(Press-News.org) Recent work by Dr. David Lohman, assistant professor of biology at The City College of New York, suggests the Philippines, considered by biologists to be a "biodiversity hotspot," could have more unique species of birds than previously thought. If that proves to be the case, it could have important ramifications for conservation practices there.
Many of the animal species found in the Philippines are endemic to this nation, which is made up of more than 7,100 islands. For example, 64 percent of its land mammal species and 77 percent of its amphibians are not found anywhere else. However, only 31 percent of its bird species are considered Philippines-only.
To test whether the Philippines' bird fauna might include unrecognized distinct species, Professor Lohman studied seven species of small, perching birds that are found in that country and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Through a series of genetics tests to reconstruct evolutionary histories and identify genetic differences, he found that samples from Philippines populations of the species were always distinct from samples from other parts of Southeast Asia.
"These unique genetic lineages were unknown before, however, our research hasn't gone far enough to say these are new species," Professor Lohman said. "More rigorous analysis of the morphology may be needed to make that determination."
Traditionally, taxonomists have used plumage color and markings to identify species of birds, he noted. "Those features are not ideal, since closely related but distinct species can look similar." As an island-bound nation several hundred miles from Asia's mainland, the Philippines' passerine populations are not likely to have much contact with those of other landmasses.
"While there are differences of opinion over whether these birds constitute new species, there are unique genetic lineages that were unknown before," he added.
Nevertheless, he maintains the findings highlight the need to conserve habitats for these and other species in a nation that has lost 75 percent of its forests. "In no other place on this planet is conservation more crucial than in the Philippines. While the species we studied are not in danger of extinction, other undiscovered species might be."
Professor Lohman's findings were published in the journal "Biological Conservation."
Recent work by Dr. David Lohman, assistant professor of biology at The City College of New York, suggests the Philippines, considered by biologists to be a "biodiversity hotspot," could have more unique species of birds than previously thought. If that proves to be the case, it could have important ramifications for conservation practices there.
Many of the animal species found in the Philippines are endemic to this nation, which is made up of more than 7,100 islands. For example, 64 percent of its land mammal species and 77 percent of its amphibians are not found anywhere else. However, only 31 percent of its bird species are considered Philippines-only.
To test whether the Philippines' bird fauna might include unrecognized distinct species, Professor Lohman studied seven species of small, perching birds that are found in that country and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Through a series of genetics tests to reconstruct evolutionary histories and identify genetic differences, he found that samples from Philippines populations of the species were always distinct from samples from other parts of Southeast Asia.
"These unique genetic lineages were unknown before, however, our research hasn't gone far enough to say these are new species," Professor Lohman said. "More rigorous analysis of the morphology may be needed to make that determination."
Traditionally, taxonomists have used plumage color and markings to identify species of birds, he noted. "Those features are not ideal, since closely related but distinct species can look similar." As an island-bound nation several hundred miles from Asia's mainland, the Philippines' passerine populations are not likely to have much contact with those of other landmasses.
"While there are differences of opinion over whether these birds constitute new species, there are unique genetic lineages that were unknown before," he added.
Nevertheless, he maintains the findings highlight the need to conserve habitats for these and other species in a nation that has lost 75 percent of its forests. "In no other place on this planet is conservation more crucial than in the Philippines. While the species we studied are not in danger of extinction, other undiscovered species might be."
Professor Lohman's findings were published in the journal "Biological Conservation."
INFORMATION:
END
In the brain, dopamine is involved in a number of processes that control the way we behave. If an action results in the substance being released, we are more likely to repeat the action. This applies to actions such as eating, sexual intercourse or winning a competition. However, the same also holds true when individuals take harmful narcotics. Scientists believe that mental illnesses such as schizophrenia can be linked to dopamine imbalances.
Learning signal
If an action leads to a better response than expected, the brain will temporarily release more dopamine. If ...
Over the last few decades, the dramatic rise in pediatric obesity rates has emerged as a public health threat requiring urgent attention. The responsibility of identifying and treating eating and weight-related problems early in children and adolescents falls to health care providers and other professionals who work with the child, according to Professor Denise Wilfley and colleagues from the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in the US. Furthermore, the key to successful treatment is a team effort involving providers and parents.
Wilfley's ...
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Results of a new Women's Health Initiative (WHI) report show that hormone therapy is associated with an increased the risk of death from breast cancer, as well as an increased risk of developing invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD, professor of social and preventive medicine at the University at Buffalo and one of the primary authors on the paper, published today in JAMA, says the breast cancers found in these women also tended to have more lymph node involvement, indicating a poorer prognosis.
"This report, which ...
WASHINGTON — Motherhood may actually cause the brain to grow, not turn it into mush, as some have claimed. Exploratory research published by the American Psychological Association found that the brains of new mothers bulked up in areas linked to motivation and behavior, and that mothers who gushed the most about their babies showed the greatest growth in key parts of the mid-brain.
Led by neuroscientist Pilyoung Kim, PhD, now with the National Institute of Mental Health, the authors speculated that hormonal changes right after birth, including increases in estrogen, ...
Montreal, October 20, 2010 – Daily sleeping and eating patterns are critical to human well-being and health. Now, a new study from Concordia University has demonstrated how the brain chemical dopamine regulates these cycles by altering the activity of the "clock-protein" PER2. Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, these findings may have implications for individuals with Parkinson's Disease with disrupted 24-hour rhythms of activity and sleep.
"PER2 is a protein well-known for its role in the regulation of daily or circadian rhythms, this is why it is referred to ...
The UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is working to provide more reliable measurement of the electrical properties of materials used in nanotechnology – which could lead to much more accurate devices in the future.
Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) won the Nobel Prize in 1986. It uses a nano-sized probe to feel the surface of a material – akin to a finger reading Braille on an extremely small scale. The technique can also measure the electrical properties of materials used in nanotechnology – and "feel" how the materials react when electricity is passed through it. ...
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 20, 2010 -- Microbes living at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico may consume far more of the gaseous waste from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill than previously thought, according to research carried out within 100 miles of the spill site.
A paper on that research, conducted before the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded six months ago today, will appear in a forthcoming issue of the journal Deep-Sea Research II. It describes the anaerobic oxidation of methane, a key component of the Gulf oil spill, by microbes living in seafloor brine pools.
"Because ...
CHAMPAIGN, lll. — After the campus shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and Northern Illinois University in 2008, hundreds of affected students turned to social media websites to share their grief and search for solace. A new study of these students found that their online activities neither helped nor harmed their long-term psychological health.
The study, which appears in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, gives a first-of-its-kind portrait of student reactions to shootings on their campuses. It also documents the (online and off-line) activities they engaged ...
For the first time, researchers have discovered a disease mechanism that links hereditary amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to the more common "sporadic" form of ALS -- and points to a possible therapeutic target.
The findings are reported online in advance of publication in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
ALS is an adult-onset disease that causes progressive degeneration of motor neurons and death within three to five years of diagnosis.
Scott Brady, professor and head of anatomy and cell biology at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, studies ...
BOSTON––Raising the survival rate of children with sarcoma in low-income countries will require steps to diagnose the disease sooner, train cancer pathologists, expand radiation therapy services, create multi-specialty teams to review each case, and other actions, according to an international study led by Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center researchers. The findings will be presented at the 42nd Congress of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) in Boston on Friday, Oct. 22.
The study explored why, despite advances in the treatment of pediatric ...
