tag:theconversation.com,2011:/nz/topics/wildlife-623/articlesWildlife – The Conversation2024-03-27T21:16:32Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2261122024-03-27T21:16:32Z2024-03-27T21:16:32ZTo manage chronic wasting disease, some animals die so more can live<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583970/original/file-20240325-26-fc30f1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C44%2C4928%2C3209&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Managing the spread of chronic wasting disease in British Columbia means assessing and responding to the threat.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Things are moving quickly, and they need to. On March 13, the Government of British Columbia <a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024WLRS0012-000342">announced that it would be harvesting 25 deer in the Kootenays</a>. This announcement came six weeks after chronic wasting disease (CWD) — <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/cwd-animals.html">a 100 per cent fatal disease of cervids</a> (deer, elk, moose, caribou) — was first detected in the province. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, for a disease like this, in efforts to protect many animals, some will die. </p>
<p>CWD is <a href="https://theconversation.com/chronic-wasting-disease-has-been-detected-in-british-columbia-deer-and-we-need-to-act-now-222812">incredibly difficult to manage</a> and nearly impossible to eradicate. Infected animals don’t <a href="https://doi.org/10.2147/VMRR.S197404">show symptoms for about 18 months</a>, which means that an animal’s appearance or behaviour doesn’t necessarily reflect whether it has CWD or not.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/chronic-wasting-disease-has-been-detected-in-british-columbia-deer-and-we-need-to-act-now-222812">Chronic wasting disease has been detected in British Columbia deer, and we need to act now</a>
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<p>An infected animal continuously sheds the infectious agent — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1212/CON.0000000000000251">a protein called a prion</a> — into the environment in their <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/transmission.html">saliva, feces and urine, and through their bodies when they die and decompose</a>. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12568">prions stay infectious for years</a>, although researchers still don’t know for how long. To make matters worse, there is no way to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1053/tvjl.1999.0406">disinfect or burn these prions away</a>. And so, reducing disease spread is still the best approach to minimizing impacts on cervids and the people who rely on them. </p>
<h2>Removing animals</h2>
<p>Preventing CWD spread often involves removing animals from the environment, among other regulatory measures such as <a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024WLRS0007-000192">restricting the transport and disposal of road-killed cervids in affected areas</a>. This is partly because the samples tested for CWD (tonsils, lymph nodes) cannot be collected from live animals.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584386/original/file-20240326-20-2j1osi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a poster directing hunters to submit parts of their prey for monitoring" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584386/original/file-20240326-20-2j1osi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584386/original/file-20240326-20-2j1osi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584386/original/file-20240326-20-2j1osi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584386/original/file-20240326-20-2j1osi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584386/original/file-20240326-20-2j1osi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584386/original/file-20240326-20-2j1osi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584386/original/file-20240326-20-2j1osi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Hunters are requested to provide samples in an effort to monitor for chronic wasting disease.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://bcwf.bc.ca/initiatives/chronic-wasting-disease/">(BC Wildlife Federation)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Managing the spread means removing the animals most likely to be infected. The B.C. provincial government is planning to remove 20 mule deer (mostly male) and five male white-tailed deer, which have been found to be more likely to be infected in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2011.10.016">other provinces</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/09-0052.1">U.S. states</a>. </p>
<p>While removing infected animals decreases potential spread, even removing and testing uninfected animals can provide valuable information about who is most likely to be affected (cervid species, sex and their location) which in turn can inform management. </p>
<p>Even in instances where there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12917-016-0804-7">agreement about removing animals to mitigate CWD</a>, how many, where, when and how they are removed is contentious. </p>
<p>That’s because the number of animals removed depends on management goals, as well as ecological and ethical considerations. For example, determining the percentage of animals infected with CWD <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-77134-0_10">would require sampling many animals (in the hundreds)</a> to ensure infected individuals are captured <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/wildlife-society-bulletin/volume-32/issue-1/0091-7648(2004)32%5b267%3aFTFEOD%5d2.0.CO%3b2/Efficacy-of-detecting-Chronic-Wasting-Disease-via-sampling-hunter-killed/10.2193/0091-7648(2004)32%5B267:FTFEOD%5D2.0.CO;2.short">while prevalence is low, such as when only one per cent of animals are infected</a>. </p>
<p>However, large-scale removals understandably cause concern for the future of cervid populations. These approaches are also challenging to sustain, and can be ineffective in the long term when they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-019-1260-z">lose community support</a>. </p>
<p>Management programs might sample fewer animals in efforts to gain more information surrounding where infected animals are found. This is the case in B.C., where <a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024WLRS0012-000342">only 25 animals are being harvested</a>.</p>
<h2>Planning and preparation</h2>
<p>Deciding where to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2013.09.011">remove animals requires careful planning</a> based on where CWD has been found, how likely it is to spread, and the cultural, ecological and economic importance of cervids for local communities. Managers focus on areas close to confirmed cases — in the case of B.C., a 10-kilometre radius — and areas where there are large or dense populations of cervids like in cities. </p>
<p>Given that an infected deer was found <a href="https://www.cranbrooktownsman.com/news/testing-key-to-identifying-slowing-spread-of-fatal-wildlife-disease-detected-near-cranbrook-7324744">just south of Cranbrook, B.C.</a>, there is growing concern about <a href="https://www.cranbrooktownsman.com/news/province-city-keeping-close-eye-on-urban-deer-amid-fatal-disease-spread-mayor-7330917">the potential spread of CWD to the city</a>.</p>
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<p>According to our research, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2022.2075492">community involvement is essential for effective CWD management</a>. Management plans can involve government removal through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-016-0804-7">sharpshooting, hunter-harvest and special hunts</a> which allow for limited harvest outside of the hunting season.</p>
<p>In B.C., members of Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡiʾit (Tobacco Plains Indian Band) are leading the removal of deer, and <a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024WLRS0012-000342">all animals that test negative for CWD will be used by the community or donated to food banks</a>. </p>
<h2>Sustainable management</h2>
<p>Hunter-harvest is a critical component of sustainable CWD management. Beyond removing infected animals and providing samples for testing, <a href="https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-20-00226">local hunters</a>, trappers, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2015.1046095">community members</a> bring valuable knowledge and support, helping to implement sustainable strategies that reflect communities’ values and needs.</p>
<p>CWD management programs that prioritize listening to those most affected help to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2020.1808915">build trust and make better decisions</a> about where to focus efforts. </p>
<p>In wildlife management, there will be disagreements. Management is complex and contains uncertainties: what works in one region <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-animal-022114-111001">might not work in another</a>. </p>
<p>We must acknowledge these uncertainties, while recognizing the need to act quickly. The experiences of other jurisdictions in managing CWD contain valuable lessons about the potential impacts of CWD on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161127">conservation</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10871200490479963">economic stability</a> and <a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/02/15/news/first-nations-uneasy-chronic-wasting-disease-deer-food-security">food security</a>.
Early action is the best chance we have to minimize the impacts of this disease on cervids, the people who rely on them and the ecosystem.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226112/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kaylee Byers is the Regional Deputy Director of the British Columbia Node of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative and collaborates with the Wildlife Health Program, which leads Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance in British Columbia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Robinson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A government program in British Columbia discovered the presence of chronic wasting disease in deer. Now, managing the spread of the disease is a priority.Kaylee Byers, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences; Senior Scientist, Pacific Institute on Pathogens, Pandemics and Society, Simon Fraser UniversitySarah Robinson, Postdoctoral Fellow, Pacific Institute on Pathogens, Pandemics and Society, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2255962024-03-13T15:03:15Z2024-03-13T15:03:15ZIt’s a myth that male animals are usually larger than females – new study<p>Males are bigger than females, right? Generally, this is true of humans – imagine the extremes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and singer Kylie Minogue. It is also true of other familiar mammals including pets, such as cats and dogs, and livestock such as sheep and cows.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45739-5">a new study</a> by US scientist Kaia Tombak and colleagues found that, in many mammal species, males are not larger than females. In fact, in a comparison of 429 species in the wild, 50% of species including rodents and some bats – which make up <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/of-rats-and-bats-hundreds-of-mammal-species-still-unidentified-study-says/">a large proportion</a> of all mammal species – showed no difference in body size between the sexes. Male-biased size dimorphism (where males are larger than females) was found in only 28% of mammal species.</p>
<p>So, why do a lot of people have a misconception that males are normally larger than females? </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/students-page/160/">Anisogamy</a> is the term used to describe the difference in sex cells – small, numerous, sperm, compared to relatively large eggs. Males can produce sperm throughout most of their lifespan, whereas females are born with a finite number of eggs. Therefore, females (or rather, their eggs), are a scare resource for which males compete for access. Generally, in species where females are a limited resource that males need to fight over, males are larger than females.</p>
<p>In terms of evolution, most males have been shaped to be larger, bolder, heavier, more adorned and have more weaponry than females. This is due to males fighting to acquire females – a larger stag with bigger antlers would do much better in a fight, <a href="https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-%20facts/mammals/understand-the-british-deer-rut">known as a rut</a>, than a small stag with tiny antlers. So, bigger usually wins.</p>
<p>This includes species such as lions and baboons, where size is an advantage when competing physically for mates. Male northern elephant seals, who fight for access to harems of females, show the largest male-biased size dimorphism, being over 3.2 times heavier than females. These are the animals that tend to attract research</p>
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<h2>The strange world of fish</h2>
<p>But, what happens in species where males don’t fight for access to females? Generally, females are larger than males. This is because larger females usually produce more offspring. Indeed, Tombak’s study noted that larger female rabbits usually have multiple litters each mating season. Being a larger female is much more advantageous in terms of reproductive success. But more so when offspring do not need extended parental care and when gestation periods are short.</p>
<p>The most extreme sexual size dimorphism is found outside of mammals. Cichlid fish (<em>Lamprologus callipterus</em>) males are up to 60 times larger than females. The males protect empty snail shells for the females to breed in. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12038-010-0030-6">Larger females</a> can produce more offspring but they need larger shells and therefore a larger male to defend those shells.</p>
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<p>In mammals, the largest female-biased size dimorphism is found in peninsular tube-nosed bats, where females are 1.4 times the size of males. However, more dimorphism in body size is seen in fish, reptiles and insects. For example, the female orb-weaving spider (<em>Nephila plumipes</em>) has a much larger body size than the male, reaching up to ten times his size. Size dimorphism also shows a correlation with cannibalism, where larger females are more likely to eat their male partner.</p>
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<span class="caption">A female golden orb weaving spider and the smaller male.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-photograph-female-golden-orb-weaving-1692871246">Cassandra Madsen/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Anglerfish that typically live at the bottom of oceans, are an example of extreme sexual dimorphism in body size. While the females look like typical fish, the males are tiny, basic organisms. In order to survive, the male needs to fuse with a female, tapping into her nutrients to produce enough sperm to fertilise her. Female deep-sea anglerfish (<em>Ceratias
holboelli</em>) are <a href="https://www.livescience.com/49330-animal-sex-anglerfish.html">60 times longer</a> and half a million times heavier than males.</p>
<p>But, the most extreme sexual size dimorphism is found in rhizocephala, types of barnacle where the male looks like a larvae. Once a male finds a mate, he <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/07/absurd-creature-of-the-week-rhizocephalan/">inserts himself into the females</a>, transforming into nothing more than a mass of cells.</p>
<h2>What about mammals?</h2>
<p>So, why isn’t sexual size dimorphism seen in more mammals? Mammals tend to have fewer offspring than other species such as fish or spiders. They only have a few offspring at a time, and often have long gestation periods or extended periods of parental care. In addition, the majority of mammals are monogamous, so there is less need for males to fight over females. That’s why species such as lemurs, golden moles, horses, zebra and tenrecs, usually have similar sized males and females.</p>
<p>It is thought that biases in the scientific literature may have led to the misconception that males are normally bigger as research historically focused on <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/wildlife_practice/flagship_keystone_indicator_definition/">species considered “charismatic”</a>, such as primates and carnivores, that attract funding. These are some of the few mammalian species where males compete for mates, and so gain an evolutionary advantage if they are larger. </p>
<p>There was also a bias of <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2019/10/once-most-famous-scientists-were-men-thats-changing">male scientists</a> conducting research. And, although a study in 1977 <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/283223">by a female scientist</a> found that species with little sexual size dimorphism were frequent in mammals, the research was drowned out by studies on charismatic species with a bias towards large males. Perhaps if there had been more female scientists at the time, we might have had a different preconception about body size in the animal kingdom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225596/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Gentle works for Nottingham Trent University. </span></em></p>Does size matter? In the animal kingdom, yes.Louise Gentle, Principal Lecturer in Wildlife Conservation, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2140102024-03-08T14:01:57Z2024-03-08T14:01:57ZHow we’re breathing new life into French forests through green corridors<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573401/original/file-20240205-15-peliih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C40%2C5439%2C3587&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A pine plantation and hedgerow as seen from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexandre Changenet, 2023</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the summer of 2008, during a family holiday road trip, we passed by the Aquitaine region in southwestern France. As we drove through a sprawling woodland, a mesmerizing sight unfolded before my eyes: a meticulously ordered army of trees, standing tall and proud. It could have been an army regiment classified by age.</p>
<p>This uniformity – in stark contrast to the wild and varied Mediterranean forests I was accustomed to – left me utterly captivated. Beneath the leafy canopy, the undergrowth seemed sparse, with only the occasional glimpse of heather and its discreet flowers, repeating like an infinite copy-paste.</p>
<p>I immediately thought that if I were a wild animal, this forest might not be the most stimulating place to call home. There was little biomass to sustain life, and while the simplified food chain offered few competitors, there were no companions, either. The woods felt monotonous.</p>
<h2>A European plan to revive thousands of acres</h2>
<p>Fast forward to last April, I returned to the same location, this time accompanied by more than 100 experts from <a href="https://forest-restoration.eu/">SUPERB</a>, an ambitious 20 million euro project funded by the Horizon programme to restore thousands of hectares of forest landscape across Europe.</p>
<p>The initiative, which relies on 12 forests including the Aquitaine site, will go some way in making good on the EU’s Nature Restoration bill, which commits the bloc to restoring at least 30% of degraded habitats by 2030, 60% by 2040 and 90% by 2050. It will also provide policy-makers with critical insights into the continent’s wildlife, life support systems and carbon sequestration capacity.</p>
<p>Spanning <a href="https://nouvelle-aquitaine.cnpf.fr/sites/socle/files/cnpf-old/30_foret_landes_gascogne_1.pdf">1 million hectares of planted forests</a>, the Aquitaine site plays an important part in the local economy, with 90% of its plantations private. Historically, the landowners here had thrived on long-term thinking and patience. Trees took their time to grow, but the rewards were bountiful. In the harvest, the first trees to be cleared are typically used for the manufacture of pulp and paper. Small trees are for pallets and packaging, while bigger trees are exploited for structural wood, beams or panelling parquet.</p>
<p>For generations, locals had employed top-notch forest management techniques, yielding high returns. But the forest and its wood-based economy are now under threat. During my week there, I realised that what had once appeared orderly and disciplined had by then struck me as odd and unbalanced. With time, relentless production had depleted the soil and flora. The climate was also growing more arid by the day. Landowners complained of increasingly frequent natural calamities – wildfires, pest outbreaks, and destructive windstorms.</p>
<p>I was there with colleagues to check on the restoration progress and learn from local scientists’ restoration experience. In our conversations, one word echoed repeatedly: <em>resilience</em> – the ability to rebound after disturbances, regardless of their origin. Another word for it when it comes to forest management is <em>biodiversity</em>, the dry term we scientists use for thriving wildlife. Since December 2021, SUPERB has been on a mission to bring it back to the woods of Aquitaine.</p>
<h2>Life through green corridors</h2>
<p>To revive dull, homogeneous nature, one typically has to mess it up, or at least according to our human eyes. At several levels: that of the landscape, by ensuring that forests, pastures and agricultural land rotate and balance one another out; at the species level, so that a multitude of trees, shrubs, and herbs can provide shelter for wildlife; and at the population level, where even large numbers of trees of the same species can react differently to environmental challenges, thereby maximising their survival chances.</p>
<p>However, this poses economic and logistical challenges. Unevenly aged trees and different tree species can hardly be harvested simultaneously, and large machinery face access difficulties. This is where SUPERB’s hedgerows come in. Working across 20 000 hectares, our team has spent the past months planting 10 km-long hedgerows to connect pockets of existing broad-leaf species, such as oaks. The idea is to form a physical barrier to increase resilience to pests and diseases and potentially other threats that may increase with a warming planet such as winds, storms, wildfires and drought.</p>
<h2>Swaying resistant landlords</h2>
<p>While many landowners are already committed to planting mixed hedgerows around their pine plantations, others are more prudent, and will need strong evidence to adopt this practice that costs money and breaks with tradition.</p>
<p>Scientists from French partners, including INRAE and the European Institute of Planted Forests, did their best to reassure them. Throughout the week, they had three drones scan the landscape from above, revealing the contrast between homogeneous pine forests and diverse hedgerows. On the ground, our team encountered traps for insects, pitfall traps for snakes, microhabitats for lizards, tree caves for bats, and audio recording and camera traps for other organisms. Even the soil’s diversity was examined through DNA analysis of its hidden microorganisms.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580226/original/file-20240306-28-u8jo2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580226/original/file-20240306-28-u8jo2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580226/original/file-20240306-28-u8jo2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580226/original/file-20240306-28-u8jo2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580226/original/file-20240306-28-u8jo2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580226/original/file-20240306-28-u8jo2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580226/original/file-20240306-28-u8jo2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580226/original/file-20240306-28-u8jo2s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Upper panel: A natural forest. Middle panel: a forest intensively managed for wood production (far from its natural state). Bottom panel: A forest managed with ‘closer to nature’ methods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.36333/fs12">Larsen et al., 2022/European Forest Institute</a>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>In the pursuit of understanding ecosystem and bolstering resilience, much remains to be uncovered. While we await a complete understanding, the <a href="https://efi.int/publications-bank/closer-nature-forest-management">“closer to nature” management approach</a>, which seeks to “prioritize ecological integrity, biodiversity and sustainable practices over intensive human interventions” is gaining traction, emulating what nature does best. Yet translating this knowledge into actionable management plans for the forest managers is the other area that SUPERB is working on.</p>
<p>As the coordinator of the SUPERB project, I had the privilege of visiting all its demonstration sites, from woods in Castille in Leon to the alpine landscapes of the Vindelälven-Juhttatahkka biosphere in Sweden, down to the mountainous region of Vysočina and North Moravia in Czech Republic. Each forest brought its own set of challenges such as bark-beetle attacks, fragmented trees, wildfires, and abandoned lands. It became evident that customized approaches were necessary to address restoration, even when facing similar problems.</p>
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<p><em>This article is the result of The Conversation’s collaboration with <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/horizon-magazine">Horizon</a>, the EU research and innovation magazine. In June, the author published <a href="https://projects.research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/en/horizon-magazine/europe-seeks-flourishing-forests-through-restoration">an article</a> with the magazine.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214010/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Madga Bou Dagher a reçu des financements de Horizon Europe 2020 for SUPERB project. </span></em></p>The SUPERB project, part of the EU’s Horizon programme, aims to restore thousands of hectares of forest landscape across Europe.Madga Bou Dagher, Professor in Forest genetics, European Forest InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2234462024-03-03T23:36:20Z2024-03-03T23:36:20ZWhy move species to islands? Saving wildlife as the world changes means taking calculated risks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577775/original/file-20240225-16-eqqb33.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C10%2C1400%2C799&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_barred_bandicoot#/media/File:Perameles_gunnii_-_Gould.jpg">John Gould/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The eastern barred bandicoot was once found in abundance across the basalt plains of western Victoria. But habitat destruction and predation by introduced red foxes drove the species to the brink of extinction on the mainland.</p>
<p>Establishing populations in fenced reserves was critical in providing insurance against extinction. To further increase bandicoot numbers to provide long-term security against extinction, we needed more fox-free land.</p>
<p>A bold plan was hatched: move the species to where the predators weren’t. Introduce them to Victoria’s <a href="https://www.penguins.org.au/about/media/latest-news/taking-action-to-find-and-remove-phillip-island-fox-threat/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CA%20combined%20effort%20between%20the,25%20years%20of%20dedicated%20effort.">fox-free</a> Phillip and French islands.</p>
<p>Six years later, the bandicoot made conservation history, as the first species in Australia <a href="https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2022/02/eastern-barred-bandicoot-how-the-little-diggers-rebounded/">to be reclassified</a> from <em>extinct in the wild</em> to <em>endangered</em>. </p>
<p>Why don’t we translocate all endangered species to islands? The technique can be effective, but can come with unwanted consequences. </p>
<h2>The surprising benefits of translocation</h2>
<p>Eastern barred bandicoots are ecosystem engineers. As they dig for their dinner of worms, beetles, bulbs, fungi and other foods, their industrious work <a href="https://theconversation.com/one-little-bandicoot-can-dig-up-an-elephants-worth-of-soil-a-year-and-our-ecosystem-loves-it-132266">improves soil quality</a>, and in turn, the health of vegetation. </p>
<p>So when we translocate threatened species, we can get a double win – a rapid increase in their populations and restoration of lost ecosystem functions.</p>
<p>Australia’s landscapes look very different than they did before European colonisation around <a href="https://theconversation.com/existential-threat-to-our-survival-see-the-19-australian-ecosystems-already-collapsing-154077">230 years ago</a>. </p>
<p>Industrialised farming, introduced predators and habitat destruction and fragmentation are driving <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-re-counted-australias-extinct-species-and-the-result-is-devastating-127611">biodiversity decline and extinctions</a>. As species die out, ecosystems lose the vital functions wildlife perform. Without them, ecosystems might not operate as well or even collapse – a little like a poorly serviced car engine. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/losing-australias-diggers-is-hurting-our-ecosystems-18590">Losing Australia's diggers is hurting our ecosystems</a>
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<p>We feel the loss most acutely when we lose <a href="https://theconversation.com/beavers-and-oysters-are-helping-restore-lost-ecosystems-with-their-engineering-skills-podcast-198573">keystone species</a> on which many other species depend, such as oysters and bees. Restoring these functions can improve biodiversity and the sustainability of food production. For instance, encouraging owls to return to farmland <a href="https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2023.1182137">can cut</a> the use of <a href="https://theconversation.com/mouse-plague-bromadiolone-will-obliterate-mice-but-itll-poison-eagles-snakes-and-owls-too-160995">damaging rodent poisons</a>, as owls eat thousands of mice and rats yearly. </p>
<p>Before colonisation, industrious digging mammals and their soil excavations were <a href="https://theconversation.com/mourn-our-lost-mammals-while-helping-the-survivors-battle-back-36126">extremely widespread</a>. Regrettably, introduced foxes and cats have made short work of many of Australia’s diggers. Six of 29 digging species are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mam.12014">now extinct</a>, including the lesser bilby, pig-footed bandicoot and desert rat-kangaroo. Many others are endangered. </p>
<h2>Could translocation save more species?</h2>
<p>Conservationists have successfully translocated species such as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-western-swamp-tortoise-11630">western swamp tortoise</a>, the <a href="https://www.australianwildlife.org/wildlife/shark-bay-mouse/">Shark Bay mouse</a>, and <a href="https://denr.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/255082/quolltranslocation_final.pdf">northern quolls</a>.</p>
<p>New environments don’t necessarily need to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/cats-wreak-havoc-on-native-wildlife-but-weve-found-one-adorable-species-outsmarting-them-132265">predator-free</a>. The eastern barred bandicoot is thriving on Phillip and French Island, in the presence of feral and domestic cats. The key is there are no foxes. </p>
<p>Many islands are now being thought of as conservation arks, able to provide <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/wr17172">safe havens</a> for several threatened species at once. Dirk Hartog Island, Western Australia’s largest, is <a href="https://www.sharkbay.org/restoration/dirk-hartog-island-return-1616/#:%7E:text=These%20include%20the%20Shark%20Bay,boodie%20and%20the%20western%20grasswren.">now home</a> to reintroduced western quolls, dibblers, mulgaras and other small mammals, as well as two translocated hare-wallaby species. </p>
<h2>Why is translocation not more common?</h2>
<p>The technique can work very well – but it can also backfire. </p>
<p>In the 1920s, conservationists undertook the first translocation in Australia by moving koalas to Phillip and French Island – the same Victorian islands now a refuge for bandicoots. While this protected koalas <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-once-killed-600-000-koalas-in-a-year-now-theyre-australias-teddy-bears-what-changed-219609">from hunting pressure</a>, koala populations exploded, and the tree-dwelling marsupials ate themselves <a href="https://theconversation.com/victorian-koalas-are-eating-themselves-out-of-house-and-home-38585">out of house and home</a> in some areas. </p>
<p>In 2012, conservationists began introducing Tasmanian devils to Maria Island, just off Tasmania’s east coast. They wanted to conserve a healthy population free from the <a href="https://theconversation.com/tasmanian-devils-look-set-to-conquer-their-own-pandemic-151842">contagious facial tumour</a> which has devastated their populations. On Maria Island, the devils became <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-22/tasmanian-devils-decimate-wildlife-on-maria-island/100234550">too successful</a>, wiping out the island’s penguin and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320720306935">shearwater</a> populations. </p>
<p>You can see translocations aren’t a silver bullet. We have to carefully consider the pros and cons of any such conservation intervention. Ecosystems <a href="https://theconversation.com/species-dont-live-in-isolation-what-changing-threats-to-4-marsupials-tell-us-about-the-future-200990">are complex</a>. It’s <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-01298-8">not easy to predict</a> what will happen to an ecosystem if we introduce a species new to the area. </p>
<p>The decision to translocate a species is a value judgement – it prioritises one species over the broader ecosystem. Opponents of translocation <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320711001728?via%3Dihub">question whether</a> we are doing the right thing in valuing efforts to conserve a single species over the innate value of the existing ecosystem. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/so-you-want-to-cat-proof-a-bettong-how-living-with-predators-could-help-native-species-survive-170450">So you want to cat-proof a bettong: how living with predators could help native species survive</a>
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</em>
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<h2>What’s the best approach in future?</h2>
<p>Translocation is not the end goal. Islands cannot support the vast array of threatened species in Australia. </p>
<p>The end goal is to establish and expand threatened species populations on the mainland in fenced reserves before eventually reintroducing them to the wild where they will encounter introduced predators. </p>
<p>Research is being done to explore how we can make this work, such as: </p>
<p>1) <strong>Predator-savvy wildlife:</strong> some native species may be <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.13406">able to adapt</a> to living alongside introduced predators – with some help. For example, conservationists have exposed semi-captive bilbies to small numbers of feral cats with the aim of increasing their wariness and ultimately boosting their chances of survival. Results have been encouraging. </p>
<p>2) <strong>Building ecosystem resilience:</strong> we know more intact native ecosystems can reduce the chance of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2009.01941.x">damage from invasive species </a>. That means re-establishing native ecosystems could boost their resilience.</p>
<p>Moving a species from its home is a bold and risky decision. It’s critical local communities and <a href="https://theconversation.com/ancient-knowledge-is-lost-when-a-species-disappears-its-time-to-let-indigenous-people-care-for-their-country-their-way-172760">First Nations groups</a> are consulted and able to guide discussions and any eventual actions. </p>
<p>For their part, governments, land managers and conservationists must think more broadly about how we might best conserve species and ecosystems in a rapidly changing world. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/threatened-species-recover-in-fenced-safe-havens-but-their-safety-is-only-temporary-200548">Threatened species recover in fenced safe havens. But their safety is only temporary</a>
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</em>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223446/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Rendall receives funding from the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Anthony is a member of the Australian Mammal Society. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Coetsee works for Zoos Victoria, a not-for-profit zoo-based conservation organisation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aviya Naccarella is a member of the Ecological Society of Australia, Australian Mammal Society and Royal Zoological Society of NSW.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, and a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society.</span></em></p>Translocation may have been the key to survival for the eastern barred bandicoot but it might not be the golden ticket for every species.Anthony Rendall, Lecturer in Conservation Biology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin UniversityAmy Coetsee, Threatened Species Biologist, The University of MelbourneAviya Naccarella, PhD Candidate, Deakin UniversityEuan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2191402024-02-27T12:41:39Z2024-02-27T12:41:39ZCould a couple of Thai otters have helped the UK’s otter population recover? Our study provides a hint<p>Otter populations crashed in Britain around the 1960s from the lethal effects of chemical pollution in rivers and lakes – or so we thought. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/40/11/msad207/7275014">Our research</a> has looked more closely at what happened to otters in Britain over the last 800 years and has revealed a more complex picture. </p>
<p>Since Eurasian otters (<em>Lutra lutra</em>) are at the top of the aquatic food chain in Britain, any contamination consumed by their prey, and by the prey of their prey, <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c05410">accumulates in otters</a>. So otters are particularly susceptible to any toxic chemicals in their environment. </p>
<p>Following the banning of many chemical pollutants, otter populations began to recover, and we now have otters in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eva.13505">every county in Britain</a>. National otter surveys have been conducted in Wales, Scotland and England since 1977 and have helped to track population recovery. </p>
<p>However, we didn’t have a good grasp on what population sizes were like in the decades before this time. We only had anecdotal evidence that otter hunting was becoming less “successful” over time, and that both sightings and signs of otters were rarer. </p>
<h2>Otter population decline</h2>
<p>Our research shows that roughly between 1950 and 1970, an extreme population decline happened in the east of England, and a strong decline in south-west England. They were probably caused by chemical pollution. </p>
<p>In Scotland, otter populations showed a long-term, but smaller decline, which suggests less chemical pollution. There was a smaller population decline in Wales, which started around 1800, possibly linked to otter hunting and changes in how people shaped and used the landscape. </p>
<p>While both deal with DNA, genetics focuses on individual genes and their roles, while genomics examines the entire set of an organism’s DNA. Although there have been genetic studies of otters in Britain, our research was the first time genomics was used to study Eurasian otters anywhere in the world.</p>
<p>Working with scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the Wellcome Sanger’s Darwin Tree of Life project, we looked at the entire otter genome. The upgrade from genetics to genomics threw up a few surprises. </p>
<p>First, there was a mitochondrial DNA sequence found in the east of England, which was very different to the sequences in the rest of Britain. Mitochondrial DNA is a sequence of DNA found in a cell’s mitochondria, which is what generates the energy. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother, while the rest of the DNA is a mix of both the mother’s and the father’s DNA.</p>
<p>Another <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19768354.2023.2283763">recent study</a> by our research group, in collaboration with colleagues in South Korea, suggested a divergence between these two lineages at least 80,000 years ago. Finding this mitochondrial lineage (that, based on our data, is otherwise restricted to Asia) in the UK was surprising. </p>
<p>Second, we found high levels of genetic diversity in the east of England. Normally, after an extreme population decline such as the one we identified in this area, genetic diversity decreases. Yet we saw much greater diversity here than in the population in Scotland, where there was no clear evidence for such a decline. </p>
<h2>Thai otters</h2>
<p>With a little detective work, we discovered that a pair of Eurasian otters (the same species that we have in the UK), were brought to Britain from Thailand in the 1960s. Populations of Eurasian otters range right across Europe and Asia. Although they are the same species, there are several genetically distinct subspecies, particularly in Asia. </p>
<p>It seems possible that these genetically different otters from Thailand bred with otters in the east of England. At the time of the population decline, when native UK populations were at their smallest, even a few individuals introduced into the population may have made a big difference. And they left unexpected marks on the genome. </p>
<p>We don’t know for sure if this is what happened, and we need to do more work to find out what effect this may have had on otters in the east of England. High genetic diversity is usually good for a population or species. But on the other hand, conservation often strives to maintain genetic differences between populations, rather than mixing distinct populations.</p>
<p>One way to find out more would be to compare the genome of a Eurasian otter from Thailand to the otters we see in the east of England. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Since the 1960s, otters in Thailand and across Asia have become increasingly rare. This is due to habitat loss, pollution and the illegal otter trade. So getting samples for genome sequencing is very difficult. It highlights the importance of conserving the species in Asia, despite population recoveries in Europe.</p>
<p>Our work shows the value of using modern genomic tools to look at the genetic diversity of a threatened species. The application of such tools can uncover surprising facts, even in supposedly well-studied species.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219140/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frank Hailer receives funding from NERC and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Chadwick receives funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council and from the Environment Agency</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah du Plessis receives funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council and the Global Wales International Mobility Fund.</span></em></p>Research has revealed how British otters may have been able to recover from species loss in the 1950s with the help of otters from Asia.Frank Hailer, Senior Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology, Cardiff UniversityElizabeth Chadwick, Senior Lecturer at the School of Biosciences, Cardiff UniversitySarah du Plessis, PhD Candidate, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2232242024-02-21T13:04:38Z2024-02-21T13:04:38ZGut bacteria may explain why grey squirrels outcompete reds – new research<p>Across large parts of the UK, the native red squirrel has been replaced by the grey squirrel, a North American species. As well as endangering reds, grey squirrels pose a threat to our woodlands because of the damage they cause to trees. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.001793">New research</a> from my colleagues and I compared the gut bacteria of red and grey squirrels. We found that differences between the two may explain their competition and red squirrel decline, as well as why grey squirrels are so destructive to woodland.</p>
<p>Grey squirrels were introduced to the UK between 1876 and 1929 and have displaced reds in most areas of the UK. Greys carry a virus called “squirrelpox”, which doesn’t affect them but leads to sickness and often death in red squirrels.</p>
<p>Grey squirrels are bigger than red squirrels and compete with them <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1083008/full">for food and habitat</a>.
Acorns, a widespread food source, contain tannins, which are hard for red squirrels to digest. But greys can digest acorns easily, giving them an extra edge in competing for resources. </p>
<p>Grey squirrels frequently strip the bark from deciduous trees. In commercial plantations, the damage can lead to fungal infection and result in the tree producing low quality timber. The annual cost is an <a href="https://rfs.org.uk/insights-publications/rfs-reports/report-overview-the-cost-of-grey-squirrel-damage-to-woodland-in-england-and-wales/">estimated £37 million.</a> with sycamore, oak, birch and beech frequently targeted. </p>
<p>The grey squirrels select the strongest growing trees as these have bark containing the largest volume of sap. Intriguingly, grey squirrels do not select trees with the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230344319_Bark-stripping_by_Grey_squirrels_Sciurus_carolinensis">highest sugar content</a>. This observation has led scientists to posit that the squirrels consume bark to obtain <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112716300421?via%3Dihub">certain micro-nutrients</a>. </p>
<h2>Gut bacteria</h2>
<p>All mammals have microorganisms living in their intestines. For example, the typical human colon is host to at least <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5847071/">160 bacterial species</a>, while in birds, research has found thousands of different bacterial species in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33868800/">chicken intestines.</a></p>
<p>The bacteria break down foods and help synthesise vitamins, complementing the enzymes secreted by the body. The diversity of these microorganisms, known as the “microbiota”, can reflect the level of health and also the diet of an individual. But we don’t know enough about the microbiota living in squirrel intestines. </p>
<p>The types of microbes present vary between species, yet the extent to which they differ between grey and red squirrels is unclear. We explored this and investigated the potential for any differences to affect competition between the two squirrel species. We also examined whether gut bacteria might be playing a role in bark stripping behaviour.</p>
<p>We sampled bacterial DNA from red and grey squirrel intestinal contents and performed gene sequencing to identify the range of bacteria present in the samples. The results were analysed to compare any important differences between the two.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A cute red squirrels with a large bushy tail stands on the branch of a tree." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ynys Môn off the north Wales coast is one of the few places in the UK where greys have been eradicated in favour of red squirrels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/red-squirrel-views-around-north-wales-2232607907">Gail Johnson/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Calcium</h2>
<p>Calcium is an important nutrient in the body and is required for healthy bones, muscles and nerves. It is especially needed by lactating animals and ones that are young and growing.</p>
<p>We found that grey squirrels may have the capacity to obtain the calcium that exists in tree bark thanks to the presence of a bacteria called “oxalobacter” in their gut. The calcium in tree bark comes in an insoluble form and is hard for an animal to digest. But oxalobacter would be able to change this into a form that could be more digestible. </p>
<p>Calcium levels <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112716300421?via%3Dihub">increase in trees</a> as active growth resumes after winter dormancy. This happens immediately before the main squirrel bark-stripping season of May to July. Our research may therefore help to explain the destructive behaviour of grey squirrels and why red squirrels appear to strip bark much less frequently.</p>
<p>Our research also identified a significantly higher diversity of bacteria in the intestines of grey squirrels compared to red squirrels. This could hold the key to further understanding why grey squirrels outcompete red squirrels in the UK. </p>
<p>A more diverse range of bacteria being sustained in the gut means that grey squirrels potentially may be able to access a broader range of resources than red squirrels in addition to acorns.</p>
<h2>Adenovirus</h2>
<p>The grey squirrel harbours not just the squirrelpox virus, but also another potential threat – adenovirus. While this virus causes severe intestinal lesions in some red squirrels, curiously, grey squirrels never exhibit the same symptoms.</p>
<p>This discrepancy underscores the fascinating and complex potential role of gut microbiota. Research increasingly reveals their influence on everything from digestion to immune response, and even susceptibility to disease.</p>
<p>In the context of red squirrels, understanding how variations in their gut bacteria might predispose them to adenovirus becomes crucial. This is especially pertinent for captive breeding programs, where adenovirus infections pose a hurdle to successful reintroductions of red squirrels into the wild.</p>
<p>Given we only sampled red and grey squirrels from north Wales, we hope that future studies will map the gut microbiota of other European populations too. Such future research will continue to improve our knowledge of the competition between red and grey squirrels.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223224/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Shuttleworth does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research suggests the gut bacteria of red and grey squirrels differ significantly, potentially explaining the decline of the native red and the success of its grey counterpart.Craig Shuttleworth, Honorary Visiting Research Fellow, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224752024-02-20T14:31:08Z2024-02-20T14:31:08ZDefying expectations, disabled Japanese macaques survive by adjusting their behaviours and receiving support<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576169/original/file-20240216-30-6btxw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5184%2C3453&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A disabled young female macaque named Monmo at the Awajishima Monkey Center in Japan.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Sarah E. Turner)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nina is a Japanese macaque, one of the red-faced monkeys famous for sitting in hot springs in Japan. Nina lives wild in the forest, but most days, along with her group, she visits the <a href="https://monkey-center.jp/english.php">Awajishima Monkey Center</a> to eat the food people provide for the monkeys. </p>
<p>Nina was born without hands, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-008-0083-4">an unusually common occurrence in this group of macaques</a>. While no one knows for sure why these malformations of the limbs and digits occur, many researchers have suggested a potential link to pesticides or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/%20s10329-014-0405-7">other environmental contaminants</a>. </p>
<p>Nina survived because of a combination of factors: her ability to modify her behaviours to compensate for her physical impairments; the extra care provided by her mother when she was little; and living in a group of monkeys who treat her much <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.01.002">the same way they do non-disabled group members</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576171/original/file-20240216-18-i4irp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="an infant and older macaque in the middle of the road" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576171/original/file-20240216-18-i4irp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576171/original/file-20240216-18-i4irp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576171/original/file-20240216-18-i4irp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576171/original/file-20240216-18-i4irp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576171/original/file-20240216-18-i4irp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=826&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576171/original/file-20240216-18-i4irp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=826&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576171/original/file-20240216-18-i4irp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=826&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nina, a juvenile disabled female Japanese macaque at the Awajishima Monkey Center, sitting with an older Juvenile.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Brogan M. Stewart)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over the years, we have spent many hours observing Nina and other disabled and non-disabled monkeys, as they live their lives — moving through the forest, socializing with others in their group and finding novel ways of adjusting their behaviours to compensate for physical impairments. </p>
<p>Disability is a <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/resources/factsheet-on-persons-with-disabilities.html">normal part of human experience</a>, with at least <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health">16 per cent of people experiencing some form of disability</a>. However, while conducting research at Awajishima, we have noticed that many people expect that disabled animals would be unlikely to survive. However, Nina and other disabled macaques in her group can survive and reproduce, and are far from being alone among primates of the world. </p>
<h2>Primates and disability</h2>
<p>In a recently published review of the literature on non-human primates and disability in the <em>American Journal of Primatology</em>, we found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23579">physical impairment is more common among wild and free-ranging primates than most people might think</a>. </p>
<p>We found 114 published papers on primates with disability, not including all the casual observations and field notes that were not published in the scientific literature. These papers included 37 species of non-human primates — monkeys, apes and lemurs — from 70 different study sites (38 of those with wild and free-ranging primates).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576172/original/file-20240216-16-wcme8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a group of monkeys in the middle of a path, three of them are grooming each other" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576172/original/file-20240216-16-wcme8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576172/original/file-20240216-16-wcme8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576172/original/file-20240216-16-wcme8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576172/original/file-20240216-16-wcme8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576172/original/file-20240216-16-wcme8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576172/original/file-20240216-16-wcme8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576172/original/file-20240216-16-wcme8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Disabled and non-disabled monkeys hanging out and socially grooming at the Awajshima Monkey Center in Japan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Sarah E. Turner)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>About 45 per cent of these disabilities, like Nina’s, were present from birth, while approximately 24 per cent came from injury, with similar frequency caused by a condition or illness. </p>
<p>Behavioural flexibility or plasticity (the ability to modify activities and actions in response to specific circumstances), the innovation of novel behaviours and extra maternal care stood out in the published research papers.</p>
<p>Seventy papers reported on ways that primates used behavioural flexibility and innovations to compensate for physical impairments, or provided examples of mothers who were able to support the needs of their physically impaired offspring. There were also some instances of other relatives and group members also providing support. </p>
<p>Overall, there was little evidence of social selection against disabled primates. There were also many examples of undifferentiated treatment for disabled individuals, and a few examples of disability-associated care behaviours.</p>
<h2>Human causes of primate disability</h2>
<p>Having studied disabled monkeys, we were not surprised to learn about the behavioural plasticity we found in this review. What was more surprising to us was just how many of these disabilities were linked to anthropogenic activities. </p>
<p>There are many ways that human activities can lead directly and indirectly to long-term disability in our closest animal relatives. Sixty per cent of the published examples of primate disability we surveyed were linked to human causes. </p>
<p>These included: injuries from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2028.2002.00356.x">hunting snares among chimpanzees and gorillas</a>; injuries sustained on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-014-9779-z">roads or from electrical wires in South African baboons</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1896/044.014.0206">South American howler monkeys</a>; and the effects of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1985.0020">diseases transmitted between human and non-human primates</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576599/original/file-20240219-21-gxzmo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a monkey with a malformed hand in the foreground, other monkeys in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576599/original/file-20240219-21-gxzmo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576599/original/file-20240219-21-gxzmo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576599/original/file-20240219-21-gxzmo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576599/original/file-20240219-21-gxzmo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576599/original/file-20240219-21-gxzmo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576599/original/file-20240219-21-gxzmo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576599/original/file-20240219-21-gxzmo5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A disabled infant macaque with her mother in the background at the Awajishima Monkey Center in Japan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Sarah E. Turner)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Human pressure, increasing threats</h2>
<p>At a time when the majority of non-human primates are experiencing declining populations and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abn2927">are threatened with extinction</a>, this link between human activities and physical impairments in primates is a poignant reminder of how humans are impacting other life on Earth. </p>
<p>Wherever non-human primates are found in the world — throughout the tropics and as far north as Japan — they face compounding threats from human pressures. As humans increasingly convert forests and wild lands to agricultural and urban spaces, habitat loss is pushing many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1600946">primate species towards extinction</a>. </p>
<p>These pressures are exacerbated by resource extraction (often to meet market demand from the Global North), hunting, the exotic pet trade and disease. The threat of major impacts from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02776-5">climate change is also looming on the horizon</a>. Even the most behaviourally flexible, smart, care-giving and innovative of individuals and species may not be able to navigate the scope and variety of these changes and pressures.</p>
<p>Physically impaired and disabled primates often find ways to behaviourally compensate for their impairments, survive and reproduce. </p>
<p>Nina and her friends show us an important side of non-human primate behaviour, giving us a model to examine the capacity for behavioural flexibility in nonhuman primates. Our research also underscores the critical role that humans have in shaping the futures of our closest animal relatives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222475/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah E. Turner receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada - Leadership in Environmental and Digital innovation for Sustainability (LEADS-CREATE), Fonds de recherche du Québec ‐ Nature et technologies, MITACS Globalink Research Awards, the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, and Concordia University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brogan M. Stewart receives funding from NSERC - Alexander Graham Bell and CREATE in the Leadership in Environmental and Digital innovation for Sustainability (LEADS), FRQNT, Concordia University, Kyoto University, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, and MITACS Globalink.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Creeggan receives funding from MITACS Globalink, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, Concordia University, and NSERC-CREATE in Leadership in Environmental and Digital innovation for Sustainability (LEADS).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan M. Joyce receives funding from MITACS Globalink, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, Concordia University, and NSERC-CREATE in Leadership in Environmental and Digital innovation for Sustainability (LEADS).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mikaela Gerwing receives funding from Miriam Aaron Roland Graduate Fellowship, Concordia University, and NSERC - CGS M and CREATE in Leadership in Environmental and Digital innovation for Sustainability (LEADS).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Eccles receives funding from FRQSC and NSERC‐CREATE in Leadership in Environmental and Digital innovation for Sustainability (LEADS).</span></em></p>A community of macaques in Japan has a high rate of disabled individuals who survive with behavioural flexibility and maternal care. Globally, primate disabilities are often related to human causes.Sarah E. Turner, Associate Professor, Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia UniversityBrogan M. Stewart, PhD Student in Environmental Science, Concordia UniversityJack Creeggan, Master's Student in Geography, Planning, and Environment, Concordia UniversityMegan M. Joyce, PhD Student in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia UniversityMikaela Gerwing, Wildlife Conservation Biologist and PhD Student, Concordia UniversityStephanie Eccles, PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, Planning, and Environment, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2208342024-02-14T13:20:41Z2024-02-14T13:20:41ZWildlife selfies harm animals − even when scientists share images with warnings in the captions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575067/original/file-20240212-26-k6xljg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C3039%2C2253&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The right way to photograph wildlife: from a distance, in the animal's natural habitat.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/D9s93c">Jim Peaco, Yellowstone National Park/Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the biggest privileges of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Jd5jwiwAAAAJ&hl=en">being a primatologist</a> is spending time in remote locations with monkeys and apes, living near these animals in their habitats and experiencing their daily lives. As a 21st-century human, I have an immediate impulse to take pictures of these encounters and share them on social media. </p>
<p>Social media can help scientists raise awareness of the species we study, promote their conservation and obtain jobs and research funding. However, sharing images of wild animals online can also contribute to illegal animal trafficking and <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-hike-so-close-to-me-how-the-presence-of-humans-can-disturb-wildlife-up-to-half-a-mile-away-162223">harmful human-wildlife interactions</a>. For endangered or threatened species, this attention can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069215">put them at further risk</a>. </p>
<p>My research seeks to find ways for scientists and conservationists to harness the power of social media while avoiding its pitfalls. My colleague, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VIynAt0AAAAJ&hl=en">ecologist and science communicator Cathryn Freund</a>, and I think we have some answers. In our view, wildlife professionals should never include themselves in pictures with animals. We also believe that featuring infant animals and animals interacting with humans leads viewers to think about these creatures in ways that are counterproductive to conservation. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pN-FkkUXYOU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A wildlife biologist explains how and why to photograph wild animals at a safe distance.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Show and tell?</h2>
<p>Many conservation biologists are thinking hard about what role social media can and should play in their work. For example, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Section on Human-Primate Interactions has issued guidelines for <a href="https://human-primate-interactions.org/best-practice-guidelines-responsible-images-of-non-human-primates/">how to use images of wild primates</a> and <a href="https://human-primate-interactions.org/responsible-primate-watching-for-tourists/">how to conduct primate watching tours</a>. </p>
<p>These guidelines recommend that when scientists show photos of themselves with a wild primate, the caption should state that the person in the image is a trained researcher or conservationist. However, there isn’t much data assessing whether this approach is effective. </p>
<p>We wanted to test whether people actually read these captions and whether informative captions helped curb viewers’ desires to have similar experiences or to own the animal as a pet. </p>
<p>In a study published in 2023, my colleagues and I created two mock Instagram posts – one showing a human near a wild gorilla, the other focusing on a gloved human hand holding a <a href="https://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/priority_species/lesser_known_species/slender_loris/">slender loris</a> – a small lemurlike primate native to Southeast Asia. Half of these photos carried basic captions like “Me with a mountain gorilla” or “Me with my research subject”; the other half included more detailed captions that also stated, “All animals are observed” (gorilla) or “captured and handled (loris) safely and humanely for research with the proper permits and training.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570968/original/file-20240123-29-9n8222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo shows a gloved hand holding a small primate, with a caption stating that the animal was captured and handled humanely for research with proper permits and training." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570968/original/file-20240123-29-9n8222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570968/original/file-20240123-29-9n8222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570968/original/file-20240123-29-9n8222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570968/original/file-20240123-29-9n8222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570968/original/file-20240123-29-9n8222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570968/original/file-20240123-29-9n8222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570968/original/file-20240123-29-9n8222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A mock Instagram post with a caption stating that the person shown is a trained researcher working with the loris under official rules. Many viewers in a study said the post nonetheless made them want to handle a loris themselves.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Smitha Gnanaolivu/Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Bangalore</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We showed over 3,000 adults one of these mock Instagram posts and asked them to complete a survey. The results shocked us.</p>
<p>Viewers who saw the Instagram posts with the more detailed caption recognized that the picture depicted research. But regardless of the caption, more than half of the viewers agreed or strongly agreed that they would want to seek out a similar experience with the loris or gorilla. </p>
<p>Over half of the viewers agreed or strongly agreed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14199">they would want these animals as pets</a> and that the animals would make good pets. Presumably, participants did not know anything about the animals’ life habits, behavior or survival needs, or that neither of these species is at all suited to be a pet.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CP7MAi6gJM9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u0026igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Why media impact matters</h2>
<p>While these responses may sound merely sentimental or naive, research shows that media – particularly social media – contribute to harmful human encounters with wildlife and to the exotic pet trade. </p>
<p>For example, the Harry Potter films and books, which featured owls as magical creatures used by wizards, led to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2017.04.004">sharp increase in the illegal owl trade in Indonesia</a>. Owls once were collectively known in Indonesia as “Burung Hantu,” or “ghost bird,” but now in the country’s bird markets they are commonly called “Burung Harry Potter.” </p>
<p>Studies show that images of people holding lorises drive illegal captures and sales of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317000680">lorises and other primates</a>. Owners then post further videos showing them handling the animals improperly – for example, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpV7L--cQ8s">tickling the loris</a>, which makes it raise its arms. Viewers see this behavior as cute, but in fact the animals do this to activate <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/pygmy-slow-loris">toxic glands in their upper arms</a> and move venom to their mouths <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/ijfp/86/6/article-p534_5.xml">in preparation to defend themselves</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LJxUP_hME2g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Social media channels do a poor job of detecting and policing posts that feature exotic or endangered animals, and they allow dealers to market directly to the public.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In earlier research, we found that when orangutan rescue and rehabilitation centers feature baby orangutans and humans interacting with orangutans in YouTube videos, these posts <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10268">received more views</a> than videos of adult orangutans or orangutans not interacting with people. However, people who watched videos showing infant orangutans, or humans interacting with the animals, posted comments that were less supportive of orangutan conservation. They also stated more frequently that they wanted to own orangutans as pets or interact with them.</p>
<p>Many people who seek out wildlife encounters are not aware of the harm that these experiences cause. Animals <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-spillover-bird-flu-outbreak-underscores-need-for-early-detection-to-prevent-the-next-big-pandemic-200494">can transmit diseases to humans</a>, but it also works the other way: Humans can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85877-3_59-1">transmit potentially deadly diseases to wild animals</a>, including measles, herpes viruses and flu viruses. </p>
<p>When humans move through an animal’s habitat – or worse, handle or chase the animal – they cause stress reactions and <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-hike-so-close-to-me-how-the-presence-of-humans-can-disturb-wildlife-up-to-half-a-mile-away-162223">alter the animal’s behavior</a>. Animals may avoid feeding sites or spend time and energy fleeing instead of foraging. </p>
<p>Owning wild animals as pets is even more problematic. I have worked with several rescue and rehabilitation centers that shelter orangutans formerly kept as pets or tourist attractions. These animals typically are in very poor health and have to be taught how to socialize, move through trees and find their own food, since they have been deprived of these natural behaviors. </p>
<p>The last thing that any responsible conservation biologist studying endangered species wants to do is encourage this kind of human-wildlife contact.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575068/original/file-20240212-31-tgo7jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A brown primate reaches from a cage to grasp a gloved human hand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575068/original/file-20240212-31-tgo7jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575068/original/file-20240212-31-tgo7jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575068/original/file-20240212-31-tgo7jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575068/original/file-20240212-31-tgo7jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575068/original/file-20240212-31-tgo7jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575068/original/file-20240212-31-tgo7jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575068/original/file-20240212-31-tgo7jv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A vet at the Aceh natural resources conservation agency in Indonesia inspects a rescued gibbon that was formerly kept as an exotic pet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/vet-inspects-an-owa-or-white-handed-gibbon-at-the-aceh-news-photo/1216848394">Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Comment instead of sharing</h2>
<p>Many well-meaning <a href="https://theconversation.com/even-scientists-take-selfies-with-wild-animals-heres-why-they-shouldnt-61252">researchers and conservationists</a>, along with <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90906039/yellowstone-national-park-animal-selfies-danger-influencers-warning">members of the public</a>, have posted images of themselves near wild animals on social media. I did it too, before I understood the consequences. </p>
<p>Our findings indicate that caption information is not enough to keep people from seeking out animal encounters. As we see it, the answer is for researchers to stop taking and sharing these pictures with the general public. </p>
<p>When scientists create posts, we recommend selecting images that show only wildlife, in as natural a context as possible, or only people in the field – not both together. Researchers, conservationists and the public can go back through their social media history and delete or crop images that show human-wildlife interaction. </p>
<p>Scientists can also reach out to people who post images of humans interacting with wild animals, explain why the images can be harmful and suggest taking them down. Leading by example and sharing this information are simple actions that can save animals’ lives.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.cathrynfreund.com/">Cathryn Freund</a>, director of science communication at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami, contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220834/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea l. DiGiorgio has received funding from The National Science Foundation and Princeton University. She is a participating member of the IUCN's SSC Primate Specialist Group Section on Human-Primate Interactions. </span></em></p>The caption may say that only scientists and trained professionals should handle wild animals, but viewers remember the image, not the words.Andrea L. DiGiorgio, Lecturer and Post Doctoral Researcher in Biological Anthropology, Princeton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223902024-02-08T19:17:30Z2024-02-08T19:17:30ZHarry Potter and the Disenchanted Wildlife: how light and sound shows can harm nocturnal animals<p>Light and sound shows in parks can enthral crowds with their colour, music and storytelling. Lasting for weeks to months, the shows provide entertainment and can boost local economies. But unless they are well-located, the shows can also harm wildlife.</p>
<p>A planned production at a wildlife sanctuary in outer Melbourne has brought these concerns to the fore. In April and May this year, a wildlife reserve on the Mornington Peninsula will host <a href="https://hpforbiddenforestexperience.com/melbourne/#location">Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience</a>. The event involves a two-kilometre night walk where, according to organisers, characters from the film are “brought to life”.</p>
<p>The event has prompted an <a href="https://www.savebriarssanctuary.com/">outcry</a> from people worried about the effect on the reserve’s vulnerable wildlife. The sanctuary, known as The Briars, is <a href="https://biocache.ala.org.au/explore/your-area#-38.2695%7C145.0465%7C14%7CAnimals">home to</a> native animals <a href="https://ebird.org/hotspot/L2294907">including</a> powerful and boobook owls, owlet-nightjars, koalas, wallabies, Krefft’s gliders, <a href="https://biocache.ala.org.au/explore/your-area#-38.2695%7C145.0465%7C14%7CReptiles">lizards</a>, <a href="https://biocache.ala.org.au/explore/your-area#-38.2695%7C145.0465%7C14%7CAmphibians">frogs</a>, moths and spiders. A <a href="https://www.change.org/p/urge-mornington-peninsula-shire-to-relocate-the-harry-potter-forbidden-forest-experience">petition</a> calling for the event to be relocated has attracted more than 21,000 signatures.</p>
<p>Research shows artificial light, sound and the presence of lots of people at night can harm wildlife. It’s not hard to see why. Imagine if a music and light show, and thousands of people, turned up at your house every night for weeks on end. How would you feel?</p>
<h2>A history of community opposition</h2>
<p>In addition to the lights and sounds, these shows can involve artificial smoke and animated sculptures. While they often take place along existing walking trails, they attract huge crowds at a time when animals usually have the place to themselves.</p>
<p>Most of Australia’s mammals and frogs and many bird and reptile species are nocturnal, or active at night. They have adapted to the natural darkness, sounds and smells of the night.</p>
<p>The Harry Potter experience planned for The Briars has taken place elsewhere around the world, including at a nature area near the Belgian capital of Brussels. That event, in February last year, was also <a href="https://www.brusselstimes.com/325125/belgian-harry-potter-theme-park-draws-backlash-from-local-residents">opposed by locals</a> on ecological grounds. Belgian Minister for Nature Zuhal Demir has <a href="https://www.brusselstimes.com/363616/no-repeat-flanders-says-evanesco-to-harry-potter-event">reportedly</a> said the show would not return this year due to concern for wildlife.</p>
<p>Light shows proposed for other wildlife conservation areas have also faced community opposition. In Australia, there were calls to halt the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/16/calls-to-halt-nt-light-festival-over-fears-for-vulnerable-rock-wallaby">Parrtjima</a> light festival in the Alice Springs Desert Park over potential harm to the threatened black-footed rock wallabies. The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-03/lumina-light-show-mount-coot-tha-wildlife-concerns/102804780">Lumina</a> light show proposed for Mount Coot-tha in Brisbane has also attracted concern for wildlife.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/predators-prey-and-moonlight-singing-how-phases-of-the-moon-affect-native-wildlife-140556">Predators, prey and moonlight singing: how phases of the Moon affect native wildlife</a>
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<h2>Light, sounds, action!</h2>
<p>Research shows <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/S41559-020-01322-x">artificial light</a> affects wildlife in many ways. For example, it can <a href="https://biodiversitycouncil.org.au/media/uploads/2023_12/biodiversity_council_2023_impacts_of_artificial_light_on_wildlife_gVmenJh.pdf">change</a> their hormone levels, and the numbers and health of their offspring.</p>
<p>Light also interferes with the ability of many species to navigate. This can cause birds to become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1708574114">disorientated</a> and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44973632">crash</a>. It can also prevent <a href="https://www.ecolsoc.org.au/?hottopic-entry=the-impacts-of-artificial-light-on-marine-turtles">baby turtles</a> from finding the sea. </p>
<p>Some animals will forgo <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12206">feeding</a> or <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acv.12340">drinking</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/z06-142">attracting mates</a>. Other animals will try to move to a darker location. In the Belgian case, locals claimed owls left the park to avoid the lights.</p>
<p>Studies of small mammals such as <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acv.12635?campaign=wolearlyview">bats</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12034">micro-bats</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-37166-1">possums and bandicoots</a> have shown many will avoid using habitat that is artificially lit. When there is no alternative dark habitat, species forced to deal with bright conditions – whether natural or artificial – have been found to reduce their activity. </p>
<p>Conversely, some animals are attracted to light. Insects such as moths will cluster around the artificial light source, unable to leave. Some will become so exhausted they will <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12381">become easy prey</a>. </p>
<p>What’s more, human-caused <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1130075/full">noise</a> also stresses animals and changes animal behaviour. It <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1135-4">masks the natural soundscape</a>, making it harder for animals to find mates or hear the calls of their young. It can also mean animals can’t hear predators or their prey.</p>
<p>When thousands of humans travel through an area they leave strong <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320717314453">predator-like smells</a>. This can be <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/9104/">stressful</a> for wildlife. It can also <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1135-4">mask smells</a> vital for an animal’s <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2015.1053">survival</a>, such as that of food and predators.</p>
<h2>Long-term harm</h2>
<p>When faced with all this disruption, many nocturnal animals will hide until a site returns to normal, which in the case of light shows is often close to midnight. This cuts in half the time animals have to go about their life-sustaining activities and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2206339119">exposes them to greater risks</a> when they do go out.</p>
<p>Light and sound shows are usually temporary – but can have major long-term impacts.</p>
<p>In species with low birth rates and short lifespans, a disturbance to breeding can be catastrophic. For example, males of the genus <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/186/2/553/5480676?login=true">Antechinus</a> (small marsupials) live long enough for just one <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00360-007-0250-8">short breeding season</a>. If they are <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/zo/zo17041">disrupted</a>, there are no second chances.</p>
<p>The stress of human lights, sounds, smells and disturbance can shorten an animal’s <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2011.1291">life</a>. Stress can make them more prone to <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2011.1291">illness</a> and create <a href="https://biodiversitycouncil.org.au/media/uploads/2023_12/biodiversity_council_2023_impacts_of_artificial_light_on_wildlife_gVmenJh.pdf">problems</a> with <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/221/6/jeb156893/20849/Hormonally-mediated-effects-of-artificial-light-at">sleeping</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113883">reproduction</a>, development and growth that can last for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159114000574">multiple generations</a>. </p>
<h2>Find a better location</h2>
<p>The Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-31/briars-wildlife-reserve-harry-potter-experience-petition/103275544">defended</a> the Harry Potter event, saying the placement of props, lights and sounds has been carefully considered.</p>
<p>Organisers may have minimised impacts where they can, but evidence suggests the impact on wildlife will still be extensive. </p>
<p>The sanctuary where the event will be held is <a href="https://www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/files/content/public/environment/the-briars/whats-on-at-the-briars/briars-dl-brochure-wildlife-sanctuary_v02_2020-1.pdf">billed as</a> “an ark – a place which nurtures, protects and celebrates the unique flora and fauna of the peninsula, now rare but not lost”. Deliberately locating a light and sound show at the reserve seems at odds with this mission.</p>
<p>Events such as this clearly affect wildlife. Finding genuinely suitable locations should be done with care – and should avoid wildlife conservation areas altogether.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222390/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jaana Dielenberg works for the Biodiversity Council. The Biodiversity Council was founded by 11 universities and receives support from The Ian Potter Foundation, The Ross Trust, Trawalla Foundation, The Rendere Trust, Isaacson Davis Foundation, Coniston Charitable Trust and Angela Whitbread. Jaana is employed by the University of Melbourne and is a Charles Darwin University Fellow.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, and a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Therésa Jones receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is affiliated with NERAL (Network for Ecological Research on Artificial Light).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Loren Fardell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A Harry Potter nightwalk experience at a wildlife sanctuary on the Mornington Peninsula has raised concern for wildlife. Evidence suggests the fears are well-founded.Jaana Dielenberg, University Fellow, Charles Darwin UniversityEuan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin UniversityLoren Fardell, Research Fellow, The University of QueenslandTherésa Jones, Professor in Evolution and Behaviour, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2214662024-02-07T21:17:33Z2024-02-07T21:17:33ZEndangered by the 49th Parallel: How political boundaries inhibit effective conservation<p>Canada is wasting scarce resources conserving species that are not endangered elsewhere.</p>
<p>Some Canadian scientists advocate for conservation efforts to focus on species unique to this country, while others argue for a more global focus. However, most ignore the fact that the U.S. – Canada border creates endangered species.</p>
<p>Scientists preserve their objectivity by excluding politics from their research. The truth is, however, that conservation science can’t help being geopolitical. We must consider the global context when designing Canadian endangered species, and biodiversity, protections.</p>
<h2>Time for a chat about Chats</h2>
<p>Take the <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-breasted_Chat/id">Yellow-breasted Chat</a>, a <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Warbler/overview">charismatic warbler</a> <a href="https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/bird-status/oiseau-bird-eng.aspx?sY=2019&sL=e&sB=YBCH&sM=p1">listed as Endangered under the (Canadian) federal Species at Risk Act (SARA)</a>. The Canadian fragment of the Southern Mountain subspecies survives in a handful of sites in B.C. along the Okanagan and Similkameen rivers. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/plans/rs_yellow-breasted_chat_auricollis_southern_mountain_pop_e_final.pdf">2014 federal Action Plan estimated</a> the entire B.C. population to be 170 <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/breeding-pair">breeding pairs</a>. According to the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22722057/138772425">International Union for Conservation (IUCN) Red List</a>, though, the global population is around 17 million across North America. </p>
<p>As a result the Chat’s status is “least concern”, the lowest in the IUCN ranking.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574129/original/file-20240207-26-6mn8al.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bird sings on a branch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574129/original/file-20240207-26-6mn8al.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574129/original/file-20240207-26-6mn8al.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574129/original/file-20240207-26-6mn8al.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574129/original/file-20240207-26-6mn8al.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574129/original/file-20240207-26-6mn8al.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574129/original/file-20240207-26-6mn8al.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574129/original/file-20240207-26-6mn8al.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Yellow-breasted Chat is found throughout the U.S. and Canada, with the majority populations found in the U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/yellow-breasted-chat-2011.html">says</a> the Southern Mountain subspecies “occurs at the northern edge of its range in Canada” as a peripheral to the huge American core population. </p>
<p>In other words, the Yellow-breasted Chat is listed as endangered in Canada because, in 1846, the British accepted that the <a href="https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/the-49th-parallel-our-defining-line/">border with the U.S. should lie at the 49th parallel</a>. </p>
<h2>Endangered, or not?</h2>
<p>The question then is, should conservation efforts be dedicated to tiny Canadian populations of otherwise healthy species? </p>
<p><a href="https://soscp.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Yellow-breasted-Chat.pdf">Elder Richard Armstrong’s traditional story</a> illuminates why the Chat, which his people call xʷaʔɬqʷiləm’ (whaa-th-quil lem), matters to the transboundary Nsyilxcən speaking Peoples. This story is an example of the cultural values that always <a href="https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226358338-006">shape</a> conservation laws, both in Canada and around the world, and which provide good reasons for legal protection even of treasured peripheral populations. The First Nation’s special care for the Chat, in turn, makes it more likely that COSEWIC’s listing will help. </p>
<p>Not in every case, though. In <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/h13010038">our recent study</a> on the conservation status of transboundary mammal species in Canada and the U.S., Cardiff University doctoral student Sarah Raymond, Sarah Perkins from the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University, and I, found just six species — including the polar bear, wood bison and two species of right whale — were listed by both COSEWIC and U.S. authorities. </p>
<p>Of 20 transboundary species listed in just one country, 17 were listed only in Canada. Fourteen of those were, like the chat, ‘Least Concern’ globally, while just one bat species, Myotis lucifugus, was universally assessed as endangered. </p>
<p>Other research supports our findings. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12430">recent study found</a> that 22 per cent of those species that straddled the U.S.-Canada border were only protected on one side – almost always in Canada. The authors, though, take it for granted that peripheral populations deserve to have high conservation status. </p>
<p>Another <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2018.03.001">study scored</a> 729 COSEWIC-listed species, subspecies and <a href="https://biologydictionary.net/population/">populations</a> to assess the global context of these conservation measures. The study questions the fact that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“In many cases, … subspecies units (e.g. twelve kinds of caribou) and peripheral populations of globally secure species are being given high priority, while endemic and globally endangered species are neglected.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sometimes isolated populations, like the <a href="https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/esr.do?id=17481">fishers</a> of the Columbia region, are valued because they are genetically distinctive, but these should be rare exceptions. Instead, Canada has so many peripheral populations marooned on the wrong side of the border that Fred Bunnell, a UBC forest ecologist, named the phenomenon <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/plants-animals-and-ecosystems/species-ecosystems-at-risk/species-at-risk-documents/cf_primer.pdf">“jurisdictional rarity.”</a> Bunnell argued that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Efforts to conserve species that are locally rare but globally common often ignore the ecologically marginal nature of habitat and population. They engage in a fight with nature.” </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Overcoming jurisdictional rarity</h2>
<p>I live in one of the skinny fragments of shrub steppe that snake up from the Columbia plateau in the U.S. through Osoyoos to Kamloops — an area which seems purpose-built for jurisdictional rarity. </p>
<p>Take the burrowing owl, a ground-nesting raptor with a vexed facial expression. </p>
<p>The bird, <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/plants-animals-and-ecosystems/species-ecosystems-at-risk/brochures/burrowing_owl.pdf">while protected in B.C. since 2004</a>, is mostly absent from the province. Meanwhile, the IUCN’s <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22689353/93227732">range map</a> for the burrowing owl (Least Concern), stretches from Alberta to Argentina. </p>
<p>B.C. has <a href="https://www.burrowingowlbc.org/">spent considerable resources reintroducing</a> the owl within the province. Ecologists might defend its role as a grasslands predator, and British Columbians might, given the choice, like to have the charming bird species thrive in the province. However, this choice, which is arguably ‘a fight with nature’, is never presented as a political one. </p>
<p>Public information about endangered species dodges jurisdictional rarity, leaving decisions to scientists and bureaucrats. </p>
<h2>Reframing the conversation</h2>
<p>Ontario’s Endangered Species Act (OESA) was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12483">lauded by conservationists</a> because, unlike SARA, it gave scientists the power to impose automatic listing with no political interference. </p>
<p>Doug Ford’s government defanged OESA with its <a href="https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-1/bill-108">More Homes, More Choice Act in 2019</a>, though it did include a sensible requirement that the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO) consider jurisdictional rarity.</p>
<p>Scientists opposed to Ford’s pandering to property developers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2020-0064">want the legislation restored to its former glory</a>, meaning COSSARO would list species “based on their status solely in Ontario, as was formerly done.” But why? </p>
<p>Over-listing shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Scientists may feel protective towards Canadian populations they know and love, but citizens won’t want limited resources wasted on conservation of un-endangered species. Scientific and political processes <a href="https://sierraclub.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/Species-at-risk-Recovery-Report-Brief_0.pdf">gummed up</a> with peripheral species make it less likely that critically imperilled species will be saved. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/environmental-laws-in-canada-fall-short-of-addressing-the-ongoing-biodiversity-crisis-162983">Environmental laws in Canada fall short of addressing the ongoing biodiversity crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2018-0042">Some biologists claim</a> that effective conservation needs tough laws that put scientists alone in charge of listing and protection (on public land, at least). I would argue, though, that legitimacy, not coercive power, is the most precious commodity in conservation. </p>
<p>Social science research <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.11.014">shows that most Canadians, regardless of background, want species protected</a>, yet their support — vital in a vast nation like Canada — is fragile. It <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26269957">depends on a belief</a> that listing processes are democratically legitimate, and that listed species deserve protection. </p>
<p>Where good reasons exist to protect peripheral species, those arguments should be public and open to debate. </p>
<p>My field — environmental humanities — is generally better at asking awkward questions than proposing solutions. In this case, though, I have a simple recommendation: new conservation laws, such as B.C. is <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/biodiversity-habitat-management/draft_biodiversity_and_ecosystem_health_framework.pdf">considering</a>, should require that peripheral species be identified transparently, using agreed definitions, as ‘endangered in B.C.’, or ‘threatened in Canada’. If it does, I would vote for conservation of Okanagan chats regardless.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221466/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greg Garrard's research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, grant no. 435-2020-1220. Sarah Raymond's research visit to UBC Okanagan was funded by UKRI-MITACS Globalink. </span></em></p>Canada is wasting resources, and legitimacy, conserving species that are not endangered elsewhere. Transparent cross-border considerations should inform all new conservation laws.Greg Garrard, Professor of Environmental Humanities, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2227672024-02-06T16:34:20Z2024-02-06T16:34:20ZWe’ve found out how earless moths use sound to defend themselves against bats – and it could give engineers new ideas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573732/original/file-20240206-20-zrb59g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C40%2C4466%2C2950&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ermine moths are deaf, but have an intricate wing structure that protects them from bats by producing warning clicks when they fly.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/detailed-closeup-on-white-speckled-yponomeuta-2169581991">HWall/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>An acoustic battle between <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-ento-121510-133537">bats and their insect prey</a> has been raging in the night skies for over 65 million years. Many different techniques are used, and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2313549121">our new study</a> reveals the fascinating strategy of the small, deaf ermine moth, which has evolved a tiny wing structure that produces warning sounds. We hope this insight could inspire engineers to create new technology.</p>
<p>Bats count on their secret weapon, <a href="https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/flight-food-and-echolocation">echolocation</a>, to find and catch their flying prey, and in response, nocturnal insects have evolved interesting defences. Many silk moths, for instance, rely on a kind of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2014531117">sound-absorbing stealth cloak</a> that makes them “disappear” from bat sonar. Some large moth species have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.038">evolved reflective decoys</a> that draw bat attacks away from their body and towards the tips of their wings.</p>
<p>The next level of defence is <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-ento-121510-133537">ears</a> that allow insects, including many moths, to pick up bat echolocation calls and fly out of harm’s way. They can also use their sensory awareness of location to blast an attacking bat with ultrasonic sounds that deter or confuse their biosonar. </p>
<p>However, scientists have long been puzzled about the many earless moths that cannot detect their predators and are too small for decoys. How do they protect themselves? </p>
<p>We recently discovered that <a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/185355664/tymbals.pdf">even earless moths</a>, such as <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/white-ermine">ermine moths</a> (<em>Yponomeuta</em>), use acoustic signals as a defence against bat attacks. These moths have a tiny structure in their hind wings which creates a powerful ultrasonic signal that jams the echolocating sonar of bats.</p>
<p>Because these moths don’t have hearing organs, they are not aware of their unique defence mechanism, and nor can they control it. Instead, the sound production mechanism is coupled to the flapping of their wings.</p>
<h2>Protective wing beats</h2>
<p>When we studied the ermine moth’s wing under a microscope, it became clear that one part of the wing stands out from the rest. While most of it is covered by small hairs and scales, one patch of wing is clear and located adjacent to a corrugated structure of ridges and valleys. In our new study, we found this structure produces sound perfectly tuned to confuse bats. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Pipistrelle bat flying on wooden ceiling of house in darkness" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573422/original/file-20240205-21-ssex63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573422/original/file-20240205-21-ssex63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573422/original/file-20240205-21-ssex63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573422/original/file-20240205-21-ssex63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573422/original/file-20240205-21-ssex63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573422/original/file-20240205-21-ssex63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573422/original/file-20240205-21-ssex63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bats such as this pipistrelle use echolocation to hunt.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pipistrelle-bat-pipistrellus-flying-on-wooden-1018158514">Rudmer Zwerver/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://dosits.org/science/sound/what-is-sound/">Sound is a pressure wave</a> that travels through a fluid or solid and requires a displacement of this medium, usually a vibration, to produce noise. Large vibrating surfaces over cavities are <a href="https://cmtext.indiana.edu/acoustics/chapter1_resonance.php">good for amplifying sound</a> – a good example is a tymbal drum, which has a taught skin stretched over a cavity. As the drum skin is struck by a drumstick, the skin vibrates at its natural frequencies and transmits these vibrations into the surrounding air as sound.</p>
<p>In ermine moths, the clear patch in the hind wing serves as the drum skin, while the corrugated structure of valleys and ridges act as drumsticks. During flight, the moth’s wing makes the ridges snap one after the other in a sequence. Each snap makes the clear patch, known as an <a href="https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/a-bioinspired-mechanical-model-of-the-ultrasonic-clicks-produced-">aeroelastic tymbal</a>, vibrate and amplifies the sound volume.</p>
<p>Recordings we made of ermine moths found their wings make clicking noises during flight, which we could detect using a bat detector that converts ultrasound into sound audible to humans.</p>
<p>Using 3D X-ray and a sophisticated microscope technique called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6961134/#:%7E:text=The%20primary%20functions%20of%20a,3D%20reconstructions%20of%20imaged%20samples.">confocal microscopy</a>, our study’s lead author, Hernaldo Mendoza Nava, mapped out the intricate properties of the materials that make these moths’ aeroelastic tymbals. We then used computer simulations to test our hypothesis that the deformations of the corrugations stimulate the wing’s membrane in a way that produces sound. These simulations produced a sound that matched our recordings of the moths’ clicks in frequency, structure, amplitude and direction.</p>
<p>Some eared moths can make similar warning sounds, but none of them (so far) have been shown to do this with an aeroelastic tymbal. </p>
<p>To our team of biologists and engineers, these wing structures are fascinating because they rely on a mechanism that we teach our engineering students to avoid. “Snap through” is an example of a <a href="https://www.egr.msu.edu/classes/me471/thompson/handout/class07_2005S_Buckling.pdf">buckling instability</a> – when a structure loses stability when loaded, and suddenly snaps into a different state.</p>
<p>In a buckling instability, the material doesn’t break but the structure usually loses stiffness and can even collapse. This can have catastrophic consequences for any structure that carries load, such as buildings, bridges and aeroplanes.</p>
<h2>Inspired by nature</h2>
<p>Historically, structures were made to be rigid enough to withstand external forces. Over the last decade, researchers and engineers have started to question this default position, and have begun to use buckling instabilities to create structures with new capabilities. </p>
<p>One example is engineers designing <a href="https://www.nature.com/collections/aabiaicgej#:%7E:text=Traditionally%2C%20structures%20were%20constructed%20to,and%20maintain%20its%20desired%20form.">morphing structures</a> <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/aeronautical-journal/article/abs/morphing-skins/912AB6CFD2C2075099CC5D362D8BCB60">for future aircraft wings</a> that autonomously adapt their shape to perform better when the environment changes. The aeroelastic tymbal of ermine moths embodies this concept and demonstrates how nature can be an inspiration for new technology.</p>
<p>Our hope is that these deaf moths’ aeroelastic tymbals will encourage new developments in engineering domains such as acoustic structural monitoring, where structures give off sound when overloaded. This is often used to check the safety of infrastructure. It could also lead to innovations in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_robotics">soft robotics</a>, where the robots are made of fluids and gels instead of metal and plastics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222767/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc Holderied receives funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (grant no. BB/N009991/1) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant no. EP/T002654/1). We thank Diamond Light Source for access
to beamline I13 (proposal MT17616) and to Dr. Shashi Marathe and Kaz Wanelik for their assistance at the facility. We thank Daniel Robert for access to and support with Laser Doppler vibrometry.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alberto Pirrera has received funding for this research from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant no. EP/M013170/1).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rainer Groh has received funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering (grant no. RF/201718/17178) for this research. Hernaldo Mendoza Nava, a PhD student who worked on this project for his thesis, was funded by the Science and Technology National Council (CONACYT-Mexico, CVU/studentship no. 530777/472285) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council through the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Composites for Innovation and Science (grant no. EP/L0160208/1).</span></em></p>The ermine moth’s wing structures are fascinating because they rely on a mechanism we teach our engineering students to avoidMarc Holderied, Professor in Sensory Biology, University of BristolAlberto Pirrera, Professor of Nonlinear Structural Mechanics, University of BristolRainer Groh, Senior Lecturer in Digital Engineering of Structures, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2213522024-02-05T13:34:48Z2024-02-05T13:34:48ZHow bats ‘leapfrog’ their way home at night – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572171/original/file-20240130-27-o1vlrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C3413%2C2539&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The greater horseshoe bat is one of the UK's 18 bat species. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/flying-bat-hunting-forest-greater-horseshoe-1494098204">Rudmer Zwerver/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A silent ballet takes place above our heads at night as Britain’s bat populations leave their roosts to forage for food. Although their initial movement away from roosts is fairly well understood, until recently little was known about how they returned home. </p>
<p>But our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11538-023-01233-5">new research</a> shows how bats may use a “leap-frogging” motion to make their way home, something which could help conservationists in future.</p>
<p>As they flit through the darkness, bats play a crucial role in the health of our ecosystems. From keeping insect populations in check to dispersing seeds and pollinating plants, they provide a multitude of benefits. </p>
<p>In the UK alone, the 18 bat species devour agricultural pests such as cockchafers with impressive efficiency. So, it is imperative that we not only understand and appreciate bats, but also actively support and safeguard their populations for the wellbeing of our planet.</p>
<p>But bat populations are vulnerable to pollution, climate change and loss of roosting locations. Habitat fragmentation and light pollution can also interrupt how bats feed. This is particularly important during the maternity season <strong>in early summer</strong>, when bats gather together to have and raise their young.</p>
<p>An integral aspect of effective bat conservation lies in unravelling the mysteries of how bats move. This not only helps us understand how bats navigate and use their environment, but also helps in identifying and protecting their roosts. </p>
<h2>Radio-tracking</h2>
<p>Conventional methods for pinpointing bat roosts primarily hinge on radio-tracking surveys. This arduous process involves capturing bats, attaching small radio transmitters to them before releasing them and following the signals throughout the night. </p>
<p>Our team conducted a radio-tracking survey in Devon which monitored 12 greater horseshoe bats over 24 nights. The trajectories of seven of those bats over 14 nights were extracted from the data for analysis, ensuring that in each case, a bat’s beginning and ending roost were the same.</p>
<p>Using this data, we measured the population’s average distance from the roost. We found two distinctive patterns in the data we analysed: an initial spread of bats within the first one to two hours after sunset and a gradual return to the roost afterwards.</p>
<p>The initial spread reflects the expected random dispersal of bats leaving their roosts to forage after sunset. The return to the roost, occurring two to eight hours after sunset, is more complicated. </p>
<p>This prompted us to explore two potential mechanisms influencing the bats’ return. First, a “pull mechanism”, where the roost attracts the bats home, and second, a mechanism pushing the bats who range furthest away back to the roost.</p>
<p>We modelled the pushing mechanism as a leapfrog process. Imagine this as a cascade effect, where the outermost bats begin their return. Once the “outer” bats have passed or “leapt over” bats that are closer to the roost, the “inner” bats become the furthest out causing them to return too.</p>
<p>This motion unfolds systematically, like a synchronised dance, as each bat from the periphery of the foraging range follows suit in returning to the roost after being “leapfrogged”.</p>
<p>But what causes the bats to return in this manner? One plausible explanation underscores how bats rely on each other for effective navigation, like tiny radar signals. If a bat experiences prolonged silence or predominantly hears calls from one direction, it might decide to move closer to the roost, anticipating the presence of other colony members. </p>
<p>But a bat might return more slowly, prolonging foraging, if it perceives the presence of bats beyond its current location. So, it is the outer bats that would drive the return as they would not be surrounded by calls.</p>
<h2>How does this research help bats?</h2>
<p>The significance of these findings extends beyond just describing the movements of bats. They have laid the foundation for work that promises easier discovery of new bat roosts, potentially reducing the need for labour-intensive bat tracking surveys in the future. </p>
<p>One of the immediate effects of our research includes informing a measurement of the “core sustenance zone” for greater horseshoe bats. This is where most of their foraging occurs, so it’s important in bat ecology, conservation and construction planning.</p>
<p>The leapfrogging mechanism also allows us to ascribe intention to bat movements. Namely, through using surrounding bat calls they can identify where the population is relative to their position, suggesting whether or not they are on the periphery of the group, which is an indicator of their vulnerability. Should they be furthest from the roost they move back towards the bulk of the population and closer to the roost.</p>
<p>While these interpretations hold promise, further rigorous testing is essential. And we need to think about the safety and wellbeing of the bat population.</p>
<p>Our observations are also specific to greater horseshoe bats during the summer months. Different bat species have distinct flight patterns and habitat preferences, with the same species displaying diverse behaviours at different times of the year. </p>
<p>So, while we have taken some crucial first steps, we still have a lot of work to do in unravelling the characteristics of bat motions in general.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221352/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Mathews receives funding from Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Devon County Council and the Natural Environment Research Council. She is affiliated with the UK Mammal Society, Mammal Conservation Europe, Ecotype Genetics and Ecology Search Services Ltd. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Woolley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Maths plays a crucial role in new research which finds that bats “leapfrog” their way home at night.Thomas Woolley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Mathematics, Cardiff UniversityFiona Mathews, Professor of Environmental Biology, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2215472024-01-31T12:02:05Z2024-01-31T12:02:05ZWhy monkeys attack people – a primate expert explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570907/original/file-20240123-15-jwdv0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5159%2C3429&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/monkeys-open-mouth-see-horrible-teeth-1156580965">Witsawat.S/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wildlife tourism thrives on our fascination with animals and primates are particularly attractive animals to tourists. With their human-like faces, complex family dynamics and acrobatic antics, they are a joy to behold.</p>
<p>But recent stories have emerged that portray monkeys in a more sinister light. Reports of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/25/monkey-attacks-injure-people-japanese-city-yamaguchi-tranquilliser-gun">“monkey attacks”</a>, <a href="https://metro.co.uk/video/devil-monkeys-push-driver-160ft-hillside-attack-thailand-2994905/">“devil monkeys”</a>, or even <a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/what-face-ripping-bone-biting-31631055">“face-ripping, bone-biting monkeys”</a> have become common in the media. Have our primate cousins turned on us?</p>
<p>The recent monkey attacks involve a variety of species in different countries. They include the <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2024/01/16/thailand-monkeys-turn-tourists-start-attacking-beach-20120135/">long-tailed macaque</a> and the <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2023/08/09/thailand-devil-monkeys-pushed-driver-down-hill-and-attacked-him-19307282/">pig-tailed macaque</a> in Thailand, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/25/monkey-attacks-injure-people-japanese-city-yamaguchi-tranquilliser-gun">Japanese macaques</a> in Japan, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boy-killed-monkey-attack-india-intestines-ripped-2023-11?r=US&IR=T">Hanuman langurs</a> in India.</p>
<p>Most of these species are macaques, which are a diverse group of monkeys. But all macaques are sociable, intelligent, relatively large (between 4kg and 9kg), and comfortable travelling on the ground. They have a flexible diet, but prefer fruit. They also have cheek pouches that allow them to gather food quickly and carry it to a safe place to eat.</p>
<h2>Over-habituation</h2>
<p>Regardless of species or location, a major factor in monkey bites and attacks is “over-habituation”. Habituation is a process used by animal researchers to gain animals’ trust so they can follow and record their behaviour, with limited impact of the researchers’ presence. </p>
<p>But animals can become unintentionally habituated. Squirrels in a city park who have grown accustomed to handouts are one example, but others include urban foxes in the UK, bears in North America, and, in many parts of the tropics, monkeys.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-surprising-reasons-human-actions-threaten-endangered-primates-197850">Three surprising reasons human actions threaten endangered primates</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>When animals lose their fear of humans and become a nuisance, they are over-habituated. In nearly all cases of over-habituation, the main factor is human food. What people eat is irresistible to wildlife. It is nutrient-dense, easy to digest and is available in rubbish bins, unattended backpacks, or even directly from people. </p>
<p>From an ecological point of view, animals have every incentive to take advantage of this high-quality resource. So, it’s no surprise that animals will adjust their fear and natural behaviour accordingly.</p>
<p>While over-habituation due to associating tourists with food is certainly the main driver for the reported monkey attacks, that does not mean that every person bitten or threatened by a monkey is guilty of feeding or teasing them. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A long-tailed macaque sits on a red footbridge while a cyclist rides past." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572224/original/file-20240130-23-bkbzlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572224/original/file-20240130-23-bkbzlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572224/original/file-20240130-23-bkbzlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572224/original/file-20240130-23-bkbzlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572224/original/file-20240130-23-bkbzlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572224/original/file-20240130-23-bkbzlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572224/original/file-20240130-23-bkbzlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A contemplative long-tailed macaque in Singapore.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/long-tailed-macaques-crossing-bridge-singapore-2364831037">Tan Yong Lin/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Monkeys are very smart, have a long memory and learn from each other. Many groups have grown so accustomed to human foods that they have learned to harass tourists to get it. Some monkeys have become so adept at this that they know which items are valuable to tourists, which they will <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2019.0677">“trade” for food</a>. In other words, they’ll steal your mobile phone but then drop it when you throw them some food. </p>
<p>Another important factor in monkey attacks at tourist sites is an unawareness of the animals’ body language, facial expressions and vocalisation. Even highly habituated monkeys will normally give a warning before attacking someone. But people inexperienced with monkey behaviour will often <a href="https://peerj.com/blog/post/115284879374/experience-based-human-perception-of-facial-expressions-in-barbary-macaques/">misinterpret</a> a threatening facial expression for a friendly one. This can lead to dangerous encounters.</p>
<h2>Advice</h2>
<p>Wildlife tourists cannot be expected to understand every species’ typical expressions and body postures. But some things can help tourists be more safe and responsible, regardless of the primate species they are viewing.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Give them space. According to the <a href="https://human-primate-interactions.org/responsible-primate-watching-for-tourists/">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a>, a network of environmental organisations, keeping a distance of seven metres (23 feet) from the animals is recommended. This helps the animals not feel threatened and also reduces the risk of disease transmission.</p></li>
<li><p>Do not stand between the animals and their route to safety, or between adults and young.</p></li>
<li><p>Avoid direct eye contact or showing your teeth because monkeys may perceive this as aggressive.</p></li>
<li><p>For many primate species, common threats include bared teeth (including some yawns), direct stares with a lowered head, and short lunges or slapping the ground with the hands. If an animal does any of these things, quietly back away.</p></li>
<li><p>Do not feed the monkeys.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Wildlife tourism contributes <a href="https://wttc.org/Portals/0/Documents/Reports/2019/Sustainable%20Growth-Economic%20Impact%20of%20Global%20Wildlife%20Tourism-Aug%202019.pdf">more than US$100 billion</a> (£786 billion) per year to the global economy. It is also immensely rewarding and can offer many benefits to wildlife and the communities of people who live near them. But we should all be <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-be-a-responsible-wildlife-tourist-118869">responsible tourists</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221547/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracie McKinney is affiliated with the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group's Section for Human-Primate Interactions (SHPI).</span></em></p>Tourists can do a number of things to avoid dangerous encounters with monkeys.Tracie McKinney, Senior Lecturer in Biological Anthropology, University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2221562024-01-30T06:04:53Z2024-01-30T06:04:53ZAllowing duck hunting to continue in Victoria is shameful and part of a disturbing trend<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572072/original/file-20240130-27-mofxc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C0%2C3755%2C2528&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rifle-hunter-silhouetted-beautiful-sunset-summer-507952288">KOCHMARYOV, Shutterstock. </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Victorian government has <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/continuing-recreational-duck-hunting-victoria">confirmed</a> duck and quail hunting will continue in the state, albeit with changes which would purportedly ensure the practice “remains safe, sustainable and responsible”.</p>
<p>The controversial decision is a rejection of recommendations by a bipartisan <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/committees/select-committee-on-victorias-recreational-native-bird-hunting-arrangements/">parliamentary committee</a> chaired by a Labor MP, which <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/news/environment/birdhuntreport">recommended ending native bird hunting</a> this year.</p>
<p>I, along with my Elder Anthony McKnight, made a submission to the <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/inquiries/nativebirdhunting/submissions">inquiry</a>. To us as Yuin men, Yumburra (black duck) – one of the species being hunted – is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/humpback-whales-hold-lore-for-traditional-custodians-but-laws-dont-protect-species-for-their-cultural-significance-213073">culturally significant species</a> and our tribal totem. Yumburra is Country, we are Country. Harm to Yumburra is harm to us. </p>
<p>Our submission argued against recreational hunting of native birds based on concerns for the ongoing health of duck populations and questions over the ethics of the sport. We acknowledge that not all Traditional Custodians share the same position, but this is ours. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572053/original/file-20240130-27-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Artwork showing a family of Yumburra (black duck) swimming together, mother and three ducklings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572053/original/file-20240130-27-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572053/original/file-20240130-27-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572053/original/file-20240130-27-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572053/original/file-20240130-27-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572053/original/file-20240130-27-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572053/original/file-20240130-27-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572053/original/file-20240130-27-38gy0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yumburra the black duck is a Yuin tribal totem.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lyn Harwood</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-duck-shooting-season-still-isnt-on-the-endangered-list-92926">Why duck shooting season still isn't on the endangered list</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Open season for controversy</h2>
<p>Duck hunting has <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-duck-shooting-season-still-isnt-on-the-endangered-list-92926">long been contentious in Victoria</a>. The issue emerges every autumn when the responsible minister is set to announce the details of the shooting season. Each year the same groups come out to wade through the muddy water and thrash out the same bloody arguments. </p>
<p>Advocates of the sport argue it brings money into regional communities and that it has become a tradition (albeit one with a short history in the context of this old land).</p>
<p>But the fact remains that waterfowl populations are in long-term <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367180582_Eastern_Australian_Waterbird_Aerial_Survey_-October_2022_Annual_Summary_Report?channel=doi&linkId=63c5dd1bd9fb5967c2e03e4e&showFulltext=true">decline</a>. The inquiry heard that habitat destruction is the major contributor to this trend but that hunting was likely to be a small contributing factor. </p>
<p>Duck hunting also causes avoidable injuries to birds. The inquiry heard non-lethal wounding rates of ducks could be as high 6-40%, or 15,700 to 105,000 based on the 2022 season. </p>
<p>I cannot accept such high rates of injury to a significant totem. I hunt for feral deer, species that cause great damage to Country, but I only shoot when I’m confident of a humane kill. And I fish, but I only take fish when I’m comfortable that crayfish and abalone numbers are strong on the reefs where I have swum all of my life. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TYBU9oSEKZ0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Legislative Council Select Committee Chair Ryan Batchelor talks about the report’s findings and recommendations.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In allowing duck hunting to continue, the Victorian government is ignoring the main recommendation of the committee.</p>
<p>The government says it will accept the other seven recommendations “in full or in principle”, by changing the rules from 2025. This includes:</p>
<ul>
<li>making education and training for hunters mandatory</li>
<li>improving compliance and toughening penalties</li>
<li>reducing the risk of wounding</li>
<li>increasing recognition of Traditional Owners’ knowledge of hunting and land management.</li>
</ul>
<p>In theory this addresses many of the problems. But in practice these measures will be resource-intensive and challenging to implement effectively. Education and compliance activities will need to be well funded and staffed. And hunting-related harm to individual ducks and populations can only be reduced, when it could have been eliminated. </p>
<p>Finally, these measures fail to address the issues that have been driving waterbird populations down over decades.</p>
<h2>A disturbing pattern of behaviour</h2>
<p>The Victorian government has form in ignoring evidence of the declining health of our environment.</p>
<p>In December 2021 I was <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/48e803/contentassets/5ebe773305454e0e80e02b78b3b62f39/6.-dr-jack-pascoe.pdf">invited to present an Indigenous perspective</a> to an <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/inquiries/inquiry-into-ecosystem-decline-in-victoria/">inquiry into ecosystem decline in Victoria</a>. I told them of watching the decline of the manna gum woodlands I had grown up in, and how that impacted me. </p>
<p>That inquiry found threatened native species are suffering severe declines and are not being holistically protected. It also recommended the Victorian government consider revoking the “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-29/dingo-wild-dog-unprotection-order-bait-trap-buffer-zone/102914828">unprotection order</a>” that allows dingoes, a <a href="https://www.wildlife.vic.gov.au/our-wildlife/:%7E:text=The%20dingo%20is%20listed%20as,under%20the%20Wildlife%20Act%201975.">threatened native species</a>, to be killed over vast areas of Victorian private and public land.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-boss-of-country-not-wild-dogs-to-kill-living-with-dingoes-can-unite-communities-214212">'The boss of Country', not wild dogs to kill: living with dingoes can unite communities</a>
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<p>Three weeks afterward as part of the Independent Expert Panel reviewing the Wildlife Act, I submitted our report to the state government. The government commissioned the review because it was concerned about limitations of the laws following two high-profile cases, including the deliberate <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-04/wedge-tailed-eagle-deaths-prompt-review-of-wildlife-act/12210956">mass killing of wedge-tailed eagles</a>, a species acknowledged by many Indigenous Victorians as the Creator.</p>
<p>In the two years since we submitted our report, the Victorian government has not responded nor released our report publicly. </p>
<p>In September last year, the Barengi Gadjin Land Council called for an end to indiscriminate killing of dingoes, a species Indigenous Australians consider <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-boss-of-country-not-wild-dogs-to-kill-living-with-dingoes-can-unite-communities-214212">kin</a>. Just weeks later, the Victorian government extended the unprotection order for dingoes. </p>
<p>In October 2022 the Victorian Auditor General’s Office released a report titled <a href="https://www.audit.vic.gov.au/report/protecting-victorias-biodiversity?section=">Protecting Victoria’s Biodiversity</a>. It highlighted flaws in the state environment department’s threatened species protection and the data that informed decision-making. </p>
<p>That report also noted the department received less than half of the funding it requested to meet its own targets. What’s more, the most recent state budget <a href="https://greens.org.au/vic/news/media-release/labors-state-budget-fails-struggling-victorians-greens">decreased spending on the environment</a>.</p>
<p>So where does this get us? Late last year the Victorian State of the Environment <a href="https://www.ces.vic.gov.au/soe2023">report</a> was quietly tabled in parliament. Among the grim findings were that biodiversity continues to decline. Most biodiversity indicators assessed had deteriorated since 2018. These declines included “waterbird species in the Murray–Darling Basin” and “distribution and abundance of waterbirds in the Murray–Darling Basin”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1751851975363187064"}"></div></p>
<h2>Demand more from the Victorian government</h2>
<p>The Victorian government’s support for recreational duck hunting is just one in a litany of failures to respond adequately to environment decline and to support the views of Indigenous Victorians. </p>
<p>The world is achingly beautiful, but that beauty is fading. It’s not fading in a faraway place, it’s happening on your doorstep, within your sphere of influence. </p>
<p>We, as Victorians, must accept our responsibility to care for this place that sustains us both physically and spiritually. We must demand that governments acknowledge the environment is being devastated and prioritise policies to reverse the trend. We cannot abdicate this responsibility to Country any longer.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/humpback-whales-hold-lore-for-traditional-custodians-but-laws-dont-protect-species-for-their-cultural-significance-213073">Humpback whales hold lore for Traditional Custodians. But laws don't protect species for their cultural significance</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222156/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Pascoe is affiliated with Back to Country and is Co-Chief Councilor of the Biodiversity Council. </span></em></p>Victoria’s decision this week to reject a ban on duck hunting is a shot to the heart for proud Yuin man Jack Pascoe, son of Bruce Pascoe. The black duck Yumburra is a Yuin tribal totem.Jack Pascoe, Research fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2196642024-01-17T15:41:29Z2024-01-17T15:41:29ZMozambique’s cyclone flooding was devastating to animals – we studied how body size affected survival<p>Anyone who watches the news will have seen the devastation that tropical cyclones can cause when they reach land, with very strong winds, high rainfall and flooding. A cyclone like this, <a href="https://theconversation.com/tropical-cyclone-idai-the-storm-that-knew-no-boundaries-113931">Idai</a>, moved over Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique in March 2019. At that time, it was the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00981-6">deadliest storm in Africa</a>.</p>
<p>Rainfall at Gorongosa averages about <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06722-0#Sec2">850mm per year</a>. When Idai passed over, more than <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06722-0#Sec2">200mm of rain fell</a> in less than 24 hours. Over the following week, the depth of flood waters increased from 2 metres to 5.9 metres and the flood zone increased from 24.1km² to 117.7km². Only by late May did conditions return to normal.</p>
<p>Gorongosa protects 3,674km² of savanna ecosystem. Much of the park’s wildlife was decimated by the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/mozambique">Mozambican Civil War</a> (1977-1992). Since then, scientists have <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0212864">studied</a> the recovery of wildlife populations and changes in the park ecosystem.</p>
<p>When it comes to natural hazards, scientists think that traits such as body size, dispersal ability and habitat preference may be important in determining how vulnerable animals are. But it’s seldom possible to test these ideas. The <a href="https://gorongosa.org/princeton-at-gorongosa/">research</a> that was taking place in <a href="https://gorongosa.org/">Gorongosa National Park</a> at the time of Cyclone Idai provided the perfect opportunity to investigate this.</p>
<p>We were part of an international research team which drew on existing data about wildlife in Gorongosa and compared it with data after the cyclone. We <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06722-0#Sec1">found</a> that overall, the effect of Idai was to push animals out of lower-lying, inundated areas and crowd them into higher regions. The shift in distribution, combined with the reduction in flood zone plant productivity, affected what herbivores had available for food. Larger herbivores were better able to move in response to the flooding and to cope with food shortage. Large carnivores had a more easily accessible food supply.</p>
<p>Our results identify general traits that govern animal responses to severe weather, which may help to inform wildlife conservation in a volatile climate.</p>
<p>This effect of animal size on responses to catastrophic storms is similar to that found for island systems affected by <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.281.5377.695">hurricanes in the Bahamas</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-indian-ocean-is-spawning-strong-and-deadly-tropical-cyclones-116559">Why the Indian Ocean is spawning strong and deadly tropical cyclones</a>
</strong>
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<h2>Measuring the impact of Idai on animals</h2>
<p>We integrated data from multiple research projects for which animal GPS locations were available to capture the responses of animals to the flooding.</p>
<p>The individual movement of 48 GPS-collared animals from seven species was measured. Changes in distribution of animals were measured over three years with 30 camera traps covering an area of 300km². Satellite imagery allowed us to assess changes in forage availability, and dung samples provided a picture of dietary changes. The body condition of animals captured for GPS collaring was assessed. We estimated changes in abundance from aerial survey counts covering years 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020.</p>
<h2>Herbivore responses</h2>
<p>Among the species monitored at the time of the cyclone were small antelopes such as the oribi (17kg) and bushbuck (49kg), and large animals like buffaloes (550kg) and elephants (4,000kg).</p>
<p>The bushbuck that survived did so by perching on patches of high ground, like the tops of termite mounds within the flood zone. Locations from the GPS collars showed that they camped out on these temporary little islands or moved quickly between them, hopping from one island to the next.</p>
<p>Larger antelopes like nyala, kudu and sable were able to move long distances towards higher ground. </p>
<p>In addition to the sheer volume of water entering the Gorongosa system, the timing of the flood was also a disturbance. Because the cyclone occurred in March, foraging areas normally open to grazing were covered with water and unproductive.</p>
<p>Herbivore diet in the months following the cyclone shifted to taller, more woody plants, which are harder to digest and have less protein. Plant species eaten showed less overlap between herbivores than in normal years, a strategy that likely reduced competition. Compared to larger herbivores, smaller herbivores experienced a larger change in diet, a greater expansion in the number of plant species eaten to cope with the loss of preferred plants, and a larger decrease in diet quality.</p>
<p>Because food following Idai was scarce, and competition among crowded herbivores was stronger, there was a reduction in body condition for smaller species like bushbuck and nyala. For the larger, more wide-ranging kudu, body condition showed little change.</p>
<p>Crowding and food quality and availability had an impact on numbers of herbivores in the park.</p>
<p>Regular aerial surveys have shown consistent growth in herbivore numbers since the end of the civil war. The survey following Idai, however, showed the first population decreases for many species in the last 30 years. The strongest decreases (47%-53%) were for the small antelopes, oribi and bushbuck. Numbers of larger herbivores (wildebeest, buffalo and elephant) also decreased, but not as severely (27%).</p>
<h2>Carnivore responses</h2>
<p>The effects of Idai on lions and wild dogs were not nearly as strong as for the herbivores. GPS-collared animals moved away from the expanding flood zone. Diets of lions did not change much, but wild dogs began to eat more waterbuck, especially after the cyclone pushed many waterbuck into areas used by wild dogs.</p>
<p>Lion and wild dog populations both increased in numbers following the cyclone. Prey animals consisting of weaker and more food-stressed herbivores became easier to catch and a more abundant food supply for the large carnivores.</p>
<h2>Size matters</h2>
<p>Among the lessons learned from the disturbance caused by Cyclone Idai are that larger species tend to be more resilient to disturbances through their ability to move longer distances and their greater stores of body resources to survive when forage is unavailable. Smaller species were more strongly affected, but they also have the potential to recover more quickly.</p>
<p>Knowledge of how different wildlife species respond to and recover from climatic disturbances will be increasingly important for the conservation of protected areas like Gorongosa National Park. For instance, knowing the different roles species play in a natural system can help wildlife managers to focus conservation efforts on vulnerable species and habitats according to their likely contributions to system recovery following a disturbance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219664/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cyclone Idai in Mozambique was an opportunity to test ideas about traits that help animals survive natural hazards.Jason P. Marshal, Associate Professor of Ecology, University of the WitwatersrandFrancesca Parrini, Associate Professor in Animal Ecology, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2207132024-01-11T17:16:12Z2024-01-11T17:16:12ZThe animal sounds in most nature documentaries are made by humans – here’s how they do it and why it matters<p>Wildlife documentaries like the BBC’s recent series, Planet Earth III, are renowned for offering breathtaking images of animals in their natural habitats. You’d be forgiven for thinking these shows offer an unmediated portrayal of these animals – an objective window into their lives as they hunt, rest and rear their young. But this isn’t quite the case.</p>
<p>While the images we see are filmed on location, many of the sounds are recorded and added to the programmes later. The sounds of animals walking, chewing food and panting, for example, are almost always recorded by human “<a href="https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-foley-artist/">Foley artists</a>” in a sound studio far away from the filming location, often weeks or months later. Foley artists are specialists who produce bespoke sounds for film and television soundtracks.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Foley artists at work.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This curious fact is an inevitable consequence of modern wildlife filmmaking. A lot of wildlife documentary footage is shot using telephoto lenses that can zoom in on their subjects from a great distance. But sound recordists typically can’t get close enough to capture clear sound without disturbing the animals. </p>
<p>Wildlife documentaries also tend to require large crews. If sound were recorded on location, it would be muddied by background noises such as crew chatter or car engines. In other cases, the animals make sounds of a frequency or volume that most microphones simply can’t capture clearly. </p>
<p>In my research, I’ve talked to Foley artists who specialise in animal sound and observed them at work in their studios. </p>
<h2>How Foley artists work</h2>
<p>This Foley process generally involves deciding which of the animal’s actions or movements need sounds to be created for them, and then deciding on the specific qualities those sounds should have. </p>
<p>These decisions often involve the broader sound production team and sometimes the show’s director. The Foley artist then uses their creativity and resourcefulness to create the sounds. </p>
<p>So, what sorts of techniques do they use? It might seem cliched, but the professionals I’ve spoken to really do sometimes knock coconut shells against stone slabs to make the sound of horse footsteps. For an elephant, they might use rocks against a straw-covered tub of compacted earth. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">More Foley artists at work.</span></figcaption>
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<p>A simple pitter-patter of the artist’s fingers in a water tank can create the sound of fish jumping across the surface of a lake, while a bundle of old VHS tape swished around a large water tank gives the sound of a shoal of fish moving through the ocean. </p>
<p>A pair of old leather gloves ruffled together quickly might be used to simulate the flutter of a bird’s wings as it takes off. And most artists will create the close-up sounds of animals chewing, panting or yawning with their own mouths. These sounds are created as the artist watches the footage on a monitor, making sure they perfectly match the actions they’re paired with. </p>
<p>There are some exceptions. Animal cries and roars – which are far too complex to be simulated artificially – tend to be taken from library recordings. And recent developments in microphone technology mean that sound recordists can begin to capture more sounds on location. But for the time being, Foley sound remains a staple of wildlife documentary production.</p>
<h2>Why Foley artist choices matter</h2>
<p>Watching Foley artists at work on wildlife projects gives me a thrill like the one we get when we see how a magic trick is done. But the significance of this technique goes further than that, because both the sounds that are attributed to animals and the nature of those sounds have the ability to affect how we perceive a given species. </p>
<p>On the one hand, a slithery, slimy sound may be matched to the image of a snake – even if a human would be unlikely to hear much if they were really stood next to the camera. Emphasising such an unnerving sound is unlikely to win the snake any new fans, whereas a soft yawn accompanying a close-up of a tiger cub may increase the sense of that animal’s cuteness or vulnerability. </p>
<p>Sounds guide our emotional interpretation of the things we see, and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/planet-earth-2-bbc-sound-effects-fake-a7438336.html">there have been complaints</a> about previous series of Planet Earth, when this audio guidance seemed too heavy-handed.</p>
<p>This matters because the popularity of certain animal species, driven by these documentaries, <a href="https://theconversation.com/conservation-shouldnt-be-a-popularity-contest-3529#:%7E:text=For%20species%20that%20are%20feared,or%20have%20their%20habitat%20destroyed">may affect support for conservation efforts</a>. Steven Spielberg’s fictional film Jaws (1975) made it clear that the way certain animals are portrayed in popular media can have very tangible real-world consequences. Spielberg himself has <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/steven-spielberg-regrets-how-jaws-impacted-real-world-sharks-180981335/">expressed regret</a> about the boom in shark hunting that the film may have encouraged by presenting the shark as both villain and potential trophy. </p>
<p>The use of Foley sound in wildlife documentaries is far more subtle, of course, but it still has the potential to affect how we perceive certain species. And it is all the more powerful because it often flies below the radar of our conscious attention. </p>
<p>So, while the masterful work done by Foley artists on wildlife programmes and films should be celebrated for its ingenuity and magical effects, perhaps it should also be taken as an invitation to think critically about exactly what we see, and hear.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damien Pollard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If sound were recorded on location it would be muddied by background noises such as crew chatter or car engines.Damien Pollard, Lecturer in Film, Northumbria University, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2197852024-01-11T13:24:53Z2024-01-11T13:24:53ZOtters, beavers and other semiaquatic mammals keep clean underwater, thanks to their flexible fur<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566392/original/file-20231218-18-2f1ege.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2136%2C1467&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Otters and other semiaquatic mammals can keep clean even in dirty water. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ANIMALSINTROUBLE/88740e31a4f1471ea8048eda247fbceb/photo?Query=otter&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=191&digitizationType=Digitized&currentItemNo=13&vs=true&vs=true">AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Underwater surfaces can get grimy as they accumulate dirt, algae and bacteria, a process <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/biofouling">scientists call “fouling</a>.” But furry mammals like beavers and otters that spend most of their lives wet manage to avoid getting their fur slimy. These anti-fouling abilities come, in part, from one of fur’s unique properties — that each hair can bend and flex as an animal moves.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_ev_ukj9HCU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Fouling on boats and machinery can be a big problem, and scientists are searching for ways to prevent it.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.dickersonlab.com/">I’m a mechanical engineer</a> who studies fluid dynamics, or how liquids behave. My team recently <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2023.0485">published a study</a> showing that fur that was allowed to move back and forth in a flow of dirty water accumulated less than half the amount of dirt as fur that was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0904">held stiff from both ends</a>.</p>
<p>While lots of animals have <a href="https://theconversation.com/body-hair-helps-animals-stay-clean-and-could-inspire-self-cleaning-technologies-50445">fur that seems to clean itself</a>, semiaquatic mammals have the most grime-resistant, or “anti-fouling,” fur.</p>
<p>Our recent study compared fur fibers from beavers, otters, springbok, coyotes and more using a flow of water containing <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Titanium-Dioxide">titanium dioxide</a>, a common additive in cosmetics. Titanium dioxide readily attaches to surfaces like skin. Our team pumped the dirty water over individual fibers in a closed loop for 24 hours, then cleaned the fibers to measure how much titanium dioxide they’d accumulated.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I then used mathematical techniques to combine all of fur’s properties into a single number that predicts its anti-fouling behavior. We considered each fur strand’s ability to bend, how fluid flows over it and other unique features of each species. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2023.0485">We found</a> that the ability to flex was critical for keeping the animal’s fur clean. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Fouling can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2020.102336">damage the affected surface</a>. When fur fouls, the arrangement of individual strands across the animal’s pelt is disrupted, and the animal might struggle to stay warm or dry.</p>
<p><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym13060846">Industrial repellent methods</a> used to protect the bottom of ships and the insides of pipes often <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2004.02.034">employ harmful chemicals</a> and consume energy and materials, unlike naturally evolved solutions.</p>
<p>Figuring out how fur stays clean naturally could lead to more environmentally friendly solutions for repelling fouling in the water supply, in marine environments and even in the medical field. Solutions could include surfaces with parts that can flex and move or that have little hairs on a surface. </p>
<p>Research into fur also reveals more about how these mammals have evolved to survive across a variety of environments.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Animal fur and the fouling process <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2020.102336">are both complex</a>, so we still don’t fully understand how all the intricate properties of fur, from texture and length to cross-sectional shape and environmental conditions, contribute to cleanliness. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566393/original/file-20231218-23-v903xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A close-up of an otter's coat, with lots of brown fur packed closely together." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566393/original/file-20231218-23-v903xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566393/original/file-20231218-23-v903xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566393/original/file-20231218-23-v903xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566393/original/file-20231218-23-v903xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566393/original/file-20231218-23-v903xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566393/original/file-20231218-23-v903xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566393/original/file-20231218-23-v903xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Since hairs in fur are packed densely, they brush against each other and don’t always move individually.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/otter-fur-close-up-royalty-free-image/691551942?phrase=fur%2Bup%2Bclose%2Botter">Hailshadow/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<p>The strands of hair in fur don’t always move individually. On an animal, the hairs are packed tightly, and they likely clean each other by rubbing as their host moves. We can’t yet tell if rubbing and moving affect the host animal’s cleanliness. </p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>My colleagues and I have just scratched the surface of the mystery of furry mammal cleanliness, and there’s plenty more we can test. Future work could expose fur to biological foulers like bacteria and algae, or look at the role patches of fur play in cleanliness. </p>
<p>The only known mammal that does succumb to fouling is the sloth – <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/03/sloths-moths-and-algae-a-surprising-partnership-sheds-light-on-a-mystery/">algae grows on their fur</a>. </p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219785/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Dickerson receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>The bottoms of boats and docks can accumulate lots of dirt, but semiaquatic animals like otters avoid having ‘fouled’ fur. Their secret could one day help keep underwater infrastructure clean.Andrew Dickerson, Assistant Professor of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of TennesseeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2172552024-01-04T13:48:42Z2024-01-04T13:48:42ZThe chickadee in the snowbank: A ‘canary in the coal mine’ for climate change in the Sierra Nevada mountains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564542/original/file-20231208-19-uw3l7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C148%2C4139%2C2775&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mountain chickadees struggle with snow extremes.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Benjamin Sonnenberg</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wet snow pelts my face and pulls against my skis as I climb above 8,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada of eastern California, tugging a sled loaded with batteries, bolts, wire and 40 pounds of sunflower seeds critical to our mountain chickadee research.</p>
<p>As we reach the remote research site, I duck under a tarp and open a laptop. A chorus of identification numbers are shouted back and forth as fellow behavioral ecologist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KfEtp4gAAAAJ&hl=en">Vladimir Pravosudov</a> and I program <a href="https://youtu.be/a69lKv65mZk?feature=shared">“smart” bird feeders</a> for an upcoming experiment.</p>
<p>I have spent the past six years <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PBLRszkAAAAJ&hl=en">monitoring a population of mountain chickadees</a> here, tracking their life cycles and, importantly, their memory, working in a system <a href="https://chickadeecognition.com/">Pravosudov established in 2013</a>. The long, consistent record from this research site has allowed us to observe how chickadees survive in extreme winter snowfall and to identify ecological patterns and changes. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564534/original/file-20231208-19-4f18vw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A ring of tall, rectangular metal bird feeders mounded high with snow on top." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564534/original/file-20231208-19-4f18vw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564534/original/file-20231208-19-4f18vw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564534/original/file-20231208-19-4f18vw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564534/original/file-20231208-19-4f18vw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564534/original/file-20231208-19-4f18vw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564534/original/file-20231208-19-4f18vw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564534/original/file-20231208-19-4f18vw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Snow piles up on the experiment’s bird feeders. Each chickadee has a radio frequency identification tag that opens its assigned feeder, allowing scientists to track its movements and memory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vladimir Pravosudov</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In recent history, intense winters are often followed by drought years here in the Sierra Nevada and in much of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95979-4">the U.S. West</a>. This teeter-totter pattern has been identified as one of the unexpected symptoms of climate change, and its impact on the chickadees is providing an early warning of the disruptions ahead for the dynamics within these coniferous forest ecosystems. </p>
<p>Our research shows that a mountain chickadee facing deep snow is, to borrow a cliche, like a canary in a coal mine – its survivability tells us about the challenges ahead.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A chickadee sits on a man's finger as the two look at each other." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564900/original/file-20231211-17-53wkl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564900/original/file-20231211-17-53wkl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564900/original/file-20231211-17-53wkl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564900/original/file-20231211-17-53wkl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564900/original/file-20231211-17-53wkl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564900/original/file-20231211-17-53wkl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564900/original/file-20231211-17-53wkl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author, Benjamin Sonnenberg, and one of his research subjects − a young chickadee with a transponder tag on its leg.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Benjamin Sonnenberg</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The extraordinary memory of a chickadee</h2>
<p>As Pravosudov calls out the next identification number, and as my legs slowly get colder and wetter, a charming and chipper “<a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Chickadee/sounds#">DEE DEE DEE</a>” chimes down from a nearby tree. How is it that a bird weighing barely more than a few sheets of paper is more comfortable in this storm than I am?</p>
<p>The answer comes down to the chickadees’ incredible spatial cognitive abilities.</p>
<p>Cognition is the processes by which animals acquire, process, store and act on information from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2000.1606">their environment</a>. It is critical to many species but is often subtle and difficult to measure in nonhuman animals.</p>
<p>Chickadees are food-storing specialists that hide tens of thousands of individual food items throughout the forest under edges of tree bark, or even between pine needles, each fall. Then, they use their specialized spatial memory to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110512-135904">retrieve those food caches</a> in the months to come.</p>
<p>Conditions in the high Sierras can be harsh, and if chickadees can’t remember where their food is, they die.</p>
<p>We measure the spatial memory of chickadees using a classic associative learning task but in a very atypical <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.10.015">location</a>. To do this, we hang a circular array of eight feeders equipped with radio-frequency identification and filled with seed in several locations across our <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00257">field site</a>. Birds are tagged with “keys” – transponder tags in leg bands that contain individual identification numbers and allow them to open the doors of their assigned feeders to get a food reward.</p>
<p>The setup allows us to measure the spatial memory performance of individual chickadees, because they have to remember which feeder their key enables them to open. Over eight years, our findings demonstrate that chickadees with better spatial memory ability are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.006">more likely to survive</a> in the high mountains than those with worse memories. </p>
<p>However, chickadees may be facing increasing challenges that will shape their future in the high mountains. In 2017, a year with record-breaking snow levels, adult chickadees showed the lowest probability of survival <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-020-2817-2">ever measured at our site</a>. This exceptionally extreme winter came with recurrent storms containing cold weather and high winds, making it difficult for even the memory savvy chickadees to forage and survive. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, triumphant populations have persisted in high-elevation mountain environments, but their future is becoming uncertain.</p>
<h2>What’s the problem?</h2>
<p>“It’s weather whiplash,” says <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iEEye1UAAAAJ&hl=en">Adrian Harpold</a>, a mountain ecohydrologist. Harpold works to understand variations in climate patterns within forest environments, and one of his field sites lies alongside our chickadee research site. </p>
<p>The Sierra Nevada and other mountain ranges in western North America have been experiencing more <a href="https://statesummaries.ncics.org/chapter/ca/">extreme snow years and drought years</a>, amplified by climate change. Extreme snow linked to global warming might seem counterintuitive, but it’s basic physics. Warmer air can hold more moisture – <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/explore/ask-nasa-climate/3143/steamy-relationships-how-atmospheric-water-vapor-amplifies-earths-greenhouse-effect/">about 7% more for every degree Celsius</a> (every 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) that temperatures rise. This can result in heavier snowfall when storms strike.</p>
<p><iframe id="VfiF9" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/VfiF9/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>In 2023’s record winter, over 17 feet (5 meters) of snow covered the landscape that our chickadees were using every day. In fact, these intense storms and cold temperatures not only made it difficult for birds to survive the winter but made it almost impossible for them to breed the next summer: 46% of chickadee nests at our higher elevation site failed to produce any offspring. This was likely due to the deep snow that prevented them from finding emerging insects to feed nestlings or even reaching nesting sites at all until July.</p>
<h2>The cascading harms from too much snow</h2>
<p>Even in years of tremendous snowfall, chickadees can still use their finely honed spatial memories to recover food. However, severe storms can shorten their survival odds. And if they do survive the winter, their nesting sites – tree cavities – may be buried under feet of snow in the spring. </p>
<p>It doesn’t matter how smart you are if you can’t reach your nest.</p>
<p>Extreme snow oscillations also affect insects that are critical for feeding chickadee chicks. Limited resources lead to smaller chickadee offspring that are less likely to survive high in the mountains. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A tiny baby chickadee sits in a man's hand. It's mouth below a still developing beak is bright yellow." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565552/original/file-20231213-15-r59z40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565552/original/file-20231213-15-r59z40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565552/original/file-20231213-15-r59z40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565552/original/file-20231213-15-r59z40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565552/original/file-20231213-15-r59z40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565552/original/file-20231213-15-r59z40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565552/original/file-20231213-15-r59z40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Mountain chickadee chicks can struggle to survive during winters with extreme snow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Benjamin Sonnenberg</span></span>
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<p>Snow cover is good for overwintering insects in most cases, as it provides an insulating blanket that saves them from dying during those freezing months. However, if the snow persists too long into the summer, insects can run out of energy and die before they can emerge, or emerge after chickadees <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12105">really need them</a>. Drought years also can drive insect population decline. </p>
<p>Extremes at both ends of the spectrum are making it harder for chickadees to thrive, and more and more we are seeing oscillations between these extremes.</p>
<p>These compounded effects mean that in some years chickadees simply don’t successfully nest at all. This leads to a decline in chickadee populations in years with worse whiplash – drought followed by high snow on repeat – especially at high elevations. This is especially concerning, as many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16187">mountain-dwelling avian species are forecasted to move up in elevation</a> to escape warming temperatures, which may turn out to be hazardous. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Eight little chickadees in a circle in a wooden box, their tails all together in the center to keep their bodies warm." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564540/original/file-20231208-17-vwxtfo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564540/original/file-20231208-17-vwxtfo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564540/original/file-20231208-17-vwxtfo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564540/original/file-20231208-17-vwxtfo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564540/original/file-20231208-17-vwxtfo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564540/original/file-20231208-17-vwxtfo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564540/original/file-20231208-17-vwxtfo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Baby chickadees stay warm inside a wooden box.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Benjamin Sonnenberg</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Lessons for the future</h2>
<p>Chickadees may be portrayed as radiating tranquil beauty on holiday cards, but realistically, these loud, round ruffians are tough survivors of harsh winter environments in northern latitudes.</p>
<p>Our long-term research following these chickadees provides a unique window into the relationships between winter snow, chickadee populations and the biological community around them, such as <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-007-9358-9">coniferous forests</a> and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2023989118">insect</a> populations. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Benjamin Sonnenberg and Vladimir Pravosudov show how the feeders work to test birds’ memories in a video about the early stages of their research.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These relationships illustrate that climate change is a more complicated story than just the temperature climb – and that its whiplash and cascading effects can destabilize ecosystems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217255/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Sonnenberg receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>These tiny songbirds have extraordinary memories for the tens of thousands of spots where they hide food. But that doesn’t help when heavy snow blocks their access.Benjamin Sonnenberg, Ph.D. Candidate in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, RenoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2187452024-01-04T12:51:25Z2024-01-04T12:51:25ZSpiders really may be more scared of you than you are of them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566276/original/file-20231218-23-ws5uv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C12%2C8191%2C5456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Spiders often act passively in response to humans. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/jumping-spider-human-hand-2360829801">Jimmy_Chan/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Spiders have evolved creative strategies to allow them to thrive in habitats across the globe. The one thing that seems to elude them though, is the ability to charm the humans that they encounter. </p>
<p>But what about the spider’s perspective of humans when they find a new home near us? It’s not possible to read a spider’s mind, but research has uncovered some surprising insights about how they behave around humans. </p>
<p>Take the Jorō spider, <em>Trichonephila clavata</em>. News reports have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1ZXH_eT9c8">spread alarm</a> about the palm-size Jorō spider recently settling in parts of the US. </p>
<p>This spider is native to part of eastern Asia but over the last decade has established itself in the US, following its cousin, the golden silk spider <em>Trichonephila clavipes</em>, which arrived <a href="https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phen.12385">around 160 years ago</a>. </p>
<p>But its behaviour suggests it may be more worried about us than the other way around. The Jorō spider has a tendency to play dead. This ploy is known as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5769822/">thanatosis</a> among scientists. It is a response to threats used by many creatures in the animal world, including other arachnids such as scorpions. </p>
<h2>Playing dead</h2>
<p>It’s common for spiders to do this in response to a potential hazard, or even as part of their mating strategy. What is unusual about the Jorō spider though, is just how long it keeps up the act. A <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2813-3323/1/2/9">2023 study</a> of ten spider species found most spiders froze for about a minute in response to a few rapid puffs of air. Jorō spiders lay motionless for more than an hour. </p>
<p>Playing dead at specific times is an <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/19/3/546/185057">advantageous strategy</a>. It reduces the chances of being eaten by predators or potential mates, such as cannibalistic <em>Pisaura mirabilis</em> (European nursery web spider) females.</p>
<p>It might come with a cost such as missing out on a passing feast in the form of a flying insect. But playing dead is probably a more energy efficient way of staying safe from a predator than active defensive strategies. For example, <em>Pholcus</em> cellar spiders will spend far more energy trying to confuse and deter predators by whirling around in their webs.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/punk-hairstyles-and-pirouettes-why-theres-more-to-spiders-than-people-think-189801">Punk hairstyles and pirouettes: why there's more to spiders than people think</a>
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<p>Aggressive responses spiders use include raising their legs and moving their fangs to scare off other animals. More often though, responses to perceived threats – including an approaching human – <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.12177">are passive</a>. Examples include hiding or camouflaging against a background, masquerading as a different species, or even hiding behind other predators. The latter is adopted by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1690-2">tiny jumping spiders</a> that take refuge from spiting spiders by hiding in ant nests.</p>
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<img alt="Japanese yellow joro spider in the web close up" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562382/original/file-20231129-21-i6inhf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562382/original/file-20231129-21-i6inhf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562382/original/file-20231129-21-i6inhf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562382/original/file-20231129-21-i6inhf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562382/original/file-20231129-21-i6inhf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562382/original/file-20231129-21-i6inhf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562382/original/file-20231129-21-i6inhf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Joro spiders aren’t exactly inconspicuous.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beautiful-japanese-yellow-joro-spider-net-2228441763">Photo Spirit/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But the Jorō spider has a conspicuously coloured, gold and black body, and builds large webs one metre in diameter. It’s too large to hide and too distinctive to masquerade or mimic so must rely on other strategies, including playing dead. </p>
<h2>Who is scared of who</h2>
<p>It’s not clear why we are so susceptible to arachnophobia, but studies show humans have similar emotive reactions to very different animals (wolves, crows, spiders). Scientists suggest these fear responses to other animals are driven by a need to control our <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2021.593501">ecological environment</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10143">News stories</a> fuel people’s assumptions that spiders have bad intentions towards us. And these sentiments are reinforced by the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9940273/Creepy-crawlies-Homes-invaded-thousands-spiders-mating-season-kicks-UK.html">seasonal appearances</a> of big spiders in our gardens and under the sofa. </p>
<p>Some spiders, such as the recluse spiders of the US, have a bite that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6628458/">sometimes needs medical treatment</a> but even then, the threat they pose is <a href="https://www.wired.com/2013/11/poor-misunderstood-brown-recluse/">often exaggerated</a>. To put it in context, no spider appears on the WHO’s <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/animal-bites">list of dangerous animals</a> but domestic dogs and cats do. </p>
<p>Tens of millions of people are reportedly injured by domestic dogs each year. Stories about the benefits of spider venom, for example as templates for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6551028/">new medicines</a> that may one day be used to treat pain and diseases such as cancer, get a lot less media attention than spider bites.</p>
<p>People are also almost certainly more dangerous to spiders than the other way around. This is because our food production systems rely on insecticides that are lethal to spiders and are probably contributing to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-29003-2">their widescale decline</a>. This is a problem for humans because spiders have an important role in agriculture, eating pest insects. Their decline might have long-term consequences for what you put on your table. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/studying-the-stomach-contents-of-spiders-shows-how-they-help-control-crop-pests-201066">Studying the stomach contents of spiders shows how they help control crop pests</a>
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<p>As a biologist, I can’t help but feel impressed by the imaginative solutions spiders use to cope with the world around them. They construct <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221959568_The_Role_of_Behavior_in_the_Evolution_of_Spiders_Silks_and_Webs">elaborate silken structures</a> – from giant orb webs complete with decorations (called stabilimenta), to cunningly disguised trapdoors in the ground. </p>
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<p>Spider silk allows them to live everywhere from the <a href="https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2017/05/cave-spiders/">cold depths of deep caves</a>, to the <a href="https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/spiders/water-spider#:%7E:text=The%20water%20spider%20is%20the%20only%20spider%20that%20spends%20its,Males%20are%20larger%20than%20females.">underwater realms</a> of ponds, to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/tarantulas-spiders-new-species-high-elevation-news">high altitudes in the mountains</a>. </p>
<p>When small, spiderlings can travel thousands of kilometres by wind, using silken sails. In the same way that our life experiences shape us, the spider’s journey also shapes its future. This is because the environments young spiders experience during development, such as temperature or the amount of food available, can influence later life strategies, <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.12512">for example when foraging</a> or deciding whether to stay somewhere or move away.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="White silk spiral." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562369/original/file-20231129-22-ulz8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562369/original/file-20231129-22-ulz8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562369/original/file-20231129-22-ulz8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562369/original/file-20231129-22-ulz8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562369/original/file-20231129-22-ulz8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562369/original/file-20231129-22-ulz8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562369/original/file-20231129-22-ulz8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Spiders can spin elaborate webs: the spiral stabilimentum of Japanese spider Octonoba yaeyamensis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Octonoba.yaeyamensis.stabilimentum.1.-.takinawa.jpg">Akio Tanikawa/WikiMedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>The Jorō is also capable of flying in the air as a spiderling, but its recent arrival in the US is probably the result of human activity. For example, hitching a ride in your luggage or on commercially transported goods. And our concern about their spread is best focused not on the spider itself, but on potential ecosystem disruption lower down the food chain.</p>
<p>New arrivals to an area – including this spider – might compete with resident species for food, or influence other types of plant or animal in unexpected ways. In Florida, for example, invasive <em>Cyrtophora</em> spiders sometimes spin so much silk that they cause problems for host plants, potentially <a href="https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/SPIDERS/Cyrtophora_citricola.htm">damaging farmers’ crops</a>. </p>
<p>This example serves as a reminder that the consequence of a spider’s actions might be more complicated than it first appears – passive or not. We benefit from improving our understanding of spiders. This will be easier if we can stop viewing them through an emotive lens.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218745/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Goodacre has received funding from NERC, BBSRC, Wellcome and the Royal Society. She is a member of the British Arachnological Society and the European Society for the study of Arachnology</span></em></p>An expert on why spiders are misunderstood and their fascinating survival strategies.Sara Goodacre, Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Genetics, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2189752023-12-29T11:40:00Z2023-12-29T11:40:00ZThe secret world of puddles<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565473/original/file-20231213-16-omthqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C209%2C4169%2C3093&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Puddles can be valuable wildlife havens.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/water-splash-shoes-mens-feet-hiking-1857225058">Maksim Safaniuk/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the new year arrived in 2016, my home city of Newcastle upon Tyne was briefly the centre of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/01/the-puddle/422955/">global attention</a> – for a puddle. The Drummond Puddle, as it was grandly known, was a watery hazard placed perfectly where converging footpaths funnelled a daily stream of victims to their doom. To the wonderment of the world, their fate was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRXuE7PBdLI">livestreamed</a> over the internet to more than half a million viewers. </p>
<p>But puddles are not merely a source of delight for wicked-minded onlookers. We can all, surely, remember the joy of splashing in a puddle – a universal example of creative play and getting to know the environment.</p>
<p>And yet, the conservation value of these tiny sites is still largely unappreciated. For puddles can be valuable wildlife havens too.</p>
<p>One <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2012.07.002">study</a> of the invertebrate inhabitants of puddles in the UK countryside found a majority of these sites had a high conservation value, primarily due to the rare, specialist animals they hosted. Puddles may be commonplace, but their wildlife need not be.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uRXuE7PBdLI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This 2016 Periscope video shows people trying to avoid stepping in Newcastle’s Drummond Puddle.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Your own private pool</h2>
<p>The tiny, fragmented, ephemeral world of puddles creates the ideal habitat for some species. The isolation and brief life of many of these mini-ponds keeps long-lived, larger predators and competitors at bay, opening up opportunities for more “live fast, die young” life. </p>
<p>In the UK, the most famous examples are the <a href="https://insidedio.blog.gov.uk/2018/10/22/an-exclusive-tour-around-the-plain/">fairy shrimps</a> of puddles on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Large areas of Salisbury Plain are given over to military training, and the churning tracks of tanks create many temporary pools that house these muddy lodgers.</p>
<p>The eggs of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/fairy-shrimp">fairy shrimp</a> are resistant to drought. They remain dormant, but viable, for many years and are spread by the wind or, in the case of Salisbury Plain, are carried in the mud spattered on military vehicles. </p>
<p>When rain fills a track in the dried mud, fairy shrimp eggs hatch almost immediately. The shrimps grow quickly to lay a new generation of eggs before their puddle dries.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Frozen puddles in tank tracks on Salisbury Plain." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565471/original/file-20231213-15-a9b1jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565471/original/file-20231213-15-a9b1jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565471/original/file-20231213-15-a9b1jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565471/original/file-20231213-15-a9b1jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565471/original/file-20231213-15-a9b1jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565471/original/file-20231213-15-a9b1jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565471/original/file-20231213-15-a9b1jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Frozen puddles in tank tracks on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/snow-covered-frozen-iced-puddle-off-1914696466">Martin Hibberd/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other landscapes also harbour important puddles that we have helped to create. The Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall supports a network of trackways that date back to pre-historic times. Temporary pools have developed within these trackways, supporting rare specialist plants like the <a href="https://www.conservationevidence.com/reference/pdf/4018">pygmy rush</a>. </p>
<p>In the US, over the past decade, the rare <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/clam-shrimp">clam shrimp</a> has <a href="https://urbanhabitats.org/v02n01/biodiversitypatterns_pdf.pdf">been found</a> in puddles on the dirt surface of a gas pipeline road in New Jersey. The clam shrimp had only previously been identified in a handful of sites in the north-eastern US.</p>
<h2>Puddle problems</h2>
<p>Human activity may also be creating puddles in urban landscapes. The rapid urbanisation of Beijing has been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878029616302298">linked</a> with increasing the numbers of puddles in the Chinese capital, largely by accident as sites are demolished ready for new developments. As soon as the new build is started, however, these ponds are buried and lost.</p>
<p>The wildlife of urban puddles on roads and pavements has received much less attention compared with other urban habitats, such as flowerbeds or small ponds. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.12911/22998993/111463">research</a> in urban areas of south-east Poland shows that single-celled algae such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/diatom">diatoms</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/desmid">desmids</a> thrive in these puddle environments. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2530064420300225?via%3Dihub">Studies</a> in Brazil have also credited deforestation in the Xingu basin with driving “lentification” – creating water bodies that include puddles. Puddles in these more tropical regions of the world support the ominous presence of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/mosquito-insect">mosquito larvae</a>. </p>
<p>The same safety from predators provided by puddles that benefits fairy and clam shrimps is also important to mosquitoes. In one <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335091956_Assessment_of_Physico-Chemical_and_Ecological_Variables_in_Selected_Natural_Breeding_Sites_of_Mosquitoes_in_Ibadan_Oyo_State_Nigeria">study</a> in Nigeria, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/Anopheles"><em>Anopheles</em> mosquito</a> larvae were found in a higher proportion of road puddles than in other small water bodies.</p>
<p>Birds often look to exploit ponds and puddles, looking for drowned worms after prolonged rain. But worms are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1744-7410.2007.00117.x">not that easy</a> to drown (although it varies by species). So maybe the sorry, soggy specimens stuck in puddles are just unlucky, slowed down as they flounder in the water, becoming very obvious to birds with an eye for an easy meal.</p>
<p>Puddles are, however, not a positive substitute for the problems caused by urbanisation and habitat loss. In Poland, birds using road puddles for a wash <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24750263.2022.2101699">risk</a> being killed by traffic. </p>
<h2>Planet puddle</h2>
<p>While we might be most familiar with the puddles of pavements and streets, there are natural puddle habitats too – and these are very widespread all over the planet. Puddles on ice sheets and glaciers called <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jzo.12832">cryoconite holes</a> are home to a cosmopolitan fauna of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/Devils-worm">nematode worms</a>, mites and the famously tough <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/mar/20/tardigrades-natures-great-survivors">tardigrades</a>. </p>
<p>Puddles also occur in deserts, often as tiny rock pools. By arranging sticky traps around these rock pools, researchers in South Africa showed how wind dispersal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10750-009-9929-z">helps their inhabitants travel</a>. As the rock pools dried, the traps caught wind-borne eggs blowing in the dust, carrying a mix of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/water-flea">waterfleas</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zsc.12505#:%7E:text=Laevicaudatan%20branchiopods%2C%20also%20called%20%E2%80%98smooth%20clam%20shrimps%E2%80%99%20or,90%25%20of%20which%20belong%20to%20the%20genus%20Lynceus.">pea shrimps</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/mite">mites</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565472/original/file-20231213-25-qdygg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An image of a tardigrade under a microscope." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565472/original/file-20231213-25-qdygg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565472/original/file-20231213-25-qdygg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565472/original/file-20231213-25-qdygg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565472/original/file-20231213-25-qdygg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565472/original/file-20231213-25-qdygg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565472/original/file-20231213-25-qdygg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565472/original/file-20231213-25-qdygg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tardigrades are famed among biologists for their ability to survive conditions that would kill almost any other animal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tardigrade-water-bear-microscope-magnification-2111263538">Videologia/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Urban puddles might still be the toughest environment of all, compared with the puddles in these glacier and desert habitats. But in all cases, there is much more to puddles than meets the eye – not just tiny shrimps or marooned worms.</p>
<p>Some of the strange creatures they contain are much more conspicuous. Video coverage of the Drummond Pond in Newcastle in 2016 even captured some two-legged inhabitants that appeared to be large, mammalian and naked …</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Jeffries does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Puddles are an often-ignored but crucial habitat for rare and unusual wildlife.Mike Jeffries, Associate Professor, Ecology, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2174152023-12-28T09:19:31Z2023-12-28T09:19:31ZCan golf courses help save the planet? Ask a herd of wild pigs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564304/original/file-20231207-29-1fpb9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-young-hermann-turtle-on-synthetic-1814171870">Mathilde.LR/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>An Arizona golf course, so picture-perfect it was described as “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/24/arizona-javelina-pig-destroy-golf-course">the Imax of golf</a>”, was wantonly trashed by intruders in the autumn of 2023. But no, this was not Just Stop Oil <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NB7FgPmx2w">back for another round</a>, nor the result of <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/how-to-control-anger-golf-course">a disgruntled golfer</a>. In fact, it was the work of a squadron of <a href="https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/Javelina.php">javelinas</a>.</p>
<p>Javelinas (or peccaries) are small but feisty relatives of the domesticated pig, found across the southern US and into South America. Like many of their relations, javelinas are bright, enterprising and with an extensive palate that includes everything from tubers to roadkill, though cacti are a firm favourite.</p>
<p>These tough little pigs are not the only porcine terrors of the fairway, though. In New Zealand, feral pigs have <a href="https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350051669/marauding-wild-pigs-rip-golf-course">grubbed up a course</a>; in southern China, wild boar damage has seen hunters <a href="https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350051669/marauding-wild-pigs-rip-golf-course">called in</a>; and in South Africa, warthogs do the pitch invading. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PUdAWAH2dIc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>These pig invaders hint at a role for golf in nature conservation that is not immediately obvious. A study of wild boar in Spain revealed that they raided golf courses less often during the COVID lockdown, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363435273_SARS-CoV-2_lockdown_reduced_wild_boar_raids_in_golf_courses">when hunting was curtailed</a>. </p>
<p>The courses offered a refuge from hunting which the pigs did not need during lockdowns. What else might they offer wildlife?</p>
<h2>The bogey of management</h2>
<p>When nestled within farmland or suburbs, golf courses can support <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10021-008-9217-1">markedly more biodiversity</a> than the surrounding landscapes, hosting inventories of wildlife that include birds, insects and amphibians.</p>
<p>Golf courses might provide all sorts of benefits to species. Those grassy expanses could offer a cooling oasis amid overheated concrete sprawl. Wildflower meadows that <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-019-00907-0">benefit bees and other pollinators</a> can also lure bats <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-023-01397-x">looking for insects to eat</a>. But these benefits depend on good management to create a mix of habitats, including flower-filled rough grass, scrub and woodland. </p>
<p>Wildlife-friendly golf course management can even benefit the game itself. The same flowers that entice pollinators attract natural enemies of turf-trashing caterpillars like the fall armyworm, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-019-00885-w">reducing the impact of this pest</a>. Water hazards that operate as wildlife ponds might also be a boon, but careless planting of showy plant varieties can <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10750-011-0678-4">push native flora out</a>.</p>
<p>There are sterner environmental challenges with running a golf course, though. Irrigation is a major drain on water – especially for courses in arid regions. Water draining from these courses may be polluted with pesticides or nutrients that <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/b03-081">alter the algae</a> in adjacent streams. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An aerial view of a golf green surrounded by desert habitat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564305/original/file-20231207-15-ybbla2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Golf courses can be hard to justify in regions where water is scarce.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/scottsdale-golf-course-aerial-view-upscale-190651205">Dave Morgan/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Golfers themselves could be a large and generally affluent body of allies for nature conservation – although a nationwide survey conducted in France in 2021 suggested involvement in conservation is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213078023000567?via%3Dihub">not high on many golfers’ agendas</a>. Rampaging javelinas probably do not help.</p>
<p>French golfers have it easy compared with some of the creatures roaming the fairways in other countries. Florida’s golfers, for example, would do well to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXn1g0xtUMk">keep an eye out for alligators</a>. But the wild can be a selling point for golf courses too. Some African courses even advertise their <a href="https://africafreak.com/golf-safaris-in-africa-when-golfing-embraces-wildlife">wildlife encounters</a>.</p>
<p>The Arizona course staff were understandably horrified by the damage done, but the javelinas have their fans too. Their media allies eulogise the javelinas’ cunning at exploiting our world, their complex family lives which may include <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/eth.12709">mourning their dead</a>, and their attempts at rewilding an alien habitat.</p>
<h2>Rewild the fairway</h2>
<p>The potential for letting nature take back golf courses may also be surprisingly high. </p>
<p>In the US, the total number of golf courses is declining, with <a href="https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/closed-golf-courses-history">more closures than openings</a> since 2006 – many of them abandoned with no new purpose in mind. While some may be reused for housing, there are other possibilities, such as parks. Reversing the drainage from derelict courses could create new wetland habitats capable of stalling <a href="https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/88216">floods</a> during heavy rainfall.</p>
<p>However, abandoning courses may not be enough to benefit nature on its own. The hangover from past management, such as high nutrient levels in the soil, can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/biohorizons/hzn022">linger for years</a> and allow a small number of hyper-competitive species to dominate.</p>
<p>Projects to reverse this damage and rewild golf courses are springing up in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/25/frodsham-cheshire-golf-course-transformed-woodland">England</a>, <a href="https://rewilding.academy/rewilding/rewilding-abandoned-golf-courses/">the US and Australia</a>. In all these cases, conservationists are planting native species, diversifying habitats and preventing water from draining. These interventions raise a thorny issue for conservationists – does <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(15)01575-4.pdf">it count as rewilding</a> if people are doing so much of the work?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A fox next to a tree with golfers in the distance." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564302/original/file-20231207-17-ukpe7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Golf courses lure wildlife looking for food and shelter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fox-on-golf-course-sunny-summer-2272997033">Mats Silvan/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Perhaps we should look to the javelinas, an example of wildlife taking the initiative, for an answer. The usefulness of pigs and their kin for grubbing up the land is widely recognised in rewilding projects. They reset the stage, bringing static landscapes <a href="https://knepp.co.uk/rewilding/free-roaming-herbivores/tamworth-pigs/">back to life</a>. On a farm that was returned to nature in Sussex, England, the <a href="https://knepp.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/The-Vegetation-of-the-Pig-Rootled-Areas-at-Knepp-Wildland-and-their-use-by-Farmland-Birds-Ivan-de-Klee.pdf">rooting around of pigs</a> has been credited with opening up bare ground and allowing annual weeds to flourish, whose seeds then sustain a remarkable number of endangered turtle doves. </p>
<p>It has become fashionable among opponents of rewilding to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/07/12/race-to-rewild-britain-is-putting-food-security-at-risk/">criticise</a> this approach to nature conservation for taking land out of food production. But the use of agriculturally productive land for golf courses goes unremarked. </p>
<p>Don’t blame the javelinas for taking matters into their own trotters.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Jeffries does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A herd of javelinas wrecked a pristine golf course. Is this rewilding in action?Mike Jeffries, Associate Professor, Ecology, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2179252023-12-27T20:26:29Z2023-12-27T20:26:29ZI collect marsupial poo. A crack team of volunteers across Australia helps me out<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559861/original/file-20231116-15-5v6vpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C328%2C1484%2C1248&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tracy Dodd</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I thought convincing my husband of the merits of my returning to study just as he had retired would be a very tricky sell. So his enthusiasm for the idea caught me by surprise.</p>
<p>He helpfully suggested several interesting topics: sea turtles, dugongs and coral reefs. If it involved a boat in a warm climate, he was behind me 100%.</p>
<p>But if you are going to dedicate three and a half years to studying a single topic, it really needs to excite you, and my interest in gut bacteria and health won out. Much to my hubby’s dismay, I chose to immerse myself in the subject of marsupial poo – and in retaliation he started calling me Dr Poo.</p>
<p>Fortunately, I am not alone in my faecal fetish. As any wildlife carer can tell you, monitoring what comes out of an animal is a vital part of keeping an eye on its health. </p>
<p>So when I set out to find volunteers to collect poo from wild and captive marsupials – specifically eastern grey kangaroos, swamp wallabies, red-necked wallabies, bare-nosed wombats, and ringtail and brushtail possums – over an area from Queensland to Tasmania, it was mainly wildlife carers who answered the call. </p>
<h2>The Marsupial Microbiome Poop Troop</h2>
<p>I enlisted a core group of around 20 people who, every season, dutifully went out in all weathers, armed with their forceps and zip-lock bags, to select fresh pellets from their in-care residents or wild animals that passed through. Then they filled in the paperwork, carefully labelled the bags and stored them in freezers until they could be posted in special temperature-controlled packaging to the university for genetic analysis. </p>
<p>We did this to establish a baseline of what the normal wild gut microbiome looks like in different animals in different areas at different times of the year. This lets us recognise if there is an imbalance in captive animals that can be addressed and prevented by changing diet or introducing supplements.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559862/original/file-20231116-17-i3bmax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of marsupial droppings in a yellow cloth." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559862/original/file-20231116-17-i3bmax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559862/original/file-20231116-17-i3bmax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559862/original/file-20231116-17-i3bmax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559862/original/file-20231116-17-i3bmax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559862/original/file-20231116-17-i3bmax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559862/original/file-20231116-17-i3bmax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559862/original/file-20231116-17-i3bmax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A collection of precious kangaroo poo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Diane Lane</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To aid my communication with these wonderful volunteers, I started a Facebook group page which became known as the Marsupial Microbiome Poop Troop. And it has some colourful members.</p>
<p>There is Kate, who obtains the freshest wombat poo by stalking wild wombats in her local reserve until they produce the goods. Don’t try this at home. Kate has serious wombat-whisperer skills. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-can-you-learn-from-studying-an-animals-scat-126307">What can you learn from studying an animal's scat?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>There’s Darryl, who was devastated when the roof blew off his house in a storm and he was without power for two weeks. Not for his wrecked house or loss of possessions, but because his collection of possum poo thawed and he had to throw it away and start again.</p>
<p>Julie wins the prize for most prolific collector. Her poo parcels are the largest by far, and cover quite a few species. The supervisor of the university’s stores, who receives the poo parcels, is not always a fan of Julie’s efforts. He must have highly attuned olfactory senses as he routinely sends me emails announcing the arrival of more “animal excrement” or “malodorous packages” for immediate collection.</p>
<h2>Saving orphaned joeys</h2>
<p>While it all sounds like fun and games, the research we do with the collected poo has serious potential to save many marsupial lives. We have a particular focus on young orphaned joeys. </p>
<p>Whether their mothers were hit by cars, attacked by dogs, or died of other causes, the joeys arrive at wildlife shelters stressed, often injured, and generally cold and hungry. Because marsupials are born so undeveloped – and normally spend a long time in their mother’s pouch – they require an extended period in care when orphaned. </p>
<p>The gut microbiome of these “pinky” joeys is equivalent in development to that of premature human babies. It is still being established at this crucial time, via the mother’s milk, environmental conditions in the pouch, cleaning and grooming. </p>
<p>The sudden loss of parental care, coupled with the stress of being in captivity and a complete change of diet, can do a great deal of harm to the gut microbiota. This can leave the joey open to infections, diarrhoea and dehydration, which can be fatal. </p>
<p>If it were possible to fix this imbalance, the success rate of rearing orphaned marsupials would rise. Their improved general health should mean greater numbers of animals successfully reintroduced to the wild.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-the-frontline-saving-australias-threatened-mammals-28337">From the frontline: saving Australia's threatened mammals</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While the animals involved in this study are considered “common”, the same principles may be applied to endangered species held in captive breeding programmes once it has been shown to work on the more prolific species.</p>
<p>Without the help of the Poop Troop volunteers, it would have been impossible to sample so widely and consistently. The remaining poo will be kept frozen and made available to future researchers, so these wonderful people have, through their dedication and persistence, made a real contribution to marsupial microbiome research that will continue to help wildlife in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217925/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angela Russell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Marsupial Microbiome Poop Troop collects the droppings of wild marsupials to help save the lives of orphaned joeys.Angela Russell, Graduate researcher PhD candidate, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2159452023-12-20T16:05:41Z2023-12-20T16:05:41ZCan seabirds hear their way across the ocean? Our research suggests so<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556160/original/file-20231026-17-8u6y4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C2500%2C1736&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wandering albatrosses can cover huge distances in a single trip. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/wandering-albatross-flying-above-ocean-bay-389163982">MZPhoto.cz/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Animals cover astonishing distances when they are looking for food. While caribou, reindeer and wolves clock up impressive mileage on land, seabirds are unrivalled in their travelling distances. <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Arctic_Tern/overview">Arctic terns</a> travel from the Arctic to Antarctica and back as part of their annual migration. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022098113003602">Wandering albatrosses</a> (<em>Diomedea exulans</em>) fly the equivalent of ten times to the Moon and back over their lifetimes. </p>
<p>There has been a lot of research into how seabirds choose their flight paths and find food. They seem to use their sight or <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-09738-5">sense of smell</a> to assess local conditions. </p>
<p>Wandering albatrosses <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/about/antarctica/wildlife/albatross/">can travel more than 10,000km</a> in a single foraging trip, though, and we don’t know much about how these birds use mid- and long-range cues from their environment to decide where to go. </p>
<p>For the first time, however, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2314980120">my team’s recent study</a> gives an insight into how birds such as wandering albatrosses may use sound to determine what conditions are like further away.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SRTRRMwXuEg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>How seabirds use low-frequency sound</h2>
<p>Previous research has shown that seabirds not only <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347223000362">seek information</a> about where to find food, but how to do so efficiently. We discovered that the way wandering albatrosses use their sense of sound may be crucial. </p>
<p>Our study looked at how these birds respond to a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079610706000848">very low-frequency</a> type of sound called infrasound, which can travel for thousands of kilometres. </p>
<p>While it’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15273023/">typically inaudible to humans</a>, we know that some animals can hear infrasound. When waves crash together or against coastlines, they create a frequency of infrasound called <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gji/article/221/1/569/5700715">microbarums</a>. This was the type of infrasound our study looked at. </p>
<p>We know that areas of high wave activity can be associated with <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/upwelling.html#:%7E:text=Upwelling%20is%20a%20process%20in,winds%20blow%20along%20the%20shore.">upwellings</a> – where fish are brought to the surface. Infrasound could provide information about where these areas are, and inform birds of good foraging patches. </p>
<p>Efficient foraging is particularly important for large seabird species like the wandering albatross, which have a wing span of 3.5 metres. Their size means they <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/albatrosses-fine-tuned-to-wind-conditions/">rely on wind</a> to take off and fly efficiently, unlike smaller birds such as puffins, which <a href="https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/atlantic-puffin#:%7E:text=Well%20adapted%20for%20their%20home,arms%20in%20one%20minute%3F">flap their wings</a> up to 400 times a minute. </p>
<p>High wave activity also indicates strong winds. Given we know that wandering albatrosses depend on wind to fly efficiently, my team’s study suggests that infrasound could give them a long-range cue for where optimal foraging conditions may be. </p>
<p>Infrasound is also generated when <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2005GL025085">waves crash against coastlines</a>, and we know that many coastal seabirds <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8825984/">use the coast</a> to select their flight paths and find their way back to their breeding colonies. So, infrasound could reveal the location of static features like coastlines, giving seabirds important information across long distances. </p>
<p>Despite the <a href="https://www.cdip.ucsd.edu/themes/media/docs/publications_references/journal_articles/Measuring_Infrasound_from_the_Maritime_Environment.pdf">potential of this cue</a> for seabirds, our paper (published in PNAS) is the first evidence that seabirds may respond to infrasound, which is monitored globally through a network of sensors installed by the <a href="https://www.ctbto.org/">Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization</a> (CTBTO).</p>
<p>This system was installed to detect nuclear tests, but its byproduct is huge amounts of data which scientists can use. We combined the CTBTO’s records with our own GPS tracking data from 89 wandering albatrosses to compare microbarums and the birds’ movements. </p>
<h2>What we learned</h2>
<p>This allowed us to isolate data that showed how these albatrosses appeared to make decisions about where to go next. Our findings showed they chose the direction with the loudest infrasound. This suggests the birds could use infrasound to find food or to minimise the energy they use on their travels. However, we are not able to say for sure why louder areas are better.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556163/original/file-20231026-21-emtopk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young wandering albatross displaying open wings, with blue sky and mountain background," src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556163/original/file-20231026-21-emtopk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556163/original/file-20231026-21-emtopk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556163/original/file-20231026-21-emtopk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556163/original/file-20231026-21-emtopk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556163/original/file-20231026-21-emtopk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556163/original/file-20231026-21-emtopk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556163/original/file-20231026-21-emtopk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wandering albatross have a huge wing span.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-wandering-albatross-displaying-open-wings-372098686">MZPHOTO.CZ/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our findings may also give scientists insights into how other birds make decisions on medium- and long-distance journeys. </p>
<p>As with many studies testing a hypothesis for the first time, my team’s study raises as many questions as it answers. If seabirds respond to infrasound, they must be able to hear it and know where it is coming from. Lab studies have found evidence that <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/brv.12596">some birds can hear infrasound</a>, but there have been no tests on seabirds.</p>
<p>Taking a wandering albatross into a lab and creating a sound chamber large enough to run experimental tests seems unlikely in the near term, but other seabird species <a href="https://www.conservationevidence.com/actions/604">can live in captivity</a> and research could focus on this. </p>
<p>Weather changes driven by climate change, and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/seabirds-can-starve-when-hit-by-repeated-severe-storms-but-we-still-dont-know-why-177569">damaging effects</a> these are having on seabirds as well as many other plants and animals, are well documented – making it harder for them to find food, for example. </p>
<p>As humans alter ocean habitats, infrasound may help birds adapt by aiding them to find food, even as stocks diminish. Or human activity, such as more noise, could mask this kind of essential information, with harmful consequences for wildlife. Either way, understanding how and why seabirds use infrasound will help scientists understand its importance in the climate crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215945/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Patrick receives funding from the Human Frontier Science Program</span></em></p>Scientists have long been baffled by how seabirds decide where to go on their long journeys. Our study of wandering albatrosses offers new clues.Samantha Patrick, Reader in Marine Biology, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2188992023-12-19T13:16:50Z2023-12-19T13:16:50ZWild ‘super pigs’ from Canada could become a new front in the war on feral hogs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566082/original/file-20231215-23-irn2uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C4%2C2986%2C1958&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Feral hogs' long snouts and tusks allow them to rip and root their way across the landscape in search of food. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/ehmMiS">USDA/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>They go by many names – pigs, hogs, swine, razorbacks – but whatever you call them, <a href="https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/profile/wild-boar">wild pigs</a> (<em>Sus scrofa</em>) are one of the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/08/06/think-feral-hogs-is-joke-millions-more-are-rampaging-across-us/">most damaging invasive species</a> in North America. They cause millions of dollars in crop damage yearly and harbor dozens of pathogens that threaten humans and pets, as well as meat production systems.</p>
<p>Although wild pigs have been <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/wildlifedamage/operational-activities/feral-swine/sa-fs-history">present in North America for centuries</a>, their populations have rapidly expanded over the past several decades. Recent studies estimate that since the 1980s the wild pig population in the United States has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-019-01983-1">nearly tripled</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.808">expanded from 18 to 35 states</a>. More recently, they have <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/invasive-pigs-canada-1.5136431">spread rapidly across Canada</a>, and these populations are <a href="https://apnews.com/article/wild-pigs-feral-swine-canada-minnesota-border-e59a542efb3c64d5f4b136fc137b7665">threatening to invade the U.S. from the north</a>.</p>
<p>The wild pigs in Canada are unique because they were originally crossbred by humans to be larger and more cold-hardy than their feral cousins to the south. This suite of traits has earned them the name “super pigs” for good reason. Adults can reach weights exceeding 500 pounds, which is twice the size of the largest wild pigs sampled across many U.S. sites in <a href="http://dx.doi.ORG/10.1002/ece3.9853">a 2022 study</a>. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marcus_Lashley">wildlife ecologist</a>, I study how wild pigs alter their surroundings and affect other wildlife species. <a href="https://www.doi.gov/invasivespecies/early-detection-and-rapid-response">Early detection and rapid response</a> is of utmost importance in eradicating an invasive species, because invasions are more manageable when populations are small and geographically restricted. This is especially true for species like wild pigs that have a high reproductive rate, can readily move into new areas and can change their behavior to avoid being captured or killed.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Minnesota wildlife experts are keeping a wary eye on their northern border for signs of wild ‘super pigs’ moving down from Canada.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Omnivores on the hoof</h2>
<p>Much concern over the spread of wild pigs has focused on economic damage, which was recently estimated at <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/11/21/which-states-have-the-worst-wild-hog-problem/71658126007/">about US$2.5 billion annually</a> in the United States.</p>
<p>Wild pigs have a unique collection of traits that make them problematic to humans. When we told one private landowner about the results from our studies, he responded: “That makes sense. Pigs eat all the stuff the other wildlife do – they just eat it first, and then they go ahead and eat the wildlife, too. They pretty much eat anything with a calorie in it.” </p>
<p>More scientifically, wild pigs are called extreme generalist foragers, which means they can survive on many different foods. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12015">global review of their dietary habits</a> found that plants represent 90% of their diet – primarily agricultural crops, plus the fruits, seeds, leaves, stems and roots of wild plants.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566078/original/file-20231215-23-4f6gba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A male lesser prairie-chicken inflates his orange throat sacs to call potential mates." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566078/original/file-20231215-23-4f6gba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566078/original/file-20231215-23-4f6gba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566078/original/file-20231215-23-4f6gba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566078/original/file-20231215-23-4f6gba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566078/original/file-20231215-23-4f6gba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566078/original/file-20231215-23-4f6gba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566078/original/file-20231215-23-4f6gba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lesser prairie chickens are a ground-nesting species – found in parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas – that is listed under the Endangered Species Act. Feral hogs prey on the birds and their eggs and damage the birds’ habitat by rooting up and consuming native plants and spreading invasive plant seeds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.fws.gov/media/lesser-prairie-chicken-lek">Greg Kramos/USFWS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Wild pigs also eat most small animals, along with fungi and invertebrates such as insect larvae, clams and mussels, particularly in places where pigs are not native. For example, a 2019 study reported that wild pigs were digging up eggs laid by endangered loggerhead sea turtles on an island off the coast of South Carolina, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2019.103442">reducing the turtles’ nesting success to zero in some years</a>.</p>
<p>And these pigs do “just eat it first.” They compete for resources that other wildlife need, which can have <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10530-012-0229-6">negative effects on other species</a>. </p>
<p>However, they likely do their most severe damage through predation. Wild pigs kill and eat rodents, deer, birds, snakes, frogs, lizards and salamanders. This probably best explains why colleagues and I found in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/ece3.5360">one study</a> that forest patches with wild pigs had 26% fewer mammal and bird species than similar forest patches without pigs. </p>
<p>This decrease in diversity was similar to that found with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aecr.2016.10.002">other invasive predators</a>. And our findings are consistent with a global analysis showing that invasive mammalian predators that have no natural predators themselves – especially generalist foragers like wild pigs – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1602480113">cause by far the most extinctions</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1734983386941333818"}"></div></p>
<h2>Altering ecosystems</h2>
<p>Many questions about wild pigs’ ecological impacts have yet to be answered. For example, they may harm other wild species indirectly, rather than eating them or depleting their food supply. </p>
<p>Our work shows that wild pigs <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00270">can alter the behavior of common native wildlife species</a>, such as raccoons, squirrels and deer. Using trail cameras, we found that when wild pigs were present, other animals altered their activity patterns in various ways to avoid them. Such shifts may have additional cascading effects on ecosystems, because they change how and when species interact in the food web.</p>
<p>Another major concern is wild pigs’ potential to spread disease. They carry numerous pathogens, including brucellosis and tuberculosis. However, little ecological research has been done on this issue, and scientists have not yet demonstrated that an increasing abundance of wild pigs reduces the abundance of native wildlife via disease transmission. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vIHbFQFdyaM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Feral hogs can be seen rooting up the soil in this trail camera footage from Alabama.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly, in their native range in Europe and Asia, pigs do not cause as much ecological damage. In fact, some studies indicate that they may <a href="http://biozoojournals.ro/nwjz/content/v13n2/nwjz_e161706_Baruzzi.pdf">modify habitat in important ways</a> for species that have evolved with them, such as frogs and salamanders. </p>
<p>So far, however, there is virtually no scientific evidence that feral pigs provide any benefits in North America. One <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10530-012-0229-6">review of wild pig impacts</a> discussed the potential for private landowners plagued with pigs to generate revenue from selling pig meat or opportunities to hunt them. And it’s possible that wild pigs could serve as an alternative food source for imperiled large predators, or that their wallowing and foraging behavior in some cases could mimic that of locally eradicated or extinct species. </p>
<p>But the scientific consensus today is that in North America, wild pigs are a growing threat to both ecosystems and the economy. It is unclear how invading super pigs would contribute to the overall threat, but bigger pigs likely cause more damage and are generally better predators and competitors. </p>
<p>While efforts to control wild pigs <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feral-swine-eradication-and-control-pilot-program">are well underway</a> in the U.S., incursions by Canadian super pigs may complicate the job. Invasive super pigs make for catchy headlines, but their potential effects are no joke.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of <a href="https://theconversation.com/feral-pigs-harm-wildlife-and-biodiversity-as-well-as-crops-120066">an article</a> originally published on Aug. 26, 2019.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218899/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marcus Lashley receives funding from USDA Wildlife Services.</span></em></p>Feral hogs are one of the most destructive invasive species in North America, harming land, crops and wildlife.Marcus Lashley, Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2194642023-12-14T13:12:30Z2023-12-14T13:12:30ZArtificial light lures migrating birds into cities, where they face a gauntlet of threats<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565500/original/file-20231213-21-30h0uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C33%2C7315%2C4869&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The New York City borough of Manhattan at night, viewed from the Rockefeller Center observation deck.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/manhattan-skyline-with-view-to-empire-state-building-from-news-photo/1749117051">Sergi Reboredo/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Light pollution has steadily intensified and expanded from urban areas, and with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1582/LEUKOS.2010.06.04001">advent of LED lighting</a>, it is growing in North America by <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abq7781">up to 10% per year</a>, as measured by the visibility of stars in the night sky. In our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43046-z">recent study</a>, we found that the glow from cities and urban outskirts can powerfully attract migratory birds, drawing them into developed areas where food is scarcer and they face threats such as colliding with glass buildings.</p>
<p>Each spring and fall, migratory birds journey to or from their breeding grounds, <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bobolink/maps-range">sometimes traveling thousands of miles</a>. En route, most birds need to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.13618">make stopovers</a> to rest and feed. Some species burn off half of their body mass during migration.</p>
<p>Migratory stopover sites are not random, and birds typically use the same locations from year to year. Because migration takes place on a continental scale, with <a href="https://abcbirds.org/blog/north-american-bird-flyways/">billions of birds crossing North America</a> each migratory season, it’s important for scientists to understand what attracts birds to these locations. </p>
<p>We found that light pollution was a top predictor of the density of migrating birds at stopover locations for both spring and fall migration across the continental U.S.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Artificial light at night is an expanding threat to migrating birds, drawing them into developed areas where they can die from collisions with buildings and are exposed to other threats.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why it Matters</h2>
<p>Nearly all birds in North America – some 80% – migrate each spring and fall. And of those species that migrate, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2029">70% travel at night</a>. </p>
<p>Nocturnal migration has many adaptive benefits: For example, the weather conditions are better, and fewer predators are active. But it makes most migratory birds highly susceptible to light pollution. In North America alone, it is estimated that up to 1 billion migrating birds <a href="https://doi.org/10.1650/CONDOR-13-090.1">die each year from collisions with buildings</a>. </p>
<p>Scientists don’t yet know why nocturnally migrating birds are attracted to artificial light, but research has shown that light pollution <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.12.006">acts as an amplifying agent</a> that draws more songbirds into urbanized areas. It often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13466">co-occurs with other environmental threats</a>, such as water and air pollution and noise. All of these stressors disrupt birds’ behavioral and physiological processes during journeys that already are extremely taxing.</p>
<p>Lighting is part of the fabric of human structures, yet many people don’t think of it as a pollutant or perceive its harmful effects on nature – until events like the <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/10/6/23906778/birds-killed-migration-collision-mccormick-place-lakeside-center">mass bird loss in Chicago</a> on Oct. 4-5, 2023, when nearly 1,000 birds were killed after colliding with the McCormick Place Convention Center, make the problem impossible to ignore.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565502/original/file-20231213-15-ti0ti3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black bird with an orange underside perches on a branch next to half an orange placed there for feeding." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565502/original/file-20231213-15-ti0ti3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565502/original/file-20231213-15-ti0ti3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565502/original/file-20231213-15-ti0ti3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565502/original/file-20231213-15-ti0ti3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565502/original/file-20231213-15-ti0ti3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565502/original/file-20231213-15-ti0ti3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565502/original/file-20231213-15-ti0ti3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Baltimore orioles migrate twice yearly between their wintering grounds in Florida, the Caribbean and Latin America and their summer breeding zones, which stretch from Louisiana into central Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kyle Horton</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How we did our work</h2>
<p>With colleagues at Colorado State University, Michigan State University, the University of Delaware, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Princeton University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the National Park Service, we sought to understand the complex drivers and large-scale patterns of stopover density by combining remote sensing data with geospatial tools. Mapping stopover locations has been a bird conservation priority for many years; now, for the first time, we have a complete view of where these stopovers are across the United States.</p>
<p>We were able to make novel maps at a continental scale using <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/radar/next-generation-weather-radar">U.S. NEXRAD weather surveillance data</a> – information from the same radars that meteorologists draw on to predict weather patterns on television and weather apps. We created 2,500 models using roughly 1 million locations across the U.S. and 49 predictor variables, including forest cover, precipitation, temperature, elevation and <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/ssl/text-alternative-version-what-sky-glow">skyglow</a> – diffuse brightness in the night sky from artificial light.</p>
<p>These maps capture fine-scale details that allow us to see increased densities of migrating birds following the winding banks of the Mississippi River, which provide an important refuge for depleted migrants to rest and refuel. We also created fall and spring hotspot maps highlighting regions where especially high numbers of birds made stopovers. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565636/original/file-20231213-21-au4a3l.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Radar imagery showing masses of light and dark blue above a map of St. Louis." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565636/original/file-20231213-21-au4a3l.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565636/original/file-20231213-21-au4a3l.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565636/original/file-20231213-21-au4a3l.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565636/original/file-20231213-21-au4a3l.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565636/original/file-20231213-21-au4a3l.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565636/original/file-20231213-21-au4a3l.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565636/original/file-20231213-21-au4a3l.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Radar detecting migrating birds lifting off from the St. Louis landscape on the night of May 10, 2023. Density of bird flocks increases from light blue to dark blue to green.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kyle Horton</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found that the presence of light pollution was a better predictor of bird densities than temperature, precipitation or tree canopy cover. These all were variables that we had expected to correlate with periods when birds would be on the ground, or with high-quality habitats where birds would be likely to stop over. </p>
<p>Other variables were associated with areas that birds were unlikely to use as stopovers. One example was the presence of agricultural crops, such as corn or soybeans. Fields planted with a single crop <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2203511120">don’t provide adequate food or shelter for many bird species</a>, so migrants are unlikely to rest there.</p>
<p>Light pollution is a human-induced change to the environment that may act as an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2021.02.004">ecological trap</a>, drawing birds into substandard habitats and increasing their risk of collisions with buildings. Happily, its immediate effects can be quickly reversed with the flip of a switch. </p>
<p>Working to reduce artificial light through <a href="https://tx.audubon.org/urbanconservation/lights-out-texas">Lights Out campaigns</a> and <a href="https://aeroecolab.com/uslights">migration alerts</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13740">understanding when birds will be in airspaces</a> and <a href="https://www.audubon.org/bird-friendly-buildings">using bird-friendly glass</a> that has patterns across its surface to make it more visible to birds, will reduce bird deaths from light pollution. Understanding the drivers and macro-scale patterns of stopover densities across the continental U.S. will better inform conservation actions like these. </p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219464/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kyle Horton receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolyn S. Burt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Migrating birds need stopover locations en route where they can rest and feed. A new study shows that artificial light draws them away from sites they would normally use and into risky zones.Carolyn S. Burt, Convergence Research Coordinator, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State UniversityKyle Horton, Assistant Professor of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.