Is it another 'Silent Spring'? (No, we're not referring to the late, great Rachel Carson's classic Silent Spring...). Well, actually its now summer, but we've noticed some missing residents around here in lower eastern Michigan. We were up - quite early this morning, before sunrise - and noticed a deafening silence. 'Where were the crickets?', we wondered. Any other year, this time of day and season, you could hear their chorus. We find the complete absence of one of our favorite insects a little disturbing and eerie. We have found a couple (two, exactly) of the smaller field-variety brown crickets - during this whole season... Is it a cause for concern?
Always silent and always appearing en masse, we missed another of our insect friends - Ephemeroptera or the Mayfly. Where have they been this year? Is it too cool and wet for them, this year? Or is it some other unknown reason? Is it linked to our disappeared Gryllidae? We don't know...
Another missing resident is the common Bufo bufo and some of our other Anuran friends. Last spring, we encountered hundreds of their tadpoles in drying tire tracks. Many of which we believe to have matured and survived as we heard their croaks and groans earlier this year. Now, the areas where we had encountered them just one year ago are nearly and/or completely silent. The tire tracks are still there. They are wet. But, inexpicably they are uninhabited. Is it too late in the season? Or is there some other, more ominous reason? We hope to post video evidence of this soon, but lacking funds, we must ask for donations to do this. Otherwise, the evidence may never be posted.
We had previously posted our concerns about the anurans and bufo previously (in another venue...) and received some derogatory comments regarding that. But, we expected that. However, we did not expect a complete disappearance. Believing that the little creatures form the ecological foundation for the rest of the biosphere, we wonder if the next phase of disappearance is coming. We firmly believe that what happens to our other earthling neighbors, happens to us...
How Evolution Can Allow For Large Developmental Leaps
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720163716.htm
Strange! Humans Glow in Visible Light
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090722/sc_livescience/strangehumansglowinvisiblelight;_ylt=AltqKv8tEQee4NHSatM8xE4PLBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTNkMGptdnJuBGFzc2V0A2xpdmVzY2llbmNlLzIwMDkwNzIyL3N0cmFuZ2VodW1hbnNnbG93aW52aXNpYmxlbGlnaHQEY3BvcwM0BHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bl9oZ
Ultrasound performed on pregnant dolphin
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8161416.stm
Tursiops
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottlenose_dolphin
Tursiops truncatus (EOL Link)
http://www.eol.org/pages/129548
Wolf Reintroduction Proposed In Scottish Highland Test Case
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720134527.htm
Bangladesh rare leopard cub found
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8162981.stm
Neofelis nebulosa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clouded_Leopard
Neofelis nebulosa (IUCN Red List Link – Vulnerable)
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/14519/0
Neofelis nebulosa (EOL Link)
http://www.eol.org/pages/328675
Cod expert: Don't boost harvest yet
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/07/22/cod-recover-722.html
Gadus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadus
Sea Lamprey Embryos Dramatically Alter Genomes
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720163734.htm
Petromyzon marinus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_lamprey
Petromyzon marinus
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=2530
Return of the Giant Jellyfish
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6721081.ece
Echizen kurage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echizen_kurage
Swine flu vaccine trials start in Australia
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/07/22/swine-flu-vaccine.html
H1N1 Influenza Pandemic Modeling For Public Health Action
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720134227.htm
2009 flu pandemic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic
H1N1 Deaths Double in Three Weeks
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/21/health/main5177820.shtml
Infection-Causing Amoeba May be Resistant to Multiple Contact Lens Solutions
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090721091841.htm
Acanthamoeba
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthamoeba
C. Difficile Spores Spread Superbug
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720134522.htm
Clostridium difficile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_difficile
Embryonic-like cells repair damaged mouse hearts
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre56j51m-us-heart-stemcell/
Pre-chewed Food Could Transmit HIV
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090721163126.htm
Starve A Fever, Feed A Cold, Don't Be Stressed
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720163719.htm
Evidence Of Clovis-age Comets Discovered
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720190719.htm
Hunt hopes to find ancient trees
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8160881.stm
New Discovery Suggests Trees Evolved Camouflage Defense Against Long Extinct Predator
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090722083723.htm
Pseudopanax crassifolius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudopanax_crassifolius
Dinornis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinornis
Warming Climate Threatens California Fruit And Nut Production
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090721214622.htm
Rice Defies Its Reputation As A Thirsty Crop
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720102014.htm
Combating Iron Deficiency: Rice With Six Times More Iron Than Polished Rice Kernels Developed
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090721090129.htm
Oryza
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice
DNA Of Ancient Lost Barley Could Help Modern Crops Cope With Water Stress
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090721091822.htm
Hordeum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barley
Too Many Trees Planted In Central Strip Of Roads Can Be Worse Than None; Can Trap Vehicle Exhaust Fumes
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720105127.htm
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