Cephlapods Suffer From Noise Pollution

It is well known that noise pollution in water, from activities such as offshore drilling, cargo transportation, industrial fishing and recreational boating, has an impact on marine mammals, but new research has supported previous thoughts that it can also affect cephlapods, that is squids, octopus and cuttlefish. In fact, the impact is so severe it may cause stranding and even death.

"This is the first study indicating a severe impact on invertebrates, an extended group of marine species that are not known to rely on sound for living," says Michel André, Technical University of Catalonia in Barcelona, in a press release.

 

Four species of cephlapod were subjected to low and high frequency sounds for two hours, and the effects of the noise on the invertebrates was dramatic. Damage was found in the statocysts, which are sensory organs that balance the cephalopods. Inside the statocysts hair cells had ruptured, nerve fibers had swelled, and, in the worst cases, even suffered lesions that continued to grow larger hours after exposure. The results have devastating implications, given the relatively low frequencies used during the experiment compared to the level of noise pollution found in the ocean.

 

The statocyst plays such an important role in cephlapod behaviour, regulating balance and spatial orientation, in the wild, damage to this area affects a cephlapods ability to hunt, evade predators and reproduce, which would lead to almost certain death.

 

Of course, as André points out, this asks more questions than it answers, if noise pollution can affect marine mammals and now cephlapods, what does this mean for the rest of the marine web? How much damage is being caused?

Hong Kongers Say No to Shark Fin Soup

Hong Kong is responsible for importing 277 million US dollars worth of sharks fin in 2007, making it the largest importer of sharks fin in the world.

 

However, there is hope, almost 80% of Hong Kongers interviewed in a poll have stated they would be happy to keep sharks fin off the menu for their wedding.

Sharks fin soup is considered a delicacy, and is usually consumed during wedding banquets and special occasions. Many young couples are pressured into having sharks fin soup at their wedding, as a traditional dish that indicates a family's wealth and prosperity.

It also has a huge role to play in the dramatic decrease and almost collapse of some shark species populations. Some sharks have been hunted to near extinction, with less great white sharks then tigers in the world. As a slow to mature and slow to reproduce species, sharks are particularly vulnerable to over fishing.

 

BLOOM, a non-profit organisation that interviewed 1,000 people between 2009-2010, found that 85% would also support a ban on fin imports. Worryingly, 70% admitted they ate the soup at least once a year, despite 2/3 saying they felt uncomfortable eating an endangered fish.

 

Recently sharks fin soup has been making the news, with many non-governmental organizations campaigning for a ban on the dish, with some success; many countries have imposed regulations on the practice of finning, importing fins without the rest of the carcass, with countries like Malaysia banning it from governmental functions. Hawaii became the first state to ban the possession of fins.

A Clean Bill of Health

Researchers from the University of Oslo investigating duck sperm have made two fascinating discoveries, first, duck sperm can destroy bacteria that can be dangerous to sperm, such as E. coli, and secondly, that those ducks with a higher amount of antibacterial sperm also had more colourful bills.

It was previously known that bill colour played a role in mate choice, but as this research shows, females may use this visual cue to show preference over ducks that indicate a lack of sexually transmitted disease and better sperm quality.

By selecting the males with brightly coloured bills, not only are they are protecting themselves from STDs, but guaranteeing a male with superior sperm, free of bacteria induced damage.

Has the Harry Potter Films Put a Dark Magic Hex on India’s Owls?

Today, 5th November, is Deepavali (Dewali, Divali) and Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network, has released a report, written by ornithologist Abrar Ahmed, about the illegal trade of owls in India. Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is placing the blame on fans of the increasingly popular Harry Potter for the demise of wild owls. The timely release of the report is significant as many owls are sacrificed during the Deepavali festivities.

Owls are often overlooked as animals of great importance, but their contribution to the environment is significant. The trade of these birds is slowly wiping them out.

Owls are prized in India, especially in tribal communities, for their mystical qualities and use in black magic. They are believed to be able to ward away evil spirits. Tantriks (rituals) involving owls can also be performed to help with prolonged sickness, infertility and even the desire for a male child. The tantrik prescribes rituals to be performed with either owl parts, or by sacrificing an owl on a new moon night, the most popular being tonight, Deepavali.

The report warns that the wild owl population is under threat. Source:Abrar Ahmed, Traffic.

The owls’ bodies parts are thought to have medicinal properties, eyes are thought to assist with seeing in the dark or curing fits.
Owls are not just being caught from the wild for sacrifices and body parts. Some owls are used in street performances, replacing the dancing bears, as the ‘bear charmers’ were being persecuted by wildlife authorities.

Five Species of Owls Most Commonly Found for Sale in India.
1. Spotted owlet (Athene brama)
2. Barn owl (Tyto alba)
3. Rock Eagle-owl (Bubo bengalensis)
4. Jungle owlet (Glaucidium radiatum)
5. Collared Scops-owl (Otus bakkamoena)


So, is the Harry Potter reference merely a tenuous link? Clearly there is no owl sacrifice in the books and films, but Harry does keep his snowy owl, Hedwig, in an exceptionally small cage throughout the film. Owls are also seen delivering the post, including a broomstick and have an important role to play during the films. Middle classes are jumping onto the Harry Potter bandwagon; throwing themed parties complete with rented owl.

In India, owls have been used in mythology for centuries, so to place all the blame on Harry Potter mania, the films especially, is quite unfair. However, what could have been a dying trade, seen only in remote tribes, could be re-emerging stronger than before.

Deepavali is the festival of lights, where good triumphs over evil, let’s hope that the light will be shed on the illegal trade of owls and that it will soon be curbed.

Bake with Compassion Week. 23rd October - 31st October

It is almost the end of National Baking Week in the UK, and while the campaign has hopefully brought families and friends close, spare a thought for the millions of chickens and dairy cows providing for the bake-a-thon.

Hens are crammed into tiny cages or packed into barns, never seeing the light of day. Their natural behaviour is heavily restricted, they cannot stretch their wings, move freely around, forage or dust bathe. As a result, many hens turn to feather plucking and self-mutilation, they can also suffer from osteoporosis.

Dairy cows generally do not get to graze outdoors, though some farmers do allow their cows’ access to the outdoors during the summer months. Dairy cows are forced to have a calf once a year; usually the cow is inseminated about 3 months after she gives birth to a calf. Sadly, the cow does not get to keep her calf by her side as her milk is reserved for consumers. As dairy cows produce almost 6 times their natural amount of milk (naturally 4 litres will be produced for a calf, in the industry European cows produce about 22 litres, or 30 in the US a day). Dairy cows are susceptible to lameness, mastitis and infertility. The mothers also have to deal with the fact that their baby is taken away from them shortly after they have given birth. For a social animal such as a cow, this can be very stressful.

That’s why Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) has launched its very own Bake with Compassion, 23rd October – 31st October. Compassionate bakers are baking delicious cakes and desserts with either free range ingredients or vegan. CIWF has provided plenty of events and recipes to help kick start compassionate baking.

By taking part in Bake with Compassion, and raising funds, either by being sponsored or raffling off the compassionate cake creations, you will also be raising awareness of the plight of the humble hen and cow.

Note: Although most of the recipes have butter or milk added to them, they do call for organic butter, which means that the cows have been allowed to graze outside, in small herds. They also have more comfortable bedding. However, vegan butter or simply dairy free olive oil butter is also just as tasty in recipes too.

You Are What You Eat. Plastic, Animal Waste and Metal?

Earlier this year, a cyclist, three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, was provisionally suspended after a trace element of a banned substance, clenbuterol was found in his urine.

He has since blamed a contaminated steak for his drug results. He may have a point.

Clenbuterol is used illegally in the US and throughout some parts of Europe to increase the leanness and protein content of cattle, swine and horses. It is added to the food of the animals to increase muscle to fat ratio and to induce growth spurts. In Europe, adverse human reactions include reversible symptoms of increased heart rate, muscular tremors, headache, nausea, fever, and chills.

Halloween is approaching, but what is really frightening is potentially what is going into the food of animals raised for slaughter.

For most meat, egg and dairy producing farms, long gone are the days of animals spending most of their time out to pasture. Even some supermarkets, that imply that their animals are out all day, need to be careful of their wording. Instead, we live in a time of mass produced meat, produced as cheaply as possible for the growing demand of consumers who do not want to pay highly for their dinner.

Farmers now have to contend with ever decreasing prices and large corporations who are trying to compete with the smaller farms. One way for reducing production costs lies within the food fed to the animals.

A study in the US reveals what exactly is going into the animals’ food. It is stomach turning. Since the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), consumers are asking more questions about where their meat comes from. Sapkota et al 2007, report that amongst other things, rendered animal products, animal waste (yes, faeces), plant and animal based fats, antibiotics (to promote growth and improve feed efficiency), metals (such as copper) and a variety of biological and chemical agents are added to animal feed. Animals raised for meat require a high amount of roughage in their diet, a substitute for natural food they eat, is plastic, ground up into pellets.

This has devastating implications to human health.

Recent outbreaks have highlighted the potential consequences of feeding livestock anything other than their natural diet, Enterococcus faeciu, Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to name but a few. For the list of known dangers so far, please see this table.

The researchers found that it was difficult to get the full records of exactly what was going into the animal feed; there were no accurate records of the amounts of some of the products added to the feed. These reports are from the US, what about the animal feed in other parts of the
world where people may not yet be aware of the implications of putting chemicals and animal waste into livestock feed.

Cows Grazing in a Large Open Field in the South of England

The Dog and the Whale

Tucker is a very special type of sniffer dog, his area of specialty being whale poop. He is helping scientists uncover why a population of killer whales are in decline on the northwest coast of the US. Once Tucker has found the faeces, the hormone levels are examined to investigate whether the whales are stressed, and to indicate the availability of food to the whales. These factors could be the key to the cause of their decreasing numbers.

Having a black Labrador use his keen nose to sniff out the faeces and collecting samples on the boat is a lot easier than catching a whale and taking records. It is also a lot less invasive to the whales, and prevents causing stress to animals who are becoming at risk.

And what is in it for Tucker once he has found a delectable sample? His favourite ball on a rope.

Check out the audio slideshow on the BBC website.