Wild & Wondrous - Favorite World Press

The FWP weekly digest of wondrous wildlife happenings
and other interesting items from the natural world

Creatures to meet | Things to learn
Things to do

Lisa S. French

It’s bird award season in the southern hemisphere–that special time in late spring when birdwatchers around the world cast their votes online for the annual “it” bird of New Zealand. On November 11, this year’s favored flapper, the endangered yellow-eyed penguin, toddled past its top rival, the charismatic kākāpō, to be crowned 2019 Bird of the Year by New Zealand’s leading independent conservation organization Forest & Bird.

The yellow-eyed penguin, also known as the hoiho, which is Maori for noise shouter, is the world’s oldest and rarest penguin species—only 225 pairs of the seabird remain on New Zealand’s mainland. With its distinctive yellow peepers, pink feet, and slate-blue back and flippers, the hoiho is an unmistakable presence in the island nation’s coastal forests. Generally a solitary, quiet bird, the yellow-eyed penguin earned its Maori moniker due to the high-pitched braying sound it makes in nesting areas.

The Bird of the Year competition was launched in 2005 to raise awareness of New Zealand’s many remarkable native bird species and the threats to their survival. Currently, 80% of New Zealand’s birds are in trouble, and one out of three are at risk of extinction, including the hoiho and the kākāpō. You can learn more about all of the 2019 Forest & Bird contestants and their conservation status here.

If viewing all of the feathered finery down-under has you suffering from a bout of birdwatcher’s envy, here are some resources, tips, and upcoming events for budding and full-blown birders up-top:

You can get facts, photos, and vocalizations for more than 600 North American bird species at Cornell Labs ultimate online ornithology resource, allaboutbirds.org.

If you’d like to get a handle on how birds in your neck of the woods will be impacted by climate change under different warming scenarios, Audubon scientists have created an amazing app for that: Survival By Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink. Just type in your U.S. postal code to find out which birds in your county will be affected by increasing global temperatures and how you can help support the Audubon mission.

From December 14 through January 5, you can put your bird-by-bird watching to really good use by participating in the 120^th annual Christmas Bird Count, helping to collect data that will be used to analyze the health of bird populations across the Americas.

And because winter really is coming, here’s a zero-effort habitat gardening tip: rather than cutting back any perennials on your patch, go wild and leave seed-bearing plant tops intact as a snack station to attract winter bird fly-bys. Not tidy perhaps, but tasty, and tasty rules when it comes to keeping the feathered ones in full chirp mode.

Whether you are slogging through snow in the north or celebrating spring in the south, wherever you walk through the beauty of the world, remember to keep an ear out for the winged wonders. That’s a free Earth music download—and it’s good for you!

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Lisa S. French November 21, 2019

Pouched Pademelons

If you’ve never heard of the pademelon, you are not alone. The medium-sized marsupial hopped right under our radar as well. We like to think we’re fairly species-savvy, so when we came across this featured creature courtesy of First Dog on the Moon, initially we thought, well, he’s just making that one up because he’s a cartoon dog, and that’s what they do. As it turns out, while the pademelon (Thylogale) may sound like some newfangled, furry fruit hybrid, it’s actually a long-footed, short-forelimbed, pouched member of the Macropodidae family native to the dense coastal rainforests of Australia and New Guinea.

One of approximately 250 species of Australian marsupials, the pademelon closely resembles its larger cousins, the kangaroo, and wallaby and is also related to quokkas, tree kangaroos, and wallaroos. There are seven distinct pademelon species, ranging in size from about 17 to 20 inches and weighing between 8 and 26 pounds, with grey to dark brown coloration and varied reddish markings. Pademelons are primarily nocturnal herbivores preferring to rest and forage in the safety of dense forest undergrowth during the day, emerging in the evening to feed on leaves, shoots, berries, and ferns, typically not straying far from the forest’s edge.

In contrast to egg-laying mammals (monotremes) like the platypus and spiny anteater, or placental mammals (eutherians) like dingoes and bats which give birth to well-developed offspring, marsupial mammals complete their development in a special maternal pouch following a short gestation period. After just thirty days in the womb, pademelon young are born blind and hairless but with functional forelimbs and mouth, which enable them to crawl into the pouch and attach to the mother to obtain milk. Newborn pademelons, called joeys like their kangaroo cousins, remain inside the pouch for approximately 200 days before being weaned at six to eight months and officially entering the world as independent hoppers.

So why pouches? While some theories suggest that both egg-laying and pouch-percolating mammals represent progressive steps in the evolution toward the eutherian stage of producing well-developed young, researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) offer an alternative explanation: that the marsupial’s unique reproductive ability is not an evolutionary step but instead an advantageous adaptation in response to uncertain and adverse environmental conditions, which has helped them to adjust to the climate of the driest inhabited continent in the world. The ANU scientists believe that the marsupial pouch may play a critical role in the survival of the species by providing developing young with an anti-bacterial, temperature-controlled environment, as well as protection from predators while their mothers forage for food.

Although the pouched ones are more plentiful in Australia than in any other place on the planet and the continent’s dominant species, many marsupials are on the decline due to habitat loss, and impacts of global heating, including bushfires. Changes in the distribution of food, water, and shelter in Australia’s fifteen biodiversity hotspots as a result of reduced rainfall and increased drought frequency will continue to threaten their survival. Currently, four of seven species of pademelon are listed as endangered or vulnerable, as are other little known marsupials including the bilby, bettong, and potoroo.

If you would like to read a special WWF Earth Hour report on how a warming world will affect unique Australian wildlife like the pademelon, you can check it out here.

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Lisa S. French November 12, 2019

Exceptionally Eel-ectric

Compared to many of the creatures featured on Weekly Wondrous, the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) scores relatively low on the cuddlesome quotient, however, what the high-voltage South American river dweller lacks in animal magnetism, it makes up for in shock value. And the most shocking eel of them all, the new species Electrophorus voltai, was discovered this fall by scientists at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

But before we get to that electrifying story, perhaps you are wondering, “What are eels, anyway? Reptiles? Amphibians? Fish? Amphishians?” Strictly speaking, electric eels are not true eels but a species of electric fish—long, blade-shaped knifefish to be exact, and more closely related to carp and catfish than eels. The 800-plus species of true eels primarily live in saltwater, while electric eels can only be found in the murky freshwater habitats of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers. It was there, in the highland waters of the Brazilian Shield, that the approximately 8-foot long, 860-volt-producing Electrophorus voltai was identified—the strongest living bioelectricity generator known to date. To put that impressive eel power into perspective, the human body is only capable of producing and transmitting between 10 and 100 millionths of one volt over a distance of approximately one-millionth of a meter, a fact for which those of us who travel by crowded subway are quite grateful.

Like all species of electric eels, the E. voltai produces its record-breaking current through the stimulation of thousands of synchronized stacked cells called electrocytes in three pairs of electric organs that take up 80% of the length of its body. The Smithsonian researchers theorize that the 30% increase in electricity-generating potential from the highest previously recorded E. electricus measurement of 650 volts may be an adaptation to the reduced conductivity of the waters where the E. voltai species began its evolution about 7.1 million years ago.

Electric eels make full use of their innate ability to self-generate jolts, utilizing their piscine electro-pulses for eel-to-eel communication, navigation, self-defense, and to locate and stun small fish and invertebrate prey. The objects of the carnivorous fish’s shocking attentions are captured through a highly effective two-step strategy, which researchers at Vanderbilt University have compared to a type of remote control. First, the eel transmits an electric pulse, which causes whole-body contractions in its prey, revealing its location, then a second shock is administered to immobilize the target for ease of swallowing.

In case you are curious as to how eels manage to avoid electrocuting themselves when they get down to their meal-zapping business, one hypothesis is that the amount of the electricity flow is small in proportion to the eel’s body but significant to the size of its prey, and of very short duration (about two milliseconds). In addition, a large percentage of the current dissipates into the water, further reducing its impact on the eel’s critical organs.

Studying and understanding how eels generate and transmit electricity has inspired all manner of technological and medical innovations that benefit humankind, ranging from the first electric battery in 1799 to the ongoing development of soft robots, cardiac pacemakers, and artificial organs. While an effort has been made to determine what it would take to run a Tesla Model 3 on eel power for one hour, the estimated requirement of 7,200 eels in 144,000 gallons of water indicates that particular research endeavor to be a non-starter for both the Tesla and the eels.

Two hundred and fifty years after the discovery of the first electric eel species in South America, the recent identification of the E. voltai in the same region is yet another compelling testament to the extreme importance of protecting and maintaining biodiversity hotspots like the Amazon. Given that approximately 85% of our planet’s flora and fauna remain to be discovered, it’s clear that preserving wild spaces is critical to the continued study of the living world. As biologist and naturalist E.O. Wilson writes in The Diversity of Species, “We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.”

Full disclosure: While eels are clearly some of the most remarkable creatures on Earth and can be strikingly beautiful, we empathize if you are somewhat eel-averse as we confess to hyperventilating a bit while researching this one. However, since getting fish-zapped outside of the Amazon is a low probability event, we can rest easy and simply file these slippery fellows under “admire from afar.”

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Lisa S. French October 31, 2019

Kelp Keepers

Widely admired for its conspicuous cuteness, the sea otter is proving to be far more than just another appealingly furry face. Research into this keystone species’ role in maintaining carbon-storing macroalgae, commonly known as kelp, indicates that the bewhiskered marine mammals may be important allies in the battle against climate change. One of 13 otter species, and the largest member of the weasel family, sea otters can be found floating about in coastal waters in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the Russian Federation. As their name suggests, sea otters spend the majority of their lives in the ocean, preferring to feed, sleep, and raise their pups in close proximity to kelp, which they use as cover from predators and to anchor themselves and their young when resting.

Equivalent to an underwater rainforest, densely layered kelps are an integral component of healthy marine ecosystems, providing food and shelter for myriad species including fish, shellfish, seabirds, harbor seals, and sea lions. In addition to functioning as critical habitat, recent analysis suggests that kelp forests also have immense potential for permanently storing large amounts of carbon dioxide—up to a whopping 634 million tons per year, an amount greater than the annual emissions of Australia.

One of the reasons that kelp is an especially effective sequester of carbon is because it grows quite rapidly, as much as two feet per day, attaching to undersea rocks with root-like structures called holdfasts. Unfortunately, kelp’s natural nemesis, the sea urchin, is particularly fond of feasting on holdfasts, causing the macroalgae to detach from rock surfaces, drift, and die. Left unchecked, the spiny invertebrates can form hungry herds large enough to decimate undersea forests. And that’s where the sea otter comes in—alongside crabs, mussels, and clams, sea urchins happen to be a favorite food of the voracious shellfishionados. By keeping sea urchin populations under control, otters help to ensure kelp’s survival. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz have estimated that the presence of otters in a coastal habitat increased the sequestration capacity of kelp forests by 4.4 to 8.7 megatons—and they support this valuable ecosystem service every day, absolutely free of charge—give or take a sea urchin or two.

When sea otters were hunted for their fur to near extinction in the 18th and 19th centuries, coastal kelp forests and many of the creatures that relied upon them for survival all but vanished. Effectively eliminating the sea otter from its ecological niche had profoundly detrimental cascade effects on other species in its marine community. Although still currently classified as endangered, over the past century, as a result of dedicated conservation efforts, Pacific otter populations have rebounded from a low of several thousand to approximately 148,000 across Canada, Alaska, Washington, and California. And, as the kelp keepers have returned to their historic range, so have the undersea forests and their inhabitants.

As our knowledge of the interdependence of living things continues to evolve, and we learn more about how mutually beneficial relationships between species like sea otters and kelp can help to maintain biodiversity and contribute to ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, history serves to remind us that in nature, as in life, sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

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Lisa S. French October 16, 2019

Tree-Planting Tapirs

If the Brazilian tapir’s eye-catching ensemble of creature features brings to mind ancient beasts, that’s because the shy, primarily nocturnal South American megafauna is one of the oldest species of large mammal remaining on Earth. The origins of this floppy-nosed, bristly-maned, odd-toed ungulate date back approximately 35 million years. For the ungulate-uninitiated, tapirs are Perissodactyls, hooved herbivores who like their closest relatives horses and rhinoceros, possess an odd number of toes. The Brazilian, or lowland, tapir is one of four widely recognized species of tapir native to the forests, grasslands, and mountains of Central and South America and Southeast Asia.

Measuring five to eight feet long and weighing between 300 and 700 pounds, the Brazilian tapir maintains its impressive bulk by consuming up to an equally impressive 85 pounds worth of shoots, leaves, branches, and fruit a day. As it turns out, the tapir’s hearty appetite for seed-bearing plants plays an important role in restoring degraded rainforests. According to researchers at Ohio State University, 80 percent of trees in the Amazon are dependent upon animals for seed dispersal. One of the primary “gardeners of the rainforest” tapirs ingest and expel a large variety of seeds that have future tree potential. Results of a recent study carried out by scientists at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute in Mato Grosso, Brazil, found that 99 percent of 130,000 seeds passed through a tapir’s digestive systems intact. Seeds that survive the digestive process are more likely to germinate. And here’s where it gets more ‘oh, wow’ interesting: the Mato Grosso study suggests that tapirs may prefer to browse and graze in degraded plots of land rather than in unspoiled forest. When sunlight hits the earth as a result of tree canopy loss in burnt or degraded areas, it forces up and reveals tender green shoots from the forest floor that are attractive to tapirs. The tapirs observed in the study spent about twice as much time feeding in degraded plots resulting in more seed “deposits” in areas in need of reforestation.

In the Amazon, wildlife depend upon healthy forest systems, and as the Ohio State and Mato Grosso research indicates, healthy forest systems depend upon wildlife. The Brazilian tapir’s natural capacity to contribute to tree planting can be an important factor in helping to regenerate carbon-storing, rainforest habitat. That is why protecting an umbrella species like the tapir also serves to protect other animals in its ecosystem.

Despite their aptitude for seed dispersal, Brazilian tapirs alone can’t compensate for elevated rates of Amazon deforestation. In addition, as a result of rapid habitat loss due to wildfires and ongoing land-use change, as well as illegal hunting, populations of Brazilian tapirs are decreasing and currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. The good news is you can help keep the hooved horticulturalists of Central and South America in their gardening groove by supporting the tapir research of Nai Conservation and the conservation action plans of the Tapir Specialist Group.

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Lisa S. French October 2, 2019

Rhino Redux

In honor of World Rhino Day, here’s a short but sweet update on our restoring rhinos post. On September 11, 2019, Ol Pejeta Conservancy announced a groundbreaking achievement in assisted reproduction: the successful creation of two viable northern white rhino embryos from the functionally-extinct species as part of the Bio Rescue research project. Bio Rescue is an international consortium of scientists and conservationists committed to pushing the frontiers of science in an effort to save the northern white rhino from extinction through the advancement of assisted reproduction and stem cell-associated techniques. A comprehensive risk assessment ensuring the welfare of egg donors Najin and Fatu, the last two northern white rhinos on Earth, was critical to the success of the project. The two embryos resulting from this pioneering work are currently being stored in liquid nitrogen awaiting transfer to surrogate mothers in the not too distant future. We’re keeping our ears peeled for the pitter-patter of dainty three-toed feet.

You can learn more about other dedicated global efforts to protect and preserve endangered species and the places they roam here.

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Lisa S. French September 22, 2019

Flourishing Flamingos

If you find yourself sloshing around a lagoon on the coast of southern Africa and happen upon a long-necked, spindly-legged, petite pouf of avian pinkness and think “Hmm, that one’s not quite the full flamingo,” you would be correct. Standing up to three feet tall but weighing only three to six pounds, Phoeniconaias minor, a.k.a. the lesser flamingo, is the smallest and one of the most brightly colored of six species of flamingo. What lesser flamingos lack in size, they make up in numbers, forming million-strong mega-flocks in their African home. These very vocal gatherings also known as stands, colonies, or the aptly named flamboyance, help to ward off a long list of potential predators including lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, and hyenas. When you are on everyone’s menu, there is safety in numbers.

Like other wading birds, the lesser flamingo is dependent upon the healthy functioning of biodiverse coastal ecosystems for food. Lesser flamingos are filter feeders, skimming blue-green algae, insects and the occasional crustacean from the water through sieve-like structures called lamellae which line their boomerang-shaped bills. All flamingos stand on both legs when feeding, but tuck one leg under their plumage for up to four hours when sleeping. This famed one-legged posture, which long puzzled scientists, has now been attributed to the wading bird’s need for thermoregulation. Standing around in cold water for hours every day, even in a warm climate, can cause a rapid drop in body temperature. Researchers estimate that keeping one leg high and dry helps flamingos reduce heat loss by up to one-half.

This avian adaptation works in conjunction with the rete mirabile, a rather beautiful-sounding Latin term meaning “wonderful net” which refers to the intricate, fine web of arteries and veins that also serves to minimize heat loss in warm-blooded vertebrates. In flamingos, this arterial net functions to preserve upper body heat when their feet and legs are immersed in cold water during prolonged feeding and sleeping sessions.

These champion waders are also able, if awkward, fliers. Gangly necks and legs outstretched, lesser flamingos are capable of reaching speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. Although non-migratory, the birds do relocate in response to changes in climate that affect water levels and food supplies.

With coloration ranging from pastel to coral to bubble-gum pink, the eminently preen-worthy feathers of the flamingo species are a function of “you are what you eat.” Flamingo chicks are born grey or white, slowly acquiring their happy hue over several years as a result of consuming beta carotenoids. Carotenoids, which are found in foods like carrots, squash, apricots, and the blue-green algae favored by flamingos, are broken down by the liver into yellow, orange, and red fat-soluble pigments which are transmitted to plumage—no carotenoids in the diet, no pink in the flamingos.

While lesser flamingo populations are estimated to be between 1.5 and 2.5 million, the species is listed as near threatened by the IUCN as numbers are decreasing due to predation, habitat loss and illegal poaching. Here’s to hoping the smallest pink feathered ones hang on in there—lesser but not less than.

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Lisa S. French September 16, 2019

Roaming Room

We share our home planet with an awe-inspiring abundance of living things. The official cohabitant count stands at 8.7 million identified species, give or take, which represents only 15% of the estimated total number. From the smallest microorganisms to the largest mammals and most complex ecosystems, biological diversity—the diversity within and between species—supports the healthy functioning and maintenance of the interdependent environmental systems we rely upon to thrive. One of the most consistent threats to the creature components of biodiversity is accelerating land-use change resulting in degradation and loss of habitats and wilderness areas. According to the most recent Living Planet Report, only 25% of the world’s land surface can now be considered wilderness, 70% of which is concentrated in just five countries: Australia, Canada, Russia, the United States, and primary keeper of planetary lungs, Brazil.

The ongoing modification of Earth’s natural landscapes is forcing an increasing number of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians from wild places to fragmented in-between spaces. These isolated remnants of habitat prevent animals from moving freely to find food, migrate, reproduce, and maintain biological variety, resulting in diminished and endangered populations globally. Loss of keystone species, which play a critical role in the functioning of food webs, also increases pressure on and reduces the resilience of ecosystems, putting them at risk of collapse.

Since 1970 global wildlife populations have plummeted by an alarming 60%. One of the most effective things that we can do right now to conserve terrestrial biodiversity is to protect and restore wilderness areas and ensure ecosystem connectivity through the creation of networked wildlife corridors that link larger areas of native vegetation to facilitate the safe passage of species from butterflies to bighorn. Wildlife corridors can be manmade, like Africa’s first dedicated elephant underpass in Mt. Kenya National Forest, or naturally occurring, like the Terai Arc Landscape in Nepal. Enlarging corridor systems and protected areas holds the potential to save threatened and endangered native species and restore habitat across the world’s last remaining biodiversity hotspots.

We are in, and we are of, the interconnected web of life. It sustains us all physically, spiritually, culturally, and economically. Making room for the wild ones through the restoration and protection of the places that they roam and call home will help to ensure the future health, wellbeing, and survival of all cohabitants of the living world. To borrow from author Rick Bass, “If it’s wild to your own heart, protect it. Preserve it. Love it. And fight for it.”

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Lisa S. French August 31, 2019

Traveling Trees

Like all living things, trees have a comfort zone where they grow best and thrive-an evolutionarily determined combination of sunlight, soil nutrients, water and temperature that supports the structure, bark, and leaves of diverse species. But what happens when a tree no longer gets the moisture and nutrients it needs to put down roots and send up shoots in a hotter, drier world? While the mighty oak in your front yard can’t just up sticks and trot down the block to the yard with the fancy sprinkler system, trees do have the ability to migrate in response to environmental change, about ten miles per decade, through various modes of seed dispersal. In the United States, trees move in two directions, gravitating toward cooler temperatures in the North or increased rainfall in the West. However, when the rate of change in temperature or precipitation exceeds a species ability to adapt or migrate, climate-induced dieback can occur, negatively impacting the resilience and sustainability of forest ecosystems.

In anticipation of increased global warming, researchers at the Schoodic Institute at Maine’s Acadia National Park are conducting experiments in assisted tree migration—planting and monitoring non-native, heat and drought-resistant seedlings to determine which species will adapt best to projected climatic changes in Acadia in the coming decades. Deciding which trees to relocate and which to leave behind is a tricky business. Altering one component of a natural system can result in cascading changes that may impact the survival of interdependent, co-evolved plants, and wildlife. What future forests will look like, who decides and whether or not trees should be assisted to migrate is a matter of ongoing controversy and debate. Time will tell if those tree species that just can’t get there from here will be able to survive in a warming world with a little travel assistance from their friends in forest ecology. You can learn more about the science of trees on the move from our planting partners at American Forests here.

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Lisa S. French August 18, 2019

Restoring Rhinos

The precious population of southern white rhinos just added a history-making new clan member. On July 28, reproductive science researchers at the San Diego Zoo Global announced the arrival of Edward, the first southern white rhino calf born in North America through the process of artificial insemination. The birth of a healthy male rhino through IVF represents an important breakthrough in a Recovery Ecology project aimed at restoring rhino populations worldwide, including the functionally-extinct northern white rhino of which only two females, Najin and Fatu, are remaining following the death of the last male, Sudan, at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, in March 2018. With the help of six southern white rhino surrogates, including Edward’s mother Victoria, scientists at the Nikita Kahn Rhino Rescue Center eventually hope to create a sustainable crash, or herd, of northern white rhinos as part of a collaborative effort to save this iconic animal.

Of the five species of rhinoceros living today, which include black, white, Sumatran, Indian, and Javan, southern white rhinos are the least endangered. From a historic low of 100 individuals in the early 1900s, through dedicated conservation efforts over the last century the population has grown to an estimated 21,000 animals in the wild, and close to 700 in zoos globally. The majority of southern white rhinos live in South Africa, but they can also be found in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya—and now a wobbly, little one in California. You can learn more about the ongoing initiatives focused on restoring rhinos to their rightful place in the wild from Save the Rhino International.

Update:

Ol Pejeta has announced more exciting progress on the road to rhino restoration! On August 22nd, veterinarians at the Conservancy successfully harvested a total of ten eggs from Najin and Fatu to create embryos for implantation into southern white rhino surrogates. On August 25th, seven out of ten donated eggs were successfully inseminated with frozen “donations” from Suni and Saut, two northern white rhino bulls. If this groundbreaking IVF procedure results in the development of viable embryos, we’ll be one step closer to reconstituting a sustainable population of northern white rhinos.

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Lisa S. French August 3, 2019