Coral reefs in danger of being destroyed

All of the tropical coral reefs in the world will be disintegrating by the end of the century because of the rising acidity of the oceans caused by a build-up of man-made carbondioxide in the atmosphere, a study has found.

Coral reefs start to disintegrate when the acidity of the oceans rises beyond a certain threshold, and this point is likely to be reached before 2100, said Jacob Silverman of the Carnegie Institution of Science in Washington.

Carbon dioxide in the air dissolves in the sea to form carbonic acid, which interferes with the ability of coral organisms to make their calcium carbonate shells which form coral reefs, Dr Silversman said. But once the shells stop forming, the reef quickly crumbles.

A mathematical model was used to study how 9,000 coral reefs from around the world would respond to rising levels of carbon dioxide and increasing ocean acidity, Dr Silverman told the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego.

"A global map produced on the basis of these calculations shows that all coral reefs are expected to stop their growth and start to disintegrate when atmosphere CO2 reaches 560 parts per million – double its pre-industrial level – which is expected by the end of the 21st-century," he told the meeting.

"Thus these ecosystems, which harbour the highest diversity of marine life in the oceans, may be severely reduced within less than 100 years."

The findings were based on a detailed study of how increasing acidity affects the metabolism and growth of a large area of fringing coral reef in the northern Red Sea. The scientists found that the ability of corals to form their calcium skeletons was strongly dependent on acidity and, to a lesser extent, temperature.

Coral reefs are sometimes considered to be the "rainforests of the oceans" because they are home to a wide variety of fish and other wildlife, supporting about a quarter of all marine organisms. They also provide food for about 500 million people around the world. Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are higher now than at any time in the last 650,000 years, and are continuing to rise as a result of the burning of fossil fuels. Between a third and a half of the CO2 produced since the start of the industrial revolution has dissolved in the oceans.

Scientists have estimated that some 118 billion tonnes of carbon released into the air as carbon dioxide between 1800 and 1994 has been taken up by the oceans.

Dr Simon Donner, of the University of British Columbia in Canada, said increasing ocean temperatures also make coral reefs more susceptible to "bleaching", caused by the loss of the photosynthetic algae on which the coral organisms depend.

Corals have a symbiotic relationship with the microscopic algae that live in their tissues. As well as giving coral its vibrant colour, the algae provide the reef creatures with most of theirenergy.

Mad man throws puppies over sea wall

Three rescued puppies are recovering after being thrown over a seawall and on to some rocks in Port Arthur.

Firefighters rescued the crying pups and placed the creatures with animal control.

KFDM-TV reports the man who tossed the animals on Sunday was heard saying he was "turning them into soldiers." A bystander noticed the abandoned puppies and summoned help.

Pat Lavergnec with Port Arthur Animal Control says the puppies, with health problems such as mange, were at the shelter today and available for adoption. She described them as a retriever mix.

The owner of the dogs, who was not immediately located, could face animal cruelty charges.

The San Diego Zoo ushered in Valentine’s Day with a bundle of joy that’s not so little.

A male African elephant was born about 2 a.m. Sunday at the zoo’s Wild Animal Park.

He and his mother Ndlula are reportedly doing well. Visitors camping overnight at the zoo could hear the herd trumpeting in the early morning -- a common behavior when a calf is born, according to the Associated Press.

The elephant, which hasn’t been given a name yet, is the sixth calf born to a herd that was brought to the park in 2003 from Swaziland.

Officials have not released the calf’s weight, but newborn African elephants typically weigh between 200 and 250 pounds and stand about 3 feet tall. The calf weighed 224 pounds at birth, and he came into the world unexpectedly early, said Yadira Galindo, a spokeswoman for the Wild Animal Park. Zookeepers had anticipated a birthdate of later in the month, so they had not yet set up a 24-hour watch. They learned about the birth after campers participating in the “Roar and Snore” sleepover program reported a commotion about 2 a.m.

“They heard all the trumpeting and all the noises, and when the sun rose they went out there and looked and saw the baby elephant out in the yard with the entire herd,” Galindo said. “The mothers were forming a protective circle around him, which is very natural behavior.

Zebra runs amok in US traffic

Rush hour traffic in the US city of Atlanta came to a standstill when an escaped circus zebra galloped along a busy section of highway.

The animal was first spotted around 4.30pm on Thursday in downtown Atlanta, said Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Monica Luck.

The animal made its way through downtown to the interstate highway that cuts through the centre of the city. Police cruisers blocked off all southbound lanes and were able to herd the zebra over to the right shoulder and off an entrance ramp, Luck said.

"It wasn't on the highway very long," she said. "But it was an inconvenient time for this to happen because the downtown connector southbound usually gets backed up on its own, that time of day."

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is in town this week. The circus also had a group of elephants corralled Thursday in a downtown Atlanta parking lot.

It's not the first time a zebra has been spotted along a metro Atlanta highway.

Deep-sea trawling is destroying coral reefs and pristine marine habitats

Deep-sea trawling is devastating corals and pristine marine habitats that have gone untouched since the last ice age, a leading marine biologist has warned.

A survey of the world's reefs and seamounts – giant submerged mountains that rise more than a kilometre above the seabed – has revealed widespread damage to the ecosystems, many of which are home to species unknown to science, said Jason Hall-Spencer at Plymouth University in the UK.

Hall-Spencer, a researcher involved with the Census of Marine Life, a worldwide project to catalogue life in the oceans, called for the establishment of an international network of marine reserves where deep-sea trawling was banned.

Deep-sea trawlers use giant, heavy-duty nets that are dragged over the seafloor at depths of more than a kilometre. The nets are fitted with rubber rollers called "rock hoppers", which destroy the corals that provide habitats for fish and other marine organisms.

The technique was developed for use in shallow waters with smooth sea floors, but as fish stocks dwindled and technology improved, fishingfleets began using the nets in much deeper waters.

Hall-Spencer said marine biologists have surveyed fewer than 1% of an estimated 50,000 seamounts in the world's oceans.

South Florida cold snap puts squeeze on pythons

Vultures circled over Everglades National Park's Anhinga Trail, where thousands of dead nonnative fish floated in the marshesDead iguanas have dropped from trees onto patios across South Florida.

And in western Miami-Dade County, three African rock pythons -- powerful constrictors that can kill people -- have turned up dead.

Although South Florida's warm, moist climate has nurtured a vast range of nonnative plants and animals, a January cold snap reminded these intruders that they're not in Burma or Ecuador anymore.

Temperatures in the 30s have apparently killed Burmese pythons, iguanas and other marquee names in the state's invasive species zoo.

"Anecdotally, we might have lost maybe half of the pythons out there to the cold," said Scott Hardin, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's exotic species coordinator. "Iguanas definitely. From a collection of observations from people, more than 50% fatality on green iguanas. . . . Lots of freshwater fish died; no way to estimate that."

Nonnative fish that have infested the Everglades are turning up dead in the thousands, including the Mayan cichlid, walking catfish and spotfin spiny eel, said David Hallac, chief biologist at Everglades National Park.

No one knows how many Burmese pythons live in the Everglades, where some were released as unwanted pets and others found refuge after hurricanes destroyed their breeding sites. But there are a lot fewer today than there were a month ago.

Unusually harsh winter temperatures in much of the United States have had a tragic effect on one of Florida's most oddly charismatic animals, killing up to 5 percent of the state's endangered West Indies manatees.

A record 280 or more manatees have already died this year from "Florida frostbite" and other illnesses related to exposure to cold, CNN reports. According to marine biologist Andy Garrett, who works for the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,

when water temperatures dip below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, these subtropical animals simply can't cope with the cold. Last month, Florida's water temperatures dropped as low as the 40s. While manatees are round and plump like seals and other marine mammals, their fat is not designed to insulate them from the cold.

Taking Refuge Near Power Plants
Compared to their relatives in the Caribbean, West Indies manatees spending the winter in Florida are already "at the marginal edge of their habitat, and are always susceptible to the cold," CNN says. Hundreds have taken refugee near Tampa Electric Co. and Florida Power & Light power plants, where water discharged into rivers and canals keeps temperatures high. Dr. Martine de Witt at the state wildlife conservation commission's necropsy lab in St. Petersburg says she's seen a surprisingly high number of full-size adults succumbing to the cold.

"That is a very bad sign," she said. The cold water shuts down their internal systems. Many were unable to eat; others drowned because they were unable to breathe. Garrett and de Wit believe that this may just be the beginning. They fear that more manatees will die during the spring, unable to recover from the trauma of Florida's deep freeze.

FLORIDA'S WILDLIFE FREEZING TO DEATH

With temperature in central Florida dipping down again this week, conservationists are bracing for more animal and plant deaths due to unusually long winter cold snaps that have resulted in record wildlife losses.

Manatees have been among the hardest hit, with over 200 killed in January alone, and carcasses continuing to wash ashore. The highest number of manatee deaths for a single calendar year in Florida waters is 429, so local officials are closely monitoring these endangered marine mammals.

"Manatees can experience what is known as cold stress syndrome when they are exposed to water below 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degree Celsius) for long periods.Fish experience similar problems, and widespread fish kills have been reported throughout the state. Multiple species, from small pilchards to larger snooks and tarpons, were affected. Young fish are particularly vulnerable. Dive teams have found the remains of numerous juveniles from fish such as barracudas, grunts, parrotfish and pinfish.

Officials remain cautiously optimistic about endangered sea turtles, which can suffer from "cold-stunning" when water temperatures drop to less than 50 degrees for prolonged periods.

Kenya relocates thousands of animals to game park

SOYSAMBU, Kenya — A senior Kenyan wildlife official says about 7,000 zebras and wildebeests are being moved to one of the country's premier game parks to restore the balance of predators and prey disrupted by last year's drought.

A senior scientist with the Kenya Wildlife Service says the animals are being taken from areas where they are abundant in an effort to replenish Amboseli National Park's population. Charles Musyoki says more than 60 percent of the park's zebra and wildebeest population died during the drought.

KWS staff have moved 137 zebras this week from the privately owned Soysambu Conservancy.

Musyoki says 4,000 zebras will be moved within three weeks. The wildebeests will take longer because many have or are about to give birth to newborns, he says.

Bees Recognize Human Faces Using Feature Configuration

Going about their day-to-day business, bees have no need to be able to recognise human faces. Yet in 2005, when Adrian Dyer from Monash University trained the fascinating insects to associate pictures of human faces with tasty sugar snacks, they seemed to be able to do just that. But Martin Giurfa from the Université de Toulouse, France, suspected that that the bees weren't learning to recognise people. Because the insects were rewarded with a drop of sugar when they chose human photographs, what they really saw were strange flowers. The important question was what strategy do they use to discriminate between faces," explains Giurfa. Wondering whether the insects might be learning the relative arrangement (configuration) of features on a face, Giurfa contacted Dyer and suggested that they go about systematically testing which features a bee learned to recognise to keep them returning to Dyer's face photos. 

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FEWER THAN 50 WILD TIGERS LEFT IN CHINA

Fewer than 50 wild tigers remain in China, a conservation group said Monday, voicing hope that the Year of the Tiger would not be the last for the endangered cats.

Xie Yan, director of the China program for the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), said that just 20 years ago tigers still roamed across large swathes of China.

But based on data from the year 2000, there are only around 15 Bengal tigers left in Tibet, 10 Indochinese tigers in China's southwest, and around 20 Siberian tigers in the northeast, she told reporters.

And the South China tiger may already be extinct. According to the international conservation group WWF, none have been spotted in the wild since the late 1970s. In the 1950s, there were around 4,000.

Degradation of the animal's habitat and poaching of the tiger and its prey are blamed for its rapid disappearance.

China banned international trade in tiger bones and related products in 1993, but completely stamping outpoaching and illegal trade has been a challenge due to weak law enforcement, experts say.

"Tiger conservation has been depressing for many years, (numbers) keep dropping and dropping," Xie said.

"But last year is the first year I've felt a lot of confidence from the support of the central government, the State Forestry Administration, and the local governments," she added.

"We see improvement in the management of nature reserves, we see the understanding of local communities, so I hope the tiger year will be the turning point for tiger conservation in China," she said, referring to the Chinese Year of the Tiger which starts on Feb. 14.

China was among 13 Asian countries which last month pledged to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022 and called for the protection of habitats to save the animals from extinction. The global wild tiger population is estimated to be at an all-time low of 3,200, down from an estimated 20,000 in the 1980s and 100,000 a century ago.

Xie said the greatest hope for tigers in China was in the country's extreme northeast, which borders on Russia where hundreds of Siberian tigers live in the wild.

Authorities in the northeast are implementing several measures to protect the animal and one nature reservein Jilin province has launched a tiger tourism program, she said.

The Hunchun Nature Reserve started an annual tiger festival last year, and has plans to develop eco-tourismfurther with possible excursions into the wild, said Xie.

Man vs. Crocodile vs. Giant Nile Perch: An African Fishing Adventure

When you mention perch to Americans, most of us think of the small, feisty panfish native to our Northern waters: fun on light tackle and delicious on the table, but a bit lacking in the size department. Mention perch to those who have fished in Africa, however, and you'll get a very different reaction. In Africa, perch fishing means swift, dark water, man-eating crocs, hippos, and Nile perch, a fish that routinely outweighs the men who pursue it. Nile perch, which swim in lakes and river systems throughout Africa, are one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. They are popular targets for European anglers, and so, earlier this year, British fisherman Tim Smith traveled to Uganda's Murchison Falls on the Nile River, hoping to catch -- and release -- a trophy.

U.S. SENDING MORE BOMB-SNIFFING DOGS TO IRAQ

The American military is stepping up the delivery of bomb-sniffing dogs to Iraq with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government under pressure for using equipment that may be ineffective in finding explosives.

The first 25 of 145 trained bomb-detection dogs are due to arrive Friday in Baghdad, Army Maj. Sylvester Wegwu told The Associated Press. The remaining 120 dogs will be delivered over the course of a year, said Wegwu, who works as military adviser to the Baghdad Police College.

The airlift follows a request to the U.S. military from Iraqi officials for more of the trained dogs, signaling that Iraq is looking to use other bomb-detection methods after questions were raised about the capabilities of a wand-like, bomb-detection device widely used at checkpoints across Iraq.

The dogs' arrival comes as U.S. and Iraqi officials warn of a possible increase in violence ahead of national elections slated for March 7.

The new Iraqi canine teams could be deployed within 45 days, with a handful of them out on Baghdad's streets ahead of the vote, said police Brig. Gen. Mohammad Mesheb Hajea, who oversees the training program.

Iraqi forces have been reluctant to expand the use of bomb-sniffing dogs until recently because of Muslim traditions that view dogs as unclean.

The dogs will be used to search cars, buildings and other areas, though they will not be used to check people for explosives unless a specific individual is a suspected bomber, Hajea said.

"Our culture is different from the European culture and the American culture," said Hajea, who also runs his own veterinary clinic in Baghdad. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has said Iraqi authorities have requested scanners capable of looking inside sealed portions of vehicles in addition to the dog teams.

FLA. KITEBOARDER KILLED BY SHARKS

Sharks killed a kiteboarder off South Florida's Atlantic coast in the state's first deadly shark attack in five years, authorities said.

A lifeguard spotted Stephen Howard Schafer, 38, in distress about 500 yards off the beach Wednesday. When he paddled out, he found Schafer bleeding and surrounded by several sharks. Schafer was taken to a hospital and died a short time later, according to Rhonda Irons, public information officer for the Martin County Sheriff's Office.

FISH CAUGHT EVOLVING INTO THREE DIFFERENT SPECIES

The King demoiselle is not just one type of fish, but three distinct groups that recently split from each other, according to a new study.

By essentially catching one species in the process of turning into three, the study suggests that conservation efforts might be failing a variety of species that have yet to be identified.

"This work, along with others, is starting to show that there is a lot more biodiversity in the oceans then we previously thought," said Joshua Drew, a marine conservation biologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. "We really are in a situation where we are losing things before we even know they exist."

The King demoiselle is a variety of damselfish that lives in the Indo -- West Pacific, from the Solomon Islands to the Philippines and through central Indonesia. The area is known for its spectacular diversity, but the region also faces serious threats, including pollution, blast fishing, and oil spills from the shipping industry.

King demoiselles are common in shallow waters throughout the region's reefs. The fish are small -- about the size of a human thumb. And they come in a wide range of color patterns, from spotted blue to gray with a big yellow stripe.

Those color variations alone don't necessarily mean much. In plenty of reef species, individual fish can take on a huge variety of appearances. Juveniles often look different from adults. Males might look different from females. While doing other research in the field, though, Drew's colleagues noticed that groups of King demoiselles looked different in different geographical regions.

Wondering if there might be something genetic going on, the researchers sent about a dozen fish samples to Drew in Chicago. The samples were from three separate populations of fish in the South China Sea, the Philippines and Indonesia.

In his lab, Drew analyzed the samples for three genes -- one that has evolved slowly, and two that have changed rapidly through time. His results showed a clear pattern: The genes that have changed quickly look different from one geographical group to the next, indicating that the groups only recently began to split.

"That means that this little fish we thought was broadly distributed has a mosaic of individual populations and each one is genetically distinct," said Drew, whose study has been accepted for publication in the journalCoral Reefs. "That highlights how little we really know about how biodiversity on Earth is distributed."

Even though fish are some of the most scrutinized creatures on Earth, the study points out that we still don't have a good idea of how many fish species there are, said marine biologist Brian Bowen, of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology in Kaneohe. In one of his own recent genetic studies, eight of the 15 Atlantic reef fish species he looked at turned out to be multiple species.

"For less well-studied groups, there are probably vast quantities of diversity we don't know and may never know about if we don't continue looking for them," Bowen said. "It indicates there are a lot of unknowns out there."

The findings add urgency to the search for new species and the need to protect coral reefs, Drew added.

For a long time, scientists thought that populations of reef fish like the King demoiselle would simply mix with each other across oceans, because their larvae are so small and so easily sloshed around by currents. Instead, this study and others now suggest that larvae tend to settle near where they were born.

In other words, many species of fish may have small geographic ranges, and destroying even one small section of reef could lead to extinctions. That could be bad news, considering recent research found that only 15 percent of reefs in the Indonesian archipelago are healthy today, Bowen said, compared with 30 percent a decade ago.