ApocaDocuments (8) for the "Species Collapse" scenario from this week
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Fri, May 22, 2009
from Center for Biological Diversity:
Massive Effort Needed to Save Bat Species From Extinction
The Center for Biological Diversity and 60 other national and regional organizations sent a letter today to members of Congress requesting increased funding for research on white-nose syndrome, a disease that has been devastating bat populations in the eastern United States over the past two years. Scientists are predicting that if current trends continue, several species of bat may be extinct in just a few years. The cause of the illness has not been definitively identified, and no cure is known.
Bats are crucial insect eaters and pollinators whose loss could leave devastating gaps in ecosystems and profoundly disrupt the food chain.
The letter was signed by scientists, farmers, and conservation, wildlife, sustainable farming, and anti-pesticide organizations. Biologists predict that the widespread loss of insect-eating bats will lead to burgeoning bug populations, including those that attack crops. Increased use of pesticides on farms may result from the bat die-off. ...
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We're starting to flap on a wing and a prayer.
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Fri, May 22, 2009
from Telegraph.co.uk:
Reptiles in Europe more at risk of extinction than birds and mammals
23 per cent of amphibians and 21 per cent of reptiles are at risk of dying out.
Most of the pressure the species in danger face comes from human destruction of their habitat, climate change, pollution and the presence of invasive species. The studies, released on International Biodiversity Day, also show that more than half of frog, toad, salamander and newt species (59 per cent) in Europe are suffering declines in their populations. And 42 per cent of reptiles are in decline, the IUCN said.... Dr Helen Temple, programme officer for the IUCN Red List unit, said: "Natural habitats across Europe are being squeezed by growing human populations, agricultural sprawl and pollution.
"That is not good news for either amphibians or reptiles." ...
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"Not good news" for humans much, either.
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Fri, May 22, 2009
from Mongabay:
85 percent of oyster reefs gone
The first global report on the state of shellfish was released today at the International Marine Conservation Congress in Washington, DC. Painting a dire picture for shellfish worldwide, the report found that 85 percent of oyster reefs have vanished.... "We're seeing an unprecedented and alarming decline in the condition of oyster reefs, a critically important habitat in the world's bays and estuaries," said Mike Beck, senior marine scientist at The Nature Conservancy and lead author of the report. Oyster reefs in North America, Europe, and Australia are particularly hard-hit with many of the reef systems considered functionally extinct. Still the majority of wild oysters come from the east coast of North America, where even these productive reefs are in decline. ...
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Thank goodness I don't even like oysters.
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Thu, May 21, 2009
from Globe and Mail (Canada):
Save the birds? Save their habitat
In fact, migratory songbirds are experiencing one of the most precipitous declines of any animal group on earth.
We have already seen startling declines in the populations of some species that depend on the boreal forest. The olive-sided flycatcher and the Canada warbler, once common boreal breeding species, are now listed as threatened by the Committee for the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Trends in long-term breeding-bird surveys have revealed population declines in flycatchers, boreal chickadees and bay-breasted warblers. In fact, more than half the birds profiled in the National Audubon Society's "20 common birds in decline" list depend on Canada's boreal forest as a breeding ground.... Yet despite its global significance, just 12 per cent of Canada's boreal forest is currently protected, while almost 500 million hectares have been handed over to industry. Oil and gas exploration, logging, mining, road building and hydro development threaten to ravage boreal regions inhabited by birds and other wildlife. ...
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Saving their habitat seems so... inefficient. Can't we just keep 'em in cages?
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Wed, May 20, 2009
from Greenpeace:
The suicidal tendencies of the Turkish tuna fishery
The Turkish government has set its own catch limit for the endangered Mediterranean bluefin tuna -- in total disregard for internationally agreed quotas and scientific advice.
The existing management plan for bluefin tuna is bad enough. By pressuring politicians to ignore the warnings of scientists, the Mediterranean tuna industry has created a suicide pact, not a management plan. Now Turkey, by objecting to even those inadequate restrictions, is telling its legal fleet to fish for everything it can before it's all gone. And to add insult to absurdity, there's still the illegal catch to consider -- and Turkey just got caught red-handed with an illegal landing of between 5 and 10 tons of juvenile bluefin tuna in the Turkish port of Karaburun.... Since 2006, scientists have been sounding the alarm on the dire state of the bluefin tuna stock. They have advised not to fish above a maximum of 15,000 tons, and to protect the species’ spawning grounds during the crucial months of May and June. But the spawning grounds are ravaged by industrial fleets every year and the actual haul has been estimated at a shocking 61,100 tons in 2007, twice the legal catch for that year, and more than four times the scientifically recommended level. ...
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Gettin' while the gettin' is good is a good way to gettin' gone.
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Tue, May 19, 2009
from UPI:
Study predicts worldwide coral catastrophe
An Australian-led World Wild Life study predicts worldwide catastrophic losses of coral by the end of this century due to climate change.
The WWF-commissioned study, led by University of Queensland Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, determined coral reefs could disappear entirely from the Coral Triangle region of the Pacific Ocean, thereby threatening the food supply and livelihoods for about 100 million people.
Researchers said averting such a catastrophe will depend on quick and effective global action on climate change, as well as implementation of regional solutions to problems of over-fishing and pollution.... ...
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Quick and effective global action. That's all.
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Tue, May 19, 2009
from BBC (UK):
Dragonflies face uncertain future
At least one in ten species of dragonfly and damselfly are threatened with extinction, according to the first world survey of their numbers.
The figure may be an underestimate as so little is known about many species.
However, the news is not all bad. The survey published in Biological Conservation is the first to assess the vulnerability of any insect group on a global scale.
And it suggests the extinction risk faced by insects has been exaggerated.... "Amphibians are more threatened than dragonflies in general," says Clausnitzer. Amphibians are being particularly afflicted by the deadly chytrid fungus. "Another difference is that adult dragonflies are more mobile. If one site is destroyed they still have the chance to fly to another site, which frogs don't have."
They also seem less to be less threatened than the mammals, but at a similar level of risk as birds.
"We were a bit surprised that the dragonflies are not that bad off," says Clausnitzer. ...
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So the threat-o-meter for dragonflies isn't as bad as mammals and amphibians. And birds. Well, whew!.
ApocaDoc
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Mon, May 18, 2009
from Mongabay:
Orangutan population in Borneo park plunges 90 percent in 5 years
The population of orangutans in Indonesia's Kutai National Park has plunged by 90 percent in the past five years due to large-scale deforestation promoted by local authorities, reports The Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP), an Indonesian environmental group.
According to park officials interviewed by COP, the population of morio orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) declined from 600 in 2004 to 30-60 this year. COP attributes the drop to state-sponsored colonization of the Kutai, which has led to hunting and forest clearing.... "The root of the problem with the Kutai National Park is a breach of duty committed by officials to get political and financial advantages. They gave away land spaces to people to win their votes in the local administration elections. They also mobilize people to seize the national park area. Their strategy to win people's hearts by giving away the land seemed successful." ...
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Orangutans are probably smart enough to vote. Too bad they're such a minority.
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