ApocaDocuments (7) for the "Species Collapse" scenario from this week
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Sun, Feb 21, 2010
from Scientific American (per DesdemonaDespair):
Bad news for bats: white-nose syndrome reaches Tennessee
The bat-killing fungal infection known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) has spread into Tennessee for the first time. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has confirmed that infected bats were found in Worley's cave in Sullivan County, where they had been hibernating....WNS has killed hundreds of thousands of bats in the U.S. since it was discovered in New York State just three years ago, including large numbers of endangered Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis). Vermont has lost at least 95 percent of its bats since WNS was first observed within its borders.... Unfortunately, funding to help study WNS has been cut from the Obama administration's most recent budget. Congress approved $1.9 million for WNS research last year. Any continuing WNS research will now need to be funded by private and state sources. ...
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We'll just import bats from China or Mexico. Problem solved!
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Sat, Feb 20, 2010
from The ApocaDocs:
Excerpt from Converging Emergencies: Species
What got us here -- the amazing capacity for abstract thought -- is also what may kill us, because we don't think much beyond the pleasure of shooting buffalo and eating their tongues. Realizing that we may end up with no buffalo pretty damn quick, if we're killing them by the hundreds of thousands, is just one step too many.
So again -- the problem is, we're an evolved species, too. We 'Docs realize that every species wants to take over the world, whether virus or bacterium or rodent or amphibian, and that they are kept from doing so by the checks and balances of predator/prey relationships, ecosystem carrying capacity and environmental barriers.
Humans are just a lot more efficient at it than other mindful critters, and have reached thresholds never before seen in the history of the world. We're changing the chemistry of the oceans and the atmosphere and the biosphere. In so doing, we are disrupting or wiping out entire ecosystems, and the species that are intrinsic to them.
To the bats and the vultures -- see ya! we hardly knew ya!
To the amphibians and the coral -- thanks for everything!
Damn we're good at this shit. ...
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Whattaya gonna do? We had to write a book.
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Fri, Feb 19, 2010
from Telegraph.co.uk:
Penguins in Antarctica to be replaced by jellyfish due to global warming
The results of the largest ever survey of Antarctic marine life reveal melting sea ice is decimating krill populations, which form an integral part of penguins' diets.
The six-inch-long invertebrates, also eaten by other higher Southern Ocean predators such as whales and seals, are being replaced by smaller crustaceans known as copepods. These miniscule copepods, measuring just half a millimetre long, are too small for penguins but ideal for jellyfish and other similarly tentacled predators.... Any decrease in sea ice will inevitably affect the delicate balance of the Antarctic marine food chain.
For creatures such as penguins who lives on the melting sea ice, a rise in temperatures will also shrink the size of their breeding grounds. ...
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How do we film "March of the Jellyfish"?
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Thu, Feb 18, 2010
from Guardian:
Almost half of all primates face 'imminent' extinction
Almost half of the world's primate species – which include apes, monkeys and lemurs - are threatened with extinction due to the destruction of tropical forests and illegal hunting and trade.
In a report highlighting the 25 most endangered primate species, conservationists have outlined the desperate plight of primates from Madagascar, Africa, Asia and Central and South America, with some populations down to just a few dozen in number.... "All over the world, it's mainly habitat destruction that affects primates the most," said Christoph Schwitzer, head of reseaarch at the Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation and one of the authors of the report. "Illegal logging, fragmentation of forests through fires, hunting is a big issue in several African countries and also now in Madagascar. In Asia one of the main problems is trade in hearts for traditional medicine, mainly into China." ...
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Lucky for us we're not primates!
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Wed, Feb 17, 2010
from Chicago Tribune, via DesdemonaDespair:
Carp invasion 'catastrophic' for Illinois river towns
While Midwest lawmakers and the White House ratchet up efforts to keep Asian carp out of Lake Michigan, boating and fishing communities up and down the Illinois River are under siege.
In Peoria and farther downstate, invasive bighead and silver carp are so abundant that they're out-competing native fish for food, disrupting spawning habits and injuring boaters and water skiers.
In Spring Valley, an old coal-mining town 100 miles southwest of Chicago, signs proclaim the city the sauger fishing capital of the world. The Illinois River is so critical to the local economy and tourism that area residents say the town might cease to exist without it.
"Losing the river would be catastrophic, at least," said Bill Guerrini, a longtime Spring Valley resident and founder of the town's Walleye Fishing Club. "That's what we're talking about here, the loss of the river. And, unfortunately, there are a lot of people who won't realize it until it's gone." ...
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Old man river, he's tired of dying.
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Tue, Feb 16, 2010
from BBC:
Fog decline threatens US redwoods
Scientists in California say a drop in coastal fog could threaten the state's famed giant redwood trees.
Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, says such fog has decreased markedly over the past 100 years.... "Fog prevents water loss from redwoods in summer and is really important for the tree and the forest," said research co-author Professor Todd Dawson.... Dr Johnstone thinks drought stress could affect the growth of new trees and the plants and animals that depend on the redwoods. But he notes that the negative impact on the tree population is, as yet, unproven.
"We're concerned for certain, we expect some impact on the ecology but we don't have clear evidence that the redwoods are about to go extinct in the near term." ...
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"Near term" may mean something different to us than to two-thousand-year-olds redwoods.
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Mon, Feb 15, 2010
from San Jose Mercury News:
Brown pelicans washing up dead and dying on California beaches
In an ocean mystery that is baffling marine biologists, at least 1,000 brown pelicans have turned up dead or in distress along California beaches during the past month, with hundreds overwhelming wildlife rescue centers from the Bay Area to San Diego.
The popular birds, whose wing spans can reach 8 feet and who dramatically dive into ocean waters to scoop up fish, are widely reported to be hungry and disoriented.
They also appear to have some kind of substance -- possibly a naturally occurring material from a red tide or other ocean conditions -- that is causing their feathers to lose insulation properties, exposing the birds' skin to cold water and hypothermia. ...
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A red tide of brown birds.
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