#biodiversity recording

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Unleash Your Inner Explorer: Dive into Biodiversity with the iNaturalist App

Are you ready to embark on a thrilling journey through Saskatoon and Area’s rich tapestry of wildlife and natural wonders? The Saskatoon and area City Nature Challenge is back, and this year, we’re inviting you to join us in an exhilarating adventure of discovery and conservation! iNaturalist Observation with smart phone connecting with nature, supporting vital conservation research…

[wizardcurse]

i wanna hear your thoughts on chainsaw man, if you don't mind 👀

MY THOUGHTS, you say?

This is only about the anime as I haven’t read the manga or engaged much with csm at all besides that. and sorry that this is disjointed this is just my natural unfiltered sleep deprived word splatter

OKAY. so once I adapted to the graphic gore and constant sex jokes and channeled my inner edgy teenager and adjusted to how bizarre and alarming it was… I was surprised but I actually started to really enjoy it. because I feel the disjointed cynicism and humour and general awfulness of it fits this bleak awful universe it’s set in and makes it all the more believable

I really love the idea of an object or concept becoming a devil and having an appropriate level of threat and danger based on how people perceive it? and that it can change with major events and become worse over time and fluctuate. I think the concept is what got me hooked.

I really want to know more about the universe it’s set in. it’s fascinating to me. It was casually mentioned that the Soviet Union exists??? What year is this anime even set… Are nuclear weapons present in this universe? I feel that nuclear energy would be the most threatening devil but there’s been no mention of it. Or any epidemics? or natural disasters? instead the gun devil is the largest threat. also if the gun devil appeared in america why are bits of it all over japan? how did it get there? can devils cross oceans. do they do interplanar travel or something. do you get extremely culturally specific devils that are only found in specific countries. are there geographic influences. WHY is everyone suddenly so obsessed with denji when he just had a puppy chainsaw possess him

I loved the time loop episode and I really loved seeing the characters get fleshed out! I love the tiny bits of lovely mundane normality in the series too like aki just trying to live and do cooking and do the laundry which gets destroyed by denji and power turning up. poor fucking guy

Strange thought but now I’m wondering if people can be forcibly manipulated in order to deliberately increase the power of a devil? if you kidnapped 1,000 people and made them develop a severe phobia of spoons for example, would the spoon devil gain immense power. is that just how it works. can you merge devils persona style. what is the most contracts anyone has ever made, is there a world record?how do you stop ordinary people from making contracts?

If you can have devils as more abstract concepts could you end up with comic book villains or characters manifesting? memes? a situation where all popular media has to be very carefully controlled? how does consumerism and capitalism influence devils. I NEED THE LORE. have devils always existed or is this a recent phenomenon? if they’ve always existed then would older devils be stronger? ANCIENT SOCIETIES WITH DEVILS? dinosaur devil???

the christian imagery is interesting and I'm curious to see where it is going. especially that painting in the ending where makima is holding denji like mother mary holding jesus… interesting that all the graves are in western style too

if there’s an infinity devil is there gonna be a Death devil? contracts and devils they are so interesting to me. the devil hunters are SUCH assholes. the way denji and power are completely treated as tools and have no agency. the way aki is treated by pretty much everyone is ridiculous this guy can’t even eat his apples in hospital in peace. I would peel apples for him at his bedside. I LOVE aki. which is very typical of me I always fall for characters like him. I love characters doomed by the narrative and revenge driven. It’s terrifying and devastating but also morbidly hilarious seeing him battle with the depths of grief juxtaposed to the flippant attitude of everyone else who shrugs it off and can go back to laughing

I am also fascinated and in love with Makima. I have to know what her deal is. she can’t be human… I would listen to whatever she says and end up destroying the world for her <3 she is the girl manipulator of all time. THE BIT ON THE TRAIN AND THE HUMAN SACRIFICE SCENE… damn

Okay where was I going with this. So chainsaw man! it’s definitely not the usual kind of thing I’d watch, and I don’t think I’d have continued past the first two episodes if my friend hadn’t sat down and watched it with me. but I really am interested to see where it’s going? and kind of concerned now that I think about it. like if it is going to use any real world historical events, like wars? that’s probably my biggest fear, can't see that being done tactfully

BUT YEAH THE ANIMATION… was so good. MAPPA really is something else. and I love the openings and endings, I can’t believe every ending was different. insane anime. ultimately it’s a nightmare but I enjoyed it. might try to read the manga next so I can get some Answers

[sound-notes]

World faces ‘deathly silence’ of nature as wildlife disappears, warn experts

[homo-house]

hey uh so I haven't seen anyone talking about this here yet, but

the amazon river, like the biggest river in the fucking world, in the middle of the amazon fucking rainforest, is currently going through its worst drought since the records began 121 years ago

picture from Folha PE

there's a lot going on but I haven't seen much international buzz around this like there was when the forest was on fire (maybe because it's harder to shift the narrative to blame brazil exclusively as if the rest of the world didn't have fault in this) so I wanted to bring this to tumblr's attention

I don't know too many details as I live in the other side of the country and we are suffering from the exact opposite (at least three cyclones this year, honestly have stopped counting - it's unusual for us to get hit by even one - floods, landslides, we have a death toll, people are losing everything to the water), but like, I as a brazilian have literally never seen pictures of the river like this before. every single city in the amazonas state is in a state of emergency as of november 1st.

pictures by Adriano Liziero (ig: geopanoramas)

we are used to seeing images of rio negro and solimões, the two main amazon river affluents, in all their grandiose and beauty and seeing these pictures is really fucking chilling. some of our news outlets are saying the solimões has turned to a sand desert... can you imagine this watery sight turning into a desert in the span of a year?

while down south we are seeing amounts of rain and hailstorms the likes of which our infrastructure is simply not built to deal with, up north people who have built everything around the river are at a loss of what to do.

the houses there that are built to float are just on the ground, people who depend on fishing for a living have to walk kilometers to find any fish that are still alive at all, the biodiversity there is at risk, and on an economic level it's hard to grasp how people from the northern states are getting by at all - the main means of transport for ANYTHING in that region is via the river water. this will impact the region for months to come. it doesnt make a lot of sense to build a lot of roads bc it's just better to use the waterway system, everything is built around or floats on the river after all. and like, the water level is so incomprehensibly low the boats are just STUCK. people are having a hard time getting from one place to another - keep in mind the widest parts of the river are over 10 km apart!!

this shit is really serious and i am trying not to think about it because we have a different kind of problem to worry about down south but it's really terrifying when I stop to think about it. you already know the climate crisis is real and the effects are beyond preventable now (we're past global warming, get used to calling it "global boiling"). we'll be switching strategies to damage control from now on and like, this is what it's come to.

I don't like to be alarmist but it's hard not to be alarmed. I'm sorry that I can't end this post with very clear intructions on how people overseas can help, there really isn't much to do except hope the water level rises soon, maybe pray if you believe in something. in that regard we just have to keep pressing for change at a global level; local conditions only would not, COULD NOT be causing this - the amazon river is a CONTINENTAL body of water, it spans across multiple countries. so my advice is spread the word, let your representatives know that you're worried and you want change towards sustainability, degrowth and reduced carbon emissions, support your local NGOs, maybe join a cause, I don't know? I recommend reading on ecological and feminist economics though

however, I know you can help the affected riverine families by donating to organizations dedicated to helping the region. keep in mind a single US dollar, pound or euro is worth over 5x more in our currency so anything you donate at all will certainly help those affected.

FAS - Sustainable Amazon Fundation

Idesam - Sustainable Developent and Preservation Institute of Amazonas

Greenpeace Brasil - I know Greenpeace isn't the best but they're one of the few options I can think of that have a bridge to the international world and they are helping directly

There are a lot of other smaller/local NGOs but I'm not sure how you could donate to them from overseas, I'll leave some of them here anyway:

Projeto Gari

Caritás Brasileira

If you know any other organizations please link them, I'll be sure to reblog though my reach isn't a lot

thank you so much for reading this to the end, don't feel obligated to share but please do if you can! even if you just read up to here it means a lot to me that someone out there knows

also as an afterthought, I wanted to expand on why I think this hasn't made big news yet: because unlike the case of the 2020 forest fires, other countries have to hold themselves accountable when looking at this situation. while in 2020 it was easier to pretend the fires were all our fault and people were talking about taking the amazon away from us like they wouldn't do much worse. global superpowers have no more forests to speak of so I guess they've been eyeing what latin america still has. so like this bit of the post is just to say if you're thinking of saying anything of the sort, maybe think of what your own country has done to contribute to this instead of blaming brazil exclusively and saying the amazon should be protected by force or whatever

[reasonsforhope]

"Rewilding in Scotland has created a more than 400% increase in jobs, research has found amid calls for it to continue.

Research by Rewilding Britain shows 35 jobs have been created at one site alone in the Highlands since 2008.

The research found there has been a 412% increase in jobs at 13 major rewilding projects covering almost 60,000 hectares, including sites owned or managed by charities, communities, private landowners, and public bodies.

Full-time equivalent jobs across the sites increased from 24 before rewilding to 123, across sectors including hospitality, estate management, ecology, environmental monitoring, rewilding interventions, recreation, and education.

The largest recorded rise in jobs was at Trees for Life’s 4,000-hectare Dundreggan estate near Loch Ness in the Highlands, a former deer stalking estate.

Since 2008, some 35 jobs have been created in addition to the sole previous position, while volunteer numbers have risen from zero to 100.

A rewilding centre was opened at the site last year and an open invitation has been extended to Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio to visit it after he backed a campaign for Scotland to become the world’s first “rewilding nation”.

All the sites are more than 100 hectares in size and are part of the Rewilding Network managed by Rewilding Britain.

The research found combined volunteer numbers at the sites increased from zero to 435...

The Scottish Government has been urged to commit to nature recovery across 30% of land by restoring habitats including peatlands, native woodlands, wetlands, rivers and seas, with no loss of productive farmland.

Kevin Cumming, rewilding director at Rewilding Britain and deputy convener of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, said: “These remarkable job creation figures show how rewilding can turbo-charge social and economic benefits, while offering hope for reversing biodiversity loss and tackling climate breakdown.

“This is yet another powerful illustration of why the Scottish Government should declare Scotland a rewilding nation.

“The opportunity is huge – for jobs and local economies, better health, food production, access to fresh water and clean air.”

The alliance’s Rewilding Nation Charter – including representations from more than 20 organisations – has been signed by thousands of people since it launched in the spring.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Restoring Scotland’s natural environment is a key way that we can help address the twin challenges of nature loss and climate change, including many of the interventions championed by the Scottish Rewilding Alliance.

“We welcome this evidence of employment in rural communities and will consider this research as we continue to work towards our commitment to protect and restore 30% of Scotland’s land and seas for nature.

“Our £65 million Nature Restoration Fund has committed nearly £40 million since 2021 to unlock the full potential that nature restoration projects can bring to communities.

“The fund has supported local businesses, helped landowners with pollinator projects to boost food production and supported improved access to green spaces throughout Scotland, alongside restoration of our marine environment.”

The charter can be viewed at www.rewild.scot/charter."

-via The Independent, June 19, 2024

[rebeccathenaturalist]

So this is a really creative solution to a pernicious ecological problem! The short version is that arid ecosystems like deserts are quite fragile. For example, many have soil that is covered in a thin biocrust that can be damaged just by walking or driving on it. And because life needs water to grow and recover, these super-dry ecosystems may not be able to repair a footprint or tire track for over a century.

However, arid ecosystems are often some of the least understood because they can be difficult to access. And they suffer from P.R. issues because deserts are often seen as "bad" ecosystems full of death and nothingness, and because we do legitimately want to avoid the desertification of other native habitats.

In order to raise awareness and appreciation of these landscapes, biological surveys that tally the living beings found there help show how biodiverse they can be. And when we know more about how abundant or scarce a given species there is, it gives us more impetus to protect them, especially those that are at risk of extinction.

These paramotorists were able to fly across Peru's lomas (coastal fog deserts), which primarily receive scant amounts of moisture from mist. They collected plant samples to take back to scientists, carefully recording where they were found. And because they were able to fly long distances, they could minimize the amount of time their feet were on the ground and therefore minimize their impact on the local ecology.

At a time where it seems every interaction between motorized technology and nature is a negative one, this is a pleasant departure. yes, of course we wish we weren't in a place where we have to be worried about increasing extinction and other ecological woes. But let's take the wins where we can; the morale boost is crucial to being able to keep looking toward a better future.

[amnhnyc]

The Summer Games are here, so let’s meet the gold medal champion for fastest shark in the sea: the shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus)! This agile predator fish is one of the world’s fastest swimmers, able to reach a top speed of over 40 mph (64.3 kmh). For perspective, the current 100m freestyle world record holder swam at an overall speed of 4.7 mph (2.9 km/h). A model of this shark can be found in the Museum's Hall of Biodiversity.

Want to learn more? Become a Museum Member today! Plus, use promo code GAMES24 and we’ll include a FREE, limited-edition Summer Games tote bag.

Photo:  Alison Kock, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - July 15-21

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735! (Or check out my new(ly repurposed) Patreon!)

1. Thai tiger numbers swell as prey populations stabilize in western forests

“The tiger population density in a series of protected areas in western Thailand has more than doubled over the past two decades, according to new survey data. […] The most recent year of surveys, which concluded in November 2023, photographed 94 individual tigers, up from 75 individuals in the previous year, and from fewer than 40 in 2007. […] A total of 291 individual tigers older than 1 year were recorded, as well as 67 cubs younger than 1 year.”

2. Work starts to rewild former cattle farm

“Ecologists have started work to turn a former livestock farm into a nature reserve [… which] will become a "mosaic of habitats" for insects, birds and mammals. [… R]ewilding farmland could benefit food security locally by encouraging pollinators, improving soil health and soaking up flood water. [… “N]ature restoration doesn't preclude food production. We want to address [food security] by using nature-based solutions."”

3. Harnessing ‘invisible forests in plain view’ to reforest the world

“[… T]he degraded land contained numerous such stumps with intact root systems capable of regenerating themselves, plus millions of tree seeds hidden in the soil, which farmers could simply encourage to grow and reforest the landscape[….] Today, the technique of letting trees resprout and protecting their growth from livestock and wildlife [… has] massive potential to help tackle biodiversity loss and food insecurity through resilient agroforestry systems. [… The UN’s] reported solution includes investing in land restoration, “nature-positive” food production, and rewilding, which could return between $7 and $30 for every dollar spent.”

4. California bars school districts from outing LGBTQ+ kids to their parents

“Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the SAFETY Act today – a bill that prohibits the forced outing of transgender and gay students, making California the first state to explicitly prohibit school districts from doing so. […] Matt Adams, a head of department at a West London state school, told PinkNews at the time: “Teachers and schools do not have all the information about every child’s home environment and instead of supporting a pupil to be themselves in school, we could be putting them at risk of harm.””

5. 85% of new electricity built in 2023 came from renewables

“Electricity supplied by renewables, like hydropower, solar, and wind, has increased gradually over the past few decades — but rapidly in recent years. [… C]lean energy now makes up around 43 percent of global electricity capacity. In terms of generation — the actual power produced by energy sources — renewables were responsible for 30 percent of electricity production last year. […] Along with the rise of renewable sources has come a slowdown in construction of non-renewable power plants as well as a move to decommission more fossil fuel facilities.”

6. Deadly cobra bites to "drastically reduce" as scientists discover new antivenom

“After successful human trials, the snake venom antidote could be rolled out relatively quickly to become a "cheap, safe and effective drug for treating cobra bites" and saving lives around the globe, say scientists. Scientists have found that a commonly used blood thinner known as heparin can be repurposed as an inexpensive antidote for cobra venom. […] Using CRISPR gene-editing technology […] they successfully repurposed heparin, proving that the common blood thinner can stop the necrosis caused by cobra bites.”

7. FruitFlow: a new citizen science initiative unlocks orchard secrets

“"FruitWatch" has significantly refined phenological models by integrating extensive citizen-sourced data, which spans a wider geographical area than traditional methods. These enhanced models offer growers precise, location-specific predictions, essential for optimizing agricultural planning and interventions. […] By improving the accuracy of phenological models, farmers can better align their operations with natural biological cycles, enhancing both yield and quality.”

8. July 4th Means Freedom for Humpback Whale Near Valdez, Alaska

“The NOAA Fisheries Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline received numerous reports late afternoon on July 3. A young humpback whale was entangled in the middle of the Port of Valdez[….] “The success of this mission was due to the support of the community, as they were the foundation of the effort,” said Moran. [… Members of the community] were able to fill the critical role of acting as first responders to a marine mammal emergency. “Calling in these reports is extremely valuable as it allows us to respond when safe and appropriate, and also helps us gain information on various threats affecting the animals,” said Lyman.”

9. Elephants Receive First of Its Kind Vaccine

“Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus is the leading cause of death for Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) born in facilities in North America and also causes calf deaths in the wild in Asia. A 40-year-old female received the new mRNA vaccine, which is expected to help the animal boost immunity[….]”

10. Conservation partners and Indigenous communities working together to restore forests in Guatemala

“The K’iche have successfully managed their natural resources for centuries using their traditional governing body and ancestral knowledge. As a result, Totonicapán is home to Guatemala’s largest remaining stand of conifer forest. […] EcoLogic has spearheaded a large-scale forest restoration project at Totonicapán, where 13 greenhouses now hold about 16,000 plants apiece, including native cypresses, pines, firs, and alders. […] The process begins each November when community members gather seeds. These seeds then go into planters that include upcycled coconut fibers and mycorrhizal fungi, which help kickstart fertilization. When the plantings reach about 12 inches, they’re ready for distribution.”

July 8-14 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[vizthedatum]

I mean… this is why I’m so hesitant to get my autism diagnosis. I still might go ahead and get it, if only to add to the scientific body of work of all the undiagnosed PGM AFABs out there.

Right now, I’m on a path of learning more about myself and letting myself be… me. A person who can do a lot of things but can’t do certain things (or needs help with them). It’s incredibly vulnerable and scary already to admit disability on the record. I am an academic who relies on their “knowledge” and “skills” honed over time… and I can’t always rely on my body (due to autoimmune conditions that flare up majorly when I mask or I’m not honoring my needs). So to pursue an autism diagnosis when people already stigmatize stuff like “intelligence”…. it is incredibly dicey.

And I’m walking this path (not just neurodivergence… but being queer and trans, being a victim of emotional abuse, being a victim of physical abuse, etc.) more publicly than ever before. What was my other choice? Be in one autoimmune crisis after another while people bullied me for my quirks anyway?

Human difference and biodiversity are incredibly complex and deserve nuanced discussions.

Something that seems to really trip people up about posts discussing psychiatry etc pathologizing human difference is the assumption that the phrase "human difference" is a purely positive one. Like the assumption that people saying "psychiatry pathologizes normal human difference" is saying that human difference is never unpleasant or difficult to handle or human difference never results in suffering or struggle. Why would you assume that! This isn't a preschool level statement about how we are all different and that's okay. It's a morally neutral statement about human difference being a naturally occurring phenomenon and also about how human difference does not justify a violation of human RIGHTS. People will be like "but *I* genuinely have *diagnosis* and it makes my life harder" well good news that's not at all incompatible with the idea that the differences that are being classed as *diagnosis* don't justify you being medicated or institutionalized against your will, discriminated against, or prevented from accessing your basic needs!

If none of the things I just listed are problems you have personally run into due to *diagnosis*, may I humbly suggest that perhaps this conversation is not primarily about you.

[fatehbaz]

Despite its green image, Ireland has surprisingly little forest. [...] [M]ore than 80% of the island of Ireland was [once] covered in trees. [...] [O]f that 11% of the Republic of Ireland that is [now] forested, the vast majority (9% of the country) is planted with [non-native] spruces like the Sitka spruce [in commercial plantations], a fast growing conifer originally from Alaska which can be harvested after just 15 years. Just 2% of Ireland is covered with native broadleaf trees.

Text by: Martha O’Hagan Luff. “Ireland has lost almost all of its native forests - here’s how to bring them back.” The Conversation. 24 February 2023. [Emphasis added.]

---

[I]ndustrial [...] oil palm plantations [...] have proliferated in tropical regions in many parts of the world, often built at the expense of mangrove and humid forest lands, with the aim to transform them from 'worthless swamp' to agro-industrial complexes [...]. Another clear case [...] comes from the southernmost area in the Colombian Pacific [...]. Here, since the early 1980s, the forest has been destroyed and communities displaced to give way to oil palm plantations. Inexistent in the 1970s, by the mid-1990s they had expanded to over 30,000 hectares. The monotony of the plantation - row after row of palm as far as you can see, a green desert of sorts - replaced the diverse, heterogenous and entangled world of forest and communities.

Text by: Arturo Escobar. "Thinking-Feeling with the Earth: Territorial Struggles and the Ontological Dimension of the Epistemologies of the South." Revista de Antropologia Iberoamericana Volume 11 Issue 1. 2016. [Emphasis added.]

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But efforts to increase global tree cover to limit climate change have skewed towards erecting plantations of fast-growing trees [...] [because] planting trees can demonstrate results a lot quicker than natural forest restoration. [...] [But] ill-advised tree planting can unleash invasive species [...]. [In India] [t]o maximize how much timber these forests yielded, British foresters planted pines from Europe and North America in extensive plantations in the Himalayan region [...] and introduced acacia trees from Australia [...]. One of these species, wattle (Acacia mearnsii) [...] was planted in [...] the Western Ghats. This area is what scientists all a biodiversity hotspot – a globally rare ecosystem replete with species. Wattle has since become invasive and taken over much of the region’s mountainous grasslands. Similarly, pine has spread over much of the Himalayas and displaced native oak trees while teak has replaced sal, a native hardwood, in central India. Both oak and sal are valued for [...] fertiliser, medicine and oil. Their loss [...] impoverished many [local and Indigenous people]. [...]

India’s national forest policy [...] aims for trees on 33% of the country’s area. Schemes under this policy include plantations consisting of a single species such as eucalyptus or bamboo which grow fast and can increase tree cover quickly, demonstrating success according to this dubious measure. Sometimes these trees are planted in grasslands and other ecosystems where tree cover is naturally low. [...] The success of forest restoration efforts cannot be measured by tree cover alone. The Indian government’s definition of “forest” still encompasses plantations of a single tree species, orchards and even bamboo, which actually belongs to the grass family. This means that biennial forest surveys cannot quantify how much natural forest has been restored, or convey the consequences of displacing native trees with competitive plantation species or identify if these exotic trees have invaded natural grasslands which have then been falsely recorded as restored forests. [...] Planting trees does not necessarily mean a forest is being restored. And reviving ecosystems in which trees are scarce is important too.

Text by: Dhanapal Govindarajulu. "India was a tree planting laboratory for 200 years - here are the results." The Conversation. 10 August 2023. [Emphasis added.]

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Nations and companies are competing to appropriate the last piece of available “untapped” forest that can provide the most amount of “environmental services.” [...] When British Empire forestry was first established as a disciplinary practice in India, [...] it proscribed private interests and initiated a new system of forest management based on a logic of utilitarian [extraction] [...]. Rather than the actual survival of plants or animals, the goal of this forestry was focused on preventing the exhaustion of resource extraction. [...]

Text by: Daniel Fernandez and Alon Schwabe. "The Offsetted." e-flux Architecture (Positions). November 2013. [Emphasis added.]

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At first glance, the statistics tell a hopeful story: Chile’s forests are expanding. […] On the ground, however, a different scene plays out: monocultures have replaced diverse natural forests [...]. At the crux of these [...] narratives is the definition of a single word: “forest.” [...] Pinochet’s wave of [...] [laws] included Forest Ordinance 701, passed in 1974, which subsidized the expansion of tree plantations [...] and gave the National Forestry Corporation control of Mapuche lands. This law set in motion an enormous expansion in fiber-farms, which are vast expanses of monoculture plantations Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus species grown for paper manufacturing and timber. [T]hese new plantations replaced native forests […]. According to a recent study in Landscape and Urban Planning, timber plantations expanded by a factor of ten from 1975 to 2007, and now occupy 43 percent of the South-central Chilean landscape. [...] While the confusion surrounding the definition of “forest” may appear to be an issue of semantics, Dr. Francis Putz [...] warns otherwise in a recent review published in Biotropica. […] Monoculture plantations are optimized for a single product, whereas native forests offer [...] water regulation, hosting biodiversity, and building soil fertility. [...][A]ccording to Putz, the distinction between plantations and native forests needs to be made clear. “[...] [A]nd the point that plantations are NOT forests needs to be made repeatedly [...]."

Text by: Julian Moll-Rocek. “When forests aren’t really forests: the high cost of Chile’s tree plantations.” Mongabay. 18 August 2014. [Emphasis added.]

[headspace-hotel]

I've been reading a lot of articles trying to understand how the ranges of various plants expanded and contracted throughout the glacial and interglacial periods,

and it sucks, it SUCKS that we just cannot know about ecosystems in the distant past with the same amount of detail as today's ecosystems!!!!!!!!!!! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT KENTUCKY WAS LIKE IN THE UPPER MIOCENE. BITING CLAWING KILLING DYING

I've been reading about palynology which is the STUDY of POLLEN, so different plants have very different looking pollen grains so if you get some mud from a sediment layer from 11,000 years ago and look at it under a microscope you can see what plants were dominant in the area and therefore how the ecosystem was different

ONE PROBLEM: Only the especially numerous plants will be easily detected this way, and it is rare for insect-pollinated plants to have detectable records in sediments like this, because pollen made to be carried by insects, doesn't blow away in the air and end up in mud the way wind-pollinated plant pollen does.

TWO PROBLEM, ACTUALLY: Pollen grains aren't that different between individual species, you could only say "This is an oak" or "This is a ragweed" and probably can't detect which kind specifically.

So there could have been all sorts of crazy herbs and trees that we would NEVER KNOW about because they were not very numerous, they were insect pollinated (80% of plant species are insect pollinated!) or they are closely related enough to a species we DO know, that the pollen is indistinguishable.

The quality of data on actual plant fossil records in Southeastern USA is kinda shit for some reason. I've read papers about it where the scientists are trying to make sense of the data and they're like "This paper from 1979 says this species of walnut was found in Tennessee, but we think it's full of shit because the fossil was just a tiny chip of bark" or something like that.

Compared with the rest of North America, we know next to nothing about the prehistory and the Pleistocene environment of the Southeast, I guess because it's so warm, humid and wet, everything rots away super quick.

Which is PAINFUL because the Southeast is the most biodiverse part of North America, and the ranges occupied by various plants suggest some wEIRD SHIT was happening.

There are ~100 genera that have one species that lives in SE USA and a sister species that lives in SE Asia,

and furthermore, there are several species that are found in SE USA but ALSO found high up in the cloud forests of Central America, in a totally different habitat that just happens to be hospitable temperature wise.

There are tons of plant species found EXCLUSIVELY in Florida and nowhere else on Earth. There are also loads of plant species found only in the highest peaks of the Appalachian Mountains. And there's a bunch of species that are found only in random speckle-like patches in various places, like how did it get HERE and then all the way over THERE 200 miles away with none in between?!?!

[acti-veg]

Recent studies conducted in Europe and North America seem to suggest that when honeybees are introduced into urban areas they can outcompete the wild bees.

In Munich, an increase in hives in the surrounding area reduced the number of wild bees recorded between May and July in the city’s botanical garden. Similarly, in Paris, fewer wild bees were observed when more hives were introduced across the city. The findings were echoed in Montreal, which between 2013 and 2020 witnessed a twelvefold increase in hives from 250 to almost 3,000. Sites with the largest increase had the biggest drop in wild bee species.

(…) Honeybees are livestock, like pigs and chicken. And just as keeping chickens won’t save wild birds, honeybees won’t save wild bees, and in some cases could be contributing to their demise.

[anarchywoofwoof]

yesterday, november 18 2023 was the first day in recorded history where the global 2m surface temperature exceeded 2 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 baseline.

the 1850-1900 period serves as a baseline for the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc) primarily because it represents the pre-industrial era, just before the widespread industrialization that began in the late 19th century.

this era is important for understanding the effects of climate change because it provides a relatively stable reference point for the earth's climate system before human activities - particularly the burning of fossil fuels - began to significantly alter the composition of earth's atmosphere. therefore, this period offers some of the earliest reliable meteorological data, allowing scientists to establish a baseline climate against which current and future changes can be compared.

the last time it was close to this hot was +1.99°C above the baseline, on Feb. 28, 2016 during hottest part of El Nino

yesterday, the value was +2.01°C before the hottest part of El Nino.

the 2°C threshold is widely regarded as a critical limit beyond which climate change impacts become increasingly severe and potentially irreversible. this includes increasing extreme weather events, over time a 40~ foot sea-level rise, and massive loss of biodiversity. some of which we are seeing take place before our eyes right now, every single day. all of these headlines are from this year alone:

Ocean scientists concerned over uptick of whale deaths on Northeast coasts

Penguin Chicks Are Dying Off as Antarctic Sea Ice Disappears

More than 10 billion snow crabs starved to death off the coast of Alaska. But why?

Texas oysters in dire straits

Tens of Thousands of Dead Fish Wash Ashore on Gulf Coast in Texas

Drone footage shows millions of dead fish blanket river

Mass death of Amazonian dolphins prompts fears for vulnerable species

‘Crisis period': Dead or dying marine mammals increasingly washing up on SoCal beaches

bear in mind that this is because we're already seeing a near-average of 1.5°c warming this year. this was not expected until the year 2050. like.. it's happening now.

the 1.5°c warming threshold, which is often discussed alongside the 2°c threshold, holds its own significance in the context of climate change and the efforts to mitigate its impacts. this threshold was brought into prominence by the paris agreement, which aimed to limit global warming to well below 2°c, preferably to 1.5°c, compared to pre-industrial levels.

we have effectively blown past this barricade and are barreling toward another. the capitalist train is leaving the tracks and taking us with it.

[jackdraw-spwrite]

Frigid, Chapter 2

Words: 1586 Characters: Danny Warnings: None

For Ectoberhaunt 2024, Day 01 - Past

Clockwork was acting weird. 

Well. 

Clockwork usually acted weird, Danny amended. But Clockwork was acting weird for Clockwork.

Not hostile or anything. He wasn't even being rude. Just…weird. 

Danny was visiting him again today as part of his continuing efforts to not freeze Amity solid before Frostbite figured out what was wrong with him, and Clockwork kept going quiet and looking at Danny. And between Clockwork's blank eyes and age shifting and the whole all-knowing thing he liked to play at, it was hard for Danny to figure out anything more than that.

It was making him nervous.

Read the rest on AO3 or below the readmore:

Clockwork probably knew what was wrong with Danny. He probably just wasn't telling him to preserve the time stream or whatever. Danny could deal with that. If Clockwork wasn’t telling him, it meant whatever this was wouldn't kill him or turn him evil. 

Probably. 

Clockwork liked him, right?

Not for the first time, Danny wondered. He opened his mouth to ask, but. But. He shook his head like he was clearing an etch a sketch. No. He’d learned his lesson. He had. 

Right? 

He could keep from asking about it. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut. And it would be fine. But then what was with the looks? Was Danny going to die soon? Was he going to fall into some kind of crack in reality and never be seen again? Clockwork had mentioned that could happen…

Danny shuddered. Clockwork's theories on what happened if you did had been thorough, thoroughly unpleasant, and thoroughly enough for Danny to stay far, far away from anything like them if he had any choice in the matter.

At least Clockwork continued to have stuff for Danny to do. 

“So,” asked Danny. “What can I do today?”

Clockwork turned his head just enough for Danny to see a sliver of his eye. “Have you ever heard of the snowball earth theory?”

“No?”

Clockwork hummed, tapping one finger against his staff. “It doesn't matter.”

Maybe it didn't. It still felt like he’d failed a pop quiz. “What is it?”

“Oh, an explanation for some irregularities in your geological record. Drastic changes in ocean oxygenation and biodiversity loss. What matters is that it gets cold.”

“And...I? Need to cool it down?”

“Not really. It will become cold enough without your intervention,” said Clockwork. “But I do have something else for you to do while you're there, and you'll be able to let off as much cold as you want without harming anything or anyone, where I'll be sending you.”

“Oh,” Danny blinked. “Okay.”

“You must not turn human while in this era.”

“Because humans didn't exist yet and it'll cause a paradox and I and the rest of the human race will explode?”

“Yes,” said Clockwork. “After a fashion. Don't do it.”

“What–” He'd been joking! But he didn't get an opportunity to ask more questions because Clockwork took that moment to shove Danny through the portal.

He stumbled through, icy panic settling along his skin. And then he looked up.

Oh. Maybe it wasn't panic at all.

It looked like the Arctic. Maybe it was the Arctic. It was white. It was certainly cold. It was…

It was flat. 

Very flat. 

Huh. 

Danny floated up off the ground, hoping that the height would let him get a look at whatever cool (pun very intended) animals existed in this part of Earth's history, but the ice extended to the horizon in every direction. The surface rippled in spots, and in a very few places he could see smudges of shadow barely visible against the glare off the ice. 

Disappointed but not really surprised– Clockwork had said it would be fine to let off his cold here, so nothing too interesting could be happening–Danny set about the task that had brought him here. There was a good spot…everywhere, probably. Or Clockwork would have told him somewhere specific.

He let himself fall back to earth.

Next, he lit a ghost ray and pointed it down, directly into the ice. The green lit the ice like a lantern as it drilled deeper and deeper, and steam boiled out of the hole. 

“One Mississippi, two Mississippi…”

Danny counted to forty three (Clockwork had been specific) and stopped.

He pulled a plastic baggie from his pocket and awkwardly tugged it open from the sides without touching its lips. The little pebbles inside looked for all the world like fish food, but probably weren't.

He emptied the bag into the hole, and pocketed the bag once it was empty. Clockwork had been insistent on not littering, like he hadn't already lectured Danny on it every time he’d been more than a few centuries in the past. That done, he released his hold on the cold that had built up in his core, just enough for it to sink to the ground and drain into the hole like mist. With the practice he'd gotten over the past several months, he was now good enough to feel his way around with it a little bit. Once it got a few hundred feet down he let a little bit more power leak into the mist.

The hole froze solid.

With a feeling like tugging his foot from mud he tugged his presence from the ice, and then Clockwork’s odd job of the day was finished. He could go home now, if he wanted.

But Danny didn't force the cold back under his skin. With the hole sealed, whatever lay beneath the ice was safe from what he was about to do.

He exhaled.

And he kept exhaling, mist falling from his lips in a great cascade. The chill in his bones and his core woke, unwound from him in a sigh that lasted for minutes. The mist billowed out, gathering into a bank of fog that blurred the distant clouds. In the half-light, ice crystals feathered up from the ground like ferns, pulling water from the air until, finally, the fog vanished.

There was no longer enough moisture in the air for fog. It was too cold. Even the mist was gone from Danny's lips.

He stood in a meadow of white as vast as the eye could see, and more. The icy ferns that had grown in the fog sparkled in the evening sun, knifing shards of color into Danny's eyes.

Danny paid it no mind. Clockwork had said here would be safe, after all. Instead, he slumped in relief and let himself fall backwards into the ground with a faint crunch from the ice crystals beneath him. 

He sighed again, this time purely in relief, and decided to lay there as long as he wanted. It was nearly impossible to relax, these days, so this was a rare treat.

The sun grew lower in the sky. The icy ferns covering the ice stretched long shadows that feathered up Danny's cheek and brushed his nose. He scrunched his nose, scratched an itch, and daydreamed.

He was waiting for night.

The sun set in thin bands of color, and finally, the real treat he'd been waiting for appeared: the stars flickered into view. 

Danny didn't recognize them.

The huge band of the Milky Way was there, at least, but none of his favorites were anywhere to be seen, or even anything from the southern hemisphere. 

It was to be expected–Clockwork had made it sound like this was really far back, and constellations only looked the way they did because of Earth's position relative to the stars that made the constellations up. Move a few dozen light years in any direction, and they were going to distort with the distance. Move a few thousand years in either direction, and the sun would move that far. It made sense. He didn't need to get excited.

Didn't need to.

As if. Danny let out a delighted laugh and leapt into the air. Maybe it was Earth. But the strange sky still made him feel like he was on an alien planet, exploring, and excitement sparkled along his every nerve at the idea.

He spent one hour, then two picking out chains of stars to be constellations and then naming them, coming up with stories. 

There was Dorathea, completely different from Draco, and The Portal. Here was The Sword, and Vlad's Stupid Hair, and a few different Ecto-Guns. A small zig-zag on the western side of the sky reminded Danny of Clockwork's scar.

…

He only knew it was west because that was the direction the stars were setting in. Polaris wasn't anywhere to be found. 

He spent a while wondering what that meant, if Polaris was just in a different enough position to be hidden behind the horizon, or if it hadn't formed yet. Polaris was a young star, after all. He'd just never expected to see a day where that mattered. 

Or night!

Danny smiled at his own joke, but the expression faded, forgotten. 

Could he check? If he flew high enough, would he be able to spot Polaris over the horizon? Excitement fluttered under his ribs at the idea of really seeing what the planet looked like right now. 

Clockwork had called it a snowball, right?

Danny started evaluating how long he'd take to get there–

–and a circle of cyan flared into existence in the dark.

His time was up.

“Aw man,” he said, but stepped through anyway. He couldn't help but take one last glance at the ice and the sky as he did.

Another time, then.

[mbari-blog]

Shining a light on the origins of bioluminescence ✨✨

A new study led by MBARI collaborators at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History explores the evolution of bioluminescence, nature’s living light show. A team of researchers, including MBARI Senior Scientist Steven Haddock, has learned bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in soft corals.

Scientists have long been curious about the evolution of bioluminescence. To tackle the larger question of why bioluminescence evolved, we needed to know when this ability first appeared in animals. In search of the trait’s earliest origins, the team decided to peer back into the evolutionary history of octocorals, an ancient and frequently bioluminescent group of animals that includes soft corals, sea fans, and sea pens. 

Mapping out the branches of the evolutionary tree from fossil records, genetics, and bioluminescent behaviors revealed that some 540 million years ago, the common ancestor of all octocorals was very likely bioluminescent. That is 273 million years earlier than the glowing ostracod crustaceans that previously held the title of earliest evolution of bioluminescence in animals.

MBARI’s Biodiversity and Biooptics Team is working to understand how and why animals produce their stunning luminescence. Learn more about this illuminating research on our website.

[reasonsforhope]

"As solar panels heat up beyond 25°C, their efficiency decreases markedly. Green roofs moderate rooftop temperatures. So we wanted to find out: could green roofs help with the problem of heat reducing the output of solar panels?

Our research compared a “biosolar” green roof — one that combines a solar system with a green roof — and a comparable conventional roof with an equivalent solar system. We measured the impacts on biodiversity and solar output, as well as how the plants coped with having panels installed above them.

The green roof supported much more biodiversity, as one might expect. By reducing average maximum temperatures by about 8°C, it increased solar generation by as much as 107% during peak periods. And while some plant species outperformed others, the vegetation flourished.

These results show we don’t have to choose between a green roof or a solar roof: we can combine the two and reap double the rewards...

How did the panels affect the plants?

In the open areas, we observed minimal changes in the vegetation cover over the study period compared to the initial planted community.

Plant growth was fastest and healthiest in the areas immediately around the solar panels. Several species doubled in coverage. We selected fast-growing vegetation for this section to achieve full coverage of the green roof beds as soon as possible.

The vegetation changed the most in the areas directly below and surrounding the solar panels. The Baby Sun Rose, Aptenia cordifolia, emerged as the dominant plant. It occupied most of the space beneath and surrounding the solar panels, despite having been planted in relatively low densities.

This was surprising: it was not expected the plants would prefer the shaded areas under the panels to the open areas. This shows that shading by solar panels will not prevent the growth of full and healthy roof gardens.

What were the biodiversity impacts?

We used environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys to compare biodiversity on the green roof and conventional roof. Water run-off samples were collected from both roofs and processed on site using portable citizen scientist eDNA sampling equipment to detect traces of DNA shed by the species on the roof.

The eDNA surveys detected a diverse range of species. These included some species (such as algae and fungi) that are not easily detected using other survey methods. The results confirmed the presence of bird species recorded by the cameras but also showed other visiting bird species went undetected by the cameras.

Overall, the green roof supported four times as many species of birds, over seven times as many arthropods such as insects, spiders and millipedes, and twice as many snail and slug species as the conventional roof. There was many times the diversity of microorganisms such as algae and fungi.

Encouragingly, the green roof attracted species unexpected in the city. They included blue-banded bees (Amegilla cingulata) and metallic shield bugs (Scutiphora pedicellata).

How did the green roof alter temperatures?

The green roof reduced surface temperatures by up to 9.63°C for the solar panels and 6.93°C for the roof surfaces. An 8°C reduction in average peak temperature on the green roof would result in substantial heating and cooling energy savings inside the building.

This lowering of temperatures increased the maximum output of the solar panels by 21-107%, depending on the month. Performance modelling indicates an extensive green roof in central Sydney can, on average, produce 4.5% more electricity at any given light level.

These results show we don’t have to choose between a green roof or a solar roof. We can combine them to take advantage of the many benefits of biosolar green roofs.

Biosolar roofs can help get cities to net zero

The next step is to design green roofs and their plantings specifically to enhance biodiversity. Green roofs and other green infrastructure may alter urban wildlife’s activities and could eventually attract non-urban species.

Our green roof also decreased stormwater runoff, removed a range of run-off pollutants and insulated the building from extremes of temperature. A relatively inexpensive system provides all of these services with moderate maintenance and, best of all, zero energy inputs.

Clearly, biosolar green roofs could make major contributions to net-zero cities. And all that’s needed is space that currently has no other use."

-via GoodGoodGood, May 12, 2024