RABBIT ANSWERS AND THE CHINESE NEW YEAR ARRIVE TOGETHER

The Chinese Year of the Rabbit, 2011, arrived in February, and right on time came a new book about these furry mammals: "Rabbits: The Animal Answer Guide" by Susan Lumpkin and John Seidensticker (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011). The paperback is $24.95. You will want this book if you have a pet rabbit or plan to have one, or if you just want to know more about the 90 or so species that live in the world today.

 Like the other animal answer guides in the series, this book consists of commonly asked questions followed by answers from the authors, who are experts in the field. The first one in the rabbit book is, What are lagomorphs? The answer: rabbits, hares and pikas, which comprise the order Lagomorpha. Despite the big front teeth, rabbits are not rodents. In fact, a close look at a rabbit’s mouth will reveal another set of incisors behind the front pair, whereas rodents have but a single pair. The next questions for many people would be, What is a pika, and how do you distinguish between rabbits and hares?

"Rabbits" and "hares" are distinctive to biologists, both genetically and in their ancestral relationships. A jack rabbit is a hare, and so, according to the authors, is Bugs Bunny. The well-known cottontails are true rabbits. A Playboy Bunny belongs to an altogether different order of mammals. In general, hares are bigger than rabbits, have black-tipped ears, and run away to escape rather than bolting into a hole. But reproductive traits are what really set rabbits and hares apart. Rabbits have their babies in a burrow or ground depression in a nest that is made from their own fur and grass. Baby rabbits are born hairless with their eyes shut, and newborns are completely helpless. Most baby hares are born with fur and with eyes wide open, and they are ready to run.   

Pikas belong to a family all their own. Tiny, with short, rounded ears, they look like little balls of fur and are as cute as any bunny. In the United States, pikas are found in the rocky slopes of mountainous regions in the West. One of their distinctive traits is frequent vocalization, including whistling and squeaking sounds.

Among the many questions answered in the book is, How long do rabbits live? Eastern cottontails are believed to be able to live up to 10 years, although most individuals live less than two. European rabbits, a common and widespread species in Europe, are known to live for only about seven and a half years in the wild. In captivity, however, they often live up to nine or 10 years. The authors state that "the only lagomorph that makes a good pet is the domestic European rabbit." As with many animal species that are prey, their life span in the wild can be greatly shortened by predation, and all species of rabbits fall prey to whatever array of predators live around them. An eastern cottontail has to deal daily with the threat of bobcats, foxes, hawks, owls and snakes. Among the most uncaring and regrettable causes of mortality to rabbits, as well as other wildlife, is the automobile tire.

Other interesting questions include, What are the largest and smallest of living rabbits? Do rabbits fight? Do rabbits bite? Do rabbits make good pets? To find the answers, you know what book to consult. "Rabbits: The Animal Answer Guide" is the third in a series. The first two were about squirrels and turtles. The fourth, about frogs and toads, will be published in April. As with the other books, "Rabbits" has numerous excellent photographs, in color and in black-and-white. If you want to learn about some remarkable animals, any of these books is well worth the price.

Will the Chinese Year of the Rabbit bring good fortune to rabbits? Since many people still consider a rabbit’s foot to be a good luck charm, the answer is, probably no more than any other year.

             

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BACKYARD BIRD COUNTS A GREAT IDEA

You do not need a backyard to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. A backyard bird count, which may be viewed as a supplement to the highly successful and important Christmas Bird Count, is a superb idea to get people throughout the United States and Canada directly involved in an environmental phenomenon. The accumulated records provide an overview of the abundance and distribution of America's birds just before spring migrations.

The GBBC has been held annually since 1998. This year's four-day event will be February 18-21. According to the GBBC website, www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ the event "engages bird watchers of all ages . . . [in creating] a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts." The minimum amount of time required for someone to qualify is 15 minutes of bird watching on one day. The most enthusiastic participants make counts for up to several hours every day. Since the dates include a Friday and a Monday, school classes could participate during a 15-minute recess. Or a class assignment for Monday could be for children to bring in their list of birds seen over the weekend.

The GBBC website lets you submit your bird counts online. By entering your zip code and state, you can download a printed list of the birds you can expect to find in your area. During last year's GBBC, 97,000 checklists were submitted by people who counted birds at backyard feeders, during walks in their neighborhood or local park, or in natural habitats. To find out exactly what bird watchers in your area and others saw in previous surveys go to the Explore the Results section on the website. 

Some biologists criticize the use of amateurs instead of professional ornithologists for collecting data because of a lack of scientific rigor. But the website's guidance on how to conduct the surveys reduces the potential for error. For example, in the 2010 count, 53,513 of the submitted checklists included a sighting of one or more northern cardinals for a total of 265,608 individual birds from 40 states. I would certainly trust anyone to be able to properly identify a big red bird with a crest on its head. And if the limitations of amateurs are taken into account, the bird censuses can unquestionably be useful in detecting some widespread changes in bird populations that might go unnoticed in regional studies. 

Comparisons of species records within and between years and localities, which are accessible on the website, reveal some notable trends in distribution and abundance of species and provide information on the changing patterns of how different bird species move across the North American landscape. For example, comparing the number of bird species counted last year in Alabama (169), South Carolina (199), and North Carolina (183) with counts from Minnesota (98), Michigan (115), and Massachusetts (129) supports a supposition--more birds prefer the South during winter than the North. You can also select a bird species and see where it was distributed one year compared to another or compare the geographic sightings of one species with another. 

Each state report includes a map showing where previous GBBC participants were located; not unexpectedly the highest concentrations were in urban areas, with many rural areas not represented at all. Caution must be taken, therefore, in interpreting such data, as birds that visit backyard feeders are more likely to be recorded than those that keep to forests and other areas uninhabited by people.

A link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology assists in bird identification with excellent pictures, descriptions of behavior and habitat, and a sound recording of many native species. An added bonus is information on bird feeders and seed preferences. Despite the limitations of a survey of this nature, the far-reaching effort to keep track of one component of our environment is to be commended. So mark your calendars for February 18-21 and join GBBC 2011. This is an opportunity to participate in a truly worthwhile effort. Happy counting!



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SOME ANIMALS KNOW THE MEANING OF VALENTINE'S DAY

            “In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” So said Alfred, Lord Tennyson. And though he may not have realized it, as spring approaches, courtship behaviors are prevalent throughout the animal kingdom. For example, male goldfinches are beginning to show a hint of the stunning yellow plumage soon to come, and male indigo buntings are turning bright blue. The females of these and many other species of birds remain comparatively drab, while the males use their plumage to attract females. Male displays of breeding colors in some species might be considered the equivalent of brightly colored Valentine cards intended to appeal to a member of the opposite sex.

            One of the most vivid displays of Valentine red is that of the blue-tailed skinks of the eastern United States. The largest is the broad-headed skink. The commonly seen juveniles have a metallic blue tail and bright yellow stripes, a color pattern that remains in a more subdued fashion in the adult females. The males, which become enormous by typical southeastern lizard standards, develop shiny, coppery brown bodies. In the springtime, not too long after Valentine's Day in the southern parts of their range, the male broad-headed skinks begin their courtship. At this time their head and neck turn brilliant red, making them look rather like a Valentine heart moving through the forest.

            As with humans, gift giving is not an uncommon courtship practice among many animal species. A male common tern does not change color in an effort to attract females. Instead, he brings the largest fish he can catch as an offering to the female he is courting, presumably to show off his fitness as a mate.

            Even some insects, such as scorpionflies, enter into the spirit of Valentine gift giving. These harmless-to-us insects have four transparent wings like a dragonfly, six long legs, and a long tail reminiscent of a scorpion's. Scorpionflies are found throughout most of the world. One U.S. species eats other insects, sometimes raiding the webs of spiders and removing captured blowflies, which apparently are quite a delicacy, considering the risk the scorpionfly takes of becoming spider food itself. During the courtship period, a blowfly in the clutches of a male scorpionfly acts as a Valentine treat, a lure to the opposite sex.

            Hanging from a twig, the male scorpionfly emanates a pheromone (a chemical signal that probably smells like a top-flight cologne to a female scorpionfly). Females as far as 40 feet away can sense the airborne pheromone and come to investigate what the male has to offer. A big, fat blowfly is the best Valentine gift of all, and few females can resist. After a bit of back and forth in which the female inspects the wares, she makes her decision. If the gift is a large, savory blowfly, she ends up taking the offering from the male. The male then mates with the female while she dines. Not your usual courtship procedure, but it apparently works for scorpionflies.

            Some wily male scorpionflies add another twist to an already complex gift-giving phenomenon by posing as females. How does mimicking female behavior in order to fool another male scorpionfly work to his advantage? In this case, being a transvestite has a direct reproductive benefit because the poseur ends up with the first male's blowfly. The first male, who has risked his life to get the blowfly from the spider’s web, is deceived into thinking the second male is actually a female scorpionfly. He offers his tasty treat to the second male, who accepts the gift. The deceiver then flies quickly away and uses the pilfered blowfly to attract a female for mating. Pretty sneaky behavior and a lot less risky than extricating a blowfly from a spider's web.

            For almost any form of human behavior that can be identified, an equivalent or near-equivalent can be found somewhere in the animal kingdom. The assertion that in spring a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love is no exception.

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Death of Man Bitten by Copperhead Raises Questions

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Wade Westbrook

Reported by: Associated Press

Email: web-team@myeyewitnessnews.com

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Published: 1/31 3:37 pm

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Updated: 1/31 3:47 pm

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - The weekend death of a 26-year-old man from a copperhead bite left a Tennessee wildlife official and a snake expert puzzled.

Police in the Chattanooga suburb of East Ridge said Wade Westbrook, 26, was bitten on his upper right arm Saturday night while handling a copperhead that a friend wanted him to examine.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency spokesman Dan Hicks said it's extremely unusual for a copperhead bite to be fatal.

Witnesses told investigators that Westbrook was blue in the face 10 minutes after he was bitten.

Police said emergency personnel arrived about five minutes after being called and they attempted CPR.

Westbrook was then taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Hicks said it was "especially unusual for someone to die as quickly as he did. And it is very rare for someone in a metropolitan area to succumb to a bite. Usually they are able to get help in time."

Hicks said Westbrook had several exotic snakes and native turtles in his home.

"According to his wife, it seems he was a wildlife enthusiast who had taken it to the next level," Hicks said. East Ridge police spokesman Erik Hopkins said Monday that the official cause of Westbrook's death had not been released.

Hopkins told the newspaper that a friend of Westbrook had taken the snake to him to determine its sex.

Doctors at the hospital confirmed the snake was a copperhead. A co-author of "Snakes of the Southeast," Whit Gibbons, also told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that a death from a single copperhead bite would be very rare.

Gibbons, a University of Georgia professor, said "if he was 26 and healthy, it is highly unlikely that one bite could kill him."

Hicks said it's illegal in Tennessee to take any native species out of its habitat.

He said the copperhead probably would be donated to a wildlife refuge.

Animal control officials took the other reptiles from the home.


Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Mollusks are textbook example of declining biodiversity

Mollusks are arguably the most endangered major group of animals in the world. But few people realize the extent of their imperilment. The idea that mollusks are in severe trouble has reached a college level biology textbook so the word will now be spread more broadly.

Textbooks are critical sources of information, and the resources they use are key to their reliability. I feel confident about the section called "Molluscs: The Silent Extinction" in the ninth edition of Campbell Biology (Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Co., 2011). The textbook authors got their material from a scientific paper, "The Global Decline of Non-Marine Mollusks," by Charles Lydeard and others published in the journal BioScience. Considering the excellent scientific reputation of the authors and of the journal itself, I feel certain that the information is accurate.

Incidentally, the book refers to "molluscs," and the journal article calls them "mollusks." The first is the British spelling; the latter, the American version. Malacologists (scientists who study animals in the phylum Mollusca) debate about which is the proper spelling, but both mean the same thing. Being American, I will call them mollusks.

One fact stated in the textbook is that mollusks "account for a largely unheralded but sobering 40% of all documented extinctions of animal species." That is a remarkably high percentage of the animals that have gone extinct in historical times. According to the Lydeard article, 291 of the "693 recorded extinctions of animal species since the year 1500 are mollusks." Virtually all have been freshwater or terrestrial species. In the last five centuries, the number of mollusks disappearing from the world has been more than all the mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians combined that have gone extinct.

The facts presented in the original journal article are impressive in their broad coverage of the plight of mollusks of the world. Everyone is familiar with such marine mollusks as oysters, giant clams, and the chambered nautilus. Squids, too, are mollusks (though many people are unaware of that fact). But the article focuses on species like clams and mussels that live in freshwater aquatic habitats and land snails that inhabit terrestrial systems. The causes of extinctions are primarily a consequence of human activities, resulting mostly from "habitat loss, pollution, introduced species, and overharvesting."

Habitat loss can be particularly devastating to a land snail that lives on an island or a clam that inhabits a lake. Most mollusks cannot move rapidly away from environmental hazards and are more vulnerable than animals that can swim long distances, fly, or move rapidly overland. Freshwater mollusks living in lakes, streams, or rivers that are polluted or in which exotic competitive species have been introduced are, in essence, environmental prisoners unable to escape.

One of the most dramatic documented mollusk extinctions occurred in Alabama. In one journal article section titled "Silence of the Clams," the authors discuss the highly diverse and globally widespread group of freshwater mollusks known taxonomically as the unionoid mussels. These animals reach their greatest diversity of all in North America, and the record for species numbers is in the Tennessee River near Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Based on records from the early 1900s, 69 species of these mussels were once present. Only 32 of these species have been "recorded since the river was dramatically altered by the construction of a series of dams." This has a dramatic negative impact on regional biodiversity.

The textbook elegantly summarizes why the continued loss of freshwater and terrestrial mollusks to extinction should matter to us. Such losses "represent an irreversible loss of biological diversity. . . . Land snails, for example, play a key role in nutrient cycling, while the filtering activities of freshwater bivalves purify the waters of streams, rivers, and lakes." Another message worth noting is that when mollusks decline and ultimately disappear they serve as powerful indicators that ecosystem health itself is impaired. Like the canary in the mine that signals danger when it ceases to sing, mollusks are sending us a warning we should heed.

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Whit Gibbons is an ecologist and environmental educator with the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.