Extinction Central

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Hello All:

I know that this is not a pleasant subject, but according to experts we are today undergoing the largest mass extinction of life on Earth in at least the last 20,000 years. Some, such as E.O.Wilson, the prominent Harvard University entomologist, claim that the last extinction of this magnitude may have been 65 million years ago when the dinosaurs began disappearing forever.

Remember that this process is only in its early stages and has far to go. As responsible stewards of ALL life forms on the Earth, I thought it might be beneficial to raise our consciousness by posting articles we run across that point out mile posts along the path.

Keep in mind that this applies to ALL life forms, and we are a vital link in the chain of life here, even down to the photoplankton in the oceans that are having difficult times also. Since these mammals are so endeared these days, I thought it would make a suitable beginning.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Rare river dolphin 'now extinct'

flow....
 
No article to post, just a comment. I can't remember where or when or who said it but I have read that some consider that (courtesy of guess who) the planet's biosphere (as we currently "know it") is already beyond the tipping point. In other words, if man stopped acting like a complete moron as of today, we have already strangled the earth. She's already stopped breathing. It's just that the brain activity hasn't ceased yet.

Have a nice day.

s.
 
The Yangtze river dolphin is now "likely to be extinct", a team of scientists has concluded. The researchers failed to spot any Yangtze river dolphins, also known as baijis, during an extensive six-week survey of the mammals' habitat.

"The Yangtze river dolphin was a remarkable mammal that separated from all other species over 20 million years ago," Dr Turvey explained.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Rare river dolphin 'now extinct'

Thomas
 
It's all just too depressing:

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Oblivion threat to 12,000 species

WHY?

Mountain gorilla family shot dead - News - ZSL London Zoo - ZSL

There was a local news article today about butterflies. My family live in the Lake District national park, so we get a lot of wildlife issues on the local news. A rare native butterfy was all but extinct 2 years ago, so they took the few remaining caterpillars they could find and bred them. This week they are releasing thousands back into the wild. :D Small step but at least some seem to care.
 
Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Scientific Name: Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis
Date of listing: 1980
Federal Status: Endangered
State Status: None

In 1994, on a small batch of southern California locoweed (Astragalus trichopodes var. lonchus), a sighting of the Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly renewed hopes for the survival of this lycaenid. At the time of the discovery of this population, the Palos Verdes Blue had not been seen for nearly ten years and was feared extinct.

Like many lepidopterans (moths and butterflies), the Palos Verdes Blue is restricted to a single host plant. The larvae are adpated to the particular balance of nutritional components which this locoweed provides. This butterfly goes through one generation per year, the adults emerging in early to mid spring, synchronously with the locoweed flowers, to mate and lay eggs. The larvae feed upon the seeds and flowers of the host plant, molting several times, and soon drop to the ground or enter locoweed seedpods to become pupae. During the summer and fall the pupae undergo transformation into adult butterflies and then emerge early the following spring. The males and females of this species are distinguished by a color difference, the males' upper wing surfaces being bluish, those of the female being a darker, almost gray color.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula, on the coast south of Los Angeles, is a shrinking patch of coastal scrub community that has been under increasing pressure of urban development. Other factors in the decline of this community, and the locoweed host plant in particular, include weed control, off-road vehicle use, non-native plant invaders, and fire suppression. Competition for host plant space by a related butterfly may also be a factor.

Current efforts at preservation are aimed at restricting irresponsible use of the scrub habitat, replanting the host plant and a captive breeding and reintroduction program. Successful reestablishment of the appropriate locoweed along with protection of the habitat from development are necessary to ensure this butterfly's future.

For further reading:
Arnold, R. A., 1987. Decline of the endangered Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly in California. Biological Conservation 40 (3): 203-217.
Click to expand...

California's Endangered Insects - Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly

When first I heard of the extinction of the Palos Verdes Blue, I was shocked and dismayed as any should be. But what got me the most, was that the habitat was destroyed to make a motorcycle race track. A race track? Losing any species is bad enough, but in theory for the furthering of humanity at least one has an argument to stand on...but a race track? How can a race track be considered furthering humanity? This from one at the time who was an ardent fan of motorsports, particularly offroad racing.

I am relieved to see that the butterfly has been "re-discovered" and assisted, but it seems are still highly threatened. Development and "progress" are necessary evils that face humanity, but doing these things responsibly is where we tend to lose our sight and vision. We're even "loving" our nature preserves and national parks to death...literally.
 
Although captive California condors have proven that they will breed successfully in captivity, the recovery program has been plagued with other difficulties. In the early years of the reintroduction, for example, five condors died after collisions with power lines. Experts worked to address his problem and made several changes in the rearing methods. Among the most successful was the initiation of a power pole aversion training program for all condors scheduled for release. This training involves the use of a mock power pole placed inside the flight pen where the young condors are kept prior to release. The power pole emits a small electrical charge whenever a condor attempts to land on it. Young condors quickly learn to avoid perching on these poles and move on to natural perches. This program has greatly reduced condor mortalities from power line collisions.

Lead poisoning historically was a problem for condors and continues to be a serious concern. At least three condors died due to heavy metal poisoning in the 1980s. W5, a captivebred condor released in 1995, was recaptured in 1998 after exhibiting extreme signs of illness. Blood tests revealed the highest blood lead levels ever recorded in this species. Condors will feed on any dead animal that is shot and left behind, or on gut piles
from field dressed game, which can contain bullet fragments. Strong stomach acids break the shot down into lead salts, which are absorbed into the bloodstream. The digestive tract then becomes paralyzed and starvation results. As part of the condor recovery program, hunters are being encouraged to bury all gut piles and to use nontoxic bullets when they become available. A new bullet non-toxic to wildlife has been developed; it is composed of tungsten and tin but has the desirable ballistic properties of lead. It should be on the market within about one year.
Click to expand...

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esb/2000/05-06/08-09.pdf


Being a California native, the plight of the Condor has featured prominently in state and regional folklore ever since my childhood. It can be overwhelming to try to take in every single "horror" story around the world, so I have used the Condor in my mind to symbolize the trend of species endangerment, to give a face to the concept so to speak. On one level, the Condor also serves as a motivator, that humans *can* turn the story around, that threatened species can be brought back from the brink *if* we have the will and desire to apply ourselves and our resources to do so. The Bald Eagle is an even more impressive example of coming back from the brink, as is the American Alligator. There is still much to be done, most of which lies in turning around attitudes of "endless" natural resources and *dominance* of humanity. We envision ourselves as the top of the food chain, the ultimate predator, creators of our futures...yet without the very nature we pillage and plunder, we have no food chain to top, no prey to hunt, and most importantly no future to create.

Hugging trees is not enough. As long as humanity and civilization exist, technology and development will also exist. Expanding populations of humans demand it. Barring some unforeseen calamity that drastically reduces the human footprint on the planet (like a war that would make WWII pale in comparison), then we can only try to encompass responsible stewardship into the mix. In some marque species like the Condor and the Bald Eagle, we have made progress. But some small innocuous fish or bug is likely to fall by the wayside, as so many have before.

Species come, and species go. That is the history of evolution. Historically humans have played a large part in the extinction of many species...mammoths, dodo birds, sloths, cave bears, passenger pigeons, quaggas. The tragedy is that now we are destroying so many species in such a short period of time, indescriminately, wantonly and at will, with no conscience. No longer are we killing in order to survive, we are killing in a wholesale manner without conscience and without foresight, and through incidental and accidental activities that have nothing (or only marginally so) to do with the survival of humanity.
 
Kindest Regards, Snoopy!
Snoopy said:
... some consider that (courtesy of guess who) the planet's biosphere (as we currently "know it") is already beyond the tipping point. In other words, if man stopped acting like a complete moron as of today, we have already strangled the earth. She's already stopped breathing. It's just that the brain activity hasn't ceased yet.
Click to expand...
If this is so, then evolution is a farce. Were humanity to "develop" and "progress" itself into extinction, microbes would start the process all over again, all else remaining essentially equal...(water, air, balance of heat-light, etc.) In other words, so long as the essential conditions for life remain, and there is microbial life to serve as seed, then the evolutionary chain will continue. Or so says S. Gould.
 
Thank you all for your thoughts, we're off to a good start.

Here's a video of an interview with two prominent scientists by Charlie Rose. The first is Lisa Randall, who I've spoken of often, and the second is with the gentleman I mentioned in my first post on this thread, E.O. Wilson. I believe that you will be particularly interested in his ideas about the role that religion might play in the coming efforts to conserve life on the planet.

While the interview with Ms. Randall might fit in better on another thread in the science category, I believe that Wilson's comments on the coming extinction crisis on Earth certainly belongs here.

Enjoy!....Flow....

Charlie Rose - Lisa Randall / Edward O. Wilson
 
3 new baby panda's born in China.

Sorry am just so depressed by the state of the world I have decided to go with the good news. :)
 
juantoo3 said:
Kindest Regards, Snoopy!

If this is so, then evolution is a farce. Were humanity to "develop" and "progress" itself into extinction, microbes would start the process all over again, all else remaining essentially equal...(water, air, balance of heat-light, etc.) In other words, so long as the essential conditions for life remain, and there is microbial life to serve as seed, then the evolutionary chain will continue. Or so says S. Gould.
Click to expand...

Well I was only being the messenger but maybe I got a bit too poetic for my own good. Yes I imagine evolution will go on, whatever the environmental conditions and I realise that speciation and extinction are natural processes. But Man seems to be making a major change to the Earth's environment, making it uninhabitable or hostile to many current species. Many species are on the verge of extinction, brought about directly by Man's actions. No doubt new species will arise but when we have made a toilet of the planet and the tiger and the whale are no more there will be no bringing them back.

Wildlife Warriors Worldwide - Asian Conservation

WDCS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

s.
 
I'm still hoping the Chinese river dolphin will be found again...

As for the gorilla story - it's just plain disgusting. They found the remains of another this week.

I actually started a blog covering extinction issues a couple of years ago, then had to abandon it after only a few posts - but a couple of weeks back, decided to resurrect it, so I'm now posting my own take on the news stories here:
Extinction Watch

Let me know if I miss anything that should be covered...
 
This is from the Red List, look up your country to see the number of species extinct, under threat, etc. I was last updated in Dec 06 but I believe it is updated annually. Oh and look at the USA 231 species extinct :eek: - what are you doing over there??? Whatever it is please stop it.

2006 IUCN Red List – Summary Statistics for Globally Threatened Species

This also makes rather unpleasant reading:

Endangered Mammals

Brian, I thought the baby gorilla had been found but is suffering from pneumonia - or was that from a different mother?
 
Afraid I haven't seen anything on this - there are multiple family groups being tracked and I can't find anything specific on the missing infant at present. Anyone finds a link, much appreciated.
 
Muslimwoman said:
This is from the Red List, look up your country to see the number of species extinct, under threat, etc. I was last updated in Dec 06 but I believe it is updated annually. Oh and look at the USA 231 species extinct :eek: - what are you doing over there??? Whatever it is please stop it.

2006 IUCN Red List – Summary Statistics for Globally Threatened Species

This also makes rather unpleasant reading:

Endangered Mammals
Click to expand...
Would that be the list that includes the American Lion who went extinct in 8,000 BC? Or the Western Camel found extinct around the same century? Or the bones of the Yukon Wild Ass dug up in Alaska and radiocabon dated back to 11,000 BC? Not to belittle conservation... but why this constant stream of propaganda against the USA?
 
cyberpi said:
Would that be the list that includes the American Lion who went extinct in 8,000 BC? Or the Western Camel found extinct around the same century? Or the bones of the Yukon Wild Ass dug up in Alaska and radiocabon dated back to 11,000 BC? Not to belittle conservation... but why this constant stream of propaganda against the USA?
Click to expand...

No, if you'll CAREFULLY read the post and its links you'll see that the statistic is from the CURRENT IUCN Red List, which is a global survey. That wouldn't include animals that went extinct several thousand years ago.

And, I am a U.S. citizen and have been for well over sixty years, and I am thoroughly disgusted and disapproving of our current Governments' attitudes and practices with regard to preserving endangered species. And most of all, I am distraught about the utter contempt shown by U.S. "authorities" towards the preservation of the natural habitats which have supported these species for thousands of years.

Not propaganda, but truth...wake up and smell the B******T being fed to you by the D.C. spin machne !

flow....:mad:
 
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