DOCSLIB.ORG

The Amazon River Dolphin

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Amazon River Dolphin lMATA Dedicated to those who serve marine mammal science through training, public display, research, husbandry, conservation, and education. Back. Cover: Graphics play like a sentinel over Tacoma. an important role in the Washington, site of the 22nd public display of animals; Annual IMATA Conference. they are essential education From COver: Chuckles, the Photograph by Mark Holden. tools that provide the public only Amazon River dolphin with a wide range of in North America, resides at important information about the Pittsburgh Zoo in animals and the environment. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photograph by Marcye Photograph by n'm Smith. Miller-Lebert Copyright 1994. AIl of the articles contained within Soundings are the personal views of the respective authors and not necessarily the views of IMATA . DESIGN & PRODUCTION: I-deal Services, San Diego, California (619) 275-1800 Page 2 Spring 1994 ~- ---­ ---- --- lMATA PUBLlCAnONS COMMlTIEE Editor John Kirtland Regional The Dolphin Expedence Editorial Director Reports Dave Force Designed to help members Sea World Q/Texas keep track of what is going Assodate Editor on in other facilities around :.Jedra Hecker the world. i\arional Aquadum in Baltimore IMATA'S Growth Contributing Editors Jim Clarke and Development Pete Davey Greg Dye IMATA is dedicated to Steve Shippee providing and advancing the Kari Snelgrove The Amazon most professional. effective, Contributing Writers and humane care and Kathy Sdao River Dolphin handling of all marine Jeff Fasick Learning about this species is a animals in all habitats. Editoria) Advisory Board challenge. Few Inia have been Randy Brill, Ph.D. housed in captivity for long NCCOSCINRaD periods making research of the Brian E. Joseph, D.V.M. unusual species frustrating. Minnesota Zoological Garden Ken Ramirez john G. Shedd Aquadum Ted Turner Sea World ifOhio 00 the Terrie Williams , Ph.D. Shell Q[fice ifNaval Research This column will try to keep ouodings t'!: pubtisb\!\J 10I.1I Ilm~ II yt'ar l'\ ~ lntc'lUllWOoU '.1arim' ,o\nimoJ TraJlU~B :\s.sociaooo tlM.,-\ T:\ ) you abreast of new books, lIS a ~f'\11 ~ k1 l~ mm\MS "rlulol13 cxpre..:, d In Soundings are 1hc5C! (II the .tutoors 311,j d\..1 t,('l I ~'-1r lly t\'!plcseut th.:lSe .of the f.dac113! l\d\1:SoJI'Y B...~rd ..:'If {'II L\\.-\fA. articles, and other interesting SIil:!m~l1!:a ". milflU!iCOJ ls, phdogr.ll'ru.. dnd U1USlRtkms..IIl! ,-\'doJmed unJ en('u~d. but will be renuned items you might have missed nnly if a'(((\mpanl~d ~y J rerum en\ elo pe and. ,Hlequtlte p)slJ~ •\ ny maU~f1al.1i pttd j!; ~\lb\l;'C1' "Ut 11 r",,\.'lslCln <I" L.. nea:ssar} In our sole d~l1(ln 11;1 met!t lllt" requ llcm'l"nlS of related to our field. pu hli(iulon Soundings t .; rh'.luc~d :n W<-rdPcrfenCiI subm~n.lj \ Itt WonJP<"rfat Ak"" 1.'1" rldH~r a i -I I'}..' (If it .5 1/4 " dl""K., accomparuf'l1 ~y ,1 hJrd C\1p Y, IUC pretcriT'1. Typed :;ubml&Slons, .:; houlJ be d O l lh k~ bpa ... ~d rr)'l i::I .11·,\ 1'1" fNiP r Trainer's Include '11t: t]oltne . ad\ " ~ . FAX number .IJ IHJ pho-llr nwnl~r or the ~lUl ho f on lilt: rille lM.Ke. Photographs Sh(lUkl be dl leasl 4"\.5", rH:ftr1lbl)1 !?lat.k ,lI1d wruw gIo&)" InduJe capll.:JIU i.mod IdctUlfy all H:cogntzablc persons . The act cof submllt! nl't ill] Conference Forum dtllclr. phOtograph . (l( lllustnll1C1n co n.~;( l tutcS an agn.""CITlC1l lhm , J) Ihe milll!r1als dJc. rre~ of Glpynght rt'.smcrions. (2) ph.om (drases ha ve hcc;u obtained. and (3~ the mntcrinl may be This column is dedicated to pDblished by J IAT.\ in Soundings or 0111< r IMHA Countdown '94 publicauoos. IA.>adlincs!or submlsskln arc the HlSl dil} vi th~ providing a place where month or Ma fc h, June. Sept~ m b(' r . a nd December .\11 suhmissions shoold be add - d II.' rht r.dlwf', Ichll Klnlalld, Join us in the beautiful Pacific CJ() IMATA. t 720 South Sho(9 RoaJ. Sdn pu:::go. (aIU\>n1I.J problems and solutions, 9:1!lO'} US:\. or h ,\Xed to (ble)) 226·3')M. Address thangc-s Northwest. sboukll!e seDl to IMA'r/\'s Secretary. Nedra HlXkt"f. Jl lhe samt! questions and answers, and add""" new ideas can be shared. @ Printed on recycled paper. Spring 1994 Page 3 in a process referred to as Negotiated will carry it through during her Rule Making. This is a system where administration. For more on this, be input by experts, not just policy makers, sure to ch eck out Cheryl's article is provided pn'or to the implementation elsewhere in this issue. of regulations involving the care and These are just a few of th e maintenance of marine mammals (now "highlights," but you can see that while there's a novel idea!). This is yet we might not be at a high proflle point in another example which reinforces our the year, we are continuing to work for intention to be recognized as experts in the benefit of IMATA and its members. the science of behavioral conditioning, Let me close this column by wishing hu sbandry, and research with marine all of you and your animals the very mammals. best as you go into the summer season, The Board of Directors is also or for those of you "downunder" and evaluating IMATA's five-year strategy plan which came out of meetings that elsewhere in the southern hemisphere, were conducted during our 1991 may the winte r be equally productive. conference in Concord, California. We P.S.: When was the last time that you now intend to establish updated goals spoke to an IMATA member from and objectives for IMATA. Ch eryl another facility? -Dave Force Boy, you see a lot sitting in the Messinger is heading up this project and "president's chair" of lMATA. The best view is of the dedication, effort, and commitment that is put forth by the Board of Directors and the com mittee chairs-a co ll ection of terrific individuals. I merely represent the team, not dictate its direction , and I am excited about the direction that we ha ve been taking so far this year. At our mid-year Board meeting, just The first six months of this year have political . held in May, we focused on a number of proven to be extremely trying and controversy issues which should have a very positive frustrating, and due to numerous regarding impact on the membership. Although the complications and delays, both the Winter dolphins in the Bahamas which has list is long, some of the items that were and Spring issues of Soundings have demanded my attemio n, as well as discussed at this meeting include: come out extremely late. Because [ have several critica lly ill dolphins at another IM ATA 's Board intends to continue to received a number of inquiries wondering Bahamian faCility, all of which took me take a pro-active approa ch towards where the issues are, I wa nted to take this away from my office and e\'en off the detra ctors of our industry and in opportunity to let everyone know what island for a period of time. In addition, responding to letters and articles in the has been happening. because the Winter issue of soundings print and electronic media that we feel Although the Winter issue was actually did not reach anyone until well after the unfairly represent your dedication and sent to the printer on time in early deadline for this issue, most people were commitme nt to marine animals. January, due to a great deal of unaware that I had left Hawaii. Although it has been greatly improved, miscommunication, as well as a lack of Consequently, submissions for this issue we want to find ways to fully communication, it was not mailed until have been following me from ocean to "modernize" our membership record late March. Apparently, there was some ocean, and I was still receiving them as keeping. The LLP. committee has been confusion with our bank regarding which late as the first week in May. extremely busy with active patticipation account one of our checks should be Ironically, perhaps, the question of in permit issues and the re-authorization cashed against; this resulted in the printer tardiness ma y stem from increased of the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection not being paid a substantial sum for expectations. When I think back to just Act, and comm ittee representatives will previous work and, while they did the fi ve or ten years ago, I remember that we once again be attending both the layout, they refused to actually print the used to receive Soundings on a rather haphazard and unpredictable schedule, International Whaling Commission magazine until they received their money. (IWC ) and the Convention on Unfortunately, I did not learn about this some years we didn't even receive four issues; it was what we expected and it International Trade of Endangered until I just happened to be in San Diego in was seldom questioned. Since the Species (CITES) meetings this year. late February. Once the confusion creation of the Publications Committee IMATA has also re ceived an between the printer, IMATA, and the three years ago, however, we have been unsolicited request to be involved in bank was resolved, the issue was finally able to publish the magazine on a very discussions with the United States .printed and mailed.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Breeding Ecology and Extinction of the Great Auk (Pinguinus Impennis): Anecdotal Evidence and Conjectures
    THE AUK A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY VOL. 101 JANUARY1984 No. 1 BREEDING ECOLOGY AND EXTINCTION OF THE GREAT AUK (PINGUINUS IMPENNIS): ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE AND CONJECTURES SVEN-AXEL BENGTSON Museumof Zoology,University of Lund,Helgonavi•en 3, S-223 62 Lund,Sweden The Garefowl, or Great Auk (Pinguinusimpen- Thus, the sad history of this grand, flightless nis)(Frontispiece), met its final fate in 1844 (or auk has received considerable attention and has shortly thereafter), before anyone versed in often been told. Still, the final episodeof the natural history had endeavoured to study the epilogue deservesto be repeated.Probably al- living bird in the field. In fact, no naturalist ready before the beginning of the 19th centu- ever reported having met with a Great Auk in ry, the GreatAuk wasgone on the westernside its natural environment, although specimens of the Atlantic, and in Europe it was on the were occasionallykept in captivity for short verge of extinction. The last few pairs were periods of time. For instance, the Danish nat- known to breed on some isolated skerries and uralist Ole Worm (Worm 1655) obtained a live rocks off the southwesternpeninsula of Ice- bird from the Faroe Islands and observed it for land. One day between 2 and 5 June 1844, a several months, and Fleming (1824) had the party of Icelanderslanded on Eldey, a stackof opportunity to study a Great Auk that had been volcanic tuff with precipitouscliffs and a flat caught on the island of St. Kilda, Outer Heb- top, now harbouring one of the largestsgan- rides, in 1821. nettles in the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Building an Aquarium in Koya Districts and Surroundings As a Project in the Tourism Sector
    First International Symposium on Urban Development: Koya as a Case Study 347 Building an aquarium in Koya districts and surroundings as a project in the tourism sector J. R. Hama Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science and Health, Koya University, Kurdistan, Iraq Abstract An outline for any project is a crucial part because it is improves the quality of the project, beside all of the consequences that will be expected. Kurdistan starts to develop and grow in all aspects; tourism, industry, education, etc, as government and relative ministries are concerned. An aquarium is a place of refreshment to keep and exhibit animals and plants that live in water. An aquarium can be used for different purposes; for example, for education, research, investment and environmental protection. In Kurdistan, there is no aquarium; it can be built by the government and it can be proposed to the private sector, since it is the missing part of the tourism industry. Koya city is one of the locations that are suitable for an aquarium as it is easy to access by civilians from Sulaimani, Hawler and Kirkruk and it is beside Dukan’s lake. The project needs a plan and efforts to be made. Keywords: Koya city, aquarium, public aquarium, tourism sector. 1 General background 1.1 Tourism planning Planning is about setting and meeting objectives. It is concerned with anticipating and regulating change in a system to promote orderly development so as to increase the social, economic and environmental benefits of the development process [1]. To do this, planning becomes an ordered sequence of operations, designed to lead to the achievement of either a single goal or to a balance between several goals.
    [Show full text]
  • THE CASE AGAINST Marine Mammals in Captivity Authors: Naomi A
    s l a m m a y t T i M S N v I i A e G t A n i p E S r a A C a C E H n T M i THE CASE AGAINST Marine Mammals in Captivity The Humane Society of the United State s/ World Society for the Protection of Animals 2009 1 1 1 2 0 A M , n o t s o g B r o . 1 a 0 s 2 u - e a t i p s u S w , t e e r t S h t u o S 9 8 THE CASE AGAINST Marine Mammals in Captivity Authors: Naomi A. Rose, E.C.M. Parsons, and Richard Farinato, 4th edition Editors: Naomi A. Rose and Debra Firmani, 4th edition ©2009 The Humane Society of the United States and the World Society for the Protection of Animals. All rights reserved. ©2008 The HSUS. All rights reserved. Printed on recycled paper, acid free and elemental chlorine free, with soy-based ink. Cover: ©iStockphoto.com/Ying Ying Wong Overview n the debate over marine mammals in captivity, the of the natural environment. The truth is that marine mammals have evolved physically and behaviorally to survive these rigors. public display industry maintains that marine mammal For example, nearly every kind of marine mammal, from sea lion Iexhibits serve a valuable conservation function, people to dolphin, travels large distances daily in a search for food. In learn important information from seeing live animals, and captivity, natural feeding and foraging patterns are completely lost.
    [Show full text]
  • Alexandra Twyman CURRICULUM VITAE 1
    Alexandra Twyman CURRICULUM VITAE 1 E-mail: [email protected] University of Nebraska-Lincoln Phone: (402) 472- 1006 Department of Educational Psychology 234 Teachers College Hall Lincoln, NE 68588 RESEARCH INTERESTS: • Development and malleability of cognitive processes underlying spatial reasoning - Identify the basic types of cues and factors influencing malleability in reorientation (i.e. re-establish a sense of direction after disorientation) - Test and refine the adaptive combination model as a theoretical account for cognitive development (as an alternative to core knowledge accounts) - Examine how to use children’s strength’s in navigation to support classroom learning • Factors that support/hinder spatial development as possible supports/barriers into STEM - Examine developmental trajectories of the spatial concept “middle” across real world and computer tasks and scales of space (from navigation size to desktop scale) - Investigate if “middle” training transfers to math proficiency (fractions, division, number line) - Examine the role of cumulative sports experience in shaping spatial proficiency in university - Examine how playground play may influence spatial development - Investigate how fitness and nutrition (low-iron status) interact to support school achievement in ] undergraduate and high school students • Differentiate typical and clinical aging in spatial memory - Understand how spatial memory changes with typical and clinical aging - Investigate potential of spatial tasks as early cognitive screeners for Alzheimer’s
    [Show full text]
  • Uria Aalge ) Eggshells in Atlantic Canada
    08_13025_Bond_NOTE_FINAL_CFN 128(1) 2017-09-01 4:01 AM Page 72 Notes Thickness of Common Murre ( Uria aalge ) Eggshells in Atlantic Canada DonAlD W. P iriE -H Ay and AlExAnDEr l. B onD 1 Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, and Environment Canada, 11 innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7n 3H5 Canada 1Corresponding author: [email protected] Pirie-Hay, Donald W., and Alexander l. Bond. 2014. T hickness of Common Murre ( Uria aalge ) eggshells in Atlantic Cana - da. Canadian Field-naturalist 128(1): 7 2–76. reported values for eggshell thickness in Common Murre ( Uria aalge ) are few, and even fewer since the decline in use of organochlorine pesticides and other environmental pollutants that caused significant thinning of shells. The eggshells of Common Murres and Thick-billed Murres ( Uria lomvia ) are among the thickest and heaviest, proportionately, of any bird and this represents a non-trivial maternal investment. We measured the length and breadth of Common Murre eggs collected from Machias Seal island, new Brunswick, in 2006, and Gull island, newfoundland and labrador, in 2012, and we measured the thickness of the eggshells. Shell thickness was not related to egg size or volume, and it varied in individual eggs. The shells of Common Murre eggs from Machias Seal island (mean and standard deviation [SD] (0.767, SD 0.078 mm) and Gull island (0.753, SD 0.057 mm ) were significantly thicker than any previously reported value and among the thickest of all birds . Such thickness is likely a result of nesting on rock substrate with no nesting material and, perhaps, high breeding densities.
    [Show full text]
  • A Review of the Fossil Seabirds from the Tertiary of the North Pacific
    Paleobiology,18(4), 1992, pp. 401-424 A review of the fossil seabirds fromthe Tertiaryof the North Pacific: plate tectonics,paleoceanography, and faunal change Kenneth I. Warheit Abstract.-Ecologists attempt to explain species diversitywithin Recent seabird communities in termsof Recent oceanographic and ecological phenomena. However, many of the principal ocean- ographic processes that are thoughtto structureRecent seabird systemsare functionsof geological processes operating at many temporal and spatial scales. For example, major oceanic currents,such as the North Pacific Gyre, are functionsof the relative positions of continentsand Antarcticgla- ciation,whereas regional air masses,submarine topography, and coastline shape affectlocal processes such as upwelling. I hypothesize that the long-termdevelopment of these abiotic processes has influencedthe relative diversityand communitycomposition of North Pacific seabirds. To explore this hypothesis,I divided the historyof North Pacific seabirds into seven intervalsof time. Using published descriptions,I summarized the tectonicand oceanographic events that occurred during each of these time intervals,and related changes in species diversityto changes in the physical environment.Over the past 95 years,at least 94 species of fossil seabirds have been described from marine deposits of the North Pacific. Most of these species are from Middle Miocene through Pliocene (16.0-1.6 Ma) sediments of southern California, although species from Eocene to Early Miocene (52.0-22.0 Ma) deposits are fromJapan,
    [Show full text]
  • Razorbill Alca Torda in North Norway
    THE EFFECT OF PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS ON THE BREEDING SUCCESS OF RAZORBILLS (ALCA TORDA L. 1758) ON MACHIAS SEAL ISLAND, NB IN 2000 AND 2001 by Virgil D. Grecian Bachelor of Science (Hon), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1996 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the Graduate Academic Unit of Biology Supervisors: A.W. Diamond, Ph.D., Biology and Forestry & Environmental Management, J.W. Chardine, Ph.D., Canadian Wildlife Service Supervisory Committee: D.J. Hamilton, Ph.D., Mt Allison University Examining Board: This thesis is accepted. ………………………………………… Dean of Graduate Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada December, 2004 ABSTRACT The influence of various physical and biological parameters on the breeding biology of Razorbills (Alca torda) on Machias Seal Island (MSI) was studied in 2000 and 2001. The major predators (gulls) on seabird eggs and chicks on MSI are controlled, providing an unusual opportunity to study breeding biology in the virtual absence of predation. The timing of egg-laying was right skewed in both years. A complete survey 10-14 June 2000 of all Razorbill breeding habitat on MSI was combined with radio telemetry to estimate the total number of inaccessible breeding sites that may not have been counted. A corrected breeding pair estimate for MSI is 592 ± 17 pairs. Overall breeding success was 55% in 2000 and 59% in 2001. Most chicks that hatched also departed the island, so differences in breeding success were due chiefly to differences in hatching success. Adults breeding in burrows were more successful than adults in crevice and open nest sites.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Breeding Biology of Guillemots Uria Spp. and Razorbills Alca Torda at a Colony in the Northwest Atlantic
    Breeding biology ofGuillemots and Razorbills 121 121 Comparative breeding biology of Guillemots Uria spp. and Razorbills Alca torda at a colony in the Northwest Atlantic Vergelijkende broedbiologie van Zeekoeten en Alken op een kolonie in het Noorwestelijke Atlantische gebied J. Mark+Hipfner&Rachel Bryant Biopsychology Programme. Memorial University ofNewfoundland St. John's. NF. Canada AIB 3X9e-mail:[email protected] the Common Guillemots, We compared various aspectsof breedingbiology ofRazorbills, ” and Brünnich’s Guillemots (the “intermediate auks) at the Gannet Islands, Labrador. Canada, in 1997. In all three species, layingfollowed a strongly right-skewedpattern, In with median laying dates falling within a narrow window between 27-29 June. and comparison topreviousyears, laying was late, relatively synchronous among species. 2 in Razorbills 35 than in either Incubation periods were days longer (median days) guillemot species (33 days), whereas Common Guillemots had longer nestling periods (mean 24 days) than Razorbills (19 days) or Brünnich’s Guillemots (20 days). In all species, there was a tendency for late-laying pairs to contract their breeding periods, in mainly by reducing the duration of the nestling period. Breeding success was high Razorbills (73%) and Common Guillemots (85%), but low in Brünnich’s Guillemots Brünnich Guillemots (51%), largely due to low hatching success. Late-breeding ’s were little this in the other more likely tofail than were earlypairs, but there was indication of two species. Seasonal patterns of colony attendance suggested that there were many young, pre-breeding Brünnich’s Guillemots and Razorbills present; populations of these in since species appear to be faring well at this colony.
    [Show full text]
  • International Black-Legged Kittiwake Conservation Strategy and Action Plan Acknowledgements Table of Contents
    ARCTIC COUNCIL Circumpolar Seabird Expert Group July 2020 International Black-legged Kittiwake Conservation Strategy and Action Plan Acknowledgements Table of Contents Executive Summary ..............................................................................................................................................4 CAFF Designated Agencies: Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................................................5 • Norwegian Environment Agency, Trondheim, Norway Chapter 2: Ecology of the kittiwake ....................................................................................................................6 • Environment Canada, Ottawa, Canada Species information ...............................................................................................................................................................................................6 • Faroese Museum of Natural History, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands (Kingdom of Denmark) Habitat requirements ............................................................................................................................................................................................6 • Finnish Ministry of the Environment, Helsinki, Finland Life cycle and reproduction ................................................................................................................................................................................7 • Icelandic Institute of Natural
    [Show full text]
  • Menagerie to Me / My Neighbor Be”: Exotic Animals and American Conscience, 1840-1900
    “MENAGERIE TO ME / MY NEIGHBOR BE”: EXOTIC ANIMALS AND AMERICAN CONSCIENCE, 1840-1900 Leslie Jane McAbee A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English and Comparative Literature. Chapel Hill 2018 Approved by: Eliza Richards Timothy Marr Matthew Taylor Ruth Salvaggio Jane Thrailkill © 2018 Leslie Jane McAbee ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Leslie McAbee: “Menagerie to me / My Neighbor be”: Exotic Animals and American Conscience, 1840-1900 (Under the direction of Eliza Richards) Throughout the nineteenth century, large numbers of living “exotic” animals—elephants, lions, and tigers—circulated throughout the U.S. in traveling menageries, circuses, and later zoos as staples of popular entertainment and natural history education. In “Menagerie to me / My Neighbor be,” I study literary representations of these displaced and sensationalized animals, offering a new contribution to Americanist animal studies in literary scholarship, which has largely attended to the cultural impact of domesticated and native creatures. The field has not yet adequately addressed the influence that representations of foreign animals had on socio-cultural discourses, such as domesticity, social reform, and white supremacy. I examine how writers enlist exoticized animals to variously advance and disrupt the human-centered foundations of hierarchical thinking that underpinned nineteenth-century tenets of civilization, particularly the belief that Western culture acts as a progressive force in a comparatively barbaric world. Both well studied and lesser-known authors, however, find “exotic” animal figures to be wily for two seemingly contradictory reasons.
    [Show full text]
  • Zoological Gardens and Aquaria and Invasive Alien Species
    Invasive alien species (IAS) have been identified as one of the most important direct drivers of biodiversity loss and change in ecosys- tem services. Many international policy instruments, legislation, ZOOLOGICAL guidelines and technical tools have been developed to address this threat. However, European policies require supplementary vol- untary measures to address key pathways of IAS introduction into GARDENS the region. This is why the Council of Europe, basing its work on the Bern Convention and with the technical support of the Inter- AND AQUARIA national Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Invasive Species Specialist Group, has drafted a series of voluntary instruments (codes of conduct and guidelines) covering a number of industries AND INVASIVE and activities potentially responsible for the introduction of alien species. The development of these instruments can play an important role in building awareness among the relevant sectors of society. ALIEN SPECIES Wild flora and fauna play an essential role in maintaining bio- logical balance and providing ecosystem services which contribute to human welfare. Loss of biodiversity, how- ever, is already undermining efforts to improve economic, social and environmental well-being in Europe and world- wide, with visible consequences on people’s quality of life. The Bern Convention, Europe’s treaty on nature conservation, works for the preservation of most of our natural heritage and promotes participation and representation in the environmental debate. More information is available at www.coe.int/bernconvention. 217115 PREMS ENG The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation. It comprises 47 member states, 28 of which are members of the European Union.
    [Show full text]
  • Sh Attered Arms
    shattered arms Are youlcol,lcerned witl.r the health of vour"touch tank critters? he University of Georgia Marine Education Center too often, seastars that residein touch tanks have been and Aquarium operatesan education facility and known to fall apart in one's hands. public aquarium year-round on Skidaway Island near How much stressare we putting on our touch tank animals Savannah,Georgia. Each year thousandsof K-5th graders by handling them, and how can we quantif' that stress?If a participate in a two-hour program, which includes learning seastar previously had 3.5 arms, for example,how long about and handling our touch tank animals. The menagerie would it take to regeneratethe arms under continual han- that is presentedto students often includes Luidia clathrata, dling compared to animals in a similar state of repair that the slendersea stat which is common along the beachesof were not handled at all? We make the assumotion that the Georgia. BecauseLuidia feedswell in captiviry and is not measuredregeneration rates of non-handledsea srars repre- usually perceivedas a threatenedspecies, it is a very suitable sent "normal" regrowth. \7e also assumethat stress(i.e. han- touch tank animal for younger students to study. dling) interfereswith the "normal" regenerationrate. Thus, About 860loof individuals in a wild population of Luidia we hypothesizethat the regenerationrates of seastar arms in experiencearm loss (Lawrenceand Dehn 1979), so it is no non-handled seastars will be greatercompared to the regen- surprisethat our touch tank animals are in varying statesof eration ratesofhandled seastars. repair when they are first caught. However, even without a Seastars collected in WassawSound by our researchvessel, full complement of arms, our seastars feed well.
    [Show full text]