Tag Archives: E.O. Wilson

01/13/11

Mysterious Animal Deaths of 2011

On New Year’s Eve, thousands of blackbirds plummeted to their death in a small town in Arkansas. Since then, several mysterious mass death of birds, fish, and crabs have been recorded worldwide. This string of animal die offs is being called Aflockalypse Now.

Dead devil crabs on the coast of Kent, England. Photo copyright Tony Sykes

Here are a few of the mysterious mass die offs of animals that have occurred in that past two weeks:

FISH and CRABS

—40,000 Velvet swimming crabs, known as “devil crabs,” washed up along the Kent coast near Thanet, England.

—Two million small fish died in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.

—Hundreds of snapper fish were found dead in Coromandel, New Zealand.

—100,000 dead or dying drum fish washed up along the Arkansas River.

—100 tons of fish washed up along the coast of Parangua, Brazil.

—Fish were also discovered rotting and floating in Port Orange, Florida.

BIRDS

—3,000 blackbirds fell on roofs and roads in the small town of Beebe, Arkansas.

—450 red-winged blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds, grackles and starlings were found dead on a highway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

—Scores of American Coots were found dead on Texas highways.

—50 dead  jackdaws were found on a street in Falkoping, Sweden.

—1,000 turtle doves fell dead in Italy.

Why Did These Animals Die?

According to wildlife biologists, animal die offs are pretty common, but they are usually not reported or they occur under the radar. In fact, on average over 160 of these types of die offs occur each year in the United States alone. But because of the media focus on the macabre New Year’s Eve blackbird deaths in Arkansas, there was widespread awareness and reporting of other animal deaths around the world.

Here are a few of the reasons that might account for the animals’ deaths:

Weather: Cold and wet weather, as in Arkansas on New Year’s Eve, is often associated with mass bird deaths. Cold snaps may have also been responsible for most of the fish deaths, as well as the mass death of the devil crabs.

Parasites, pollution, or disease may be responsible. The animals are being tested, but results are not expected for several weeks.

Some have blamed the birds’ deaths on fireworks. This didn’t ring true to me—why don’t we see scores of birds dying after the Fourth of July? But perhaps the fireworks combined with unusually cold or wet weather caused the birds to become disoriented.

Migration and magnetism, My first thought when I heard about the animals’ deaths was that it might have something to do with magnetism. Some scientists believe that  movement of Magnetic North Pole, which is shifting an average of around 25 miles a year, may have caused some of the animal die offs. Birds and fish rely on it to migrate to breeding grounds and warmer climates. But the shifting pole could be confusing the animals — they may not migrate in time to avoid cold weather.

Renowned Harvard biologist E.O Wilson in a Christian Scientist Monitor article noted that that mass die offs — usually of animals with large populations — are getting all the attention while a larger but slower mass extinction of thousands of species* because of human activity is ignored.

*Including frog species!

Note: Most of the information is this post is from an  article in The Mail Online (UK Daily Mail).

08/9/10

Creating a wildlife-friendly backyard

As Susan and I are hosting family and friends, we are reposting a couple of our favorite or most popular posts this week. We have edited the posts for the season or to update some material. Enjoy and hope you’re having a great summer!

It’s that time of the summer when we’re spending a lot of time in our backyards tending gardens that by now might have become out of control. Sometimes we spray and clip in a vain attempt to keep nature at bay and to make everything look tidy.

I read an interesting article in The Independent (UK) , “Why Untidy Gardens Make the Best Habitat for Wildlife.” My in-laws live in England and “garden” more or less means the same as “backyard” to Americans, though most English yards have a flower border. British readers, please correct me if I’m wrong!

Anyway, the article points out that town and city gardens provide a vital refuge for birds, insects, and other animals, including amphibians. Small gardens are as good as large gardens, urban gardens as important as suburban ones, and non-native plants are not always harmful to birds and insects.

Both city and suburban backyards can provide what Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson calls “bridges” between protected areas, providing refuges for wildlife. These bridges serve as a vital corridor, for example, for amphibians, migrating songbirds, and other animals.

My city backyard, in a densely populated small city, falls into the category of “untidy.” I have a lax attitude as to what I allow to grow in it, including a Norway maple, which no one in my family likes. They claim it’s taking over the tiny backyard, which is true. Yet the tree also draws lots of birds. I have vines growing up walls that provide places for birds to hide in, and I have a birdbath. I don’t use pesticides or herbicides.

Mourning Dove in Mary Jo's Backyard

What I’ve noticed is that every year I am getting more and more animal visitors, and a greater variety, too. This year in addition to sparrows and mourning doves, I’ve seen cardinals, robins, and other songbirds. In the fall, I have bird visitors that eat the grapes on my grape vine, swooping down almost the same week each year.

You don’t have to do much to make your backyard a wildlife habitat. Just don’t be too neat—don’t hurry to clear up everything when the garden stops flowering. Some of this “debris” is important for wildlife to hide in or to eat.

Of course, I realize that some animals are pests and steps have to be taken to keep them out. When we’re in New Hampshire, we need to use special bear-resistant garbage cans. Some parts of the country have real problems with deer.

But I think we should try to give a helping hand to those animals and insects that need these wildlife bridges—amphibians, birds, honey bees, and so on.

Here are some more tips for fall planting from the Independent article:

  • plant large shrubs—shrubs and trees produce more vegetation where wildlife can live and eat
  • allow at least some flowers to turn to seed and let the lawn grow tall.
  • create a pond for insects and frogs, or buy or make a toad abode
  • don’t illuminate your garden/backyard at night with bright lights. This will disturb many nocturnal creatures
  • create a compost heap—they are miniature nature reserves in themselves.

See also the National Wildlife Foundation‘s site about gardening for wildlife and about what you need to do to get your yard recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

Other tips:

  • Put out a bird bath. I enjoy watching birds splash in it every morning.
  • Put out bird feeders. Yes, the squirrels eat the seed, but mostly birds eat it. I buy a big bag of wild bird seed at the supermarket.

Update: After this post ran (10/09), we got lots of interesting comments, so we asked people to send in pictures of their wild backyards. These photos are still up (see gallery). We’d love to receive pictures of your wild backyard and are looking for guest posts about how to create a wild backyard.

10/6/09

Turn Your Backyard into a Wildlife Habitat

It’s that time of year (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) when we’re raking up leaves, cleaning up our backyards, and preparing for winter. But as we prepare for the first frost, we’re spending more time inside than outside and our backyards may be a bit of a mess.

I read an interesting article in The Independent (UK) the other day, “Why Untidy Gardens Make the Best Habitat for Wildlife.” My in-laws live in England and “garden” more or less means the same as “backyard” to Americans, though most English yards have a flower border. British readers, please correct me if I’m wrong!

Anyway, the article points out that town and city gardens provide a vital refuge for birds, insects, and other animals, including amphibians. Small gardens are as good as large gardens, urban gardens as important as suburban ones, and non-native plants are not always harmful to birds and insects.

Both city and suburban backyards can provide what Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson called “bridges” between protected areas, providing refuges for wildlife. These bridges serve as a vital corridor, for example, for amphibians, migrating songbirds, and other animals.*

My backyard falls into the category of “untidy.” I have a lax attitude as to what I allow to grow in it, including a Norway maple, which no one in my family likes. They claim it’s taking over the tiny backyard, which is true. Yet the tree also draws lots of birds. I have vines growing up walls that provide places for birds to hide in, and I have two birdbaths. I don’t use pesticides or herbicides.

What I’ve noticed is that this time of year I get lots of animal visitors. I have a robin couple living in the yard (not common the rest of the year). An amazing bird that I can’t even find in the bird book stopped by the other day. Birds come this time of year to eat the grapes on my grape vine, swooping down almost the same week each year.

You don’t have to do much to make your backyard a wildlife habitat. Just don’t be too neat—don’t hurry to clear up everything when the garden stops flowering. Some of this “debris” is important for wildlife to hide in or to eat.

Of course, I realize that some animals are pests and steps have to be taken to keep them out. When we’re in New Hampshire, we need to use special bear-resistant garbage cans. Some parts of the country have real problems with deer.

But I think we should try to give a helping hand to those animals and insects that need these wildlife bridges–amphibians, birds, honey bees, and so on.

Here are some more tips for fall planting from the Independent article:

  • plant large shrubs—shrubs and trees produce more vegetation where wildlife can live and eat
  • allow at least some flowers to turn to seed and let the lawn grow tall.
  • create a pond for insects and frogs, or buy or make a toad abode
  • don’t illuminate your garden/backyard at night with bright lights. This will disturb many nocturnal creatures
  • create a compost heap—they are miniature nature reserves in themselves.

See also the National Wildlife Foundation‘s site about attracting wildlife and getting your yard recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

This time of year we gardeners get a bit depressed as winter approaches. What are we going to do with ourselves until the first seed catalogs arrive in the mail in late winter? This fall I am looking at ways I can make my backyard more amenable to wildlife. I just received my Gardeners Supply catalog that has all kinds of birdbaths, birdfeeders, birdhouses, and other products to create an animal-friendly garden/yard.

Please add your suggestions for ways to attract backyard wildlife.

courtesy of Loudoun (VA) Wildlife ConservatoryCreating a frog pond, courtesy of Loudoun (VA) Wildlife Conservatory

*I got this from Earthtalk: Expert Answers to Everyday Questions about the Environment (Plume, 2009), an excellent book, by the way.