Earthbytes

Glad somebody has a use for all of that dog hair...

While photographing a nesting phoebe, I saw this tufted titmouse collecting hair and fuzz from my dogs' blanket on the porch:

 

 

White-Nose Bat Deaths: Fungus Behind Mysterious Deaths In U.S. And Canada Came From Europe

New info on WNS:

Experts had suspected that an invasive species was to blame for the die-off from "white nose syndrome." Now there's direct evidence the culprit was not native to North America.

The fungal illness has not caused widespread deaths among European bats unlike in the U.S. and Canada. In North America more than 5.7 million bats have died since 2006 when white nose syndrome was first detected in a cave in upstate New York. The disease does not pose a threat to humans, but people can carry fungal spores.

It's unclear exactly how the fungus crossed the Atlantic, but one possibility is that it was accidentally introduced by tourists. Spores are known to stick to people's clothes, boots and caving gear.

Read the rest of the story at www.huffingtonpost.ca

PLoS ONE: Elevated Mortality among Birds in Chernobyl as Judged from Skewed Age and Sex Ratios

ABSTRACT

Background

Radiation has negative effects on survival of animals including humans, although the generality of this claim is poorly documented under low-dose field conditions. Because females may suffer disproportionately from the effects of radiation on survival due to differences in sex roles during reproduction, radiation-induced mortality may result in male-skewed adult sex ratios.

Methodology/Principal Finding

We estimated the effects of low-dose radiation on adult survival rates in birds by determining age ratios of adults captured in mist nets during the breeding season in relation to background radiation levels around Chernobyl and in nearby uncontaminated control areas. Age ratios were skewed towards yearlings, especially in the most contaminated areas, implying that adult survival rates were reduced in contaminated areas, and that populations in such areas could only be maintained through immigration from nearby uncontaminated areas. Differential mortality in females resulted in a strongly male-skewed sex ratio in the most contaminated areas. In addition, males sang disproportionately commonly in the most contaminated areas where the sex ratio was male skewed presumably because males had difficulty finding and acquiring mates when females were rare. The results were not caused by permanent emigration by females from the most contaminated areas because none of the recaptured birds had changed breeding site, and the proportion of individuals with morphological abnormalities did not differ significantly between the sexes for areas with normal and higher levels of contamination.

Conclusions/Significance

These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the adult survival rate of female birds is particularly susceptible to the effects of low-dose radiation, resulting in male skewed sex ratios at high levels of radiation. Such skewed age ratios towards yearlings in contaminated areas are consistent with the hypothesis that an area exceeding 30,000 km² in Chernobyl’s surroundings constitutes an ecological trap that causes dramatic excess mortality.

via www.plosone.org

More Damning Evidence Points to Pesticide as Cause of Mass Bee Deaths | Common Dreams

Continuing saga of the bees...interesting article:

Bayer-produced imidacloprid harmful to bees even at very low levels

- Common Dreams staff

A new study published in Naturwissenschaften - The Science of Nature by a leading bee expert provides damning evidence that a widely used pesticide, even at low levels, is harmful to bees.

The pesticide that the study (pdf) looked at was imidacloprid, one of the most widely used pesticides worldwide. It is neonicotinoid insecticide produced by Bayer CropScience.

via www.commondreams.org

New Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Communities Found in the Southern Ocean - PLoS Biology

Interesting (open access) study of organisms found in hydrothermal vent areas of the Southern Ocean...important discovery relative to biodiversity of species in this underexplored region of Earth's oceans.

Authors Summary:

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are mainly associated with seafloor spreading at mid-ocean ridges and in basins near volcanic island arcs. They host animals found nowhere else that derive their energy not from the sun but from bacterial oxidation of chemicals in the vent fluids, particularly hydrogen sulphide. Hydrothermal vents and their communities of organisms have become important models for understanding the origins and limits of life as well as evolution of island-like communities in the deep ocean. We describe the fauna associated with high-temperature hydrothermal vents on the East Scotia Ridge, Southern Ocean, to our knowledge the first to be discovered in Antarctic waters. These communities are dominated by a new species of yeti crab, stalked barnacles, limpets and snails, sea anemones, and a predatory seven-armed starfish. Animals commonly found in hydrothermal vents of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including giant Riftia tubeworms, annelid worms, vent mussels, vent crabs, and vent shrimps, were not present at the Southern Ocean vents. These discoveries suggest that the environmental conditions of the Southern Ocean may act as a barrier to some vent animals and that the East Scotia Ridge communities form a new biogeographic province with a unique species composition and structure.

via www.plosbiology.org

Dr. Douglas Fields: Science cuts through the hysteria for answers to worldwide increase in fatal shark attacks

A great article today by neurobiologist Douglas Fields (at Huffington Post) explores growing numbers of shark attacks in the world's waters...I enjoyed his analysis, which includes interesting pieces of shark's natural history:

Is there a scientific explanation for these alarming data and the spike in recent fatal shark attacks?

Yes, both experts agree. The steady increase in shark attacks is easily explained by the increase in human population and growing popularity of water related sports and recreational activities. "The increase in shark attacks is largely a function of human demographics and growth. The number we get in any given year is purely a function of how many people went into the water," says Burgess.

There are, however, some new patterns emerging from Burgess' data on shark attacks. "There has been an increase this year [in shark attacks] in a number of areas where we have not traditionally had such attacks, undoubtedly by white sharks, most notably the three series of attacks in Russia in areas of cold water most of the time," he says. This, he explains is due to warming of waters, possibly associated with global warming, that are allowing sharks to expand their range farther north and south into waters that they normally do not go, and also because warmer water induces more people entering the sea.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

At the end of the article, George Burgess, shark researcher and curator of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History has some good advice for us terrestrial humans:

"When we enter the sea, we need to understand that we are visiting a foreign environment," Burgess observes. "We are terrestrial animals. Our evolution occurred on land. We don't have gills. We can't swim very well, and as such every time we enter the sea it is a wilderness experience for us...."

 

Is Blinky a Nuke Mutant?

See the story with this photo at gizmodo.com

One of the articles making rounds in the No Nukes community today is this story about a wolf fish with three eyes caught near a nuclear power plant in the Cordoba province of Argentina.

The nuclear power station (Central Nuclear Embalse) on the southern shore of Embalse Rio Tercero near Embalse, Cordoba, Argentina [Source: Google Earth, image date 3/13/11, eye altitude 9,461 feet]

Central Nuclear Embalse is one of two nuclear power stations in operation in Argentina. Embalse is a Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor fueled by natural uranium and using heavy water for cooling. Embalse also produces cobalt-60, a radioisotope used in medicine and industry.

Embalse made news in August of 2011 when contracts were signed between the Argentine government, state-run utility Nucleoelectrica Argentina and Candu Energy to overhaul and expand the plant.

And the fish? Hoplias marabaricus -- the wolf fish -- ranges from Central America down through Argentina and usually lives near the edges of black and white water streams or pools, or on flooded forest floors. Young wolf fish sometimes become stranded in these flood pools and have to wait for the next floods to move back into stream channels.

In Brazil, researchers have studied this species as a potential stock fish for artisanal fishermen who have been dislocated from traditional river fishing areas by construction of dams for hydroelectric power generation. The wolf fish is also a species known to aquarists and sport fishermen.

Wolf Fish (Hoplias malabaricus) [Photo credit: Cláudio D. Timm]

Impacts to fish and wildlife living near nuclear plants or exposed to radionuclides is not a new area of concern. The Fukushima disaster last spring inspired a new round of articles on exposure of marine life, and consequences of  legacy nuclear waste disposal on salmon near the Hanford facility in Washington have been studied. The damage to wildlife from water intake systems at nuclear plants led the Environmental Protection Agency to propose new rules this year to reduce the number of fish killed by these cooling systems.

Finding scientific information on "fish mutations near nuclear plants" was a bad search parameter on Google today, unless you wanted to read more about Blinky and the 3-eyed fish of of Embalse.

I found the original article about this catch to be interesting, in case you want to read about it in Spanish: El pez de tres ojos de los Simpson era argentino.

Amazing things you can find in the goldenrod

Goldenrod seems to be peaking here in the holler. I spent some time poking around in it yesterday when I went down the lane with my dogs and cats. Here's what I found (besides the goldenrod):

Goldenrod soldier beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus), 9/13/11 [Photo credit:Cathie Bird]

Red wasp (Polistes carolina), 13 September 2011 [Photo credit: Cathie Bird]

Locust borer (Megacyllene robiniae), 13 September 2011 [Photo credit: Cathie Bird]

EPA Issues Final Guidance on Mountaintop Removal Mining

Today the US Environmental Protection Agency issued its final guidance, Improving EPA Review of Appalachian Surface Coal Mining Operations Under the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and the Environmental Justice Executive Order.

Here's the press release issued by Earthjustice today on behalf of several groups in Appalachia that have interests in protecting people and the land, air and water infrastructures on which their health and communities depend:

EPA Issues Final Guidance on Mountaintop Removal Mining To Reaffirm the Clean Water Act and New Science

Guidance focuses on ensuring compliance with longstanding requirements where stronger oversight is essential to protect water quality and Appalachian communities

July 21, 2011

Washington, D.C. — 

Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued final guidance to assist its staff in meeting longstanding requirements of the Clean Water Act with regard to mountaintop removal coal mines in Appalachia. All mountaintop removal mines must be permitted under the Clean Water Act and must comply with the law, but recent research by EPA and scientists have found these projects create lasting, irreparable harm to streams and water quality.

The final guidance comes after a more than year-long process during which the EPA examined the science, completed new major scientific reports, received peer review, and considered 60,000 public comments. In addition to improving the agency’s oversight and compliance with existing requirements of the law, the guidance reaffirms the essential role of science in evaluating proposed mountaintop removal mining permits. The final guidance is based on the latest peer-reviewed science on stream pollution and protection, including two comprehensive new scientific reports released by EPA this year that reveal information on how mountaintop removal mining harms the integrity of vital waters and natural resources. EPA’s guidance is also based on tens of thousands of public comments that EPA considered and received during its notice-and-comment process in 2010.

Represented by Earthjustice and the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment, seven conservation and social justice groups— the Sierra Club, Coal River Mountain Watch, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, and Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment—have intervened in a coal mining industry lawsuit to support EPA’s use of this guidance and its effort to follow the Clean Water Act, consider the latest science, and protect America’s waters from destruction.

“We’re glad to see Administrator Lisa Jackson follow through on her commitment to finalize this important staff guidance, which is a considerable step toward giving Appalachian communities their rightful protections under existing law and following sound science,” said Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel of Earthjustice.

“But clearly, as long as mountains are being blown up and leveled in Appalachia, streams are being buried with mining waste, and waters for communities are being contaminated, the Obama administration has more work to do in making sure that the government is following the Clean Water Act,” said Mulhern. “This is a strong first step, though, and we hope to see this followed up with serious implementation and a hard look at how much longer our federal government will allow mountains to be destroyed and Appalachian communities to suffer. This guidance is only as protective as its implementation and the test will be whether we finally see compliance with the Clean Water Act which prohibits significant degradation of our nation’s waters.”

The EPA first released interim guidance in April 2010 for public comment after scientific breakthroughs offered new information on the lasting, irreparable harm from mountaintop removal mining. The EPA also found that there had been serious non-compliance in the permitting process with important existing legal requirements. In 2010, the EPA requested public comment while also implementing the interim guidance in Appalachia. The EPA stated that it would issue final guidance by 2011.

"In a time when some decision makers focus on scoring political points through empty rhetoric we congratulate Administrator Jackson and the EPA for using existing law and scientific findings to improve protection of Appalachia's communities and environment," said Mary Anne Hitt, director of Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. "We need EPA to finally ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act and bring an end to the nation's most destructive coal mining practices."

"Of course we hoped for more, but given the current political climate in Washington, we have nothing but praise and gratitude for EPA finalizing this guidance and reaffirming the scientific support for their actions" added Cindy Rank of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. "Now more than ever the waters of Appalachia and we who depend on them need EPA to stand strong on our behalf."

Said Rick Handshoe, member of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, whose Kentucky community is impacted by several coal mining operations and valley fills: “Every week I test the conductivity of the streams in my community, and the creek below a hollow fill and sediment pond never runs below 1500 micro-Siemens. Everything in the stream is dead because Kentucky officials are not doing their jobs. We need action today if we are to have any hope that our streams will one day recover."

Said Dianne Bady, co-director of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, based in West Virginia: “This science-based guidance is absolutely necessary to safeguard clean water that still exists near current and proposed mountaintop removal mining operations. A healthy economy and healthy communities depend upon safe water. No community should ever again face the contamination of our precious water for short-term corporate gain.”

Said Vernon Haltom, executive director of Coal River Mountain Watch in West Virginia: “In the absence of any meaningful regulation by state agencies, our communities must depend on the EPA to protect our lives, homes, and water. Now, the coal industry and their political allies are working to take away the EPA's ability to use law and science to protect us.”

"The Appalachian people have waited long enough for protection of their waters from polluting companies,” said Debbie Jarrell, assistant director of Coal River Mountain Watch. “This decision has come none too soon. Study after study is beginning to come out over the detrimental effects mountaintop removal has on our communities and those that live in them. For us it's not a matter of jobs or money, our very lives are depending on decisions that the EPA make."

“With issuance of this guidance, EPA is acknowledging the significant cumulative impacts that mountaintop removal mining has imposed upon Appalachian communities and landscapes,” said Cathie Bird, of Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment, based in Tennessee. “The conductivity science shows we need full protection for our waters in Tennessee, as well as throughout Appalachia. We are confident that the science shows the need to fully protect our waters in Tennessee, specifically from selenium and other mountaintop removal mining wastes.”

Said Jane Branham of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards in Virginia: “For far too long, and against great public outcry, Virginia's state regulatory agencies have worked hand in hand with the coal industry to approve more permits to destroy more mountains, streams and communities. We are appreciative of the EPA's efforts to end this devastating coal extraction practice and ask for their continued support. Further, it is absolutely essential that we have full protection for water quality here in Virginia. The destruction must end.”

Further Information:

• Final Guidance: Improving EPA Review of Appalachian Surface Coal Mining Operations Under the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and the Environmental Justice Executive Order
• Information on the EPA’s Clean Water Act oversight of Appalachian surface mining activities
• Information on Appalachian groups’ intervention to support EPA in lawsuit filed by the coal mining industry
• Final EPA Scientific Reports on Water Quality and Mountaintop Removal Mining Pollution Impacts:
  • Field-based Aquatic Life Benchmark (2011)
  • Effects of Mountaintop Mines/Valley Fills (2011)
• Final EPA Report: Review of Clean Water Act § 402 Permitting for Surface Coal Mines by Appalachian States (2010)

Contact:
Liz Judge, Earthjustice, (202) 667-4500, ext. 237
Joe Lovett, Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment, (304) 645-9006
Sean Sarah, Sierra Club, (330) 338-3740, (202) 548-4589
Debbie Jarrell, Coal River Mountain Watch, (304) 854-2182
Rick Handshoe, Kentuckians For the Commonwealth, (606) 358-4912 or (606) 791-1863
Vivian Stockman, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, (304) 360-1979
Jane Branham, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, (276) 679-7505
Ann League, Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment, (865) 249-7488, (865) 617-2451
Cindy Rank, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, (304) 924-5802

via earthjustice.org

See also:

EPA finalizes water quality guidance to reduce impacts of mountaintop removal mining (Ken Ward at Coal Tattoo blog, 21 July 2011)

EPA's press release on issuance of the final guidance

EPA proposes rule to minimize another hazard of power generation: fish kills at water intakes

In April this year, the EPA issued a proposed rule to address §316(b) of the Clean Water Act which requires that "the location, design, construction and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impact."

The Sierra Club has a great video to accompany its action page for this proposed rule:

 

 You can also get more info and take action at Riverkeeper's Powerplants That Suck site. Riverkeeper was among several organizations that took legal action against the EPA over their approach to decision-making on the best ways to minimize adverse environmental impacts of cooling water intake systems.

Here are links to other resources on the science and the legal decisions related to the evolution of this proposed rule:

The Quick and the Dead: Fish Entrainment, Entrapment, and the Implementation and Application of Section 316(B) of the Clean Water Act

Cooling Water Intake Structures—CWA §316(b) [EPA's page for this issue]

Supreme Court Decision on Entergy v Riverkeeper, April 1, 2009

Entergy v. Riverkeeper [Wikipedia entry has case summary entry with links to the earlier decisions (2004 and 2007) in Riverkeeper, et. al. v EPA in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.]