Thursday, May 29, 2014

Research Field Notes: No. 2



5/28/2014 Dolphin Boat Survey

Today’s survey extended from the Jupiter Inlet (N 260 56.624' W 800 03.805') down to the Lake Worth Inlet [aka the Palm Beach Inlet] (N 260 46.300' W 800 03.500').

Water conditions: Southeast WINDS 10-17 mph. SEAS 2 TO 3 FEET +

Duration: 8:15am-1:30pm

Research Organization: Taras Oceanographic Foundation

Recorded dolphin photo ID:
Today’s trip had three encounters. The first was with two males. They were foraging and bottom feeding. The second group “acted like” moms that were “napping” on the surface with several juvenile calves close by engaging in “play time”. We witnessed one tail slap behavior and one jump out of the water as the animal was traveling.  The third group were heading south in the same direction as our survey and traveled parallel to the boat for a good distance. They initially engaged in a short bow ride. This group produced the best photo ID images. It is hard to estimate the exact number of animals encountered. This will be determined once the images have been examined.



                                          Taras Oceanographic Foundation NMFS (GA LOC) No. 13386

Other: An offering to King Neptune
Being out on the water doing field research is always enjoyable. However, some days the ocean and weather conditions make it harder than others. Students should be aware that conditions are not always perfect. This trip was no different.  One of our team members was feeling a little queasy, so she made an offering to King Neptune and all his fish! She recovered quickly though and rejoined the team. The winds and sea heights began to pick up for the second part of the survey.

Extras:
Why do dolphins jump out of the water when travelling? Go here to find out.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Research Field Notes: No. 1



Introduction: As an outreach project, the library has embedded two staff members (one scientist and one information specialist Librarian) into a community organization to participate in scientific research. The Taras Oceanographic Foundation is conducting cetacean research off the coast of Palm Beach County (Palm Beach Dolphin Project). We will be posting field updates here so students and the public can learn about this organization and the research the library is participating in. You can read all about the project on the Taras website.

Notes from the field No. 1:

5/22/2014. Dolphin Boat Survey
Today’s survey extended from the Jupiter Inlet (N 260 56.624' W 800 03.805') down to the Lake Worth Inlet [aka the Palm Beach Inlet] (N 260 46.300' W 800 03.500').

Water conditions: EAST NORTHEAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 TO 3 FEET

Duration: 8am-12:00pm

Recorded dolphin photo id: three bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates); at least two others were spotted, but not photographed.

Other: We observed three manatees; one mother nursing her calf. We saw at least 30 sea turtles; two were mating. It is nesting season, so the coastline was scattered with turtles waiting to go onshore. There was a variety, one leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and several green (Chelonia mydas) or loggerhead (Caretta caretta). The boat did not get close enough to identify them specifically (except for the leatherback).

Here is a short video of our trip and of Dr. Barbara Brunnick, Director of Research at Taras and the Palm Beach Dolphin Project .


Wednesday, May 21, 2014

What is MERS?

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)   

(taken directly from the Center for Disease Control Website for educational purposes)

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is viral respiratory illness first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. It is caused by a coronavirus called MERS-CoV. Most people who have been confirmed to have MERS-CoV infection developed severe acute respiratory illness. They had fever, cough, and shortness of breath. About 30% of these people died.
Image of map showing countries in Arabian Penninsula with confirmed MERs and countries where precautions are recommended, as detailed on this page.So far, all the cases have been linked to countries in the Arabian Peninsula. This virus has spread from ill people to others through close contact, such as caring for or living with an infected person. However, there is no evidence of sustained spreading in community settings.
CDC continues to closely monitor the MERS situation globally and work with partners to better understand the risks of this virus, including the source, how it spreads, and how infections might be prevented. CDC recognizes the potential for MERS-CoV to spread further and cause more cases globally and in the U.S. We have provided information for travelers and are working with health departments, hospitals, and other partners to prepare for this.

MERS in the U.S.

On May 2, 2014, the first U.S. imported case of MERS was confirmed in a traveler from Saudi Arabia to the U.S. On May 11, 2014, a second U.S. imported case of MERS was confirmed in a traveler who also came from Saudi Arabia. The two U.S. cases are not linked. On May 16, 2014, an Illinois resident who had contact with the first case of MERS in the U.S. tested positive for MERS-CoV. More about MERS in the U.S....

Frequently Asked Questions & Answers

For information about MERS, the virus that causes it, how it spreads, symptoms, prevention tips, and what CDC is doing, see Frequently Asked Questions & Answers.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

"God Save the Queen"







































Close to 30% of all food humans eat in North America is produced from plants pollinated by bees. This equates to $16 billion in the US alone. Besides the food we eat, bees pollinate crops that our cattle feed on, making them very important to the meat and dairy industries (GreenDeen, 2010).

References:

GreenDeen online: available at:
 http://greendeen.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/%E2%80%9Cno-bees-no-honey-no-work-no-money%E2%80%9D/  

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Urban bird adaptations



This  post was first published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and with their with permission it is being reposted here.

 

Not Just Sparrows and Pigeons: Cities Harbor 20 Percent of World’s Bird Species
By victoria on Tuesday, April 29th, 2014 - 6 Comments

By Andrea Alfano


Rock Pigeons, House Sparrows, and European Starlings are widely known as “city birds,” and with good reason. These three species (plus Barn Swallow) occur in more than 80 percent of cities according to the first-ever global study of biodiversity in urban areas, published earlier this year in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. But there’s more to cities than this narrow cast of avian urbanites: cities also retain more of their region’s native diversity than previously thought, according to the study’s analyses of bird and plant census data. So take heart, your next city stroll has much more to offer than just a few ubiquitous species.

In fact, at least 2,041 species—20 percent of all known bird species—live in the world’s cities, according to the research. Unlike previous studies, which have focused on single cities or regions, this study spanned six continents, compiling data on birds from 54 cities and plants from 110 cities. The researchers themselves hailed from North America, Europe, Australia, and South Africa.



House Sparrows are one of the most successful species to adapt to living in urban environments, but a surprising 20 percent of the world’s species can be found in urban areas. Photo courtesy of Madhusudan Katti.

“One of the big paradigms of urban ecology is that the biota of the world’s cities is homogenized,” said lead author Myla Aronson, a researcher at Rutgers University and a Cornell University alum. “But we showed that at the global scale, cities are primarily retaining the unique composition of their geographic location.”
This means that although there are a few species that can truly be considered ubiquitous “city birds,” they are in the minority—a finding that wouldn’t have been possible without the global scope of this study. In fact, the list of species that you can find across 80 percent of the world’s cities amounts to just the four species mentioned above. The full list of birds found in cities includes nearly three-quarters of all bird families. Cities even provide habitat for rare species, including a total of 36 bird species identified by the IUCN Red List as threatened with extinction, the study said.

For many people, this remarkable diversity is often overshadowed by the notion that humans have almost entirely forced nature out of cities. A recent study by a different group showed that many urbanites fail to notice increases in biodiversity even when they happen.

“If you’re not particularly connected with nature, it’s easy to just not see what’s there,” said Karen Purcell, project leader for a Cornell Lab project called Celebrate Urban Birds. Purcell aims to change this “biodiversity blindness” by encouraging people to learn about and look for just 16 bird species that are commonly found in cities. It’s intended as a manageable introduction to the amazing diversity that can be found in cities.

Formerly on the endangered species list, Peregrine Falcons are increasingly common in cities and are one of 16 species tracked by our Celebrate Urban Birds citizen-science project. Photo courtesy of Laura Erickson.

For many city-dwellers, knowledge of just these few species leads them to become more aware of urban biodiversity in general, and encourages them to take pride in their city’s non-human life in addition to its human culture.

“We want to get that bug into people to watch,” said Purcell.

Urbanites are right to realize that cities are by no means ideal habitats for birds. Many species still manage to survive in them, but only around 8 percent as many species are found in cities as in the non-urban areas surrounding them. That’s why part of the goal of Celebrate Urban Birds is to inspire people living in cities to take action to support their urban biodiversity.

“Providing native vegetation is something that not only city planners can do, but that people can also do on a smaller scale,” said Frank La Sorte, a researcher at the Cornell Lab and an author of the urbanization study.
Cities with the least amount of urban land cover have the highest densities of bird species, according to the study. Parks and community gardens filled with native plants play an important role in maintaining bird species, but providing even small patches of vegetation, like hanging basket plants or container gardens, can help to attract birds to urban areas.

As of now, cities cover only 3 percent of the Earth’s terrestrial surface, but this doesn’t mean that the effects of urban greening efforts are insignificant. It’s not only the size of a city that affects biodiversity—location is important too.

“People tend to settle in regions that are already very species-rich because these are often the best areas in terms of climate and agricultural activities,” said La Sorte.

Cities may only take up 3 percent of the Earth’s land cover, but they are currently home to more than half of the world’s human population. This makes increasing awareness of biodiversity in cities even more crucial, because people can’t care about or protect things that they don’t notice. But actions as simple as participating in a citizen science project like Celebrate Urban Birds can open one’s eyes to biodiversity for a lifetime

“Once you see, you don’t ever stop seeing,” said Purcell.

For more on biodiversity in urban areas:

Reference:

reposted from:
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology blog: