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Saturday, December 3, 2011
World's first captive breeding of Ozark hellbenders
ScienceDaily (Dec. 1, 2011) ? Ozark hellbenders have been bred in captivity -- a first for either of the two subspecies of hellbender. The decade-long collaboration of the Saint Louis Zoo's Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation and the Missouri Department of Conservation has yielded 63 baby hellbenders.
The first hellbender hatched on Nov. 15, and currently there are approximately 120 additional eggs that should hatch within the next week. The eggs are maintained in climate- and water quality-controlled trays behind the scenes in the Zoo's Herpetarium. For 45 to 60 days after emerging, the tiny larvae will retain their yolk sack for nutrients and move very little as they continue their development. As the larvae continue to grow, they will develop legs and eventually lose their external gills by the time they reach 1.5 to 2 years of age. At sexual maturity, at 5 to 8 years of age, adult lengths can approach two feet. Both parents are wild bred: the male has been at the Zoo for the past two years and the female arrived this past September.
Rivers in south-central Missouri and adjacent Arkansas once supported up to 8,000 Ozark hellbenders. Today, fewer than 600 exist in the world-so few that the amphibian was added in October 2011 to the federal endangered species list.
Due to these drastic declines, captive propagation became a priority in the long-term recovery of the species. Once the captive-bred larvae are 3 to 8 years old, they can then be released into their natural habitat-the Ozark aquatic ecosystem.
Also known by the colloquial names of "snot otter" and "old lasagna sides," the adult hellbender is one of the largest species of salamanders in North America, with its closest relatives being the giant salamanders of China and Japan, which can reach five feet in length.
With skin that is brown with black splotches, the Ozark hellbender has a slippery, flattened body that moves easily through water and can squeeze under rocks on the bottom of streams.
Like a Canary in a Coal Mine
Requiring cool, clean running water, the Ozark hellbender is also an important barometer of the overall health of that ecosystem-an aquatic "canary in a coal mine."
"Capillaries near the surface of the hellbender's skin absorb oxygen directly from the water -- as well as hormones, heavy metals and pesticides," said Jeff Ettling, Saint Louis Zoo curator of herpetology and aquatics. "If there is something in the water that is causing the hellbender population to decline, it can also be affecting the citizens who call the area home."
"We have a 15- to 20-year window to reverse this decline," added Missouri Department of Conservation Herpetologist Jeff Briggler, who cites a number of reasons for that decline from loss of habitat to pollution to disease to illegal capture and overseas sale of the hellbender for pets. "We don't want the animal disappearing on our watch."
Reversing A Decline
In 2001, the Ozark Hellbender Working Group of scientists from government agencies, public universities and zoos in Missouri and Arkansas launched a number of projects to staunch that decline. These included egg searches, disease sampling and behavioral studies.
In 2004, funding from private donors, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the United States Fish & Wildlife Services and the Zoo covered the cost of building sophisticated facilities including climate-controlled streams to breed the hellbender.
The hellbender propagation facilities include two outdoor streams that are 40 feet long and six feet deep. The area is landscaped with natural gravel, large rocks for hiding and artificial nest boxes, where the fertilized eggs were discovered. A nearby building houses state-of-the-art life support equipment used to filter the water and maintain the streams at the proper temperature.
In addition, two large climate-controlled rooms in the basement of the Zoo's Charles H. Hoessle Herpetarium are the headquarters for the program. The facilities recreate hellbender habitat with closely monitored temperatures, pumps to move purified water, sprinklers synced to mimic the exact precipitation and lights that flick on or dim to account for brightness and shade. The largest room includes a 32-foot simulated stream, complete with native gravel and large rocks for hiding. It houses a breeding group of adult Ozark hellbenders from the North Fork of the White River in Missouri; offspring from these hellbenders will eventually be released back into the wild.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Saint Louis Zoo.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111201094756.htm
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?NCIS? Star Pauley Perrette Engaged To Thomas Arklie
“NCIS” Star Pauley Perrette Engaged To Thomas Arklie
Actress Pauley Perrette is engaged to marry a former British Marine, named Thomas Arklie. The “NCIS” star, 42, became engaged last month after accepting the [...]
“NCIS” Star Pauley Perrette Engaged To Thomas Arklie Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News
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Can 'Curb' unite Israeli, Palestinian leaders?
Sergei Chuzavkov / AP file
By Courtney Hazlett
Can an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" bring together Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas? Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz thinks there might be a shot.
Dershowitz was so moved by a "Curb" episode titled "Palestinian Chicken," he sent a copy of it to Netanyahu in hopes that he invites Abbas over for a screening.
What's so special about "Palestinian Chicken" that it might aid in accomplishing what decades of diplomacy could not? The (profanity spiced -- be warned) clip below illustrates the key scene, but here's the gist: Larry is faced with the decision of choosing to honor his own ethnicity by siding with a Jewish deli whose patrons are upset that Palestinians have opened a restaurant just across the street. But the Palestinian restaurant serves up a mean chicken! Oh, and if he chooses to forsake his deli, an eager, giving, buxom woman will make it worth his while.
Dershowitz told the Columbia Current of the gesture, saying, "I recently sent a copy of 'Palestinian Chicken,' that Larry David gave me, to Prime Minister Netanyahu ? with the suggestion that he invite Abbas over to watch it together. And maybe if they both get a good laugh, they can begin a negotiating process."
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Clinton highlights democracy on last day of Myanmar trip (Reuters)
YANGON (Reuters) ? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was due for a final meeting with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday as she wrapped up a landmark visit to Myanmar which saw the new civilian government pledge to forge ahead with political reforms and re-engage with the world community.
Clinton and Suu Kyi - the Nobel laureate who has come to symbolise the pro-democracy aspirations of Myanmar's people - held a private dinner on Thursday and were to meet again on Friday at Suu Kyi's home, effectively her prison until she was released last November after years in detention.
Clinton will also meet representatives of ethnic minority groups, some of which remained locked in bloody conflict with the army, as well as fledgling civil society organizations, aiming to reassure them that the U.S. outreach to Myanmar's government does not mean it will ease pressure on human rights, political freedoms and rule of law in a country long a hallmark for authoritarian military rule.
Clinton met President Thein Sein on Thursday and announced a package of modest steps to improve ties, including U.S. support for new International Monetary Fund and World Bank needs assessment missions and expanded U.N. aid programs for the country's struggling economy.
She also said the United States would consider reinstating a full ambassador in Myanmar and could eventually ease crippling economic sanctions, but underscored that these future steps would depend on further measurable progress in Myanmar's reform drive.
"It has to be not theoretical or rhetorical. It has to be very real, on the ground, that can be evaluated. But we are open to that and we are going to pursue many different avenues to demonstrate our continuing support for this path of reform," Clinton told a news conference on Thursday in the capital, Naypyitaw, before arriving in Yangon.
Clinton's trip - the first by a senior U.S. official in more than 50 years - represents an opportunity for both Myanmar and the United States, and both appear eager to press ahead with rapprochement.
Myanmar's new leadership hopes the United States will eventually see its way clear to ease or remove sanctions, a step which could open the resource-rich but desperately poor country to more foreign trade and investment and help it catch up to booming neighbors such as Thailand and India.
For Washington, improved ties with Myanmar could underscore President Barack Obama's determination to up U.S. engagement in Asia and balance China's fast-growing economic, military and political influence.
U.S. officials said Clinton's visit was aimed at bolstering reformers in the government, but said it was clear that some powerful figures remained wary of reforms - throwing a question mark over whether the changes can be sustained.
Clinton's dinner with Suu Kyi on Wednesday marked her first personal encounter with the veteran activist, who has played a central role in the Obama administration's decision to explore the possibility of new ties with the country also known as Burma.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy will contest coming by-elections for parliament - seen as the next key test of the government's reform program - and Suu Kyi herself has said she will stand for election, another sign that the pro-democracy leader believes the changes under way are real.
(Editing by Robert Birsel)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111202/wl_nm/us_myanmar
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Friday, December 2, 2011
Video: Fed's Beige Book
Jim Iuorio, TJM Institutional Services, and CNBC's Rick Santelli shed insight on the latest Fed Beige Book.
Related Links:
Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45496302/
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British Library puts 300 years of history online
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