Fact File 007 - Oceans Earths Last Great Mystery!

Today’s fact file will be focusing on something we know a lot about but as a whole there is still so much more left to lean and understand. It is constantly changing and is so varied across the area which it covers. If you couldn’t tell from the title today we’ll be learning about the worlds oceans.

• A fact that may people like to say is that the worlds surface is 71% covered by oceans. That’s a really large amount and what this fact doesn’t take into account is the depth and therefore the volume which can be inhabited. The fact that more is known about the surface of the moon than the sea bed amazes me. It is extremely hard to study the sea floor however as at some points it reaches depth greater than 11km down. But we do know that there is still life down there!

• The biodiversity of the sea is huge. There are currently 230,000+ recorded species in the world’s oceans and there are many thousands left yet to be described. These species stretch from the giant squid to the strangest creatures like Hydrothermal vent tubeworms such as Riftia pachyptila which survive around the volcanic vents on the ocean floor, there are so many different niches within the ocean and every single one of them is filled. You can use this link to explore every described species in the oceans, check it out!

http://www.marinespecies.org/

• Thanks to its huge biodiversity the oceans are also extremely productive, and it all starts with microscopic plankton called phytoplankton (and other marine plants). In fact oceans are by far the largest carbon sinks in the world and every year they take up 2.5 billion tons annually (2002-2011), sadly however this isn’t enough to compensate for the burning of fossil fuels. But it is the source of the oceans productivity and allows creates such as the millions of different fish to exist.

• Finally the ocean provides an environment which allows different animals to be present. I’m not just talking about the fact that it’s aquatic but more of the way the water allows certain boundries found in terrestrial species to be stretched. Water is great at supporting creates mass and therefore has allowed the evolution of the world’s largest ever creature, the Blue Whale. The size of a Blue whale is hard to describe but to put it in some context their tongues can weigh as much as a bull elephant. However without the support that dense water provides the whales they would be an impossibility, and within a terrestrial environment would be crushed by their own body weight. It’s always important to remember that this creature is sustained by krill, one of the smaller species in the sea (40 million krill or 8,000 pounds per day).

Thanks for reading!

Check out this video from BIOstation

And this one from the BBC

Umbrella Species - All For One And One For All!

Last Friday I wrote about the large Blue butterfly and referred to it as an umbrella species. So in this post I want to look into what exactly an umbrella species is and how important they actually are!

There are several slightly different definitions, but the general consensus is that an umbrella species is a species which conservation contributes to the general ecosystem due to it possessing a large habitat or other requirements which filter down to benefit different species.

As I’m sure you can gather from the definition umbrella species they are extremely importa

nt in the whole scheme of things. The majority of species which are currently undergoing conservation efforts are umbrella species. For example tigers, wolves and other large predators all of which require huge ranges to source their prey from make fantastic umbrella species. This in turn acts as a reason for large reserves to be set up and so target prey species and non-prey species to benefit from the predator’s conservation efforts. Another umbrella species which we’ve recently discussed on this blog is the Giant Panda. If you read the weekly article a few weeks ago you will know that pandas are no longer on the IUCN red list as an endangered species.

There are however some species which are not apex predators but are still known as an umbrella species. An example of which would be the Sage Grouse as they require a variety of very specific habitats throughout the year for both forage and lekking.

The term umbrella species can also be stretched into the aquatic and marine environments as well as specific reserves will not only benefit the target species but it will also protect other species from over fishing, giving them a safe environment to flourish in (depending on fishing regulations). This has been seen in the endangered humphead wrasse which is found within coral reef systems meaning effort to save this species help many thousands of other species which are found on the reefs.

An article published from the University of Washington Conservation (2001) determined that there are three areas which a species needs to possess to be a successful umbrella species. The first of which is co-occurrence of species, by this they mean that the species has to have a range which includes the greatest number of other species as possible. This makes them the ‘most profitable’ in terms of biodiversity to protect. Secondly degree of ubiquity is important, as if they are to common they will be found in all sorts of habitats and so some of those areas will have a low biodiversity and so not be a beneficial area to put the effort into. On the other hand if the species is to rare they won’t inhabit an area large enough to benefit enough other species to be classed as an umbrella species. The final areas where a species needs to excel to be a good umbrella species is sensitivity to human disturbance as animals which are sensitive are targeted as if they can be conserved other species which are either as sensitive or less sensitive will also be successful.

So umbrella species are an extremely important conservation tool, which are leading conservation efforts into more ecosystem protection rather than individual species approach.

Thanks for reading!

Check out this video from GoPro

Weekly Article - Less Ice = Less Bears

So following the good news last week about the removal of the Giant Panda from the endangered species list there has been more news on bears this week. One of their distant relatives, the polar bear has been proven to be struggling in each of it’s 19 sub-populations .

This is because the effects global warming is having on the arctic sea ice, which is critical to a bears survival. The study from The Cryosphere showed that total number of ice-covered days are declining between 7-19 days per decade (1979-2014) and that the spring melt is occurring 3-9 days earlier per decade. Although these numbers don’t appear to be all that large they are in fact very significant, as bears use the sea ice to hunt, breed and many other life processes. When the ice isn’t present most bears will go through a period of starvation and as these periods are increasing more and more bears are struggling to make it through the leaner months. The lack of ice will also put strains on their reproduction as not only limiting there time but the knock on effect of extended starvation will lead to less success in breeding for many individuals.

Check out the paper here! (download the pdf for free)

http://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/2027/2016/

Thanks for reading!

check out this video from BBC

Fact File 006 - Our Ever Expansion

There is only one animal in this world which has managed to successfully shape the entire world to suit its personal needs. I am of course talking about humans, and you only need to look around exactly where you are sitting to see to just what extend we have as a species managed to change this entire planet.

Today’s fact file will be focusing on construction! Stretching from the first permanent structures built to the modern day super skyscrapers humans have always been adapting and creating their own personal habitat.

• Humans are always attempting to build higher, this is for a couple of reasons, the first of which is to create more space in areas where there are limitations, more recently however it has become a show of wealth, power and technological advancement. The tallest man made structure for 3800 years was the Great Pyramid of Giza which was only over taken in 1300 by the completion of the Lincoln Cathedral. Each new tallest building after that was only marginally higher than the last and it wasn’t till modern times that records began to be broken by significant amounts. The reason for this is due to restrictions of the materials available, cost and the effort required to create such structures. Solutions to these problems were found with steel and super strong glasses which was a lot lighter, power tools and other mechanical inventions and finally growing economies. These advancements have allowed for the Burj Khalifa (current world’s tallest building) to be built at a height of 830m.

• As a species humans do not only build up we also build out, in fact an estimates 200 billion square meters of land is covered in concrete. This make up about 0.18% of the earth’s total surface area, which might not actually sound all that much but it’s more than double the amount of land which is covered by fresh water. You also have to take into consideration that 71% of the earth’s total surface is covered in water and so unavailable to truly build on.

• To finish of the three axis humans are also expanding down, basements, mines and shelters are all becoming bigger and bigger. Recently (1^st June 2016) the world’s longest and deepest traffic tunnel was opened in Switzerland which runs for 57.09km (for the traffic) and has a total of over 151.84km of tunnels ranging up to 2,300m below the surface of the Alps.

• Putting an environmental cost on all is activity is extremely hard. Currently forgetting about all the destructive effects of construction (due to the fact that it is almost impossible to quantify the exact amount of damage) and focusing on the emissions it is still nearly impossible to put numbers to it all. This is because of all the different emission contributions, so to bring it all the way down to the primary product of concrete. 1000kg of concrete will on average produce 927kg of CO₂ which is a staggering amount. Can you find any other figures to help quantify it?

So although the modern day era of construction with concrete and steel is a marvel of human adventure and technology, it is clearly having a huge impact on the natural world. Sadly there isn’t much to be done about this as with growing populations there will always be a need for more structures. You can personally attempt to reduce your impact however by using environmentally friendly products in your personal DIY products and reducing the amount of concrete you use for instance when creating  new drive way etc.

Thanks for reading!

Check out this video from Red Bull 

Large Blue - Wild Connection

Everything in the natural world is connected; parasites and hosts, predator and prey and all the other symbiotic relationships to name just a few. Many of these connections are still unknown and certain types are extremely complex and rely on multiple different organisms.

Today I’m going to be talking about the Large Blue (Maculinea arion) and for those of you who do not know this is a species of European butterfly, which were found in the UK from 1795 till 1979. But it was then reintroduced in 1984 with a greater understanding on what it requires to be successful and became one of the UKs best reintroduction programs.

The problem the large blue faced is that through its multiple life stages it requires specific habitat and conditions which were decreasing in the UK. For instance they will only lay their eggs on wild thyme or marjoram flowers but in turn these plants require certain conditions. They are generally only found in grasslands which are well drained, acidic coastal or limestone based areas which are well grazed.  This generally means that these grasslands need to be well populated by species such as rabbits which will keep the grasses low so as not to out-compete the flowers whilst not damaging the flowers themselves which happens when larger domesticated animals such as cows are present. 

Once hatched the larva depend on a single species of ant (Myrmica sabuleti). It has long been know that ants were involved in the large blue’s life cycle but it wasn’t until the late 1970s that Jeremy Thomas uncovered the specific reliance. The large blue relies on these ants in a part parasitic part symbiotic relationship, as they are taken down into the ant’s colony where they feed on the grubs both dead and alive. It is thought that this process is both parasitic and symbiotic as although some potential ants are lost from the colony the larva also is helping to effectively clean the nest of dead individuals.  

Finally the larva will metamorphose into an adult and emerge from its subterranean existence then will climb onto some vegetation and proceed to expand its wings. From that point of the butterfly will rely on wildflowers nectar as a food source to provide them with sufficient energy to find a mate and contribute to the next generation.

The extinction of the large blue in 1979 was believed to be due to a number of reasons but it boiled down to two main reasons. The first of which was due to excessive uses of pesticides in the areas it can be found which killed the butterflies at each of their life stages. While the second reason was believed to be due to our lack of understanding of the species specific behaviour and so as we changed the grasslands through overgrazing and other activities to benefit humans the butterflies suffered. Luckily however since the successful reintroduction program the is believed to be a positive growth trend in the large blue UK populations.

So to summaries this one invertebrates influences and needs within the natural world it are; two types of plants to lay their eggs, grazing animals, ants and then flowers as an adult food source and if any of this critical components are lost from the chain the large blue will become extinct as it did in 1979.

You could almost class the large blue as an umbrella species! To find out more information on umbrella species check back next week.

Thanks for reading!

Check this video from Daan Varhoeven

Weekly Article - Back From The Brink!!

So there was a good bit of news which came out this week and I feel like it needs to be shared.

The WWF icon and a creature which is known across the world have finally made it out of the endangered classification on the IUCN Red List and into the vulnerable classification. I am of course talking about the giant panda! This is a big deal as giant pandas have been classed as endangered since 1990 despite a massive effort across the world in an attempt to increase their population numbers.

Pandas are a huge and controversial deal in the world of conservation for many reasons; there are several different views on what exactly should be done with them. On one side of the argument people believe that it is extremely important to conserve as it is because of human activities that they are struggling. The other side of the argument believes that too much funding goes into pandas as an individual species, which could be spent in better areas with potentially more success. However it is important that although pandas are extremely hard to keep and breed in captivity, but then again they are also a flag ship species and bring in a lot of money for all sorts of conservation charities.

What are your thoughts on panda conservation?

Check out the BBC news article here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-37272718

The IUCN RED LIST page where The giant panda has been reclassified 

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/712/0

Thanks for reading!

Check out this video from jamesccostello

Check out this video from The North Face 

Fact File 005 - Plastic's Are Eternal

If you live in the UK you might have heard some good environmental news the other day relating to plastic, or to be more accurate micro beads. These beads can be found in lots of different types of cosmetic and beauty products and are a ecological disaster, in the UK however a recent pledge has been made to ban the use of these beads by 2017.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37263087

So because of this news today's fact file will be focusing on plastics.

• Only a very small amount of plastic we produce globally is ever recovered to be recycled (5%), the majority of it heads to landfills, where it makes up 10% of all waste generated. Also sadly a lot of it is sweep into the oceans to become part of the large garbage patches which are forming there. In Los Angeles for instance 10 metric tons of plastic are swept into the sea every day.

• The plastic which has been swept into the sea has an extreme effect on marine life. 1 million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are estimated to be killed annually by plastic. This can take several forms, for instance turtles and other creature’s mistake bags for jelly fish and so ingest the plastic and then starve as they fill their stomachs with indigestible products. While many sea birds become trapped in some types of plastic and then either suffocate of drown because of it.

• The main problem with plastics is the time it takes to decompose. Depending on the type it can take anywhere from 500 to several 1000s of years to breakdown. There is a hope that bacteria hold a solution to our ever growing piles of waste plastic. A lot of work is being done to attempt to find viable bacteria which can be used to speed up the rate of decay of plastics.

Check out this link for more information

https://theconversation.com/new-plastic-munching-bacteria-could-fuel-a-recycling-revolution-55961

• Recycling even a little bit of plastic will make a difference as recycling will save 3-5x the energy used to produce fresh products. Also with the 32.5% of plastic recycled in 2006 equates to 39.4 million cars worth of emission being removed, or 222.1 million barrels of oil saved.

• Finally if you have the time check out this link from ecologycenter to give you a few tips and trick on how you can either completely cut out plastic from your life or at least reduce your consumption of it.

http://ecologycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/eliminate-plastic.pdf

Thanks for reading!

What do you do to try and reduce your plastic consumption?

Check out this video from NeilPryde Wind