Celebrate Oceans Day: Take the Better Bag Challenge

Posted on June 8, 2015 | Comments Off on Celebrate Oceans Day: Take the Better Bag Challenge

Matacumbe Key 2015

June 8 is World Oceans Day 2015. Why celebrate oceans? 71%: of the Earth’s surface is covered by the global ocean, which is divided, historically into named regions: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic (a sea is mostly surrounded by land). Most countries now recognize the Southern (Antarctic) as the fifth ocean. According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency) oceans contain 97 % of Earth’s water. The global ocean has a significant effect on our biosphere. Ocean water evaporation is the source of most rainfall and ocean temperatures determine climate and wind patterns. The oceans feed millions, produce oxygen and are home to countless wildlife species.

Once thought to be invulnerable to human activity because of its size, human pressures including overexploitation, unregulated fishing, marine pollution, introduction of alien species, acidification and climate change are affecting this enormous resource.

The United Nations World Oceans Day 2015 theme is Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet. Celebrate by taking The Better Bag Challenge. Commit to using reusable bags instead of disposable for a whole year. Refuse to accept plastic which hurt sea turtles and ocean life everywhere. Visit www.world oceans day.org/action-center/

Photo: Bonnie Ogle

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Bacardi Saving Bats?

Posted on June 4, 2015 | Comments Off on Bacardi Saving Bats?

I say Bacardi, you say—rum? That would be natural considering the world’s largest privately held family owned company survived the Cuban revolution as bacardi_logo[1]exiles in Miami to become, arguably, the most recognized brand in the world. But did you, when you poured, notice the company icon? A bat! In 1989 Luis “Lubee” F. Bacardi, an heir to the Bacardi Liquor company, founded the international nonprofit Lubee Bat Conservancy, located in north central Florida. The non-profit receives no monies from the company, but continues work through an endowment after Lubee Bacardi’s death, along with  grants and private donations.

The central mission of the Lubee Bat Conservancy is to breed exotic, threatened and endangered fruit and nectar bats, protect threatened habitats, research and educate. The conservancy partners with several departments at UF, a natural, considering the University’s on-campus bat house. Other collaborators include the Santa Fe College Zoo, the CDC, National Institute of Health, the Smithsonian, Institute, American Museum of Natural History, Disney, the US Air Force, and international conservation societies.

Bat Naming Rights for Sale

Why bother with bats? Along with bees and butterflies, the only flying mammal is an important pollinator. More than 145 plant genera depend on bats for pollination and seed dispersal. You can help the conservancy protect, breed, and teach about fruit and nectar bats with a donation of $250 to their outreach program. This will allow you to name one of the ten recently born baby bats after yourself or a loved one! Four more are due to arrive soon, but hurry! With a six month gestation period, bats aren’t born every day!

To arrange a private tour, apply for a research grant, or volunteer at the conservancy, contact director Brian Pope,

di******@lu***.org











 and watch for the open house, held on Halloween weekend most years.

 

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Bats Use Sonar, but Butterflies?

Posted on May 17, 2015 | Comments Off on Bats Use Sonar, but Butterflies?

hawk moth, Pablo PadronButterflies and moths are small, but mighty. They have numerous ways of thwarting predators, namely bats. Only recently have lepidopterists (moth and butterfly scientists) understood the defensive sonar-jamming capabilities of some species. In a recent collaboration by scientists at the University of Florida and Boise State University, lepidopterists scoured jungles from Borneo to the Amazon. They observed and collected hawk moths in thirty-two countries. Echolocation experiments and lab experiments used more than 700 moths, and found that nearly half generated ultrasonic sounds with their genitalia. Tiger moths, however, use tymbals, vibrating membranes located on their thorax to produce the sounds. Similar radar jamming is used in human warfare, allowing pilots to be invisible to the enemy. Further study of moths’ ultrasonic sound production should help improve human use of sonar.

Recently, Akito Kawahara at the University of Florida and Boise State University biologist Jesse Barber released a second study reporting that luna moths have learned to use their tails to confuse the sonar calls of bats. Noticing the large diversity in nocturnal moths, Kawahara studied certain species of moths with long tails. Bringing brown bats and several moth species to the Florida Museum, the team set up high-speed infrared cameras and ultrasonic mikes and found those with tails were more likely to survive a bat attack than those without. Bats appear to target the moth’s long tails instead of the head in 55 percent of all interactions, assuring the moth’s survival.

There is still much to learn about the biodiversity of nocturnal species. Yes, moths attracted to your patio lights, or munching caterpillars in the garden can be a nuisance, but we must not discount the small and mighty moth.

Ref: May 2015 study Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, lead author Akito Kawahara, assistant curator of Lepidoptera at the Florida Museum of Natural History  flmnh.ufl.edu/mcguire/kawahara; photo credit: Pablo Padron

 

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Posted in Bats, butterflies, lepidoptera, moths

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Disappearing Monarchs

Posted on May 9, 2015 | 8 comments

monarch-sunflower-lacreek-nwr-tome-koerner-usfws-300[1]Ubiquitous no longer describes the beautiful monarch butterfly. Experts say over the past two decades, population has declined from about one billion butterflies in the mid- nineties to just 35 million individuals last winter. Jaret Daniels, associate curator and program director at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera, estimates the monarch butterfly population has declined by as much as 95%. The U S Fish and Wildlife Services will announce in December whether federal protection will be extended to the beautiful pollinator.

What is causing the decline? Herbicide maker Monsanto’s popular weed killer Roundup is blamed for wiping out most of the milkweed plants on farms across America. Monsanto has introduced Roundup Ready crops which resist the herbicide. Farmers, in a race to fill demands for ethanol fuel, are planting more herbicide-resistant crops.

Soy and corn fields across North America were once filled with milkweed, the Monarchs’ host plant, on which they lay eggs. Each species of butterfly has a specific host plant, the only one the caterpillar will eat. On their route to specific over-wintering sites in Mexico, then back home again, Monarchs rely on the milkweed to lay the next generation, and for flowers to nourish them along the migration route.

What can I do to help the iconic Monarch butterfly? Plant milkweed! Learn which of the 103 types is suitable in your area. I recently learned that what I had planted in my North Florida yard was doing as much harm as good, because it did not die back early enough in the fall, delaying Monarch migration. I will be planting an aquatic species of milkweed this year. I am not ready to pull up what I have growing, but will certainly cut it back early in the fall. Plantings along roadsides and fence lines would mmonarch-caterpillar-courtney-celley-usfws-300[1]ake good service projects. Farmers would do the world a service by leaving surrounding rows unplanted and unsprayed so that milkweed can co-exist with herbicide resistant plantings. And we can always pray. But prayer without action is just a wish. bto

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Welcome, Earth Dwellers

Posted on May 7, 2015 | Comments Off on Welcome, Earth Dwellers

The firmament is blue forever and the Earth

Will long stand firm and bloom in spring

But, Man, how long will you live?

-Li-Tai-Po

earthOur planet is far enough away from the sun that we do not perish in flames, yet close enough that we do not freeze. An atmosphere wraps us protectively, like a blanket, and gives us breath. Food proliferates, verdant, or on padded paws. Planet Earth feeds us, clothes us, sustains us. We consume copious amounts of her bounteous offerings, too often with little thought to sustainability. Our planet is changing. It is our responsibility to see that change does not harm our home in ways that make it uninhabitable to us.

This blog will highlight intriguing natural phenomena and explore the degradation occurring in our natural world. I intend to report without placing blame. Draw your own conclusions. I Invite your comments and ask that differing opinions be offered politely. If you are contributing to our planet’s sustainability, or know of someone who is, feel free to share ideas. Welcome, Earth Dwellers, Earth Lovers, Earth Guardians!

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