Travis Eller
National Geographic
"Seven Energy-Smart Zoos and Aquariums"
Brian Handwerk, May 23, 2013

This article is about a zoo in Seattle that has taken up a bunch of new energy efficient features. They use a large amount of water and energy to periodically drain the different exhibits in the zoo to clean the water and generally keep them hygienic for the animals. Previously this had required a huge amount of water and energy to be used and was incredibly wasteful. Now they have installed a new water filtration system that would be loved by people who are ecocentric. This new system simulates how the environment would keep it's water supply clean. The water is put through an engineered version of the water cycle using evaporation and rainwater collection. Not only is this water system more efficient for the zoo, it also prevents the dirty water from the zoo from ending up in the Puget Sound (body of water next to Seattle). Another very cool part of the new water system is the fact that it uses plant roots in another part of the zoo to filter the water before it is put back in the habitats of the zoo's animals. This is a great example of being able to use a natural solution to a modern problem. Instead of using modern cleaning processes which can include nasty chemicals this zoo has come up with an interesting "green" way to do the job.
One interesting thing about this article for me personally is that I have been to this zoo before. It was one of the things I loved to do when I visited Seattle. I think that I owe a large part of my appreciation of nature to the fact that I was able to see so many amazing animals at this zoo.

Outback Tornado
National Geographic
Ker Than
September 20th, 2012

This article is about a video shot by an Australian News crew. They were in the outback filming a wildfire that had been raging and they ended up getting a fire tornado on camera.  To the film crew and those who saw it on tv this was an incredibly rare occurrence and something that is pretty amazing to see. One of the witnesses described it as the sound of a jet flying directly overhead when there was absolutely no wind in the area surrounding them. This would seem to be an incredibly unlikely event in nature but as the article says its actually some what common. The reason we think these are uncommon is because the majority of the time they happen it is without a human witness. The way this applies to our ESS class is the fact that humans don't see a lot of things in nature. We do not necessarily see the impact we make on the environment immediately, if even at all. What we need to do is be constantly vigilant in the environmental to changes that could have been caused by human activity. Otherwise there could be an enormous change in an ecosystem without our knowledge simply because we haven't looked.

Study: Coffee May Reduce Risk of Oral Cancer

A recent study has shown that the consumption of coffee regularly may lower the risks of an individual having  oral/pharyngeal cancer- meaning mouth, throat, and lung cancer. This study says that people who drank four cups of coffee a day are 50% less likely to get oral/pharyngeal cancer than people who drink coffee irregularly or not at all. This study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology December of 2012, so fairly recently. When the experiment was done, no link was found with decaffeinated coffee or tea, but the link was found through testing and analysis and surveys that people who drink coffee regularly are less likely to suffer from these types of cancer. This article got me wondering. We were always told not to drink too much coffee, but now it is said that because of the antioxidants and other substances coffee may prevent cancer. Who is to be listened to? What old medicine has been saying for years, or a recent discovery? Overall, the biggest prevention to lung, throat, or mouth cancer is not smoking, and coffee may simply help a bit. Overall, even though this information is tested and true in some cases, drinking four coffee cups a day may have other side effects, therefore making a balance between drinking some coffee, but not too much is probably the best option :-)

Frog Once Imported for Pregnancy Testing Brought Deadly Amphibian Disease to U.S.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130515174350.htm

According to a recent study, the African Clawed Frog, a frog originally imported to the US for pregnancy tests, carried a highly infectious and deadly amphibian disease to the US.

It was long suspected that these frogs carried a fungus called batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, more commonly referred to as Bd, to the US. It has been speculated that this fungus has led to over 200 populations of different species of frogs to decline and in some cases go extinct. A previous study revealed that the fungus was originally discovered in South Africa, where the African Clawed Frog originated. The populations of these frogs in the US have not been tested for this fungus until now.

SF State biologist Vance Vredenburg said that a population of African Clawed Frogs that was introduced to California was found to be carrying the fungus. He also adds that these frogs may be responsible for introducing a deadly, non-native disease to amphibians in the US.

These frogs will ovulate when they are injected with the urine of a pregnant woman. This is why they were widely exported across the world between the 1930’s and 1950’s. They were also used for scientific research and kept as pets. Vredenburg suspects that these frogs are found close to urban areas because they may have been released by hospitals into the wild as new methods of pregnancy testing were developed. The reason why these frogs are so dangerous is the fact that they can carry the disease for a very long time without dying, which increases the risk of contaminating other species or individuals.

These frogs are still being imported into the states. Not for pregnancy tests, but for medical research and basic scientific research. Eleven states have already banned the importation of these species. 

Vredenburg stated that we must be very careful today with the food and pet trade because we may potentially be importing diseases that we don’t know about yet.

I chose this article because it relates to what we have learned about in ESS, regarding invasive species and factors that may lead to the loss of biodiversity. The conditions in California were perfect for these frogs. This is why they were able to survive for so long. The fungus they carried has led to many other species of frog in the California region to go extinct. This is interesting because it is a modern example of an invasive species, whereas most examples have happened decades in the past.

Honey's Hidden Helper

"Scientists identify a substance in honey that helps bee bodies fight poisons"

The known fact is that honey bees like sugar, and that they sip the sweet nectar from flowers. During the winter, they

New Developments in Preventing Colony Collapse Disorder

"Europe Restricts 3 Common Used Pesticides in Effort to Protect Honeybees"
by Richard Van Noorden
via Scientific American

Bees are essential to the world as we know it. They are responsible for the pollination of plants, which produce a vast quantity of food for human populations. Recently, a large amount of honeybee hives have suffered what is known is the Colony Collapse Disorder, which essentially is the disappearance of entire beehives. The cause of this is still unknown, but some researchers hypothesize that pesticides are the likely causes. This has resulted in the European Commission's ban on 3 neonicotinoids pesticides including clothianidin, imidaclioprid, and thiamethoxam. The European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy  Tonio Borg, has claimed that he will, "do [his] utmost to ensure that our bees, which are so vital to our ecosystem and contribute over €22 billion annually to European Agriculture, are protected." Several laboratory studies have concluded there is a link between these chemicals and the honeybee disappearance, resulting in this precautionary ban, which will last two years. There is a lot of controversy over this decision  Many people worry about the effects of the ban on agriculture, and the effect the ban on popular pesticides will have on food production and economics. Also, some scientists are concerned that a two year period will not be sufficient to determine if these pesticides really did cause Colony Collapse Disorder. 

Overall, this is a fascinating development in the efforts to combat this important disorder, which is wreaking ecological and economic havoc. Personally, I think that this ban is wise; it is a good idea to take preventative measures based on several studies, in the hopes that bees will stop disappearing before their populations dwindle to unrecoverable levels. Bees are essential to agricultural economic success, as well as maintaining the established equilibrium in ecosystems. However, I do think that this ban could have negative effects on farmers, who depend on these commonly used pesticides for their business.  In conclusion, this controversial decision has left Europe divided into those who view this as an ecologic victory, and those who fear for the farmers. 

Poachers seen at unique elephant habitat

Name: Poachers seen at unique elephant habitat
Author: WWF
Date: 09.05.2013
Publication: Environmental News Network

A group of 17 poachers entered the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, heading for the Dzanga Bay - also known as the "village of elephants" since it is a clearing on which from 50 to 200 elephants gather daily to obtain the mineral salt from the sands.

The Dzanga-Ndoki National Park is one of the most unique elephant habitats in the world and the attack of the poachers presents the greatest threat since the incident from February 2012 when poachers killed around 300 elephants in order to obtain irony  in Cameroon's Bouba N'Djida National Park.

 According to the local researchers supported by the WWF, three of the seventeen men were armed with Kalashnikov rifles when they approached them (the researchers), asking for directions to the viewing tower at the Dzanga Bai - a place used for observation of elephants by both tourists and scientists.
The researchers gave them false leads and immediately fled the location. They head gunshots coming from the Bai as they were leaving.

Another source of information were two eco-guards from the Dzanga Bai who said that they also saw armed men on Monday and that those individuals were shooting in the direction of the elephants. The two guards went into hiding - same as the researchers - and as they were leaving they saw a vehicle at the entrance of the park. It is supposed the vehicle was used to transport the seventeen poachers.

The WWF appeals to the international community to try and restore peace in the Central African Republic as the current state of chaos and violent attacks on the animals has been present since the beginning of the year and is completely unacceptable. Action must be taken in order to preserve this world heritage site and something needs to be done quickly, before the losses become too great to overcome.

Madagascar Tortoise Trafficking Rages out of Control

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130502115520.htm

May 2, 2013

From January to March of 2013, more than 1,000 tortoises have been confiscated from wildlife smugglers.  These tortoises consist of mainly the radiated and the ploughshare tortoises, both of which are severely endangered due to habitat loss and overexploitation. These species are endemic to 

Madagascar; a biodiversity hotspot, diminishing in wildlife due to deforestation and the ever-growing wildlife trade. Many of these tortoises were seized by authorities in the illegal wildlife markets of Bangkok. In fact, the radiated tortoise is currently the most common tortoise for sale in these markets.

Since 2009, the illegal wildlife trade in Madagascar is said to have grown by 1000% percent. This is due to poor governance and a lack of law enforcement. The ever-growing poverty and year-long droughts has pushed many people to resort to smuggling these tortoises. It was once thought to be taboo to harm a tortoise, but the worsening situations have led to the erosion of these cultural beliefs.

These tortoises were said to be one of Madagascar’s iconic species. It is truly sad to see these species being exploited. The Wildlife Conservation Society executive director, James Deutsch, stated that the current level of exploitation is completely unsustainable. If immediate action is not taken, the extinction of these species is imminent.

The WCS is urging Malagasy officials to protect these rural areas more by posting more guards in these areas. They would also like for other countries, such as Thailand, to more strictly enforce wildlife trading laws to prevent the future trade of these already endangered species. The WCS also stresses the importance of education in these countries to demonstrate the importance of these species to the unique ecosystems in which they are found. Some of the tortoises, which have been seized, have been sent to the US to set up an assurance population.

I chose this article because we have recently studied ecological organizations such as the WCS and the illegal wildlife trade is a topic, which frequently comes up in class. Many people are not aware of the damage, which is being caused by humans. These tortoises are somewhat of a flagship species, and that is why I chose to write about their current situation. As well as facing overexploitation, these animals are endemic to the islands of Madagascar and are already classified as endangered due to major habitat loss.