# 68 Wildclickers arranging a ball

Really great tree, Amigo! and thanks for the web site, Walter!

All clicked for today.

Hallo this Thursday..........

all clicked for MA n Me..................

Clicked here.

Doing house-spring cleaning. WIndows open with nice cross breeze. Lovely.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A moderate earthquake of magnitude 5.3 struck Southern California’s high desert on Thursday afternoon, breaking glass in nearby communities and rocking buildings in downtown Los Angeles.

The research is detailed in the March 6 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.




New List: Top 20 Extinction Hotspots
By Bjorn Carey
LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 06 March 2006
05:56 pm ET



Animal conservation efforts generally focus on the areas richest in species diversity or where many species are believed to face increased risk of extinction.

But a new study suggests these efforts should be redirected to spots where animals possess specific traits that will be most threatened by future human activity.

Using the newest geographic, biological, and phylogenetic databases for nearly 4,000 mammal species, researchers have identified 20 regions around the globe as potential extinction hotspots.

The research is detailed in the March 6 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The areas where predicted latent risk is highest include the northern regions of North America and the islands in the southwest Pacific. Currently, these areas are relatively unmodified by humans, and mammals in these areas don't appear threatened.

But add humans to the mix and that could quickly change. Take for example the dodo, which was doing just fine until humans found it and then hunted it to extinction in just a few hundred years.

Top 20 Extinction Hotspots ranked by mean latent risk:


Hotspot
Mean latent risk
Projected annual human pop. growth % (2000-2015)

1
Southern Polynesia
0.97
0.46

2
Greenland
0.63
-0.76

3
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
0.61
1.96

4
Melanesian islands
0.54
2.78

5
Indian Ocean islands
0.54
2.15

6
Maluku
0.51
0.05

7
Bahamas
0.41
-0.65

8
New Guinea
0.36
2.91

9
Lesser Antilles
0.35
0.51

10
Nusa Tenggara
0.34
0.8

11
Northern Canada and Alaska
0.32
0.09

12
Sulawesi
0.31
1.92

13
Tasmania and Bass Strait
0.31
-0.11

14
Borneo
0.27
1.82

15
Siberian tundra
0.27
-0.56

16
Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia
0.26
1.62

17
Eastern Canadian Forests
0.26
-0.84

18
Patagonian Coast
0.25
1.64

19
Western Java
0.25
1.3

20
East Indian highlands
0.23
0.69

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/08/AR2006030802394_3.html?referrer=email&referrer=email

Wildlife Conservation Society field vet in East Asia

EXCELLENT article revealing all evidence and debate re role of migratory birds in the spread of avian flu.

That ought to keep everyone busy for a while.

Whew............... Ok, thanks sumac.

gone to read.

Aw, you can handle a couple more.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060306214303.htm

"New Study Confirms The Ecological Virtues Of Organic Farming

Organic farming has long been touted as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional agriculture. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) provides strong evidence to support that claim. "

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060303114337.htm

"Convergent Evolution Of Molecules In Electric Fish

Having a set of extra genes gave fish on separate continents the ability to evolve electric organs, report researchers from The University of Texas at Austin.

Weakly electric fish from South America, Sternarchorhynchus mormyrus, and Africa, Campylomormyrus phantasticus. Both fish evolved the ability to generate and sense electric fields. These two species also independently evolved curved jaws for bottom feeding. Electric discharges for each species are indicated. (Images courtesy of Carl D. Hopkins and John Sullivan)Dr. Harold Zakon and colleagues, in a paper recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that African and South American groups of fish independently evolved electric organs by modifying sodium channel proteins typically used in muscle contraction."

aktbird57 - You and your 290 friends have supported 2,274,167.4 square feet!

Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 102,166.7 square feet.
You have supported: (0.0)
Your 290 friends have supported: (102,166.7)

American Prairie habitat supported: 48,759.6 square feet.
You have supported: (11,728.4)
Your 290 friends have supported: (37,031.2)

Rainforest habitat supported: 2,123,241.1 square feet.
You have supported: (169,081.8)
Your 290 friends have supported: (1,954,159.2)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2274167.4 square feet is equal to 52.21 acres

Ah, the new avatar suits you, ehBeth.

<I actually had my hairdresser base my Christmas party hairdo on that pic of Endora - it startled more than a few people>

I always loved that character....and the actress who played it.

I forgot to pick up the URL on this, but it is from www.livescience.com.

"Bering Sea Altered by Warm Conditions

By Sara Goudarzi
LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 09 March 2006
02:00 pm ET



Rising air and water temperatures are altering the environment of the Bering Sea, a new study finds.

But warming temperatures of recent years have caused the environment to change from Arctic to sub-Arctic conditions in the region and have created an inviting haven for animals that were previously confined to the warmer waters of the south.

These warmer waters are bad news for animals adapted to cold-water environments, however. These creatures have to move north in search of cooler waters, which in turn is causing problems for people who live off of them."

Now this is a fascinating story. First scientific proof.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060309/sc_nm/cyprus_olives_dc_1&printer=1;_ylt=AuzPHXp7a3BJf7.Jra1EATYiANEA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-


"Ancient Cypriots fed olive oil to furnaces-study By Michele Kambas
Wed Mar 8, 8:54 PM ET

It is praised for its culinary and health properties by any cook worth his salt, but long before olive oil made it into the Mediterranean diet Cypriots used it as fuel to melt copper, archaeologists say.

Italian researchers have discovered that environmentally friendly olive oil was used in furnaces at a site in southern Cyprus up to 4,000 years ago, instead of the fume-belching charcoal used in industry for hundreds of years since....

Described as "liquid gold" by the ancient Greek poet Homer, olive oil has long been associated with grooming, pampering and the religious rites of the ancients, but not - at least in the Mediterranean - with heavy industry......

"There were no storage areas for charcoal. We have discovered that to melt copper you need five kilos of olive oil, compared to 80 kilos of charcoal." "