Family Tree Created for World's Most Numerous Group of Animals

October 26, 2009

Take a guess as to what is the world's most numerous group of animals before reading the below press release just in from Wageningen University and Research Center...

Scientists from Wageningen University and Research Center have published the largest nematode Phylogenetic Tree to date in cooperation with the Dutch Plant Protection Service (PD) and the University of California (Riverside) in the November issue of the journal Nematology. It contains over 1,200 species and is entirely based on the analysis of DNA sequence data. It is relatively straightforward - and in fact we’ve shown it already - to define species-specific DNA barcodes on the basis of this data set that allows for the detection of nematodes in soil with an unprecedented accuracy.

Nematodes are the world’s most numerous group of animals with two to 20 million individuals, usually smaller than one millimetre, per square metre of soil. These nematodes include a minority that can cause diseases to humans, animals or plants. Unfortunately these pathogenic organisms share a strong resemblance to each other as well as to useful nematode species. This makes finding out which nematodes are present in a soil of a given area an extremely time-consuming and a specialist task.

The international group of scientists studying nematode DNA selected a specific element of the DNA that codes for a major part of ribosomes, parts of the cells of both plants and animals responsible for the production of proteins. Containing 1,700 building blocks, this piece of DNA allowed scientists to distinguish between most nematode species. In fact the resolution of the datya set appeared to bre much better than we had ever expected.

Based on the DNA-analyses, the scientists could make some major steps forward towards to the reconstruction of the evolution of this successful group of animals, including the ones that - because of their feeding behaviour – cause major damage to lifestock and crops. Our results provided sufficient information for distinguishing a number of plant-parasitic nematodes. The new technology has already been used to study tens of thousands of soil samples. Faster and more accurate than traditional microscopic analyses, the technology has been an immediate success.

Mary Magdalene and the Tower of Fish

For the first time, a relic attributed to Saint Mary Magdalene is in the United States. Father Thomas Michelet, a Dominican priest, brought the revered bone—part of the tibia—from France into the U.S. 

(Photos courtesy of EWTN Global Catholic Network)

 

According to the Gospels, Mary Magdalene was the first to witness the resurrection of Jesus.

Bishop Dominique Rey of the Diocese of Frejus-Toulon, where the relic is normally housed, issued a letter concerning the relic. (Click on any of the photos to enlarge them.)

In Matthew 15:39, it's mentioned that Mary Magdalene came from the region of Magdala. The Talmud also makes reference to this city, but by its Aramaic name, which translates to "Tower of Fish." The early Greeks described it as a place for salting and processing fish. The fish might have been smoked as well.

Historians today think the fish were Kinneret sardines, plentiful in the region.

Jim Gerrish of the "Church and Israel Forum" online points out that two miracles described in the New Testament included "some type of small fish," which he thinks might have been processed in Magdala.

Many cultures offer different interpretations of the stories concerning Mary Magdalene. Among Eastern Orthodox Christians (including Bulgarian, Greek, Macedonian, Russian, Romanian, Serbian and Ukrainian), Mary Magdalene was said to have performed her own miracles. One tradition holds that she held an egg up to Emperor Tiberius at a banquet, proclaiming, "Christ is risen!" As Caesar laughed, the egg in her hand supposedly turned bright red in color. To this day, Greek icons often show Mary Magdalene holding a red Easter egg. 

One of my own favorite traditions, still practiced today, is the blessing of the animals at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Georgia. Many churches worldwide hold such an event, where owners bring their animals in order to have them blessed. St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church this year reports that few kitties showed up, and "birds, farm animals and snakes decided to take a day off." But dogs showed up in force, with quite a few shaking their fur and looking rather shocked when the priest sprinkled "Holy Water" on them.

Often these animal blessing events are held earlier this month, to coincide with the feast day of yet another saint, Francis of Assisi. According to tradition, he was an early animal lover and conservationist.

For more information on the Mary Magdalene relic, tune into "EWTN Live" Tuesday at 10 PM ET, as Father Thomas Michelet will be the program's special guest.

Why Bo Isn't in the First Family Portrait

October 24, 2009

Here is the new official portrait of President Barack Obama and his family, taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz:

The image was posted to Flickr yesterday, appearing on the administration's photo feed. The First Family is shown sitting together in the Green Room of the White House.

So where is First Dog Bo?

According to First Lady Michelle Obama's spokesperson, "Bo didn’t make the cut. He was upstairs at home.”

Since so many people will view the image, it would have made a powerful statement to show Bo as a member of the Obama family. But this is the image the White House wishes to present. A beautiful, well-composed photo to be sure.

The status of dogs in America has evolved over the years. They used to be treated more as just workers, a furry presence that took care of some necessary task and enjoyed the occasional attention from their owners.

Surveys reveal that view has radically changed in the past few decades, as dogs have come to be treated like true members of the family. We often give them human names, like Bo, instead of something like "Fido." Owners now often include their dogs in their wills. Custody battles over dogs erupt when couples break up. And dogs can get health insurance. (Will leave that last, loaded topic for another post...)

My guess is that a photo of Bo with the First Family will soon surface from this shoot. In this particular image, Liebowitz faced three limitations:

• the size of the loveseat (Malia had to perch on the armrest and Sasha had to scoot into her father's space to get everyone in there)
• the angle of the shot
• the center of focus

It's amusing to visualize Bo draped across the laps of all of them. And the upward angle of the lens would have missed Bo if he had been on the floor. A nice touch might have been to show him next to the fireplace on the right, perhaps ruining the photograph's center of focus.

At least Bo was in the White House and not in the dog house.

Drug Company Merger Shields Over a Million Horse Deaths

October 23, 2009

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer recently acquired another major drug manufacturer, Wyeth, for 68 billion dollars. It is the most expensive drug industry merger of the year so far.

Missing from the upbeat reports about the lucrative merger is the cost in horse lives as a result of Wyeth's production of the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drug Premarin. Most estimates put the horse death toll linked to Premarin at well over one million.

(Horse: Karpati)

The active ingredients for Premarin—used by around nine million women to relieve menopause symptoms—come from the urine of pregnant horses. The mares are confined to narrow stalls for 20 hours at a time while hooked to collection devices, MSNBC reports. The foals of these mares usually go to auction, where they are often snapped up by bidders known as "horse killers," who send the horses to feedlots. There the animals are fattened before slaughter, according to the report.  

Since so much money is at stake, it's a hard cycle to stop, but staff at Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue in California are trying to save as many of the HRT horses as they can.

I just learned about Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue this week after connecting with musician Woody Simmons. In an unrelated project, Simmons is working with Discovery filmmaker Ed George on a film that will feature, among other luminaries, Jane Goodall.

Tonight, however, Simmons is performing in a benefit with singer Kitty Rose to raise money for the private California horse rescue group. She told me that Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue "buys horses from auction that would otherwise be slaughtered."

"They have saved many mustangs, and others, and have property where horses that cannot be adopted can live out their lives," Simmons added. "They have a small operation, but provide at least one alternative to a few horses. They also provide another route for educating and informing the public of the plight of horses. 95,000 horses are sent out of our country every year to be slaughtered for meat, dogfood, etc. They are sent to Mexico and Canada."

In a related project, one of Simmons' songs, "Who'll Save the Animals," is out on a new CD. All of the proceeds will go to benefit PETA. She said it was put together by Mel Watson and is titled Compassionism on Monkey Records.

Simmons' collaborator on the horse rescue benefit tonight, Katharine "Kitty Rose" Cole, takes horse rescue to heart.

(Kitty Rose with her rescued horse Anicca. Credit: Katharine "Kitty Rose" Cole)

"I have my own mini-sanctuary in Hopland, California, where I have five horses who would not have a home otherwise," Cole told me.

She said she can care for her horses by herself, but it is quite another matter when handling the 80 plus horses that Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue currently has. In addition to taking in HRT horses, this group also rescues "nuisance" wild horses, horses that owners cannot properly manage, and other horses that would otherwise be slaughtered or abandoned.

"The Wild Horse Rescue is an amazing example of what one person can do to help horses in need," Cole said, adding that "these folks were brave enough to take personal action to protect these horses and put themselves on the line in their stead. Now they have created a beautiful sanctuary which folks can visit and learn and care for these national treasures and hopefully become a part of the surge of interest to protect them from being destroyed."

Information about tonight's benefit for Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue at El Rio in San Francisco, CA, is here. 

(Kitty Rose Band with Simmons on the left, Rose in the middle and Stephanie Lee on the right. Credit: Katharine "Kitty Rose" Cole)

I also invite you to visit the website for Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue.

New Park Protects Tigers, Elephants and Carbon

October 22, 2009

A former logging operation in Cambodia has just been converted into a protected area for wildlife. Some good environmental news for a change! Several new animal species were even recently discovered at the designated site. Here's today's press release from the Wildlife Conservation Society:

Cambodia Creates First Park to Protect

Carbon and Wildlife

 

Forest stores carbon and provides key habitats

For monkeys, tigers, and elephants

 

Wildlife Conservation Society conducted key research

That led to park’s creation 

 

Creation of park is part of WCS’s new

“Carbon for Conservation” initiative

 

            NEW YORK (October 22, 2009)—The government of Cambodia has transformed a former logging concession into a new, Yosemite-sized protected area that safeguards not only threatened primates, tigers, and elephants, but also massive stores of carbon according to the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which worked closely with governmental agencies to help create the protected area.

(Credit for Images: WCS)

The Royal Government’s Council of Ministers recently declared the creation of the Seima Protection Forest, which covers more than 1,100 square miles along Cambodia’s eastern border with Vietnam.

“We commend the Royal Government of Cambodia for their decision to protect this important refuge for the region’s wildlife and also for safeguarding stocks of carbon,” said WCS Asia Program Director Colin Poole.

Seima is the first protected area in Cambodia created with the conservation of forest carbon as one of its key goals. WCS is helping to measure carbon stocks contained in Seima Protection Forest to calculate the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions that will not be released to the atmosphere as a result of the project’s work on reducing deforestation.

This effort will support WCS’s “Carbon for Conservation” initiatives to help provide incentives to people to protect their forest in high-biodiversity landscapes, which are being developed in conjunction with negotiations on a proposed international policy known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD).  In addition to work in Cambodia, WCS is supporting similar efforts in Bolivia, Guatemala, Chile, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Madagascar, and Indonesia.

“In addition to safeguarding the wildlife of Cambodia, Seima Protection Forest will serve as an important model for demonstrating how REDD could be implemented on the ground,” said Dr. Jane Carter Ingram of WCS’s Conservation Support Team. “Forests provide numerous benefits for both wildlife and rural communities, so efforts such as these will help on local, regional and global scales.”

The newly designated protected area contains 23 species of carnivore, including seven cat species, two bears, and two species of wild dog. Researchers have recently discovered species new to science, including one species of bat and two species of frog.

Seima will also continue to benefit local hunters and farmers from the Bunong ethnic minority, who have used the forest for many generations and will retain access in the newly designated protected area.

In addition to providing assistance to the Royal Government in the wildlife surveys used to establish Seima, WCS also works with law enforcement agencies to strengthen on-the-ground protection and engages with local communities on issues integral to balancing conservation with sustainable development such as land titling and natural resource usage.

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s conservation work in this area is supported by: Asian Development Bank, Eleanor Briggs, Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA), Department for International Development (DFID) United Kingdom, The East Asia and Pacific Environmental Initiative, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation, New Zealand Aid, Panthera, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and The World Bank.

                The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide.  We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo.  Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony.  WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth. Visit www.wcs.org.

Huge Anniversary Cake for Fish Unveiled at Monterey Bay Aquarium

October 21, 2009

Here's something even Duff Goldman hasn't baked yet: an anniversary cake for fish. You can see the cake in the below photo. It's not the tiered wedding-type cake in the forefront, but is instead floating in the water behind the diver. It looked to me like a giant Moon Pie. 

(Credit for all pics: Monterey Bay Aquarium. You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.)

The cakes for people and fish were in honor of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's anniversary. This beautiful California aquarium celebrated its 25th year yesterday.

Public Relations Manager Karen Jeffries informed me that the "fish cake" was concocted by the aquarium's dive team.

They "created it with krill—including some in the shape of sea stars—and squid in a bunch of water, then froze it," she said.

"It hovered in the Kelp Forest exhibit like a moon, slowly dissolving and releasing chunks of food for the fishes to eat," she added.

The two fellows cutting the other cake (for hungry human diners) are, left to right, Chuck Baxter and Dr. Steve Webster. Jeffries explained that they are two of the four co-founders of the aquarium. Dr. Webster retired a few years ago, but he still volunteers every week, sharing his knowledge about a favorite subject, invertebrates.

The sign-holding diver is Anne Scanlon.

Scanlon is a charter volunteer who started with the aquarium 25 years ago.

Jeffries said, "She also has the most amount of hours completed diving in our exhibits—over 6,000!"

Happy Anniversary, Monterey Bay Aquarium. Wishing you many more successful years to come.

For more information, check out the aquarium's entertaining blog, Sea Notes. 

Pterosaur Windsurfed Across Surface of Prehistoric Seas

October 20, 2009

A pterosaur could travel across the sea like a modern windsurfer, according to the following press release just in from Texas Tech University:

At first glance, the 115-million-year-old pterosaur looks like a Cretaceous design disaster. With a tail rudder on its head and a spindly, bat-like body, Tapejara wellnhoferi may appear fit for nothing but extinction.

However, researchers at Texas Tech University, the University of Kansas and University of Florida have found that the animal’s strange body actually made it a masterpiece of nature’s drawing boards. Not only could it walk and fly, but also it could sail across the sea.

Tapejara, a native coastal dweller of what is now Brazil, was an excellent flyer that also had an innate nautical knowledge of sailing, said Sankar Chatterjee, Horn Professor of Geosciences and curator of paleontology at the Museum of Texas Tech University.

(Sankar Chatterjee with Tapejara; Credit for both images: Texas Tech University)

Much like a Transformer, it could manipulate its body to match the same configuration as the world’s fastest modern windsurfers and sail across the surface of the ocean in search of prey. Then, it could take off quickly if the toothy underwater predators of its time got too close for comfort.

“The free ride from the wind would allow these animals to cover a large territory in search of food,” Chatterjee said. “Apparently, these pterosaurs knew the secrets of sailing that many novice sailors do not.”

Chatterjee and his research team determined Tapejara’s sailing ability by studying the aero-hydrodynamics of pterosaur wings through physics and computer simulation. He will present his findings Oct. 21 at the Geological Society of America’s annual meeting in Portland, Ore.

His research team included David Alexander, an animal flight expert from the University of Kansas, aeronautical engineer Rick Lind from the University of Florida and technician Andy Gedeon from Texas Tech.

The basic design of Tapejara is a cross between two types of sailing vessels, Chatterjee said. The “hull” of the pterosaur is formed by dipping the breast bone into the water. The two hind legs directed backward functioned like lateral hulls. This design allowed the animal to skate on top of the water on triple surfboards just like the Wiebel – the world’s fastest trimaran windsurfer. This hull design minimizes contact with water, offers stability and enhances speed.

Rather than depend on a tailwind for propulsion, which doesn’t maximize speed, the animal probably opted to use a two-mast-and-jib design.

The long, narrow wings of Tapejara and the tall cranial rudder mimicked those of a two-masted schooner with a jib, he said. The animal probably lifted its wings up vertically to act like sails during surface swimming. Rod-like structures called actinofibrils served as sail battens, giving stiffness to the wing skin so it wouldn’t tear from the breeze. The cranial rudder functioned as a sailboat’s jib and helped with direction control.

“In downwind sailing, the wings act like parachutes, and the air is decelerated,” Chatterjee said. “Most likely, Tapejara would orient the wings in a fore-and-aft position like that of a sailing boat to exploit upwind sailing. The tilted cranial sail would create a slot effect like a sailboat, which produces a greater lift by improving airflow over the main sails. With the wind coming from ahead and to the side at about a 45-degree angle to the body, Tapejara could achieve speeds exceeding the wind speed. The fastest way to sail is with the wind coming from the side.”

Pterosaurs were highly successful flying reptiles that lived 228 to 65 million years ago from the late Triassic Period to the end of the Cretaceous Period. They dominated the sky, swooping over the heads of other dinosaurs. Their sizes ranged from a sparrow to a Cessna plane with a wingspan of 35 feet, he said.

This isn’t the first time Chatterjee and Lind have studied the animal. Last October, they announced they are developing a 30-inch robotic spy plane called pterodrone and modeled after Tapejara.

The drone, featuring the same strange design of a rudder at the nose of the craft instead of the tail, can gather data from sights, sounds and smells in urban combat zones and transmit information back to a command center.

Also, this is the second animal Chatterjee has studied that beat mankind to the punch with a design. In 2006, his research found that a 125-million-year-old feathered dinosaur from China named Microraptor gui glided through the air with winglets on its feet that worked just like the wings of a bi-plane.

Professional Mimic Copies Animal Sounds- Listen!

October 19, 2009

How are your bird whistling skills? Or maybe you do a perfect imitation of a cat, dog or other animal? Chances are you are no match for this professional mimic, who is wowing audiences in Beijing, China.

Labyrinth Site Synonymous with Minotaur Unearthed?

The site that inspired the ancient Greek Labyrinth, a mythical maze that supposedly housed the bull-man Minotaur, may have just been unearthed in Crete by an international team of researchers.

Oxford University geographer Nicholas Howarth and his colleagues believe a cave complex near Gortyn on the Greek island could have led to the myth. The cave system consists of a twisting and turning network of underground tunnels. Howarth describes it as "dark and dangerous."

The 2.5-mile-long underground system is even called Labyrinthos Caves by locals. Some of its paths lead to large chambers, while others result in dead ends.

As for the Minotaur part of the story, many ancient cultures, including the early Greeks, believed that bulls were sacred animals. The worship of these animals spread throughout the world, and into numerous different countries and religions. If you look at some Christian nativity scenes, you might even see a bull or an ox standing next to the infant Jesus. A few carols mention that the bull warmed the baby with its breath.

So it is no surprise that bulls inspired the mythical Minotaur, a creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man. He supposedly lived at the center of the Labyrinth.

The mind reels thinking what might have actually happened in the Gortyn cave complex, if it indeed inspired the ancient Greek Labyrinth. (Knossos is another contender.) Could rulers have stuck a bull in the caves and then challenged certain individuals to go through the maze and attempt to come back out alive? I hope additional archaeological finds in future shed more light on the matter. 

One thing we can be sure of: Animals, such as bulls, inspired numerous half-man/half-beast mythical creatures.

Minotaur: Bull + Human

Centaur: Horse + Human

(Centaur image; Credit: Jastrow)

Satyr: Goat + Human

(Satyr Image; Credit: xerones)

Mermaid: Aquatic Animal (such as a dolphin or fish) + Human

(Mermaid Image; Credit: Pedro J. Perez)

 

Blue Shark Nursery Found Near Brazil

October 16, 2009

New evidence suggests a blue shark nursery exists in the Southwest Atlantic near Southern Brazil, according to a paper accepted for publication in the journal Fisheries Research.

(Image: NOAA)

Scientists Santiago Montealegre-Quijano and Carolus Vooren of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande monitored the composition and magnitude of blue shark catches by longline fishery operations off the coast of Brazil.

The researchers determined that large adult blue sharks were not present in the suspected nursery region, only juveniles. Size appears to be very important to life stage shifts in these sharks, as the small juveniles were found to remain at the site until they reached lengths of around 4 feet or more. 

"After that stage," the scientists conclude, "the large juvenile males disperse northwards, whereas the large juvenile females move to the south," and wind up going all the way to the southeast Atlantic off Africa.

The scientists added, "The subadult females move northwards in late summer (March) to areas beyond latitude 25°S."

Males and females seem to keep their distance from each other, save for in March, when the two groups meet presumably for mating season. Their offspring wind up in the nursery, and the whole cycle repeats itself.

Every so often we hear about such shark nursery discoveries. It's always good news, as the information can be used by conservationists to help identify areas that should be protected and monitored more closely.