueRecovery12.pdf>
19. ^ Burton, Frederic (2005). "Salina Blues Update" (PDF) 3 (4): 5. Quarterly Update on Blue Iguana Recovery Project.
20. ^ ^{a b c} Burton, Fred (2006). "Blue Iguana Recovery Program". Iguana Journal of the International Iguana Society 13 (2): 117.
21. ^ ^{a b c} Hazard, Lisa C. (2004). Sodium and Potassium Secretion by Iguana Salt Glands. University of California Press, 84–85. ISBN 9780520238541.
22. ^ ^{a b} Adams, Colette (2004-09-01). "Requiem for Godzilla". Iguana: Journal of the International Iguana Society 11 (3): 168–172.
23. ^ ^{a b c} Adams, Colette (2004-05-26). "Obituary" (PDF). Iguana Specialist Group Newsletter 7 (1): 2.
24. ^ Iverson, John (2004). Factors Affecting Long-Term Growth of the Allen Cays Rock Iguana in the Bahamas. University of California Press, 184. ISBN 9780520238541.
25. ^ Blair, David (1983). "Dragons of the Cayman: Rock Iguanas Cling to their Islands". Oceans Magazine 16 (1): 31–33.
26. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Burton, Frederic (2007-04-01). "How to Save a Species:Grand Cayman Blues". Reptiles Magazine 15 (4): 60.
27. ^ ^{a b} Wissman, Margaret (1995). "In Search of the Grand Cayman Blue Rock Iguana". Reptiles 3 (2): 56–57.
28. ^ ^{a b c} "Hatchlings revive rarest lizard on earth", London Independent, 2006-10-06. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
29. ^ "Rare Blue Iguanas Found Butchered", National Geographic, 2008-05-06. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
30. ^ ^{a b c d e} Alberts, Allison (2004). Testing the Utility of Headstarting as a Conservation Strategy for West Indian Iguanas. University of California Press, 210. ISBN 9780520238541.
31. ^ Derr, Mark. "In Caribbean, Endangered Iguanas Get Their Day", New York Times Science Section, 2000-10-10. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
32. ^ "Breeding Success for Rare Lizards", BBC News/Science Nature, 2006-10-27. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
33. ^ ^{a b} Mani, Bina (2002-07-17). Wild Blue Iguanas plummeting towards extinction. Blue Iguana Recovery Program. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
34. ^ Seidel, M (1994). Amphibians and reptiles (exclusive of marine turtles) of the Cayman Islands. The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 434. ISBN 9780792324621.
35. ^ ^{a b c d} "Campaign on to Save Blue Iguanas", Cayman Net News, 2007-08-10. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
36. ^ ^{a b} Tickell, Oliver. "UK allowing illicit trade in endangered species'", The (London) Independent, 1999.
37. ^ ^{a b} Kenyon, Georgina. "Probe into giant iguana slaughter", BBC, 2008-05-07. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
38. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Hudson, Richard D. (2004). The Role of Zoos in the Conservation of West Indian Iguanas. University of California Press, 274–289. ISBN 9780520238541.
39. ^ Iguanas Hatch in Indianapolis (PDF). Significant Efforts in Conservation 39. Association of Zoos and Aquariums (2002). Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
40. ^ Head-starting means raising the animals in captivity from the time they hatch until they are big enough not to fall prey to feral cats and rodents, thereby offsetting the juvenile mortality rate.
41. ^ Knapp, Charles R. (2004). Translocation Strategies as a Conservation Tool for West Indian Iguanas. University of California Press, 199–209. ISBN 9780520238541.
42. ^ Hudson, Rick (2005). "Anegada Iguanas Released" (PDF) 8 (1): 2–4. International Iguana Foundation.
43. ^ Nelson, Robert (Fall 2001). "A Safe Haven for Wildlife: Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Provides Sanctuary for Iguana" (PDF). Currents: Navy Environmental News.

External links

Wikispecies has information related to:

Cyclura lewisi

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cyclura lewisi

• Podcast of an interview with Fred Burton, Director of the Blue Iguana Recovery Program
• Blue Iguana Recovery Program (B.I.R.P.)
• International Reptile Conservation Foundation
• the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, the B.I.R.P's parent organization
• International Iguana Foundation

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Iguana"

Categories: Critically endangered species | Iguanidae | Cyclura | Fauna of the Cayman Islands

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