Rewilding & Conservation News and Discussions

[caltrek]

Over 50 Unknown Species Found In "Pristine" Marine Ecosystems Near Rapa Nui
by Tom Hale
April 12, 2024

Introduction:

(IFL Science) Dozens of new species have been discovered along the Salas y Gómez Ridge off the coast of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, the remote Pacific island famous for its giant stone moai human statues. Among the never-before-seen critters found here were squid, fish, corals, mollusks, sea stars, glass sponges, sea urchins, crabs, and squat lobsters.

They were discovered during a recent expedition by the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too), which is currently surveying the underwater environment within the Pacific Ocean deep off Chile's coastline.

At the Salas y Gómez Ridge, part of a chain of 110 volcanic seamounts, the team identified 160 different species, at least 50 of which are thought to be new to science.

“The observation of distinct ecosystems on individual seamounts highlights the importance of protecting the entire ridge, not just a few seamounts,” Dr Erin E Easton, Chief Scientist at Schmidt and Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, said in a statement.

Read more of the IFL Science article here: https://www.iflscience.com/over-50-unk ... ui-73786

Read Dr. Erin E Easton’s statement here: https://schmidtocean.org/scientists-fi ... eamounts/

[wjfox]

Computer model suggests frozen cells could be used to save northern white rhino from extinction

APRIL 17, 2024

A team of geneticists and computer scientists from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Cornell University and the University of California, Santa Cruz, has created a computer model that shows it should be possible to save the northern white rhino from extinction by using frozen cells of 12 individuals. Their paper is published in the journal Evolutionary Applications.

Conservationists have been predicting the extinction of the northern white rhino as the population dwindles. Currently, there are only two infertile elderly females remaining. But hope for saving them has not been lost—the team reports that cell lines collected from 12 of the rhinos and cryogenically frozen and stored at the San Diego Zoo could be used to impregnate a southern white rhino, thereby perpetuating the species.

To use the cells, they would need to be either cloned into embryos or made into sperm and egg cells that could be used for in vitro fertilization—the process would involve reprogramming them into pluripotent stem cells with the ability to grow into the desired cells. First, however, researchers require evidence that the rhinos produced would be genetically diverse—without diversity, the species would soon die out.

To provide evidence, the research team sequenced the genes of both northern and southern white rhinos as a way to measure the degree of diversity in both subspecies. They then used a computer model to mimic the creation of a set number of northern white rhinos with the expected degree of genetic diversity.

They found evidence (in comparison with thriving southern white rhinos) that such diversity was adequate to sustain a future population of the rhinos. The team then turned their attention to the likelihood of genetic mutations in the engineered animals and their offspring and found no evidence of fitness declines over 10 generations.

https://phys.org/news/2024-04-frozen-ce ... rhino.html



Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

[caltrek]

Urgent Need for Logging Loophole Remedy Within Proposed Koala National Park
April 23, 2024

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) A team of conservation and policy researchers have called for a logging loophole within the proposed Great Koala National Park to be urgently remedied to stem the tide of harmful outcomes impacting the South East Australian koala population.

Led by Adjunct Senior Research Fellow Timothy Cadman, from Griffith University’s Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law, the new report published in the International Journal of Social Quality highlighted exclusion of prime koala habitat from logging within the proposed park was inconsistent with koala protection efforts.

Dr Cadman said the plans needed to also consider the integrity of the broader reserve habitat system and be accorded the requisite status of World Heritage.

The Great Koala National Park is set to cover 300,000 hectares of state forest and existing national parks from Grafton to Kempsey in Northern New South Wales.

The Park, to act as a safe haven for east coast koala populations impacted by bushfires, development and logging, was proposed more than a decade ago, with the current New South Wales Labor Government putting the plans into action

Read more of the Eurekalert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1042159

For a presentation of the case study as published in The International Journal of Social Quality : https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/ ... 30104.xml

[caltrek]

How Can Forests be Reforested in a Climate-friendly Way?
April 29, 2024

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) Europe's forests have already been severely affected by climate change. Thousands of hectares of trees have already died due to drought and bark beetles. Scientists from the University of Vienna and the Technical University of Munich TUM have now investigated which trees can be used for reforestation. Their findings: only a few tree species are fit for the future, such as English oak in the UK. However, mixed forests are important for the survival of forests, otherwise the forest ecosystem as a whole could be weakened. The results of the study were recently published in the renowned journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

Although European forests are naturally home to a mix of trees, the number of tree species is lower than in climatically comparable areas of North America or East Asia. In the future, even fewer species will be available to the forestry industry, as scientists led by Johannes Wessely and Stefan Dullinger from the University of Vienna have shown in their new study. Depending on the region, between a third and a half of the tree species found there today will no longer be able to cope with future conditions. "This is an enormous decline," says lead author Johannes Wessely, "especially when you consider that only some of the species are of interest for forestry".

The scientists examined the 69 more common of the just over 100 European tree species with regard to the 21st century in Europe. On average, only nine of these 69 species per location are fit for the future in Europe, compared to four in the UK. "Trees that are planted now for reforestation must survive under both current and future conditions. This is difficult because they have to withstand the cold and frost of the next few years as well as a much warmer climate at the end of the 21st century. There is only a very small overlap," says Wessely. In the UK, these climate-fit species include, for example, the English oak. Which tree species will suit which region of Europe in the future varies greatly overall.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1042638