Wildlife News Roundup - January 2009

In this issue of Wildlife News Roundup, we find out about a jellyfish that when stressed reverts to an earlier stage in its life cycle, the underlying trigger for locusts to switch from a solitary to swarming lifestyle, and a brewing argument between the Nature Conservancy and the Department of Homeland Security. There is also news of a rise in the mountain gorilla population in Virunga National Park and a sharp decline in the northern rockhopper penguin population.

• Rising Acidity Is Threatening Food Web of Oceans (New York Times) — January 30, 2009. Our planet's oceans are natural buffers for climate. They absorb a significant amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and in doing so help to temper global warming. But the carbon dioxide absorbed by our oceans raises the acidity of the water and that means coral reefs, shellfish, and marine food webs are at risk.
• 'Immortal' Jellyfish Swarm World's Oceans (National Geographic) — January 29, 2009. When the tiny jellyfish, Turritopsis dohrnii, encounters stresses such as lack of food or physical damage, it reverses its life cycle and transforms back into a polyp colony.
• Locust Swarms Switched On by Brain Chemical (National Geographic) — January 29, 2009. Locusts live a dichotomous lifestyle, alternating between solitary individuals and swarming masses. Now scientists believe they have found the mechanism that turns on and off the two very different lifestyles of the locust.
• Mountain Gorilla Population Increases Despite War (WWF) — January 27, 2009. The WWF reports that the mountain gorilla population in Virunga National Park has risen despite war in the region. The gorilla numbers rose from 72 individuals in 2007 to 81 at present.
• Nature Conservancy Fights Planned Border Fence (NPR) — January 26, 2009. The Department of Homeland Security intends to erect a border fence made of concrete and barrier, 18-feet high, inside the boundaries of the Nature Conservancy's Lennox Foundation Southmost Preserve. The Nature Conservancy is fighting the action and has turned down $114,000 in mitigation moneys from the government.
• Growing Taste for Reef Fish Sends Their Numbers Sinking (New York Times) — January 19, 2009. Demand for reef fish at restaurants in Southeast Asia and mainland China is having a severe impact on the fish populations in the Coral Triangle, a protected marine region home to the world’s richest ocean diversity.
• Penguins Are Walking an Increasingly Rocky Road (BirdLife International) — January 16, 2009. The northern rockhopper penguin population has plummetted 90 precent over the last five decades according to BirdLife International. The northern rockhopper penguins inhabit primarily UK territories throughout the South Atlantic and as a result British conservationists are looking to the UK Government to provide resources to protect the threatened birds.
• Mystery Ailment Killing Endangered Pelicans (NPR) — January 16, 2009. Scientists have found that an unknown illness is spreading through populations of California brown pelicans. Sick birds grow thin, dehydrated and disoriented. As of yet, no cause has been determined.
• Ten Extinct Beasts That Could Walk the Earth Again (New Scientist) — January 7, 2009. The deciphering of the DNA sequence of the extinct woolly mammoth prompted science writer Henry Nicholls to speculate about the animals scientists might someday be able to bring back to life.
• Move Over, Polar Bear (New Scientist) — January 7, 2009. The polar bear is not alone in its vulnerability to climate change. There are thousands of species that inhabit the planet's tropical rainforests that face equal peril in as temperatures rise.

About Wildlife News Roundup

Wildlife News Roundup is a monthly digest featuring animals and wildlife headlines from around the web. It includes headlines from well-established sources such as the World Wildlife Fund, BBC News, New York Times, National Public Radio, National Geographic, and Birdlife International. The sources are selected with care and include only those that archive articles for many years, offer top-notch science writing, and follow stories as they develop over time.

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Photo © Fotoron / iStockphoto. Northern rockhopper penguin.