World’s first hybrid sharks found in Australia

Researchers have discovered the world’s first hybrid sharks in Australian waters, indicating that animals are adapting to climate change for survival.

Leading researchers in marine biology have come across 57 animals along a 2,000-km stretch from Queensland to New South Wales which they believe are the result of cross-breeding between the common blacktip shark and Australian blacktip shark, two related but genetically distinct species.

The inter-breeding between the two species shows that the animals are adapting to climate change and the hybridisation can make the fishes stronger, the scientists said.

“Hybridisation can enable sharks to adapt to ecological change as the smaller Australian blacktip currently favours tropical waters in the north while the larger common black tip is more abundant in sub-tropical and temperate waters along the south-eastern Australian coastline,” Jennifer Ovenden of Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.

“Wild hybrids are usually hard to find, so detecting them and their offspring is extraordinary. To find 57 hybrids along 2000-km of coastline is unprecedented,” she said.

Another researcher at the University of Queensland researcher, Jess Morgan, said it was unusual for sharks to breed in such a way.

She said as sharks physically mate, it makes sure they do not hybridise with the wrong species.

The find was made during cataloguing work off Australia’s east coast when genetic testing showed certain sharks to be one species when physically they looked to be another.

Colin Simpfendorfer of James Cook University’s Fishing and Fisheries Research Centre said the results of this research show that we still have a lot to learn about these important ocean predators.

Source: The Hindu January 3, 2012

Two Earth-size planets spotted beyond solar system

New York: Scientists have found two Earth-sized planets orbiting a star outside the solar system, an encouraging sign for prospects of finding life elsewhere.

The discovery shows that such planets exist and that they can be detected by the Kepler spacecraft, said Francois Fressin of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They're the smallest planets found so far that orbit a star resembling our sun.

Scientists are seeking Earth-sized planets as potential homes for extraterrestrial life, said Fressin, who reports the new findings in a paper published online yesterday by the journal Nature.

One planet's diameter is only 3 per cent larger than Earth's, while the other's diameter is about nine-tenths that of Earth. They appear to be rocky, like our planet.

But they are too hot to contain life as we know it, with calculated temperatures of about 1,400 degrees and 800 degrees Fahrenheit (760 Celsius and 425 Celsius), he said.

Source: The Indian Express, 21-12-2011

Delhi zoo adds new feature

New Delhi: As part of the new master plan, the 100-acre Delhi Zoo on Tuesday added a new feature in the form of an additional enclosure to house animals from Central India. Animals like the black buck, nilgai, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer and gaur have now been housed together for the benefit of visitors.

“This is the first time in the history of the zoo that such a grouping has been done. The decision was taken on the advice of the Central Zoo Authority. We hope the experiment will give additional information to visitors about the area from where these animals come,'' said a senior zoo officials.

“Initially we were apprehensive that the animals might start fighting among themselves, but we have noticed that they have grouped themselves and are grazing in different sections of the enclosure,'' added the official.

The zoo is home to over 1,000 animals, representing almost 130 species of animals and birds from around the world.

In keeping with the new master plan, the Delhi Zoo is undertaking an ambitious “renovation” plan, which is all set to change its face.

“We plan to have a butterfly park, an insectarium and an aquarium. The master plan aims to provide more space to the animals, bring about infrastructural improvements and make the place more educational for the visitors. There is also a plan to bring in different themes like peninsular India, central Indian highlands and Himalayan foothills,'' said a senior zoo official.

The zoo is seeking over Rs.100 crore from the Union Forests and Environment Ministry to implement the master plan and the survey work for the revamp began last year.

“As per the plan, visitors to the zoo will also be able to enjoy a walk-through aviary and a rainforest region. The idea is to provide a real-life experience to visitors. Better signages and information kiosks are also part of the plan. The master plan also envisages providing improved drainage and sewage. This measure is especially important during the monsoon season when flooding endangers the health of the zoo inmates,'' noted the official.

Source: The Hindu, 14-12-2011

Dried bamboo groves bring ominous portents

The dried bamboo groves inside the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and the adjacent sanctuaries such as the Rajiv Gandhi National Park, Nagarhole, and the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka are posing a threat to the wildlife population of the Nilgiri Biosphere, a major tiger and elephant habitat.

The bamboo groves in the Wayanad forest are the mainstay of the herbivores in the Nilgiri Biosphere during summer. With the advent of the season, migration of wild animals starts from the adjacent sanctuaries in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to Wayanad owing to shortage of fodder and water there.

“This season may be a period of famine for wildlife, especially elephants, wild gaur, and other lower herbivores owing to the mass destruction of bamboo groves in the area,” forest officials said.

“Bamboo groves, which grow in 100 sq. km. of the 344.44 sq. km. of the sanctuary, have completely withered away except for a few patches after the gregarious flowering of the plants started in 2005,” K.K. Sunilkumar, Wildlife Warden, Wayanad sanctuary, told The Hindu.

Nearly 60,000 tonnes, worth Rs.4 crore, of it is extractable. But norms forbid the extraction of plants from the sanctuaries, sources said.

Moreover, posing a threat to the wildlife as well as the ecology of the Nilgiri Biosphere, it is reported that close to 25 per cent of the bamboo groves in the adjacent sanctuaries have bloomed since 2010 and the phenomenon is continuing.

Thorny bamboo (Bamboosa Bambos) is a monocarpic (flowering only once) plant belonging to the Poaceae family (grass family) and its flowering cycle varies from 30 to 34 years and 44 to 49 years, Ratheesh Narayanan, senior scientist, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Kalpetta, said.

Profuse natural regeneration occurs from seeds after gregarious flowering. Seeds have no dormancy and this helps germination under favourable conditions soon after seed fall, Mr. Narayanan said.

But, protection from fire and grazing is essential for proper establishment of seedlings, he added.

Fire incidents have been comparatively low in the sanctuary for the past two years following summer rain and the conservation measures implemented by the Forest Department. But, combustible materials have accumulated in the sanctuary this year and a spark may cause an uncontrollable disaster, the sources added.

Meanwhile, dearth of funds for implementing conservation measures inside the sanctuary, after the Union Ministry drastically cut the funds in the current fiscal, is a major concern.

The Central government is yet to allot any funds for implementing forest fire protection measures in the sanctuary so far, the sources added.

Farmers adjacent to the sanctuary fear that destruction of the bamboo groves may worsen the increasing man-animal conflict in the district.

Source: The Hindu, December 16, 2011