Kangaroo genome now sequenced

Kangaroo genome now sequenced

The tammar wallaby is the first Australian marsupial to have its genome sequenced. Researchers were surprised to find out that many of the wallaby genes are similar to those found in humans. Because baby wallabies (aka: joey) develop in a pouch outside the mother's body it is easier to study mammalian development in these animals. Having the genome sequence just makes that research as well as other research on the animals that much more informative. I was surprised to learn how well the wallaby sense of smell is. The baby wallabies have as many as 1500 genes just for olfactory (smell) receptors.

Satellites Help With Species Conservation

Satellites Help With Species Conservation

Organisms living on small islands are particularly threatened by extinction. However, data are often lacking to objectively assess these threats. A team of German and British researchers used satellite imagery to assess the conservation status of endangered reptiles and amphibians of the Comoro archipelago in the Western Indian Ocean. The researchers used their results to point out which species are most threatened and to define priorities for future protected areas. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

Anthropologist Narrows Down History Of Animal And Human Relationship

Anthropologist Narrows Down History Of Animal And Human Relationship

Anthropologist Pat Shipman says that when our prehistoric ancestors began interacting with animals they developed empathy for them. The leading American anthropologist says these ancient humans’ relationships with animals helped propel humanity towards global domination.

New model more accurately describes migratory animals’ extinction risk

Link: New model more accurately describes migratory animals’ extinction risk

Athens, Ga. - Predicting the risk of extinction is a complicated task, especially for species that migrate between breeding and wintering sites. Researchers at the University of Georgia and Tulane University have developed a mathematical model that may make such predictions more accurate. Their work appears in the early online edition of the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

The Biogeography of Rats and Their Quest for Global Domination

Link: The Biogeography of Rats and Their Quest for Global Domination

It seems that everywhere you find a group of humans, you’ll find a clan of rats hiding in the shadows. This history seems born out of opportunity for the rat, but we’ve done our part to help them get around the world rather easily. This commensalism – a relationship where one species benefits, but the other receives little or no harm – is probably the result of the sloppy nature of humans. It appears we’ve never been very good at properly stowing our trash!

Entire Mammal Genus on Brink of Extinction, Critically endangered African antelope is last species of its kind.

Link: Entire Mammal Genus on Brink of Extinction, Critically endangered African antelope is last species of its kind.

For the first time in 75 years, an entire genus of mammal may go the way of the dodo—unless a new conservation effort shepherded by Somalian herders succeeds.

Is it time to let some species go extinct?

Link: Is it time to let some species go extinct?

IS IT time to let some threatened species go extinct? The heretical notion is worthy of consideration, says a majority of conservationists contacted in a poll.

Of 583 questioned, 60 per cent agreed that criteria should be established for deciding which species to abandon in order to focus on saving others (Conservation Biology, DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01772.x). Murray Rudd of the University of York, UK, who ran the survey, says the subject has been somewhat taboo until recently. Most large conservation organisations, he adds, already have checklists for prioritising their efforts.

Primates leapt to social living

Link: Primates leapt to social living

Scientists may be a step closer to understanding the origins of human social behaviour.

An analysis of over 200 primate species by a University of Oxford team suggests that our ancestors gave up their solitary existence when they shifted from being nocturnal creatures to those that are active during the day.

It is likely communal living was adopted to protect against day time predators, the researchers say.

The results are published in Nature.

Western black rhino declared extinct

Link: Western black rhino declared extinct

First the Java rhinos the other day, now these poor bastards…

Do animals really know right from wrong?

Link: Do animals really know right from wrong?

Justice for all
Bekoff is a professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and co-founder (with primatologist Jane Goodall) of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. His extensive field research has led him to believe that morality is an evolved trait, rather than a system created by humans, and that it evolved early in the history of mammals.

How Soda Caps Are Killing Birds

Link: How Soda Caps Are Killing Birds

Remember those haunting images of animals stuck in plastic soda rings? This is worse. Since 2009, photographer Chris Jordan has been documenting birds on Midway Atoll way out in the Pacific Ocean — near what’s known as the “Pacific Garbage Patch” or, essentially, a swirling heap of plastic the size of Texas.

What Jordan found on those islands were carcasses of baby birds that have died an unnerving death: According to the BBC, “about one-third of all albatross chicks die on Midway, many as the result of being mistakenly fed plastic by their parents.”