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Someone just paid $25,000 to name a worm-like amphibian after Donald Trump
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Donald Trump’s name is attached to a lot of things — Trump Towers, Trump University, The Trump Foundation (oops nevermind) — and now, Dermophis donaldtrumpi — a four-inch-long, worm-like amphibian from Panama.
Dermophis donaldtrumpi isn’t the first species to get a presidential naming treatment. President Obama has an watery namesake as well — he earned his by expanding a marine protected area around the Northwestern Hawaiian islands. And President Trump had a species of yellowish-”haired” moth named after him (Neopalpa donaldtrumpi) in 2017. But this newest addition to the Trump family name does not derive not from its physical similarity to the president. Rather, the species’ tendency to bury its head (and body) in the sand drew parallels to Trump’s persistent denial of climate change.
The naming rights for the species were auctioned off to raise money for Rainforest Trust. Dermophis donaldtrumpi is a caecilian, a word derived from the Latin for “blind.” The winning bidder, Aidan Bell, is the head of a sustainable building materials company called EnviroBuild, and wound up spending $25,000 to make the environmental and political jab. .
In a post on EnviroBuild’s blog, Bell wrote: “The dermophis genus grows an extra layer of skin which their young use their teeth to peel off and eat, a behavior known as dermatrophy. As a method of ensuring their children survive in life, Donald Trump prefers granting them high roles in the Oval Office.”
Ooh scientific burn.
But Dermophis donaldtrumpi may not be with us for much longer. he caecilian has a thin skin (sound like anyone we know?) , and like other amphibians, is especially vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. Will President Trump think and act any differently, knowing that his namesake is on the line?
Hey, a herpetologist can dream, right?
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Someone just paid $25,000 to name a worm-like amphibian after Donald Trump
We’ll Never See These Animals Again
Mother Jones
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If 2016 was a rough year for the animal kingdom, 2017 could be worse. Most scientists agree that we are experiencing a sixth mass extinction, but unlike the previous five that extended over hundreds of millions of years and occurred because of cataclysmic natural disasters, humans are responsible for this one.
Climate change, agricultural expansion, wildlife crime, pollution, and disease have created a shocking acceleration in the disappearance of species. The World Wildlife Fund recently predicted that more than two-thirds of the vertebrate population—mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles—would be lost over the next three years if extinctions continue at the current rate. A 2015 study that appeared in the journal Science Advances suggests that the rate of vertebrate extinction has increased nearly 100 times. Paul Ehrlich, a professor of population studies at Stanford University and a co-author of the study, notes half the life forms that people know about are already extinct. Another study, published in the journal Current Biology, observes that some species are likely becoming extinct before scientists have a chance to discover and classify them. Researchers looking at Brazil’s bird populations found some already so threatened when they were discovered, they went extinct almost immediately. “That we have these examples,” the authors write, “may be by good luck: we will surely have missed many others.”
Scientists have cautioned against making sweeping overall estimates, rather than talking about risks for specific populations. As Duke University professor of Conservation Ecology, Stuart Pimm, observed, even though animal populations are “declining precipitously,” pinpointing exactly how many animals will be gone and the timeframe for their extinction doesn’t capture the complexity of the problem. “It’s bird populations in Europe, it’s fish in the Pacific,” Pimm says. “You can’t add those together and come up with a number that makes any sense.”
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has tried to show the scope of the problem in its Red List, a comprehensive roster of threatened species. Here are some of the highlights, including three species that went extinct last year and others to watch out for in 2017:
The Bramble Car melomys: This small Australian rodent that resembled an ordinary mouse was confirmed as extinct in 2016. It is the first known mammal to go extinct as a result of human-caused climate change. Its habitat on an island in the Great Barrier reef was assaulted by the rise of sea levels, coastal erosion, and flooding—all driven by climate change.
Rabbs’ fringe-limbed tree frog: In 2016, the appropriately named Toughie died in the Atlanta Botanical Garden. He was at least twelve years old, though his exact age is unknown. Toughie and another Rabb’s fringe-limbed tree frog were collected from Panama in 2005 for research on chytrid fungus, a deadly fungus that has been ravaging amphibian populations in the region. Amphibians, like Toughie, have the highest rate of endangerment, with a third of known species being at risk of extinction. Toughie became the face of the amphibian extinction crisis as visitors to his enclosure knew they were looking at the last of his kind.
Dolphins and porpoises: There has been a lot of alarming news about the ocean recently: A UN report found that ocean acidification is up around 26 percent, and more than half of the sharks and rays in the Mediterranean are at risk of extinction. But, in 2016, with a population of only three, the Irrawaddy dolphin in Laos was declared “functionally extinct.” The announcement came after a World Wildlife Fund survey of Cambodia and Laos determined there were not enough mating pairs for the species to survive. Resembling Flipper—except with a bulbous face instead of a bottle nose—this sea faring mammal’s extinction is blamed on gill nets, a type of netting used by commercial fishermen that trap fish by their gills. Dolphins are caught in the nets and drown.
Vaquita, or “Little cow” in Spanish, is the smallest species of porpoise, and the remaining few live in the Gulf of California. Vaquita are so rare that some people who live on the Gulf don’t believe they exist, according to a recent Vaquita documentary. In May, a Conservation Biology acoustics survey found that there are only 60 left. Now, some have dropped the estimate to fewer than 50. Like the Irrawaddy dolphin, they are victims of gill net fishing.
African Grey Parrot: In December 2016, the International Union of Concerned Naturalists revealed that 11 percent of newly discovered bird species were already threatened and changed the status of others, such as the African Grey Parrot, from “vulnerable” to “endangered.” Highly intelligent and capable of mimicking human speech, the African Grey Parrot’s population has shrunk by as much as 99 percent in some places because of habitat loss and trapping. Perhaps the most famous member of this species was Alex, the subject of intelligence studies at Harvard and Brandeis universities who, when he died in 2007, knew more than 100 English words.
Giraffes: Bad news for the planet’s tallest land creature was announced before the end of 2016: Giraffe populations are plunging in what scientists call a “silent extinction” due to poaching and habitat loss. (The extinction is “silent” because we had largely failed to notice their plummeting population.) Previously, the IUCN’s Red List had given them a “least concern” rating. News that their populations have dropped by as much as 40 percent since 1985 has caused their status to be changed to vulnerable.
Jaguars and most large cats: The protection of all big cats will be important in the coming years, as populations continue to plummet. The African lion population, for example, has dropped 90 percent. At the end of December, a study from the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that the fastest land animal on earth, the cheetah, now only has a worldwide population of about 7,000. That’s down from its population of about 100,000 a century ago. The study attributed the drop to habitat loss: Cheetahs have lost 91 percent of their range.
Large cats are also endangered in our own backyard. “El Jefe,” who was named by Arizona school children, is the only known wild jaguar in the United States, but it is an elusive animal whose exact whereabouts are often unknown. In February, the Center for Biological Diversity released a video of the enormous cat slinking through the mountainside in the Santa Rita mountains outside of Tuscon. Randy Serraglio, a biologist at the Center for Biological Diversity who tracks El Jefe, suggests the animal has likely migrated to Mexico in search of mates. Once there, it faces other dangers from ranchers, who kill jaguars for sport or out of concern for their livestock, Mexican newspapers reported. Back in the US, a Canadian mining company might threaten El Jefe’s habitat by developing a massive open pit copper mine through its territory in Arizona. On top of all that, should Donald Trump actually make good on his proposed border wall, jaguar migratory patterns would be disrupted.
Rhinos: These massive mammals have long been hunted for their horns, which are erroneously believed to have healing properties. The western black rhino is already extinct and there are only three northern white rhino left. There is still a small population of Javan Rhinos in Indonesia, but two other subspecies, one in Vietnam, have also gone extinct. In 2016, numbers showed that the previous year was the worst year ever for rhino poaching. Given the trends, scientists predict that the entire wild rhino population will go extinct between 2021 and 2031. Many of the horns already on the market are fake, and some companies are trying to deal with the crisis by flooding the rhino horn market with 3-D prints of rhino horns, under the dubious assumption that this will make poaching less lucrative. However, some conservationists argue that it could actually make things worse by removing the stigma about using the horn and making it harder for law enforcement officers to track poachers.
Yellow-faced honeybee: Seven species of Hawaii’s yellow-faced bees made it onto the endangered species list last year, but more than a quarter of the bee population in the US is also in trouble. This has potentially devastating consequences for the planet’s food supply: Bees are responsible for pollinating more than a third of the world’s food.
The African elephant: The Endangered Species Coalition reports that the population of the largest land animal in the world—once 10 million strong—has fallen to about 400,000. The Great Elephant Census, a pan-African census that collects data using small planes, reports that the Savannah elephants have lost nearly a third of their population in the last seven years. The population drop is attributed to ivory poaching and loss of habitat. If poaching continues at its current rate, there will be no African elephants in 20 years.
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Tyrone Hayes on the misfortune of frogs, crooked science and why we should shun GMOs
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Inside of a Dog – Alexandra Horowitz
The bestselling book that asks what dogs know and how they think. The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human. Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs’ perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draws a […]
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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo
This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]
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Warhammer: Thanquol – Games Workshop
As the armies of Chaos spill down from the north in a tide of blood and fire, the skaven are at last ready to unleash their invasion of the surface realms. Vast armies of chittering ratmen scurry forth from the darkness, bursting out into the wan light of day, their beady eyes hungry for blood. […]
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Warhammer: Khaine – Games Workshop
War spreads in a tide of blood and fire as the End Times descend upon the Warhammer World. Ancient kingdoms vanish as their people are put to the sword under the relentless advance of the Dark Gods’ hosts, those that remain desperately fighting for their very survival. Only on the island realm of Ulthuan have […]
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Warhammer: Thanquol (eBook Edition) – Games Workshop
As the armies of Chaos spill down from the north in a tide of blood and fire, the skaven are at last ready to unleash their invasion of the surface realms. Vast armies of chittering ratmen scurry forth from the darkness, bursting out into the wan light of day, their beady eyes hungry for blood. The […]
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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier
From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]
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White Dwarf Issue 50: 10 January 2015 – White Dwarf
It’s all about Thanquol, the sneakiest ever Skaven there ever was, this week, as he gets a new awe-inspiring model and an End Times book named after him. To celebrate the Skaven’s dramatic involvement in the End Times, we’ve got rules, painting guides, tips for assembling large plastic kits – and we’ve also sweated blood […]
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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis – Instaread
PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis Inside this Instaread: Summary of entire book, Introduction to the important people in the book, Key Takeaways and Analysis of the Key Takeaways. […]
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The Naturally Clean Home – Karyn Siegel-Maier
You don’t need to pay a fortune for expensive “green” commercial cleaning products. It’s easy and inexpensive to mix up effective, nontoxic alternatives using basic kitchen staples — baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, herbs, and borax — plus a handful of easy-to-find essential oils. Karyn Siegel-Maier offers 150 all-natural recipes for cleaning everything in your home […]
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The Cannabis Grow Bible – Greg Green
The definitive guide to growing marijuana just got better! Greg Green’s original Cannabis Grow Bible set a new standard for handbooks on cannabis horticulture and established Green as the leading authority in the field. Green’s comprehensive and professionally presented work on how to cultivate superior cannabis struck a chord with beginner, amateur and professional growers […]
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Tyrone Hayes on the misfortune of frogs, crooked science and why we should shun GMOs
Posted in Casio, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, growing marijuana, horticulture, LAI, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar power, Uncategorized
Tagged art, biology, climate, conflict, japanese, king, ms-, research, water contamination
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Arizona School District Cutting Contraception from High School Biology Text
Mother Jones
Via Steve Benen, here’s the latest from Gilbert, Arizona:
School district staff here will “edit” a high-school honors biology textbook after board members agreed that it does not align with state regulations on how abortion is to be presented to public-school students.
….The book in question, Campbell Biology: Concepts & Connections (Seventh Edition), has a chapter that discusses abstinence, birth-control methods, tubal ligations and vasectomies and drugs that can induce abortion.
….The board made its decision after listening to a presentation from Natalie Decker, a lawyer for Scottsdale-based Alliance Defending Freedom….Decker did not recommend a way to change the book but said it could be redacted or have additional information pasted in. “The cheapest, least disruptive way to solve the problem is to remove the page,” board member Daryl Colvin said.
This whole thing is ridiculous, and the prospect of taking a razor blade to p. 547 of this textbook is cringe-inducing. Hell, as near as anyone can tell, the book doesn’t even violate Arizona law, which requires public schools to present child birth and adoption as preferred options to elective abortion. Apparently there are just some folks in Gilbert who don’t like having the subject presented at all.
Still, ridiculous as this is, I do have a serious question to ask. I checked, and this is not a “Human Sexuality” text or a “Health and Family” book. It’s straight-up biology: photosynthesis, genes, evolution, eukaryotic cells, vertebrates, nervous systems, hormones, the immune system, etc. etc. So why, in a generic biology textbook, is there a special boxed page devoted to specific technical means of contraception in human beings? That really does seem like something pasted in to make a point, not because it follows naturally from a discussion of reproduction and embryonic development in class Mammalia.
So….what’s the point of including this in the first place? To annoy conservatives? To satisfy some obscure interest group? If this book were used in a sex ed class, that would be one thing. It would clearly belong. But in a standard biology text? I don’t really get it.
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Arizona School District Cutting Contraception from High School Biology Text
Dot Earth Blog: Observed Planet: A Dawn Torrent of Tree Swallows
Weather radar captures a stunning view of a spectacular daily bird commute. Link to article: Dot Earth Blog: Observed Planet: A Dawn Torrent of Tree Swallows Related Articles Observed Planet: A Dawn Torrent of Tree Swallows National Briefing | West: Drought Said to Claim Trillions of Gallons On Books Since 1988, Ohio River Dam Project Keeps Rolling Along
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Dot Earth Blog: Observed Planet: A Dawn Torrent of Tree Swallows
Observed Planet: A Dawn Torrent of Tree Swallows
Weather radar captures a stunning view of a spectacular daily bird commute. Excerpt from: Observed Planet: A Dawn Torrent of Tree Swallows Related Articles From Tree Planting Along a Dirt Road to Car-Free Village Living Can Scientific Advice on Coastal Risk Reduction Compete with ‘We Will Not Retreat’ Politics? New Study Sees Atlantic Warming Behind a Host of Recent Climate Shifts
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Tagged biology, biology and biochemistry, birds, g & f, great, monterey, solar power, ultima, white
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Disoriented Baby Beaver Meets Midstream Kayaker…
A disoriented baby beaver swims to a kayak, with a good outcome the result. Link: Disoriented Baby Beaver Meets Midstream Kayaker… ; ;Related ArticlesAmericans’ Varied Views of ‘Global Warming’ and ‘Climate Change’Research on Malaria-Resistant Children in Tanzania Leads to Promising New Vaccine TargetWhite House Stresses Widespread Energy Progress Ahead of New Climate Rule ;
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Tagged biology, clean-water, climate, eco-friendly, hoffman, itunes, national, Recreation, warhammer
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Make Stem Cells in 30 Minutes, Just Add Acid
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Tagged biology, health, Ona, science, stem cells, technology
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By Painting Their Markings, This Scientist Disrupted Birds’ Social Structure
Photo: Sally
Remember the Sneetches?, our Dr. Seuss said:
“Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches
Had bellies with stars.
The Plain-Belly Sneetches
Had none upon thars.”
And the plain-bellied Sneetches, with one Sylvester McMonkey McBean,
painted stars on their bellies, to gain social esteem.
Now, there are species like Sneetches, but in very real places.
Pūkekos get status from shields on their faces.
On their foreheads emblazoned are bright shields of red.
The shields’ size affects everything—access to food, sharing of beds.
But like a mean Mr. McBean, Cody Dey had a plan.
With his big brush of black, he caught those birds and began.
Dey painted some, but he did not paint all.
He shrank some shields and some statuses, three sizes too small.
But while Dr. Seuss’ creatures learned that “Sneetches are Sneetches,”
the Pūkekos had trouble with Mr. Dey’s breaches.
Pūkekos’ shields can change size, a display of their might.
But by painting them down, Dey’d sealed their fates tight.
The painted Pūkekos never recovered their status;
their shields, shrunk for good, were now considered the saddest.
H/T CBC
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By Painting Their Markings, This Scientist Disrupted Birds’ Social Structure
