From September, 2016

THE VALUE OF NATIVE BEES

— population declines among wild bees are much more difficult to document than those in honey bees, which are for the most part managed commercially and whose numbers are carefully tracked by beekeepers. read article : bumble bee is proposed for U.S. endangered species status

KEEP TABS ON PROCEEDINGS

— even for experienced eyes, sifting through 200 documents to be considered at the upcoming convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) conference is a challenge. here is a sneak peak! read article : what to expect at CITES more : CITES cop17

LET’S GET TO WORK

the hawaiian crow (‘Alal?) use stick tool to extract food. ‘Alal? have relatively straight bills and highly mobile eyes — morphological features that may aid their handling of bill-held tools —”let this discovery serve to emphasise the importance to conserving these and other animal species so that we can continue to learn ever more about the range of their behaviour before they vanish for ever in the 6th great wave of extinction.” read article : tropical crow species is highly skilled tool user  

WHAT’S FOR DINNER

— “the study suggests that 20 percent of all seafood globally is mislabeled, and that isn’t accurate,” he says. “the studies they looked at focused on commonly mislabeled species. the report distorts the findings by design.” read article : that fish on your dinner plate may be an endangered species

A RECLASSIFICATION

— giant pandas, along with tibetan eastern gorilla, moved off the endangered list and the species is now listed as vulnerable. the panda has benefited from years of targeted conservation efforts that have preserved its forest habitat. still, the iucn warns that climate change will threaten more than a third of the species’ bamboo habitat in the next 80 years without expanded conservation efforts. read article : gorillas face greater threat while pandas move off ‘endangered’ species list

THE FULL POTENTIAL

— “with the knowledge we have, we need more than that. we need a far more strategic, connected approach if we are going to get out of this mess. protected areas can have positive impacts on species extinction risk and population trends, but they need to be properly sited and managed to realize their full potential.” read article : protected lands and endangered species aren’t properly safeguarded

RARE FRIENDS

— in early august, a biologist returned from the south pacific with news that he encountered an old friend, one he hadn’t seen in over three decades. the university of washington professor had seen what is considered one of the world’s rarest animals read article : rare nautilus sighted for the first time in three decades