Paris-based Gecko Biomedical has licensed the technology and plans to bring it to market in Europe first
If the new glue passes Gecko Biomedical's further testing and makes its way into hospitals it could be the first such glue that works under the tough conditions in the heart.
The new species previously unknown to science include 38 different ants 12 fishes 14 plants eight beetles two spiders one reptile and one amphibian.
The Diamondback Moth invaded Canada a long time ago and brought with it an appetite for crops such as cabbage and canola.
Young designed and performed experiments to see which wasp is better at controlling Diamondback Moth populations under various conditions.
#Feeding by tourists compromises health of already-endangered iguanas, study findsfeeding wildlife is an increasingly common tourist activity
but a new study published online today by the journal Conservation Physiology shows that already-imperilled iguanas are suffering further physiological problems
and endoparasitic infection rates between northern Bahamian rock iguanas inhabiting tourist-visited islands and those living on non-tourist-visited islands.
They took blood and faecal samples from both male and female iguanas over two research trips in 2010 and 2012.
The Bahamian rock iguana is among the world's most endangered lizards due to habitat loss introduced mammals illegal hunting threats related to increased tourism and smuggling for the illicit pet trade.
While the two groups of iguanas did not differ in body condition indicators for dietary nutrition differed.
Both male and female iguanas from the islands frequently visited by tourists showed notably different levels of glucose potassium and uric acid.
Male iguanas from the tourist areas differed in levels of calcium cholesterol cobalt copper magnesium packed cell volume selenium and triglycide concentrations.
Meanwhile female iguanas from tourist areas differed significantly in ionized calcium. Among both males and females from tourist areas there was a 100%endoparasitic infection rate.
Tourist-fed iguanas also displayed atypical loose faeces. Dr Knapp says Both sexes on visited islands consume food distributed by tourists
although male iguanas are more aggressive when feeding and eat more provisioned food. Consequently they may be impacted more by provisioning with unnatural foods
Iguanas on visited islands predominantly eat grapes that are provided by tour operators on a daily basis. The higher concentrations of glucose found in tourist-fed iguanas may be a result of being fed too many sugary fruits such as grapes.
An overabundance of grapes in those iguanas'diets could also explain the excessive diarrhea observed during the study.
Both male and female iguanas from the tourist areas showed notably lower levels of potassium than the non-visited iguanas.
The male tourist-fed iguanas have raised cholesterol concentrations which may indicate the introduction of meat to their diet.
Similarly the higher uric acid levels in male and female iguanas could be the result of animal protein such as ground beef being fed to iguanas by tourists.
Furthermore food provisioning by tourists on beaches has encouraged the iguanas to spend disproportionate amounts of time foraging in the area rather than further in the island resulting in higher levels of marine life being ingested.
Further plant community dynamics can be disrupted by changed feeding patterns in the iguanas. Dr Knapp says The complete restriction of feeding by tourists may not be a realistic option.
Instead wildlife managers could approach manufacturers of pelleted iguana foods and request specially-formulated food to mitigate the impact of unhealthy food.
and discourage references to feeding iguanas on advertisements. We urge serious discussions among wildlife managers
The drawings depict an assemblage of animals including armadillos deer large cats birds and reptiles as well as humanlike figures and geometric symbols.
and small turtles that are preserved with it in the Two Tree Site fossil deposit. The oldest platypus fossils come from 61 million-year-old rocks in southern South america.
Burmese pythons devastate local wildlife in the Everglades. These are invasive species: nonnative animals and plants carried by people into new locations that take hold disrupting
In a previous study the researchers found that mast cells produce enzymes that can detoxify components of snake venom
Pre-immunization with a low dose of venom from the Russell's viper also protected mice from a higher dose of venom from this snake which is one of the big four species responsible for most snakebite
or reptile venom but it would be unthinkable to test lethal doses of venom in humans.
Reptile and arthropod venoms are complex chemical cocktails. Some venom components have evolved to mimic chemicals made by the human body such as endothelin-1
and now this demand is being linked to the contamination of Central america's crocodilians. New research published in Environmental Toxicology
and Chemistry analyses blood samples from spectacled caiman in Costa rica and finds that intensive pesticide use in plantations leads to contaminated species in protected conservation areas.
Tortuguero is home to the spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) one of the most common species of crocodilian in Central america.
The team collected blood samples from 14 adult caiman and analyzed them for traces of 70 types of pesticide.
Caiman within the high intensity banana crop watershed of Rio Suerte had higher pesticide burdens relative to other more remote locations.
The nine pesticides detected in the caiman blood were identified as insecticides. Of these seven were listed as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS) banned under the 2011 Stockholm Convention.
Caiman near banana plantations had higher pesticide burdens and lower body condition said Grant. This suggests that either pesticides pose a health risk to caiman
or that pesticides harm the habitat and food supply of caiman thereby reducing the health of this predator.
As long-lived species atop the food chain crocodilians provide an integrated assessment of the fate of pesticides in tropical areas
and can be indicative of pesticide damage throughout the ecosystem. Caiman and other aquatic species have been exposed to pesticides from upstream banana plantations even in remote areas of a national wilderness area concluded Grant.
Banana plantations may be economically important to Costa rica; however their erosion of aquatic ecosystems highlights the need for a developed regulatory infrastructure and adequate enforcement.
#Crocodile confession: Meat-eating predators occasionally eat fruitit turns out that alligators do not live on meat alone.
Neither do Nile crocodiles. A new study led by the Wildlife Conservation Society says that the American alligator
and a dozen other crocodile species enjoy an occasional taste of fruit along with their normal meat-heavy diets of mammals birds and fish.
The study gives new insight into the possible role that crocodilians some of which have large territories may play in forest regeneration through digesting and passing seeds from fruits.
The study appears in the July issue of the Journal of Zoology. Authors include: Steven Platt of the Wildlife Conservation Society;
Ruth M. Elsey of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; Hong Liu of Florida International University and the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden;
The authors looked at 18 species of crocodilian ranging from the American alligator to the fearsome Nile crocodile
Much remains to be learned about how crocodilians process carbohydrates and other plant-based nutrients though studies suggests that fruit eating is likely to yield nutritional rewards for crocodilians.
Although underreported fruit eating appears widespread among crocodilians said the study's lead author Steven Platt of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Given the biomass of crocodiles in many subtropical and tropical wetlands and their capacity for ingesting large numbers of fruits we consider it likely that crocodilians function as significant seed dispersal agents in many freshwater ecosystems.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Wildlife Conservation Society. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference e
#Honeyguide birds destroy own species eggs to eliminate competitionlike cuckoos honeyguides are parasitic birds that lay their eggs in other birds'nests
and 2011 Princeton graduate Ryan Huynh--challenges predictions that higher global temperatures will result in the widespread extinction of cold-blooded forest creatures particularly lizards.
#Timber rattlesnakes indirectly benefit human health: Not-so-horrid top predator helps check Lyme diseasethe scientific name of the timber rattlesnake Crotalus horridus is a sign of the fear
and loathing this native North american viper has inspired. But research by a team of University of Maryland biologists shows the timber rattlesnake indirectly benefits humankind by keeping Lyme disease in check.
The team's findings to be presented today in a talk at the annual conference of the Ecological Society of America highlight the potential benefits of conserving all species--even those some people dislike.
Human cases of Lyme disease a bacterial illness that can cause serious neurological problems if left untreated are on the rise.
Timber rattlers are also top predators in Eastern forests and their numbers are also falling so former University of Maryland graduate student Edward Kabay wanted to know
whether the rattlers also play a role in controlling Lyme disease. Kabay used published studies of timber rattlers'diets at four Eastern forest sites to estimate the number of small mammals the snakes consume
and matched that with information on the average number of ticks each small mammal carried. The results showed that each timber rattler removed 2500-4500 ticks from each site annually.
Because not every human bitten by an infected tick develops Lyme disease the team did not estimate how many people are spared the disease because of the ecosystem service that timber rattlesnakes provide.
But Kabay who is now a science teacher at East Chapel hill High school and his research colleagues will talk about the human health implications of their work on Aug 6.
Timber rattlesnakes are listed as endangered in six states and threatened in five more under the Endangered Species Act.
The Arctic ocean did not have ice in the summer and nearby land was warm enough to support alligators and palm trees.
--Eurhopalothrix zipacna named for a violent crocodile-like Mayan demon and found in Guatemala and Honduras.--Eurhopalothrix xibalba or a place of fear for the underworld ruled by death gods in certain Mayan mythology.
So far only a gecko and a caecilian a legless amphibian are known from this area as having a similarly limited distribution Because of their limited distribution
#Snakes devour more mosquito-eating birds as climate change heats forestsmany birds feed on mosquitoes that spread the West Nile virus a disease that killed 286 people in the United states in 2012 according to the Centers
However rising temperatures threaten wild birds including the Missouri-native Acadian flycatcher by making snakes more active according to University of Missouri biologist John Faaborg.
A warmer climate may be causing snakes to become more active and seek more baby birds for food said Faaborg professor of biological sciences in MU's College of Arts and Science.
Increased snake predation on birds is an example of an indirect consequence that forecasts of the effects of climate change often do not take into account.
In the heart of Missouri's Ozark forest cooler temperatures usually make snakes less active than in the edge of the forest or in smaller pockets of woodland.
Since snakes are cold-blooded warmer temperatures make the reptiles more active and increase their need for food.
Previous studies using video cameras found that snakes are major predators of young birds. Over the past twenty years fewer young Acadian flycatchers (Empidonax virescens) survived during hotter years according to research by Faaborg
Faaborg suggested that a likely reason for decreased baby bird survival in hot years was an increase in snake activity.
Also slithering it way onto this year's top 10 is a snail-eating false coral snake as well as flowering bushes from a disappearing forest in Madagascar a green lacewing that was discovered through social media
Snake Sibon noalamina Country: Panamasnail-eating snake: A beautiful new species of snail-eating snake has been discovered in the highland rainforests of western Panama.
The snake is nocturnal and hunts soft-bodied prey including earthworms and amphibian eggs in addition to snails and slugs.
This harmless snake defends itself by mimicking the alternating dark and light rings of venomous coral snakes.
The species is found in the Serranã a de Tabasarã¡mountain range where ore mining is degrading
During the span of more than 60 million years Gondwana shifted from a state of deep freeze into one so hot and dry it supported the appearance of reptiles.
#Climate change may have little impact on tropical lizards: Study contradicts predictions of widespread extinctiona new Dartmouth College study finds human-caused climate change may have little impact on many species of tropical lizards contradicting a host of recent studies that predict their widespread extinction in a rapidly warming planet.
The findings appear in the journal Global Change Biology. Most predictions that tropical cold-blooded animals especially forest lizards will be hard hit by climate change are based on global-scale measurements of environmental temperatures
which miss much of the fine-scale variation in temperature that individual animals experience on the ground said the article's lead author Michael Logan a Ph d. student in ecology and evolutionary biology.
and used those measurements to project the effects of climate change on the running abilities of four populations of lizard from the Bay Islands of Honduras. Field tests on the captured lizards
Previous studies have suggested that open-habitat tropical lizard species are likely to invade forest habitat
The overall results suggest that global-scale predictions generated using low-resolution temperature data may overestimate the vulnerability of many tropical lizards to climate change.
Whereas studies conducted to date have made uniformly bleak predictions for the survival of tropical forest lizards around the globe our data show that four similar species occurring in the same geographic region differ markedly in their vulnerabilities to climate warming the authors wrote.
Considering that these populations occur over extremely small geographic ranges it is possible that many tropical forest lizards
and the particular focus of the study higher densities of a native species of gecko Lygodactylus keniensis.
Unexpectedly the area between two close glades had some of the lowest gecko lizard densities and tree growth rates of the entire study.
On that day Fernandes a researcher for the Instituto Arara Azul a partner organization observed a group of approximately 30 white-lipped peccaries at Caiman Lodge near the town of Miranda in the Pantanal one of the world's largest tropical wetlands.
but while groups such as mammals birds and reptiles have been understood fairly well by scientists for decades knowledge about relationships among many types of fishes was essentially unknown--until now.
which covers most of Arizona western New mexico and northern parts of the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua.
The species has a distribution falling entirely within the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Centre of Endemism in South africa where an extraordinary amount of endemic species is found with around 30 endemic reptiles and emblematic mammals such as the blue duiker antelope.
They developed the lethal genetic sexing system in two pests the pink bollworm which damages cotton crops and the diamondback moth
#Genome of diamondback moth provides new clues for sustainable pest managementan international research consortium led by Fujian Agriculture Forestry University (FAFU)
and BGI has completed the first genome sequence of the diamondback moth (DBM) the most destructive pest of brassica crops.
The diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) preferentially feeds on economically important food crops such as rapeseed cauliflower and cabbage.
Compared with other sequenced insect species they found that the diamondback moth possesses a relatively larger set of genes
and have the first publicly accessible database of diamondback moth genome. I expect we could translate our achievements into real actions for sustainable pest management in the near future.
The complete genome sequence of diamondback moth is publicly available via visit http://www. iae. fafu. edu. cn/DBM.
The area is is the largest block of continuous mangrove forest in the world being home to almost 500 species of reptile fish bird
#Pythons, lionfish and now willow invade Floridas waterwaysforeign invaders such as pythons and lionfish are not the only threats to Florida's natural habitat.
He has documented many ways that animals in the wild from lizards and lemurs to ants use various parts of their bodies to avoid hard landings on the ground.
Furthermore the New zealand Kunzea species provide an important habitat for a wealth of endemic geckos orchids
When Snakes Meet the New jersey Highwayroads are a challenge for northern pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) in the New jersey Pine Barrens based on the findings that Ward will present at the ESA meeting on Aug 15.
Ward has worked on both substrate experiments--testing how well snakes move across different types of road surfaces
--and landscape-level analyses of how much snake-friendly habitat is actually available for pine snakes without requiring dangerous road-crossings.
He has found that snakes move much faster and with less sinuous movement on sand compared to asphalt and concrete surfaces.
In New jersey the most densely populated state in the country the network of roads can dramatically shape the area of land that snake populations can occupy without facing significant risk of population loss during road crossings.
Roads reduce the number of snakes we can have by creating more small patches of usable habitat in many cases too small to support even a single pine snake Ward said.
and habitat types in the pine snake's historic range in New jersey and identified a total of 3872 habitat patches divided by roads and natural barriers.
Of those only 156 patches were of a large enough size to support a small population of 3-5 adult snakes.
and provide connectivity for snakes and other wildlife to cross them safely. Two years ago the New jersey Air National guard agreed to participate in a pilot study to test the feasibility of using culverts to guide snakes under roads as part of a larger study of northern pine snakes at Warren Grove Gunnery Range.
The New jersey State department of Transportation installed culverts under portions of the Atlantic city Expressway last year.
Newborn Snakes Finding Their Path Through Lifemost reptiles are said great mapmakers Smith a doctoral student in Drexel's Laboratory of Pinelands Research who will present research on northern pine snakes at the ESA
Adult snakes tend to have a good idea of where they are and what is around them
but neonates or newborn snakes don't have those mental maps established when they first emerge from the nest.
Smith is tracking neonate pine snakes to find out where they go and where they stay to get a deeper picture of the species'habitat needs.
He is supplementing that tracking with simple experiments to find out why snakes might go one way or another.
Smith's tracking of neonate pine snakes over two years has shown that the young snakes stay fairly close to the nest in their first year--ranging from 30 to about 250 meters away
Although pine snakes are considered an upland species the neonates moved readily through lowlands and wetlands as well as grassy areas.
Smith has performed also behavioral experiments with neonate snakes to test the hypothesis that their movements could be influenced by social factors.
Sometimes more than one female pine snake will nest in a single burrow Smith said. The neonates may then come out with some siblings and some non-siblings.
if neonate snakes prefer to follow their siblings or unrelated neonates. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Drexel University.
Co-evolution benefits Australias martu people and wildlifeaustralia's Aboriginal Martu people hunt kangaroos and set small grass fires to catch lizards as they have for at least 2000 years.
The new study found that small grass fires set by Martu to reveal sand monitor lizard holes created a patchy mosaic of five stages of vegetation at different post-fire ages increasing
and burning to expose lizard burrows. As people spend more time hunting in a region kangaroos densities actually increase but only up to a threshold after
An earlier study by the same researchers showed Martu-set fires increase sand monitor lizard populations despite the negative impact of hunting.
Martu usually women set small fires in spinifex grass--the dominant vegetation--during wintertime hunts to expose burrows occupied by 2-foot-long sand monitor lizards or sand goannas
It's like sand monitor lizard. Martu men drive along dirt four-wheel-drive tracks to different hunting areas.
It's just that the Martu tend to hunt kangaroos in the same areas where they burn the grass to hunt lizards.
and recorded the amount of time they spent hunting for different things (including lizards and kangaroo) and foraging for bush fruits Codding says.
Snakes turtles prairie chickens and other nesting birds are less likely to be destroyed during fall and winter burns as wildlife is often hibernating underground
A lot of other species rely on these thicket habitats including bobcats birds and reptiles. Many thicket-dependent species are on decline
but Erika Nowak and her team at Northern Arizona University are determined to aid in its recovery recently rescuing several snakes from ash-filled floods in Oak Creek Canyon following the Slide Fire.
She said Oak Creek is one of the few places where the snake numbers are still somewhat healthy
Additionally the ash covers rocks and small holes making it difficult for the snake to hide while hunting.
Though the snakes can survive for some time without food they will eventually starve to death Nowak explained.
The second was to salvage some of the snakes to ensure we had genetic material from them in captivity
Other contributing factors are habitat degradation causing higher water temperatures and decreased water quality and accidental or intentional killing of snakes by humans.
but also collect blood so we can compare blood values from captive snakes to wild snakes to improve our husbandry efforts.
and females and simulating the natural lifecycle of the snakes including hibernation. One female recently was confirmed pregnant
The team hopes the snakes will thrive and continue to breed so they can eventually be reintroduced into the wild in places like Oak Creek.
and has earned common names like crazy worm snake worm and Alabama jumper by flopping and wriggling vigorously when handled.
The Scansoriopteryx should rather be seen as an early bird whose ancestors are to be found among tree-climbing archosaurs that lived in a time well before dinosaurs.
Their findings validate predictions first made in the early 1900's that the ancestors of birds were small tree-dwelling archosaurs
Lagoons are known to be ecologically important to a variety of mobile species including manta rays sharks turtles and dolphins.
Previous studies by Eberle and colleagues showed the fauna there included ancestors of tapirs hippo-like creatures crocodiles and giant tortoises.
and a diverse range of birds reptiles amphibians and mammals with some only found in this region making it
A leaf-tailed gecko hatched June 2. The leaf-tailed gecko is a large nocturnal gecko from Madagascar threatened with extensive habitat loss from cattle grazing logging agriculture and collection for the pet trade.
Three loggerhead shrike chicks hatched in Mid-may at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute In front Royal Va. Loggerhead shrikes also called butcher birds are songbirds that hunt small animals by impaling them on thorns or barbed wire.
Ants move more soil than earthworms plus they are food for lots of reptiles and birds.
Also on the list are a gecko that fades into the background in its native Australia
the shrimp Liropus minusculus with its phantasmagoric appearance and the gecko which bears a disturbing likeness to some imaginary monster.
Mother of Dragons Dracaena kaweesakii Location: Thailand Sounding like something out of Game of Thrones and standing 12 meters (nearly 40 feet) tall it's hard to believe the dragon tree went unnoticed this long.
Leaf-tailed Gecko: Look Hard to See This One Saltuarius eximius Location: Australia It's not easy to spot this gecko which has an extremely wide tail that is employed as part of its camouflage.
With longer limbs a more slender body and larger eyes than other Saltuarius species this one has mottled a coloration that allows it to blend in with its surroundings.
Native to rain forests and rocky habitats this gecko is a bit of a night owl. It is found on the vertical surfaces of rocks
Surveys of similar habitat near the area where this species was found did not reveal additional populations so this may be a rare species. The gecko was discovered on rocky terrain in isolated rain forests of the Melville Range of eastern Australia.
and predates the Noronha skink which is endemic to the archipelago. Understanding how the cattle egret colonized Brazil is crucial for the better understanding of dispersal patterns of bird populations
#Crocodile tears please thirsty butterflies and beesthe butterfly (Dryas iulia) and the bee (Centris sp.
On a beautiful December day in 2013 they found the precious nutrients in the tears of a spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) relaxing on the banks of the RÃ o Puerto Viejo in northeastern Costa rica.
while the caiman basked placidly and the insects fluttered about the corners of its eyes.
and moths in the Amazon feeding on the tears of turtles and a few caimans. Tear-drinking lachryphagous behavior in bees had only recently been observed by biologists.
He remembered a 2012 report of a solitary bee sipping the tears of a yellow-spotted river turtle in Ecuador's Yasunã National park
and Tribulations story about the Ecuadorian bee and the river turtle by Olivier Dangles and JÃ rã'me Casas in ESA's Frontiers.
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