Well, it's been a tough decision. Environmental Esotericism had a good run on Blogspot. But I've decided that, with how few views and comments it's been getting, that the best decision would be to move this blog to a new hosting site. Don't worry, though--you'll still be able to see all the old posts I made here, and the first thing I'm going to do when I set up this blog at its new home is make an archive of the posts from the old version.
See you there!
--Gray Stanback
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Monday, August 21, 2017
Moonstruck
Today marks the first time since 1979 that a total eclipse was visible from the North America. It thus goes without saying that the eclipse became a subject of celebration, with pre-planned viewing events, special advertisements, novelty posters, souvenirs, and TV coverage all created to cash in it. But while we humans only notice the moon when it does something unusual, many animals live their lives by the rhythm of the moon all the time.
One animal in which the effects of the moon are well-documented is the California grunion. The California grunion is a silvery fish about six inches long, and for most of its life it is unremarkable. During certain full and new moons every year, when the tide is at its highest, the grunion deliberately beach themselves on the shore. There, they mate and lay eggs in the wet sand before being washed out to sea again by the waves. About ten days later, the eggs (those that have not been eaten by predators, at least) hatch, and the young fish enter the sea again.
Similarly, the streamlined spinefoot, a member of the rabbitfish family (so-named because of their rabbit-like teeth and their appetite for plants) always lays its eggs when the moon is in its last quarter. It is unknown how the phases of the moon trigger the fish's reproductive drive, but when the moon is at the proper phase the male fish become flushed with hormones.
Lunar effects on land animals are much less well understood. One major exception is the fly Clunio marinus, which lives along the coasts of northern Europe. This insect has long been used as a model organism for the study of cyclic systems in living creatures. Its mating swarms, like the mating seasons of the grunion and the spinefoot, are timed with phases of the moon.
How do eclipses affect animals? That varies. We do know that during solar eclipses, birds will often stop singing, and nocturnal insects like crickets and will start chirping. But grunion, spinefeet, and Clunio flies have survived for millions of years despite the changes in the cycles of the moon, so clearly they have been able to weather whatever abnormalities of the lunar cycle can throw at them. Eclipses, for them, are simply a fact of life that they must deal with. And deal with it they do--it's what they're good at.
Deliberately washing themselves ashore to lay their eggs, California grunion are one of a number of animals whose activities are timed by the cycle of the moon--just as those of human eclipse-watchers are.
One animal in which the effects of the moon are well-documented is the California grunion. The California grunion is a silvery fish about six inches long, and for most of its life it is unremarkable. During certain full and new moons every year, when the tide is at its highest, the grunion deliberately beach themselves on the shore. There, they mate and lay eggs in the wet sand before being washed out to sea again by the waves. About ten days later, the eggs (those that have not been eaten by predators, at least) hatch, and the young fish enter the sea again.
Similarly, the streamlined spinefoot, a member of the rabbitfish family (so-named because of their rabbit-like teeth and their appetite for plants) always lays its eggs when the moon is in its last quarter. It is unknown how the phases of the moon trigger the fish's reproductive drive, but when the moon is at the proper phase the male fish become flushed with hormones.
Lunar effects on land animals are much less well understood. One major exception is the fly Clunio marinus, which lives along the coasts of northern Europe. This insect has long been used as a model organism for the study of cyclic systems in living creatures. Its mating swarms, like the mating seasons of the grunion and the spinefoot, are timed with phases of the moon.
How do eclipses affect animals? That varies. We do know that during solar eclipses, birds will often stop singing, and nocturnal insects like crickets and will start chirping. But grunion, spinefeet, and Clunio flies have survived for millions of years despite the changes in the cycles of the moon, so clearly they have been able to weather whatever abnormalities of the lunar cycle can throw at them. Eclipses, for them, are simply a fact of life that they must deal with. And deal with it they do--it's what they're good at.
Deliberately washing themselves ashore to lay their eggs, California grunion are one of a number of animals whose activities are timed by the cycle of the moon--just as those of human eclipse-watchers are.
Friday, June 30, 2017
Ecosystem Spotlight: Antarctic Seas
Desolate Antarctica is the most uninhabited continent on Earth. Its barren ice fields are home to no large land animals and no plants. Those creatures that do inhabit the Antarctic continent, such as penguins and seals, depend on the ocean for sustenance, and it is in the ocean that the majority of Antarctic life is to be found. Unlike the Arctic, Antarctica is a solid landmass surrounded by ocean, albeit one divided into many large sub-continents. These are joined by huge ice sheets, underneath which dwells an ecosystem unlike anything else in the world.
The near-freezing temperatures of Antarctica's waters have forced many animals to evolve special strategies to cope with the cold. Whales and seals all have a thick layer of fat under their skin called blubber, while penguins have densely packed feathers that trap air and serve as a sort of "bubble-wrap" to keep out the cold (polar bears and sea otters, which live in the Arctic, have fur that does the same thing).
Creatures that stay in the cold ocean their whole lives have even more unique ways of surviving the cold. Many fish that live in Antarctica produce a naturally occurring antifreeze chemical in their blood to prevent it from freezing. These fish all belong to a single group, the icefishes, or Notothenioidei, which have come to be the dominant fish in the seas of Antarctica. However, they are by no means the only animals living there.
The clear, oxygen-rich water of the Antarctic ocean encourages invertebrates to grow to gigantic sizes. Giant starfish, over a foot across, swarm around holes in the ice, scavenging on scraps left by penguins and seals, and searching for dead fish and crustaceans. Isopods the size of mice--distant relatives of the familiar garden pillbug-- crawl along the seabed, eating whatever detritus they can find. These creatures are preyed on by other invertebrates, such as octopuses, which in turn are eaten by fish and by seals and whales. Even the smaller invertebrates are remarkable, including the only species of sea anemone to grow on icebergs.
The very largest of Antarctica's giant invertebrates--and the largest invertebrate on the planet-- is the colossal squid, which can grow up to forty feet in length and weigh in at half a ton. Never seen alive until 2007, the colossal squid has the largest eyes of any animal, measuring 11 inches across. Its tentacles are tipped with sharp hooks instead of suckers, which it uses to seize prey.
While a great deal of ink has justifiably been spilled over the melting of Antarctica's icecap, less attention has been paid to the threat faced by its marine ecosystem. As the planet is warmed, this ecosystem, adapted as it is to life in subzero temperatures, will be in grave danger.
Unique sea creatures like this jellyfish inhabit the cold ocean surrounding Antarctica. But as the icecaps melt and the oceans are warmed, how safe is their home?
The near-freezing temperatures of Antarctica's waters have forced many animals to evolve special strategies to cope with the cold. Whales and seals all have a thick layer of fat under their skin called blubber, while penguins have densely packed feathers that trap air and serve as a sort of "bubble-wrap" to keep out the cold (polar bears and sea otters, which live in the Arctic, have fur that does the same thing).
Creatures that stay in the cold ocean their whole lives have even more unique ways of surviving the cold. Many fish that live in Antarctica produce a naturally occurring antifreeze chemical in their blood to prevent it from freezing. These fish all belong to a single group, the icefishes, or Notothenioidei, which have come to be the dominant fish in the seas of Antarctica. However, they are by no means the only animals living there.
The clear, oxygen-rich water of the Antarctic ocean encourages invertebrates to grow to gigantic sizes. Giant starfish, over a foot across, swarm around holes in the ice, scavenging on scraps left by penguins and seals, and searching for dead fish and crustaceans. Isopods the size of mice--distant relatives of the familiar garden pillbug-- crawl along the seabed, eating whatever detritus they can find. These creatures are preyed on by other invertebrates, such as octopuses, which in turn are eaten by fish and by seals and whales. Even the smaller invertebrates are remarkable, including the only species of sea anemone to grow on icebergs.
The very largest of Antarctica's giant invertebrates--and the largest invertebrate on the planet-- is the colossal squid, which can grow up to forty feet in length and weigh in at half a ton. Never seen alive until 2007, the colossal squid has the largest eyes of any animal, measuring 11 inches across. Its tentacles are tipped with sharp hooks instead of suckers, which it uses to seize prey.
While a great deal of ink has justifiably been spilled over the melting of Antarctica's icecap, less attention has been paid to the threat faced by its marine ecosystem. As the planet is warmed, this ecosystem, adapted as it is to life in subzero temperatures, will be in grave danger.
Unique sea creatures like this jellyfish inhabit the cold ocean surrounding Antarctica. But as the icecaps melt and the oceans are warmed, how safe is their home?
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Vive La France?
As of today, the United States is no longer a participant in the Paris Climate Accords, an agreement signed on April 22nd, 2016 to collectively limit greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020. Over 195 nations signed the Accords, and initially the United States was one of them. It was rightfully hailed as one of the great accomplishments of environmentalism.
However, even before he assumed the Presidency, Donald Trump was a staunch opponent of the Paris Climate Accords. He held the belief--a belief many other CEOs of large companies tend to share-- that a regulation of greenhouse gas emissions would force companies to not be as productive as they might otherwise be. While not intending to debate the merits of these claims, it should be pointed out that in the past year alone, more jobs have been opened up in solar power and other renewable power sources than in nonrenewable power sources such as coal.
Today, the decision was made. Greenhouse gas emissions in the United States will no longer be regulated by the Accords. The potential effects of this could be devastating. To put it another way, China--the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases-- did sign the Accords, and is ramping up its production of wind turbines and solar panels. How ironic, then, that Trump has called global warming "a hoax invented by the Chinese", when they are clearly quite worried about it!
During his speech in which he formally withdrew from the Paris Climate Accords, Trump asserted that "this agreement is less about the climate and more countries gaining a financial advantage to the States." Needless to say, this is false. The Accords are not intended to give the participant nations economical advantages over one another--at least, not the nations that actually participate. Ironically, by withdrawing from the Accords, Trump has actually made the US more vulnerable to foreign competition, not less. Other countries' clean energy markets will continue to produce new jobs, while the US will continue wasting money on its obsolete fossil fuel industry.
But what can be done? Can we trust the companies themselves, on whose behalf Trump exited the Paris Climate Accords, to regulate their own greenhouse gas emissions? 70% of adult US citizens support the Paris Accords, and many of them are lobbying for companies to regulate their own emissions. Time will tell if they are successful.
However, even before he assumed the Presidency, Donald Trump was a staunch opponent of the Paris Climate Accords. He held the belief--a belief many other CEOs of large companies tend to share-- that a regulation of greenhouse gas emissions would force companies to not be as productive as they might otherwise be. While not intending to debate the merits of these claims, it should be pointed out that in the past year alone, more jobs have been opened up in solar power and other renewable power sources than in nonrenewable power sources such as coal.
Today, the decision was made. Greenhouse gas emissions in the United States will no longer be regulated by the Accords. The potential effects of this could be devastating. To put it another way, China--the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases-- did sign the Accords, and is ramping up its production of wind turbines and solar panels. How ironic, then, that Trump has called global warming "a hoax invented by the Chinese", when they are clearly quite worried about it!
During his speech in which he formally withdrew from the Paris Climate Accords, Trump asserted that "this agreement is less about the climate and more countries gaining a financial advantage to the States." Needless to say, this is false. The Accords are not intended to give the participant nations economical advantages over one another--at least, not the nations that actually participate. Ironically, by withdrawing from the Accords, Trump has actually made the US more vulnerable to foreign competition, not less. Other countries' clean energy markets will continue to produce new jobs, while the US will continue wasting money on its obsolete fossil fuel industry.
But what can be done? Can we trust the companies themselves, on whose behalf Trump exited the Paris Climate Accords, to regulate their own greenhouse gas emissions? 70% of adult US citizens support the Paris Accords, and many of them are lobbying for companies to regulate their own emissions. Time will tell if they are successful.
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Ecosystem Spotlight: Tsingy
Madagascar lies about 300 miles off the eastern coast of Africa, and is home to thousands of plants and animals that live nowhere else in the world. In many cases, such as the lemurs, tenrecs, vanga shrikes, and mantella frogs, entire radiations of species have evolved from a single ancestor that arrived there long ago, and expanded to colonize every ecosystem on the island. Out of all of Madagascar's ecosystems, probably the most bizarre and little-known, even today, are the ranges of razor-sharp limestone peaks known to the natives as Tsingy.
By their very nature, the Tsingy are difficult to explore. The word means "place where one cannot walk barefoot" in Malagasy (the main indigenous language of Madagascar), and traditional rock-climbing equipment are unsuitable for them. This inhospitality to humans has ensured that the endemic animals and plants of the Tsingy have stayed undisturbed. New discoveries are still trickling in even today: a bat in 2005, a frog in 2007, a dwarf lemur in 2000. One of the largest recently-discovered animals of the Tsingy was a species of lemur named after British comedian John Cleese.
The Tsingy are also, however home to one of the smallest vertebrates in the world, the dwarf chameleon. Less than two inches long and weighing less than a quarter, it inhabits the vegetation on the lower levels of the Tsingy, where it hunts for small insects.
The Tsingy are a layered skyscraper of habitats. The very topmost layers--the jagged peaks that are clearly visible when one looks at the area from above--are almost devoid of life, save for some scarce lichens and mosses, and whatever birds and insects may visit them. Lower down, plants grow in pockets of soil that accumulate in the sides of the peaks, and at the very bottom shrubs and small trees push their way towards the light in between the towers of limestone. It is in these lower layers that most animals also live.
The Tsingy are an ecosystem with no direct equivalent anywhere else in the world, so they--even more so than the rest of Madagascar, which is truly saying something--need to be preserved at all costs. They provide an indispensable part of the "alien world" image of Madagascar, while at the same time seeming like something out of an alien world themselves.
High atop a Tsingy, several gnarled trees grow. Although they may look inhospitable, Tsingys are refuges for a wide variety of animals and plants.
By their very nature, the Tsingy are difficult to explore. The word means "place where one cannot walk barefoot" in Malagasy (the main indigenous language of Madagascar), and traditional rock-climbing equipment are unsuitable for them. This inhospitality to humans has ensured that the endemic animals and plants of the Tsingy have stayed undisturbed. New discoveries are still trickling in even today: a bat in 2005, a frog in 2007, a dwarf lemur in 2000. One of the largest recently-discovered animals of the Tsingy was a species of lemur named after British comedian John Cleese.
The Tsingy are also, however home to one of the smallest vertebrates in the world, the dwarf chameleon. Less than two inches long and weighing less than a quarter, it inhabits the vegetation on the lower levels of the Tsingy, where it hunts for small insects.
The Tsingy are a layered skyscraper of habitats. The very topmost layers--the jagged peaks that are clearly visible when one looks at the area from above--are almost devoid of life, save for some scarce lichens and mosses, and whatever birds and insects may visit them. Lower down, plants grow in pockets of soil that accumulate in the sides of the peaks, and at the very bottom shrubs and small trees push their way towards the light in between the towers of limestone. It is in these lower layers that most animals also live.
The Tsingy are an ecosystem with no direct equivalent anywhere else in the world, so they--even more so than the rest of Madagascar, which is truly saying something--need to be preserved at all costs. They provide an indispensable part of the "alien world" image of Madagascar, while at the same time seeming like something out of an alien world themselves.
High atop a Tsingy, several gnarled trees grow. Although they may look inhospitable, Tsingys are refuges for a wide variety of animals and plants.
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Ecosystem spotlight: Tepuis
Now that the Eco-Tainment series is over with, I've been trying to decide what the next "series" on this blog should be. Now I've made my decision. This new series will focus on little-known, weird, or endangered ecosystems around the world, with each entry covering the ecosystem as a whole and the creatures that live there. So without further ado, here's the first one.
Tepui. It sounds like something you might say after you've sneezed, but it's actually the name of one of the most bizarre geological features on the planet. Tepuis are tall plateaus of sandstone that rise above the northeastern Amazon rainforest, in Venezuela and Colombia. Because of their isolation, they serve much the same ecological role as islands do, serving as a refuge for hundreds of animals and plants found nowhere else in the world. Just a few of the things that live on tepuis include carnivorous pitcher plants, rock-clinging bromeliads, and frogs that give birth instead of laying eggs.
The tepuis have long been an inspiration for writers. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic science-fiction novel The Lost World imagined dinosaurs surviving on top of one of these isolated plateaus. In the 2009 animated movie Up, a waterfall on a tepui (named "Paradise Falls" and based on the real Angel Falls) becomes the final destination for an old man who wishes to keep a promise to his wife.
Studying the tepuis is often easier said than done. The sheer height of the cliffs makes them hard to climb up, and often the tops are obscured by thick clouds. In some cases, the only way to get reliable images of the very top is by using radar carried aboard airplanes.
However, expeditions to the the tepuis almost always reveal new species. In 2016, an expedition into the limestone caves of one of the largest tepuis resulted in the discovery of several species of blind cave fish, which had been isolated from their nearest relatives for millions of years. Simply by virtue of their impenetrable design, the tepuis are one of the few ecosystems on Earth that still has a great deal left to explore.
A tepui rises high over the rainforest below it like a stone skyscraper. Difficult to navigate and explore, tepuis are one of the last frontiers of the study of biodiversity
Tepui. It sounds like something you might say after you've sneezed, but it's actually the name of one of the most bizarre geological features on the planet. Tepuis are tall plateaus of sandstone that rise above the northeastern Amazon rainforest, in Venezuela and Colombia. Because of their isolation, they serve much the same ecological role as islands do, serving as a refuge for hundreds of animals and plants found nowhere else in the world. Just a few of the things that live on tepuis include carnivorous pitcher plants, rock-clinging bromeliads, and frogs that give birth instead of laying eggs.
The tepuis have long been an inspiration for writers. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic science-fiction novel The Lost World imagined dinosaurs surviving on top of one of these isolated plateaus. In the 2009 animated movie Up, a waterfall on a tepui (named "Paradise Falls" and based on the real Angel Falls) becomes the final destination for an old man who wishes to keep a promise to his wife.
Studying the tepuis is often easier said than done. The sheer height of the cliffs makes them hard to climb up, and often the tops are obscured by thick clouds. In some cases, the only way to get reliable images of the very top is by using radar carried aboard airplanes.
However, expeditions to the the tepuis almost always reveal new species. In 2016, an expedition into the limestone caves of one of the largest tepuis resulted in the discovery of several species of blind cave fish, which had been isolated from their nearest relatives for millions of years. Simply by virtue of their impenetrable design, the tepuis are one of the few ecosystems on Earth that still has a great deal left to explore.
A tepui rises high over the rainforest below it like a stone skyscraper. Difficult to navigate and explore, tepuis are one of the last frontiers of the study of biodiversity
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Hornswoggled
This morning, a tragedy occurred at a zoo near Paris. Vince, a male white rhinoceros living at the Thiory Zoo, was shot to death by an unidentified assailant, who then proceeded to cut off one of his horns. The killing cast a shadow over zoos around the world, as it was the first time that an animal at a European zoo had been killed by poachers. The poachers--who as of now have not been arrested--apparently escaped with one of Vince's horns before they could target the zoo's other two rhinos, Grace and Bruno. Vince was five years old, young for a rhino, which can live to be up to sixty. His death highlights a serious blind spot in conservation today: are zoos really doing all that they can to help endangered species?
The main target of poachers who hunt rhinoceroses is their horns. Rhinoceros horns are valued for their "medicinal" properties in China, as an aphrodisiac in Vietnam, and as ceremonial daggers in Yemen. As far back as medieval Europe, ground rhinoceros horn was thought to be an antidote against poisons (this may be one of the inspirations of the mythical unicorn). None of these uses can remotely justify the continued slaughter of hundreds of rhinos, and the poachers who use them as an excuse to make money are every bit as guilty as the people who consume rhinoceros products.
Today, there are five species of rhino (white, black, Indian, Sumatran, and Javan), and their populations together total less than 40,000 animals. The northern white rhinoceros is a possible sixth species, since it has been isolated from the other populations of the white rhinoceros for over 1 million years, but there are only three individuals of it left.
Captive breeding in zoos has been the life-line for rhinos. While poaching and deforestation have killed them off in the wild, zoos have allowed these animals to survive and breed safely, hopefully to a point where they can once again roam wild. Unfortunately, as Vince's death shows us, even zoos are not foolproof. As a matter of fact, it is the third time this year that an animal in a zoo has been killed by a trespasser. The other two (a hippo and a crocodile) were acts of vandalism with no financial motive, but they all highlight a disturbing fact. In order for zoos to be truly safe sanctuaries for endangered species, they will need to improve their security.
For endangered animals like the white rhinoceros, zoos offer the best hope of recovery. But what if zoos aren't as safe as we thought?
The main target of poachers who hunt rhinoceroses is their horns. Rhinoceros horns are valued for their "medicinal" properties in China, as an aphrodisiac in Vietnam, and as ceremonial daggers in Yemen. As far back as medieval Europe, ground rhinoceros horn was thought to be an antidote against poisons (this may be one of the inspirations of the mythical unicorn). None of these uses can remotely justify the continued slaughter of hundreds of rhinos, and the poachers who use them as an excuse to make money are every bit as guilty as the people who consume rhinoceros products.
Today, there are five species of rhino (white, black, Indian, Sumatran, and Javan), and their populations together total less than 40,000 animals. The northern white rhinoceros is a possible sixth species, since it has been isolated from the other populations of the white rhinoceros for over 1 million years, but there are only three individuals of it left.
Captive breeding in zoos has been the life-line for rhinos. While poaching and deforestation have killed them off in the wild, zoos have allowed these animals to survive and breed safely, hopefully to a point where they can once again roam wild. Unfortunately, as Vince's death shows us, even zoos are not foolproof. As a matter of fact, it is the third time this year that an animal in a zoo has been killed by a trespasser. The other two (a hippo and a crocodile) were acts of vandalism with no financial motive, but they all highlight a disturbing fact. In order for zoos to be truly safe sanctuaries for endangered species, they will need to improve their security.
For endangered animals like the white rhinoceros, zoos offer the best hope of recovery. But what if zoos aren't as safe as we thought?
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