Hawaii coral reef infection

This video is called Hawaii Reef Etiquette.

From the Los Angeles Times in the USA:

In Hawaii, a coral reef infection has biologists alarmed

A mysterious growth has been spreading under the waters of Hanalei Bay and elsewhere on Kauai’s north shore. It’s killing all the coral it strikes, and scientists can’t stop it.

By Kim Murphy

November 27, 2012, 5:00 a.m.

HANALEI, Hawaii — When compiling a list of places that may be described as paradise, Hanalei Bay on the rugged north shore of the island of Kauai surely qualifies.

The perfect crescent bay, rimmed by palm trees, emerald cliffs and stretches of white sand, has always had a dreamy kind of appeal. It was on these shores that sailors in the movie “South Pacific” sang of the exotic but unattainable “Bali Ha’i.”

The problem is what lies below the surface of the area’s shimmering blue waters.

Since June, a mysterious milky growth has been spreading rapidly across the coral reefs in Hanalei and the surrounding bays of the north shore — so rapidly that biologist Terry Lilley, who has been documenting the phenomenon, says it now affects 5% of all the coral in Hanalei Bay and up to 40% of the coral in nearby Anini Bay. Other areas are “just as bad, if not worse,” he said.

The growth, identified by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey as both a cyanobacterial pathogen — a bacteria that grows through photosynthesis — and a fungus, is killing all the coral it strikes, and spreading at the rate of 1 to 3 inches a week on every coral it infects.

“There is nowhere we know of in the entire world where an entire reef system for 60 miles has been compromised in one fell swoop. This bacteria has been killing some of these 50- to 100-year-old corals in less than eight weeks,” Lilley said. “Something is causing the entire reef system here in Kauai to lose its immune system.”

The discovery of the new coral disease is only one of a number of ailments afflicting nearly all the world’s coral reefs, which are threatened by poisonous runoff, rising oceans, increasingly acidic waters and overfishing.

But this one could jeopardize a multibillion-dollar tourist industry in Hawaii, which depends on the stunning displays of color and wildlife for divers and snorkelers. That is especially true along the beaches of Kauai, where the north shore with a few exceptions remains a place of pristine natural beauty.

Nearly every coral reef could be dying by 2100 if current carbon dioxide emission trends continue, according to a new review of major climate models from around the world: here.

Related articles

• USGS: Coral disease outbreak an ‘epidemic’ (thegardenisland.com)
• Hanalei land developers met by full crowd (thegardenisland.com)
• Scientists continue coral disease study (thegardenisland.com)
• Feds: Rapidly-spreading disease in Hawaii coral – New strain of cyanobacteria blamed – Fish with lesions, turtles having problems – Big concern whether infectious to humans – “Truly an unusual event” (PHOTOS) (enenews.com)
• The Coral-Seaweed Battleground (cen.acs.org)
• A new cave-dwelling reef coral discovered in the Indo-Pacific (phys.org)

Goosanders, mandarin duck and robin

Today, to the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen nature reserve.

As we stopped to pick someone up, three ring-necked parakeets calling, flying overhead.

Immediately after the reserve entrance, three fallow deer. They are not shy, as there is no hunting here.

In the Oranjekom pond: male and female tufted ducks. Also gadwall ducks. A little grebe. A grey heron lands.

Nuthatch and great spotted woodpecker sound.

In the next pond, from the hide, four female and one male goosanders.

A bit further away on that pond, a male mandarin duck.

A great tit in a tree on the bank.

Mallard ducks. Male and female teal.

A coot. Two moorhens.

Now, a blue tit and a robin in the tree on the bank.

A bit later, a juvenile great cormorant flies over a canal.

A chaffinch in a tree. A buzzard in another tree.

A singing robin on a shrub.

Further, as we walk back, a marsh tit in a low tree.

A Canada goose grazes near a canal.

Finally, just before the exit, coral spot fungi growing on a fallen branch.

British ash trees disease

This video from Britain is called Ash Tree – what to look for.

From Wildlife Extra:

Ash trees disease could have major repercussions for wildlife

Imports

Why on earth do we import ash trees from abroad anyway? There are an estimated 80 million in the UK, and they grow well and easily, what possible reason is there for importing ash trees, or many other species of plants and animals, from overseas?

RSPB reacts to Government ban on importing ash trees

October 2012. Ash dieback disease was first confirmed in Britain in February 2012 at a tree nursery in Buckinghamshire. The cases last week (26 October) at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust‘s Lower Wood reserve in Ashwellthorpe (an ancient woodland and a Site of Special Scientific Interest) and the Woodland Trust‘s Pound Farm woodland in Suffolk confirmed that the disease had spread into the wild.

Ash dieback disease is caused by the fungus Chalara fraxinea. It results in leaf loss and crown dieback in the affected trees and has the potential to devastate the ash tree population.

Lincolnshire

The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust welcomes the ban on the import of ash trees but fears it may be too late to stop the disease from spreading.

Most of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust’s woodland nature reserves are noted as oak/ash woodlands with fine, mature examples of both species being found. A diverse range of insects and lichens are also found living on ash trees. The loss of ash trees in these woodlands, and in the wider countryside, will fundamentally change the character of our woodlands and landscape. Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust field staff are fully aware of the symptoms of the disease. But with the autumn leaf fall, tracking the disease is going to be difficult.

Martin Harper, the RSPB’s Director of Conservation, said: “Ash trees are the crowd pleasers of nature; they do a lot for all kinds of different animals and plants, from providing great roosting sites and warm holes to nest in, to perfect places to forage for food and ideal spots to flourish and grow. Birds, bats, fungi, plants, insects and more all use ash trees in one way or another meaning this disease has the potential to damage ecosystems in a big way.

“This is a stark reminder that non-native plants and animals can wreak havoc on already over-stressed habitats and native wildlife. While we welcome the Government’s ban on imports, it is not enough in itself. The EU is currently developing new international legislation on invasive non-native species and this is a major opportunity to prevent future problems. The big lesson here is that sometimes, strong environmental regulation is needed to protect all our interests.”

Ian Wright, plant health specialist at the National Trust said: “We welcome the Government’s ban on the import of ash trees into the UK. We are very concerned about what effect this disease will have on a key historic species – and on our landscapes.

“As well as the high risk for country wide losses, we are particularly concerned about the significant number of our older ash trees. Many, over 300 years old, grow on National Trust land. If this devastating disease took hold it would radically change some of our most special landscapes and places forever as well as the wildlife these ash trees support which includes rare lichens, bryophytes and invertebrates.

Detailed information on the disease and recognising the main symptoms can be found on the Forestry Commission website at www.forestry.gov.uk/chalara.

A nursery forced to destroy 50,000 ash trees after a fungal disease was found is considering taking legal action against the government for failing to block imports sooner: here.

Related articles

• Fight to save a third of Britain’s trees from killer fungus (telegraph.co.uk)
• Ash dieback fungus will ‘change countryside very significantly’ (guardian.co.uk)
• AshTag app launched to prevent spread of devastating tree disease (guardian.co.uk)
• Government ‘dithering has worsened ash dieback crisis’ (thetimes.co.uk)
• Ash dieback: the end of British woodlands as we know them? (theweek.co.uk)
• Government ignored ash dieback warnings, emails reveal (guardian.co.uk)

Favourite mushroom poll

This video is called Planet Wild – Fungi.

The Dutch Mycological Society has an Internet poll about which mushroom species is the favourite of internauts in the Netherlands.

On the poll site, one can vote for three out of thirty nominated species.

So, only a small sample of the 4000 fungi species discovered so far in the Netherlands.

Related articles

• Warm, wet weather means bumper year for mushrooms (telegraph.co.uk)
• Warning over poisonous mushrooms (bbc.co.uk)
• Mushroom Show plus 10 fun facts about mushrooms (paleochik.com)
• Mycology (euzicasa.wordpress.com)

Fungi, wigeons, black swan

Sunday 21 October 2012.

To the park in the south-east of the city, to look for fungi.

Near the entrance, a ring-necked parakeet calls. Mallards and coots swimming.

And today’s first mushrooms in the grass: Psathyrella marcescibilis.

A carrion crow with food in its bill lands a bit further on the grass.

In a wooded part, a slime mold: wolf’s milk.

Bjerkandera fumosa fungus.

Another slime mold: Trichia scabra.

Then, Coprinus domesticus mushrooms.

Stereum hirsutum on a branch.

Then, a beautiful Clavulina cinerea on the forest floor.

After that, on a branch together: the slime mold Ceratiomyxa fructiculosa and common mazegill fungus.

Next, on the forest floor, a group of scaly wood mushrooms.

Variable oysterlings on wood.

Thin Macrotyphula juncea fungi. Small frosty bonnets.

Jelly ear.

Dead man’s fingers share a tree stump with candlesnuff fungus.

Angel’s bonnet.

Xylaria longipes, growing on a maple tree stump.

Broad-leaved helleborine orchid plants. Not flowering now.

Snapping bonnet. Bleeding fairy helmet.

Daedaleopsis confragosa on a tree.

Alnicola scolecina.

Old World royal ferns. Cranberries grow as well in this marshy part. And the rare plants marsh cinquefoil and bog-bean.

Deceiver fungus.

Taphrina amentorum.

Daisies, still flowering.

Turkey tail fungus.

On a tree stump, three species: oyster mushroom; Coprinellus disseminatus; and sulphur tuft.

A bit further, a tree, on which artist’s bracket fungi feed.

On the meadow, mallard and wigeon ducks. Domestic geese, a few grey lag geese, Canada geese, and a lone black swan.

Then, the forest near the old castle. White saddle fungus.

Earthy inocybe. Coprinellus micaceus.

This year, for the first time, nest boxes for tawny owls were put in the forest; resulting in a couple nesting successfully.

Also, the first nesting white stork couple this year.

In the grey heron colony, a spoonbill couple tried to nest; unsuccessfully.

Clavaria acuta.

A honey fungus.

Scaly earthball.

Stinking dapperling.

On a fallen tree: Pluteus salicinus.

Collared earthstar.

Ascocoryne sarcoides.

Finally, Bjerkandera fumosa on a fallen tree trunk.

Good fungi year on Texel island: here.

Dutch coastal fungi: here.

Hygrophorus fungi: here.

Related articles

• How Brainless Slime Molds Redefine Intelligence (scientificamerican.com)
• Some Fungi For the Weekend (daysontheclaise.blogspot.com)
• Chap 1 classification of fungi (slideshare.net)
• Favourite mushroom poll (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Fall Fungi (shareabitoflove.com)
• How Brainless Slime Molds Redefine Intelligence (3quarksdaily.com)

Bittern, sparrowhawk and fungi

Saturday 20 October 2012.

To the Ackerdijkse plassen nature reserve, not far from Delft town in the Netherlands.

A kestrel couple hovering in the air.

Another bird flies past. It is a bittern! The warden says they hear this rare bird, good at hiding itself, in the reserve; but they hardly ever see it. This is a special morning, as the bittern flies past again twice.

Other bittern photos are here.

In leafless trees, relatives of the bittern: great egrets.

An Egyptian goose flying.

Common earthballs.

More fungi: Armillaria gallica.

Many soft rushes in this marshy environment.

Candlesnuff fungus.

Great cormorant flying.

A greenfinch on a tree.

Sulphur tuft fungi.

A jay calls.

A wren sings.

Common hornbeam and beech trees next to each other. Most tress in the reserve are only a few decades old. Before that, it was farmland. However, the farmer wanted to stop farming and transferred the land to BirdLife in the Netherlands. They later transferred it to conservation organization Natuurmonumenten.

Short-toed treecreeper sound.

On wood: jelly ear and Xylaria polymorpha fungi.

A buzzard flying. Then, a sparrowhawk.

At the Boschplas lake hide: over ten wigeons and two tufted ducks swimming.

Still one blackberry flower. Also, still a ragged robin flower.

On a fallen birch tree, birch polypore fungus.

We go back to the central building, formerly the farm; originally built in 1666.

Four stock doves flying.

At the next hide, many ducks. Mallard and gadwall ducks. Common pochards.

Wigeons. Great crested grebe. Canada goose.

A great cormorant on a tree.

A great egret flying.

Finally, on a tree stump near the farm: Armillaria mellea and turkey tail fungi.

Bittern photo, Naardermeer railway: here.

Related articles

• Favourite fungi of the Netherlands (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Snow, Squirrels and Sparrowhawks (wildtimesmedia.wordpress.com)
• Sparrowhawks’ lives, video (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• App about Naardermeer nature reserve (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Funny fungi (digginwivdebb.wordpress.com)
• Favourite mushroom poll (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Birds of British brownfields (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Country diary: Not all fungi are bad for trees (guardian.co.uk)
• days of fog and fungi (dontconfusethenarrator.wordpress.com)
• Fungi equally as effective as pesticides at controlling crop pest (plantwise.org)

Rare mushroom on dead boar

Translated from daily Het Laatste Nieuws in Belgium:

Rare mushroom discovered on wild boar carcass in Dutch Limburg

Edited by: Anneleen De Vel

21/10/12 – 8:42 Source: belga.be

In national park De Meinweg in the Dutch province of Limburg, the Hebeloma birrus fungus has been found, a rare and endangered mushroom. Really special is that the mushroom is growing on the remains of a wild boar. Website natuurbericht.nl reports this.

In June, a female wild boar went to her final resting place in a secluded spot in the Limburg nature. The animal was put there as part of the initiative Death gives Life, where carcasses become part of the food chain so that other animals can live again. Nature organizations hope this will lead to the return of rare scavengers.

This video shows two carrion crows on the dead boar.

An earlier dead boar attracted a griffon vulture.

More than three months later, very little was left of the cadaver-thanks to crows, carrion flies and beetles-, but there were some conspicuous mushrooms. Among them was Hebeloma birrus. It is known as ‘endangered’. Between 2000 and 2007, the species declined by 75 percent compared to the period 1900-1983.

Carcasses in nature ensure a rapid and strong increase of nutrients in the soil. Especially organisms like mushrooms benefit.

Sparrowhawk and mushrooms, photos

Sunday 8 October 2012.

To Hilverbeek nature reserve, near Hilversum.

Near the entrance, two leafless trees in a meadow. In one of them a buzzard, in the other one a grey heron.

A nuthatch sings.

In the next meadow, another buzzard sits on a pole. Mute swans in a ditch.

Near the entrance of Jagtlust estate, porcelain fungus on a tree stump.

On the roof of the chicken coop of the farm near the entrance of Hilverbeek sit one female chaffinch and two female house sparrows.

A moorhen in a ditch.

Then, a sparrowhawk flies past, alarming a great spotted woodpecker.

Today it is dry weather. But there has been rain for the past days: good for mushrooms.

Three fly agaric fungi. Slugs have eaten much of them.

A robin sings.

Sulphur tuft fungi.

A group of false death cap fungi.

An Egyptian goose calls.

A bit further, common bonnet mushrooms on a fallen tree.

On the next fallen tree, another Mycena species.

A great cormorant takes off from a ditch.

An amethyst deceiver mushroom.

A jay lands on the forest floor.

Also on the forest floor, this hare’s ear group of fungi.

A death cap.

Two adult mute swans with two youngsters in a ditch.

On this picture, a false death cap with amethyst deceivers.

Then, porcelain fungi on a fallen branch.

A buzzard calls.

Then, a russula species.

Close to it, a penny bun fungus.

Another russula species not far away.

Then, Lactarius fungi.

We go back.

And see a beautiful fly agaric group. With adult mushrooms …

… young mushrooms …

… and very young mushrooms.

Along the road in the Corversbos nature reserve, two fungus species grow on a tree trunk. The big giant polypore …

… and the small candlestick fungus.

Schiermonnikoog birds and fungi photos

This video is about Schiermonnikoog island in the Netherlands.

This blog post is about birds and fungi on Schiermonnikoog on Friday 28 September.

And now the first Schiermonnikoog, 28 September photo. It shows, behind the harbour water, a reddish glasswort field, with white spots: gulls and shelducks.

After our arrival at the harbour south of the only village on the island, we first walked on a dike through mudflats.

As we walked on the harbour dike, two bar-tailed godwits and a redshank on a mudflat.

Not far away, two turnstones in winter plumage, showing where their name originated

A herring gull was present as well.

A bit further, many shelducks. And a ringed plover.

Further away from the coastline, a dragonfly flying around: a migrant hawker.

Migrant hawker eaten by great green bush-cricket, on Terschelling: here.

A blue tit on a treetop.

We continue to the hide near the Westerplas lake.

There, this male gadwall duck swam …

… like this female shoveler duck …

… and this male shoveler (still in not-so-colourful late summer-autumn plumage. This species was very numerous at the Westerplas) …

… and this group of pintail ducks, male and female.

Teal. Also wigeons, but not as many as here four years ago. Probably, most migratory wigeons are still to come.

One swimming bird is the only specimen here of its species, but it is special: a young red-throated diver.

Not swimming, but standing: this parasol mushroom.

It grew a bit further, in the dunes, among other big parasol mushrooms. The mushrooms have big hats, which mean that they sometimes hinder fellow parasol mushrooms’ growth, as one can see on the photos here. These photos are from Vlieland island. So, parasol mushrooms seem to be doing well on all Wadden Sea islands this September.

Still further: lapwings and golden plovers.

There are more Schiermonnikoog bird photos, from when we were almost back at the ship, at this blog post, Golden plovers and shelducks.

The blog post Schiermonnikoog, marine peregrine falcon, Rottum is about what happened after leaving Schiermonnikoog on 29 September.

New fungus discovery in the Netherlands

Translated from the Dutch Mycological Society:

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Recently, in the grassy, calcareous, moist dunes of Voorne an Entoloma fungus, a new species for the Netherlands, has been found. This species has been also found in Jutland (Denmark) and northern Germany in similar grassland areas.

The new species is Entoloma glaucobasis.