CROISEMENTS
Des hybrides de coyotes et de loups gris, loups rouges, loups orientaux et chiens sont peut être beaucoup plus nombreux aux Etats - Unis que ce qui était supposé jusqu'alors. Outdoorhub, hier. Daniel Xu. "Are there millions of coywolves in North America?"
A recent article from The Economist stated a startling fact: that some researchers believe millions of coywolves already exist in North America. Yet how is it that a hybrid like the coywolf—a mix between wolf, coyote, and often dogs as well—can number in the millions when researchers say they are only found rarely in isolated packs? Well, the entire issue is a fairly confusing (and misleading) one. First of all, there is a massive difference between coyotes that have hybridized with eastern wolves or red wolves, and those who have hybridized with the gray wolf. Eastern and red wolves are genetically closer to coyotes as they only diverged as different species roughly 300,000 years ago. Gray wolves on the other hand, split from coyotes closer to two million years ago. Instances of gray wolves breeding with coyotes are relatively rare, but not so with eastern wolves. If we take the term “coywolf” to mean a canine with both wolf and coyote DNA, then just about every wolf and coyote that’s not a pure gray wolf can be considered a coywolf.
A previous study by Dr. Roland Kay of North Carolina State University found that wolves in the Great Lakes region had approximately 15 percent coyote DNA, whereas wolves in parts of Ontario only contained 58 percent wolf DNA, and red wolves in North Carolina contained as little as 24 percent wolf DNA. On the other hand, many northeastern coyotes contained about 9 percent wolf DNA. It would seem that as coyotes migrate east, they are also giving rise to a new species that is both larger than the pure coyote, and more adaptable to humans than wolves. Kay described the coywolves as having “coyote skulls with wolf teeth.” Or in other words, the power and ferocity of a wolf contained in a coyote’s frame. This is evident in the creature’s larger muscle mass, increased size, broadened appetite, and widened jaws that allow it to hunt larger prey such as deer.
According to the Economist, coywolves combine the best traits from both their lineages to take make the best of a human-dominated world. Coyotes generally like to hunt open fields while wolves stick to forests. Coywolves can do both and have even been known to approach cities and suburbs. Some researchers say this may be influenced by the dog DNA inside the creatures, making them more tolerant of humans. Unfortunately, coywolves are best described as unwanted visitors and will eat just about anything—including pets.
So the next time someone exclaims to you that the coywolf population has exploded out of nowhere, gently remind them that this is not a new or especially sensational thing. Coywolves have been rising steadily for decades ever since coyotes started encroaching on the Eastern United States. But have they grown large enough to be counted as a separate species? When it comes to classifying species, scientists take into account certain physical and genetic characteristics, not total population. The coywolf needs to have a significant morphological and genetic divergence from its ancestors before the scientific community will consider it as its own distinct species, and the issue is still hotly debated.
Ah! Pêcheresse...
La Grande Dolomède (Dolomedes plantarius), une araignée semi - aquatique qui se nourrit de petits vertébrés, effectue un retour spectaculaire en Grande Bretagne, après avoir été considérée comme quasi - éteintes. The Telegraph, ce jour. Emily Gosden. "Giant fish - eating spider surging in numbers".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/11966592/Giant-fish-eating-spider-surging-in-numbers.html
Voir aussi, sur le site indiqué ci - après, la carte des départements où sa présence est répertoriée en France.
http://inpn.mnhn.fr/espece/cd_nom/1885
REVE DE DUPLICATIONS
Des scientifiques de l'Université de Géorgie veulent reconstituer des tigres de Sumatra et des panthères nébuleuses à partir des restes de deux individus du zoo d'Atlanta : Moby, une panthère nébuleuse morte en 2013, et Jalal, un tigre mort en 2000. The Atlanta Journal Constitution, ce jour. "UGA scientists eye tiger, leopard creation".
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/uga-scientists-eye-tiger-leopard-creation/npCNK/
PROTECTION DES RESSOURCES
Du début de cette année à la mi - octobre, l'Indonésie a coulé au moins 91 bateaux étrangers pêchant illégalement dans son espace maritime. Plus récemment, 4 bateaux vietnamiens ont été abordés le 19 octobre, 2 bateaux philippins le 21, et un bateau malaysien à Kalimantan. Le 20 Octobre, une association de pêcheurs a demandé aux Autorités de s'occuper tout aussi vigoureusement de l'épanouissement des communautés côtières. Antaranews.com, hier. Kamis. Pewarta : Fardah. "Over 90 ships sunk by Indonesia until Mid. October 2015".
Jakarta (Antara News)- Indonesia has incurred material losses and environmental damage due to illegal fishing activities mostly conducted by foreign fishing boats in its maritime territory.
Therefore, Indonesia has vowed to impose stringent sanctions against the perpetrators of the crimes to serve as a deterrent to other poachers.
This year alone, until mid-October, Indonesian authorities have sunk at least 91 foreign fishing ships caught poaching in Indonesian waters as the fight against illegal fishing activities in its maritime territory continues.
Of the total, some 54 ships have been destroyed by the maritime affairs and fisheries ministry, and the Indonesian Navy has sunk 49 ships, according to Abdur Rouf Sam, the secretary of the ministrys directorate general for fishery and maritime resources supervision.
Some 117 ships are currently being processed legally either by the ministry, Navy, or other parties.
Most of the ships were caught around South China Sea or in the waters of Natuna and Arafura, he said at Sungai Rengas seaport, Pontianak, West Kalimantan, recently, after observing the sinking of some ships.
Four Vietnamese ships were among those sunk on Oct. 19 in Pontianak. When apprehended by the authorities for poaching in Indonesian waters, two were carrying five tons each of fish aboard, while the two others had 230 kilograms each.
Of the three foreign fishing boats recently captured for allegedly violating fishing licensing regulations while operating in Indonesian waters, two are from the Philippines and one from Malaysia.
The Philippines-flagged fishing boats were nabbed by the Indonesian warship KRI Sultan Hasanuddin-366 in Sulawesi waters on October 21, 2015, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti told the press in Jakarta, on Oct. 27.
The Filipino boats, which are FB Dave weighing 35 GT and 30-GT MV Boko-Boko, are suspected of fishing in the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone (ZEE) without having legal documents that only the Indonesian government could have issued, the minister said.
The boats were towed to the Tarakan naval base to carry out further legal process.
The 22-GT Malaysian boat was nabbed by the East Kalimantan water police.
The boat with two crew members was found fishing in Indonesian waters without having a sailing permit or a fishing permit from the Indonesian authorities.
Minister Susi Pudjiastuti hoped the boats could be destroyed by the authorities soon.
Earlier, on Oct. 6, the minister said she wished that the 16 ships including from Vietnam and the Philippines, caught fishing illegally in the country recently, could have been immediately sunk.
"Sinking such boats is allowed under the fisheries law," she said here on Tuesday.
Based on Article 69, Paragraph 4 of Law Number 45, 2009 regarding revision of Law Number 31 of 2004 on fisheries, the law states, "...investigators and/or fisheries supervisors could conduct special action in the form of burning and/or sinking the fishing boats carrying foreign flags, based on sufficient preliminary evidence."
She hoped that these ships could be sunk without having to wait for the courts ruling, as had happened before.
The minister disclosed that the district court in Sabang, Aceh, had rejected the pretrial suit filed by the owner of Silver Sea 2 Ship from Thailand.
"We must be grateful for this because (that means) rules were enforced according to the law," she said.
Several criminal charges would be pressed against the owner of Silver Sea 2, including taking fish outside the Indonesian territory without documents and conducting illegal trans-shipment.
The ship had also turned off its Vessel Monitoring System while sailing in the countrys waters, she said.
"Pretrial suits will not affect Indonesias spirit and we must continue to work hard to fight illegal fishing practices as a trans-national crime," she said.
The minister said the government has written to the Thai government, strongly deploring the alleged illegal fishing activity that Silver Sea 2 indulged in.
However, it was reported that the owner of the Thai-flagged fish cargo boat MV Silver Sea 2 had planned to take up the case in the International Court for seizing the boat "without a strong legal basis."
"We will file a lawsuit in the International Court to seek justice as our clients boat was seized without any strong evidence," Sofyan, the lawyer of MV Silver Sea 2s owner, stated on Oct. 23.
The Indonesian warship KRI Teuku Umar apprehended the boat and its crew 83 miles off Sumatra, on August 12, 2015, while the boat was on its way to Thailand, he said.
The 2,385 GT-boat was carrying 19 crew members and mixed fish weighing 1,930 tons.
The boat is now being detained at a naval base in Sabang, Weh Island, Aceh Darussalam Province.
The boat was in international waters when it was stopped, Sofyan said.
He refuted an accusation that the boat had been poaching in Indonesian waters, and said that it had never sailed into Indonesian waters.
"The travel recording shows that MV Silver Sea sailed from Thailand to Papua New Guinea through the south Philippines. From Papua New Guinea, it sailed to Thailand through the Indian Ocean," he explained.
It did not sail in Indonesian waters, so why had the fisheries ministry called the Indonesian Navy to seize MV Silver Sea 2, he asked.
In the meantime, the Peoples Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) has urged the Joko Widodo (Jokowi) administration to prioritize enhancing the fishermens welfare, rather than focusing merely on the fight against illegal fishing activities.
"President Jokowi and the ministers in his Working Cabinet should not only focus on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities," Secretary General of Kiara Abdul Halim said on Oct. 20.
The fight against illegal fishing is just a minor part of the governments responsibility to develop a prosperous coastal community.
According to him, the most important thing is to improve their welfare by providing facilities and basic needs of good quality that the community living in coastal areas should be able to afford.
FORUM PACIFIQUE NORD
Le neuvième forum écologique international "Nature sans Frontiere", dont le thème est la défense et la promotion de la nature du Pacifique du Nord - Ouest, se déroule aujourd'hui et demain à Vladivostok. Vladivostok Times, ce jour.
Международный форум "Природа без границ" открылся во Владивостоке
WWF Russie, ce jour.
Форум «Природа без границ» открылся во Владивостоке
"MYTHOLOGIE" GRECQUE
Curieux cliché réalisé par un touriste écossais, Harvey Robertson, en vacances en Grèce. Photo prise de son bateau au large de la côte ionienne (face à la ville de Parga). L'animal évoque "un dugong gracile". Les scientifiques sont dans l'expectative. Baleine à bec de Cuvier? Fox News, hier. Sky Mc Carthy. "Tourist captures image of mysterious sea monster off Grecian coastline".
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2015/10/28/tourist-captures-mysterious-sea-monster-off-grecian-coastline/?intcmp=hpff
Selon Karl Shuker (communication personnelle), ce pourrait même être une seiche : "I'm not entirely convinced that the apparent snout or beak is such a thing at all. It may be a collection of tentacles held closely together, in which case a squid or particularly a cuttlefish may be the correct identity, but just based upon that one very odd photo it's difficult to be in any way confident of identifying the animal."
GRAN MAMARE
COOPERATION RUSSO - JAPONAISE EN ECOLOGIE MARINE. Avant l'ouverture du neuvième forum écologique international "Nature sans frontières" qui se tiendra à partir de demain, Kawasaki Kiyota, Directeur du Centre pour la coopération environnementale dans le Nord - Ouest du Pacifique, a annoncé aujourd'hui à Vladivostok, que la province maritime russe du Primorye et la Préfecrture de Toyama au Japon allaient sensiblement intensifier leur coopération en matière d'écologie marine, et en élargir considérablement le contenu, incluant notamment une attention particulière aux secteurs de la mer du Japon particulièrement riches en organismes remarquables. Vladivostok Times, ce jour.
Власти Приморья надеются на сотрудничество с префектурой Тояма в области экологии
OUT OF CONTROL
Kuzya et Ilona, deux des tigres retournés à la vie sauvage cette année en extrême - orient russe se sont débarrassés de leurs colliers GPS. Tout indique qu'ils sont vivants, actifs et en bonne santé. The Siberian Times, ce jour. "Are Putin's tigers "lost"... or simply roaming free of modern technology?"
http://siberiantimes.com/ecology/others/news/n0470-are-putins-tigers-lost-or-simply-roaming-free-of-modern-technology/
AH! CES MORUES!
Après "le Svalbard norvégien" (de la mer de Barents aux îles Lofoten) dès la fin du siècle dernier, puis les Feroes, Shetlands, Orcades depuis la fin des années 2000, c'est au Canada, là où existaient historiquement les populations les plus nombreuses, que la morue atlantique effectue un retour aussi spectaculaire qu'inattendu. Science Daily, hier. "The great northern cod comeback".
George A. Rose, Sherrylynn Rowe. Northern cod comeback. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2015; 1789 DOI: 10.1139/cjfas-2015-0346
Le grand stock de morues (Gadus morhua) du Nord, qui figurait parmi les plus importants du monde et constitue l’exemple type de l’effondrement et du non-rétablissement présumé de poissons marins, fait un grand retour après presque deux décennies d’attrition et de moratoire sur la pêche. À partir de relevés acoustiques et au chalut des principaux composants pré-reproducteurs et reproducteurs du stock, nous démontrons que la biomasse a augmenté de quelques dizaines de milliers de tonnes à >200 000 tonnes durant la dernière décennie. Cette augmentation a été signalée par le comportement de rassemblement massif en bancs à la fin de l’hiver, d’abord observé en 2008 dans la partie sud de l’aire de répartition du stock (corridor de Bonavista) après une absence de 15 ans, qui a peut-être été favorisé par l’immigration. Des augmentations de la taille et de l’embonpoint des poissons et des diminutions apparentes de la mortalité ont suivi, menant à des taux de croissance annuels approchant les 30 %. Au printemps de 2015, de fortes augmentations de l’abondance et de la taille des morues ont été observées pour la première fois depuis le moratoire dans les groupes reproducteurs plus septentrionaux de ce complexe de stocks. Ce rebond de la morue a accompagné des augmentations de l’abondance du capelan (Mallotus villosus), qui avait diminué rapidement durant la période froide du début des années 1990, mais qui a récemment augmenté pendant une période de températures océaniques plus chaudes. La croissance continue du stock de capelans et une gestion frugale (faible mortalité par pêche) pourraient permettre à ce stock de revenir, peut-être en moins d’une décennie, à ses niveaux de rendement équilibré passés. Plus généralement, si ce stock peut se rétablir, cela indique que le rétablissement de nombreux autres stocks décimés à l’échelle mondiale est également possible.
FRONTIERE CULTURELLE
"A Tale of two Foxes". Conséquence possible du changement climatique, le renard roux remonte vers le Nord et s'impose au renard polaire (Churchill, Manitoba). Cliché réalisé par Don Gutoski (récipiendaire du prix du Photographe Naturaliste 2015, décerné par le Natural History Museum de Londres).
LES LOUPS DE LA PROVINCE CANADIENNE DU MANITOBA SONT PLUS NOMBREUX (PLUS DE 6000) QUE CEUX DES USA DANS LEUR ENSEMBLE (5600) ALASKA EXCEPTE. Motherboard, ce jour. Whitney Light. "Thompson, Manitoba : Wolf capital of the World".
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/thompson-manitoba-wolf-capital-of-the-world
Bien connu, notamment, pour le lac Winnipeg d'une part, et la ville de Churchill ("capitale de l'ours polaire") d'autre part, le Manitoba couvre une superficie d'environ 650 000 km2. Les 49 états des USA situés au sud de cette province canadienne ont une superficie de près de 8 millions de km2, "abritant" donc une densité de loups environ 13 fois inférieure...
