Tag: natural

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A natural reservoir that formed in the Peruvian Andes behind a glacier, in 1941 broke its bank and killed thousands – climate change is making a repeat more likely

It is estimated that 15 million people live in areas which would be flooded, should glacial lakes collapse. As global warming increases the temperatures in these areas, these glacial lake collapses are only going to get more common.

In 1941, lake Palcacocha (which sits high in the Cordillera Blanca range of the Peruvian Andes) broke its banks. The city of Huaraz lies beneath it, and when it collapsed 10 million cubic meters of water was dropped on the city. Apart from changing the areas geography permanently, at least 1800 people died, and possibly as high as 4500.

We are making the collapse of these glacial lakes more likely as time goes by, by our increasing of carbon in the atmosphere – clearly it is not only low lying settlements which are in danger from climate related flooding.

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Shrinking trees, and tuskless elephants – what other effects are humans having?

Humans are causing trees to grow smaller, as big trees are more likely to be harvested. In the same way, elephants are being born in some reserves without their tusks, as this means that they are less likely to be hunted (and therefore, those born without tusks tend to survive better and have more young).

Snails are developing lighter shells, in order to cope with heat better, and swallows are developing shorter wings as this is easier to avoid being hit by cars, are just some of the large number of effects that humans are having on the natural world.

The problem is if these impacts mean that the species is less capable of surviving (do tuskless elephants live as long?). Are humans becoming the primary threat for many species?

If so, we need to change that and fast.

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Could flooding wetlands, be the next big carbon capture method?

The Nywaigi people of Australia have found that by doing this, this behaviour can sequester carbon, boost biodiversity and create jobs.

It is thought that peatlands, store twice as much carbon as rainforests, so their protection and recovery is essential if we are to maintain the wonderful climate that has allowed the human race to flourish.

In this instance (not the place that the video comes from) just 1 decade ago, the area was bad. Much of it was freshwater pasture, with a load of invasive weeds that were choking both the land and the waterways. This was caused by a ‘bund’, an earth wall build 50 years ago, to block off incoming seawater, in order to transform the area into freshwater ponded pasture (to be used for cattle pasture). You can find a video on this project to restore this area, and the bottom of this article.

Continue reading “Could flooding wetlands, be the next big carbon capture method?”
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Pine marten roundup

For any readers who do not know what a pine marten is, the above will give you an idea. It is an arboreal predator (that is, it hunts in the trees). There are a total of 8 species of marten across the world. Historically, this was the second most common predator in the UK, with only the fox being more common.

Unfortunately, its habit of taking chickens lead to it being hunted ruthlessly. At the current time, it hangs on in Wales, and has a significant population in Scotland. In Ireland, the recovery is far further along.

In the UK, one of the reasons that we miss this little predator, is its impact on grey squirrels. Unlike the pine marten, the grey squirrel is not native to the UK, and its presence does much damage, from its impact on trees, and other plants, to the fact that it carries a disease which wipes out the reds rapidly (so they are incapable of living alongside each other). This is a species which I have followed closely, and while other matters have stopped me blogging on this species as often as I would like, it has not stopped me from reading about it, so you will find summaries of a variety of stories below.

 

 

Reintroduction project in Dartmoor: 15 pine martens were released in secret locations within Dartmoor in September. A total of 7 conservation organisations have been involved in this translocation. It is a total of around 150 years since pine martens were last in the area, but the translocated individuals are settling and slowly dispersing across the landscape.

To the right you will find a tiktok video which will give you details on this reintroduction.

While there is no idea where the pine martens came from, they appear to be doing well, and as the video shows, are breeding. While they have not been there long, so there is little evidence yet, it is highly likely that the pine marten arrival will be bad for local grey squirrel populations (a non-native squirrel which does much damage to UK woodland). This is an area of excitment and should be followed closely.

Pine marten spotted on Longleat estate

Pine marten caught on camera trap in Longleat estate in Wiltshire. It is unclear where this individual came from, lying half way between the forest of dean and the new forest (but far from both), but it is thought it has arrived naturally. While red squirrels would not be able to reappear in this part of the country, without help, as all surrounding areas have grey squirrels, should the pine marten survive, it is likley to greatly impact the local popualtion, and create an island, into which red squirrels could eventually return.

Pine marten in the forest of dean

Pine marten were translocated from Scotland into the forest of dean, beginning in autumn of 2019, when 19 were introduced, and a further 35 joined them in the next 2 years. Last summer, there was an estimate of 60 living in the forest, which while not a big increase, it has not fallen.

While the forest of dean covers just over 200 square miles, it is thought that 60 is roughly the carrying capacity. That suggests that the pine martens in the forest of dean need roughly twice as much space as elsewhere, so time will tell if the population can grow beyond this level. Still, it seems likely that this number of pine martens should be able to eradicate the grey squirrel, or at least greatly reduce its number in the area.

The below video shows 3 cubs from around 4 years ago.

 

Pine marten in the forest of dean

Research is being done on whether pine martens can live in timber forests – which account for a lot of forest in Scotland

Some simple changes may well allow timber and pine martens to flourish alongside each other. Across 1 woodland, a number of nest boxes have been added, which appears to be helping. The plantations are also looking at letting some older trees stay standing, as these are where cavities appear, which is the pine martens natural home. This research is being carried out in the forest of Ae and around Castle O’er.

Pine martens have turned up in a London cemetery, in area of England where they have not been seen for 150 years 

The Zoological Society of London ZSL (London Zoo)  already had a project in the area with remote cameras, as it is a stronghold for the hedgehog (unfortunately, another species with a horrific decline in the last 20-30 years). It was just one (and this was in 2022, so may well be gone), but it is exciting that such a small area can house an animal like this.

The Forest of dean, is 80 miles away, which is the nearest population, so it is thought that this might have to be the result of an illegal translocation (they are being translocated, but should be done by professionals, with checks and more.

Pine marten recovery is further along, and helps understand how it will work in England, particularly in cities (not the safe zone once thought)

 Once almost extinct, for similar reasons in the UK (habitat destruction, and persecution) in 1976 they were given legal protection, and at the same time, forestry started to expand once again. The pine marten is how living in around 45% of Ireland.

The red squirrel is recovering as a result. There was a fear that grey squirrels would survive within cities, as pine martens are generally to shy to venture into even large parks within cities. However, what has been found, is that the abundance of squirrels in cities is a mirage – there are only sustained by populations outside the city, therefore, should places like the green belt around London get settled by pine martens, it is likely that the London squirrels would disappear within a few years.

Similar to elsewhere, pine martens have now also been introduced to the Lake district.

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Wildcat kittens born outside captivity in Cairngorms

Wildcats are native to the UK, but have been pushed to the brink of extinction by hybridisation with native cats – which come from the wildcats from places like Israel in the middle east. As a result of this, as well as trying to remove the feral domestic cats, and their descendants, they are trying to create pockets of Scotland, which would allow these cats to recover.

The natural behaviour of a British wildcat when meeting a feral cat, is to kill it. However, as these animals become rarer, even rare breeding events, can threaten the survival of the whole species. This behaviour also means that with careful planning, we should be able to reintroduce them into other parts of the country. There are a range of other wild predators lost over the last couple of millennia – and I hope to see the others return, but it is thrilling to know that a wildcat is once again living and breeding in its native habitat of the Scottish mountains.

These wildcats are thought to be the first born wild in Scotland for 5 years, after 19 wildcats bred in the Highland wildlife park, were released into the Cairngorms national park.

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Analysis has found that 1/3 of land set aside for restoration is worse than before in Australia

Large parts of Australia look like the above photo, beautiful in a rugged way, but quite useless for the survival of many of Australia species. Australia has a wide range of habitats, which means that there are many areas which need to be protected.

The problem is, according to this study, declaring an area protected appears to be having little change on what is happened.

1/3 of all land that is set aside for restoration and conservation, has got worse rather than better. Given the fact that so many species are just hanging on to existence, this could be very bad news.

In one area that was studied, the majority of the area was cleared paddock – a serious problem for the koala and grey-headed flying fox which called the area home.

In particular, the idea of this scheme is so called biodiversity offsetting – if you are to clear wildlife habitat, you protect a similar sized area elsewhere.

Continue reading “Analysis has found that 1/3 of land set aside for restoration is worse than before in Australia”
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Our behaviour may be still pushing the Northern right whale to extinction – entanglements may use as much energy as rearing all young

The Northern right whale was hunted to the brink of extinction – with less than 500 left when hunting ended. To put this in perspective, only 300 Southern right whales were left when hunting stopped, it is thought that there are now 3000-4000 Southern right whales.

Now, it is true that historically the Southern right whale is thought to have numbered as 55,000-70,000 individuals, suggesting that the current population is 3-5% of historic numbers.

However, the current estimate for the Northern right whale population is 386. While has the Southern right whale population grown over 1000%, and in the same time, the northern right whale population declined?

What is different?

Continue reading “Our behaviour may be still pushing the Northern right whale to extinction – entanglements may use as much energy as rearing all young”
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Australias environment could be fixed for 0.3% of GDP

Wentworth Group of concerned Scientists estimate that for just $7.3 billion a year for 30 years, most extinctions could be avoided as well as repairing soil and restoring rivers. That sounds like quite a lot? Well, invasive species cost the Australian government $24.3 billion a year now.

Recovery of some of the endangered species, could well save more than they cost to save, in reducing this invasive species bill. This would also improve agricultural output, as a result of improved soil health.

Continue reading “Australias environment could be fixed for 0.3% of GDP”
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It is becoming increasingly clear: humans are responsible for the loss of mega fauna that we can see in the past

The skeleton above is the closest we can get to a real mammoth, as a result of their extinction. However, it is not the only missing large species – indeed, the elephant family alone, is thought to have around 30 extinct members. Aside from these, there are 2 known extinct species of the woolly rhino, cave lions and sabre-toothed tigers, and various species of bear, among many others.

If you go back 50,000 years, there were 57 species of megaherbivores (herbivores weighing over a ton), yet just 11 of these survive today – these include the elephant species, the rhino species the hippo and the giraffe.

Continue reading “It is becoming increasingly clear: humans are responsible for the loss of mega fauna that we can see in the past”
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Currently, in the Amazon rainforest, 5 times more carbon is released from degradation than from deforestation – and still what remains continues to burn

A study, using detailed 3d surveys, found that road building, and other degradation is causing 5 times as much carbon to be released into the air, than deforestation of the Amazon.

From road building, to selective logging, fires and natural disasters, all these activities are combining to having a greater impact on carbon stocks in the Brazillian Amazon than deforestation. This huge discrepancy is not taken into account by the numbers.

This is also a problem to the world, as this carbon is being radically underestimated, which means that large quantities of our remaining carbon budget are being used up. This new survey used lidar, which gives a more accurate idea of what is left in terms of forest cover.

Read more: Currently, in the Amazon rainforest, 5 times more carbon is released from degradation than from deforestation – and still what remains continues to burn

With the addition of lidar sensors on the ISS, it is possible to scan the worlds forests more often – and given the ISS regular passing over 90% of the earths surface (in each 24 period – as while it orbits on a set path, the earth turns below it) this can be a good tool to keep an eye on the forests of the earth.

Another confirmation (as if it was needed) has been supplied by this study, showing that Indigenous territories and conservation units are both more efficient ways to protect the forest. These cover only 47.5% of the land, but contain just 9.1% of the forest clearing 2.6% of the logging and 9.6% of the fires.

Talking of fires

Fires continue to burn in the Amazon, with over 13,400 having been recorded in 2024. President Lula has called for general mobilization and Brazil has pledged to end deforestation by 2030. This is higher than during Bolsonaro’s time in office, though current cause is a drought, not human mismanagement.

Climate change is causing an increasing change in weather patterns, and reduced rainfall is changing the forests behaviour ( it should be noted, that the forest produces a not -insignificant portion of its rainfallm

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