Prague Zoo joins the effort to ensure the survival of a rare insect once considered extinct
PRAGUE (AP) — The Prague Zoo has joined an international effort to ensure the survival of a rare insect that had been considered extinct for more than 80 years.
The zoo is among six institutions around the world that have been able to create living conditions for the largest species of flightless insect, the Lord Howe Island stick insect, which grows up to 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) long. They are on display, a rare chance that only London and San Diego also offer.
The insect, also known as the Lord Howe Island phasmid, is native to a remote archipelago in the Tasman Sea off Australia.
The uninhabited archipelago was discovered in 1778. Rats that arrived with a ship stranded offshore in 1918 appeared to wipe out the insect's population.
Mountain climbers found signs of the insects in the 1960s on a rocky island 23 kilometers (14 miles) offshore from Lord Howe. In 2001, it was confirmed that specimens were surviving there. Two pairs were taken to Australia for breeding, a step considered necessary for the critically endangered species.
'They had to make an enormous effort to survive 100 years on such a tough place as the Balls Pyramid, and now need such sensitive care to live in captivity," Vojtěch Vít, an expert keeper at the Prague Zoo, said Tuesday.
The zoo had to create an air-conditioned building with disinfection equipment for keepers at the entrance to protect the insects that are susceptible to bacterial and virus infections, and get approval from Australian authorities for breeding.
The goal of the breeding program is to return the insect to its natural environment on Lord Howe Island after rats were eradicated there in 2019.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
6 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Solstices brought Mayan communities together, using monuments shaped by science and religion – and kingly ambitions, too
Eds: This story was supplied by The Conversation for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content. Gerardo Aldana, University of California, Santa Barbara (THE CONVERSATION) K'ahk' Uti' Witz' K'awiil knew his history. For 11 generations, the Mayan ruler's dynasty had ruled Copan, a city-state near today's border between Honduras and Guatemala. From the fifth century C.E. into the seventh century, scribes painted his ancestors' genealogies into manuscripts and carved them in stone monuments throughout the city. Around 650, one particular piece of architectural history appears to have caught his eye. Centuries before, village masons built special structures for public ceremonies to view the Sun – ceremonies that were temporally anchored to the solstices, like the one that will occur June 20, 2025. Building these types of architectural complexes, which archaeologists call 'E-Groups,' had largely fallen out of fashion by K'ahk' Uti' Witz' K'awiil's time. But aiming to realize his ambitious plans for his city, he seems to have found inspiration in these astronomical public spaces, as I've written about in my research on ancient Mayan hieroglyphically recorded astronomy. K'ahk' Uti' Witz' K'awiil's innovations are a reminder that science changes through discovery or invention – but also occasionally for personal or political purposes, particularly in the ancient world. E-Groups were first constructed in the Mayan region as early as 1000 B.C.E. The site of Ceibal, on the banks of the Pasión River in central Guatemala, is one such example. There, residents built a long, plastered platform bordering the eastern edge of a large plaza. Three structures were arranged along a north-south axis atop this platform, with roofs tall enough to rise above the rainforest floral canopy. Within the center of the plaza, to the west of the platform, they built a radially symmetric pyramid. From there, observers could follow sunrise behind and between the structures on the platform over the course of the year. At one level, the earliest E-Group complexes served very practical purposes. In Preclassic villages where these complexes have been found, like Ceibal, populations of several hundred to a few thousand lived on 'milpa' or 'slash-and-burn' farming techniques practices still maintained in pueblos throughout Mesoamerica today. Farmers chop down brush vegetation, then burn it to fertilize the soil. This requires careful attention to the rainy season, which was tracked in ancient times by following the position of the rising Sun at the horizon. Most of the sites in the Classic Mayan heartland, however, are located in flat, forested landscapes with few notable features along the horizon. Only a green sea of the floral canopy meets the eye of an observer standing on a tall pyramid. By punctuating the horizon, the eastern structures of E-Group complexes could be used to mark the solar extremes. Sunrise behind the northernmost structure of the eastern platform would be observed on the summer solstice. Sunrise behind the southernmost structure marked the winter solstice. The equinoxes could be marked halfway between, when the Sun rose due east. Scholars are still debating key factors of these complexes, but their religious significance is well attested. Caches of finely worked jade and ritual pottery reflect a cosmology oriented around the four cardinal directions, which may have coordinated with the E-Group's division of the year. Fading knowledge K'ahk' Uti' Witz' K'awiil's citizenry, however, would have been less attuned to direct celestial observations than their ancestors. By the seventh century, Mayan political organization had changed significantly. Copan had grown to as many as 25,000 residents, and agricultural technologies also changed to keep up. Cities of the Classic period practiced multiple forms of intensive agriculture that relied on sophisticated water management strategies, buffering the need to meticulously follow the horizon movement of the Sun. E-Group complexes continued to be built into the Classic period, but they were no longer oriented to sunrise, and they served political or stylistic purposes rather than celestial views. Such a development, I think, resonates today. People pay attention to the changing of the seasons, and they know when the summer solstice occurs thanks to a calendar app on their phones. But they probably don't remember the science: how the tilt of the Earth and its path around the Sun make it appear as though the Sun itself travels north or south along the eastern horizon. United through ritual During the mid-seventh century, K'ahk' Uti' Witz' K'awiil had developed ambitious plans for his city – and astronomy provided one opportunity to help achieve them. He is known today for his extravagant burial chamber, exemplifying the success he eventually achieved. This tomb is located in the heart of a magnificent structure, fronted by the 'Hieroglyphic Stairway ': a record of his dynasty's history that is one of the largest single inscriptions in ancient history. Eying opportunities to transform Copan into a regional power, K'ahk' Uti' Witz' K'awiil looked for alliances beyond his local nobility, and he reached out to nearby villages. Over the past century, several scholars, including me, have investigated the astronomical component to his plan. It appears that K'ahk' Uti' Witz' K'awiil commissioned a set of stone monuments or 'stelae,' positioned within the city and in the foothills of the Copan Valley, which tracked the Sun along the horizon. Like E-Group complexes, these monuments engaged the public in solar observations. Taken together, the stelae created a countdown to an important calendric event, orchestrated by the Sun. Back in the 1920s, archaeologist Sylvanus Morley noted that from Stela 12, to the east of the city, one could witness the Sun set behind Stela 10, on a foothill to the west, twice each year. Half a century later, archaeoastronomer Anthony Aveni recognized that these two sunsets defined 20-day intervals relative to the equinoxes and the zenith passage of the Sun, when shadows of vertical objects disappear. Twenty days is an important interval in the Mayan calendar and corresponds to the length of a 'month' in the solar year. My own research showed that the dates on several stelae also commemorate some of these 20-day interval events. In addition, they all lead up to a once-every-20-year event called a 'katun end.' K'ahk' Uti' Witz' K'awiil celebrated this katun end, setting his plans for regional hegemony in motion at Quirigua, a growing, influential city some 30 miles away. A round altar there carries an image of him, commemorating his arrival. The hieroglyphic text tells us that K'ahk' Uti' Witz' K'awiil 'danced' at Quirigua, cementing an alliance between the two cities. In other words, K'ahk' Uti' Witz' K'awiil's 'solar stelae' did more than track the Sun. The monuments brought communities together to witness astronomical events for shared cultural and religious experiences, reaching across generations. Coming together to appreciate the natural cycles that make life on Earth possible is something that – I hope – will never fade with fashion.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Experts encourage innovative method to combat invasive fish devastating local ecosystems: 'It's a real natural, sustainable solution'
Invasive tilapia have been threatening endangered cod populations in Australia's Mary River, but experts say the cod are biting back, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Conservationists from Burnett Mary Regional Group performed a routine survey in April, which involved catching and testing some of the region's Mary River cod. Researchers were pleased to discover traces of tilapia in two of the cods' mouths and also documented an 80-centimeter (31.5-inch) cod eating a 40-cm (15.75-in) tilapia. In other words, despite the fact that the tilapia are not native to the area and the cod haven't evolved to eat them, the endangered native fish have adapted and are eating them anyway. "There was always the hope and suspicion that [the cod] were eating everything," BMRG CEO Tom Espinoza said. "It's provided a lot of hope for people that are invested in healthy cod populations across the board. … Hopefully in 10, 15, 20 years' time, we've got a population of large cod that can do the rest of the job themselves. It's a real natural, sustainable solution." This is encouraging news, because as matters stand, the tilapia are a serious problem. They're invasive — meaning they came to the area from another region and thrived so well that it's damaging the ecosystem — and they eat the eggs and young of not only cod but also other endangered species such as the "bum-breathing" Mary River turtle, Australian lungfish, and white-throated snapping turtle. Because the tilapia have spread to 26 of Queensland's 67 catchments, it's considered impossible for humans to eradicate them. Left unchecked, they could destroy the native species in the river, damaging the ecosystem that both people and wildlife rely on. However, steps have been taken to control the population. For example, tilapia are being harvested to use as fertilizer for native plants. Now that it appears cod are also eating the tilapia, there's a chance to achieve a new healthy balance. Should we be actively working to kill invasive species? Absolutely It depends on the species I don't know No — leave nature alone Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Stunning photos show the rare strawberry full moon lighting up the sky
The full strawberry moon rises behind the Empire State Building in New York City on Tuesday, as seen from Weehawken, N.J. () June's one full moon — the so-called strawberry moon — dazzled the night sky Tuesday into Wednesday. Photos show the low-hanging reddish moon low in the sky in places including New York City, Greece, Germany, Malta, China and Britain. Last night's moon reached its lowest point in the sky in nearly two decades — and the lowest it'll be until 2043, due to what's called a 'major lunar standstill.' The phenomenon, which occurs every 18.6 years, happens when the moon reaches its furthest northern and southern points in the sky. The last major lunar standstill was in 2006. Advertisement The term 'strawberry moon' came from the Native American Algonquian tribes because this moon takes place during the time of year when strawberries are ripe and ready for harvest. Despite the moon having a reddish hue while it nears the horizon, the moon's nickname isn't a specific reference to its color. 'The origin of the name 'Strawberry Moon' has nothing to do with the Moon's hue or experience,' according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. 'A Moon usually appears reddish when it's close to the horizon because the light rays must pass through the densest layers of the atmosphere.' The nickname given to June's full moon varies based on tribes. The Haida people, an Indigenous group in the Pacific Northwest, refer to it as the 'berries ripen moon,' while the Muscogee call it the 'blackberry moon' and the Shawnee tribe know it as the 'raspberry moon." The strawberry moon rises in the sky behind the 5th century B.C. Parthenon temple at the ancient Acropolis hill, in Athens, on Tuesday. (Petros Giannakouris/AP) The moon can be seen over the Schluchsee in Baden-Württemberg, Schluchsee, Germany on Tuesday. (Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images) The strawberry moon rises behind the steeple of St Paul's Anglican Cathedral and the dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Valletta, as seen from Sliema, Malta, on Tuesday. (Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters) A full moon shines over the Nanshan Tree Viewing Platform on Tuesday in Chongqing, China. (Zhou Zhiyong/VCG via Getty Images) Advertisement A person watches the strawberry moon rise, as seen from Hampstead Heath, in London, on Tuesday. (Peter Cziborra/Reuters) See more of our photo features on Yahoo News.
