The royal butterflies' numbers have plummeted over the last two decades
FLUTTER BYE: Pictured: a monarch butterfly caterpillar on milkweed buds.Image: iStockPhoto
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Dear EarthTalk: How are monarch butterflies doing today? They used to pass through my area in big numbers, but in the last few years there seem to be many fewer.?Bill Wright, Erie, Pa.
The monarch butterfly, royally adorned in black, white and reddish-orange and able to migrate as far as 2,800 miles, is a true wonder of nature. Each year monarchs travel from Canada and the U.S. to hibernate in the forests of central Mexico. But in recent years the monarchs have been in sharp population decline due to habitat loss, eradication of the plants it depends upon and other environmental factors.
The decline in monarchs has been going on for two decades, but the last few years have been particularly worrisome. Mexico?s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas reports a 59 percent decline in the area of forest there occupied by overwintering monarchs since December 2011. Meanwhile, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports that overwintering populations along the California coast have shrunk from over a million individuals counted at 101 sites in 1997 to less than 60,000 at just 74 sites in 2009. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which maintains the ?Red List? of endangered species around the world, recognizes the monarchs? annual migration as an ?endangered biological phenomenon.?
According to Monarch Watch, an educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas that engages citizen-scientists in monarch monitoring and conservation efforts, habitat destruction is one key driver in the monarch?s demise: ?New roads, housing developments and agricultural expansion?all transform a natural landscape in ways that make it impossible for monarchs to live there.? Also, drought and record-high temperatures in North America in 2012 triggered an earlier-than-usual monarch migration. This disrupted the butterflies? breeding cycle by drying out their eggs prematurely.
The hot weather has also reduced the nectar content of the milkweed plants that monarch larvae depend on. In addition, milkweed is becoming scarce due to farmers? increasing reliance on herbicides. Most of the soy and corn crops grown in the U.S. are genetically engineered to resist herbicides. This means even more chemical spraying?and far fewer milkweed plants. Nectar producing plants that attract adult butterflies are facing a similar fate, further complicating survival for the monarch.
It won?t be easy to stem the tide of human development that threatens the species? long term survival. In 2008 the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, set up under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to help the U.S., Canada and Mexico coordinate on environmental initiatives, published its North American Monarch Conservation Plan to establish a conservation blueprint for the butterflies. Key aspects of the plan include the creation of incentives for the conservation of overwintering sites and the restoration of breeding habitat throughout the butterfly?s extensive range.
In the meantime, the Mexican government has worked with WWF and other groups and made strides in restricting logging in areas critical to monarch populations. And in the U.S., monarch habitat restoration work in California and other parts of the U.S. have helped provide the butterflies some relief. Whether these and other efforts are enough to rescue the monarchs remains to be seen.
CONTACTS: WWF, www.worldwildlife.org; Monarch Watch, www.monarchwatch.org; Mexico?s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, www.conanp.gob.mx.
EarthTalk? is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe. FreeTrial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.
DOHA (Reuters) - Preliminary Afghan peace talks in Qatar between U.S. and Taliban officials are unlikely to take place on Thursday as had been expected, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Asked if the meeting would happen on Thursday, the source replied: "There is nothing scheduled that I am aware of." Asked if that meant they would not happen today, the source added: "Yes that's correct."
A senior U.S. official said on Wednesday that talks with the Taliban were likely to be held within the next few days in Qatar after delays caused by tensions over the naming of a new Taliban office in the capital, Doha.
Senior Afghan officials had accused Washington on Wednesday of breaking assurances to Kabul that the new office would not be used as a de facto mission.
Specifically, they objected to the ceremonial opening of the office - which included a prominent Taliban flag and a banner with the insurgent group's state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - giving the impression that the Taliban had achieved some level of international political recognition.
A statement on Qatar's foreign ministry website late on Wednesday clarified that the office which opened was called the "Political Bureau for Afghan Taliban in Doha" and not the "Political Bureau for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan".
The source in Doha told Reuters on Thursday there were no dates set for the talks and that there was no decision from the Afghan government on whether they would take part in the talks.
(Reporting by Amena Bakr, Writing by William Maclean and Yara Bayoumy; editing by Elizabeth Piper)
A new batch of leaked photos give us a glimpse of the future: Fuji's next model of interchangeable-lens cameras, the X-M1. The new camera is rumored to be a cheaper, entry-level version of their popular X-series line, with a body-only price of around $600, according to speculation.
The M1 looks very similar to the X-E1. The biggest changes are the articulating display and lack of a viewfinder. The control scheme is pared down, as you would expect on a cheaper model, and it is said to feature WiFi connectivity.
Other than the viewfinder and controls, the guts should sport the same fantastic 16 Megapixel X-Trans sensor found in the X-E1 and X-Pro1, with access to the same set of great Fujinon lenses.
Speaking of lenses, the leak included images of the upcoming 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens, as well as a 27mm f/2.8 pancake lens. The new kit lens is a cheaper alternative to Fuji's existing 18-55 f/2.8-4.0 zoom lens, while the pancake should be a great low-profile carry-around option.
The pictures were originally posted to Digital Camera Info, and they appear to legit, based on the similarity to Fuji's official images of their other cameras.
The X-M1 would be a great addition to the Fujifilm lineup. Their X-series mirrorless cameras offer terrific image quality and controls, though they have always been on the expensive side. If the X-M1 falls under $700, it could become a prime competitor to one of our favorite mirrorless cameras, the Sony NEX-6. [FujiRumors]
Bugs provide new insights into relationships between animals and bacteriaPublic release date: 20-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Margaret Mroziewicz mmroziewicz@cifar.ca 416-971-4876 Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
Study reveals distinct and never-before-seen evolutionary path for bacteria living in animals
Scientists have come closer to untangling a unique and intricate relationship between animals and bacteria, providing potential insights into the complex association between humans and the microbes we rely on for our health.
Mealybugs, scaly insects that feed on plant juices, have a rare tag-team relationship with bacteria that help the bugs turn plant sap into usable nutrients. Similar to Russian nesting dolls, the bugs house two kinds of bacteria, with one bacterium called Moranellaendobia living inside another called Tremblaya princeps. This three-tiered system has never been observed in other animals, and scientists, including CIFAR Associate John McCutcheon (University of Montana), are interested in untangling its inner workings.
"Previous work by me and my collaborators revealed that Tremblaya has a very tiny genomethe smallest cellular genome yet observedand that it is missing many essential genes," explains McCutcheon. "With such a small and degenerate genome, how is this bacterium surviving? This question was the focus of our new study. We wanted to untangle the role of Moranella and the mealybug in the functioning of Tremblaya."
The team's findings were published in Cell on June 20, 2013, with a special appearance on the cover of the issue.
Using the latest technologies to sequence genomes and measure gene expression, the researchers unravelled the mechanisms used by Tremblaya to survive. "We approached our experiments similar to the way an archaeologist might," says McCutcheon. "It's hard to manipulate this natural bacteria-animal system, but we can do experiments in the lab to figure out how the relationship works and then make predictions about what we should see in different kinds of situations."
The team found that Moranella is playing a big role in providing genes to Tremblaya to help it function. Once it acquired Moranella, Tremblaya must have dropped many of its own genes, since many of them were similar to those in Moranella and therefore no longer needed.
McCutcheon and his team were particularly interested in exploring what genes Tremblaya had transferred to the mealybug genome over time, essentially making the mealybug a keeper of some its essential genes. But surprisingly, they saw no evidence of this kind of gene transfer.
"What we discovered instead was a surprising parallel universe of other genes in the mealybug that were transferred from historical bacterial infections," says McCutcheon.
His team found that the mealybug didn't have any genes from Tremblaya, but rather had at least 22 genes that were transferred to its genome from other bacteria and that were keeping the Moranella-Tremblaya-mealybug relationship alive. These 22 genes seem to complement the genes missing in Tremblaya and Moranella by providing, for example, help in nutrient synthesis and bacterial cell wall maintenance. McCutcheon and his team are now doing experiments to further investigate the role of these genes.
The findings from this study suggest that gene transfer from Tremblaya to the mealybug is not an explanation for Tremblaya's small genome. It also means that the development of the relationship is different from what happens in organelle evolution.
Organelles like mitochondria (the energy powerhouse of complex cells) and chloroplasts (responsible for photosynthesis in plants) were originally bacteria that started living in other cells millions of years ago. Today, mitochondria and chloroplasts still have their own genome, but many of their genes have been transferred to their host genome.
"From this study, it looks like Tremblaya is not progressing along an evolutionary path analogous to mitochondria and chloroplasts," explains McCutcheon.
This research drives home the idea that these extremely intimate relationships between animals and bacteria with very small genomes are often developing with the help of genomes from other organisms. This study has shown scientists just how complicated the association between animals and bacteria can be.
"Some of the bacteria we work on are quite unusual, so much so that it becomes difficult to still think of them as bacteria," says McCutcheon. "The members of CIFAR's program in Integrated Microbial Biodiversity understand and appreciate microbial diversity like no other group of scientists that I am aware offrom the complexity of organelle evolution to the population genetics of microbial eukaryotesand my interactions with them have been critical in helping me consider the broad context of my work."
All animals have important relationships with bacteria that are complex and hard to see. A deeper understanding of systems like the mealybug leads scientists to a better understanding of the bacteria humans depend on today and how interactions with bacteria have shaped the evolution of animals in general.
###
Authors on this paper include Filip Husnik, Naruo Nikoh, Ryuichi Koga, Laura Ross, Rebecca P. Duncan, Manabu Fujie, Makiko Tanaka, Nori Satoh, Doris Bachtrog, Alex C. C. Wilson, Carol D. von Dohlen, Takema Fukatsu, and John P. McCutcheon.
This work was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (P505/10/1401), the Program for Promotion of Basic and Applied Researches for Innovations in Bio-oriented Industry (BRAIN), the Royal Society, University of Oxford, a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, NIH grants (R01GM076007
10 and R01GM093182), Packard Fellowship, University of Miami start-up funds, NSF awards (IOS-1121847 and IOS-125668), and the Montana NSF-EPSCoR award (EPS0701906).
For more information, or to arrange an interview with John McCutcheon, please contact:
Margaret Mroziewicz at (416) 971-4876 or mmroziewicz@cifar.ca
About CIFAR
Established in 1982, CIFAR is an independent research institute comprising nearly 400 researchers from more than 100 academic institutions in 16 countries. Our multidisciplinary research networks bring together internationally respected scholars and scientists to address major global questions and challenges. Their work is focused on improving human health and the environment, transforming technology, building strong societies, deepening cultural insights and expanding our understanding of the universe. As a public-private partnership, CIFAR is supported by the Government of Canada and the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, as well as by individuals, foundations and corporations.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Bugs provide new insights into relationships between animals and bacteriaPublic release date: 20-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Margaret Mroziewicz mmroziewicz@cifar.ca 416-971-4876 Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
Study reveals distinct and never-before-seen evolutionary path for bacteria living in animals
Scientists have come closer to untangling a unique and intricate relationship between animals and bacteria, providing potential insights into the complex association between humans and the microbes we rely on for our health.
Mealybugs, scaly insects that feed on plant juices, have a rare tag-team relationship with bacteria that help the bugs turn plant sap into usable nutrients. Similar to Russian nesting dolls, the bugs house two kinds of bacteria, with one bacterium called Moranellaendobia living inside another called Tremblaya princeps. This three-tiered system has never been observed in other animals, and scientists, including CIFAR Associate John McCutcheon (University of Montana), are interested in untangling its inner workings.
"Previous work by me and my collaborators revealed that Tremblaya has a very tiny genomethe smallest cellular genome yet observedand that it is missing many essential genes," explains McCutcheon. "With such a small and degenerate genome, how is this bacterium surviving? This question was the focus of our new study. We wanted to untangle the role of Moranella and the mealybug in the functioning of Tremblaya."
The team's findings were published in Cell on June 20, 2013, with a special appearance on the cover of the issue.
Using the latest technologies to sequence genomes and measure gene expression, the researchers unravelled the mechanisms used by Tremblaya to survive. "We approached our experiments similar to the way an archaeologist might," says McCutcheon. "It's hard to manipulate this natural bacteria-animal system, but we can do experiments in the lab to figure out how the relationship works and then make predictions about what we should see in different kinds of situations."
The team found that Moranella is playing a big role in providing genes to Tremblaya to help it function. Once it acquired Moranella, Tremblaya must have dropped many of its own genes, since many of them were similar to those in Moranella and therefore no longer needed.
McCutcheon and his team were particularly interested in exploring what genes Tremblaya had transferred to the mealybug genome over time, essentially making the mealybug a keeper of some its essential genes. But surprisingly, they saw no evidence of this kind of gene transfer.
"What we discovered instead was a surprising parallel universe of other genes in the mealybug that were transferred from historical bacterial infections," says McCutcheon.
His team found that the mealybug didn't have any genes from Tremblaya, but rather had at least 22 genes that were transferred to its genome from other bacteria and that were keeping the Moranella-Tremblaya-mealybug relationship alive. These 22 genes seem to complement the genes missing in Tremblaya and Moranella by providing, for example, help in nutrient synthesis and bacterial cell wall maintenance. McCutcheon and his team are now doing experiments to further investigate the role of these genes.
The findings from this study suggest that gene transfer from Tremblaya to the mealybug is not an explanation for Tremblaya's small genome. It also means that the development of the relationship is different from what happens in organelle evolution.
Organelles like mitochondria (the energy powerhouse of complex cells) and chloroplasts (responsible for photosynthesis in plants) were originally bacteria that started living in other cells millions of years ago. Today, mitochondria and chloroplasts still have their own genome, but many of their genes have been transferred to their host genome.
"From this study, it looks like Tremblaya is not progressing along an evolutionary path analogous to mitochondria and chloroplasts," explains McCutcheon.
This research drives home the idea that these extremely intimate relationships between animals and bacteria with very small genomes are often developing with the help of genomes from other organisms. This study has shown scientists just how complicated the association between animals and bacteria can be.
"Some of the bacteria we work on are quite unusual, so much so that it becomes difficult to still think of them as bacteria," says McCutcheon. "The members of CIFAR's program in Integrated Microbial Biodiversity understand and appreciate microbial diversity like no other group of scientists that I am aware offrom the complexity of organelle evolution to the population genetics of microbial eukaryotesand my interactions with them have been critical in helping me consider the broad context of my work."
All animals have important relationships with bacteria that are complex and hard to see. A deeper understanding of systems like the mealybug leads scientists to a better understanding of the bacteria humans depend on today and how interactions with bacteria have shaped the evolution of animals in general.
###
Authors on this paper include Filip Husnik, Naruo Nikoh, Ryuichi Koga, Laura Ross, Rebecca P. Duncan, Manabu Fujie, Makiko Tanaka, Nori Satoh, Doris Bachtrog, Alex C. C. Wilson, Carol D. von Dohlen, Takema Fukatsu, and John P. McCutcheon.
This work was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (P505/10/1401), the Program for Promotion of Basic and Applied Researches for Innovations in Bio-oriented Industry (BRAIN), the Royal Society, University of Oxford, a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, NIH grants (R01GM076007
10 and R01GM093182), Packard Fellowship, University of Miami start-up funds, NSF awards (IOS-1121847 and IOS-125668), and the Montana NSF-EPSCoR award (EPS0701906).
For more information, or to arrange an interview with John McCutcheon, please contact:
Margaret Mroziewicz at (416) 971-4876 or mmroziewicz@cifar.ca
About CIFAR
Established in 1982, CIFAR is an independent research institute comprising nearly 400 researchers from more than 100 academic institutions in 16 countries. Our multidisciplinary research networks bring together internationally respected scholars and scientists to address major global questions and challenges. Their work is focused on improving human health and the environment, transforming technology, building strong societies, deepening cultural insights and expanding our understanding of the universe. As a public-private partnership, CIFAR is supported by the Government of Canada and the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, as well as by individuals, foundations and corporations.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Normally parties that involve gratuitous amounts of Jagermeister end up with someone throwing up in the pool. But at one Mexican fiesta, it ended with gallons of liquid nitrogen being dumped into the pool.
During a weekend pool party organized by the German alcoholic beverage maker Jagermeister in the city of Le?n, organizers of the event poured liquid nitrogen into the water. The resulting toxic cloud that formed when the nitrogen reacted with the chlorine in the pool left one man in a coma and eight others hospitalized.
NEW YORK (AP) ? "Masterpiece" is prescribing a new drama set in a London hospital in the early 1960s.
The series, "Breathless," will put medical practice at the brink of the tumultuous '60s. Set in a busy gynecology unit, it inhabits a world where abortion is illegal and the new contraceptive pill is only available to married women.
Premiering on "Masterpiece" in 2014, "Breathless" was announced Thursday by its co-producers, PBS/WGBH and ITV Studios.
The series will star Jack Davenport, most recently seen on the NBC series "Smash." Other cast members include Zoe Boyle and Iain Glen from "Downton Abbey."
"Masterpiece" executive producer Rebecca Eaton called "Breathless" a "sharp, visually rich" portrait of characters "on the cusp of change."
"Breathless" is co-created and written by Paul Unwin ("Shameless," ''Agatha Christie's Miss Marple" and "Poirot").
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Public release date: 20-Jun-2013
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