Nature Conservancy Blog

My favorite variant of that kind of story: https://blog.nature.org/2018/01/12/australian-firehawk-raptors-intenti…

Since we are talking bird and mating rituals, HN member once pointed out to me the fascinating bowerbird mating rituals[1] that result in them building fairly ornate structures showcasing their resource gathering skills. [1]https://blog.nature.org/2021/01/04/bowerbirds-meet-the-bird-worlds-kle…

Native bees are way more at risk than honey bees, I worry more about them: https://blog.nature.org/science/2019/08/19/focus-on-native-bees-not-ho…

Australia is nuts. You even have birds that deliberately spread wildfire. https://blog.nature.org/science/2018/01/12/australian-firehawk-raptors…

See also https://blog.nature.org/science/2017/08/22/remarkable-story-how-bison-…

If everybody does it, absolutely. But, curiously enough, we do actually need more people to hunt deer, because their populations are exploding (since we wiped out the predators that kept them in check, like wolves), while the popularity of hunting is plummeting. https://blog.nature.org/science/2013/08/22/too-many-deer/

Where have all the sparrows gone? https://blog.nature.org/science/2019/03/25/where-have-all-the-house-sp…

There are definitely more deer than in the past. The elimination of natural predators and the decline of hunting have let their numbers explode. https://blog.nature.org/science/2013/08/22/too-many-deer/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-we-really-need-to-cull-d…

Without natural predators like wolves, bears, or bobcats, the deer population in certain areas of the United States has exploded(1). This negatively impacts overall biodiversity(2). I doubt deer like being eaten, but that's the process of life, and its vital to maintain the existing biodiversity we enjoy today. So why would you feel guilt for the cycle of nature? Without deer, buffalo, or other herbivores in suburbia or urban environments, there has to be something to check plant growth. (1)https://blog.nature.org/science/2013/08/22/too-many-deer/ (2)https://sciencing.com/purpose-deer-ecosystem-8659608.html

You couldn't be more wrong. Wolf attacks are extremely rare. They're not a significant threat to humans. http://www.politifact.com/oregon/statements/2011/dec/16/oregon-departm… Wolves are vilified because of their threat to livestock. Farmers kill wolves to protect their animals. The return of wolves is good news for people living in forested areas overpopulated by deer. Without wolves, the deer population grows unchecked. The deer overgraze which hurts plant growth. https://blog.nature.org/science/2013/08/22/too-many-deer/

The issue with deer is that there are too few natural predators for them in many places on the east coast. The booming population has detrimental effects on the forests. Deer consume only certain plants so they end up causing lower diversity of eastern forests. When the decision is either cull them now or let the population starve until it gets back to a comfortable capacity, it's much better to cull them. This not only helps the surrounding ecosystem but also gives some people the chance to get large quantities of meat for almost no cost. Some people in the US really do still live off the land to an extent, meat is much cheaper when you kill and clean the animal yourself. https://blog.nature.org/science/2013/08/22/too-many-deer/

My other ulterior motive in reducing their population is the forest ecosystem, though. http://tiee.esa.org/vol/v2/issues/figure_sets/deer/overview.html https://blog.nature.org/science/2013/08/22/too-many-deer/ http://strawberryhill.org/hunting-a-reverence-for-preserving/ the last link has some especially troubling photographs of what I'm talking about; growing up I saw those exclosures all around with much the same effect every time. Possibly a salt lick that just sterilizes the deer?

At the moment, US is having a massive problem with deer. And the major reason why that is, is that we've eliminated most of their natural predators, and lobbied very aggressively against hunting. So now you have millions of deer destroying crops in US, but of course any time anyone mentions culling, people immediately get aggressive about cruelty of hunting. I mean, I get that, and I wish there was a better way, but deer are literally worse than pests at this point. http://blog.nature.org/science/2013/08/22/too-many-deer/

A couple more links for anyone interested: http://blog.nature.org/science/2016/06/29/species-on-the-move-mapping-… http://blog.nature.org/science/2016/08/19/migration-in-motion-visualiz…

Porcupines go crazy for salt: http://blog.nature.org/science/2015/03/30/believe-porcupines-eat-bigfo… I guess there's any number of reasons animals chew on things.

First unintended victim may be the monarch butterfly. http://blog.nature.org/science/2013/04/04/the-monarch-butterfly-declin…

Okay, the half-life of methane is 7-9 years. Not the lifetime. The 34x potential I gave is for methane over a hundred years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming_potential It's incredibly potent stuff, so much that despite the relatively quick breakdown, an initial mass of methane will have a warming effect that is 20-35x that of an equivalent mass of carbon dioxide over a century. GWP numbers take the brief half-life of methane into account when calculated. You're making the mistake of looking at the absolute quantity of methane and short half-life, and thinking that it couldn't possibly have much of an effect. Well, people have already run the numbers, and it can have a huge effect. Current rates of methane leaks from mining natural gas could very well offset the benefits of moving away from coal: http://blog.nature.org/science/2016/06/24/natural-gas-coal-leak-rate-e… Methane's very bad news, even in small quantities.

"more common situation is that a crop is GMd to not need pesticides" Is that based on research you've done, or are you just going with your gut? This[0] article explains how "Roundup-ready corn and soybeans"(roundup is an herbicide) has caused the near disappearance of milkweed and because of that the near disappearance of Monarch Butterflies which need the milkweed to survive. What does "roundup ready" mean? It means the corn and soybeans can tolerate the herbicide, so the fields are coated with it indiscriminately. I'd wager that acres of corn and soybeans planted exceeds acres of papaya by a fair bit. This[1] well-sourced[2] article describes "Herbicide and Insecticide Use on GMO Crops" as "Skyrocketing." This[3] article describes how corn crops that are gm'd to be resistant to pests have actually become susceptible to pests because "nature will find a way." This has resulted in even more use and need of pesticides for these crops, a vicious cycle. By the way the crops that are modified to "not need pesticides," still actually need and use pesticides. The pesticides are just incorporated at the gene level, instead of after they've already been planted. For example, the use of systemic insecticides, which coat GMO corn and soy seeds and are incorporated and expressed inside the entire plant, has skyrocketed in the last ten years. This includes use of neonicotinoids (neonics) which are extremely powerful neurotoxins that contaminate our food and water and destroy…

Correct my anecdote is an anecdote. The dramatic growth of deer and rodent population, as well as ticks, is well studied however. Since you seem interested in this topic here are a few relevant links: http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/publications/fact_sheets/ent… https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_017804.pdf http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6835501/ns/us_news-environment/t/deer-eating… https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/03/06/518219485/forbidd… https://blog.nature.org/science/2013/08/22/too-many-deer/