Dear Kitty. Some blog

November 18, 2009

Whales and other marine animals near Scilly [Mammals, Fish] — Administrator @ 9:52 pm


This video is called The Isles Of Scilly Wildlife Trust.

From Wildlife Extra:

700+ whales and dolphins seen from Scilly ferry

17/11/2009 16:33:04

Cornish marine survey records 8 species from ferry

November 2009. Marine life surveys conducted onboard Scillonian III this season by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust have turned up some fantastic results, confirming that this route between Penzance and St Mary’s is an excellent platform for wildlife watching.

The surveys, led by Paul Semmens, were have been conducted weekly on Wednesdays between April and the end of October. On the way out to the islands Paul recorded casual sightings while talking to passengers about marine conservation and wildlife spotting. On the way back from Scilly Paul joined the crew up on the bridge and kept a careful watch as he did a scientific transect survey.

The sightings, combined with observations given to the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust by the crew, gave a total of 786 sightings of at least 7 different marine animals.

—————

2009 sightings

Common dolphin 458

Harbour porpoise 171

Basking shark 79

Bottlenose dolphin 27

Ocean sunfish 22

Minke whale 13

Risso’s dolphin 12

Unidentified cetacean 4

Number of each species seen during surveys from the Scillonian in 2009.

More wildlife than birds in British bird reserves [Plants etc., Environment, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Fish, Invertebrates] — Administrator @ 9:27 pm

This video from Britain is called Common birds, Northampton January 27th 2008, RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.

From Wildlife Extra:

13,400 species on RSPB reserves – Less than 3% are birds

18/11/2009 10:34:25

RSPB reserves not just for birds, says new report.

November 2009. Less than three per cent of the species recorded on RSPB reserves are birds, according to a new report.

For the first time the RSPB’s annual report on its 200 reserves across the UK has collated records of all species together - and come up with some surprising results. Of the 13,400 species recorded on our reserves, more than half are insects, almost a quarter are fungi and 12 per cent are plants.

140,000 hectares

RSPB reserves cover 140,000 hectares across the UK - just 0.6% of the area of Britain - yet this land features 68% of Britain’s native plant species, 78% of its spiders, and all of its resident reptiles and dragonflies. …

Nationally important fungi sites - New species?

Gurney added “The RSPB’s woodland reserves are great places to go to discover fascinating fungi, and now is the perfect time of year to do it. Our reserves at Abernethy in Inverness-shire and Tudeley Woods in Kent are nationally important sites for the rare tooth fungi. Surveys there have already revealed two species new to Britain and experts believe another species may prove to be entirely new to science.

“And while our reserve at Minsmere in Suffolk is a mecca for birdwatchers, mycologists have found over 1,500 species of fungi there, including the endangered bearded tooth fungus. We are grateful to all the dedicated enthusiasts like these, who have helped us record wildlife on our reserves.”

41 mammal species, 500+ spiders

The 3,136 recorded fungus species on RSPB reserves are only 21% of the total number of known UK fungi. However our reserves do have 75% of Britain’s vascular plant species (1,137), 77% of grasshopper and cricket species (23), 78% of spider species (505) and 93% of land mammal species (41). All the native British species of cockroaches (3), earwigs (4), dragonflies (45), lampreys and hagfish (3), and terrestrial reptiles (6) can be found on RSPB reserves.

Seahorse’s Atlantic crossing [Fish] — Administrator @ 1:50 pm


From the BBC today:

Seahorse ‘hitchhikes’ Atlantic

By Jody Bourton
Earth News reporter

Navigating the world’s oceans can be a difficult task for anyone.

For a tiny seahorse with only small fins and a tail for locomotion it seems an impossible task.

However, a seahorse that lives on the western coast of the Atlantic has been found in the Azores almost 5000km away from its possible home.

Researchers suggest the seahorse may have completed the epic journey using its prehensile tail to hitch a ride on a raft of floating sea grass.

An international team of researchers from the UK and the Azores publish their discovery in the Journal of Fish Biology.

Lost at sea

The seahorse was found by a fisherman on the isolated Azores archipelago in the eastern Atlantic.

Two species of seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus and Hippocampus hippocampus are native to Europe and the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal.

The researchers compared the morphology and DNA of the seahorse with the two native species and found it was a lined seahorse Hippocampus erectus usually found along the Atlantic coast and Caribbean sea coasts of North, Central and South America. …

The researchers say that this is the first record of the species in the eastern Atlantic.

Seahorses are cryptic animals and blend into their habitat living among seaweed in shallow water along coastlines.

So exactly how it arrived on the other side of the Atlantic in the Azores posed a key question for the researchers.

Life raft

They suggest the seahorse may have been released by someone who kept the seahorse in an aquarium.

Another possibility is the fish may have been transported to the Azores in the ballast water of a ship.

However, the most likely explanation the researchers believe, is the seahorse hitched a ride across the ocean on a floating raft.

November 17, 2009

Baby sharks born on fishing boat [Fish] — Administrator @ 12:14 pm

One of the baby sharks, Ecomare photo

From Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad:

Sharks born on Texel fishing boat

DE KOOG - On the conveyor belt of the Texel fishing boat TX68, this weekend eleven little spiny dogfish sharks were born.

RTV N-H says so. While working at a dead shark, suddenly the babies appeared. The fish were brought to natural history museum and seal asylum Ecomare.

Spiny dogfish are ovoviviparous. This means that the eggs develop within the mother’s body … The baby sharks of the TX68 were about to be born, as they were already 25 cm long.

The spiny dogfish is the commonest shark in the North Sea.

See also here. And here.


This video says about itself:

Baby Spiny Dogfish

Premature dogfish sharks. Usually the yolk sac is not so large. The urchins and sea-stars kept trying to eat these guys until I put them in separate tanks.

November 11, 2009

Australian Mary River conservation victory [Environment, Reptiles, Fish] — Administrator @ 11:57 pm


From AFP news agency:

Australian dam project shelved to save fish, turtles

Thursday, November 12

SYDNEY - – Australia on Wednesday rejected plans to build a massive new dam, despite pleas it is needed to provide water to residents, because of its feared impact on endangered fish and turtles.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the 1.8 billion dollar (1.7 billion US) Traveston Crossing Dam, in Queensland state, would have had an irreversible impact on Australian Lungfish, the Mary River Turtle and Mary River Cod.

“It is clear to me that the Traveston Dam cannot go ahead without unacceptable impacts on matters of national environmental significance,” Garrett told reporters.

“The area that would be flooded by this proposal is a critical habitat for populations of these species.”

A huge community campaign in opposition to the construction of a new dam on the Mary River, north of Brisbane, ended last week with a victory for people power: here.

November 6, 2009

Bitterns and other London birds [Birds, Amphibians, Fish] — Administrator @ 4:02 pm


This is a video of a bittern in winter.

From Wildlife Extra:

Bitterns and large flocks arriving at WWT London

03/11/2009 18:02:35

Bumper flock of wintering birds at WWT

November 2009. The first bittern of the season was seen flying over WWT London Wetland Centre on 16 October, earlier than ever. It has now settled amongst the reeds. The bird has been arriving earlier and earlier in the year since it first appeared in 2002. It is not known why this pattern of early arrival seems to be emerging, but speculation at the centre points to weather patterns and winds on the continent, where this individual is believed to come from. The London Wetland Centre in Barnes is one of a very few locations in London to see a bittern, and certainly the closest the bird gets to the City centre.

Excellent predator

Keen birdwatchers at the centre have seen the bird several times in the Wildside of the reserve where it is likely to stay until February or March. Expectation is high for one or two more bitterns to fly into the centre, as there were three visiting the centre in 2008. Bitterns usually take a few weeks to find their winter feeding spot, but once they do they remain in their territory through the winter. The birds are excellent predators, feeding mostly on perch, but also prey on roach, frogs, eels and small birds. Known as shy creatures, they are excellent camouflage artists concealing themselves from larger predators and humans.

Hundreds of gadwall and shoveller

“The centre has been attracting high numbers of wintering birds in the past few weeks, and the bittern always brings excitement to the reserve because it is such a rare bird in the UK. Nationally significant duck numbers have already been reached, with hundreds of gadwall and shoveller seen on the main lake,” said Adam Salmon, Reserve Manager. “Other highlights include good counts of arriving redwing and Cetti’s warblers. There are still chiffchaff and blackcap around, some of which may over-winter, siskin and lesser redpoll are feeding now through the birch trees.”

Other spectacular autumn birds seen at the London Wetland Centre this week include water pipit, rock pipit, mealy redpolls, jack snipe, brambling, tree sparrows and woodlark. Centre staff are expecting a woodcock to arrive this winter as it did in 2008.

Guided walks

Visitors can take in all the sights of the autumn migrations on self-guided tours through the site, or book a Wildlife Walk for Members tour on 7 November and 5 December. An introductory birdwatching course is being held on 10 January.

Visit www.wwt.org.uk/london or call 0208 409 4400 for more information and to book.

Aristotle and the Hibernation of Birds: here.

Each autumn, in the northern hemisphere, a mass exodus commences; Northern Saw-whet Owls Aegolius acadius depart their breeding grounds in the boreal forest belt of Canada and the northern United States for more temperate climes in which to pass the winter months: here.

Tanzania: November 11, 2009. Crowned Cranes, Common Swifts and Palearctic passerines by the Mara River: here.

November 5, 2009

Pike swallows bream and dies [Fish] — Administrator @ 6:08 pm

Not long ago, this blog blogged about a big pike who tried to eat a big zander, causing both fish to die.

Abramis brama, carp bream

Today, in the museum, another big pike. It is now exhibited in the entrance hall, with a big carp bream which it had tried to eat in Peizermade in Drenthe province, still stuck inside its mouth.

November 4, 2009

New marine species discoveries off New Zealand [Economic, social, trade union, etc., Environment, Fish, Invertebrates, Biology] — Administrator @ 2:20 pm


This video from New Zealand says about itself:

Carinate Rattail - (Macrourus carinatus)

This weird (ugly) fish is from 1061m deep. From off north-east Chatham Rise, east of New Zealand.

From the Otago Daily Times in New Zealand:
Scientists discover new deep sea life off NZ coast

Wed, 4 Nov 2009

A deep-sea marine biodiversity survey of seamounts on the Chatham Rise has produced a bounty of new species.

The finds were made by National Institute of Water Atmospheric Research (Niwa) research vessel Tangaroa, on 18-day voyage in July along the Chatham Rise.

The rise stretches for 1000km from near the South Island eastward.

The finds include a coral genus Narella and nicknamed “Rasta” because of its long white dreadlock-like branches; a tiny squat lobster measuring 1cm across; and some specimens of sea urchin which are commonly known as Tam O’Shanters due to their similarity to the Scottish hat.

“There are three new corals that we are confident are new species from the area,” said scientist Di Tracey. …

Three surveys of the Graveyard region since 2001 have revealed high levels of biodiversity, and many undescribed species.

They include benthic macroinvertebrates — animals without backbones that are larger than millimetre long — such as corals, sponges, seastars, snails, lobsters, clams, and marine worms.

The first survey alone showed 15 percent of the species collected were unknown in the New Zealand region, plus 14 species new to science. Six new species of lace coral were discovered in the second survey in 2006.

Seamounts can be ecologically valuable as hotspots of biodiversity and economically valuable and they are often the target of commercial fishing.

But the Chatham Rise — where the fishing industry wiped out the commercial viability of the orange roughy through overfishing — is also being targeted by miners eyeing its multi-billion dollar phosphate resources.

Widespread Energy and its parent company Widespread Portfolios applied in August 2007 for a prospecting licence over a 3048 square kilometre area of the rise.

It hoped that 100 million tonnes of phosphorite (rock phosphate) valued at more than $50 billion can be scraped off the seabed.

And an Auckland company Chatham Phosphate Ltd has applied for another 71,750sq km around the Widespread prospect.

November 3, 2009

Cormorants, egrets, helping each other [Birds, Fish] — Administrator @ 12:10 pm


By Harvey van Diek, SOVON Vogelonderzoek in the Netherlands:

Lately, people can see a special phenomenon in the Ooijpolder near Nijmegen. Great cormorants and great egrets have joined forces in fishing.

In a small pond, about 30 by 30 meter, in the early morning scores of cormorants are fishing together. Hunting together increases chances of success. It is known just comparatively recently that cormorants fish together; it was seen for the first time in the Naardermeer.

Meanwhile, great egrets have discovered this special spectacle as well. Sometimes, on the banks of the pond, about 20 egrets stand waiting patiently until the cormorants have driven the fish so far that they almost literally swim into the eager waiting egrets’ bills. On the other hand, the great egrets drive the fish which they do not catch, back to the cormorants’ bills. Let us say: a win-win case.

October 29, 2009

Rare burbots in the Netherlands [Environment, Fish] — Administrator @ 12:31 pm


In British waters, the burbot is extinct.

During the twentieth century, this fish species also became extinct in much of the Netherlands because of pollution.

Recently, a professional fisherman in Flevoland province caught five adults. The biggest of those fish was 60 centimeter. So, for the burbot, though on the Dutch red list, there still may be some hope.

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