GALAPAGOS NEWS Spring-Summer 2016
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Giant Tortoise of St
“ONE TURTLE KNOWS SEVERAL NAPOLEONS.” In 1856 Henry Thoreau commented aphoristically in his journal “One turtle knows several Napoleons.” Here we examine whether Thoreau was making reference to the current internet legend about Jonathan, giant tortoise of St. Helena, “the only pair of eyes still alive that had viewed Napoleon Bonaparte in the flesh.” The conclusion we come to is No, No, and No: 1.) Napoleon was dead and his corpse had returned to Paris before Jonathan hatched from his egg on an island in the Indian Ocean; 2.) Jonathan is no longer among the living; 3.) We do not have evidence that the internet legend of Jonathan, or any precursor to it, was already in existence as of this 1856 journal entry. Thoreau knew the difference between a turtle and a tortoise and had he meant tortoise, he would not have written turtle. In all probability, in conclusion, Thoreau merely meant to indicate that turtles tend to live considerably longer lives than humans. Don’t believe everything you find on the internet. ’Nuff said. HDT WHAT? INDEX ST. HELENA JONATHAN TORTOISE Aug. 28 [1856], First watermelon. P.M. — To tortoise eggs, Marlborough road.... June, July, and August, the tortoise eggs are hatching a few, inches beneath the surface in sandy fields. You tell of active labors, of works of art, and wars the past summer; meanwhile the tortoise eggs underlie this turmoil. What events have transpired on the lit and airy surface three inches above them! Sumner knocked down; Kansas living an age of suspense. Think what is a summer to them! How many worthy men have died and had their funeral sermons preached since I saw the mother turtle bury her eggs here! They contained an undeveloped liquid then, they are now turtles. -
Annual Report 2016 Reporte Anual 2016 2017 Preview Avances 2017
CHARLES DARWIN FOUNDATION FOR THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS FUNDACIÓN CHARLES DARWIN PARA LAS ISLAS GALÁPAGOS Annual Report 2016 Reporte Anual 2016 2017 Preview Avances 2017 CHARLES DARWIN FOUNDATION FOR THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS FUNDACIÓN CHARLES DARWIN PARA LAS ISLAS GALÁPAGOS Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador. + 593 (5) 2526 146 / www.darwinfoundation.org / [email protected] Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador. + 593 (5) 2526 146 / www.darwinfoundation.org / [email protected] The “Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands”. In French “Fondation Charles Darwin pour les îles Galapagos”, Association Internationale sans but lucratif, La "Fundación Charles Darwin para las Islas Galápagos". En francés “Fondation Charles Darwin pour les îles Galapagos”, Association Internationale sans but lucratif, has its registered oice located at Drève du Pieuré 19,1160 Brussels, and is registered under the trade registry of Brussels under the number 0409.359.103, (the “AISBL”). tiene su domicilio social ubicado en Drève du Pieuré 19.1160 Bruselas, y está registrado bajo el registro comercial de Bruselas bajo el número 0409.359.103, (el "AISBL"). CHARLES DARWIN FOUNDATION FOR THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS / Annual Report ISLANDS 2016 - 2017 Preview THE GALAPAGOS FOR FOUNDATION DARWIN CHARLES 2017 Anual 2016 / Avance / Informe GALÁPAGOS ISLAS LAS PARA DARWIN CHARLES FUNDACIÓN 2 © Daniel Unda García / CDF 3 © Andrés Cruz / CDF Contents Acronyms and Abbreviations 7 Mission and Vision 9 Executive Summary 10 President’s Letter 13 Executive Director’s -
Petition to List 53 Amphibians and Reptiles in the United States As Threatened Or Endangered Species Under the Endangered Species Act
BEFORE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR PETITION TO LIST 53 AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES IN THE UNITED STATES AS THREATENED OR ENDANGERED SPECIES UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY JULY 11, 2012 1 Notice of Petition _____________________________________________________________________________ Ken Salazar, Secretary U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street NW Washington, D.C. 20240 [email protected] Dan Ashe, Director U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1849 C Street NW Washington, D.C. 20240 [email protected] Gary Frazer, Assistant Director for Endangered Species U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1849 C Street NW Washington, D.C. 20240 [email protected] Nicole Alt, Chief Division of Conservation and Classification, Endangered Species Program U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 420 Arlington, VA 22203 [email protected] Douglas Krofta, Chief Branch of Listing, Endangered Species Program U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 420 Arlington, VA 22203 [email protected] AUTHORS Collette L. Adkins Giese Herpetofauna Staff Attorney Center for Biological Diversity P.O. Box 339 Circle Pines, MN 55014-0339 [email protected] 2 D. Noah Greenwald Endangered Species Program Director Center for Biological Diversity P.O. Box 11374 Portland, OR 97211-0374 [email protected] Tierra Curry Conservation Biologist P.O. Box 11374 Portland, OR 97211-0374 [email protected] PETITIONERS The Center for Biological Diversity. The Center for Biological Diversity (“Center”) is a non- profit, public interest environmental organization dedicated to the protection of native species and their habitats through science, policy, and environmental law. The Center is supported by over 375,000 members and on-line activists throughout the United States. -
Desert Tortoise Council 4
UTAH THE I DESERT TORTOISE COUNCIL ARIZONA NEVADA p$ ~Pi" oc 6 gf ((i ' . • (' ) g) • . ~ + 't g ~ bg fj vv • • • 0 sa 'R ~o + / j r v S UXAHNt h a s. > ~p ./ I CALIFORNIA 4 PROCEEDINGS OF 1980 SYMPOSIUM Th< "e i "-" c' ~~" -"'--' i r"""--"-rf -t tI-fg ~c i e)lard . ~ .[ I>glib,~~ s,,"„;..I:.,; ar,i~ i;..„.l; ) i4 , . ..,n r~s,~ solely with the authors and not with the Desert Tortoise Councit. D ESERT TORTOISE CO U N C I L PROCEEDINC>S OF 1980 SYMPOS IUM compilation of reports and papers presented at the fifth annual symposium of the Desert Tortoise Council, 22-2A March 1980, in Riverside, California DESERT TORTOISE CO U N C IL Co-Chairmen: D avid W. S t e v e n s Southern California Edison Company Frank Hoover C alifornia Department of F is h an d G a m e S ecret ar y : Eve lyn St . Amant C alifornia Department of F ish an d G a m e Recordi n g S e c r e t a r y : L or i L . Ni c h o l s o n T reasur e r : Mary T r o t t e r Desert Tortoise Pr e serve Co m m i t te e Editorial Committee E dit o r : K. A . H a s h a g en Cover d e s i g n : Suzanne A l l an O ther d r a w i n g s : R obert K i r w a y M aggie S t e v e n s TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Desert Tortoise Council Ezecuti ve Gommit tee Brief History of Desert Tortoise Council Executi ve Committee Fifth Annual Meeting and Symposium (1980) Excerpts from Business Meeting List of Attendees Field Trip to Chuckwalla Bench, Riverside County, California, Loz i N i ch o'Lson 10 Annual A w ar d. -
Gálapagos Islands and Darwin's Theory of Evolution
GENERAL ARTICLE Gálapagos Islands and Darwin’s Theory of Evolution K R Shivanna The Gálapagos Islands are closely associated with Darwin’s name because the animals and plants living on these islands provided clues to Darwin to formulate his theory of evolution by means of natural selection. Gálapagos is a group of 19 vol- canic, Pacific islands on the equator, about 1000 km west of Ecuador of South America. Being volcanic, there was no life on them when they were formed; all organisms presently liv- ing on the islands are the descendants of those that came from the South American mainland. Darwin visited these islands K R Shivanna after retiring in 1835 during his voyage around the world in HMS Beagle from the Department of and stayed for five weeks, studying and collecting plants, ani- Botany, University of Delhi, mals, and rock samples from the islands. His detailed studies has been associated with of the collections upon his return to London, particularly on Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the tortoises, mockingbirds, and finches, revealed that all these Environment, Bengaluru as species living on the Gálapagos were endemic to the island INSA Honorary Scientist. His anddidnotoccuranywhereelseintheworld,butallofthem major interests are the closely resembled the species present on the South Ameri- structural and functional aspects of reproductive can mainland. This realization made him speculate that the biology of flowering plants. Gálapagos inhabitants, after they arrived from the mainland, evolved into different species over the years, shaped by the en- vironment of the islands. He visualized evolutionary changes as a result of the competition amongst individuals under chan- ged environmental conditions, which acted as a selective agent. -
14Th Annual Symposium
2016 14th Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles N Joint Annual Meeting of the Turtle Survival Alliance and IUCN Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group E Program and Abstracts August 1 — 4, 2016 W New Orleans, Louisiana O This year’s Symposium is made possible by . R L Additional Conference Support E Generously Provided by: Kristin Berry, Tonya Bryson, John Iverson, Robert Krause, Anders Rhodin, Stuart Salinger, Brett and Nancy Stearns, and A Reid Taylor N Funding for the 2016 Behler Turtle Conservation Award generously provided by: S Brett and Nancy Stearns, Chelonian Research Foundation, Deb Behler, George Meyer, IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, Leigh Ann and Matt Frankel, and Turtle Survival Alliance f TSA PROJECTS Turtle Survival Alliance 201 6 Conference Highlights The TSA has always been an alliance, a melding of all people and groups with one common thread, turtles and tortoises. This year, we are inviting our friends and collaborators, to present on who they are, what they do, and any significant events in the past year. Confiscated endangered Malagasy tortoises were flown from Mumbai back to Madagascar in April with the support of a network of conservation organizations led by the Turtle Survival Alliance. Honoring Peter Pritchard Words cannot begin to describe Peter. He is a true Renaissance man, an impeccable scholar, conservationist, a pioneer, and immersion traveler in the truest sense of the word. His friends range from the Along with the Asian Box Turtles Turtle World’s greats to those whose of the genus Cuora, Batagur careers are just beginning. -
From the Program Co-Chairs: WELCOME to TUCSON!
2019 From the Program Co-Chairs: WELCOME TO TUCSON! There is no better way to celebrate the month of August than attending the 17th Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles. After a very successful 2018 symposium in Fort Worth, Texas – to visit the city where the idea to create Turtle Survival Alliance was conceived – we are delighted to welcome you back to Tucson, Arizona! This year’s meeting, sponsored by Zoo Med Laboratories, is being co-hosted by the Turtle Survival Alliance and the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group at the Loews Ventana Resort in Tucson, Arizona. Here, you will be greeted with a magnificent view of the Catalina Mountains, fall in love with big skies and long views, and desert life forms from the saguaro cactus to the Gila monster, which inspired books by Edward Abbey, Charles Bowden, Barbara Kingsolver, and more. Come early to enjoy some extra time in laid back Tucson – stay late to explore the wonders of the Sonoran Desert and savor the regional cuisine! We return to Tucson by popular demand, and have been assured by many locals and past Symposium attendees that the Old Pueblo was born ready to host the largest gathering of turtle biologists, zookeepers, husbandrists, and enthusiasts, anywhere in the world – for the fourth time! This year’s symposium starts with a keynote presentation on Chinese Turtles by Shi Haitao, and aptly closes with a more locally flavored featured presentation on Challenges in Conservation and Recovery of Desert Tortoises: The Importance of Long-term Studies by Roy Averill-Murray. -
40Th Annual Gopher Tortoise Council Meeting
40th Annual Gopher Tortoise Council Meeting PROGRAM 11–14 October, 2018 Archbold Biological Station Lake Placid, Florida Acknowledgements This event – the largest meeting ever held at Archbold! – required a big show of teamwork and extra effort from many Archbold staff. I am indebted to the following people for helping with meeting setup, lodging reservations, food preparation, housekeeping, technical/IT assistance and all-around logistical help: Herpetology & Restoration Ecology Program – Amanda West, Madison Harman, and Alan Rivero; Administrative staff – Sharon Hawkins, Ann Thompson, and Annamarie Grimes; Guest Services – Verna Dunbar and Dennis Flanagan; Maintenance – Bert Crawford and Jose Gonzalez; Technical Support – Kevin Patram, Peyton Breault, and Gabriel Kamener. I owe huge thank-yous to Archbold volunteers Majel Bowerman, Marilyn Blair, Nancy and Mark Deyrup, Helen Obenchain, Scott Rothermel, and Susan Volpitta, who worked hard behind the scenes before and during the meeting, lending their creative touches and helping hands in myriad ways. Gopher Tortoise Council officers and committee chairs provided guidance and assistance at all stages of meeting planning/implementation; special thanks to Lora, Jen, Deb, Don, Will, Rachel, Eric, and Rachael, for fielding all my questions and countless emails! Finally, we are very grateful to the many talented artists and craftspeople who donated items to the Silent Auction, including Laurelin Rian (painting), Kathryn Obidzinski (painting), Alice Stroppel (polymer clay), Steve Ganci (turned wood), Harriet Smith (mosaic), and Emily Angell (pine needle basket). We also thank Kate Bazany (2017 Archbold research intern) for her tortoise drawing pictured on the cover and conference t-shirts, and the team of current Archbold interns (led by Madison Harman) who painted the amazing burrow scenes on cornhole boards made and donated by Marc Baugh. -
Insect Representations in Postatomic American Fiction and Film By
Bugs After the Bomb: Insect Representations in Postatomic American Fiction and Film by Catherine S. Cassel A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (English and Women’s Studies) in The University of Michigan 2016 Doctoral Committee: Professor Peggy S. McCracken, Co-Chair Professor Patricia S. Yaeger, Deceased, Co-Chair Professor Sara B. Blair Professor Jonathan E. Freedman Assistant Professor Melanie R. Yergeau © Catherine Serena Cassel 2016 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my grandparents, Karin and Jess Cassel. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not be in existence today without the support of many colleagues and friends. I thank Patsy Yaeger for her guidance in the early stages of this dissertation for her unfailing intellectual guidance and enthusiastic embrace of my ideas. Without Patsy, who knows what avenue my pursuits may have taken, but it surely would have been more boring. I thank Peggy McCracken for being a tremendously generous and insightful mentor whose detailed and thoughtful response to my scholarship has exponentially improved it. Her feedback strengthened the quality of this dissertation in unmeasurable ways. I thank my committee members Jonathan Freedman, Sara Blair, and Melanie Yergeau, for their help and support over these past several years. I thank my grandparents, Karin and Jess Cassel, for their unwavering support. Many colleagues at University of Michigan have aided this project through intellectually sustaining conversations. I thank Sarah Linwick, Nicolette Bruner, Gen Creedon, Lauren Benjamin, and Shannon Walton for providing invaluable perspectives on the animal studies aspect of this dissertation, in personal conversations, in a Mellon Workshop on science studies and cultural theory, and through the Rackham Animal Studies Workshop. -
Tunnel and Fencing Options for Reducing Road Mortalities of 6
February 2016 Tunnel and Fencing Options for Reducing Road Mortalities of Freshwater Turtles Charles D. Baker, Governor Karyn E. Polito, Lieutenant Governor Stephanie Pollack, MassDOT Secretary & CEO Technical Report Document Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. SPRII.06.22 n/a n/a 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date December 2015 Tunnel and Fencing Options for Reducing Road Mortalities of 6. Performing Organization Code Freshwater Turtles n/a 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Paul R. Sievert and Derek T. Yorks UMTC-12.02 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) University of Massachusetts n/a Department of Environmental Conservation 11. Contract or Grant No. 160 Holdsworth Way 56460 Amherst, MA 01002 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Massachusetts Department of Transportation Office of Transportation Planning Final Report – March 2012 10 Park Plaza, Room 4150 Boston, MA 02116-3969 14. Sponsoring Agency Code n/a 15. Supplementary Notes n/a 16. Abstract This study was undertaken to investigate the relative effectiveness of experimental under-road passages and barriers for freshwater turtles as solutions to the problem of roadway mortality through a series of designed behavioral experiments. At outdoor laboratories, movements in response to varying light levels, and barrier opacity were examined for painted turtles (Chrysemys picta), Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii), and spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata). Additionally, tunnel size and tunnel entrance design were examined for painted turtles only. A total of 886 painted turtles, 53 Blanding’s turtles, and 50 spotted turtles were used in factorial experimental designs to test for effects of (1) tunnel lighting and size, (2) artificial lighting, and (3) guidance structure characteristics. -
Comments on the Proposed Conservation of Usage of Testudo Gigantea Schweigger, 1812
274 Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 66(3) September 2009 Comments on the proposed conservation of usage of Testudo gigantea Schweigger, 1812 (currently Geochelone (Aldabrachelys) gigantea; Reptilia, Testudines) (Case 3463; see BZN 66: 34–50, 80–87, 169–186) (1) Akio Takahashi 1–1 Ridai-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama 700–0005, Japan (e-mail: [email protected]) My colleagues and I (Takahashi et al., 2003) published a paper in which we made morphological and taxonomic comparisons of a fossil tortoise with other testudines. We have become aware that there has been great nomenclatural debate and uncertainty about the name of the Aldabra tortoise, and after studying the recent publication of Case 3463 in the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, it is clear that the nomenclatural instability adds greatly to the complications of scientific research. It is therefore very important to fix the name of the Aldabra tortoise, and the detailed explanation in Case 3463 shows why this should be based on the name that has been in use for more than a century. The maintenance of the neotype of T. gigantea, based on a specimen of known locality and exhibiting gigantism, a critical character of this species, will be the most satisfactory way to fix the name, and facilitate scientific investigation in various fields that need stable names. Additional references Takahashi, A., Hirayama, R. & Otsuka, H. 2003. A new species of the genus Manouria (Testudines: Testudinidae) from the Upper Pleistocene of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Paleontological Research, 7(3): 195–217. (2) Ren Hirayama School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University, Nishiwaseda 1–6–1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169–8050, Japan (e-mail: [email protected]) I completely support the petition to conserve the specific name Testudo gigantea Schweigger, 1812 for the Aldabra tortoise, although I used another name, Dipso- chelys dussumieri in my paper (Takahashi et al., 2003). -
GALAPAGOS NEWS Fall-Winter 2014
GALAPAGOS NEWS Fall-Winter 2014 LONESOME GEORGE UNVEILED Discovering Galapagos An Education Tool PROJECT UPDATES: Mangrove Finches Animal Balance CDF Science BOOK EXCERPT: Lonesome George Story Galapagos Gift Ideas GC PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS www.galapagos.org Johannah Barry (third from left), President of Galapagos Conservancy, poses with Dr. Julio Lasso, Ecuador’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lorena Tapia, Ecuador’s Minister of the Environment, and Dr. Arturo Izurieta, Director of the Galapagos National Park. © JargaPix Photography FROM THE PRESIDENT Johannah Barry CONTENTS We proudly feature the very familiar and iconic Lonesome George in this issue of 3 GC Legacy Society Galapagos News in honor of the launch of the Lonesome George Exhibit at the American Galapagos Guardians Museum of Natural History in New York. Expertly rendered by taxidermist George Dante, 4-5 Galapagos News Lonesome George is not only a cautionary tale about what we can thoughtlessly destroy, but what the best of humankind can do to protect and preserve fragile ecosystems and 6-7 Unveiling Lonesome species throughout the world. George 8-9 Discovering Galapagos This last extinction on Pinta Island was preceded by tortoise extinctions more than 150 10-11 GC Project Updates: years ago on both Floreana and Santa Fe Islands. Decades of genetic research have CDF Science yielded some extraordinary and very hopeful results. Laboratory work, combined with Mangrove Finches old-fashioned field work, has allowed researchers to identify tortoises on Wolf Volcano on the island of Isabela, some with partial Pinta ancestry and some with partial Floreana 12 GC Project Updates: ancestry. Recovering these hybrids and initiating a breeding program for the Pinta and Animal Balance Floreana tortoise species will produce young tortoises that will be used to restore the 13 Membership Updates populations on both islands.