1. Expertos de todo el mundo piden una acción coordinada para salvar al tigre.
Katmandú.- Representantes de Gobiernos y expertos en vida salvaje recomendaron hoy en Nepal una actuación coordinada en varios frentes como la protección del hábitat natural y la lucha contra el tráfico ilegal para salvar la población mundial de tigres, que en el último siglo se ha reducido de forma drástica. Más de 250 expertos, incluidos científicos y conservacionistas, de 13 de los 14 países con población de felinos y otros como el Reino Unido, EEUU y Noruega, se han reunido esta semana en Katmandú para discutir el futuro del animal y han elaborado un borrador de recomendaciones.
El documento señala como ámbitos de acción la lucha contra el tráfico ilegal, la protección del hábitat natural de los tigres y la mejora de las condiciones de vida de las comunidades que viven en sus alrededores, además de campañas de concienciación social.
Estas recomendaciones "ayudarán a los Gobiernos a preparar políticas apropiadas para salvar el tigre", dijo a Efe Jeffery McNeely, que lleva 40 años dedicado a la lucha por la conservación de esta especie felina.
La caída de la población mundial de tigres no es un fenómeno nuevo. Los expertos calculan que la población mundial del tigre salvaje pasó de un censo de 100.000 a principios del siglo XX a unos 35.000 en 1960 y 3.500 en la actualidad.
Tres especies de tigre -los de Java y Bali en Indonesia y el del Caspio en Rusia- se extinguieron en el siglo pasado.
Hoy el sur y sudeste asiático y Rusia albergan sólo seis especies de tigres salvajes.
Los expertos no ocultan su preocupación. La demanda creciente de órganos de tigres para su uso en la medicina tradicional china (pese a su prohibición desde 1993), el aumento de la población mundial y la degradación del hábitat del tigre son algunas de las causas que contribuyen a su gradual desaparición.
"Los esfuerzos por la conservación hasta ahora han fracasado. No hemos logrado salvar al tigre", reconoció McNeely.
Como recordó el científico, en las décadas de 1960 y 1970, "los Gobiernos crearon reservas para tigres y pensaron que el tigre estaba a salvo".
Pero "hace falta un esfuerzo consistente", demandó.
El investigador John Seidensticker del Instituto Smithsonian de Washington explicó a Efe que en los últimos diez años se ha perdido al menos el 40 por ciento de los hábitat del tigre, lo que ha mermado también la población de ciervos y cerdos, alimento básico del felino.
De acuerdo con el jefe científico de la organización World Wildlife Fund, Eric Dinerstein, en la superficie de hábitat disponible actualmente podrían vivir entre 20.000 y 35.000 tigres.
Seidensticker mostró su esperanza en que los próximos encuentros internacionales para debatir el futuro del felino logren recuperar la preocupación mundial por la biodiversidad.
"La biodiversidad se ha quedado en segundo plano (ante la preocupación mundial) por el cambio climático", lamentó.
Los expertos reunidos en la capital nepalí constataron también que los ministerios de Medio Ambiente no pueden revertir solos la lenta extinción del tigre, sino que han de sumarse los esfuerzos de otros departamentos como los de Interior y Economía.
La conferencia de cuatro días que concluyó hoy en Katmandú "ha creado una plataforma de cooperación entre los Gobiernos", subrayó Siedensticker, quien constató que estos "han de trabajar juntos para salvar al tigre".
Dentro de los esfuerzos internacionales por salvar al felino, en enero de 2010 se celebrará una reunión ministerial en Tailandia en la que se espera que los Gobiernos implicados alcancen un compromiso conjunto para abordar la situación.
A esa reunión seguirá una cumbre en Rusia en octubre del mismo año.
COMENTARIO
Se están haciendo campañas
para proteger al tigre, ya que en el último siglo se ha reducido su número de
ejemplares. En Katmandú se ha llegado al acuerdo de luchar contra el tráfico
ilegal, la protección del hábitat natural de los tigres y la mejora de las
condiciones de vida de las comunidades que viven en sus alrededores. Tres especies de tigre se
extinguieron en el siglo pasado.
En Rusia sólo se encuentran seis especies de tigres salvajes., y en
China se utilizan los órganos del tigre para su uso en la medicina tradicional.
John Seidensticker, del Instituto Smithsonian de Washington
explicó a Efe que en los últimos diez años se ha perdido un 40 % de los hábitat
del tigre. Según Seidensticker "La biodiversidad se ha quedado en segundo
plano por el cambio climático", la
conferencia de Katmandú "ha creado
una plataforma de cooperación entre los Gobiernos" y constató que estos
"han de trabajar juntos para salvar al tigre".
2. Las carencias en el acceso al agua provocan más de 5.000 muertes al día.
El Día Mundial del Agua (22 de marzo), celebrado por 1ª vez en 1993, llega a su vigésimo aniversario con aún mucha lucha por delante para conseguir una distribución justa del agua.
Si el acceso al agua es una derecho inherente a todos los seres humanos, algo no funciona para que, en pleno siglo XXI, en el mundo todavía haya 783 millones de personas que carecen de acceso al agua y 2.500 millones que no disponen de saneamiento básico.
Naciones Unidas considera que “la buena gestión y la cooperación entre los diferentes grupos de usuarios promueven el acceso al agua, la lucha contra su escasez y contribuyen a la reducción de la pobreza”.
La CONGDE, a la que pertenece Manos Unidas, señala que “una gestión adecuada del agua, su acceso suficiente y saludable garantizado son instrumentos eficaces para la construcción de la paz. Por el contrario, no disponer del recurso en cantidad y calidad suficientes para una vida digna, se convierte en catalizador de pobreza e inestabilidad social y de degradación.
COMENTARIO
Más de 5.000 personas mueren al día debido a la imposibilidad del acceso a ella. El 22 de marzo es el Día Mundial del Agua, y este año ha sido su XX aniversario. Según la CONGDE, el acceso al agua y una gestión de ésta son hechos eficaces para conseguir la paz.
3. Botánicos japoneses descubren una nueva especie de planta carnívora.
Esta planta también se puede encontrar en numerosas áreas del archipiélago nipón desde la región de Kanto hasta la de Kyushu.
TOKIO, JAPÓN (05/ABR/2013).- Botánicos de la Universidad de Aichi (centro de Japón) han descubierto, tras realizar pruebas genéticas, una nueva variedad de planta carnívora que crece únicamente en esa prefectura, informó hoy la facultad nipona.
Aunque en un primer momento los investigadores pensaban que la planta insectívora, dotada de flores púrpuras y rojizas, pertenecía a la misma especie que las "Droseras indicas", caracterizadas por sus flores blancas, finalmente concluyeron que se trata de un nuevo espécimen.
Al frente del equipo de científicos se encuentra el profesor Mikio Watanabe, experto en clasificación botánica, que llevó a cabo un análisis genético de la planta que le ha permitido determinar que se trata de una nueva variedad de planta carnívora.
La "Drosera indica", presente en países tropicales, India e incluso África, se puede encontrar en numerosas áreas del archipiélago nipón desde la región de Kanto (centro) hasta la de Kyushu (suroreste).
Tras descubrir esta nueva variedad, Watanabe planea ahora "estudiar cómo la nueva planta ha sido capaz de llegar desde el continente y cómo ha logrado diversificarse en varias especies diferentes", afirmó en declaraciones recogidas por la agencia de noticias Kyodo.
Tras descubrir esta nueva variedad, Watanabe planea ahora "estudiar cómo la nueva planta ha sido capaz de llegar desde el continente y cómo ha logrado diversificarse en varias especies diferentes", afirmó en declaraciones recogidas por la agencia de noticias Kyodo.
http://www.informador.com.mx/tecnologia/2013/449129/6/botanicos-japoneses-descubren-una-nueva-especie-de-planta-carnivora.htm
COMENTARIO
El pasado 5 de abril de 2013, botánicos de la Universidad de Aichi, Japón, descubrieron una nueva especie de planta carnívora, con flores púrpuras y rojizas. El profesor Mikio Watanabe fue el que determinó que se trata de una nueva variedad de planta carnívora, la cual se encuentra en el archipiélago nipón de Kanto y Kyushu, y pretende estudiar cómo se ha diversificado la planta en varias especies diferentes y cómo ha sido capaz de llegar desde el continente.
4. Frogs, Salamanders and Climate Change.
May 18, 2013 — By day, insects provide the whitin noise of the South, but the night belongs to the amphibians. In a typical year, the Southern air hangs heavy from the humidity and the sounds of wildlife. The Southeast, home to more than 140 species of frogs, toads and salamanders, is the center of amphibian biodiversity in our nation. If the ponds and swamps are the auditorium for their symphonic choruses, the scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey's Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative, or ARMI, have front-row seats.
Amphibians, which rely on water for part or all of their life cycle, must adjust to often atypical weather. Some years bring heavy deluges, such as the region's notorious hurricanes, and others bring the transformations that come with drought. Amphibians around the world seem to be experiencing the worst declines documented among vertebrates. While habitat loss is the number one reason for population declines, research suggests that disease, invasive species, contaminants and perhaps other factors contribute to declines in protected areas.
And then there's climate change, another stressor for amphibians to contend with. Climate change projections indicate that rainfall will increasingly come in pulses, with greater deluges and longer periods of drought. Scientists have long suspected that climate change is an important factor in amphibian declines, and resource managers are asking whether conservation measures might help species persist or adapt in a changing climate. Three recent U.S. Geological Survey studies offer some insight into the issue.
Why amphibians?
Amphibians, which are declining throughout the world, play an important role in ecological systems. They eat small creatures, including mosquitos, and they are food themselves for larger creatures, such as birds and snakes. Because amphibians are the middle of the food chain -- and sensitive to environmental disruption because of their aquatic or semi-aquatic lives -- their existence is often used as an indication of ecosystem health.
Scientists in ARMI, a program started by Congress in 2000 in response to concerns about amphibian declines, have been working to unravel the ups and downs of amphibian populations to support effective conservation and resource management decisions. To do this, ARMI scientists and field crews monitor the status of amphibians, research the causes of declines, and scientifically evaluate projects undertaken to sustain these species and their habitats across the country.
Pond life -- it's not easy being green!
ARMI scientists looked at a range of amphibian species found in the Southeast and posed the question, "What will happen to their populations under a scenario of changes in rainfall patterns -- more deluges alternating with droughts -- which is being predicted by current climate models?"
It turns out that understanding how climate affects amphibians requires "thinking like the ponds" in which they live. Amphibians have unique life cycles -- most alternate between living in water as juveniles, to maturing and dispersing on land, then returning to water again as adults to mate and lay eggs.
When USGS scientists reviewed what was known about amphibian responses to rainfall, it turned out that both extremes in rainfall -- drought and heavy rainfall events -- can decrease the number of amphibians. The amphibians' response depends on a balance between these two key factors. If ponds dry up while aquatic juveniles are developing, survival of the next generation is lowered. However, if a deluge occurs at that time, nearby pools that often contain fish will be physically connected with the pools containing juvenile amphibians, and the fish will eat the juveniles.
In essence, the study showed that extreme rainfall events are key to predicting amphibian responses to climate, because such events affect the amount and timing of water in ponds that they depend on. The full review of species' responses was published in March 2013 edition of the journal Biology.
Drought and declining salamanders
Knowing that each species responds to droughts and deluges based on the particulars of their biology, scientists set out to test just how these dynamics played out in the southeastern U.S. by looking at larval mole salamanders in small isolated ponds in St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge, Florida.
Larval mole salamanders have a similar life cycle to the flatwoods salamander, a federally threatened species found on the refuge. Because it is difficult to study the flatwoods salamander directly, and mole salamanders are ecologically similar, scientists study the mole salamander instead, knowing that whatever affects them will likely impact the flatwoods salamander as well.
In the four years of the study, drought consistently decreased salamander occupancy in ponds. To support young salamanders, rain has to fill a pond during the breeding season and then the pond has to stay filled long enough for larvae to transform into the next life stage. Therefore, scientists confirmed that drought did indeed cause short-term declines in mole salamanders -- suggesting that the listed flatwoods salamander may face a similar fate under climate change.
The results of the mole salamander study are published in the April 2013 edition of the journal Wetlands.
Can habitat conservation make a difference for frogs and toads?
To answer this question, USGS scientists examined whether the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service Wetlands Reserve Program was helping address the problem. The Wetlands Reserve Program is a voluntary USDA program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. To assess the potential benefit of WRP restoration to amphibians, in this case, frogs and toads, USGS scientists surveyed 30 randomly selected WRP sites and 20 nearby agricultural sites in the Mississippi Delta in northwest Mississippi.
The scientists found that WRP sites had more kinds of species and was home to more numbers of amphibians than the agricultural sites studied. The restoration of wetland hydrology appeared to provide the most immediate benefit to the animals.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130518153747.htm
COMENT
The Southeast, where more than 140 species of frogs, toads and salamanders live, is the center of biodiversity of amphibians in our nation. Amphibians need water to live. Research suggests that the disease, invasive species, pollutants and other factors may contribute to the decline of protected areas.
Climate change is another factor for amphibian decline. They feed on small animals, including mosquitoes, and are themselves food for larger animals, such as birds and snakes, are the middle of the food chain.
ARMI scientists, work to maintain these species and their habitats. Drought and heavy rains can reduce the number of amphibians. The drought is the cause of the decline of salamanders. Scientists discovered that there were more kinds of species, like frogs and toads.
If climate continue changing, those animals will disapear. We sould avoid it.
5. A new species of blue poppy from Bhutan.
Amphibians, which rely on water for part or all of their life cycle, must adjust to often atypical weather. Some years bring heavy deluges, such as the region's notorious hurricanes, and others bring the transformations that come with drought. Amphibians around the world seem to be experiencing the worst declines documented among vertebrates. While habitat loss is the number one reason for population declines, research suggests that disease, invasive species, contaminants and perhaps other factors contribute to declines in protected areas.
And then there's climate change, another stressor for amphibians to contend with. Climate change projections indicate that rainfall will increasingly come in pulses, with greater deluges and longer periods of drought. Scientists have long suspected that climate change is an important factor in amphibian declines, and resource managers are asking whether conservation measures might help species persist or adapt in a changing climate. Three recent U.S. Geological Survey studies offer some insight into the issue.
Why amphibians?
Amphibians, which are declining throughout the world, play an important role in ecological systems. They eat small creatures, including mosquitos, and they are food themselves for larger creatures, such as birds and snakes. Because amphibians are the middle of the food chain -- and sensitive to environmental disruption because of their aquatic or semi-aquatic lives -- their existence is often used as an indication of ecosystem health.
Scientists in ARMI, a program started by Congress in 2000 in response to concerns about amphibian declines, have been working to unravel the ups and downs of amphibian populations to support effective conservation and resource management decisions. To do this, ARMI scientists and field crews monitor the status of amphibians, research the causes of declines, and scientifically evaluate projects undertaken to sustain these species and their habitats across the country.
Pond life -- it's not easy being green!
ARMI scientists looked at a range of amphibian species found in the Southeast and posed the question, "What will happen to their populations under a scenario of changes in rainfall patterns -- more deluges alternating with droughts -- which is being predicted by current climate models?"
It turns out that understanding how climate affects amphibians requires "thinking like the ponds" in which they live. Amphibians have unique life cycles -- most alternate between living in water as juveniles, to maturing and dispersing on land, then returning to water again as adults to mate and lay eggs.
When USGS scientists reviewed what was known about amphibian responses to rainfall, it turned out that both extremes in rainfall -- drought and heavy rainfall events -- can decrease the number of amphibians. The amphibians' response depends on a balance between these two key factors. If ponds dry up while aquatic juveniles are developing, survival of the next generation is lowered. However, if a deluge occurs at that time, nearby pools that often contain fish will be physically connected with the pools containing juvenile amphibians, and the fish will eat the juveniles.
In essence, the study showed that extreme rainfall events are key to predicting amphibian responses to climate, because such events affect the amount and timing of water in ponds that they depend on. The full review of species' responses was published in March 2013 edition of the journal Biology.
Drought and declining salamanders
Knowing that each species responds to droughts and deluges based on the particulars of their biology, scientists set out to test just how these dynamics played out in the southeastern U.S. by looking at larval mole salamanders in small isolated ponds in St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge, Florida.
Larval mole salamanders have a similar life cycle to the flatwoods salamander, a federally threatened species found on the refuge. Because it is difficult to study the flatwoods salamander directly, and mole salamanders are ecologically similar, scientists study the mole salamander instead, knowing that whatever affects them will likely impact the flatwoods salamander as well.
In the four years of the study, drought consistently decreased salamander occupancy in ponds. To support young salamanders, rain has to fill a pond during the breeding season and then the pond has to stay filled long enough for larvae to transform into the next life stage. Therefore, scientists confirmed that drought did indeed cause short-term declines in mole salamanders -- suggesting that the listed flatwoods salamander may face a similar fate under climate change.
The results of the mole salamander study are published in the April 2013 edition of the journal Wetlands.
Can habitat conservation make a difference for frogs and toads?
To answer this question, USGS scientists examined whether the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service Wetlands Reserve Program was helping address the problem. The Wetlands Reserve Program is a voluntary USDA program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. To assess the potential benefit of WRP restoration to amphibians, in this case, frogs and toads, USGS scientists surveyed 30 randomly selected WRP sites and 20 nearby agricultural sites in the Mississippi Delta in northwest Mississippi.
The scientists found that WRP sites had more kinds of species and was home to more numbers of amphibians than the agricultural sites studied. The restoration of wetland hydrology appeared to provide the most immediate benefit to the animals.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130518153747.htm
COMENT
The Southeast, where more than 140 species of frogs, toads and salamanders live, is the center of biodiversity of amphibians in our nation. Amphibians need water to live. Research suggests that the disease, invasive species, pollutants and other factors may contribute to the decline of protected areas.
Climate change is another factor for amphibian decline. They feed on small animals, including mosquitoes, and are themselves food for larger animals, such as birds and snakes, are the middle of the food chain.
ARMI scientists, work to maintain these species and their habitats. Drought and heavy rains can reduce the number of amphibians. The drought is the cause of the decline of salamanders. Scientists discovered that there were more kinds of species, like frogs and toads.
If climate continue changing, those animals will disapear. We sould avoid it.
5. A new species of blue poppy from Bhutan.
Wednesday, October 17th, 2012
A blue- flowered Meconopsis (blue poppy) which was earlier confused with Meconopsis discigera is found to be a new species, Meconopsis bhutanica Tosh. Yoshida & Grey-Wilson. According to the authors who described the species, it is known only from the region around the northern watershed between the catchments of the two rivers, Paro Chu and Thimpu Chu in western Bhutan. This would mean that it could be a potential endemic plant species. Currently, Bhutan has a record of 105 endemic plant species.
http://www.nbc.gov.bt/news/a-new-species-of-blue-poppy-from-bhutan.html
COMENT
A blue- flowered Meconopsis (blue poppy) which was earlier confused with Meconopsis discigera is found to be a new species, Meconopsis bhutanica Tosh. Yoshida & Grey-Wilson. According to the authors who described the species, it is known only from the region around the northern watershed between the catchments of the two rivers, Paro Chu and Thimpu Chu in western Bhutan. This would mean that it could be a potential endemic plant species. Currently, Bhutan has a record of 105 endemic plant species.
http://www.nbc.gov.bt/news/a-new-species-of-blue-poppy-from-bhutan.html
COMENT
Last Wednesday 17 October, was found a new species of blue poppy between the basins of the rivers Chu Chu Paro and Thimpu, in Bhutan, which has 105 species of endemic plants.
Maybe, if they go on searching more, they will discover more endemic plants species.
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