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Science

Submission + - Unusual discovery of new African monkey species (mongabay.com) 1

Submitted by rhettb
rhettb writes: In a remote and largely unexplored rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), researchers have made an astounding discovery: a new monkey species. The new primate, which is name the lesula and described in a paper in the journal PLoS ONE, was first noticed by scientist and explorer, John Hart, in 2007. The discovery of a new primate species is rare nowadays. In fact, the lesula is only the second newly discovered monkey in Africa in the past 28 years.
Science

Submission + - Flickr photo leads to new insect discovery (mongabay.com) 1

Submitted by rhettb
rhettb writes: Scientists have discovered a previously unknown species of lacewing insect after stumbling upon a series of photos posted on Flickr, according to a paper published in the journal ZooKeys. Entomologist Shaun Winterton first found evidence of the species when he randomly stumbled upon a set of photos posted by Hock Ping Guek, a Malaysian photographer. Winterton recognized the insect as a potentially new species, but needed to collect field specimen in order to formally describe it. About a year later, an individual was collected at the same site, enabling Winterton to write up the description in ZooKeys. Hock is a co-author on the paper.
Idle

Submission + - Scientists name 7000th amphibian, up from 4000 in 1987 (mongabay.com)

Submitted by Damien1972
Damien1972 writes: The number of amphibians described by scientists now exceeds 7,000, or roughly 3,000 more than were known just 25 years ago. A big boost to the effort has come from AmphibiaWeb, a project has sought to document every one of Earth's living frogs, salamanders, newts, and caecilians. But while new species are being discovered, others are disappearing — at least 150 species have gone extinct since the early 1980s.
Science

Submission + - Marijuana farms poisoning carnivorous beasts in CA (mongabay.com) 1

Submitted by rhettb
rhettb writes: Anticoagulant rodenticides used by illegal marijuana growers are poisoning weasel-like fishers in California, finds a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE. Researchers conducted necropsies on 58 fishers and found 79% were exposed to one or more anticoagulant rodenticides. The exposure points were likely encountered where the anticoagulant rodenticides are used illicitly as part of illegal marijuana cultivation in remote areas that overlap with fisher habitat.
NASA

Submission + - NASA tool shows where forest is being cut down (mongabay.com)

Submitted by terrancem
terrancem writes: A new tool developed by NASA and other researchers shows where forest is being chopped down on a quarterly basis. The global forest disturbance alert system (GloF-DAS) is based on comparison of MODIS global vegetation index images at the exact same time period each year in consecutive years. GloF-DAS could help users detect deforestation shortly after it occurs, offering the potential to take measures to investigate clearing before it expands.
Idle

Submission + - Jaguar vs sea turtle (mongabay.com)

Submitted by Damien1972
Damien1972 writes: At first, an encounter between a jaguar and a green sea turtle seems improbable, even ridiculous, but the two species do come into fatal contact every few years. Despite the surprising nature of such encounters, this behavior has been little studied. Now, a new study in Costa Rica's Tortuguero National Park has documented five years of jaguar attacks on marine turtles—and finds these encounters are not only more common than expected, but on the rise.
Idle

Submission + - Will camera traps prove tigers aren't extinct on Java? (mongabay.com)

Submitted by roat35
roat35 writes: Officials in Indonesia have set up camera traps in an effort to prove tigers still roam the rainforests of Java. Although officially declared extinct in 2003, some people believe the Javan tiger (panthera tigris sondaica) is still alive in the island's Meru Betiri National Park. This is not the first time camera traps have been used to attempt to prove the existence of the tiger on Java. Two past camera trap expeditions, both in the 1990s, failed to photograph a single tiger, and the last confirmation of a tiger occurred in 1976.

Comment Bad news (Score 1) 1

by roat35 (#38872245) Attached to: Giant snakes eating Florida's wildlife
Another reason why we should be dealing with invasive species the moment they become a concern. The first Burmese python, or other big invasive snake, seen in the Everglades should've set Florida on high alert. Now, who knows how the species will, if ever, be stopped.
Idle

Submission + - Giant snakes eating Florida's wildlife (mongabay.com) 1

Submitted by rhettb
rhettb writes: Invasive snakes are decimating wildlife in the Florida Everglades, reports a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research found evidence of a massive collapse in the native mammal population following an invasion of Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus). The findings come just days after the U.S. federal government announced an import ban on Burmese pythons and three other snake species.

Submission + - 25% of males in tribe were attacked by giant snake (mongabay.com)

Submitted by rhettb
rhettb writes: After spending decades living among the Agta Negritos people in the Philippines, anthropologist Thomas Headland has found that the hunter gatherer tribes were quite commonly attacked by reticulated pythons (Python reticulatus). Headland found 26 percent of Agta Negritos men had been attacked by a reticulated python in the past, most bearing the scars to prove it. Women were attacked much less frequently, but since men spent their time hunting in the forest they were more likely to run into a python, an encounter that could prove deadly for either party.

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