Mexico news from mongabay.com

Peruvian smugglers traffic illegal rainforest timber from Brazil to America

2012-01-11T22:57:00Z

An investigation by Brazil's Federal Police has detailed a significant trade of illegally logged rainforest wood by Peruvian nationals making its way from northern Brazil to the U.S. and Mexico, reports O Globo.

Earth systems disruption: Does 2011 indicate the "new normal" of climate chaos and conflict?

2011-12-21T19:02:00Z

The year 2011 has presented the world with a shocking increase in irregular weather and disasters linked to climate change. Just as the 2007 "big melt" of summer arctic sea ice sent scientists and environmentalists scrambling to re-evaluate the severity of climate change, so have recent events forced major revisions and updates in climate science.

Evidence mounts that Maya did themselves in through deforestation

2011-12-08T17:32:00Z

Researchers have garnered further evidence for a smoking gun behind the fall of the great Maya civilization: deforestation. At the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference, climatologist Ben Cook presented recent research showing how the destruction of rainforests by the Mayan ultimately led to declines in precipitation and possibly civilization-rocking droughts. While the idea that the Maya may have committed ecological-suicide through deforestation has been widely discussed, including in Jared Diamond's popular book Collapse, Cook's findings add greater weight to the theory.

Featured video: world's only video of extinct 2-foot-long imperial woodpecker

2011-11-16T19:47:00Z

Newly-discovered video has brought the extinct imperial woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis) back to life—at least for a few seconds.

Animal picture of the day: moth as work of art

2011-08-24T21:48:00Z

This hypnotic moth was photographed on a beach in Cancun.

Photo: six new mini-moths discovered

2011-07-19T15:41:00Z

Researchers have discovered six new species of moth from Central America, according to a new paper in Zoo Keys. The moths belong to the primitive Yponomeutidae family, which are commonly known as ermine moths, since some of the species' markings resemble the coat of the ermine.

Best way to count white-tailed deer populations in tropical forests

2011-06-27T16:49:00Z

Getting accurate estimates on wildlife populations is difficult in any habitat, but especially tricky in tropical forests where even large mammals are capable of melting into the foliage like ghosts. If you've ever spent time in a tropical rainforest, you know you could walk within a couple meters of a jaguar and never even know. Therefore, scientists have to come up with creative ways—from camera traps to pawprints to studying feces—to estimate population size. In the new issues of mongabay.com's open access journal Tropical Conservation Science, researchers look at the most accurate way to count white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in central Mexican forests.

Environment versus economy: local communities find economic benefits from living next to conservation areas

2011-06-12T19:24:00Z

While few would question that conserving a certain percentage of land or water is good for society overall, it has long been believed that protected areas economically impoverish, rather than enrich, communities living adjacent to them. Many communities worldwide have protested against the establishment of conservation areas near them, fearing that less access and increased regulations would imperil their livelihoods. However, a surprising study overturns the common wisdom: showing that, at least in Thailand and Costa Rica, protected areas actually boost local economies and decrease poverty.

Mexican environmental activist shot dead

2011-04-25T16:29:00Z

Javier Torres Cruz, 30, who fought illegal deforestation by drug traffickers in the Mexican state of Guerroro, was murdered a week ago. A member of the local NGO, Environmental Organization of the Coyuca and Petatlán Mountains, Torres Cruz was known as an outspoken activist against illegal logging in the mountainous dry forest region. Logging in the region is primarily linked to fields of poppies for the illegal drug trade.

The hair-snare: non-invasive animal research technique makes good in Mexico

2010-12-19T01:09:00Z

It's not easy or cheap to catch an elusive wild cat, and trapping such an animal can prove harmful to the individual. With such factors in mind, researchers are consistently turning to non-invasive methods of gathering data about species, including collecting feces and the increasingly popular camera trap. But one method rarely gets mentioned: the humble hair-snare. A new study in mongabay.com's open access journal Tropical Conservation Science has demonstrated the success of hair-snare in gathering data about mammals in Mexico, including the first successful hair catch of two rarely seen cat species, the jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) and the margay (Leopardus wiedii).

Can RED Hot California Heat Up A Sedated Cancun?

2010-12-07T13:25:00Z

In his concession speech after the 2010 mid-term elections, President Obama said that prospects for meaningful U.S. climate change legislation are doubtful and will be for years. With the US and the international community unable to take even modest steps to combat global warming, the State of California has stepped up in a big, big way. Despite record unemployment rates, deficits and unemployment, California voters trounced a measure that would have suspended AB 32, California's landmark climate change law. California's AB 32 cap and trade program will soon be the biggest market for compliance emission reductions outside of Europe. In the wreckage of the Copenhagen talks and the new political landscape in America, California is the most dynamic jurisdiction for climate change implementation.

Stymied by lack of global climate deal, states develop own low carbon accord

2010-11-17T06:20:00Z

California and other states launched an international initiative that will work toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning toward a low carbon economy in the absence of a global climate deal.

Flight of the Monarchs Reveals Environmental Connections across a Continent

2010-11-08T17:36:00Z

As autumn settles across North America, one hallmark of the season is the gentle southward flight of the Monarch Butterflies as they migrate towards the forests that shelter their species during the winter months. Unfortunately, as with other forests across the planet, the Monarch's "over- wintering grounds" in Mexico are suffering from increased human pressures. An innovative conservation group called the ECOLIFE Foundation has stepped up to help safeguard the Monarch's winter forests, and in the process discovered that addressing the Monarch's plight came only after uncovering connections that bind us all. The following article is an interview with Bill Toone, the Executive Director of ECOLIFE.

Frogs and friends at risk from booming global wildlife trade

2010-09-08T23:00:00Z

Alejandra Goyenechea, International Counsel at Defenders of Wildlife and Chair of the Species Survival Network's (SSN) Amphibian Working Group, spoke with Laurel Neme on her 'The WildLife' radio show and podcast about the global amphibian trade. In her interview, Alejandra Goyenechea discusses the benefits of frogs and the many threats – such as habitat loss, climate change, pollution, invasive species, disease, and overexploitation – to their survival. Did you know frogs indicate environmental quality, like canaries in a coal mine? Or that many have medicinal properties, like the phantasmal poison dart frog which produces a painkiller 200 times the potency of morphine?

Nation's wealth does not guarantee green practices

2010-08-11T18:24:00Z

Developing countries are not the only ones that could benefit from a little environmental support. Wealthier countries may need to 'know themselves' and address these issues at home too. According to a recent study in the open access journal PLoS ONE, wealth may be the most important factor determining a country’s environmental impact. The team had originally planned to study "country-level environmental performance and human health issues," lead author Corey Bradshaw, Director of Ecological Modeling and professor at the University of Adelaide, told mongabay.com. Once they began looking at the available indexes, however, they saw the need for a purely environmental analysis.

Mexico has big role in the illegal parrot trade

2010-05-30T16:45:00Z

Juan Carlos Cantu, Director of Defenders of Wildlife’s Mexico office, spoke with Laurel Neme on her The WildLife radio show and podcast about the illegal parrot trade in Mexico and how his innovative research into the trade was used by the Mexican Congress to reform that country’s Wildlife Law to ban all trade in parrots. The illegal pet trade is probably the second-biggest threat facing parrots in the wild, with only habitat loss rating higher, and the impact is disturbing. Defenders of Wildlife documented this threat in a 2007 landmark study which found between 65,000 and 78,500 parrots are illegally trapped in the wild in Mexico every year.

Climate change devastating lizards worldwide: 20 percent estimated to face extinction

2010-05-13T17:44:00Z

Lizards have evolved a variety of methods to escape predators: some will drop their tail if caught, many have coloring and patterning that blends in with their environment, a few have the ability to change their colors as their background changes, while a lot of them depend on bursts of speed to skitter away, but how does a lizard escape climate change? According to a new study in Science they don't. The study finds that lizards are suffering local extinctions worldwide due exclusively to warmer temperatures. The researchers conclude that climate change could push 20 percent of the world's lizards to extinction within 70 years.

How an agricultural revolution could save the world's biodiversity, an interview with Ivette Perfecto

2010-05-04T16:02:00Z

Most people who are trying to change the world stick to one area, for example they might either work to preserve biodiversity in rainforests or do social justice with poor farmers. But Dr. Ivette Perfecto was never satisfied with having to choose between helping people or preserving nature. Professor of Ecology and Natural Resources at the University of Michigan and co-author of the recent book Nature’s Matrix: The Link between Agriculture, Conservation and Food Sovereignty, Perfecto has, as she says, "combined her passions" to understand how agriculture can benefit both farmers and biodiversity—if done right.

Diverse habitats needed for survival of small mammals in Mexico

2010-03-29T19:28:00Z

A new study in Tropical Conservation Science shows that small tropical mammals in Mexico—bats and rodents—require a variety of habitats to thrive. Surveying mammal populations in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico, researchers found that sites comprising the greatest habitat diversity carried also the greatest diversity of rodents. In turn bats lived in all variety of habitats and moved easily from one to another.

Expedition to photograph world's rarest cetacean threatened by lack of funding

2010-02-11T21:32:00Z

Little known beyond the waters of the Gulf of California, the world's smallest cetacean (a group including whales, dolphins, and porpoises) is hanging on by a thread. The vaquita—which in Spanish means 'little cow'—has recently gained the dubious distinction of not only being the world's smallest cetacean, but the also the world's rarest. In 2006 it was announced that the Yangtze river dolphin, or baiji, was likely extinct, and conservationists fear the Critically Endangered 'little cow' is next. An expedition for this year is set to identify vaquita individuals, but even this is threatened by lack of funding.

Declaration calls for more wilderness protected areas to combat global warming

2009-11-11T19:44:00Z

Meeting this week in Merida, Mexico, the 9th World Wilderness Congress (WILD9) has released a declaration that calls for increasing wilderness protections in an effort to mitigate climate change. The declaration, which is signed by a number of influential organizations, argues that wilderness areas—both terrestrial and marine—act as carbon sinks, while preserving biodiversity and vital ecosystem services.

New species of ghostshark discovered off California's coast

2009-09-22T20:24:00Z

The discovery of Eastern Pacific black ghostshark Hydrolagus melanophasma is notable for a number of reasons. It is the first new species of cartilaginous fish—i.e fish whose skeletons are made entirely of cartilage, such as sharks, rays, and skate—to be described in California water since 1947. It is also a representative of an ancient and little-known group of fish.

Conservation of Mexico's ungulate species explored

2009-05-25T02:56:00Z

Nearly one third of the New World's 32 species of ungulates are found in Mexico, which serves as an important biological transition zone between temperate North America and tropical Central and South America. While few of these species are at risk of extinction, their ecological and economic importance makes them a significant conservation concern. As such, a special issue of Tropical Conservation Science, mongabay.com's open access journal, takes a closer look at Mexico's ungulates.

Mexican Salamanders Used in Neurology Labs May Go Extinct in Wild

2009-04-21T00:01:00Z

Ambystoma mexicanum, a salamander found only in the fetid canals surrounding Mexico City, faces extinction despite the efforts of researchers. As reported by Robert Koenig in the 5 December issue of Science, ecologists estimate that there are now only 100 of these salamanders per square kilometer in the canals, swamps, and lakes around the city – a rapid drop from their density of 600 per square kilometer in the 1980s. The population has dwindled as the system of waterways has dried up and become more polluted, and the salamander is now designated as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Luis Zambrano of the National Autonomous University of Mexico is studying the axolotl to better understand its ecology, reproduction, and conservation. He’s working to identify the best areas of habitat and establish reserves.

Wild jaguar outfitted with radio-collar in U.S. for first time

2009-02-20T07:02:00Z

The Department of Fish and Game in Arizona captured a jaguar south Of Tucson, Arizona and fitted it with a GPS radio collar. The jaguar, a well-documented male named ‘Macho’, is the first in the US to be fitted with such a collar, providing frequent updates on its movements.

Jaguar photographed for the first time in Central Mexico

2009-02-11T17:31:00Z

As a result of a research effort by the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEM) and the University of Alicante (UA), scientists have for the first time photographed a wild jaguar in central Mexico. The sighting has significant conservation implications, showing that the big cat still occurs in central Mexico despite persecution by hunters, habitat destruction, and depletion of prey.

Salamander populations collapse in Central America

2009-02-09T23:38:00Z

Salamanders in Central America — like frogs, toads, and other amphibians at sites around the world — are rapidly and mysteriously declining, report researchers writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Disturbingly, salamanders are disappearing from protected areas and otherwise pristine habitats.

Chocolate has been a delicacy north of Mexico for a thousand years

2009-02-02T21:58:00Z

Chocolate, produced from cacao beans, has been a part of American culture for a thousand years according to new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Analyzing chemical residue from jars of native peoples in New Mexico, researchers Patricia Crown and Jeffrey Hurst discovered theobromine, a chemical signature of cacao. The jars have been dated from 1000 to 1125 AD, well over three hundred years before Columbus and the earliest recorded discovery of cacao north of Mexico. The cacao jars are from Pueblo Bonito, an archaeological site in Chaco Canyon, which is located in northwestern New Mexico. Chaco Canyon, once home to 2,000-5,000 inhabitants, was composed of a dense group of pueblos, of which Bonito was the largest. Incorporating 800 rooms, Pueblo Bonito was the center of a number of towns and villages in Chaco Canyon.

Shade-grown coffee preserves native tree diversity

2008-12-23T20:24:00Z

A new study finds that shade-grown coffee protects the biodiversity of tree species, as well as those of birds and bats. Published in Current Biology, the study found that native trees in shade-grown coffee plantations aid the overall species’ gene flow and can become a focal point for reforestation.

U.S., Mexico, Canada pledge to save the vaquita from extinction

2008-10-30T14:30:39Z

The United States, Mexico, and Canada will work together to conserve the vaquita, the world's smallest, and most endangered, species of cetacean.

Thousands of endangered sea turtles killed as fishing bycatch in Mexico

2008-10-15T14:30:39Z

Thousands of endangered loggerhead sea turtles are being killed as bycatch in the Mexican fishing industry, reports a new study published in the journal Endangered Species Research.

The extinction of the baiji a 'wake-up call' to conserve vaquita and other cetaceans

2008-08-25T14:30:39Z

In December of 2006 an expedition spent six weeks surveying the Yangtze River in China for one of the world's rarest cetaceans, the baiji. Also known as 'The Goddess of the Yangtze' the shy river-dolphin had roamed the river for millions of years locating fish with echolocation. The survey came back empty-handed without a spotting a single dolphin. Dr. Jay Barlow, a member of the surveying team, described his emotions on the expedition's findings in an interview with Mongabay.com: "I was stunned. I knew the species was in trouble, but I did not think they were already gone. We really had not seen the extinction of a large mammal species in 50 years, so we grew complacent."

14 countries win REDD funding to protect tropical forests

2008-07-24T14:30:39Z

Fourteen countries have been selected by the World Bank to receive funds for conserving their tropical forests under an innovative carbon finance scheme.

Mangroves are key to healthy fisheries, finds study

2008-07-21T14:30:39Z

Mangroves serve as a critical nursery for young marine life and therefore play an important role in the health of fisheries and the economic well-being of fishermen, report researchers writing in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mexican canyon serves as key refuge for endangered spider monkeys

2008-06-09T14:30:39Z

A picturesque canyon in Chiapas, Mexico is serving as an important refuge for the northernmost population of Spider monkeys, reports a study published in the June issue of Tropical conservation Science.

Ocean acidification worse than expected, threatens sea life

2008-05-22T14:30:39Z

Increasing ocean acidification along the continental shelf of North America will likely have negative impacts on marine ecosystems, including the corrosion of calcium carbonate exoskeletons in many organisms, warn researchers writing in the journal Science.

Defaunation, like deforestation, threatens global biodiversity

2008-05-20T14:30:39Z

Loss of wildlife is a subtle but growing threat to tropical forests, says a leading plant ecologist from Stanford University. Speaking in an interview with mongabay.com, Dr. Rodolfo Dirzo says that the disappearance of wildlife due to overexploitation, fragmentation, and habitat degradation is causing ecological changes in some of the world's most biodiverse tropical forests. He ranks defaunation — as he terms the ongoing biological impoverishment of forests — as one of the world's most significant global changes, on par with environmental changes like global warming, deforestation, and shifts in the nitrogen cycle.

Bats protect crops from insects

2008-04-04T14:30:39Z

Bats eat as many insects at night as birds do during the day, according to research published in the journal Science.

Bats eat as many insects as birds

2008-04-03T14:30:39Z

Bats eat as many insects at night as birds do during the day, according to research published in the journal Science.

Monarch butterfly migration threatened by illegal logging in Mexico

2008-04-02T14:30:39Z

Destruction of forests in central Mexico, is putting the Monarch butterfly's annual migration at risk, says a researcher from the University of Kansas.

Fragmentation puts Mexican howlers at risk

2008-03-03T14:30:39Z

Forest fragmentation is putting mantled howler monkeys in southern Mexico at risk, reports a new study, published in the inaugural issue of the open access e-journal Tropical conservation Science.

Rainforest fragmentation affects reptiles and amphibians

2008-02-20T14:30:39Z

Deforestation of tropical ecosystems is one of the major threats to biological diversity. Anthropogenic activities transform tropical environments into semi-natural landscapes generating a great amount of forest edge that limits with pastures and agricultural lands.

Two strange carnivorous dinosaurs discovered in the Sahara

2008-02-12T14:30:39Z

Two previously unknown species of dinosaur discovered in the Sahara were unusual meat-eaters, report scientists from the University of Chicago and the University of Bristol.

New duck-billed dinosaur discovered in Mexico

2008-02-12T14:30:39Z

A previously unknown species of dinosaur has been discovered in Mexico, shadding new light on the history of western North America, report researchers from the Utah Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah.

Photo: Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano erupts

2007-12-03T14:30:39Z

Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano erupted several times on Saturday, December 1, ejecting steam and ash, according to Mexico's National Disaster Prevention Center (CENAPRED).

Photo of the Venomous Gila Monster Getting an X-ray

2007-11-28T14:30:39Z

Dr. Tim Georoff, a veterinarian for the Wildlife conservation Society's Bronx Zoo, handles this venomous lizard with great care as he prepares this female for an radiograph (X-ray).

Only 150 vaquita remain

2007-11-19T14:30:39Z

Only 150 individual vaquita, the world's smallest cetacean, remain, according to a new study published in conservation Biology. The species has been decimated as accidental bycatch in fishing nets in its Gulf of California habitat. Researchers--who say there may be only a two-year window to save the species from extinction--have launched a last-ditch conservation effort.

Mexican fishing villages work to change practices to preserve loggerhead turtles

2007-10-17T14:30:39Z

Industrial fishing operations take plenty of blame for both depleting fish stocks and inadvertently catching innocent bystanders such as dolphins, sharks, seabirds, and sea turtles--a phenomenon known as "bycatch.".

Dean was 3rd most intense Atlantic hurricane at landfall

2007-08-21T14:30:39Z

Hurricane Dean was the third most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall, according to forecasters at the National Hurricane Center who measured the storm's central atmospheric pressure.

Crop domestication originated in compost piles

2007-08-19T14:30:39Z

New research lends support to the theory that backyard gardens and refuse heaps played an important role in early crop domestication.