[ekim68]

Originally Posted by poochee

Many don't appreciate the fauna and flora.

And the air they breathe...

[poochee]

updated 12:50 p.m. EDT, Fri June 13, 2008
Rare male sea dragon pregnant
By Mallory Simon
CNN

Story Highlights
Male sea horses, sea dragons and pipe fish carry eggs instead of the female
Breeding of weedy sea dragons is rare because so little is known about their mating
Eggs should begin to hatch in four to six weeks
Staff altered lighting conditions, adjusted plants to see if conditions would help

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- He's pregnant.

After setting the mood with lighting and finessing, the Georgia Aquarium's attempts to coax rare sea dragons to mate have finally worked -- just in time for Father's Day.

The pregnant male weedy sea dragon is now only the third of its kind in the United States to successfully become pregnant outside of its natural habitat.

Excerpt from: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science...ef=mpstoryview

[ekim68]

White rhino in Congo on brink of extinction

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Rhino numbers in Africa have reached record levels but one sub-species confined to a remote and lawless corner of Congo is on the brink of extinction, a leading conservation group warned on Tuesday.

While populations thrive elsewhere, the northern white rhino -- found only in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Garamba National Park -- has been hounded by poachers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/envir...40200620080617

[ekim68]

Study: Shark species face extinction

WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- The Mediterranean Sea shark population fell 97 percent in the past two centuries and 19 shark species face extinction, researchers have concluded.

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008...7601214800031/

[ekim68]

Penguins Setting Off Sirens Over Health Of World's Oceans

ScienceDaily (July 1, 2008) — Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, penguins are sounding the alarm for potentially catastrophic changes in the world's oceans, and the culprit isn't only climate change, says a University of Washington conservation biologist.

Oil pollution, depletion of fisheries and rampant coastline development that threatens breeding habitat for many penguin species, along with Earth's warming climate, are leading to rapid population declines among penguins, said Dee Boersma, a University of Washington biology professor and an authority on the flightless birds.

"Penguins are among those species that show us that we are making fundamental changes to our world," she said. "The fate of all species is to go extinct, but there are some species that go extinct before their time and we are facing that possibility with some penguins.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0701083537.htm

[poochee]

Originally Posted by ekim68

Penguins Setting Off Sirens Over Health Of World's Oceans

ScienceDaily (July 1, 2008) — Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, penguins are sounding the alarm for potentially catastrophic changes in the world's oceans, and the culprit isn't only climate change, says a University of Washington conservation biologist.

Oil pollution, depletion of fisheries and rampant coastline development that threatens breeding habitat for many penguin species, along with Earth's warming climate, are leading to rapid population declines among penguins, said Dee Boersma, a University of Washington biology professor and an authority on the flightless birds.

"Penguins are among those species that show us that we are making fundamental changes to our world," she said. "The fate of all species is to go extinct, but there are some species that go extinct before their time and we are facing that possibility with some penguins.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0701083537.htm

[lotuseclat79]

Species extinction threat underestimated due to math glitch, says study.

Extinction risks for natural populations of endangered species are likely being underestimated by as much as 100-fold because of a mathematical "misdiagnosis," according to a new study led by a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher.

-- Tom

[ekim68]

'Invasive' humans threaten U.S. coral reefs

Half of all U.S. coral reefs, the center of marine life in the Pacific and Caribbean oceans, are either in poor or fair condition, a federal agency warns today.

The report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration places much of the blame on human activities and warns of further oceanwide decline.

Reefs closer to cities were found to suffer poorer health, damaged by trash, overfishing and pollution.

"Human impacts are making the big difference," says NOAA's Timothy Keeney, co-chair of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force. "Humans are the most invasive species of all."

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science...al-reefs_N.htm

[poochee]

Originally Posted by ekim68

'Invasive' humans threaten U.S. coral reefs

Half of all U.S. coral reefs, the center of marine life in the Pacific and Caribbean oceans, are either in poor or fair condition, a federal agency warns today.

The report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration places much of the blame on human activities and warns of further oceanwide decline.

Reefs closer to cities were found to suffer poorer health, damaged by trash, overfishing and pollution.

"Human impacts are making the big difference," says NOAA's Timothy Keeney, co-chair of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force. "Humans are the most invasive species of all."

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science...al-reefs_N.htm

[ekim68]

Study: Orangutans could face extinction in wild

BANGKOK, Thailand - Orangutan numbers have declined sharply on the only two islands where they still live in the wild and they could become the first great ape species to go extinct if urgent action isn't taken, a new study says.

The declines in Indonesia and Malaysia since 2004 are mostly because of illegal logging and the expansion of palm oil plantations, Serge Wich, a scientist at the Great Ape Trust in Iowa, said on Saturday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25540331/

[poochee]

Originally Posted by ekim68

Study: Orangutans could face extinction in wild

BANGKOK, Thailand - Orangutan numbers have declined sharply on the only two islands where they still live in the wild and they could become the first great ape species to go extinct if urgent action isn't taken, a new study says.

The declines in Indonesia and Malaysia since 2004 are mostly because of illegal logging and the expansion of palm oil plantations, Serge Wich, a scientist at the Great Ape Trust in Iowa, said on Saturday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25540331/

[lotuseclat79]

Sturgeon swimming towards 'extinction vortex'.

Irrational preferences for rare products are likely to drive the few remaining caviar sturgeon in the Caspian Sea to extinction, warn biologists in France. They have shown that snobbish attitudes drive a strong preference for caviar supposedly from "rare" species, even when the samples are the same.

-- Tom

[ekim68]

You know, I heard someone say:

It takes 2 million years to build a 2 million year-old eco-system....There's a lot to that...It's harder to build it than it is to let it go...

[ekim68]

More on the coral reefs:

Ocean quest: The race to save the world's coral reefs

Last week, scientists issued their latest, grim assessment of the world's coral reefs. But as Steve Connor reports from Florida, extraordinary new ocean 'reseeding' techniques mean there may still be time to halt – or even reverse – the destruction of mother nature's marine marvels.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environ...fs-869589.html

[poochee]

Informative articles.