About Those Birds

Yesterday, scientists in Australia were able to extract DNA from the egg shells of extinct birds. This is a big step for scientists who want to map out the genome of birds that have gone extinct due to human causes. However, they are not doing to resurrect the birds as that may not even be possible.

DNA was extracted from the moa, elephant bird, an Australian owl, and a New Zealand duck species. The team was unable to retrieve DNA from very old specimens (older than 50,000), such as the Genyornis.

The moa was a flightless bird that lived in New Zealand and was hunted to extinction by the Maori in the late 18th century. The elephant bird is similar to the moa and was hunted to extinction by Europeans settling in Madagascar by the year 1700. Both of the bird species were very large (3 meters or more).

The DNA was retrieved by turning the shell into powder and then extracting the DNA sequence. They were able to extract only 250 base pairs, which is less than one percent of the entire sequence. Even though they only extracted a tiny amount, the point is really to show that the process can be done. However, they will try to get more DNA out as that is their next move.

In the past, DNA was only retrieved from bones because eggs were overlooked. Now, scientists have found that DNA can be taken from egg shells. This is a new step in learning about species from our past.

Retrieving DNA from egg shells is really a great way to learn more about extinct bird species and maybe the scientists can extract more so we can possible recreate that species. Though, that might be a little too much to ask for.

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I have to start off by saying that I deeply despise the political arena due to the incessant lying and threatening. I also despise it for their complete lack of scientific knowledge, but love of discussing it. Politicians are not scientists and they hardly ever listen or care to listen to what real scientists say. Anyway, the greater sage grouse, which lives in the plains of the West, is not being listed as an endangered species even though its numbers are very low. At least for now its not receiving protection.

However, this decision basically reverses a decision made by the We-Don’t-Really-Care-About-Nature Administration (aka. Bush Administration) in 2004 saying that the sage grouse does not need protection and that it’s numbers are fine. Well, information came out later about that decision saying that there was some tampering of the data. The reports said that the bird and especially its habitat were in danger and needed listing, but it came out that Julie MacDonald of the Interior Department intimidated scientists to overrule their data. This is how awesome and nature-caring our government is.

There is an issue with protecting the bird though and that issue (like always) is something to do with money and economics. Ken Salazar, Interior Secretary, wanted to find middle ground between protecting the species and its land and keeping the land open to landowners and industries. The Fish and Wildlife Service also said that the bird should be added to the list, but that other species might benefit more from the endangered species protection.

The greater sage grouse is now put as a candidate species for the list. It may possibly become listed as endangered or threatened at a later date.

The sage grouse has lost habitat in very similar ways to many other bird species. Development of residences and energy have created a much smaller habitat for the sage grouse, which is a ground bird. One-hundred years ago there were approximately 16 million sage grouse, but now there’s about 200,000 – 500,000.

Many people argue against putting the sage grouse on the endangered species list because it would prevent ranchers from using the land and energy development and exploration of the land. Representative Rob Bishop states that the government places more emphasis on environmental concerns than it does on job creation. He believes that putting the sage grouse on the list would be a direct attack on everybody who uses the land.

Overall, this just seems like a huge mess and the sage grouse, who really can’t speak for itself, will once again lose to the greed of this nation. I understand that people need jobs (I actually need a job soon), but I also understand that we can’t just overlook the species that are in trouble. We created their situation and we shouldn’t continue to exploit their land. There is a solution somewhere and it needs to come before more of the sage grouse’ land is disrupted.

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The kakapo is a large, nocturnal, flightless parrot that lives in New Zealand. This yellow-green parrot is highly endangered as there are only 124 of them left in the world. Before people moved to the island, the kakapo was just fine roaming the wilderness without the ability to fly. They had no natural land predators, therefore they were never in any danger. Well, when people brought those land animals (cats, rats, stoats), the parrot could not defend itself and the population took a nose dive.

There is a recovery program for this species, which is great. The program is a partnership between the New Zealand Department of Conservation, Forest and Bird, and Rio Tinto Alcan NZ/New Zealand Aluminum Smelters. This group received great news last year when a higher number of chicks survived than previous years. These new chicks brought the species number to over 100, which hasn’t been seen in decades. The group works very closely with the birds and a lot of them have names. They think that their oldest one, Richard Henry, is probably at least 60 years old.

The high number of chicks that survived were captive bred in a highly successful program. Nearly all of the chicks survived and successfully released in the wild. The chicks are captive bred to increase chances of surviving and also due to the lack of food in the wild.

Another interesting trait about the parrots is their subsonic mating call, which is a boom like sound that can travel miles. Also, the parrot is the only flightless bird that has a lekking type mating system. This is where the males compete for females, but only one or a few of the males get to mate with all the females.

The remaining wild kakapos live on two islands off of New Zealand. Sanctuaries have been set up for their protection. Rat and other mammal predators have been removed from one of the islands, but still continues to be a problem.

Here’s a video of the kakapo that’s pretty funny because it tries to mate with the photographer!

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In 2007, the large-billed reed warbler was named the world’s least known bird. Recently, researchers discovered breeding pairs in Afghanistan. This is considered the only known range for this unknown warbler. The researchers found the birds in a place called Wakhan Corridor, which is in northeast Afghanistan and has been little affected by war. The researchers were apart of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Sweden’s Gothenburg University.

A variety of techniques were used to identify the birds, such as field observations, DNA examples, and specimens. About 20 birds were even caught and released.

This bird is not a recently discovered species as it was first noted in 1867. However, it would seem that the bird was all but lost except for its second discover in Thailand in 2006. Hardly anything is known about this species, which makes this new discover of breeding grounds so important.

Luckily, the bird was found in a location that has not felt the effects of war and could still hold biological secrets. The Wakhan Corridor houses snow leopards and wild Marco Polo sheep, along with the rare warbler.

Note: This will probably be my last post for a few days because of the holidays. I’m really busy at the moment and cannot make it to a computer most of the time. I hope you have a good Christmas tomorrow!

Obviously birds want their offspring to survive. They aren’t going to favor sick or small offspring instead of healthy ones. Parasites do pose a threat to young birds. If the parent birds can detect parasites in their young, they may cut those young out. This will save their energy and food resources for the unaffected young and for future breeding possibilities.

A recent study shows that parents will even cut their losses before the eggs even hatch.

The study focused on spotless starling nests. These nests are often infested with bloodsucking flies. The feces from the flies will stain the eggs. The more brown spot staining, the greater the chance for the babies to be infected with the flies.

The study of the starlings showed that human-cleaned eggs received more care from the males, but not females. The other eggs that were not cleaned received less care overall from both parents. It is thought that the males gave more attention than the females to the cleaned because they can have more broods during the breeding season, whereas females do not. The females want to have the best, most promising young because they do not breed as often.

This really makes sense because parents want to have the best for their young.

Picture credit to Armando Caldas on Flickr.

After nearly a decade, vultures are once again seen in Bihar, which is in Eastern India. Nests and babies have been sighted in the Valmiki Tiger Reserve. As many as four nests have been counted, which is a great increase from before when they were thought to be extinct. A few months ago a flock of about thirty vultures were sighted.

The reason for the vulture decline was the use of diclofenac, which is a veterinary medicine. The use of the medicine is the main reason for the vulture decline. The birds suffer from renal failure and eventually die. They ingest the medicine from dead carcasses. After the medicine was in tighter control, the vultures started to recover.

Recently a raid recovered over a thousand diclofenac vials that were going to be used for veterinary practices.

The ban of the medicine will enable the vultures to come back to the region, but this has not happened as of yet.

In an area that stretches from the Wash to the Thames Estuary, a marine conservation proposal is up for consideration. These new sites will be an extension to the Natura 2000 network, which is a network designed for habitat and species protection throughout Europe. Firms will be consulted over these possible new additions, such as fishermen, energy firms, leisurely interests, and sediment extractors. Possible impacts to the site will also be considered when consulting firms.

The areas are mostly coastal areas that can use the protection because they are used by many species, like shorebirds. The Outer Thames Special Protected Area contains nearly 40% of the entire country’s red-throated diver population. It also hosts more than 6,000 wintering birds.

Impacts to the sites also need to be considered. These impacts are usually from sediment mining, recreational activities, wind farms, and fishing.

If the sites are approved, it will be a great addition to the Natura 2000 network that protects marine sites. These sites are important for many species and they need to be protected.

Picture credit to Flickr user Dave Appleton.

As most people know, the males are usually the prettier sex in many animal species. It is very prominent in birds where the males are very colorful and the females are left drab. This may be due to choosy females and the males have to compete amongst themselves. However, in some species that live in family groups where not everyone breeds, the females get to have pretty plumage. This is so they can compete for males.

In many bird species there is just no incentive for females to be pretty because even the most drab will still mate. It’s the males that have to worry if they’re going to mate or not. When species work together to raise young, the females are not as drab because they have to compete to mate.

The research was done on the different species of starling in Africa. Starlings can be very diverse and when the work together in communities there is less difference between males and females. This proves the reason why many females have less than pretty coloring – they just have less work to do to mate. Its just when they work together when they have pretty feathers.

Picture: superb starling, which is a cooperative breeder.

Between November 28th and December 1st a whooping crane was shot. If you are not in the know – whooping cranes are endangered. So why would anybody want to shoot one? The answer is being investigated right now. The shooting happened near Cayuga, Indiana during migration.

Like I said above, whooping cranes are endangered, and there are only a few hundred left in the wild. Now there’s one less. For part of the year the whooping cranes spend a lot of time in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, which is along the Texas coast and the other time in Canada.

There is only one population of the cranes, which makes them highly vulnerable. In 2001, biologists attempted to create another population that bred in Wisconsin and wintered in Florida. However, the population is only sustained through captive breeding and releasing into the new population. The crane that was shot was a part of this new population.

Sadly, the crane that was shot was the only successful breeding female. Her and her mate had three chicks, two of which died. Now she will not be able to raise anymore chicks and the potential new wild population just got another set back.

When the chicks are hatched they are taught to fly and feed by people wearing crane costumes. An ultra-light airplane flown by a person in a costume is used to teach them to fly and then also flies them to Florida during migration. With all of this work and care taken to raise these chicks to be successful in the wild – its terrible to find one killed in the wild of unnatural causes.

This could be a hunter who mistakenly shot the crane and won’t come forward or it could be something else. Two other cranes from this new population have been shot since the program started in 2001. Also, in late November one of the migration hangars was vandalized. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the International Crane Foundation are offering a reward to anybody who has any information on the shooting or vandalizing.

Why anybody would want to sabotage a program that is trying to save a species is beyond me. I just really hope its just mistaken identity.

Top picture: credit to Flickr user sugarzebra.

Bottom picture: operation migration, credit to Flickr user D.L. Lindsey.

Here’s a tough decision: should barred owls be killed to save the northern spotted owl? The spotted owl’s numbers are declining despite efforts to save it. The barred owl is larger and more aggressive, which may be a reason the spotted owl cannot come back. There are talks about shooting or trapping and moving barred owls. If this works, then this practice will be done over a larger area.

The problem is really ethical issues. Should we shoot one species to save another species? Or should we let one species go extinct? It will not be an easy choice to make and I do not envy the person who has to make it.

The spotted owl uses the old growth forests of the region, which are not what they used to be due to logging. The owl is on the endangered species list and has been for quite some time, but its numbers still decline. Since logging has collapsed in the area, scientists are now looking towards the larger barred owl as the reason for the continued decline. The barred owl has mostly been found in the east, but has been moving towards the northwest in recent years.

Choosing one species over another is not a new idea. Sea lions are either moved or killed because they feed on the salmon, which is protected. Ravens and raccoons that feed on snowy plover nests are trying to be driven away by hunters.

However, the decision to kill/trap barred owls will not be made until more information is known about why the spotted owl is still declining. Though if barred owls are found to be contributing to the decline of spotted owls – they will be removed from the region.

Top Picture – northern spotted owl

Bottom Picture – barred owl