may soon be removed from the federal endangered species list, thanks to improvements made to its habitat.
sits inside his underwater home working on his laptop computer, that draws power from a bicycle.
Originating in Central Africa, Peters' Elephant Nose Fish, which has the scientific name
Gnathonemus petersii, finds its bearings by means of weak electrical fields. Scientists from the University of Bonn have
now been able to show how well this works. In complete darkness the animals can even distinguish the material of objects
at a distance or dead organisms from living ones. The results have now been published in the Journal of Experimental
Biology. The fish, which is as long as a cigar, hovers with its head inclined, close to the gravel-covered bed. While it
swims forward slowly, its trunk-like elongated chin sweeps steadily from right to left, always at a distance of a few
millimetres from the bottom. This way the fish behaves like treasure hunters searching for buried gold coins on the
beach with their metal detector. Basically, this is precisely what the fish is doing. Hidden in the sediment there are
large numbers of dead nematocera larvae waiting for it, its favourite food. Click
The Okaloosa darter has been on the Endangered Species Act list about as long as the federal law has
existed, some 34 years. Efforts at Eglin Air Force Base to revive the darter’s dwindling population have been
successful. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, as part of a recent status review, has recommended that the 1-to-2-inch
fish with big eyes be down-listed from endangered to threatened. “It’s a huge step,” said wildlife service fishery
biologist Bill Tate. After down-listing, the next move will be to remove the little fish from the Endangered Species Act
list altogether, a goal now within reach. Click here
This past April, entrepreneur and science hobbyist Lloyd Godson awoke in the
middle of the night with a pounding headache. He needed fresh air. Instead he drew in a deep breath and hoped that the
algae blooms inside his 8-by-10-foot underwater home would give off enough oxygen to get him through the night. Because
of steadily rising blood pressure, Godson, 29, emerged later that evening dizzy but healthy, bringing to a close his
13-day mission to live solo at the bottom of a lake near Albury, Australia. Funded by Australian Geographic
magazine, Godson's effort was part science experiment, part educational outreach. As a marine biologist, he wanted to
learn more about sustainable living in a closed ecological system. He fashioned the sub from mostly recycled scrap metal
welded to keep water out. Inside, a "biocoil" full of water and algae helped to absorb carbon dioxide and supply oxygen
[see "The BioSUB," below]. At the same time, he hoped to inspire future aquanauts by broadcasting live video to students
Tiny fish farms have helped 1,200 poor families hit by AIDS in Malawi to raise their incomes and improve
their diets in a scheme being expanded to other African nations, a report showed on Monday. About $90 can enable
construction of a small rain-fed pond that can be stocked with juvenile fish costing $10. Once the fish grow and
reproduce, the ponds produce food with far less back-breaking work than subsistence farming. The project, run by the
Malaysia-based WorldFish Center and targeted at families where some members have died from AIDS or are suffering from
the epidemic, has doubled income for 1,200 families in Malawi and improved diets, WorldFish said. Click
On one side of the Tye River, Juan Palomino’s track hammer pulverizes concrete in staccato
pulses. On the other, Boogie Atkins’ track shovel moves loads of dam debris. Smack dab in the middle, Constantine
“Conny” Roussos puts his canoe in the water. “I’ve been canoeing this river a long time and for 30 years we’ve had to
carry our boats around this dam,” says Roussos, a 59-year-old avid river runner and computer science professor at
Lynchburg College. “This time, I’m going to go through the middle of it.” That’s what the consortium of commonwealth
agencies and local landowners bursting the dam want to hear. “It really serves no purpose anymore, other than to block
the river, and the family that owns the dam decided that returning the river to a more natural state would be the best
thing to do,” explains Alan Weaver, fish passage coordinator with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
“I think they understand that it’s a boating hazard and it would be better than keeping a dam that wasn’t in use.” Click
Fed by heavy rains in the Hill Country, San Antonio Bay is flooded this summer with
freshwater. Just last fall, though, the story was drought, which crimped the Guadalupe River's flow into this
critter-rich bay estuary system 75 miles up the coast from Corpus Christi. "Droughts and flood are natural for the bay,"
Norman Boyd, a biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, explained as dolphin frolicked behind him in the
wake of a barge. "The gene pool has been pulled through these conditions for thousands of years," he said. "What you
don't want to do is take so much water from the river that we change the averages that much." The challenge in managing
Texas' rivers, Boyd said, is to avoid turning natural droughts into frequent, protracted events that change the mix of
salt and fresh waters in the bay. That could decimate an ecosystem teeming with crabs, oysters, shrimp, fish and aquatic
birds, including the endangered whooping crane. A bill aimed at maintaining these so-called environmental flows was
signed into law last month. It's being praised by environmental groups as a groundbreaking step toward preserving the
health and productivity of Texas waters. Click
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Ryan from Duluth, Minnesota,
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