Wild Insights: Death in the name of sport?

How trophy hunters pay big money for the thrill of the kill.

Inside this issue:

• What has the body of a fish, the wings of a bird and the legs of a crab?

• Global climate change impact on migratory cranes

• The loss of Antartica’s ice sheets

• Trophy hunting: Death in the name of sport

• Home after 200 years

Introduction

Welcome to another issue of Wild Insights - our wildlife and environmental magazine. As the editor, I have spent time wading through the best nature science papers this month. Nature is truly amazing and for this issue, we have published an eclectic mix of stories that we hope will resonate with you.

This publication aims to help raise awareness of the plight of nature. But we also want to encourage others to love and protect nature and knowledge is power. The more you know, the more you can talk with passion and enthusiasm for the natural world.

Our ethos is that the more we enthuse about nature, we spread the joy, the wonders and the discoveries.

Have you visited our new website yet? Take a look and tell us what you think. Happy reading.

Annette J Beveridge

Editor

https://ecohivenature.co.uk

What has the body of a fish, the wings of a bird and the legs of a crab?

A strange creature that uses its legs for movement and tasting has been the focus of recent scientific research.

Sea robins

Sea robins are elongated fish with two dorsal fins and an armoured bony head. The pectoral fins are fan-shaped. The bottom few, (the legs) sense out crustaceans or molluscs. They are sensory organs and are used to dig for buried prey.

Typically brightly coloured, some sea robins have ornately patterned pectoral fins. Some of the fish are scaly, others have bony plates.

Nicholas Bellono of Harvard University in Cambridge, MA said: "This is a fish that grew legs using the same genes that contribute to the development of our limbs and then, repurposed these legs to find prey using the same genes our tongues use to taste food - pretty wild,"

The research team discovered the creatures while visiting the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. They learned that other fish follow the sea robins due to the species’ ability to uncover buried prey.

They took some of the fish back to the laboratory and realised sea robins could detect and uncover filtered and ground-up muscle extract and even single amino acids.

Two studies were published in the Cell Press Journal, Current Biology, in September. One of the studies revealed that the legs were covered in sensory papillae with touch-sensitive neurons. The legs have taste receptors and the chemical sensitivity drives them to dig.

The team from Stanford University didn’t set out to study these fish at all.

Professor David Kingsley said: “We were originally struck by the legs that are shared by all sea robins and make them different from most other fish.

"We were surprised to see how much sea robins differ from each other in sensory structures found on the legs. The system thus displays multiple levels of evolutionary innovation from differences between sea robins and most other fish, differences between sea robin species, and differences in everything from the structure and sensory organs to behavior."

Evolutionary innovation

Ongoing developmental studies enabled the researchers to confirm that the papillae represent an important evolutionary innovation that enabled the animals to succeed where other animals on the sea floor could not.

In the second study, scientists focussed on the genetic basis of the Sea Robins’ legs. They used genome sequencing and transcriptional profiling, and studied hybrid species to learn and understand both the molecular and developmental basis for leg formation.

Research led to them identifying an ancient transcription factor known as tbx3a, which forms a major part of sensory-like development in Sea Robins. They depend on this regulatory gene to develop their legs normally but the same gene has a critical function in the formation of the sensory papillae and the digging behaviour.

Kingsley added: "Although many traits look new, they are usually built from genes and modules that have existed for a long time. That's how evolution works: by tinkering with old pieces to build new things."

Global climate change impact on cranes

Four species of cranes were fitted with a new tracking technology as part of a research project to reveal migratory strategies. The aim was to ascertain how the birds tuned into their environments during migration - especially important because of climate change.

A large, graceful bird with long legs, a long neck and curving tail feathers, the crane has experienced a real decline across Europe in the last 300 years due to drainage, disturbance, and shooting.