Source:
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/facts-about-the-great-barrier-reef

Facts about the Great Barrier Reef

As the largest living structure on the planet, the Great Barrier Reef is incredibly rich and diverse.

Stretching 2300 kilometres, this natural icon is so large it can even be seen from outer space.

While it’s known mostly for its large maze of colourful reefs, its intricate architecture also provides a home for a huge number of plants and animals.

Some of these, such as turtles and crocodiles, have been around since prehistoric times and have changed little over the millennia.

The breathtaking array of marine creatures includes 600 types of soft and hard corals, more than 100 species of jellyfish, 3000 varieties of molluscs, 500 species of worms, 1625 types of fish, 133 varieties of sharks and rays, and more than 30 species of whales and dolphins.

The Great Barrier Reef is also unique as it extends over 14 degrees of latitude, from shallow estuarine areas to deep oceanic waters.

Within this vast expanse are a unique range of ecological communities, habitats and species – all of which make the Reef one of the most complex natural ecosystems in the world.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park:

•covers 344,400 km2 in area
•includes the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem
•includes some 3000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 300 coral cays and about 150 inshore mangrove islands
•extends south from the northern tip of Queensland in north-eastern Australia to just north of Bundaberg
•is between 60 and 250 kilometres in width
•has an average depth of 35 metres in its inshore waters, while on outer reefs, continental slopes extend down to depths of more than 2000 metres
•was created in 1975 through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act
•extends into the airspace above and into the earth beneath the seabed.
While coral reefs initially made the Great Barrier Reef famous, they only comprise about seven per cent of the Marine Park and the World Heritage Area.

The rest of the Marine Park is an extraordinary variety of marine habitats, ranging from shallow inshore areas – such as seagrass, mangroves, sand, algal and sponge gardens, and inter-reefal communities – to deep oceanic areas more than 250km offshore.

Rather than having one level of protection throughout the Marine Park, the area is instead divided into different zones. Each zone has different rules outlining permitted activities and those that are prohibited.

Just how big is the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park?

Covering 344,400km2 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is:

•bigger than Victoria and Tasmania combined
•bigger than the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Holland combined
•roughly the same area as Japan, Germany, Malaysia or Italy
•approximately half the size of Texas
•slightly smaller than the entire Baltic Sea.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park stretches approximately 2300 km along the coast of Queensland in north-eastern Australia – this is about the same length as the west coast of the USA from Vancouver to the Mexican border.

The Belize Reef off the Caribbean coast of Belize is the second longest barrier reef in the world at 290 km, while Ningaloo Reef off the West Australian coast is 280 km long

http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/facts-about-the-great-barrier-reef

The Great Barrier Reef is AT RISK from rapid industrialization

"The Australian Government is allowing tens of millions of tonnes of seabed to be dredged in World Heritage waters, to make way for 4 mega ports, serviced by up to 7,000 industrial ships crossing the Reef every year".

Learn more and take action here:

http://fightforthereef.org.au/?gclid=CPPhscXqt8YCFVc7gQodfaoH0g

Watch the Reef Now Here !!

We all know how beautiful marine life can be; corals lush with purple, fish splashed with orange as bright as fire and blue as deep as a sapphire. The ocean is full of life that is guaranteed to tickle anyone's visual senses. Now researchers have found that marine esthetics doesn't end with what we can see; there is much, much more than meets the eye. They have discovered more than 180 species which will astound you with their previously unknown beauty. The beauty of biofluorescence.

You may have heard of bioluminescence before, but biofluorescence is different. Bioluminescence involves a reaction whereby chemical energy is converted into light energy, which produces and emits light. Biofluorescence, however, involves no such reactions. Instead, a high energy wavelength of light, such as blue light, is absorbed. Upon absorption, it loses some of its energy and is then emitted at a different, lower wavelength, such as green. And this is happening in a remarkable number of species, ranging from seahorses to sharks; take a look in the publication for some amazing snaps.

In order for the scientists to visualize and record these neon secrets, they used a blue light that recreates the almost monochromatic light that the animals live in in the ocean. This is because with depth, the red, green, orange and yellow components of sunlight are removed, leaving only blue light. Then, in order to see the light that is being reflected from these animals, they used different color filters on the camera lens. Check out what they found in this amazing video:

Southeast Florida’s reefs support a rich and diverse assemblage of stony corals, octocorals, macroalgae, sponges, and fishes. They span from the northern border of Biscayne National Park in Miami-Dade County to the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County. The Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) coordinates research and monitoring, develops management strategies, and promotes partnerships to protect the coral reefs, hardbottom communities, and associated reef resources of southeast Florida.
Through its role in supporting Florida's membership on the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, and the U.S. All Islands Committee, the CRCP leads the implementation of the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative and contributes to the National Action Plan to conserve coral reefs. The CRCP is also charged with coordinating response to vessel groundings and anchor damage incidents in southeast Florida, and developing strategies to prevent coral reef injuries.

Why are living corals valuable?
Coral reefs are valuable natural resources. They protect our coasts by reducing wave energy from storms and hurricanes. They serve as a source of food and shelter and provide critical habitat for numerous species, including commercially important fisheries. Many medicines as well as other health and beauty products are derived from marine plants, algae and animals found on coral reefs.

Coral reefs are a marvelous resource for recreation, education, scientific research, and public inspiration. Millions of tourists and local residents enjoy scuba diving, snorkeling, and fishing on Florida's coral reefs. These activities provide a tremendous source of income for Florida and its coastal communities. It is estimated that natural reefs in Martin, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties generate $3.4 billion in sales and income and support 36,000 jobs in the region each year (Johns, Milon & Sayers, 2004; Johns, Leeworthy, Bell & Bonn, 2001).

Johns, G. M., Leeworthy, V. R., Bell, F.W. & Bonn, M. A. (2001) Socioeconomic Study of Reefs in Southeast Florida. Final Report. Hazen and Sawyer Environmental Engineers & Scientists

Johns, G. M., Milon, J. W. & Sayers D. (2004) Socioeconomic Study of Reefs in Martin County, FL. Final Report. Hazen and Sawyer Environmental Engineers & Scientists

Tigers at an exotic cat refuge in Texas have been stricken with canine distemper virus (CDV), a contagious and often deadly disease for which there is no cure in felines. This infection has been attacking all large cats all over the world from puma in the western USA to the bengal tigers in Russia.

In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Education Center in Wylie, Texas, has reported a number of their big cats dying from CDV and more than a dozen big cats at the refuge have contracted it.

Reports of tigers and lions contracting CDV have been trickling in for a number of years. It has been know for at least 30 years that CDV can affect big cats. About 1,000 lions were killed by CDV in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park in 1994, the AP reported.
A recent study of Amur (also known as Siberian) tigers suggested that at least one percent of the Amur population has been killed by the virus since 2009.
Tigers and lions infected with CDV appear sluggish and disoriented. CDV targets the respiratory and digestive systems of animals, but the deadliest aspect of the disease targets the central nervous system -- causing the animals to be come disoriented and to not exhibit fear in situations where they normally would. One online video shows an infected tiger wandering openly along a crowded road in Russia.

In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Education Center reports that felines in the Panthera genus, which includes lions, tigers, jaguars and leopards, can become infected by CDV, but other big cats such as cheetahs, bobcats, lynx and servals cannot. The virus can be contracted by ferrets, racoons and, of course, dogs as well.
"We believe that wild raccoons brought the virus onto our property. Animal control has been trapping and testing many raccoons in North Texas, and the majority of them are testing positive for CDV," the refuge wrote on its website. "We are near a lake, and our property is heavily treed, so we do have a large number of raccoons in the immediate area."
A disease called feline distemper virus also exists and there is a vaccination for it, which the big cat refuge says it administers to its felines. But there is no approved vaccine for canine distemper in big cats, the refuge stated.
"They cannot receive the dog version of the vaccine, as it is a live virus vaccine and has been known to cause extremely serious problems in big cats. We have administered the ferret version of the vaccine, which isn't thought to cause serious problems, but it also isn't known whether or not it actually provides them any protection. 24 of our cats received this vaccine, including the 4 that we lost," the refuge wrote online.
The outbreak at the big cat refuge is being studied by scientists at Tufts University and Boston University, the AP reported.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls

Iguazu Falls are located where the Iguazu River tumbles over the edge of the Paraná Plateau, 23 kilometres (14 mi) upriver from the Iguazu's confluence with the Paraná River.[1] Numerous islands along the 2.7-kilometre-long (1.7 mi) edge divide the falls into many separate waterfalls and cataracts, varying between 60 to 82 metres (197 to 269 ft) high. The number of these smaller waterfalls fluctuates from 150 to 300, depending on the water level. Approximately half of the river's flow falls into a long and narrow chasm called the Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo in Spanish or Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese. The Devil's Throat is U-shaped, 82 metres high, 150 m wide, and 700 m long (269×492×2,297 ft). Placenames have been given also to many other smaller falls, such as San Martín Falls, Bossetti Falls, and many others.

Iguazú Falls from the Argentine side
About 900 metres (2,950 ft) of the 2.7-kilometre (1.7 mi) length does not have water flowing over it. The edge of the basalt cap recedes by 3 mm (0.1 in) per year. The water of the lower Iguazu collects in a canyon that drains into the Paraná River, a short distance downstream from the Itaipu Dam. The junction of the water flows marks the border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. There are points in the cities of Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, and Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, which have access to the Iguazu River, where the borders of all three nations may be seen, a popular tourist attraction for visitors to the three cities.

Bambi and Bobcat

True Love.. Kangaroo and Lemur are BEST BUDDIES

Wolves and Baboons in Ethiopia Form Unlikely Friendships

The novel dynamics documented here shed light on the ecological circumstances that contribute to the stability of mixed groups of predators and potential prey."

What's very interesting is that the wolves don't prey on the vulnerable baboons. To wit, "Only once has Venkataraman seen a wolf seize a young gelada, and other monkeys quickly attacked it and forced it to drop the infant, then drove the offending wolf away and prevented it from returning later."

Wolves show an increase in capturing rodents when within a gelada baboon herd...

There are always surprises looming in the study of animal behavior. Just this week I learned that rare and critically endangered Ethiopian wolves living in the alpine grasslands form a pact with gelada baboons that helps the wolves catch rodents.

In an essay called "Monkeys' cosy alliance with wolves looks like domestication" by Bob Holmes in New Scientist we learn that "wolves succeeded in 67 per cent of attempts [to catch rodents] when within a gelada herd, but only 25 per cent of the time when on their own." However, it's not clear what makes the wolves more successful but it's possible that hiding out in the herd is beneficial for these predators. (The title of Mr. Holmes' essay in the print edition of New Scientist is titled "Wolves hang out with monkeys to hunt.")

Mr. Holmes' summary is based on a report by Dartmouth College's Vivek Venkataraman and his colleagues titled "Solitary Ethiopian wolves increase predation success on rodents when among grazing gelada monkey herds" published in the Journal of Mammalogy. The abstract of this study reads: "Mixed-species associations generally form to increase foraging success or to aid in the detection and deterrence of predators. While mixed-species associations are common among mammals, those involving carnivorous predators and potential prey species are seldom reported. On the Guassa Plateau, in the Ethiopian highlands, we observed solitary Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis) foraging for rodents among grazing gelada monkey (Theropithecus gelada) herds.

The tolerant and sometimes prolonged associations contrasted with the defensive behaviors exhibited by geladas toward other potential predators. Ethiopian wolves spent a higher proportion of time foraging and preyed more successfully on rodents when among geladas than when alone, providing evidence that gelada herds increase the vulnerability of subterranean rodents to predation. Ethiopian wolves appear to habituate gelada herds to their presence through nonthreatening behavior, thereby foregoing opportunistic foraging opportunities upon vulnerable juvenile geladas in order to feed more effectively on rodents. For Ethiopian wolves, establishing proximity to geladas as foraging commensals could be an adaptive strategy to elevate foraging success. The novel dynamics documented here shed light on the ecological circumstances that contribute to the stability of mixed groups of predators and potential prey."

What's very interesting is that the wolves don't prey on the vulnerable baboons. To wit, "Only once has Venkataraman seen a wolf seize a young gelada, and other monkeys quickly attacked it and forced it to drop the infant, then drove the offending wolf away and prevented it from returning later."

What I also found to be of interest is the speculation that the association between the wolves and the baboons resembled early moments in the domestication of dogs by humans. In a sidebar to the above essay called "Taming man's best friend," University of Oxford conservation biologist Claudio Sillero "doubts that the relationship could progress further down the road to domestication" because there is no reciprocal benefit for the baboons. Nonetheless, the association between the wolves and baboons is extremely interesting and "unlikely friendships" such as these might be more common than we have previously imagined among wild animals. (For more on the domestication of dogs please see essays published by Psychology Today writer Mark Derr, an expert on this topic.)

Please stay tuned for more on the fascinating lives of the magnificent animals with whom we share our wondrous planet. There still is much to learn and there always are "surprises" looming on the horizon.

Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

Marc Bekoff, Animal Emotions, Psychology Today
June 2015

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Forest gardening

Forest gardening is a low-maintenance sustainable plant-based food production and agroforestry system based on woodland ecosystems, incorporating fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables which have yields directly useful to humans. Making use of companion planting, these can be intermixed to grow in a succession of layers, to build a woodland habitat. Forest gardening is a prehistoric method of securing food in tropical areas. In the 1980s, Robert Hart coined the term "forest gardening" after adapting the principles and applying them to temperate climates.

History

Forest gardens are probably the world's oldest form of land use and most resilient agroecosystem. They originated in prehistoric times along jungle-clad river banks and in the wet foothills of monsoon regions. In the gradual process of families improving their immediate environment, useful tree and vine species were identified, protected and improved whilst undesirable species were eliminated. Eventually superior foreign species were selected and incorporated into the gardens. Forest gardens are still common in the tropics and known by various names such as: home gardens in Kerala in South India, Nepal, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania; Kandyan forest gardens in Sri Lanka; huertos familiares, the "family orchards" of Mexico; and pekarangan, the gardens of "complete design", in Java. These are also called agroforests and, where the wood components are short-statured, the term shrub garden is employed. Forest gardens have been shown to be a significant source of income and food security for local populations. Robert Hart adapted forest gardening for the United Kingdom's temperate climate during the 1980s. His theories were later developed by Martin Crawford from the Agroforestry Research Trust and various permaculturalists such as Graham Bell, Patrick Whitefield, Dave Jacke and Geoff Lawton.

Seven-layer system

Robert Hart pioneered a system based on the observation that the natural forest can be divided into distinct levels. He used intercropping to develop an existing small orchard of apples and pears into an edible polyculture landscape consisting of the following layers:

A key component of the seven-layer system was the plants he selected. Most of the traditional vegetable crops grown today, such as carrots, are sun loving plants not well selected for the more shady forest garden system. Hart favoured shade tolerant perennial vegetables.

Further development

The Agroforestry Research Trust (ART), managed by Martin Crawford, runs experimental forest gardening projects on a number of plots in Devon, United Kingdom. Crawford describes a forest garden as a low-maintenance way of sustainably producing food and other household products.

Ken Fern had the idea that for a successful temperate forest garden a wider range of edible shade tolerant plants would need to be used. To this end, Fern created the organisation Plants for a Future (PFAF) which compiled a plant database suitable for such a system. Fern used the term woodland gardening, rather than forest gardening, in his book Plants for a Future.

The Movement for Compassionate Living (MCL) promote forest gardening and other types of vegan organic gardening to meet society's needs for food and natural resources. Kathleen Jannaway, the founder of MCL, wrote a book outlining a sustainable vegan future called Abundant Living in the Coming Age of the Tree in 1991. In 2009, the MCL provided a grant of £1,000 to the Bangor Forest Garden project in Gwynedd, North West Wales.

In 2005, Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier's two-volume book Edible Forest Gardens provided a deeply researched reference focused on North American forest gardening climates, habitats, and species. The book attempts to ground forest gardening deeply in ecological science. The Apios Institute wiki grew out of their work, and seeks to document and share the experience of people around the world working with the species in polycultures.

Robert Hart, Horticulturist:

Permaculture

Bill Mollison, who coined the term permaculture, visited Robert Hart at his forest garden in Wenlock Edge in October 1990. Hart's seven-layer system has since been adopted as a common permaculture design element.

Numerous permaculturalists are proponents of forest gardens, or food forests, such as Graham Bell, Patrick Whitefield, Dave Jacke, Eric Toensmeier and Geoff Lawton. Bell started building his forest garden in 1991 and wrote the book The Permaculture Garden in 1995, Whitefield wrote the book How to Make a Forest Garden in 2002, Jacke and Toensmeier co-authored the two volume book set Edible Forest Gardening in 2005, and Lawton presented the film Establishing a Food Forest in 2008.

Austrian Sepp Holzer practices "Holzer Permaculture" on his Krameterhof farm, at varying altitudes ranging from 1,100 to 1,500 metres above sea level. His designs create micro-climates with rocks, ponds and living wind barriers, enabling the cultivation of a variety of fruit trees, vegetables and flowers in a region that averages 4°C, and with temperatures as low as -20°C in the winter.

Projects

El Pilar on the Belize-Guatemala border features a forest garden to demonstrate traditional Maya agricultural practices. A further 1-acre model forest garden, called Känan K’aax (meaning well-tended garden in Mayan), is being funded by the National Geographic Society and developed at Santa Familia Primary School in Cayo.

In the United States the largest known food forest on public land is believed to be the 7-acre Beacon Food Forest in Seattle, WA. Other forest garden projects include those at the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute in Basalt, Colorado and Montview Neighborhood farm in Northampton, Massachusetts.

In Canada food forester Richard Walker has been developing and maintaining food forests in the province of British Columbia for over 30 years. He developed a 3-acre food forest that when at maturity provided raw materials for a nursery and herbalism business as well as food for his family. The Living Centre have developed various forest garden projects in Ontario.

In the United Kingdom, other than those run by the Agroforestry Research Trust (ART), there are numerous forest garden projects such as the Bangor Forest Garden in Gwynedd, North West Wales. Martin Crawford from ART administers the Forest Garden Network, an informal network of people and organisations around the world who are cultivating their own forest gardens.

Salem Cross Inn's Kitchen Gardens (in Massachusetts):

An Urban Food Forest in Sydney, Australia:

Manhattan's Lenape Edible Estate:

Hale Akua Permaculture Garden Farm in Maui, Hawaii:

A design outline for a food forest:

A potager garden in someone's front yard:

"Broccoli Forest" by artist Carl Warner:

Further reading

Why Food Forests?
The Garden of the Future?
Edible Forest Gardens: an invitation to adventure
8 Best Crops for a Potager
Maya Forest Gardening
Seattle's new 7 acre food forest, Beacon Food Forest
NPR: Seattle's First Urban Food Forest Will Be Open To Foragers
Teaching Sustainable Food Systems