Posts for the ‘species’ topic
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A family affair
Last week, CI scientist Robin Moore spent two days traveling in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, one of Mexico’s most ecologically diverse regions. This is what he found. Bolitoglossa salamander in the Sierra Gorda. © Robin Moore I am not sure what it is that makes the Sierra Gorda feel so magical; whether it is the golden sunlight that filters through fern-laden trees to a carpet of soft moss on the forest floor; the knowledge that jaguars slink silently and invisibly through the dappled light, or uncovering cryptic salamanders lurking in the bromeliads that drip from the trees. Whatever it is, ... -
Drought in East Africa: The Human Benefits of Standing Forests
This week, an Associated Press article about drought in Kenya brought millions of people’s attention to the deep connections between the environment and human well-being. It is during years of extreme weather events such as severe drought, flooding, hurricanes and wildfires that we are all reminded how close many people live to the very edge of survival and at the behest of Mother Nature. This is the case for many in East Africa, which is now plagued by the worst drought in nearly 50 years. The failure of the last two anticipated rainy seasons has led to rivers drying up and ... -
New Hope for World’s Rarest Lemur
A recent scientific expedition in Madagascar's Ankeniheny-Zahamena rainforests has found evidence of the greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) in twice the number of locations it was previously believed to inhabit. Believed to be the world's most endangered lemur, with less than 100 remaining in the wild, this discovery by a team of researchers from CI and partner organizations spells hope for this and other species that may have higher numbers than have been recorded. Local conservationists believe that the support from local communities is playing a key role in the protection of important lemur habitat. The lemurs' presence in the ... -
Cheetah Sighting
Reason #17 why I love my job: not many people get to spend their lunch hour four feet away from a live cheetah. Then again, I suppose some people might see close proximity to a large, agile carnivore as less than desirable, but I trusted in the cheetah's more than capable handlers to control him. This 11-month old "cheetah ambassador" came as a visitor from the Columbus Zoo, along with an Anatolian shepherd dog that has been raised alongside the cheetah. The zoo staff has found that raising the dogs together with the cheetahs makes the cheetahs more relaxed and even-tempered ... -
Expedition Phoenix Islands: Blog from the Boat
Today, after a spectacular series of dives, PIPA director Tukabu Teroroko, Tuake Tema, Rob Barrel, Alan Dynner, Kate Madin, Larry Madin, Brian Skerry, Jeff Wildermuth and I landed on Nikumaroro to check for the presence of invasive species. Invasive species are organisms that do not belong there and were brought by humans. Nikumaroro is uninhabited today, but over the centuries there had been periodic settlements. We were checking for rats, cats, rabbits, and other organisms that can harm the native animals and plants. Kiribati has successfully worked hard on Phoenix and McKean Islands to eradicate rats and rabbits. But Tukabu and I ... -
A Wild Encounter
One of the many perks of not having an office job: looking up from your work to see a 1,300 kg (almost 2,900 lb) mammal swim by. While National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists Giuseppe Di Carlo (now CI’s Marine Climate Change Manager), John Burke and Jud Kenworthy were collecting fish samples near the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, they encountered a West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) grazing on a nearby seagrass bed. The waters off western Puerto Rico have a small resident manatee population, whose survival depends on the health of nearby rivers emptying into the sea, as ... -
A Leatherback Story: Amazing Survivors, Incredible Opportunities (Part 3 of 3)
Read part 1 and part 2 of this series If you have never seen one, leatherbacks are pretty much dinosaurs. They are huge and look like something that hasn’t changed in millions of years. When I first saw this 900-pound figure crawl out of a pitch black ocean, I was not entirely sure that what we were doing was safe. It stirred something deep inside of me though. Something basic, something old. We allowed the turtle to nest, and once it started laying eggs we checked for its tags and measured the length of the shell, recording all of our findings. ... -
A Leatherback Story: Shell Beach (Part 2 of 3)
Read part 1 of this series The beach is comprised of brown sand that runs directly into the thickest jungle imaginable. The water is murky from the jungle silt deposited by the rivers just north of the beach, and there was a constant 20mph wind coming directly off the Atlantic. I set my tent up under a hand-built hut with no walls and took a tour of the camp. There was one main hut, which served as the kitchen and gathering place. There was no power so everything was cooked over a fire pit. Rain water was used for food preparation ... -
Stephen Nash: An Artist at the Forefront of Conservation Efforts (Part 2 of 2)
Read Part 1 of this series Conservation in Daily Life Nash is constantly awed by the wonder of nature, which motivates him to use his art to communicate this fascination to the rest of the world. Nash’s inspiration often comes from his own backyard, where he and his wife have created a garden that he calls their "miniature wildlife habitat and conservation laboratory." For example, he’s always amazed when he encounters an insect that he has never seen before, like the walnut sphinx moth (Amorpha juglandis) that he encountered recently. Instead of grabbing a pen and paper to quickly sketch this new insect, ... -
Stephen Nash: An Artist at the Forefront of Conservation Efforts (Part 1 of 2)
If there is one thing about conservation efforts Stephen Nash would express to colleagues and budding environmentalists, it is that you don’t have to be a scientist to make a difference. As CI’s Scientific and Technical Illustrator, Nash’s 20-plus year career producing educational and scientific documentation materials has led him on a life-long journey to use his artistic talent for conservation. A Lifetime with Nature Growing up in rural Essex, England, Nash was originally intent upon pursuing a career in medical illustration, but soon realized that he was more interested in drawing animals. In college, Nash was influenced by professors Edward O.Z. Wade ...
