In early 2012 a remarkable rediscovery was made on Dinagat Island, a tiny island in the Philippines. Dr Milada Řeháková, a zoologist from the Czech Republic, was conducting a survey of the tarsiers on the island when her programmer husband Václav Řehák spotted a huge hairy grey-brown rat with a conspicuously black-white tail foraging in the canopy. Dr William Oliver of the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation said that Milada had called him from the island “full of excitement and frustration” because while her husband had seen it, she had not!

The reason for her great excitement was the possibility that the animal her husband had spotted could be the elusive Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat, a species only known from a single specimen collected in 1975. Cloud rats are the biggest and most spectacular of the murids, endemic only to a few Philippine islands. The Critically Endangered Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat is the least known among them, and having not been seen again since its discovery, despite numerous searches, many feared it may have become extinct.

Fortunately, they both spotted the cloud rat again a week later, and were able to photograph and film this species for the first time ever, allowing this exciting rediscovery to be scientifically confirmed. The ARKive team were of course thrilled when Milada got in touch to tell us about the discovery, and kindly allowed us to include the images and footage in ARKive.

While the rediscovery is great news, the future for the Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat still hangs in the balance as mining and logging pose a serious threat to wildlife on Dinagat, and only one small locally protected area exists on the whole island. Milada tells us that “Effective conservation activities must be undertaken to assure future survival of this, once lost and now rediscovered species. Local people should be proud on this unique species that is not found anywhere else in the world and should be part of its conservation”.

You can read more about the rediscovery here.

Claire Lewis, ARKive Media Researcher

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The amount of plastic waste floating in the northeast Pacific Ocean has increased a hundredfold in the past 40 years and is altering marine habitats, according to new research.

Puffin mistaking plastic for food to give to its chick

Scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography recorded the huge rise when trawling the waters off California as part of the Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition (Seaplex) in 2009.

In a study published in the journal Biology Letters, the researchers were able to compare the amount of plastic found with data stretching back to the 1970s.

‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’

Plastic waste is an ongoing concern for the world’s oceans. All plastic waste in the ocean that does not sink is eventually broken down into small particles – termed ‘microplastics’ – by the action of sunlight and waves. Plastic pollution has been observed in oceans around the world, and is already known to affect wildlife at an individual level. Fragments of plastic can be ingested by animals, while larger pieces can also cause entanglement.

Plastic waste also entangles wildlife, such as this Laysan albatross fledgling caught in a plastic coat hanger

In the North Pacific Ocean, the natural circulation of the water, known as the North Pacific Gyre, tends to cause debris to accumulate in what has commonly become known as “garbage patches”. In the central North Pacific, a large patch of this plastic debris is often referred to as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”.

The current research follows another recent study which showed that 9% of fish collected off the Californian coast had plastic waste in their stomachs. Published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, the study estimated that fish in the North Pacific Ocean could be ingesting as much as 12,000 to 24,000 tonnes of plastic a year.

Dead Laysan albatross showing accumulation of ingested plastics in its stomach

Ecosystem effects

Although the toxicity of plastics and the problem of ingestion by marine animals are obvious concerns, the researchers say that the broader effects of plastics on marine ecosystems also need to be examined.

They studied the association between plastic fragments and the marine insect Halobates sericeus, a relative of the common pond skater. Known as a “sea skater” or “water strider”, this species feeds on plankton and fish eggs, and in turn is prey for seabirds, fish and turtles.

The common pond skater, a relative of the sea skaters used in the study

The sea skater requires hard platforms on which to lay its eggs, usually using floating debris such as seabird feathers, shells, lumps of tar or even pumice rock. However, the scientists found that the numerous pieces of plastic now floating in the Pacific have provided the insect with new surfaces on which to lay its eggs, leading to a rise in its numbers.

“We thought there might be fewer Halobates if there’s more plastic – that there might be some sort of toxic effect. But, actually, we found the opposite. In the areas that had the most plastic, we found the most Halobates,” said Scripps researcher Mirian Goldstein, the lead author of the study.

“So, they’re obviously congregating around this plastic, laying their eggs on it, and hatching out from it. For Halobates, all this plastic has worked out well for them.”

Common hermit crab using plastic cap

Profound changes

The increase in the density of sea skaters could potentially have consequences for other marine species, including those that prey on the insect and its eggs. The increase in its numbers could also impact the zooplankton and fish eggs on which it feeds.

By introducing hard substrates to an area in which they are naturally rare, microplastics could therefore have broad impacts on entire ecosystems.

“The study raises an important issue, which is the addition of hard surfaces to the open ocean,” said Ms Goldstein. “In the North Pacific, for example, there’s no floating seaweed like there is in the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic. And we know that the animals, the plants and the microbes that live on hard surfaces are different to the ones that live floating around in the water. So, what plastic has done is add hundreds of millions of hard surfaces to the Pacific Ocean. That’s quite a profound change.”

Read more on this story at BBC News – Big rise in North Pacific plastic waste and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography press release.

Explore ARKive’s threatened marine species using Google Earth.

Watch an ARKive video of a loggerhead turtle hatchling trying to eat floating plastic.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Species Text Author

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This week, two male cuckoos that were fitted with satellite tags in May last year have become the first of their kind to have their African migration mapped.

The cuckoo is a well-known harbinger of spring in Britain

Avian air miles

In the last two decades, Britain has lost almost half of its cuckoo population, and numbers are continuing to decline steadily. However, conservation of the cuckoo has been hampered by a lack of information surrounding the cuckoo’s long migration to and from its breeding grounds.

In an effort to understand more about this extraordinary species, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) fitted five male cuckoos with small satellite tags in May last year. It was hoped that following these avian adventurers would help scientists to discover why fewer and fewer cuckoos are returning to the UK each year.

Two of the birds, named Lyster and Chris, are helping scientists to unravel the mystery of the cuckoo’s migration. After a remarkably long journey – Lyster clocked an incredible 10,000 miles in total – both birds arrived back in the UK last week. Lyster was spotted in the Norfolk Broads on Tuesday, just 10 miles from where he was tagged last May.

“It’s just fantastic,” said Dr Phil Atkinson, head of international research at the BTO. “We know where he’s been, we know the routes he’s taken and now he’s back in the Broads.”

Reed warbler feeds a cuckoo chick in its nest

Route revealed

By tracking Lyster and Chris, scientists were able to create a migration map, which revealed exactly where the cuckoos spent the winter. The map also highlighted how little time cuckoos, which are often thought of as British birds, spend in Britain.

“They’re African birds, really,” said Phil Atkinson. “They evolved in Africa.”

Missing on migration

Unfortunately, three of the birds didn’t make it back to Britain. As with all migratory species, cuckoos respond to the changing seasons, and rely on the presence of lush vegetation to provide food for the insects that they feed on. This means that a changing climate could create additional barriers along their already arduous journey.

“All the birds got down to Congo and survived, and it’s only on spring migration that we started to lose birds,” said Dr Atkinson. “We lost our first bird, Clement, in Cameroon on the return journey. So we think the crunch time is just before they cross the Sahara.”

The loss of the birds was a blow to the research team. However, the new information gleaned from this event regarding the most challenging parts of a cuckoo’s migration could actually help with the conservation of the species.

“These birds move into West Africa, they fatten up as much as they can – enough to fuel their Saharan crossing. And if they’re not able to do that, I think that’s going to be a real pinch point in terms of mortality,” said Dr Atkinson. “That’s where we need to focus our research effort and conservation action.”

Male cuckoo in flight

Next steps

Following the success of the tagged males, the team now plans to continue its research by fitting female cuckoos with the same devices and tracking their progress. The team is keen to find out if migration patterns, both in terms of route and timing, are different between males and females.

Male cuckoos may need to return to the UK earlier than females in order to ensure they occupy a good territory and find females to mate with, while the females may have to stay in the UK later than the males, to lay the last clutch of the season.

“As we have seen in the five cuckoos, timing is really important and this may be crucial in determining whether a bird undertakes a migration successfully or not,” said Dr Atkinson.

Grahame Madge, of the RSPB, praised the tagging study, and expressed relief that some cuckoos were successfully completing their migrations and returning to Britain to breed.

“The cuckoo is an urgent priority for research,” he said. “This fantastic project is boosting the understanding of this bird so that, hopefully, we can give this bird a future.”

Read more on this story at BBC – Tagged cuckoos complete migration and return to the UK.

Learn more about the cuckoo on ARKive.

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Species Text Author

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More amazing photos, videos and texts are added to ARKive every alternate week. Here is a summary of our latest update:

• 48 new species
• 529 new images
• 40 new videos
• 35 new media donors
• 25 new texts

We've added a new profile for the Vulnerable Brookesia vadoni

We have also added the Endangered Phisalixella variabilis

What’s new – our favourite new images

Check out new camera trap images of the Visayan spotted deer, believed to be the first images of this species in the wild

We have added 22 great new images of the common toad

What’s new – our favourite new videos

Check out our awesome footage of Hector's dophins surfing in the waves

We have added 6 new videos of the long-tailed jaeger

Get involved!

If you have any photos, footage or species information that you think we should add into ARKive please let us know. There are many ways to get involved with ARKive, from contributing your photos to just spreading the word about us – every little helps!

Full details 

Subscribe to our RSS feeds for full details of what’s new to ARKive.

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Break out the tacos and sombreros because Cinco de Mayo, a popular holiday in Mexico celebrating the nation’s culture and heritage, is right around the corner! There will be plenty of colorful festivities occurring on the day, so in honour of this celebration, we’d like to highlight some of Mexico’s most brilliant wildlife.

Amphibian with a headdress

The axolotl is a remarkable salamander that lives its whole life in the larval stage. It is easily distinguished by the characteristic pink feather-like gills that branch out from its neck. This incredible amphibian is also able to regrow missing tissue, and even whole limbs, when it is wounded.

Portrait showing feather-like gills of axolotl

The “New World” king  of the jungle

The jungles of Mexico are prime jaguar habitat. This striking cat was once widespread throughout the Americas, but with human activities threatening its survival, its range has become highly fragmented. Jaguars are opportunistic hunters, and relative to their size, they have the most powerful bite of all the big cats.

Jaguar resting in tree

Fiesta fish

The coney is a fish in the grouper family with an interesting quirk. Although all individuals begin life as females, they later change gender and become males. This interesting species also exhibits aggressive mimicry, where juveniles join groups of the similar looking brown chromis, allowing them to stealthily approach unsuspecting prey.

Coney

Desert dweller

Endemic to the southwestern United States and Mexico, the desert tortoise grazes on desert grasses, obtaining nearly all the water it requires from its food. The ambient temperature of the nest determines the sex of the hatchlings, with females produced at higher temperatures than males.

Desert tortoise feeding on flowers

Bird of brilliance

The scarlet macaw is an iconic and charismatic bird with bright plumage and loud vocalisations. It flys in flocks of up to 30 and frequently visits ‘clay licks’ on river banks to eat soil. Although it might seem like a strange habit, scientists believe the soil may protect the macaw against toxic compounds that it might have ingested.

Scarlet macaw in flight

A flowering find

Although it looks strikingly similar to its namesake, the artichoke cactus is actually a small cactus found only within the Valley of Jaumave in eastern Mexico. Just the very tip of the cactus emerges from the soil, but with all the spirals and whorls, this is likely the most spectacular part.

Artichoke cactus

These species are just a sample of the myriad of beautiful wildlife that Mexico has to offer. If you’ve got some time, why not explore some of the other species found in Mexico on ARKive and share your favorites in the comments!

Maggie Graham, Program Assistant, Wildscreen USA

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