300 hundred new colouful coral species discovered off Australia, new iguana species found in Fiji

An exciting discovery of 100s of new species near a reef off Australia delights and humbles the soul. Here is a story about this fascinating, enthralling underwater ecosphere, plus a report about a new igunana species found in Fiji:


Hundreds of new ocean species discovered near Australia

Research project studying marine life on reef off Australian coast


by Moira Welsh

Toronto Star Environment Reporter

A Canadian scientist leading a research expedition that studies marine life on Australia's Great Barrier Reef says hundreds of new species have been documented there – including 300 colourful soft corals and a parasite that eats the tongues of fish.

Researchers are analyzing and naming the marine life as part of an ongoing inventory of fragile reef ecosystems that will give scientists a baseline from which to judge whether species are thriving or dying from the impact of pollution and climate change, said Julian Caley, a University of Guelph alumnus.

"We went to places where people have been going for a long time ... so they were all very accessible places. And despite that, under our noses, we were picking up hundreds of new species," Caley said in a telephone interview from Australia.

"The important message is that there is an awful lot of stuff out there that we really don't know about."

Researchers left behind artificial homes – like underwater dollhouses – which they expect will become new residences for reef species. They plan to collect them over the next three years for future studies. The same structures will be placed in waters near Brazil, Hawaii and Pacific islands such as those of American Samoa.

Full Toronto Star article on new species discovered on Australia's reef



New species of iguana found in Fiji Islands

A team of Australian and US scientists have found a new species of iguana living in Fiji.

The newly discovered lizard is bright green with white bands, grows up to 90cm long and is thought to be highly endangered.

Associate Professor Scott Keogh from the Australian National University's School of Botany and Zoology said the iguana was the third species of the creatures known to inhabit Fiji.

Keogh said the origin of the Fiji iguanas, which have lived in the Fiji islands for millions of years, had long puzzled scientists.

He said they probably floated across the Pacific Ocean from the Americas 8,000 kilometres away, where all other iguana species live.

Full story on Iguana Discovery in Fiji Islands


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Ike approaching Gulf Coast; links to Galveston Traffic cameras, Houston live webcams

Hurricane Ike slams into Texas on Saturday, September 13, 2008




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German researchers find 99% of dead bees contaminated with clothianidin,; Govt bans 8 neonicotinoids

Germany Bans Eight Pesticides from Neonicotinoid family, linked to Colony Collapse Disorder in Beehives

(NaturalNews) The German government has provisionally banned a family of pesticides conclusively linked to the massive dieoff of honeybees in a southern state.

"It's a real bee emergency," said Manfred Hederer, president of the German Professional Beekeepers' Association, referring to the collapse of bee populations in the state of Baden-Württemberg. "Fifty to 60 percent of the bees have died on average and some beekeepers have lost all their hives."

Government researchers tested the bodies of dead bees, and found that 99 percent had been contaminated with the pesticide clothianidin, made by Bayer. The pesticide had been applied to the seeds of oilseed rape in the nearby Rhine River Valley.

Bayer blamed the dieoff on the improper application of the pesticide, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified as "highly toxic" to honeybees. Normally, seeds to be sprayed with clothianidin and similar pesticides are treated with a kind of glue so that the toxin sticks. In this case, Bayer said, the glue was not applied, allowing the poison to get into the air.

Clothianidin is a pesticide in the neonicotinoid family. This class of chemicals is applied to seeds and then spreads into all the tissues of the plant. Based on nicotine, the neonicotinoids are toxic to the nervous systems of any insect that comes into contact with them.

"We have been pointing out the risks of neonicotinoids for almost 10 years now," said
Philipp Mimkes of the Coalition Against Bayer Dangers. "This [incident] proves without a doubt that the chemicals can come into contact with bees and kill them. These pesticides shouldn't be on the market."

The German government, apparently in agreement, withdrew the licenses for eight neonicotinoid pesticides, including Bayer's best-selling insecticide, imidacloprid. If manufacturers submit evidence that the chemicals are safe for bees, however, the government may reinstate the licenses.





Full Text of NaturalNews.com story on Germany banning clothianidin

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Clothianidin, Imidacloprid, neonicotinoids kill insects AND bees

Evidence from France, Germany, supports USA attempts to research link to colony collapse disorder in beehives

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Gustav spares New Orleans, washes out Republicans

Hurricane Gustav left New Orleans with only minimal damage, including minor flooding in the Ninth Ward.









The following article is from NOLA.com:


Storm surge tests Industrial Canal floodwalls
by The Times-Picayune
Monday September 01, 2008, 5:37 PM
Although New Orleans escaped serious damage from Hurricane Gustav on Monday morning, winds of the Category 2 storm pushed a 12-foot storm surge into the Industrial Canal, sending waves sloshing over the western wall and triggering minor flooding in the Upper 9th Ward.

Gustav's landing point was 72 miles away near Cocodrie, a low-lying fishing community in Cajun country. Cocodrie is about 20 miles from Port Fourchon, a vital hub in the energy industry where huge amounts of oil and gas are sent inward via pipelines to refineries. There had been fears of extensive damage.

Although Gustav went ashore as a Category 2 hurricane, it weakened to a Category 1 storm by early afternoon.

By mid morning, water was splashing for several hundred yards over the western side of the Industrial Canal's floodwall near North Claiborne Avenue, said Jerry Sneed, New Orleans' director of homeland security and emergency preparedness.

The incident doesn't pose a major threat, Army Corps of Engineers officials said. Water levels had dropped 2 to 3 feet by mid afternoon near the Claiborne Avenue bridge, New Orleans police reported.

But after lower water levels were reported, other witnesses said waves continued to spill over the west floodwall at Florida Avenue, closer to the lake and near the junction with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

There was no apparent problem with the wall on the canal's eastern side. It was built stronger and 2 feet higher than the wall on the west side after Hurricane Katrina.

The walls are considered an integral part of the plan to protect the area from flooding caused by a "100 year" hurricane storm surge, a term meaning that the storm has a 1-in-100 chance of occurring in any year.

An emergency response plan is ready should part of the wall fail, Corps of Engineers officials said.

The Corps has available on short notice six barges filled with rock and several hundred filled sandbags, each of them the size of a car. The sandbags would be dropped by large helicopters. But weather conditions would have to be good enough to allow the helicopters to fly, officials said.

"If something cracked, you would try to patch it. If something big happened, like the breach at 17th (Street Canal during Katrina), Black Hawks would fling the sandbags," said Capt. Jason Royston of the Corps' emergency operations center. "We have contingency plans in place, but the plan used depends on the assessment."

On Monday, the spillage was landing on cement pads, which reduce its impact at the base of the wall.

"We're confident in the stability of that wall," which was fortified after Hurricane Katrina, said Karen Durham-Aguilera, director of Task Force Hope for the Corps.

Although water was splashing over the wall, "it is not a breach," she said.

Federal officials said the high-water threat along canal walls would not have been as great, except for an obstruction caused by a lowered railroad bridge over the canal.

Chris Bonura, spokesman for the Port of New Orleans, said the L&N Railroad bridge, also called the Almonaster railroad bridge, was lowered because it cannot withstand hurricane force winds. The controls for the bridge were underwater on Monday morning.

There were no signs of seepage on the eastern side of the canal near the Danziger Bridge.

Nevertheless, Col. David Gooch of the Louisiana National Guard said the guard would evacuate anyone who feared the wall will give way.

"Obviously, there's an interest in getting people out of there as soon as possible,'' he said, adding that people who want out of the area can flag down Guardsmen in the trucks.

Corps officials are posted in bunkers and pump stations near the Industrial Canal and will continue to assess the health of the floodwall, Durham-Aguilera said.

Staff writers Frank Donze, Sheila Grissett, Laura Maggi and Gordon Russell contributed to this story.





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