The argument that increasing whale populations are behind declining fish stocks is completely without scientific foundation, leading researchers and conservation organizations said today as the International Whaling Commission opened its 60th meeting in Santiago, Chile.

The Humane Society International, WWF and the Lenfest Ocean Program today presented three new reports debunking the science behind the ‘whales-eat-fish’ claims emanating from whaling nations Japan, Norway and Iceland. The argument has been used to bolster support for whaling, particularly from developing nations.

“It is not the whales, it is over-fishing and excess fishing capacity that are responsible for diminishing supplies of fish in developing countries,” said fisheries biologist Dr. Daniel Pauly, director of the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre.

“Making whales into scapegoats serves only to benefit wealthy whaling nations while harming developing nations by distracting any debate on the real causes of the declines of their fisheries.”

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The author of Rocky Mountain Mammals shares some insights about the fauna of this region.

David M. Armstrong is a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado and the author of several books, including the recently published third edition of Rocky Mountain Mammals (University of Colorado Press, $19.95), a guide to the mammals of this region and those in Rocky Mountain National Park in particular.  Packed with photos and facts, the book is worth its weight to lug on a backpacking trip.  I recently interviewed Professor Armstrong via email about the best way to spot mammals in the wild, the projected fate of the pika, changes he’s observed in Rocky Mountain National Park, the dearth of Bigfoot sightings there, and how we should “honor [our] cousin,” the montane vole.

New West: How did you first become interested in the mammals of this region?

David M. Armstrong: I grew up in Greeley and worked at Boy Scout Camps in Glen Haven and Red Feather Lakes. Usually I was involved with “nature hikes,” and I think my interest in mammals probably was solidified at this time. Also, at CSU I had a wonderful professor for “Mammalogy,” Dr. Bob Lechleitner. His enthusiasm for knowing the lives of native mammals was infectious.

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The Navy is challenging Hawaii's authority to protect whales by restricting the use of sonar during training exercises, environmentalists and military representatives say.

The Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program, responsible for managing resources in state waters, asked the Navy in a May 22 letter to keep mid-frequency active sonar levels below 145 decibels and abide by sonar rules crafted by a federal judge for undersea warfare exercises off Hawaii.

In February, U.S. District Court Judge David Ezra barred the Navy from conducting its undersea exercises within 12 nautical miles, or 13.8 miles, of Hawaii's shoreline. Hawaii wants the Navy to follow Ezra's rules during all warfare drills near the islands and not just undersea exercises.

The Navy responded last week that doing so would prevent it from training its sailors properly. It also questioned whether Hawaii has the authority to use state law to enforce federal marine mammal protections.

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Countries on both sides of the whaling divide are pledging a new spirit of co-operation as the International Whaling Commission (IWC) convenes.

There is general agreement that the global body charged with conserving whales and regulating whaling does neither task very effectively.

A year-long diplomatic effort by the US has built bridges between the parties.

But there is still deep suspicion, and a fundamental divide over whether it is right to hunt whales at all.

It appears that Japan, the head of the pro-hunting bloc, and most of its traditional opponents sense they have something to gain from trying to find common ground.
The hunting nations would gain legitimacy, while the prizes for the anti-whalers could include a smaller annual catch, the end of scientific whaling and greater regulation of the hunting that does take place.

If the spirit of harmony survives this week, another year of diplomacy is expected, aiming to agree a package of reforms by the next annual meeting.

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The argument that increasing whale populations are behind declining fish stocks is completely without scientific foundation, leading researchers and conservation organizations said today as the International Whaling Commission opened its 60th meeting in Santiago, Chile.

The Humane Society International, WWF and the Lenfest Ocean Program today presented three new reports debunking the science behind the ‘whales-eat-fish’ claims emanating from whaling nations Japan, Norway and Iceland. The argument has been used to bolster support for whaling, particularly from developing nations.

“It is not the whales, it is over-fishing and excess fishing capacity that are responsible for diminishing supplies of fish in developing countries,” said fisheries biologist Dr. Daniel Pauly, director of the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre.

“Making whales into scapegoats serves only to benefit wealthy whaling nations while harming developing nations by distracting any debate on the real causes of the declines of their fisheries.”

Read the complete story

When visitors to Washington's Ferry Farm in Stafford County take guided "wild meadow walks" this summer, they'll focus on all the plants, birds, mammals and insects that thrive on the property.

What they won't see are all the thought and effort it took to get the meadow to be a meadow.

In the 1980s--years before the property came under the stewardship of George Washington's Fredericksburg Foundation--the parcel was quarried for materials to build the nearby Blue and Gray Parkway.

"That created a 10-acre bowl that pretty much nothing grew in," said Dave Muraca, director of archaeology for Ferry Farm. "People said, 'That would be a good place to dump stuff.'"

And that's what happened until the foundation took over in 1996. The quarry site is part of an 80-acre parcel connected to George Washington, whose family farmed the land when the future first president was a boy.

In the past few years, foundation employees have resurrected the former quarry as a wild natural area, turning once-sterile ground into a place where native plants thrive.

They've improved the soil to the point where it can sustain planted strips of buckwheat and millet that birds and animals like to eat, and they've reduced the numbers of such invasive non-native plants as the misnamed "tree of heaven."

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A barmy Chinese zoo keeper is training wolves to sing - and is also planning to teach them how to bust a move on the dance floor.
 
Luo Yong, who works at Chongqing Wild Zoo, told local media he discovered wolves’ performing talents by accident.

He said: "Once I was playing guitar and singing the song 'I Am A Wolf From The North', and a young wolf I raised walked up to me and stared at me. Suddenly he howled with the rhythm, and even patted the strings with his claw."

Chinese People's Daily reports that Luo trained all 30 wolves in the zoo to sing along to a rhythm.

Having mastered the art of song, Luo now says the wolves are ready to add some disco move to their routine.

The mystery of why marine mammals worldwide have been dying from a parasite spread in cat faeces may have been solved. The culprit? The humble anchovy, new research suggests.

Toxoplasmosis, the sometimes fatal disease caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is found only in cats in its infectious form, and only the fertilised eggs of the parasite called oocysts – cause an infection.

But over the past decade the disease has also killed a vast number of marine mammals, leaving scientists puzzled over how the parasite found its way from felines to the sea.

To date, the parasite has been detected in 33 species of marine mammal from seven families, including the southern sea otter, an endangered species. In fact, an estimated 17 per cent of sea otter deaths are caused by toxoplasmosis, and infected animals have been found in such geographically far-flung locations as the Arctic Circle, Australia and California.

Some researchers have theorised that fresh water runoff from streams, stormwater drains and sewers have carried cat faeces to the ocean, and that new products like flushable kitty litter may have increased the amount of faeces in runoff. But this doesn't explain how the parasite has spread across entire oceans.

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There are more species of bees buzzing around the globe than there are species of mammals and birds combined, a new census shows.

This new count of bee species, conducted by John S. Ascher of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, comes from a list he compiled of more than 19,200 described bee species.

"Most people know of honey bees and a few bumble bees, but we have documented that there are actually more species of bees than of birds and mammals put together," Ascher said.

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Ascher's census documents 2,000 more described species than the most recent definitive list published eight years ago.

Cataloguing the world's species, especially small insects, is an enormous challenge; scientists don't even know how many total species live on the planet estimates run from 5 million to 100 million total species, though only 2 million have been identified.

Taking a head count of the world's bees is important though because the busy insects are critical to pollinating crops. Honey bees, such as Apis mellifera, are the most economically important pollinators.

But while honey bees are the most well-known bee faces, most bees don't make honey or live in hives like this social species.

Honey bee numbers have dropped precipitously in recent years due to an unexplained phenomenon dubbed "colony collapse disorder," which has wiped out hives throughout the United States.

The checklist of bee species has been listed online on the Discover Life website, a searchable database of species classifications.

And I'm Barbara Klein. This week, we will tell about a genetic study of one of the world's most unusual animals. We will tell about a health threat to cattle and the people who eat their meat. And, we share findings from a new report about a famous circle of stones in southern England.

An international team of researchers says it has completed a genetic map for an unusual-looking animal: the platypus. For years, scientists have been interested in the platypus because it appears to be a mix of several different animals. The platypus has hair covering its body. But it also has a bill surrounding its mouth and webbed feet like a duck.

The researchers sought to understand how this strange creature developed by studying its genome, or full set of chromosomes. The new, genetic map shows that the platypus has genes also found in both birds and reptiles. The research team reported its findings last month in the publication Nature.

VOICE TWO:

The platypus is native to eastern Australia. The platypus is not endangered; however, people rarely see them. This is because the animals spend much of their time in underground passages along small rivers.

Although the platypus is considered a mammal, it is actually one of two animals known as monotremes. Both the platypus and the echidna are believed to have resulted from other mammals. Scientists believe this separation from more traditional mammals took place more than one hundred sixty million years ago.

The platypus is so unusual that when it was first sent to scientists in Europe in the nineteen century, they thought the animal was a joke.

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