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☆ What makes us human? Primate genome study offers some clues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While some genetic variations previously thought to be exclusive to people were found in other primate species, the researchers pinpointed others that were uniquely human involving brain function and development. They also used the primate genomes to train an artificial intelligence algorithm to predict disease-causing genetic mutations in humans. Human-related threats such as habitat destruction, climate change and hunting have left about 60% of primate species threatened with extinction and about 75% with declining populations. "The vast majority of primate species have significantly more genetic variation per individual than do humans," said genomicist and study co-author Jeffrey Rogers of the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. The genome data can help identify the primate species in the most dire need of conservation efforts.

Persons: Thomas Mukoya, genomicist Lukas Kuderna, gibbons, Kuderna, Jeffrey Rogers, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park's Institute, Evolutionary, Illumina Inc, Baylor College of Medicine, Thomson Locations: Kinigi, Rwanda, Barcelona, Spain, Americas, Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Texas, China, Laos, Vietnam

[1/5] An eight-year-old male African lion rests on the plains of Kafue National Park, Zambia, September 19, 2020. In the recent assessment, scientists found that more lion cubs were born into Kafue prides from 2018 to 2021. A half-century of intensive poaching has decimated wildlife populations in Africa's third-largest national park, as it has across much of the continent, with Kafue's free-roaming big cats among the victims. Bushmeat poachers have targeted the lions' grass-eating prey, leaving too little behind for the park's 200 or more of these hungry carnivores. "African white-backed vultures will come in really large numbers," said Corinne Kendall, curator of conservation and research at North Carolina Zoo which is leading the program.

Persons: Sebastian Kennerknecht, Kim Young, Overton, Panthera's, Andrew Loveridge, Corinne Kendall, It's, it's, Kendall, Gloria Dickie, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Leopards, Africa Parks, Zambia's Department of National Parks and Wildlife, North Carolina Zoo, Thomson Locations: Park, Zambia, Handout, Kafue, Africa, West Africa, London

In the recent assessment, scientists found that more lion cubs were born into Kafue prides from 2018 to 2021. A half-century of intensive poaching has decimated wildlife populations in Africa's third-largest national park, as it has across much of the continent, with Kafue's free-roaming big cats among the victims. [1/5] An eight-year-old male African lion rests on the plains of Kafue National Park, Zambia, September 19, 2020. But the carcasses also attract the critically endangered white-backed vultures, whose population has declined by more than 90% across West Africa in the past 40 years, largely due to poisoning. "African white-backed vultures will come in really large numbers," said Corinne Kendall, curator of conservation and research at North Carolina Zoo which is leading the program.

Persons: Kim Young, Overton, Panthera's, Andrew Loveridge, Sebastian Kennerknecht, Corinne Kendall, It's, it's, Kendall, Gloria Dickie, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Leopards, REUTERS, Africa Parks, Zambia's Department of National Parks and Wildlife, North Carolina Zoo, Thomson Locations: Kafue, Park, Zambia, Handout, Africa, West Africa, London

☆ This Summer We’re Helping Scientists Track Birds. Join In.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +21 min

This Summer We’re Helping Scientists Track Birds. This data will help scientists understand better how birds are affected by forces like climate change and habitat loss. We’re obviously a little bit biased here, so I’m going to recommend the Merlin Bird ID app. Nearly half of all bird species worldwide are known or suspected to be in decline, and climate change could accelerate this trend. Look up past reports of that species on the eBird Species Map and zoom in on your city.

Persons: Mike McQuade, We’ll, Michelle Mildenberg Daryln Brewer Hoffstot, phoebe, Hoffstot, Indigo Goodson, “, Kirsten Luce, Alli Smith, Merlin, —, It’s, That’s, Andrew Spear, ”, Tom Auer, Mr, Auer, birders, James T, Tanner, Steven C, Latta, Chris Elphick, . Latta, Michaels, et, Christine Schuldheisz, Richard O ., Ivory, they’d, Mark, Elphick, there’s, ” Dr, eBird, I’m Organizations: Birds, Cornell, of Ornithology, The New York Times, New York Times, University of Connecticut, Credit, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Yale, Times, Cornell Lab, Walmart Locations: Pennsylvania, North America, Virginia, South America, Canada, Alaska, Louisiana, Pittsburgh, United States, Cuba, Arkansas, eBird

☆ A Vanished Bird Might Live On, or Not. The Video Is Grainy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If there’s new hope, it’s blurry. What’s certain: the roller coaster tale of the ivory-billed woodpecker, a majestic bird whose presumed extinction has been punctuated by a series of contested rediscoveries, is going strong. The latest twist is a peer-reviewed study Thursday in the journal Ecology and Evolution presenting sighting reports, audio recordings, trail camera images and drone video. Collected over the last decade in a Louisiana swamp forest, the precise location omitted for the birds’ protection, the authors write that the evidence suggests the “intermittent but repeated presence” of birds that look and behave like ivory-billed woodpeckers. But Dr. Latta acknowledges that no single piece of evidence is definitive, and the study is carefully tempered with words like “putative” and “possible.”

☆ Ocean census aims to discover 100,000 marine species
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Researchers have embarked on an ambitious global initiative to discover and record marine life hidden in the world’s oceans. Ocean Census aims to identify 100,000 unknown species in the next 10 years, allowing scientists to better understand and protect the deep-sea ecosystem. The initiative builds on past projects such as the Census of Marine Life, which concluded in 2010 and identified 6,000 potential new ocean species. Ocean Census will also help to identify how marine ecosystems are responding to the climate crisis, and assess how marine life could adapt to a warmer climate. The project is being led by Nekton, a UK-based marine science and conservation institute, and funded by The Nippon Foundation, a nonprofit foundation based in Japan.

☆ Archaeologists in Peru find adolescent mummy wrapped in bundle
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The mummy was probably an adolescent and found in an underground tomb wrapped in a funerary bundle, along with ceramics and rope and including bits of skin and hair. [1/5] Skeletal remains and parts of the funerary bundle of a mummy found by Peruvian archaeologists are seen in the ruins of Cajarmarquilla, in the outskirts of Lima, Peru, April 24, 2023. The mummy was discovered about 200 metres (220 yards) from where the first mummy of Cajamarquilla was found, explained Huaman, referring to another mummy found nearby last year. The complex is the second largest mud-brick city in Peru after Chan Chan in the north of the Andean country. Located in a dusty area about 20km (12 miles) from Lima, the site was believed to be a thriving trading center.

The cause of death was not immediately known and authorities will perform a post-mortem to find out more, the outlet reported. Uday – who was named by Indian citizens in a contest – was among 20 cheetahs airlifted to India over the past few months from Africa. The news of the deceased 6-year-old cheetah came just three weeks after his fellow feline, Sasha, died from a kidney infection. Laurie Marker, founder of the Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), which also helped with transferring the animals, said re-establishing a population is very difficult. In late March, the country welcomed four newborn cheetahs for the first time since the species disappeared from India more than 70 years ago.

☆ The High Seas Treaty, Explained
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Haphazard Authority On Ocean Resources | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Global News Changing Tides The first international agreement to protect the world's oceans aims to create “international parks” in the high seas. The high seas represent 95% of the world’s total habitat by volume, but the nautical world remains largely unexplored. “A sentiment we often encountered was that there’s not much in terms of biodiversity out there in the high seas,” he said. MPAs that already exist mostly occupy exclusive economic zones and only make up about 3% of the high seas. A 2016 Pew study on mapping governance in the high seas showed 19 governing bodies with a high seas mandate.

☆ Are Butterflies Wildlife? Depends Where You Live.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

The creatures are simply left out of state conservation statues, or their situation is ambiguous. “State agencies are really at the forefront of conservation for wildlife,” said Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, a nonprofit group that advocates for insect conservation. Sometimes, aquatic insects come under the purview of state wildlife agencies. But across the states without insect authority, officials are often reluctant to broach adding it, Mr. Winton said. Seven of the states without insect conservation authority are in the West, which has felt the effects of climate change intensely.

☆ This startup that connects conservation projects with funders just raised $8 million. Check out the 30-slide pitch deck Lemu used to secure the fresh capital.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A startup hoping to channel more cash into conservation via its app just raised $8 million. Chilean startup Lemu is developing a marketplace that ranks conservation projects on priority and impact. A Chilean startup connecting conservation projects with funders just raised $8 million. It plans to list and rank high-priority and high-impact conservation projects in the hope that the app's users will donate money, or "invest," in them. It will have two ranking features: LemiImpact, a local-level impact ranking based on potential project outcomes, and LemuRank, which is a global ranking of high-priority conservation efforts.

☆ Polar bear emerged unseen from snowstorm to kill mom and son before it was shot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

It was the first fatal polar bear attack in 30 years in Alaska, the only U.S. state that is home to the animals. The view from the front of the school in Wales, Alaska, on Sunday. However, polar bears see humans as prey, said Geoff York, the senior director of conservation at Polar Bear International. Polar bears are the largest bear species, according to the U.S. Polar bears generally feed on seals, but also walruses and beluga whales.

☆ Tackling the threat of mudslides in soaked California
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Matt Udkow / Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP fileWhy is California prone to mudslides? Since New Year’s Eve, the California Department of Conservation’s landslide mapping team has documented more than 300 landslides. Lancaster said California has dramatically increased its efforts to identify hotspots since the Montecito mudslides. After the 2018 mudslides hit Montecito, the Los Angeles Times reported that debris basins above the community were undersized and hadn’t been sufficiently emptied. The organization hired an engineering company to map the canyons and installed debris nets.

☆ Hiking has become a nationwide New Year's Day tradition
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Just 380 people participated in the initial First Day Hike in 1992 at the nearly 7,000-acre Blue Hills Reservation just south of Boston. On Sunday, tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in First Day Hikes at hundreds of parks in all 50 states. The late Patrick Flynn, the former supervisor at Blue Hills, came up with the original plan. In 2012, First Day Hikes went nationwide when the National Association of State Park Directors endorsed the idea. Elijah Bristow State Park near Eugene is even offering a first day horseback ride.

☆ World leaders want to protect a third of the Earth's land and water to save wildlife from extinction. There's a climate connection, too.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Nearly 200 countries agreed to protect 30% of Earth's land and water at a UN biodiversity meeting. The meeting, known as COP15, also underscored the link between nature and the climate crisis. Indigenous peoplesFor the first time, the biodiversity framework acknowledged the role of Indigenous people in protecting and restoring land and water. But world leaders didn't designate their land and territory as a separate category of conservation, which groups including Amnesty International and Greenpeace called for. Countries didn't achieve any of the targets to slow biodiversity loss by 2020 included in a previous framework, known as the Aichi targets.

☆ Deer Disease Threatens Herds Across the Country
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Ben Kesling | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chronic wasting disease arises from pathogens that lead to brain damage in deer, elk and moose. During Missouri’s rifle-hunting season, state conservation officials in more than two dozen locations spend 12 hours a day removing and testing lymph nodes from the heads of deer carcasses brought in by hunters. They are looking for chronic wasting disease, a deadly and incurable condition on the rise across the country. “It’s a growing problem,” said Erin Shank, a biologist at the Missouri Department of Conservation. “It’s going one direction and it’s not the direction we want it to go.”

☆ Search underway for missing snorkeler in Hawaii amid fears of possible shark attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Authorities in Hawaii are searching for a woman who went missing in the waters of South Maui on Thursday while snorkeling with her husband. Officials began their search after the woman's husband called 911 just before noon local time (5 p.m. Rescuers search for a missing snorkeler at Keawakapu Point in Kihei, Hawaii on Dec. 8, 2022. Data from the Hawaii Land and Natural Resources shows that there have been six recorded shark incidents this year, one of which occurred in Maui, not including yesterday's incident. The most recent incident that occurred in Maui prior to yesterday's incident took place in September, when a snorkeler lost their left arm and two fingers on their right hand after encountering a shark, the data shows.

☆ Animals Are Running Out of Places to Live
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | Lauren Leatherby | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

In many places, poverty, powerful interests and a lack of law enforcement make habitat loss especially hard to address. Because animals there often have smaller ranges to begin with, habitat loss hits them especially hard. “That's the ultimate challenge of forest conservation globally.”Source: Map of Life | Photo: Chien C. Lee MOZAMBIQUE Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Est. habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR MOZAMBIQUE Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Source: Map of Life | Photo: Chien C. Lee MOZAMBIQUE Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR MOZAMBIQUE Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCARThis is the 2001 habitat of the white-headed lemur, a primate that eats fruit and flowers. Of the many targets being negotiated, the one that has gotten the most attention seeks to address habitat loss head on.

While indigenous groups account for about 5% of the world's population, their lands safeguard about 80% of Earth's remaining plant and animal species, according to the World Bank. Indigenous groups have a range of concerns about the U.N. summit negotiations. Some critics worry that the 30-by-30 target could be used to erode indigenous rights under the guise of conservation. Others, like Tuxa of Brazil and Ngomo of Congo argue that a 30% conservation target does not go far enough to ensure nature's protection. Adopting a 30% target at the national level could backfire, Tuxa said, in suggesting Brazil can open more land to development.

☆ Supreme Court justices grapple with a Republican challenge that could upend how elections are run: 'This is a theory with big consequences'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Supreme Court heard three hours of oral arguments on a GOP-led challenge from North Carolina. Barrett said adopting the North Carolina Republicans' approach would mean judges would have "notoriously difficult lines to draw." The state supreme court ruled that the map was a partisan gerrymander that favored Republicans, deeming it a violation of the state constitution. Alito noted that in some places, like North Carolina, state supreme court judges are elected by voters. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in the case by June.

☆ Last of the ‘Super Tuskers’: Saving Kenya’s majestic megafauna
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Daryl Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

He’s a conservation officer and pilot for Tsavo Trust, an organization dedicated to protecting the wildlife in the Tsavo Conservation Area (TCA) – in particular, the Super Tuskers. “The Tsavo ecosystem holds arguably the largest number of big tuskers in Africa,” says Kyalo. The magnificent "Super Tuskers" of Tsavo National Park are an increasingly rare sight. “There are approximately 25 individuals left in the world, most of which reside in the Tsavo Conservation Area. “A future where there are no ‘Big Tuskers’ in Tsavo is not worth thinking about,” Kyalo says.

Persons: Joseph Kyalo, “, ” Kyalo, ”, that’s, Africa’s, CNN Kyalo, Tsavo Organizations: CNN, Tsavo, Rhinos, Tsavo Trust, Super Tuskers, Africa’s Kruger, Big Tuskers ’, Kenya Wildlife Service, Tuskers Locations: Kenya, Tsavo, Africa

"There's now a big push to get nature into sovereign debt markets," said Simon Zadek, executive director at NatureFinance, which advises governments on debt-for-nature swaps and other types of climate-focused finance. At that level, it would be the biggest debt-for-nature swap struck to date. The combined value of swap deals to date is $3.7 billion, according to the data. Securing the buy-in of development banks is usually key for the economics of a deal. The WWF has projects in Central and South America where they are monitoring deforestation by tracking jaguars, said Brenes, who has worked on debt-for-nature swaps for the last 25 years.

☆ Great American Land Rush: US Needs Lots of Land for Green Energy, Housing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Matthew Kahn | Robert Huang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Will we cover 75% of California with green energy tech? Given these existing technological limitations and regulations, the aggregate demand for land to power our future green economy is huge. We would need 120,000 square miles, or 77 million acres, of land to install the wind and solar facilities for the energy transition. As cities expand, rising land prices in these areas would further constrain the location options for green energy generators. The political backlash in rural America could be alleviated if the economic gains from green power are large enough.

☆ Polar bears, pushed on land by climate change, get their own radar
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

As climate change diminishes sea ice from coastal communities in the Arctic and the subarctic, researchers expect polar bears to range further into the towns and camps in this remote part of the world. Geoff York and KT Miller install a mobile radar tower in Churchill, Manitoba, which hosts the SpotterRF radar to detect polar bears. When the sea ice along the bay melts, the bears migrate to make their home on land and wait for the ice to return. “It makes it ideal to test new technologies.”Although every season is different, climate change is lengthening the amount of time bears are away from sea ice here. But as climate change limits sea ice habitat, it’s expected to push more hungry bears toward communities that haven’t dealt with these creatures before.

☆ Tax Court Strikes Down IRS Rules on Land-Conservation Deals
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Richard Rubin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The IRS has tried for several years to boost enforcement of conservation easements. WASHINGTON—The U.S. Tax Court struck down IRS rules requiring taxpayers and promoters to disclose certain land-rights deals to tax authorities, damaging a high-profile agency enforcement initiative. When the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department identified so-called syndicated conservation easements as potential tax shelters in 2016, the agencies failed to follow the formal notice-and-comment procedures required for federal regulations, the court ruled Wednesday.

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