According to the theory of special relativity it IS possible to view two objects moving faster than the speed of light relative to each other. You may think this is not the case but, let me explain. I saw this get confused in a lemmy thread and wasn't setup to post there so I'll clarify here for the interested.

Consider the following: observer A sees a craft B moving right at 0.6c, and another craft D moving left at 0.6c such that they are on a collision course.

B------> <------D

          A

what I'm asserting is A does observe B and D moving at 1.2c relative to each other. The Lorenz transformation is not needed! People get tripped up, but the setup gives away the answer. A sees nothing moving faster than c relative to A so there is no violation of theory.

Special relativity becomes relevant here when determing what is observed in reference frames other than ones own, i.e. B or D. Based on what A sees, it seems like B should see D moving at 1.2c , but applying the lorenz transformation to get B's perspective we see that it doesn't, and everything is seen as slower than c.

B observes A moving at 0.6c, and D at something like, idk, 0.85c (length contraction along the axis of travel is especially relevant here).

   B <---------D

<------A

Just as easily this setup could involve objects moving away from each other and could represent distant objects being pushed away from eachother by the expansion of the universe. The neat thing there is that once they're far enough to cross the horizon above c, they'll never see each other because the light isn't fast enough to cross the gap, so conventiently a violation still isn't observed!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe

light emitted by objects currently situated beyond a certain comoving distance (currently about 19 gigaparsecs (62 Gly)) will never reach Earth.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11751324

Study clarifies conditions for amphibian species richness on marine islands

Ecology

Study clarifies conditions for amphibian species richness on marine islands

Analysis of data from over 5,000 territories and 1,924 species of toads and frogs shows that two of the main theories about the biodiversity of plants, birds, and mammals in these habitats do not explain the richness of anuran amphibians on their own.

Ecology

Study clarifies conditions for amphibian species richness on marine islands

Analysis of data from over 5,000 territories and 1,924 species of toads and frogs shows that two of the main theories about the biodiversity of plants, birds, and mammals in these habitats do not explain the richness of anuran amphibians on their own.

The Brazilian white-edged tree frog (Boana albomarginata) lives on the mainland and on islands, but the island populations are much larger than the mainland populations (photo: Raoni Rebouças/IB-UNICAMP)

By André Julião | Agência FAPESP – A Brazilian study published in the journal Ecography indicates that the biodiversity of anuran amphibians (toads and frogs) on islands is determined by factors encompassed in two previously opposing theories.

“Biodiversity models that consider island size, distance from the mainland, and productivity [of organic matter per area] have been confirmed with relative success for plants, birds, and mammals, but they hadn’t yet been tested with anuran amphibians, which can’t tolerate salinity and therefore face an insurmountable barrier in the sea,” says Raoni Rebouças, first author of the study, which he conducted as part of his postdoctoral research at the Institute of Biology of the State University of Campinas (IB-UNICAMP) with a fellowship from FAPESP.

To verify whether the models applied to anuran amphibians, the researchers compiled data from over 5,000 marine islands worldwide. Size, distance from the mainland, and climate were among the factors taken into account. The database also included information on the ecological characteristics of 1,924 anuran amphibian species found on marine islands.

The researchers analyzed the number of species on each island, as well as other measures of diversity. These include functional or ecological niche diversity, which considers whether a species is terrestrial, aquatic, arboreal, or fossorial (meaning it lives underground), and phylogenetic diversity, which measures how many evolutionary lineages exist in the area.

“If there are 200 species on an island, but they all belong to the same family and are all aquatic, then there’s high species richness, but low phylogenetic and functional diversity,” explains Matheus Moroti, co-author of the article and a postdoctoral researcher at IB-UNICAMP funded by FAPESP.

In addition to the global analysis, which included all islands and species, the researchers analyzed the biodiversity of anuran amphibians according to climate, distinguishing between tropical and temperate regions.

“Our results show that distance from the mainland, size, and productivity are important for explaining the diversity of anuran amphibians on islands, but their relevance differs depending on the climate [tropical or temperate] and the diversity being considered – whether it’s species richness, functional diversity, or phylogenetic diversity,” says Moroti.

Mantella baroni is one of more than 300 species of anuran amphibians in Madagascar, a large island off the southeast coast of Africa (photo: Leslie Poulson/Creative Commons license via Raoni Rebouças)

Complementary theories

According to the theory of island biogeographic equilibrium, developed based on two papers by Robert MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson, one from 1963 and the other from 1967, the larger the island and the shorter the distance to the mainland, the greater the species richness. This is because species can easily migrate between islands, and larger islands have more space to support many individuals.

On small islands far from the mainland, migration rates would be lower and extinction rates higher, resulting in lower diversity. Subsequently, the theory was tested and confirmed for various groups.

“But for those that can’t tolerate salt, any marine island is distant. That’s why we had to test this theory with anuran amphibians,” recalls Rebouças.

Another important theory regarding island biodiversity considers a factor overlooked by MacArthur and Wilson: the amount of energy available for species to live and evolve on an island, regardless of its size.

Proposed by David Wright in 1983, the species-energy theory suggests that the availability of energy in the form of organic matter productivity per area alone determines diversity on islands.

: Islands seen from Ubatuba, on the coast of the state of São Paulo. Island environments influence amphibian biodiversity differently than they do other animals and plants (photo: Raoni Rebouças/IB-UNICAMP)

Thus, islands of the same size can have different species richness depending on their productivity. The greater the energy produced, the greater the capacity to support a large number of individuals.

“A good example is the world’s largest island, Greenland. Covered in ice for much of the year, it has no frog species. Meanwhile, the second-largest, Borneo, has over 400,” Rebouças explains.

After cross-referencing the available data, the researchers concluded that neither theory alone explains the diversity of anuran amphibians on islands. Rather, both theories are complementary, each providing a better explanation depending on the type of biodiversity measured (species, functional, or phylogenetic) and the climate regime (tropical or temperate).

For example, when considering species and lineage richness, global and tropical data point to a strong correlation with island size. However, in temperate regions, this relationship is weak, as seen in Greenland.

Functional diversity, or the diversity of ecological niches such as terrestrial, aquatic, arboreal, and fossorial, is closely linked to climate when considering the entire world and temperate regions. However, the relationship is weak in tropical regions, which do not depend as much on climate for different niches.

Future studies should examine historical factors influencing diversity on islands. Additionally, a finer-grained analysis could be conducted that includes river islands and considers the extent of water bodies present on the islands.

This study received support from FAPESP through three projects (16/25358-3, 19/18335-5, and 20/12658-4). Two of these projects were part of the Research Program on Biodiversity Characterization, Conservation, and Sustainable Use (BIOTA-FAPESP).

The article “Environmental and geomorphological drivers of frog diversity on islands worldwide” can be read at nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecog.07818.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11712543

Banner image: The Common wombat (Vombatus ursinus) frequents the western side of Cawleys Bridge, and it is hoped the bridge will reinforce the wombat population in Royal National Park. Image courtesy of Simone Cottrell / DCCEEW.

Above an Australian highway, a bridge reconnects wilderness for quolls, koalas and other animals

• A new wildlife overpass that spans a major highway south of Sydney is reconnecting habitat between Heathcote National Park and Royal National Park, helping animals safely cross one of Australia’s busiest road corridors.
• The retrofitted bridge includes features for a wide range of species, from rope crossings for gliding marsupials to vegetated pathways for ground-dwelling animals such as wombats, echidnas and amphibians.
• Ecologists say reconnecting fragmented habitat is increasingly important as roads, urban expansion, extreme weather events and climate-driven bushfires isolate wildlife populations and reduce genetic diversity.
• Research from Australia and elsewhere shows that wildlife crossings can significantly reduce animal deaths and help species move, forage and breed, but only when these structures are carefully designed around animals’ behavior and habitat needs.

SYDNEY, Australia. At dusk on the edge of the bush in Australia’s Heathcote National Park, a spotted-tailed quoll lowers its tawny head to the ground, pink nose twitching. The dense forest, the scent of damp earth and eucalyptus leaf litter gives way, abruptly, to heat and a chemical tang. Ahead: open space. Noise. Light.

A car zooms past, loud and fast. It doesn’t slow down. None of the vehicles do. It’s unlikely any driver going 110 kilometers per hour (68 miles per hour) would notice the brown, cat-sized quoll, camouflaged with white spots that beautifully blend into its native bush home.

Forty thousand vehicles a day move along this stretch of the M1 Princes Motorway — four lanes of fast-moving traffic that slice between Heathcote National Park on one side and Royal National Park on the other.

This is the primary route from Sydney to industrial centers in the southern part of the state of New South Wales, and there’s heavy truck traffic.

The quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) waits at the highway’s edge for a break that doesn’t come.

Headlights streak. Engines roar. The air pulses with pressure and speed. Crossing here isn’t just dangerous — it’s nearly impossible. The highway might as well be a canyon.

And yet, on the other side of the road lies something essential: new territory that includes more of the bird eggs and the rabbits that quolls eat, and mates with more varied DNA, both essential for long-term survival.

For decades, quolls, wallabies, deer, koalas and other animals have died trying to cross this highway. More than 200 have perished in just five years, but this number only includes larger species because smaller animals are hard to count.

But now, just above the traffic, a new, safe path is taking shape.

A koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in eucalyptus tree on the Woronora Plateau, west of Cawleys Bridge. Image courtesy of DCCEEW.

A bridge across a river (of cars)

On a late summer afternoon in early March, I stand on the nearly completed Cawleys Bridge, a wildlife overpass-to-be that stretches above the roadway. It’s an ordinary structure that’s being transformed into something far more ambitious. Below, cars flash by and the sound is a constant, oceanic whoosh. Around me, the bridge smells of fresh soil — dark, mineral-rich earth recently spread across its surface.

Heavy machinery moves slowly back and forth, laying the final layers of habitat. State transport workers position massive tree trunks into place — logs arranged as architecture to form a new kind of ecosystem, one that’s designed to serve a wide variety of native species.

While the structure’s combination of features is new, its design is based on previously built wildlife bridges and the research proving that animals use them.

The science will continue. Motion-sensing cameras are already installed at entry points and along the crossing, ready to document which animals venture across the remodeled bridge, and how many.

Early monitoring, before the retrofit, showed just how inhospitable the bare bridge had been before modification. “When we monitored it, in [Australian] winter, nothing was using it,” said Kylie Madden, an ebullient ecologist with the New South Wales Environment and Heritage agency. “In summer, we did get a few crossings of these goannas [lizards], and we had one ringtail possum. But it was such an unfriendly situation.”

Now, the previously animal-unfriendly, plain-concrete bridge — once used only for road-maintenance vehicles — has been transformed into habitat that feels more like home. And its design allows for a huge variety of species to cross.

Ecologist Bob Crombie and DCCEEW ecologist Kylie Madden, who worked to make Cawleys Bridge a reality for years, met in person for the first time on the bridge. Image courtesy of DCCEEW / Alex Pike.

All animals considered: The scaly, the diminutive and the arboreal

High above the ground, thick draped ropes stretch across open air, intended for arboreal marsupials like sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) and common ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) — species that prefer to move through the forest on tree branches well above the forest floor. “There’s absolutely no way a sugar glider will make it across that road without connection,” Madden said.

Below the graceful ropes, there’s a wooden pathway for animals that typically like to travel just above the ground, including reptiles and koalas.

At the base, soil and native plantings will form a continuous vegetated corridor for ground dwellers: wombats (Vombatus ursinus), echidnas (T__achyglossus aculeatus), amphibians and insects. They’ll be funneled toward the bridge and away from the road by two long “wings” of fencing that run perpendicular to the bridge.

“We’re trying to make this functional for everything,” Madden said, leading me over to soft mats of coral fern that are habitat for the many species living at the road’s edge. “There are endangered species, like the red crowned toadlet [Pseudophryne australis] within just 10 meters [33 feet] of this bridge.” Madden crouched down to check for the tiny toads under the ferns next to a roped-off patch of ground marked with bright orange flags. “But they are never crossing without this structure.”

These tiny amphibians, no bigger than a thumb, live among the damp understory. Without cover, without continuity, the road is either a dead end or a death trap for them.

DCCEEW’s Kylie Madden and Bob Crombie, a retired Royal National Park ranger and ecologist, pored over a hand-drawn map from 1978. It identified the connections between Heathcote National Park to the west and Garrawarra State Conservation Area to the east, which leads into Royal National Park. Image courtesy of DCCEEW / Alex Pike.

Uniting two iconic national parks

Experts say there’s an urgent need for these crossings. Royal National Park is the world’s second-oldest park, opened in 1879. But despite its size — 150 square kilometers (58 square miles) — it’s increasingly isolated. To the east lies the Pacific Ocean; to the west, a vast and continuous expanse of bushland stretching across the Woronora Plateau, toward the Eastern Highlands that separate inland Australia from the coast. Between them: the highway.

“It’s iconic,” Madden said of Royal. “But what it’s not connected to — because of the M1 — is this vast tract of wilderness.”

Even highly mobile animals struggle when habitat is fragmented by infrastructure. Madden said wombats are almost extinct within the national park, while still relatively common on the other side of the road.

Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) were once present in the park, but they’ve all but disappeared. “There’s habitat there,” Madden said, “but almost no koalas.” Some populations remain on the eastern side. But without safe passage, they can’t recolonize the park — especially after a fire like the one that decimated Royal National Park in 1994.

That blaze was catastrophic, burning through more than 90% of the forest. In the decades since then, bushfires have increased in frequency, intensity and size, driven by hotter and drier conditions induced by climate change, according to CSIRO, Australia’s federal science agency. Experts say the park is likely to burn again.

“We need to really make sure our reserves are connected,” Madden said, “for all species … to make them as resilient as possible for the future.”

This map of Cawleys Bridge and Princes Motorway shows how the bridge links Heathcote National Park to the Garrawarra State Conservation Area, which leads into Royal National Park. Image courtesy of DCCEEW.

Reconnecting fractured landscapes is key to the future health of wildlife. In a study outlining the need to reconnect nature, biologist Stuart Pimm and colleagues wrote that, “Even when natural habitats remain, they often come in fragments too small or isolated to sustain viable populations.”

When animals can move safely throughout their entire range, they avoid inbreeding: There’s a larger choice of mates, which increases genetic diversity. This bestows stronger defense to fight off disease and the ability to adapt to environmental changes, including climate change.

It also means that if there’s a bushfire in one area, animals can escape, either settling elsewhere or rebuilding populations in burned areas afterward.

But without connection, these animals might as well be living on islands.

An aerial shot documented Cawleys Bridge before the final bridge “furniture” and plants were installed. Image courtesy of Transport for NSW.

Making it happen

The idea for Cawleys Bridge emerged from years of growing awareness, pressure and collaboration. Bob Crombie, now a retired ranger at Royal National Park, originally raised the idea in 1974. It was then taken up by a local branch of the Country Women’s Association and the National Parks Association. In 2021, the Sutherland Shire Environment Centre joined the coalition, and they began working with Transport NSW, the state’s transportation agency. Public concern over the plight of koalas helped push the project forward.

“In 2022, the idea of retrofitting Cawleys Bridge to reconnect Heathcote and Royal National Park came up in discussions,” Sally Webb, an official at Transport NSW, told Mongabay in an email

Now, she said, there are regular meetings between the transportation and environment agencies “to discuss how we can contribute to implementing the NSW Koala Strategy.” This government initiative, launched in 2021, centers on protecting koalas and their habitats.

By late 2023, the wildlife bridge had secured internal approval from four government agencies. The NSW Koala Strategy funded the bridge conversion, including A$800,000 (nearly $600,00) for construction and maintenance and A$75,000 (about $54,000) for monitoring. The result is the hybrid structure that stands today, combining multiple crossing types into a single span: fencing to direct animals, ramps, ground cover, climbing structures and aerial rope systems.

Across New South Wales, such crossings are still rare. Cawleys is just the second wildlife bridge in the Sydney area, which is a biodiversity hotspot. It’s the only one to link disconnected landscape between national parks.

There are 10 wildlife crossings along Australia’s heavily populated east coast, and Transport NSW has more than 25,000 records of animals using them. Most are underpasses, which are far less costly to build or retrofit than bridges.

Data from the agency’s Fauna Connectivity Database show that across 29 road projects nationwide, at least 67 species use crossings, including threatened animals like koalas and potted-tailed quolls, as well as more common ones, like emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae).

For ecologists, the lesson is clear: Animals will use these structures — but only if they feel safe.

Bob Crombie, retired ecologist and former NPWS park ranger, on Cawleys Bridge, which he first envisioned retrofitting for wildlife passage back in 1974. Image courtesy of DCCEEW / Alex Pike.

A proven connection

Animal-friendly crossings directly address the significant impact human development has on native species.

“One of the primary drivers of global landscape fragmentation is road construction,” said Brendan Taylor, a wildlife ecologist and author of the book The Evolution of Wildlife Crossings in Eastern Australia. He likened it to “casting a net over the landscape, with each road separating formerly connected habitats.”

That idea came from Road Ecology: Science and Solutions, a game-changing 2003 book by Richard T.T. Forman and other noted ecologists. “That book was part of the growing movement to better understand and assess the impact of roads on wildlife populations,” Taylor said. Wildlife crossings, whether bridges or underpasses, are attempts to cut holes in that net, he added, in order to “perforate the roaded corridor,” allowing animals to move, forage and breed.

When combined with fencing that keeps animals off the roadway and directs them toward a crossing, extensive research shows that these structures greatly reduce hazardous accidents and animal deaths.

Thousands have been built throughout Europe, with 600 in the Netherlands alone, and more than 1,000 in the U.S. and Canada. In the Brazilian Amazon, there’s now a primate canopy bridge. Kenya has constructed underpasses for elephants, and Singapore has built green bridges for various mammals. Crossings and culverts are being retrofitted into existing roads, and in many places, new roadways consider wildlife movement from the design stage, like the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

Connectivity is critical for the survival of many species. But crossings aren’t one-size-fits-all. The infrastructure needs to address the movements of different species and their preferences. That requires habitat-specific research.

Conservation biologist Ross Goldingay has spent years studying animals including Australia’s eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus), a small, tree-dwelling marsupial. Despite its diminutive size — about 12 centimeters (5 inches) from head to tail — pygmy possums can travel up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) in a single night. Their movements benefit the landscape as they feed on pollen and nectar and pollinate plants and trees. Like many forest-dwelling and prey species, they’re reluctant to move through open spaces.

The tiny and widely loved eastern pygmy possum is one of the smallest pouched animals. The Royal National Park, to the east of the bridge, is a hotspot for these miniature marsupials. Image courtesy of Kerri-Lee Harris / DCCEEW.

“If you want to try and maintain connectivity, you need to assist these animals. So how do you get them over a road?” Goldingay asked.

For the past three decades, his research has focused on exactly that. He’s conducted multiyear surveys to figure out what design elements are needed for animals to use crossings. He learned that installing tall wooden poles helps gliding possums cross gaps in the forest, including roads. In monitoring underpasses along the coast, he saw that a wide range of mammals regularly use them.

“Landscaping really matters,” Goldingay said. He’s found that pygmy possums, like other bush creatures, seek out plants for cover. His research has demonstrated that “where you’ve got the vegetation coming up … you’ll get more animals passing through.” Without it, crossings can fail.

His research also confirmed that rope bridges can ensure that arboreal animals such as squirrel gliders (Petaurus norfolcensis) have crossings that suit their habits: They can’t use underpasses. Animals that like to travel off the ground but not in the treetops — including koalas and the endangered broad-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides) — need another type of crossing.

Going over the road is just one solution. Some animals are going under, using existing culverts that were constructed when roads were built, usually to channel rainwater underneath. In one study for Transport NSW, Taylor and his colleagues counted 36 species, from frogs to wallabies, that used even simple drainage pipes, just 1 m (3 ft) wide, to cross beneath roadways.

Now, new “fauna sensitive” road construction guidelines in NSW include larger culverts, when appropriate, offering a cost-effective alternative to more expensive bridges.

A spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus). Image by John Harrison. CC BY-SA 3.0

Looking ahead

Back on the bridge in the long light of late April, which is early autumn here in New South Wales, the dump trucks and transport workers are gone. Aside from the steady thrum of cars below, all is quiet. Work on Cawleys Bridge is complete and the final pieces of a living corridor have fallen into place.

While the traffic below remains unchanged — fast, loud and relentless — above, there is a carefully constructed thread linking two vast landscapes.

It will take time, but studies show that animals find and use these bridges, adding them to their memory banks and teaching their young. “Animals learn to use these pathways over time,” said Madden, the ecologist, “and that’s what a passage across a dangerous roadway is” — a pathway.

For spotted-tail quolls, koalas, tiny sugar-glider possums and so many other animals, a bridge like this may be the difference between turning back from — or dying on — a “canyon of a road” or crossing into new territory.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11678176

Zoo reaches historic milestone for Puerto Rican crested toad conservation efforts with more than 12,000 tadpoles

^The\ Puerto\ Rican\ crested\ toad\ is\ the\ only\ toad\ native\ to\ Puerto\ Rico\ and\ was\ once\ thought\ to\ be\ extinct\ in\ the\ wild.\ Today,\ the\ species\ persists\ through\ one\ of\ the\ world's\ longest-running\ amphibian\ reintroduction\ efforts\ but\ remains\ listed\ as\ endangered\ by\ the\ International\ Union\ for\ Conservation\ of\ Nature\ (IUCN).\ Credit:\ Brookfield\ Zoo\ Chicago^

Behind the scenes at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, a record-breaking conservation milestone is helping secure the future of one of the world's most imperiled amphibians. Months of meticulous care and coordination enabled Brookfield Zoo Chicago to successfully breed and raise 12,244 Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles to be released in the wild, supporting species recovery efforts.

This marks Brookfield Zoo Chicago's largest tadpole count from a single breeding cycle. Over the last decade, the Zoo has contributed nearly 40,000 Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles to island-wide recovery efforts led by the Puerto Rican Crested Toad Conservancy (PRCTC) in partnership with the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and 16 accredited zoos and aquariums.

"Conservation work like this can be incredibly detailed and time-consuming, but that's what makes these milestones so meaningful," said Mike Masellis, Brookfield Zoo Chicago lead animal care specialist.

"From carefully coordinating breeding pairs to hand-counting thousands of tadpoles and tracking toads in the field, every step plays an important role in helping restore this species. Our hope is that years from now, some of these tadpoles will return to the breeding ponds as adults and continue establishing future generations in the wild."

(Click for video)

^Behind\ the\ scenes\ at\ Brookfield\ Zoo\ Chicago,\ a\ record-breaking\ conservation\ milestone\ is\ helping\ secure\ the\ future\ of\ one\ of\ the\ world's\ most\ imperiled\ amphibians.\ Months\ of\ meticulous\ care\ and\ coordination\ enabled\ Brookfield\ Zoo\ Chicago\ to\ successfully\ breed\ and\ raise\ 12,244\ Puerto\ Rican\ crested\ toad\ tadpoles\ to\ support\ species\ recovery\ efforts\ in\ the\ wild\ led\ by\ the\ Puerto\ Rican\ Crested\ Toad\ Conservancy\ (PRCTC).\ Credit:\ Brookfield\ Zoo\ Chicago^

The Puerto Rican crested toad is the only toad native to Puerto Rico and was once thought to be extinct in the wild. Today, the species persists through one of the world's longest-running amphibian reintroduction efforts but remains listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), threatened by the USFWS, and endangered by DRNA.

Primary threats include habitat loss, invasive species, rising sea levels, and saltwater intrusion into breeding wetlands. The last naturally occurring population remains in the Guánica Commonwealth Forest in southwestern Puerto Rico.

Each year, breeding is carefully timed to align with Puerto Rico's rainy season, when survival conditions are highest for tadpoles released into the wild.

The months-long process involves close coordination with conservation partners to manage recommended breeding pairs for population biodiversity and mimic seasonal environmental changes to encourage breeding behaviors.

Once counted and transported to Puerto Rico, tadpoles are placed into managed aquatic habitats where they are monitored through metamorphosis before dispersing into the surrounding landscape.

Last fall, two Brookfield Zoo Chicago animal care specialists traveled to Puerto Rico to support the PRCTC's field conservation efforts at a release site. Working alongside conservation partners, the team spent a week monitoring toads to better understand habitat use, predator pressures, and environmental conditions affecting survival after reintroduction.

Brookfield Zoo Chicago currently cares for about 20 Puerto Rican crested toads, most of which are cared for behind the scenes as part of conservation efforts.

Earlier this year, guests were able to see two of these toads on habitat in "The Swamp" for the first time, offering a new opportunity to connect with a species that has gained global recognition in recent years. Millions of fans were introduced to Puerto Rico's only native toad as a visual part of Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny's Grammy Award-winning album "DeBí Tirar Más Fotos."

Guests can learn more about Puerto Rican crested toads and Brookfield Zoo Chicago's conservation efforts by visiting The Swamp, watching the latest episode of Wild Rounds with Dr. Mike, and exploring more at brookfieldzoo.org/animals/puerto-rican-crested-toad.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11605995

Banner image: Poison dart frog of the species Ranitomeya aetherea, described from the Juruá River Basin, western Amazon, in 2023. Image courtesy of Alexander Mônico.

Scientists race to study the Amazon’s frogs before they disappear

• The Amazon is home to the world’s greatest amphibian diversity, with an estimated 1,525 species, of which only 810 have been formally described by science.
• This megadiversity is under pressure from climate change and human activity, threatening the risk of species going extinct before scientists even get a chance to describe them.
• Recent research indicates that the combination of increased temperature and exposure to pesticides can alter tadpoles’ growth and development in the Amazon.
• Amphibians play a central role in controlling insects, including disease-transmitting mosquitoes, while also contributing to natural control of agricultural pests — a service valued in Brazil at more than a billion dollars annually.

MANAUS, Brazil — Crouched over the leaf litter, where dry leaves accumulate on the forest floor, a researcher tries to capture a distinct croak using a directional microphone. Identifying the sound of a small frog is often one of the conclusive proofs that a new species has been found. It’s nighttime. He wears long clothing as protection against mosquitoes and ants, and boots to keep his feet dry. Finding amphibians in the Amazon doesn’t require high-tech equipment; it actually dates back to explorations by early-20th-century naturalists.

That’s how biologist Igor Kaefer, a professor at the Federal University of Amazonas in Brazil, describes a typical day of fieldwork in search of amphibians in the Amazon. Kaefer was part of a group responsible for describing Amazophrynella bilinguis in 2019. The very description of the little toad gives an idea of ​​how difficult it is to find: females measure about 2 centimeters (less than an inch), and their brown head and back make them “disappear” among the leaves and branches.

Home to an estimated 1,525 species of amphibians, the Amazon Basin is the most diverse ecosystem in the world when it comes to frogs, an order that includes toads and tree frogs. However, occurrence records have been confirmed for only about 810 of those. So going into the field and finding a new-to-science species is not unlikely.

“In almost every inventory conducted in a remote area, you come back with more than one new species for synthesis,” Kaefer says.

But finding a species in the field, analyzing it, and publishing the description takes “at least five,” he adds.

This constant stream of new-to-science discoveries masks another fact: from 2001 to 2010, only 12% of studies on Brazilian amphibians focused on Amazonian species, compared to 60% in the Atlantic Forest. This shows that studies are concentrated in Brazil’s southeast and points out some of the difficulties of conducting research in the world’s largest tropical rainforest, such as limited infrastructure, hard-to-reach areas, and lack of personnel.

“Biologists who know about amphibians are the real threatened species in the Amazon,” Kaefer says.

More than 2,000 amphibian species are threatened worldwide, making them the most vulnerable group of vertebrates on the planet. Of this total, 48% are directly threatened by habitat loss. This adds another layer of complexity to the knowledge gap regarding Amazonian amphibians: we may be losing entire populations before we even know they exist.

Biologist Guilherme Azambuja searches for tadpoles in a puddle in the Amazon. Image courtesy of Guilherme Azambuja.

Why are there so many species of amphibians in the Amazon?

Viewed from above, the Amazon Rainforest looks like a seamless green block, but it’s composed of a mosaic of distinct habitats: dry land, floodplains, streams, and seasonally flooded areas. This heterogeneity is even more pronounced when it comes to amphibians that are just a few centimeters long. Even in a stretch of forest that seems homogeneous to the human eye, some variations regarding moisture, forest height, soil type, and water type are decisive for amphibians.

“Over millions of years, species have diversified and specialized in these many habitats and in different environmental conditions,” Kaefer says. “This means that they have adapted in very distinct ways to different places. Even within a large group of amphibians, we find species with differences that are very subtle but enough for us to recognize a new one.”

The most significant example of these subtle differences is found in species from the genus Synapturanus, called disc frogs because of their round, flat profiles. These species live underground and have short reproductive periods, which makes them difficult to observe. Lineages that used to be seen as a single species are now only distinguished by approaches that combine genetic examination, vocalization monitoring and bone analysis based on 3D models.

Neblinaphryne imeri, a species described only in 2024, from Pico da Neblina. Image courtesy of Taran Grant.

It was precisely this diversity that attracted Kaefer to the Amazon. Originally from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, he arrived in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, in 2008 to pursue his doctoral studies, accompanied by his friend, Daiani Kochhann, now a professor at the State University of Vale do Acaraú, in Ceará state. While Kochhann’s career was focused on the study of Amazonian fish, she was convinced by her colleague to invest in the little frogs as well — a field where scientists still have much to discover.

Kochhann says Amazonian diversity isn’t defined only by the sheer number of species, but also includes the richness of reproductive behaviors. She cites the case of frogs, which most schoolchildren are taught go through two life stages, first as tadpoles, before metamorphosing into adults.

“In the Amazon, however, some species face very complex variations regarding this pattern, such as parental care, or tadpoles that hatch from the egg and live freely right away,” Kochhann says. “Some lay eggs in water; others in damp soil. And there are species that we only know in their adult phase, whose tadpoles we have never seen.”

These differences also pose a challenge for Kochhann’s research area of physiology: scientists need to know these organisms’ functions and processes, from cells to tissues and organs. Above all, they need to understand how they function in the face of increasing environmental strain, including climate change impacts.

“When we talk about climate change and amphibians, the big questions are which species will survive, which will not, and how this process will occur,” Kochhann says. “In the case of amphibians, the urgency is greater because they have characteristics that make them especially vulnerable to rising temperatures and drier climates, such as cutaneous respiration, which depends on skin moisture. Having little data on the Amazon means not understanding enough about these processes and risks.”

Data from Brazil’s National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) indicate that only five groups in the country’s Northern region, which includes much of the Brazilian Amazon, formally study amphibians in their research; three of them are systematically focused on amphibian ecology and physiology.

A search by Mongabay found 9,062 scientific articles on Amazonian amphibians published in the last 10 years, only 3% of which explicitly describe new species. Climate, on the other hand, has been a central topic in the scientific literature: the keyword comes up in 3,411 of the papers, even though a data gap persists regarding amphibians’ tolerance to higher temperatures and their adaptive capacities.

Adult female of the species Ranitomeya aetherea, described from the Juruá River Basin, western Amazon, in 2023. Image courtesy of Alexander Mônico.

Climate change and pesticides: Emerging extinction risks

Climate change scenarios for the Amazon region include not only hotter days but also more severe periods of drought, as already observed in 2023-2024. Studies indicate that the increase in prolonged drought will cause an increase in habitat loss of up to 33% for frogs.

In addition to this risk, climate change interacts with other factors that also affect amphibians, such as water contamination by pesticides and heavy metals. Biologist Guilherme Azambuja investigates precisely these interactions, which are still little explored in the literature on the Amazon.

“One of the biggest challenges I faced was the lack of studies in this field for tropical environments such as the Amazon,” he says. “We end up resorting to results obtained in Europe or North America, which compromises comparisons with our reality.”

The darker colors show the areas of the planet with higher projected risks for frog species due to increased aridity. Image courtesy of Wu et al., 2024.

In a paper published in February this year, Azambuja tested the isolated effects of warming and exposure to the insecticide methomyl — an extremely toxic substance used in crops, with high water solubility — on tadpoles from two species, Osteocephalus taurinus and Scinax ruber. In a second phase, exposure to methomyl was tested at two temperatures: 26.5° and 30° Celsius (79.7° and 86° Fahrenheit).

In both species, the higher temperatures reduced the animals’ final mass. “When the temperature increases, their metabolism accelerates, hindering mass gain,” Azambuja says.

With higher temperatures and faster metabolism, tadpole respiration also increases, which may explain their greater susceptibility to absorbing substances present in water in warmer scenarios. In the case of O. taurinus, the link was clear: heat doubled methomyl’s lethal toxicity.

But the results also showed there are no absolutes in nature, with species responding differently to multiple stress factors. In terms of lethality, the tree frog S. ruber proved to be sensitive to methomyl regardless of temperature.

For Azambuja, this variation between species is the central point. It is precisely because species diversity is so high that responses to the same conditions also vary. Therefore, the lack of knowledge about these animals and their lifestyles means we can’t fully understand the impacts of these challenges or which species may be at greater risk.

In any case, Azambuja says, adaptation to temperature or substances takes a toll on amphibians, even the most resistant ones. “Body size decreases, resulting in thinner and smaller animals. While they are resistant, they may have lower sexual fitness and face reproductive challenges. Sometimes an animal tolerates warmer environments but remains at a level of stress that may not be sustainable in the long run, leading to organism collapse,” he says.

Harlequin toads of the species Atelopus spumarius, endemic to the Amazon. Image courtesy of Jaime Culebras/ASI.

What are we about to lose?

Making the case for amphibian conservation can be difficult: considered “disgusting” by society, these little frogs face invisible threats, and their contribution to ecosystems is rarely appreciated. At the Federal University of Ceará, Karoline Ceron is trying to change this reality with a powerful argument: money.

“By proposing research to assign economic value to amphibians in Brazil, we want to work alongside those who influence decision-making in the country, considering agribusiness’s major role in policymaking,” she says. “We want to establish a dialogue between two worlds: that of conservation and that of production.”

Still in progress, her research estimates that amphibians help prevent $1.18 billion in agricultural losses in Brazil, simply by consuming insects that attack crops. In soy plantations in the Cerrado biome, for example, amphibians likely save around half a million dollars a year in pesticides, by eating approximately 300 million invertebrates in those areas.

They also play a role in public health, especially in the tropics. With amphibians’ decline, part of the natural control of disease vectors like mosquitoes, which can transmit malaria and dengue fever, becomes lost. Research conducted across Central America found an increase in malaria cases related to the loss of amphibian populations.

“There is a synergistic risk, therefore,” Ceron says. “Loss of amphibian populations can lead to increased use of pesticides and insecticides in both rural and urban areas, which in turn would create new contamination and environmental poisoning.”

This story was first published here in Portuguese on April 13, 2026.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11595844

Banner: Secretarybird. Photo: Ronelle Visagie, Author provided (no reuse)

Birds of prey in South Africa are in trouble – a study analyses data from 16 years of road counts

Birds of prey and vultures (raptors) play a vital role in ecosystems, both as top predators and key scavengers. However, compared to many other bird species, raptor populations are declining faster. This is because they need large areas to live in, have low population densities, and reproduce slowly. For these reasons they are vulnerable to human impacts like farming with pesticides, electrocution, collision with wind turbines, or poaching.

In many cases, by the time scientists and conservationists fully understand how bad the declines are, it may be too late to act. Thus, having good population monitoring is vital to act as an early warning system of declines. Many countries in the global south host important populations of raptors but lack effective monitoring programmes.

Africa is an important continent for raptor diversity. Several studies across Africa have used road counts (counting birds from repeated transects across routes) to monitor how raptor populations have changed over time. A recent study went one step further, combining trends from these different surveys from across Africa to better understand these changes at a pan-African scale. Unfortunately, no data from South Africa were available to be incorporated into this analysis.

Monitoring on the road.

In our recent study we took advantage of data that was collected by one dedicated fieldworker, Ronelle Visagie, who drove nearly 400,000 km (the distance from Earth to the moon) across the central area of South Africa (see map) between 2009 and 2025, while she worked for the Birds of Prey Programme of the Endangered Wildlife Trust.

Map of the study area showing the distribution of all road counts conducted between 2009 and 2025. The black polygon indicates the core survey area.

During these 16 years, Ronelle counted all the raptors and large birds that she saw on these work trips. Comparing how the rate of these observations (numbers of individuals per 100km driven) changed over time allowed us to explore species population trends. We had enough data to examine trends for 18 raptors and eight other large bird species over this period. Unfortunately, we did not find a good news story.

These road counts revealed that 50% of the species (13 out of 26) declined significantly, while only three species (12%) showed significant increases. The remaining ten species (38%) showed no significant trends (see Figure 2).

The declining trends raise serious concerns about the conservation status of several species in a region known to host important raptor populations. Thus, urgent conservation actions are needed, especially for species declining by more than 50%. Given that several of these species are not currently listed as threatened either globally or regionally, their conservation status may need to be reassessed.

Fig.2: Estimated population change for 26 species from road counts between 2009 and 2025 in South Africa. (a) Negative and (b) positive trends. The dashed vertical black line indicates a −50% population change. Author provided (no reuse)

Trends in raptor populations

According to our results, 42% of the assessed species declined by more than 50% in the last 16 years.

Notable declines included all of the three migratory species assessed (lesser kestrel, amur falcon and steppe buzzard). These trends match other studies from their breeding grounds in the northern hemisphere, which also suggested declines. Protecting migratory species is especially challenging because action may be needed in breeding areas, non-breeding areas, and along migration routes, where the threats they face may differ.

We also found declines of several resident raptors, including jackal buzzard, Verreaux’s eagle and secretarybird. Populations of these species declined by over 50% in our study region.

In contrast, populations of white-necked raven, greater kestrels, and white-backed vulture increased. The latter is a critically endangered species, but seems to be increasing within our study area.

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Read more: Nigeria’s Hadejia wetlands are a vital stopover for migrating birds: new survey records species found in the park

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Amur Falcon. Ronelle Visagie, Author provided (no reuse)

Some of the trends we detected were similar to a recent study that explored raptor population trends from across Africa using similar approaches to our study. For example, our findings of large declines for secretarybird and lesser kestrel were very similar to those reported in Kenya and Botswana. Additionally, similar population changes for secretarybird were detected during winter (but not summer) using road counts in the Nama Karoo (a major part of our study area) during the period just before our study (a 61% decline between the late 1980s and early 2010s). This suggests that the decline detected earlier may have continued into the mid-2020s.

Secretarybird. Megan Murgatroyd, Author provided (no reuse)

We compared the direction of trends (whether species numbers were going up or down) from our road counts and the Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP2). But only about half of the trends agreed between the two methods (road counts and the bird atlas). Species with consistent trends between the methods included amur falcon and lesser kestrel – both showing declines – and greater kestrel and white-backed vulture – both showing increases. Species with inconsistent trends all showed decreases according to our road counts but increases according to the bird atlas project. These included Ludwig’s bustard, blue crane, secretarybird, black-winged kite, and southern pale chanting goshawk.

If we assume that our road counts trends are reliable, these findings suggest that although the bird atlas project data can provide valuable information on the changes in distribution of birds, atlas data may be less well suited to capture changes in abundance at large spatial scales and across multiple species.

Across Africa, declines in birds of prey are often linked to human population growth, agricultural expansion and climate change. In our study area, there have been no major recent changes in land use or population density, but more subtle or long-term human impacts may be driving these changes.

Conflicts between people and raptors, including illegal killings, could play a role. Climate change and infrastructure like power lines and wind farms are adding further pressure by fragmenting aerial habitat and affecting survival and reproduction.

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Read more: Finding space for both wind farms and eagles in South Africa

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Trends in human populations

Ronelle Visagie. Author provided (no reuse)

Human populations in Africa are expected to grow significantly over the next three decades, which will increase pressure on biodiversity.

Given the projected human population growth in Africa (79%), and a corresponding rise in demand for resources and energy, threats to vulnerable bird species are likely to get worse.

Gareth Tate. Author provided (no reuse)

It is therefore essential that we have reliable tools to monitor species trends and better understand the impacts of these pressures.

This is crucial for understanding the current biodiversity crisis and preventing severe wildlife loss.

Ronelle Visagie and Gareth Tate of the Endangered Wildlife Trust contributed to this research.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11595681

Banner image: The golden mantella, an endangered frog species found only in Madagascar. Image by Frank Vassen via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Africa’s amphibians are overlooked in conservation planning, experts warn

Herpetologists are calling for greater inclusion of amphibians in African conservation planning, in a recent letter published in the journal Science.

Africa is home to roughly 1,170 known species of amphibians, 99% of which are endemic. Some 37% of the amphibians are recognized as threatened with extinction.

The researchers note that amphibians — frogs, salamanders and caecilians — are especially important as early-warning detectors of ecological disruption, given their sensitivity to pathogens, thermal stress, pollution and hydrological changes in their wetland habitats. Yet amphibians as a group remain poorly represented in protected-area planning and management tools in Africa, the authors write. They note there are only 12 documented amphibian-specific action plans across the continent. These include a conservation plan for frogs in Cape Town, South Africa, and for the golden mantella frog (Mantella aurantiaca) in Madagascar.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), for example, doesn’t yet have conservation action plans specifically dedicated to amphibians, according to the letter’s lead author, Bienvenu Mwale, an expert on amphibians in the DRC and Cameroon. “To date, the DR Congo existing legal frameworks remain broad and give limited attention to this taxonomic group, with a stronger focus on large mammals,” Mwale told Mongabay by email.

Cameroon, on the other hand, has given full protection to six amphibian species, including the Goliath frog (Conraua goliath), the world’s largest, through a ministerial decree. This could be a good model for African conservation planning, Mwale said.

He added that several African amphibian species are currently classified as data deficient on the IUCN Red List, meaning there’s not enough information to assess their conservation status.

“One of the needs for amphibian conservation plans in Africa (that citizens can help with) is specific information on distribution,” Amaël Borzée, a co-author of the letter and member of the Amphiban Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, told Mongabay by email. “This is something anyone can help with, and for instance, doing it through the iNaturalist platform is a great way for people to get engaged. This is easy: take a picture of any amphibian and upload it on iNaturalist, and the job is done, and it helps.”

Karen Lips, an amphibian expert not affiliated with the letter, told Mongabay in an email: “I agree that much more research and much more conservation is needed in Africa. It is a continent with incredible richness of biodiversity, but still needs research to understand patterns of distribution and threats to that biodiversity.

“Africa is one of the regions with the least amount of information on amphibian population biology, meaning that we are not able to assess how land use change, climate change, disease, or other factors affect those species, because we have no baseline population data for comparisons,” Lips added.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11576379

A program is returning burrowing owls back to their natural habitat

The Upper Nicola Band released 11 captive-born owls in spax̌mn — part of a decade-long effort to reinstate the tiny birds of prey whose populations have plummeted

Pluto, an 11-year-old educational burrowing owl with the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC, is pictured at N’kwala School’s gym in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake), B.C., on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

This story is a collaboration between IndigiNews and The Narwhal.

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Nine-year-old John Smithers cradles a tiny burrowing owl in his hands, preparing to release it into the grasslands of Upper Nicola Band (UNB) territory.

Like other young syilx people, he’s grown up hearing stories about the small birds of prey whose populations have plummeted in the region in the last century or so.

The owls – known in syilx culture as guardians, guides or messengers – were “once a common element” in landscapes stretching from the southern Interior of “B.C.” all the way to Manitoba, according to “Canada’s” Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife.

Now, burrowing owl sightings are rare. In 2003, the Government of Canada listed the burrowing owl as endangered under the federal Species at Risk Act. Experts link the bird’s decline to the gradual loss of its grassland habitats over the last century.

According to the Burrowing Owl Alliance, the bird’s population in the country has declined by over 96 per cent since 1987.

“Lots of animals can come and get them,” Smithers said about the lack of protective habitat for the burrowing owl.

John Smithers, a nine-year-old student from Upper Nicola Band’s N’kwala School, prepares to release a captive-born burrowing owl down an artificial nesting burrow and into the wild, during a release event for 11 captive-born owls into the community’s owl restoration site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

Earlier this year, Smithers became N’kwala School’s annual student ambassador to a regional burrowing owl recovery program that’s being led by the First Nation.

As ambassador, he was invited to be the first person of the year to release a captive-born burrowing owl into the wild on April 22, in his home community of spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) in “B.C.’s” Nicola Valley.

The release, which coincided with Earth Day, marked 10 years since UNB began releasing captive-born burrowing owls onto their homelands.

In return, those captive-raised owls have produced 125 “wild-born” baby owls — or fledglings — since being released from the community’s restoration site.

Despite high winds and the risk of ticks, dozens of excited people from all age groups turned out in high spirits for the release.

Students, nature enthusiasts and Elders alike shared laughs and smiles at the sight of the precious birds, with their round heads, short stature and long legs.

Upper Nicola Band Elder Howard (Howie) Holmes prepares to release a captive-born burrowing owl down an artificial nesting burrow and into the wild, during a release event for 11 captive-born owls into the community’s owl restoration site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

Framed by grassy hills, Smithers released the first owl under the warm sunshine with the help of Dawn Brodie, one of the main field technicians who has been involved in the program since its inception.

The nervous bird nearly escaped from his grasp and into the open air. But thanks to the quick reflexes of Brodie, her helping hands connected the captive-born owl back to the land and down an artificial nesting burrow that had been prepared by the UNB stewardship department.

“Soft” is the word Smithers used to describe the feeling of holding the owl.

Soon after, several guests in attendance – from program partners to Youth and Elders – were invited by the field technicians to release an owl down different burrows that were created by the recovery program and its partners.

Some of the owls wore amusingly bewildered expressions as they waited in the gentle grasp of human hands before being placed into a burrow.

A captive-born burrowing owl prior to being released into an artificial nesting burrow, during the release event for 11 captive-born owls into the Upper Nicola Band’s burrowing owl restoration site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

In total, 11 captive-born owls — six males and five females — were released into five of the site’s 35 artificial burrows that day. They are all just under one year old.

“The program has exceeded all our expectations,” said Loretta Holmes, a UNB member and senior resource technician with the band’s stewardship department.

“The owls, which we call sq̓əq̓axʷ, have responded better than we dared to hope ten years ago. And community interest and involvement has been strong since the start.”

Underground burrows protect, allow for monitoring of owls

The tiny burrows are connected through a network of underground tunnels hidden under the grassland hills above spax̌mn.

Each artificial burrow consists of a small, corrugated tube in the ground that serves as its entrance, which feeds into the larger network of tunnels. The entry points are camouflaged in the field by grass and large rocks.

Artificial nesting burrows are scattered throughout the grassland hills above Upper Nicola Band, at the community’s burrowing owl restoration program site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

Before any captive-raised owls are released, handfuls of frozen mice are inserted into the burrows and tunnels.

“That helps them not have to go as far to hunt as often. It encourages them to lay more eggs, and helps them rear their young ones when they’re hatched,” said Holmes.

Once released, the burrow entrances are closed off for a few days, explained Chris Gill, a project biologist with the band’s Species-at-Risk program.

“It’s to let them acclimatize and calm down, basically. And potentially bond with the mate that’s in there,” said Gill.

Breeding gets underway as soon as two owls choose each other as mates, and Gill said that eggs are laid in June.

The burrow tunnels, which protect the owls from predators, are connected to a nest box. The nest box has an opening at ground level, allowing technicians to observe how many eggs have been laid and monitor activity.

Technicians also attach leg bands to the newly-hatched birds here, to track future migration.

Mice are also delivered to the burrows two to three times a week. Holmes said that this type of care results in nests that carry nine to 10 eggs — more than the average of six to eight laid by burrowing owls in the wild.

The mice are “giving them a big head start and maximizing the chances of producing healthy fledglings, and healthy parents as well,” Gill said.

The owls stay in the site’s burrow network from anywhere from four days to up to a week, depending on weather conditions, and are then free to fly around in the open air.

“They mostly stick at the site, even after you release them out of the burrow, because they’re now used to the site,” said Gill.

“They may have paired up, or they may choose another mate from the site.”

Chris Gill, a project biologist with the Upper Nicola Band’s Species-at-Risk program, speaks at the playground of N’kwala School, prior to the release event for 11 captive-born owls into the community’s burrowing owl restoration site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

By July, fledglings will start to emerge from the burrows, and the owls usually start to migrate south in September and October. They’ll return to the breeding sites next April.

Tracked migration data from burrowing owls who left the site in previous years revealed that the birds travel as far as “San Jose, California.”

“It’s just so amazing that they went all the way somewhere, wintered in those conditions and came back,” said Holmes.

“It’s wonderful.”

UNB program part of larger effort to bring back owls

In the last decade, more than 100 burrowing owls have been raised in captivity at the Kamloops Wildlife Park by the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society, before being released at spax̌mn. There’s a site in “Oliver” that supports the program as well.

The captive-raised owls all come with identification tags on their legs, which are documented by field technicians before they are released into the burrows.

Two captive-born burrowing owls from the Kamloops Wildlife Park — one female and one male — are transported to their artificial burrow nesting sites for release at the burrowing owl restoration site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake), B.C., on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

Many of the 125 wild-born owls have left the UNB site and returned, including four who came back this spring; two males and two females, three of which were born at the site last year.

While the conservation efforts are helping to re-populate the burrowing owl species in this part of the country, UNB views this work as only one piece of the larger puzzle of how to protect the community’s rare and sensitive grassland ecosystem habitats.

By stewarding these ecosystems — and restoring and supporting the biodiversity that has been depleted — it’s also an act by the band to protect their cultural identity and fulfill generational responsibilities around caring for the land and for all living things.

“Conserving a species at risk, like a burrowing owl, it’s about far more than a single bird or species. It’s about upholding relationships, responsibilities and balance with the living world,” said Holmes.

Animals like the burrowing owl are part of an interconnected system that has sustained Indigenous Peoples for generations, she said.

Loretta Holmes, an Upper Nicola Band member and senior resource technician with the band’s stewardship department, wears owl-themed earrings made by a Kamloops-based Indigenous artist, during the release event for 11 captive-born owls into the site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

“If one species declines, it signals that the relationship between people and the land is out of balance. Conservation becomes an act of restoring harmony and respect in that system,” she said.

“Protecting species at risk aligns with Indigenous laws that emphasize caretaking. Conservation efforts honour the principle that decisions made today must ensure the healthy lands and wildlife for our relatives yet to come.”

It’s just one of many projects under the community’s stewardship department’s larger Species-At-Risk program, which is designed to protect and restore endangered species populations on their lands.

The program also looks at restoration efforts for species including American badger, Lewis’s woodpecker and Great basin spadefoot — all of which have been federally recognized as threatened or endangered.

Penticton Indian Band — a fellow syilx community that’s under the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) along with UNB — also released burrowing owls through their own similar program that same week.

“In British Columbia, burrowing owls are extirpated. That means that they’re not actually existing on the landscape without reintroduction programs, like the Upper Nicola Band’s,” said Gill.

A captive-born burrowing owl is released into an artificial nesting burrow, during the release event for 11 captive-born owls into the Upper Nicola Band’s burrowing owl restoration site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

But Traditional Ecological Knowledge gathered from Elders and advisors confirmed that burrowing owls historically existed on the spax̌mn landscape.

In 2015, a year before the burrowing owl recovery program launched, the Species-At-Risk team conducted surveys on reserve lands to determine a suitable habitat for the birds.

They settled on the grasslands above the UNB community as the reintroduction program’s site.

The grassland ecosystem landscape above the Upper Nicola Band community is the site of their burrowing owl restoration program, pictured in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

“We found suitable habitat for burrowing owls — but no burrowing owls present,” said Gill.

The birds traditionally nested in the underground burrows that were dug and abandoned by different animals, from badgers to marmots and coyotes, he said

Because of a lack of badgers, Gill said there weren’t any natural burrows out on the land.

“That’s why the Upper Nicola Band put in these artificial burrows,” he said.

“There are actually badgers on that reserve, but there are very few — and far in-between — so we can’t rely on a burrowing owl finding a badger burrow.”

According to the province, “several small” burrowing owl nesting sites were identified in the Okanagan and Thompson valleys from 1900 to 1928.

Historical nesting areas include Osoyoos, Oliver, Penticton, White Lake, lower Similkameen Valley, Vernon, Kamloops and Douglas Lake.

Artificial nesting burrows are scattered throughout the grassland hills above Upper Nicola Band, at the community’s burrowing owl restoration program site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

But between 1928 and 1980, only four nesting sites were recorded.

The federal government attributed the “conversion of grassland to cropland” as the “ultimate factor responsible for the decline in burrowing owls.” It estimates that the species experienced a 90 per cent population decline from 1990 to 2000.

Also contributing to the owl’s population decline is the “gauntlet” of issues they face on their migration route, Holmes said.

This includes fatalities occurring from collisions with wind turbine farms and motor vehicles. Pesticides targeting insects and rodents that the birds feed upon indirectly poisons them as well.

In 2004, the estimated population of burrowing owls in “Canada” was recorded at 795 mature individuals. In 2015, it had plunged to approximately 270.

Burrowing owl populations are “in a nose dive,” said Gill.

He called the burrowing owl “a canary in a coal mine” in measuring the state of ecosystem health.

“A badger, a burrowing owl — those species are the indicator species. If they’re not doing well, then that’s a sign of something bigger that’s not doing well,” he said.

Grasslands are also endangered

Along with Holmes and Brodie, Gill helped initiate the burrowing owl reintroduction program 10 years ago. He called the two women “the work horses” of the program.

“We monitor the owls, and write really good data collection on it,” said Brodie, a veterinary technician who supports the program as a burrowing owl consultant.

The program has been a success, Gill said, not just because of the region’s “great grasslands.”

“But it’s also the stewardship that’s going on with these owls,” he said.

“It’s one of the most productive sites in B.C. for releasing our fledging owls.”

In the wild, burrowing owls can live anywhere from four to six years, according to Lauren Meads, the executive director of the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC.

Meads, who was joined at the release event by the society’s 11-year-old educational burrowing owl, Pluto, added that in captivity they can live up to 15 years.

A student from N’kwala School in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake), B.C., pets Pluto, an 11-year-old educational burrowing owl with the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC, at the school gym on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

According to the Government of B.C., grasslands made up less than one percent of the province’s land area in 2004, adding that “only a small percentage of our grasslands are protected.”

But grasslands surrounding the Upper Nicola landscape are “some of the most intact and incredibly resilient grasslands” Gill has observed, he said.

“Grasslands are one of the most endangered ecosystems in Canada … They’re very, very rare. It looks like we have a lot, but this is one little spot,” he said.

Holmes added that protecting burrowing owls also protects the grasslands.

“That’s their home. It works hand-in-hand,” she said.

Community members walk towards an artificial nesting burrow at the Upper Nicola Band’s burrowing owl restoration site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026, during the release event for 11 captive-born owls into the wild. Photo by Aaron Hemens

Burrowing owls also hold stories, teachings

Holmes said that the burrowing owl’s population decline and status as an endangered species is not just an ecological matter, but a cultural issue as well.

Burrowing owls are a “symbol of our cultural identity,” she said.

“Owls can be messengers, teachers or indicators in an Indigenous knowledge system. They’re often associated with observation, protections and indicators of change.”

The loss of burrowing owls “erodes the stories, the teachings and our ways of understanding the land that has been passed down through generations,” she added.

Upper Nicola Band Elders Howard (Howie) Holmes and Linda Intalin Holmes are pictured at the community’s burrowing owl restoration site, during the release event for 11 captive-born owls into the site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

Upper Nicola Chief Dan Manuel said in a statement that burrowing owls are deeply woven into syilx culture.

“For our people, the cultural, spiritual and environmental importance of sq̓əq̓axʷ are one,” said Manuel.

“Our culture is rooted in co-existence with the world around us. We have a responsibility to care for the land and the beings on it. We must help rebuild what has been lost, and it will continue to support us.”

Dawn Brodie, one of the main field technicians who has been involved in Upper Nicola Band’s burrowing owl restoration program since its inception, leads the release event of 11 captive-born owls into the community’s owl restoration site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

Holmes said that having a dedicated conservation program fulfills those duties that are owed to the land and to all living beings.

“It treats our relatives with respect,” she said.

“The land, the animals, the plants — everything that’s there — provides us with sustenance. So it’s our responsibility to take care of them as well. We see all those things as our relatives.”

She emphasized that Indigenous Peoples have an inherent responsibilities as stewards of their territories — responsibilities that originate in syilx laws, teachings and oral traditions, also known as captikʷł.

“That predates colonial conservation frameworks,” she said.

UNB Elder Casey Holmes thanked all the staff and volunteers involved in the community’s stewardship program, especially for their work in supporting the restoration of the burrowing owl population.

“People are making a difference. Even if it doesn’t look like a difference, they made a difference today, to make this a success – to make this a part of history that we’re not losing,” said Casey.

Upper Nicola Band Elder Casey Holmes speaks at the playground of N’kwala School, prior to the release event for 11 captive-born owls into the community’s burrowing owl restoration site in spax̌mn (Douglas Lake) on April 22, 2026. Photo by Aaron Hemens

When the community loses a tmixʷ (All living things) relative, Casey said that “we lose a part of history.”

“Bringing back this, is regaining back that history,” he said.

A recent study published in Nature Neuroscience suggests that the brain is more mechanically connected to the body than previously appreciated. Scientists found that abdominal muscle contractions compress blood vessels connected to the spine and brain, pushing fluid that gently moves the brain within the skull. This physical swaying provides evidence for how exercise might benefit brain health by washing away cellular waste.

Scientists set out to understand the specific mechanical origins of brain motion in awake animals. The central nervous system is encased in thick bone, making it seem isolated from the physical forces of the rest of the body. However, the work builds on previous studies detailing how sleep and neuron loss can influence how and when cerebrospinal fluid flushes through the brain, according to Patrick Drew, a professor of engineering science and mechanics, neurosurgery, biology and biomedical engineering at Penn State.

“Our research explains how just moving around might serve as an important physiological mechanism promoting brain health,” said Drew, corresponding author on the paper. “In this study, we found that when the abdominal muscles contract, they push blood from the abdomen into the spinal cord, just like in a hydraulic system, applying pressure to the brain and making it move.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11558655

Banner image: Deforestation, climate change and trade pose threats to the species, which has dwindled to a few hundred from some 750,000 in the 1960s. Image by kaysud via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0).

US proposes endangered species protections for an imperiled Jamaican butterfly

• The U.S. has proposed listing a rare butterfly from Jamaica, the Jamaican kite swallowtail under the Endangered Species Act.
• The striking blue-green and black butterfly, endemic to this island country, hovers on the brink of extinction. Scientists have observed no more than 250 adults in the wild in recent years.
• Deforestation, devastating hurricanes and droughts on the island have destroyed much of this butterfly’s breeding sites; only four remain. Demand for framed butterflies used in home decor is another factor in their disappearance.
• ESA listing would bring attention to the species and stop its trade in the U.S. Conservationists hope it will also fund efforts to protect the butterfly’s habitat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently proposed listing Jamaica’s most imperiled butterfly, the Jamaican kite swallowtail, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The species (Protographium marcellinus), a small, fast-flying butterfly, flutters through its limestone forest home. Its wings, painted in streaks of bright turquoise and black with a dash of red, sport long, narrow tails.

These charismatic butterflies live on this island and nowhere else. In recent years, they’ve nearly disappeared. Back in the 1960s, scientists recorded about 750,000 individuals; that number has plummeted to between 50 and 250 today. In some years, they’ve seen none.

It’s such an alarming decline that scientists say this swallowtail should jump two categories on the IUCN Red List, from vulnerable to critically endangered.

“This listing would be a real turning point for this species,” said Dianne DuBois, senior scientist at the U.S.-based NGO Center for Biological Diversity, which has been fighting for ESA protections for the butterfly since 1994. After a few failed attempts, it sued USFWS in 2021, which resulted in the agency drawing up the current proposal.

ESA listings prevent extinction in 99% of the species under the act, but the wait is often quite long, about 12 years on average. Time may not be on its side for the Jamaican kite swallowtail, which hangs on the brink of extinction.

“We wish this proposal had come three decades ago,” DuBois said. “We really want to urge the Fish and Wildlife Service to work quickly to finalize these protections and let the ESA work its magic.”

Vaughan Turland at Jamaica’s Windsor Research Centre, who has studied the species for decades, welcomed the U.S. proposal. “Any formal recognition of the potential demise of such an iconic species is important,” he said, because it raises awareness and urges urgent conservation actions.

The Jamaican kite swallowtail is a small, endemic species that lives in Jamaica’s limestone forests. Image by Vaughan Turland.

Hammered by vanishing habitat, climate change and trade

Jamaica is rapidly losing its forests, and along with it, the Jamaican kite swallowtail is losing its homelands. Trees are felled to make way for mines, quarries, expanding farmlands, human settlements and livestock grazing.

Baby caterpillars feed only on the leaves of the black lancewood trees (Oxandra lanceolata) found in limestone forests. Cocooned pupae stay buried in the leaf litter for months before turning into showy butterflies. Meanwhile, black lancewood is targeted by loggers: Thousands of these trees are cut down to make furniture, fish pots, stakes for growing yams and charcoal for cooking, among other things.

As a result, the butterfly’s breeding habitat has shrunk by about 70% since the 1960s, according to a study by Turland and his colleague Thomas Turner from the Florida Museum of Natural History, who’s also considered an authority on the species. Today, the swallowtails breed in just four sites on the island where a few dense stands of black lancewood remain.

Extreme weather events, including hurricanes and drought, pose an increasing threat. Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest hurricanes on record in the Atlantic basin, made landfall in Jamaica in October 2025, damaging one of the butterfly’s few remaining breeding sites, Turland said.

Caterpillars only eat the leaves of the black lancewood trees, which are logged by the thousands to make furniture, fish pots and charcoal, and more. Image by Vaughan Turland.

Because of its striking appearance, the rare butterfly is also in demand for home décor, framed and hung on the wall. It’s part of a massive trade that includes more than 3,700 butterfly species the world over, mostly coming from the Global South. They’re bought primarily by consumers in the U.S. and Europe.

Fewer than 70 butterfly species have trade protections under CITES, the global wildlife trade agreement. All others, including the Jamaican kite swallowtail, can be traded internationally without restrictions.

“The Jamaican kite swallowtails are one of many butterfly and invertebrate species that have kind of caught the eye of collectors that pin and frame them for display,” DuBois said.

How many are captured and sold remains unclear, as it’s illegal to catch them in Jamaica, but it’s likely a lucrative activity in a country where workers average $34 a day. Dubois said this butterfly sells online for as much as $178 apiece.

For an animal this rare, every sale matters. “Even low levels of collection can be devastating for a species with such a small population,” DuBois said.

This is where the ESA listing could make the most impact. If finalized, the listing would “ensure that this species no longer gets caught up in this popular online decor trade,” DuBois said. It could also bring more attention to the butterfly’s perilous state, and with it, funding to protect its habitat, she added.

(Left) Deforestation has resulted in a nearly 70% loss of the butterfly’s breeding sites. (Right) A Jamaican kite swallowtail. Images by Vaughan Turland and kaysud via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0).

The ESA listing proposal is currently open for comments until June 16, and it’s an open forum: Anyone with information about the species or who is interested in butterfly conservation can post statements. USFWS will then have a year to make its decision. If the listing is finalized, it would be the first addition to the ESA since U.S. President Donald Trump took office for his second term.

“If we can get it listed, there’s a very good chance that it will avoid extinction,” DuBois said.

Spoorthy Raman is a staff writer at Mongabay, covering all things wild with a special focus on lesser-known wildlife, the wildlife trade, and environmental crime.

----------> https://archive.ph/5FUvT

No matter how hard they try, brain scientists and cognitive psychologists will never find a copy of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony in the brain – or copies of words, pictures, grammatical rules or any other kinds of environmental stimuli. The human brain isn’t really empty, of course. But it does not contain most of the things people think it does – not even simple things such as ‘memories’.

Our shoddy thinking about the brain has deep historical roots, but the invention of computers in the 1940s got us especially confused. For more than half a century now, psychologists, linguists, neuroscientists and other experts on human behaviour have been asserting that the human brain works like a computer.

To see how vacuous this idea is, consider the brains of babies. Thanks to evolution, human neonates, like the newborns of all other mammalian species, enter the world prepared to interact with it effectively. A baby’s vision is blurry, but it pays special attention to faces, and is quickly able to identify its mother’s. It prefers the sound of voices to non-speech sounds, and can distinguish one basic speech sound from another. We are, without doubt, built to make social connections.

A healthy newborn is also equipped with more than a dozen reflexes – ready-made reactions to certain stimuli that are important for its survival. It turns its head in the direction of something that brushes its cheek and then sucks whatever enters its mouth. It holds its breath when submerged in water. It grasps things placed in its hands so strongly it can nearly support its own weight. Perhaps most important, newborns come equipped with powerful learning mechanisms that allow them to change rapidly so they can interact increasingly effectively with their world, even if that world is unlike the one their distant ancestors faced.

Senses, reflexes and learning mechanisms – this is what we start with, and it is quite a lot, when you think about it. If we lacked any of these capabilities at birth, we would probably have trouble surviving.

But here is what we are not born with: information, data, rules, software, knowledge, lexicons, representations, algorithms, programs, models, memories, images, processors, subroutines, encoders, decoders, symbols, or buffers – design elements that allow digital computers to behave somewhat intelligently. Not only are we not born with such things, we also don’t develop them – ever.

We don’t store words or the rules that tell us how to manipulate them. We don’t create representations of visual stimuli, store them in a short-term memory buffer, and then transfer the representation into a long-term memory device. We don’t retrieve information or images or words from memory registers. Computers do all of these things, but organisms do not.

Computers, quite literally, process information – numbers, letters, words, formulas, images. The information first has to be encoded into a format computers can use, which means patterns of ones and zeroes (‘bits’) organised into small chunks (‘bytes’). On my computer, each byte contains 8 bits, and a certain pattern of those bits stands for the letter d, another for the letter o, and another for the letter g. Side by side, those three bytes form the word dog. One single image – say, the photograph of my cat Henry on my desktop – is represented by a very specific pattern of a million of these bytes (‘one megabyte’), surrounded by some special characters that tell the computer to expect an image, not a word.

Computers, quite literally, move these patterns from place to place in different physical storage areas etched into electronic components. Sometimes they also copy the patterns, and sometimes they transform them in various ways – say, when we are correcting errors in a manuscript or when we are touching up a photograph. The rules computers follow for moving, copying and operating on these arrays of data are also stored inside the computer. Together, a set of rules is called a ‘program’ or an ‘algorithm’. A group of algorithms that work together to help us do something (like buy stocks or find a date online) is called an ‘application’ – what most people now call an ‘app’.

Forgive me for this introduction to computing, but I need to be clear: computers really do operate on symbolic representations of the world. They really store and retrieve. They really process. They really have physical memories. They really are guided in everything they do, without exception, by algorithms.

Humans, on the other hand, do not – never did, never will. Given this reality, why do so many scientists talk about our mental life as if we were computers?

Jeremy was named after the left-wing British Labour politician Jeremy Corbyn, on account of it being a "lefty" snail, but also due to Corbyn's reported love of gardening.