The Guam Rail (Hypotaenidia owstoni), locally known as ko’ko’, was endemic to Guam and is listed by BirdLife International as Extinct in the Wild on the IUCN Red List. Predation by the brown tree snake (a non-native invasive species introduced by the US military) caused dramatic declines in Guam Rail populations but before they disappeared, 21 birds were clutched from the jaws of extinction and taken to captive breeding facilities.
On Rota (part of the Mariana Islands, to USA, north of Guam), Guam Rails have been steadily introduced since the 1990s, involving as many 100 birds per year. This video, taken in 2017 shows one of these birds in the “wild” on Rota.
Is this Guam bird coming back from extinction in the wild? Here.
Scientists have discovered why brown tree snakes have become one of the most successful invasive species. The research team has been studying why a type of cat-eyed snake has been so effective at devastating native bird populations on the island of Guam: here.
The world is daily and hourly edging closer to the brink of nuclear war, as US President Donald Trump maintains a constant stream of extraordinarily inflammatory and reckless threats against North Korea. Such bellicose language coming from the man in charge of the most powerful military force on the planet is generating increasing shock and fear that war with nuclear weapons could break out at any moment: here.
Washington is preparing for nuclear war in Europe: here.
With Washington refocusing its forces to the Asia-Pacific region, the US Naval Base on the small island of Guam is preparing for the arrival of 5,000 more troops and their dependents.
The goal is to turn Guam, an unincorporated territory of the US in the western Pacific Ocean, into a regional security hub by integrating the US air force and navy.
The move is seen as a bid to counter what are perceived by the US and its allies as challenges to the freedom and security of the region.
“We’ll be blown to smithereens!” wrote former teacher Eileen Benavente-Blas on a community Facebook page. “Trump hasn’t a clue where Guam is as he tweets our island into the nuclear hands of N. Korea.”
In response to a query from news.com.au, Guamanian Milan Salas added: “Tell the world Guam (we) are a pawn of war. Collateral damage and victims every day from two spoiled rotten man child leaders Trump and Kim … Kim Jung [sic] wants to kill us with his ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missiles] because of our ties as a territory to the USA … USA wants to drown our livelihood with despair from over-militarisation that will hurt our ecosystem … we are a cheese bait for NK.
“The Chamorro [indigenous] people have no true voice from everyday tyrants. Is there really true freedom, that I cannot vote for the POTUS who imposes his constitutional rights on me and strategically uses my home for military purposes as a target for the Asia-Pacific region?
“Where is our voice in all this?”
International experts have joined in the criticism of the President’s “unhinged” verbal assault, which goes well beyond repeated warnings from the US military this year that action against North Korea is an option.
“Trying to out-threaten North Korea is like trying to out-pray the Pope,” tweeted John Delury from Seoul’s Yonsei University.
Security commentator Ankit Panda called Mr Trump’s comments “dangerous and unusual”, while Congressman Eliot Engel, Democratic senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, chastised the President for drawing an “absurd” red line that Kim would inevitably cross.
“North Korea is a real threat, but the President’s unhinged reaction suggests he might consider using American nuclear weapons in response to a nasty comment from a North Korean despot,” Mr Engel said in a statement.
“North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” said the President, speaking from his golf club in New Jersey. “They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
With a population of 160,000 people, Guam is home to 6000 US troops at the Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base. Its tropical climate has also made it popular with tourists, although a direct twice-weekly flight from Cairns that carried mainly tourists was discontinued in 2015.
The Micronesian island, situated less than 3000km north of Australia and around 3400km southeast of Pyongyang, is the westernmost US territory, captured from Spain in 1898 during the Spanish-American War.
Allegations that the island’s archbishop molested altar boys decades ago have divided churchgoers in Guam, and put the governor in a difficult spot. Catholicism is sewn deeply into the Spanish-influenced culture of this small island, where families consider close relationships with priests a blessing.
Governor Eddie Calvo signed a bill into law last month, eliminating the two-year statute of limitations for suing over sexual abuse on the island. The signing of the bill opened the church up to millions in liability on the island. Archbishop Anthony Apuron has vigorously denied allegations saying he molested at least five altar boys in the 1960s and 70s. Churchgoers are torn between supporting the church, with some like Andrew Camacho, who is vice president of Concerned Catholics of Guam, saying the church needs to take responsibility, even if it means financial ruin.
REPORT UNCOVERS NEARLY 100 SEX ABUSE LAWSUITS AGAINST THE CATHOLIC LEADERSHIP IN GUAM Two archbishops of Agana, as well as multiple priests, bishops, teachers and even Boy Scouts leaders on the Western Pacific island are allegedly implicated in the scandal. [HuffPost]
This video says about itself:
Concerned Catholics of Guam challenging payments to accused priest
4 August 2016
The Concerned Catholics of Guam group is questioning why a priest accused of child sex abuse is still getting paid by the Archdiocese of Agana. As a matter of fact, the CCOG has been questioning the alleged actions of this priest since January 2015.
16 years after its discovery, the crustacean is labeled a new species
By Helen Thompson
7:00am, February 13, 2017
Deep beneath coral rubble in reefs off the coast of Guam, there lives a pale, black-eyed crab whose true taxonomic character has long been unknown.
In 2001, amateur researcher Harry Conley discovered the translucent crab burrowing among reef rocks. Eventually, two specimens — each several millimeters long — came to the lab of biologist Peter Ng at the National University of Singapore. Now, Ng and colleague Jose Mendoza have identified the quirky crustacean as a new species and bestowed on it the moniker Harryplax severus, the researchers report January 23 in ZooKeys.
The genus name honors two Harrys: Conley, who died in 2002 and had a reputation for finding otherworldly ocean critters, and Harry Potter, the titular character in J.K. Rowling’s popular books. Mendoza, a Potter fan, suggested the species designation severus — a reference to the books’ notoriously uptight and misjudged Severus Snape, whose true nature remains elusive until the series’ end.
H. severus belongs to a group of crabs first found in shadowy caves on Christmas Island. With small beady eyes, well-developed antennae, washed-out coloration and long legs, the crabs are suited to the dimly lit nooks and crannies of Guam’s rubble beds — a place where Snape, a prickly potions master who worked in a dungeon, might feel right at home.
A new species of mangrove-climbing micro-crab from Hong Kong, Haberma tingkok, has recently been discovered, described and named: here.
Scientists who have just returned from an expedition to an erupting undersea volcano near the Island of Guam report that the volcano seems to be continuously active, has grown considerably in the past three years, and its activity supports a unique biological community thriving despite the eruptions.
An international science team on the expedition, funded by the National Science Foundation, captured dramatic new information about the eruptive activity of NW Rota-1.
This video is called Submarine Ring of Fire 2006: NW Rota1 Brimstone Pit Erupting.
“This research allows us, for the first time, to study undersea volcanoes in detail and close up,” said Barbara Ransom, program director in the National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the research. “NW Rota-1 remains the only place on Earth where a deep submarine volcano has ever been directly observed while erupting.” …
Animals in this unusual ecosystem include shrimp, crab, limpets and barnacles, some of which are new species. “They’re specially adapted to their environment,” said Chadwick, “and are thriving in harsh chemical conditions that would be toxic to normal marine life. Life here is actually nourished by the erupting volcano.”
Verena Tunnicliffe, a biologist from the University of Victoria, Canada, said that most of the animals are dependent on diffuse hot-water venting that provides basic food in the form of bacterial filaments coating the rocks. “It appears that since 2006 the diffuse venting has spread and, with it, the vent animals,” Tunnicliffe said. There are profuse populations of shrimp on the volcano, with two species able to cope with the volcanic conditions, she added.
“The ‘Loihi’ shrimp has adapted to grazing the bacterial filaments with tiny claws like garden shears,” said Tunnicliffe. “The second shrimp is a new species—they also graze as juveniles, but as they grow to adult stage, their front claws enlarge and they become predators.” The Loihi shrimp was previously known only from a small active volcano near Hawaii, far away. It survives on the fast-growing bacteria and tries to avoid the hazards of the volcanic eruptions. Clouds of these shrimp were seen fleeing volcanic bursts, researchers said.
The other species attacks the Loihi shrimp and preys on marine life that wanders too close to the volcanic plumes and dies. “We saw dying fish, squid, etc., raining down onto the seamount, where they were jumped on by the volcano shrimp,” Tunnicliffe said.
NW Rota-1 provides a one-of-a-kind natural laboratory for the investigation of undersea volcanic activity and its relation to chemical-based ecosystems at underwater vents, where some biologists think life on Earth originated.
“It is unusual for a volcano to be continuously active, even on land,” Chadwick pointed out.
“This presents us with a fantastic opportunity to learn about processes we’ve never been able to directly observe before,” he said. “When volcanoes erupt in shallow water they can be extremely hazardous, creating huge explosions and even tsunamis. But here, we can safely observe an eruption in the deep ocean and learn valuable lessons about how lot lava and seawater interact.” …
Ocean acidification is a serious concern because of human-induced carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere. “Submarine volcanoes are places where we can study how animals have adapted to very acidic conditions,” Chadwick said.
Unique and new species thriving around erupting undersea volcano: here.
An observation ward for the long-term observation of a mud volcano in the Norwegian deep sea has been set up by, among others, three research institutes from the German federal state Bremen: here.
Guam: The invisible colony’s struggle for survival
14 June 2008
Two representatives of Guam’s Chamoru people are visiting Australia. Lisa Natividad and Julian Aguon are fighting against the militarisation of their land by the US.
Guam has been a US territory since 1898, and, noted a November 5 Newsweek article, it “is fast becoming the linchpin of Washington’s new Asia strategy”.
“Guam is an ideal lily pad” for the Pentagon, the magazine reported, “since the United States can act there without seeking permission from allies … Declares Carl Peterson of the Guam Chamber of Commerce: ‘This is the US in Asia. This is the tip of the spear.’”
Brigadier General Douglas Owens, the commanding officer of Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base, describes the island as “an unsinkable aircraft carrier”.
Just north of the Equator below Japan, Guam was populated 4000 years ago by a matrilineal people, the Chamoru. In the 1500s it was colonised by Spain. After Spain’s defeat in the 1898 Spanish-American war, it was claimed by the US. It became important as a military base after World War II.
Guam is only about 50 kilometres long, and US bases occupy about a third of its length. The Australian reported on June 14 that “By 2014 Guam will receive about 8000 US marines who will transfer from their present base in Okinawa, the Japanese Government helping pay the $10 billion-plus relocation costs. With a population of about 170,000, Guam is already home to 12,000 US military personnel and the heavy build-up promises to put further strain on local communities.”
There are only some 65,000 Chamoru on Guam, according to the CIA World Fact Book. They are not only outnumbered, they are dying from illness due to US military activity. Many of the people exposed to radioactive dust during atomic tests nearby died prematurely.
In addition, US forces are polluting Guam with deadly chemicals including dioxins and PCBs. People who have lived there for over 4000 years can no longer eat the fish in their harbours and lagoons.
In April, Aguon addressed the UN about the situation facing Guam. His speech can be viewed here on this video
Natividad and Aguon will speak in Newcastle at 7pm on Monday, June 23, at a public meeting convened by the Hunter Valley Quakers and Newcastle NoWar collective. Admission is free, and supper will be provided. It is being held at the Quaker Meeting Place, Bryant Street, Tighes Hill (in the former Uniting Church next to Lifeline). For more information phone Bob on (02) 4921 5190 or Niko on 0406 296 141.
Guam Rail, Extinct In The Wild For 22 Years, To Be Reintroduced To Guam
A draft Safe Harbour Agreement that proposes to establish a breeding population of the endangered ko’ko’ or Guam rail on Cocos has been published.
Cocos Island Resort and the Guam Department of Agriculture have applied a permit to re-introduce the bird, which is extinct in the wild, to 83.1 acres of Cocos Island partly owned by Cocos Island Resort, and the Guam Department of Parks and Recreation.
Actions required to ensure the Guam rail reintroduction is a success.
* Eradicating rats and mice and control of the monitor lizard population prior to release of Guam rail;
* Reducing the likelihood of reintroduction of rats, mice, and the introduction of the brown treesnake;
* Developing and implementing a forest enhancement plan to reduce invasive plant species and increase native plant species;
* Releasing Guam rails and monitoring survivorship, breeding behaviour, habitat preference, and nesting success; and
* Creating educational materials to promote the understanding and appreciation of wildlife recovery and invasive species issues for Cocos Island staff and visitors.
‘Thanks to the Cocos Island Resort and its cooperators in local and federal governments, wild ko’ko’ may once again be seen on Guam,’ said Patrick Leonard, field supervisor, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office. ‘Voluntary cooperative conservation efforts with the private sector strengthen the efforts of government agencies and help ensure protection of valuable habitat and the recovery of endangered species.’
The ko’ko’ was last observed in the wild on Northern Guam in the mid-1980s.
Descriptiom of the Ko’ko’
The ko’ko’ is a flightless, medium-sized rail, endemic to the island of Guam and is considered one of the most critically endangered rails in the world. The head and back are brown with a grey eye stripe and throat. The breast is dark black with white barring, and the legs and beak are dark brown. Males are significantly larger than females. It is an omnivorous feeder but appears to prefer animal over vegetable food. It is known to eat gastropods, skinks, geckos, insects, and carrion as well as seeds and palm leaves.
Last wild birds taken into captivity in 1985
The last remaining wild ko’ko’ were collected from the forest on Andersen Air Force Base in 1985. One captive population is located in Mangilao, Guam, and others are spread throughout 17 participating zoos on the mainland U.S. The ko’ko was federally listed as endangered in 1984.
Previous efforts to establish ko’ko’ in snake-reduced areas on Guam have been thwarted by feral cat predation and feral ungulates. Cocos Island provides a cat and ungulate-free environment where brown treesnake control can be facilitated through rodent eradication and the implementation of biosecurity and response protocols.
The USDA and the EPA are in cahoots, scheming against Guam’s invasive brown tree snakes, or are they throwing a party? Here.
September 2012. A new study on the island of Guam reveals that the near-total loss of native birds caused by the invasive brown tree snake has led to a huge increase in the number of spiders. During certain times of the year, arachnids on Guam occur at 40 times the rate of nearby islands where the snake is absent and birds persist. The team counted spider webs along transect lines as a measure of prey abundance. Since there were no studies on the incidence of spiders on Guam prior to the eradication of native birds, the scientists compared the abundance of spider webs in forests on Guam to that on nearby Rota, Tinian, and Saipan that have no well-established snake populations and similar bird communities to Guam before the snake invasion there: here.
From Wildlife Extra: