Some research suggests that the variety of chemicals and pathogens found in liquid manure can have serious health impacts, ranging from respiratory disease to potentially lethal antibiotic resistant infections. Opponents fear wider use of manure irrigation will increase the risk of human illnesses.
The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has reported the growth of the revolting practice of using water irrigation systems to squirt manure over farmland. So far, 14 of Wisconsin’s 258 dairy factory farms, known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), are using the practice, which involves spraying fine mists of dung out of commercial sprinklers. Nearly all of North Carolina’s hog farms do likewise. The practice is also used in Iowa, Michigan, and other Midwestern farming states.
Some research suggests that the variety of chemicals and pathogens found in liquid manure can have serious health impacts, ranging from respiratory disease to potentially lethal antibiotic resistant infections. Opponents fear wider use of manure irrigation will increase the risk of human illnesses.
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There has been emerging evidence recently that camels play a crucial role in spreading Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, which may extend far beyond the Middle East. As a result, scientists are shifting their focus from human cases to camels to decipher a solution. One idea gaining traction is to vaccinate camels. However, vaccines against coronaviruses, the group to which MERS belongs, are difficult to make, and researchers face multiple hurdles. Additionally, there are very few labs capable of safely studying deadly viruses in animals as big and "unruly" as camels.
Read more here. Fun fact: Contrary to popular belief, a camel’s humps are not full of water. They are mounds of fat that allow a camel to travel days without stopping to eat. They can carry up to 80 lbs of fat, and baby camels do not grow humps until they begin eating solid food. Also, a camel can drink up to 20 gallons of water at a time! Photo Credit: ScienceMag.org Cougars may have survived the mass extinction that took place about 12,000 years ago because they were not particular about what they ate, unlike their more finicky cousins the saber-tooth cat and American lion who perished, according a new analysis of the microscopic wear marks on the teeth of fossil cougars, saber-tooth cats and American lions, described in the April 23 issue of the journal Biology Letters.
The goal of the study was to examine the possibility that dietary factors can explain the cougar's survival, according to Larisa R.G. DeSantis, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at Vanderbilt University, who co-authored the study with Ryan Haupt at the University of Wyoming. For their investigation, DeSantis and Haupt employed a new technique called "dental microwear texture analysis" (DMTA). DMTA uses a confocal microscope to produce a three-dimensional image of the surface of a tooth. The image is then analyzed for microscopic wear patterns. The analysis of the teeth of modern carnivores, including hyenas, cheetahs and lions has established that the meals an animal consumes during the last few weeks of its life leave telltale marks. Eating red meat, for example, produces small parallel scratches while chomping on bones adds larger, deeper pits. The researchers analyzed the teeth of 50 fossil and modern cougars, and compared them with the teeth of saber-tooth cats and American lions excavated from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles and the teeth of modern African carnivores including cheetahs, lions and hyenas. Among the La Brea cougars the researchers found significantly greater variation between individuals than they did in the other large cats, including saber-tooths. Some of the cougars show wear patterns similar to those of the finicky eaters but on others they found wear patterns closer to those of modern hyenas, which consume almost the entire body of their prey, bones included. Photo Credit: ENN.com A new analysis of NASA satellite data shows Africa's Congo rain forest, the second-largest tropical rain forest in the world, has undergone a large-scale decline in "greenness" over the past 10 years.
Scientists use the satellite-derived "greenness" of forest regions as one indicator of a forest's health. While this study looks specifically at the impact of a persistent drought in the Congo region since 2000, researchers say that a continued drying trend might alter the composition and structure of the Congo rain forest, affecting its biodiversity and carbon storage. Read more here. Photo Credit: ScienceDaily.com In honor of Earth Day yesterday, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) 96 elephants campaign released exactly 96 seconds of video footage of playful baby elephants to celebrate Earth Day, and to draw attention to the fact that 96 elephants are killed every day in Africa by poachers.
The campaign has already achieved success with the recent announcement by the Obama administration of a federal ban on most ivory sales. The campaign’s next steps are to pass state moratoria and close loopholes that would allow ivory to continue to be traded, as well as work with other nations on moratoria. New York State has already introduced legislation to ban the sale of ivory. The public overwhelmingly supports banning ivory sales - a recent independent survey in New York State shows that 80% of voters support a ban of ivory. To learn more about the elephant crisis and how to help eradicate the demand for ivory, click here. Although there has been a big push for sea turtle conservation, populations continue to decline. In fact, according to conservation scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and University of Florida, over-fishing is to blame for more than 170,000 green turtles (Chelonia mydas) deaths between 1991 and 2011.
The decreasing trend in catch rates indicates the need for take limits on legal, artisanal green sea turtle fisheries as a 20-year assessment of a Nicaragua's fishery has indicated that overall turtle catch rate is becoming unsustainable. Caribbean coastal waters of Nicaragua contain extensive areas of sea grass, the principal food source for green turtles (the only herbivorous sea turtle species). Green turtles in turn support a number of indigenous Miskitu and Afro-descendent communities that rely on the marine reptiles for income and as a source of protein. Over the duration of the assessment, the scientists recorded that at least 155,762 green turtles were caught, and they estimated a total catch of 171,556 turtles. The average catch rate per fishing trip revealed an overall decline from 6.5 turtles to 2.8 turtles caught, representing a 56% decline over two decades. The study appears in the online journal PLOS ONE. Read more here. Photo Credit: WCS.org "Narco-Deforestation", a new term that refers to the destruction of forests and ecosystems in Central and South America, is now being identified as a greater threat to South and Central American forests than other previously identified concerns such as legal logging and development. Drug traffickers are creating new auto-routes and airplane strips, to allow for greater accessibility, throughout forests and jungles. These routes make it easier to transport drugs to and from other regions.
Kendra McSweeney, the co-author of "Drug Policy as Conservation Policy: Narco-Deforestation" says: "These protected ecological zones have become the hub for South American cocaine." For example, the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO world heritage site in Honduras was destroyed. Although the narco-deforestation trends were preceded by illegal logging practices in the region, they are both now major threats to the maintenance of biodiversity throughout these regions. Specifically, some of what logging causes us to lose:
And if you didn't think it could get worse, think again. Drug traffickers are also taking their illegal profits and investing in cattle ranches and palm oil plants. Additionally, narco-deforestation threatens indigenous communities living in the forests. Read more here. Photo Credit: Nimbuseco.com A new study shows that a surprisingly large amount of the seafood sold in United States markets is caught illegally. To be more specific, 90% of U.S. seafood is imported, and according to a new study in the journal Marine Policy, as much as a third of that is caught illegally or without proper documentation.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) - also called "pirate fishing" - traps seafood companies, supermarkets, and consumers alike in a trade that is arguably as problematic as trafficking in elephant tusks, rhino horns, and tiger bones. According to the study, up to 40% of tuna imported to the U.S. from Thailand is pirated, followed by up to 45% of pollock imports from China, and a whopping 70% of salmon imports. Thankfully, government agencies and international maritime regulators are stepping up and have begun taking counter-measures in order to curb illegal trade. Just last month, the European Union banned the importation of fish from Belize, Cambodia, and Guinea, alleging that those nations either sold flags of convenience (registrations having nothing to do with the location of the actual owners) or otherwise failed to cooperate in efforts to stop illegal fishing. The EU also issued "yellow card" warnings to Curaçao, Ghana, and South Korea. The U.S. also acted early this month, with the U.S. Senate approving 4 purposed with limiting illegal fish imports. The most important of them was the "port state measures" agreement, under which 11 coastal nations have committed to keep foreign ships suspected of illegal fishing out of their ports. Unfortunately, that treaty still requires approval by 14 other countries, meaning it will be several years before it takes effect. Finally, in December the International Maritime Organization (IMO)approved a requirement that every fishing vessel of 100 tons or larger must have an identifying number (similar to a license plate having a specific number for each vehicle). That will make it harder to disguise an illegal catch by simply swapping a vessel around to different companies or different flags of convenience, says Tony Long, director of the Ending Illegal Fishing Project for the Pew Charitable Trusts. It will also close a loophole that has made it convenient to use fishing vessels in drug deals, gun running, and other criminal activities. Read more here. Photo Credit: ENN.com Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to an animal - usually our pets, or the cuddly ones like giant pandas! However, in a paper published by the journal Biodiversity Conservation, researchers suggest that "anthropomorphism" is overlooked as a powerful tool for promoting low-profile species that are either endangered or require urgent attention.
More specifically, anthropomorphism in conservation is currently limited to popular, social, intelligent animals, such as apes, polar bears, pandas, dolphins, etc. This generally implies that other species that are less "cute" are not as worthy of conservation because they are not like humans in the 'right' ways. However, according to this research, making conservationists more aware of how people construct anthropomorphic meanings around species, along with how they engage with species and attribute value to their characteristics (like emotions to pets or livestock), they can create conservation programs which "speak to people through their cultural expectations and emotional connections". Read more about this topic here. Photo Credit: ScienceDaily.com The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) was one of the first species to be listed under the Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1966 when the population was drastically reduced to just a handful of birds. Through a massive collaborative effort, the condor population has grown to more than 400 birds, with more free-flying in the wild. Unfortunately, there is overwhelming evidence that lead poisoning from accidental ingestion of spent ammunition is the leading cause of death in the wild population, which may prevent the establishment of self-sustaining populations.
"After reviewing nearly 20 years of our mortality data on the free-ranging birds, it became clear that lead poisoning is the primary problem for the birds in the wild. And this is not just a problem for California condors. We can view them as an indicator species, warning us about the hazards of widespread lead contamination in the environment." said Bruce Rideout, director of the wildlife disease laboratories for San Diego Zoo Global. Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is extremely difficult, and conservation efforts are not easy. This species has had great success in regaining numbers thus far, and hopefully California officials will recognize this problem sooner rather than later. Do you want to help? Click here to learn about 'Condor Watch'. This is a new web site aimed towards enlisting the help of citizen scientists in hopes of gaining data/research that may help reduce lead poisoning in Condor's. Condor Watch asks volunteers to look at photos of condors taken by motion-activated cameras at sites where condors are fed as part of regular management activities. By identifying the tag number of each condor and describing its behavior, citizen scientists will help researchers understand condor social networks and other factors that may be related to lead poisoning. Photo Credit: ScienceDaily.com |