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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from
View By Scenario:
Species Collapse:(7)
Plague/Virus:(2)
Climate Chaos:(11)
Resource Depletion: (6)
Biology Breach:(4)
Recovery:(16)
This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
efficiency increase  ~ alternative energy  ~ ecosystem interrelationships  ~ overfishing  ~ smart policy  ~ corporate malfeasance  ~ technological innovation  ~ unintended consequences  ~ contamination  ~ faster than expected  ~ ocean warming  



ApocaDocuments (7) for the "Species Collapse" scenario from this week
[see full week] ~ [see full Species Collapse scenario and stories]
Mon, Jul 27, 2009
from BBC (UK):
Threatened whale found wedged dead on cruise ship bow
A rare whale was discovered wedged on to the bow of a cruise ship when it docked in a Canadian port. The 70ft fin whale, a threatened species in Canada, was found when the Sapphire Princess docked at the Port of Vancouver, the cruise company said. It said it had "strict whale avoidance" measures and it was unclear where, when or how the whale became stuck. Tourists looked on as the dead whale was examined by fisheries department staff. ...


Ooops. We had been calling out "watch out, whales" but it didn't work.

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Sat, Jul 25, 2009
from London Guardian:
Dragonflies in danger of extinction seek sanctuary at new rescue centre
Dragonflies may have hovered and hunted across the planet for the last 325m years, but their modern relatives are staring extinction in the face. Experts warn that one-third of British species are now under threat, a plight that today sees the opening of the UK's first ever dragonfly centre to celebrate and protect one of the country's most fascinating insects. Located at Wicken Fen nature reserve in Cambridgeshire, the new centre hopes to reverse the decline of the 42 species found regularly in the UK. Conservationists blame the decline on the loss of wetlands, and pesticides and insecticides drifting from farmland. ...


Here NOT be dragons!

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Sat, Jul 25, 2009
from National Geographic News:
Alien-Wasp Swarms Devouring Birds, Bugs in Hawaii
Attacking from nests as big as pickup-truck beds, invasive western yellowjacket wasps in Hawaii are munching their way through an "astonishing diversity" of creatures, from caterpillars to pheasants, a new study says. Adult yellowjackets consume only nectar. But they kill or scavenge prey to deliver needed protein to their growing broods.... "They basically just carry it in their mandibles -- you see them flying with their balls of meat," said lead study author Erin Wilson, who just finished her Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego. In their native habitat in the western U.S., the wasps die off in winter. But in Hawaii the wasps survive the winter, possibly due to mild year-round temperatures or subtle genetic changes. ...


Wait a minute -- I'm meat!

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Fri, Jul 24, 2009
from VOA News:
Report: 85 Percent of World's Oyster Reefs Have Been Lost
A recent study by environmental organizations found that nearly 85 percent of the oyster reefs worldwide have been lost. But beyond providing food around the world, oyster reefs play a key role in the oceans.... "The issue is that oysters face a multitude of stresses in coastal environments; from water quality to algae blooms, to high sediment loads and some of the places are too far gone," he said. Oysters are ecosystem engineers that filter water and remove pollution and excess nutrients that can spark algae blooms. But, Luckenback says, their capacity has a limit and research shows that oysters expose to a variety of toxins have been shown to be more susceptible to diseases and death. ...


Then what will we cast before swine?

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Wed, Jul 22, 2009
from Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette:
Mosquitoes 1, Bats 0
Already on the list of endangered species, the Indiana bat is one of the six species of bats threatened by the deadly syndrome that has killed hundreds of thousands of bats in the Northeastern states. And while some may find it difficult to muster sympathy over the demise of "sky rats," they should be concerned. Bats serve the beneficial purpose of acting as nature's insecticide. If the bats die off, insect populations will skyrocket and decimate food crops. Farmers will be forced to increase the use of pesticides leading to an increase in agricultural pollution. The demise of bats means less money in farmers' pockets, less food and more environmental pollution.... According to Parham, one bat can eat between 600 and 1,000 mosquitoes and other insect pests in just one hour. ...


If only they were sky rats, they'd be able to reproduce faster than one pup per year.

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Tue, Jul 21, 2009
from Saanich News:
Bees are back as scientists uncover cause of colony collapse disorder
By the time it started to make headlines three years ago, colony collapse disorder had already wiped out thousands of hives across North America and Europe. Beekeepers and biologists were confounded as to a possible cause. Theories ranged from man-made disruptions, like cell phone radiation or pesticides, to natural causes such as solar flares, parasites or viruses.... While the science isn’t completely settled, it’s increasingly pointing to a single-celled parasite, Nosema ceranae, as the prime cause... ...


'Least my cellphone is off the hook.

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Mon, Jul 20, 2009
from Telegraph.co.uk:
Just 1000 tigers left in India
A century ago, India had about 40,000 tigers. By 1988, as a result of extensive hunting and poaching, there were just 4,500 left. Now the true figure is probably 1,000.... The decline is said to be largely down to poachers serving an insatiable demand for tiger bones, claws and skin in China, Taiwan and Korea, where they are used in traditional medicine. Other factors include electric fences erected by farmers, illegal logging and fights between male tigers over diminishing territory.... Just before my visit a gang had been caught with seven tiger skins. I was told that the men involved were from Tamil Nadu in the south and that they had struck -- with local help -- on the orders of a Nepalese-based gang. ...


A whole thousand? That's practically metric!

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