Tubo de ensayo que contiene un embrión temprano de un Miniopterus Natalensis (Miniopterus natalensis). Esta es una especie de vespertilionidae se encuentra en África.
Pete Oxford brings us a fresh selection of marine images from the Caribbean. Off Belize’s Ambergris Caye exists the second largest coral reef in the world featuring diverse reefs covered with sponges, corals and resident fish communities. Neighboring Hol Chan Marine Reserve hosts both shallow water and pelagic creatures like sharks, sea turtles and huge stingrays.
This week there has been discussion by the US Fish and Wildlife Service about removing Yellowstone Grizzlies from the Endangered Species list. The process of ‘delisting’ a species begins with the determination that threats to the recovery and survival of the population has been eliminated. Last month’s study published in Molecular Ecology indicates the population in the park has a strong enough genetic diversity to continue its recovery. Paired with the four fold increase in the Park’s bear numbers over the past 25 years the scales are tipping towards the groups pushing to remove the animals from the Endangered Species list and open them to limited hunting outside the Park. The fate of the bears will be decided within the next few months. In the meanwhile, check out this gallery of species that have been delisted over the years as their populations have recovered including Peregrine Falcons, Alligators and Gray Whales.
In PlosOne was published an article about a newly-named species of Giant Tortoise. This variety has a steeply rounded shell (others are somewhat flatter) with quite flared front and back edges. Most individuals also have a pair of thin white lines around the neck and mouth, looking like necklaces when seen head-on. The population, which suffered poaching up until a couple of decades ago, is believed to number no more than 400, with very few juveniles present. They live on the eastern slope of Santa Cruz Island and their closest genetic relationship is with tortoise from the eastern half of San Cristobal Island. A different, well-known species of tortoise lives on the south-western slope of Santa Cruz, so the big mystery is why haven’t they cross-bred, especially when populations were larger than at present.
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