Nature Videos & Nature News: Environment Videos // Current

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6 hours ago

River Vantaa in Helsinki, Finland [pic]

A river flows through it. A view of the breathtakingly beautiful River Vantaa, photographed two days ago in Espoo, Helsinki, Finland.

GrrlScientist
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1 day ago

U.S.-Mexico Border Fence May Snag Wildlife

The United States-Mexico border fence may block more wildlife border crossings than people crossings. The already limited border populations of pygmy owls and bighorn sheep will likely be among those further threatened by the fence, says a new study.

"In some respects, it's as obvious as the nose on your face: If you put up a 20-foot chunk of steel, things probably aren't going to move across it, but we have to show it," said Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, who was not a part of the study. "It's kind of a shame that we need to prove the obvious, but we do. So this is an important paper in that regard."

Since the U.S. government authorized construction of a fence along 700 miles of the border between the U.S. and Mexico in 2006, scientists have raised concerns that a person-tight fence would also exclude many species that rely on habitat on either side of the border. The new research suggests such concerns are valid.

"Borders are only political boundaries," said the study's lead author Aaron Flesch of the University of Montana in Missoula. "They're not biological boundaries." The study, published recently in Conservation Biology, focused on desert bighorn sheep and ferruginous pygmy owls.

By combining information about bighorn populations along the Arizona-Mexico border with computer models, the study's coauthor Clinton Epps of Oregon State University was able to predict the effect of the fence on how sheep move from one group to another.

Epps found nine populations within his study area that would become isolated from populations across the border. What's more, two populations on the U.S. side of the fence rely on a path that dips through Mexico, so they would become isolated from one another, despite both being "American" bighorn.

"The ability to move between mountain ranges is pretty important to maintain genetic diversity," Epps said, "But probably more importantly, the populations are so small, that they can just wink out." Without cross border connections, the habitats couldn't be repopulated by sheep in nearby groups.

The pygmy owl seems an unlikely species to be blocked by a border fence, given that it can fly. But the team found that 80 percent of the owls' flights are less than 13 feet above the ground, with most of those less than 3 feet above the ground. What's more, the owl tends to make short, direct flights, avoiding stretches across open areas such as the zones of cleared vegetation on either side of the fence.

"Their survival in Arizona is probably dependent on movement from Mexico into the U.S.," said Flesch, who conducted the owl study. "That's why a 700-mile-long border fence is so relevant to their recovery and the recovery of so many other animals."

Jaguars, desert tortoise, wild turkeys, bears, and Sonoran pronghorn are among other species that may be affected by the border fence.

Flesch and others support using virtual fences instead of physical barriers along the border, especially in critical habitat areas. Surveillance technology could allow wildlife to pass freely, while still catching illegal traffic across the border, they propose.

Some vehicle barriers -- vertical posts close enough together to stop cars or trucks, but not so close as to block people or wildlife -- could also be used with less obstruction of wildlife movement.

The border fence is all the more significant in today's warming climate, Flesch noted. The border happens to fall at a boundary between two climates, so many species will tend to nudge their range north as climate warms. If they are blocked by the fence, their habitat may leave them behind.The United States-Mexico border fence may block more wildlife border crossings than people crossings. The already limited border... more

xiola
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10 hours ago

The Plant that Waters Itself

"Any wannabe gardener would appreciate a plant that waters itself. Now research shows how one plant does this: The desert... more

DeliaTheArtist
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10 hours ago

Today's Mystery Bird for you to Identify [pic]

[Mystery bird] photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] -- Careful! This mystery bird is a wee bit... more

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12 hours ago

TEDTalks: Ray Zahab Treks to the South Pole [video]

In this video, extreme runner Ray Zahab shares an enthusiastic account of his record-breaking trek on foot to the South Pole -- a... more

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24 hours ago

Amazon River Dated to 11 Million Years Old

"The Amazon River and its current lengthy and transcontinental bed is about 11 million years old, according to a new study.... more

DeliaTheArtist
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1 day ago

Another Helsinki Mystery Flower [pic]

Is this a wild rose or a close relative? Photographed alongside a roadway in Pitäjänmäki in northern Helsinki, Finland.

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1 day ago

Dragonflies' Remarkable Vision: 30,000 Facets Give Dragonflies a Different Perspective

Dragonflies possess excellent color vision, as well as being able to see UV and polarized light - this piece presents a little... more

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1 day ago

Animals of the Disappearing Mangroves

"In the watery limbo between sea and river, where salt and fresh water mingle in the roots of mangrove trees, a handful of... more

DeliaTheArtist
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1 day ago

Today's Mystery Bird for you to Identify [pic]

[Mystery birds] photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] -- is it just me,... more

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1 day ago

Humpback Whale Hunting Krill in Antarctica [video]

This beautifully done video shows breathtaking images of how Humpback Whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, hunt Krill, Euphausia... more

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2 days ago

Today's Mystery Bird for you to Identify [pic]

[Mystery bird] photographed at Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] -- can you... more

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3 days ago

Deception in the Animal World: Spider builds life-sized decoys

There is a species of spider that builds models of itself, which it uses as decoys to distract predators.

The spider may be the first example of an animal building a life-size replica of its own body.
So believe the scientists who made the discovery, which is published in the journal Animal Behaviour.

The arachnid's behaviour also offers one explanation for why many spiders like to decorate their webs with strange-looking ornaments.

Many animals try to divert the attentions of predators by becoming masters of disguise.

Some try to avoid being seen altogether by using camouflage to blend in against a background, such as the peppered moth evolving motley wings that blend into tree bark, or stick insects that look like sticks.

Others evolve more conspicuous ornaments designed to distract a predator, such as butterflies that grow large eyespots or lizards that quickly move colourful tails, which they detach from their bodies if grabbed.

This latter strategy has puzzled biologists, because attracting predators in the first place is usually a bad idea.

One hypothesis is that animals which grow conspicuous ornaments benefit overall, because directing a predator to attack an expendable part of the body, such as the lizard's tail, outweighs the costs of attracting the attention of the predator in the first place.
----------------more at the link

This reminds me of how you will see a police car on the edge of a town in the USA taking radar, only to discover that its really a billboard or mocked car and mannequin dressed as a police officer!

Or, the country that hints it has nukes and really doesn't-like what Saddam confessed to an FBI agent before being hanged (or is it 'hung'?). (he confessed his weapons of mass destruction was a ruse to make Iran think twice about attacking him)

So, survival in its fittest means you have to make yourself look bigger (blow fish, etc), or that you are not even there (lizards, etc). Maybe we can start a country that is invisible and not worry about someone coming in and taking our natural resources, or hating us because our lifestyle is different. or, our skin color is not the same. Or that their religion says that our land was really meant for someone else. We can remain anonymous and invisible and no one will bother us.There is a species of spider that builds models of itself, which it uses as decoys to distract predators. The spider may be the... more