Discoveries / Research News - 2008

May 16, 2008. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced today that the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) is to be granted protection under the US Endangered Species Act. The long overdue listing decision classifies the species as 'threatened' and represents the culmination of more than three years of petitions, law suits, scientific evaluation, and controversy. In his announcement, Kempthorne revealed that the Bush Administration would hold a tight rein on the listing. It was clear the Bush Administration has no intention of allowing the Polar Bear's status under the ESA to impose any restraints on industry.

May 10, 2008. An international team of scientists has decoded the genome of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) and in doing so, expects to gain valuable insights into the evolution of mammals. Platypuses represent an ancient branch of mammals that today retains features of both mammals and reptiles. Now that the genome of platypuses has been sequenced, scientists can investigate the species' genetic constitution to gain a better understanding of the relationship between platypuses and their reptilian and mammalian cousins.

April 30, 2008. Scientists from Queens University report that the greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) has recently been introduced to Ireland. The shrew, a species native to Africa, France, and Germany, has previously been spotted in the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly but until recently had never before been seen in Ireland. The shrew was first detected in Ireland by Dave Tosh, a PhD student at Queens University. While researching the diet of barn owls in Ireland during the winter of 2008, Tosh found some unusual remains in the owls pellets.

March 30, 2008. A research team studying the genetic diversity of giraffes has shown that there may be more than just one species of giraffe. The team, lead by David M. Brown from the University of California, Los Angeles, examined the mitochondrial DNA sequences obtained from wild giraffes from various populations throughout Africa. The classification of giraffes into various species and subspecies has been the subject of ongoing debate for many decades. Previous schemes defined one or two species of giraffes with up to ten subspecies.

February 18, 2008. The Wildlife Conservation Society has recently completed a study concluding that jack rabbits have quietly disappeared from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem encompases riparian and mountainous terrain in and around Yellowstone National Park. It extends beyond the official boundaries of Yellowstone and includes the nearby Grand Teton National Park as well. The reason for the jack rabbits' disappearance is not known, though some possible causes of their disappearance include disease, harsh weather conditions, or predation.

February 15, 2008. Two bat fossils recovered from the rocks of southwestern Wyoming have given scientists new clues about early bat evolution. The fossils have been classified as belonging to a new species of ancient bat, Onychonycteris finneyi, which lived about 52 million years ago. The fossils were unearthed in 2003 from Wyoming's Green River Formation, a geologic formation that dates back to the Eocene epoch (58-37 million years ago) and consists of layers of sediment deposited in a chain of intermontane lakes. The fossils depict a type of bat that possessed well-developed wings capable of flight.

January 25, 2008. The fossil remains of a 48-million-year-old mammal have been unearthed by a team of scientists working in the Kashmir region of India. The research team, lead by Hans Thewissen of the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy, classified the animal as an even-toed ungulate and described it as small and deerlike in build. They named it Indohyus. Indohyus is thought to be a very special discovery. It appears the animal spent much of its life in or near water.

January 17, 2008. What threat does climate change pose for bird species throughout Europe? This question lies at the heart of a recently-released report, A Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds, published by a partnership between Durham University, the RSPB and Lynx in association with the University of Cambridge, BirdLife International and the European Bird Census Council (EBCC). The study employs a technique called 'climate envelope modeling' which enables scientists to predict the distribution of species under current, past, and future climate conditions.

January 15, 2008. The shipworm, despite its name, is not a worm at all. Instead it is a type of marine clam that burrows into the wood of ships and piers where it wreaks havoc. The shipworm feeds on the wood, thus weakening the ships and piers it inhabits. But wood is a nutrient-poor food source which by itself does not provide the protein necessary to sustain the clam. To live, it relies on bacteria that live within its gills. These bacteria form a symbiotic partnership with the shipworm and enable the tiny clam to harvest nitrogen from the air and convert that nitrogen into much needed protein.