The Delaware Forest Service is looking for motivated recruits to enroll in wildfire training classes starting in February at the Delaware Department of Agriculture, 2320 S. DuPont Highway, Camden, DE. There is no cost for training and no previous experience needed. Candidates must be over 18 years of age, willing to learn, physically fit, and able to travel for at least two weeks at a time, usually in the summer months. Attendance at all classes is required for prospective wildland firefighters to achieve “red card” certification from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG). Students can register by filling out the online registration form by January 31, 2020. Complete details are at http://de.gov/wildfire.

Agency: OMB Closing Date: 6/23/2020

The DNREC Mosquito Control Section, in conjunction with the Division of Public Health and Department of Agriculture, has announced the first detection this year of West Nile virus in wild birds, indicating the recurrence of this mosquito-borne disease in Delaware.

To help achieve public compliance with laws and regulations, officers from Feb. 3-9 made 869 public contacts and responded to 22 complaints.

DOVER – With Delaware’s annual spring wild turkey hunting season approaching, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife Hunter Education Program reminds both resident and non-resident hunters age 13 and older that they must pass a Division-Approved turkey hunting course before they can legally hunt turkeys in the First State. Also, hunters age 13 and older born after Jan. 1, 1967, must have completed an approved basic hunter education safety course and have a course card/number. These hunter education requirements have collectively helped Delaware turkey hunters achieve an excellent hunting safety record.

Delaware’s Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25 in the DNREC Auditorium, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

To help achieve public compliance with laws and regulations, officers from Feb. 10-16 made 1,508 public contacts.

To help achieve public compliance with laws and regulations, officers from Feb. 17-23 made 1,376 public contacts and responded to 53 complaints.

To help achieve public compliance with laws and regulations, officers from Feb. 24 - March 1 made 1,812 public contacts and responded to 34 complaints.

To help achieve public compliance with laws and regulations, officers from March 2-8 made 1,351 public contacts and responded to 49 complaints.

While most state parks, nature and wildlife areas continue to stay open during the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” emergency order, many amenities are closed.

DNREC announced today it will take steps when necessary to limit the numbers of visitors within state parks and wildlife areas.

Starting Friday those aged 13 or older are now required to bring a face mask with them to enter state parks, wildlife areas and reserves.

DNREC will reinstate entry fees and park pass requirements at all State Parks and require a Conservation Access Pass to enter state wildlife areas, May 8.

Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the northeastern United States is down 30 per cent. Rome air pollution levels from

WETLAND MITIGATION AT PETERSON WILDLIFE REFUGE, PHASE II

Social distancing is not a novel concept in the natural world, as several species resort to such measures to avoid getting sick

The Kariba Dam has towered over one of Africa’s mightiest rivers for 60 years, forming the world’s largest reservoir and providing reliable electricity to Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Kariba Dam has towered over one of Africa’s mightiest rivers for 60 years, forming the world’s largest reservoir and providing reliable electricity to Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Safety concerns raised by wildfires have forced utility Seattle City Light to evacuate employees from the town of Diablo, the nearby 711-MW Skagit hydropower complex and the North Cascades Institute's Environmental Learning Center.

Canada Goose UK retail Ltd and James Hayton v Persons Unknown (1) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Foundation (2) 2019 EWHC 2459 Clothing retailer Canada Goose (“CG”) recently failed to persuade the Court that it sh...

A stray kitten climbed into the engine of a car in Otara, south Auckland, and ended up hitching a ride all the way to West Harbour, in west Auckland, where it was rescued and adopted by a loving family.It was early on Saturday morning...

The digital modern age offers huge potential – the sharing of new technologies, the promotion of economic growth and the ability for instant communication. But whilst products of this age, such as social media, may help to progress today&rsqu...

Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See other free reports here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. After two months of ambulance sirens, mourning and isolation, this is the damage report from Italy: The novel coronavirus death toll has surpassed 30,000. The country is hurtling into its steepest recession in modern times. Tourism has gone bust. Many restaurants and shops lack the cash to ever reopen. The government's brittle finances are becoming ever more stretched. All the while, many Italians feel embittered and alienated. They are disappointed in the continent's early...

TAOS, N.M. (AP) — The top administrator of a national forest in northern New Mexico says there’s an elevated risk of human-caused wildfires due to drying conditions and negligence by some forest visitors....

While authorities mull "provisional release" for some refugees currently in detention centers across the country, the people on the inside say they receive little information ...

The Singapore government is reviewing the sale and slaughter of live animals at wet markets, Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, said on Tuesday. The relevant agencies are doing so while taking into consideration international benchmarking and scientific evidence, she added.Her comments were in response to a parliamentary question from MP for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency Louis Ng. He asked whether her ministry would consider banning the…

Steven Broad is Executive Director, TRAFFIC, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network

The post COVID-19 & Human Health Risks Linked to Wildlife Trade Practices appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Storks are famous in folklore for delivering human babies to their parents. Conservationists are looking to return the favour with the imminent hatching of several white stork eggs on a 'rewilding' estate in southern England - as the coronavirus outbreak provides a noticeable boost for some wildlife.

Storks are famous in folklore for delivering human babies to their parents. Conservationists are looking to return the favour with the imminent hatching of several white stork eggs on a 'rewilding' estate in southern England - as the coronavirus outbreak provides a noticeable boost for some wildlife.

Orangutan orphanages nurse animals back to health and release them into the wild, but that doesn’t seem to increase the population of these endangered apes

Genetically modified diamondback moths designed to replace pesticides by wiping out female moths have been released in New York state

Firefighters are battling high winds and extreme heat as they try to slow the spread of the biggest wildfire ever recorded in California

In an attempt to stem the spread of coronavirus, China has shut its wildlife markets for good. It is a welcome move, says Adam Vaughan

Lose your bearings in an unfamiliar landscape and fear shreds your navigational brain. But studies are now revealing the common mistakes lost people make, helping rescue teams to find them before it’s too late

Title: Wildfires Send Kids to ERs for Breathing Problems
Category: Health News
Created: 1/8/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 1/9/2020 12:00:00 AM

Lucy A. Winder, Stewart A. White, Andreas Nord, Barbara Helm, and Dominic J. McCafferty

During winter at temperate and high latitudes, the low ambient temperatures, limited food supplies and short foraging periods mean small passerines show behavioural, morphological and physiological adaptations to reduce the risk of facing energy shortages. Peripheral tissues vasoconstrict in low ambient temperatures to reduce heat loss and cold injury. Peripheral vasoconstriction has been observed with food restriction in captivity but has yet to be explored in free-ranging animals. We experimentally food restricted both wild and captive great tits (Parus major) during winter months and measured surface temperatures of the bill and eye region using thermal imaging, to investigate whether birds show rapid local heterothermic responses, which may reduce their thermoregulatory costs when facing a perceived imminent food shortage. Our results of a continuously filmed wild population showed that bill temperature was immediately reduced in response to food restriction compared with when food was available ad libitum, an apparent autonomic response. Such immediacy implies a ‘pre-emptive’ response before the bird experiences any shortfalls in energy reserves. We also demonstrate temporal variation in vasoconstriction of the bill, with bill temperature gradually rising throughout the food restriction after the initial drop. Eye-region temperature in the wild birds remained at similar levels throughout food restriction compared with unrestricted birds, possibly reflecting the need to maintain steady circulation to the central nervous and visual systems. Our findings provide evidence that birds selectively allow the bill to cool when a predictable food supply is suddenly disrupted, probably as a means of minimising depletion of body reserves for a perceived future shortage in energy.

Christine Elizabeth Cooper, Laura Leilani Hurley, Pierre Deviche, and Simon Charles Griffith

Desert birds inhabit hot, dry environments that are becoming hotter and drier as a consequence of climate change. Extreme weather such as heatwaves can cause mass-mortality events that may significantly impact populations and species. There are currently insufficient data concerning physiological plasticity to inform models of species’ response to extreme events and develop mitigation strategies. Consequently, we examine here the physiological plasticity of a small desert bird in response to hot (mean maximum ambient temperature=42.7°C) and cooler (mean maximum ambient temperature=31.4°C) periods during a single Austral summer. We measured body mass, metabolic rate, evaporative water loss, and body temperature, along with blood parameters (corticosterone, glucose, and uric acid) of wild zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata; Gould 1837) to assess their physiological state and determine the mechanisms by which they respond to heatwaves. Hot days were not significant stressors; they did not result in modification of baseline blood parameters or an inability to maintain body mass, provided drinking water was available. During heatwaves, finches shifted their thermoneutral zone to higher temperatures. They reduced metabolic heat production, evaporative water loss and wet thermal conductance, and increased hyperthermia, especially when exposed to high ambient temperature. A consideration of the significant physiological plasticity that we have demonstrated to achieve more favourable heat and water balance is essential for effectively modelling and planning for the impacts of climate change on biodiversity.

Pyrazinamide (PZA) is a cornerstone antimicrobial drug used exclusively for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Due to its ability to shorten drug therapy by 3 months and reduce disease relapse rates, PZA is considered an irreplaceable component of standard first-line short-course therapy for drug-susceptible TB and second-line treatment regimens for multidrug-resistant TB. Despite over 60 years of research on PZA and its crucial role in current and future TB treatment regimens, the mode of action of this unique drug remains unclear. Defining the mode of action for PZA will open new avenues for rational design of novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of TB. In this review, we discuss the four prevailing models for PZA action, recent developments in modulation of PZA susceptibility and resistance, and outlooks for future research and drug development.

The Call of the Wild – Movie Review Rating: A- (Great) Trailer/Thumbnail Courtesy 20th Century Studios Jack London’s novel The Call of the Wild is a stirring and page turning adventure that puts the reader into the point-of-view of a dog. Buck’s journey from domesticated pooch to a dog understanding where he came from is […]

The post The Call of the Wild – Movie Review appeared first on The Scene Magazine.

Strange as it may sound, Animal Crossing: New Horizons feels like where Breath of the Wild should have ended up gameplay-wise.

Paris show features wildlife costumes to emphasise the label’s planet-friendly ethos

The singer Janelle Monáe and actor Shailene Woodley were in the front row, but two rabbits, a fox, a horse, two cows and a crocodile stole the show. People in lifesize animal costumes, of the kind more usually seen at theme park parades than at Paris fashion week, joined models for the finale of Stella McCartney’s show, swinging their new-season handbags and posing for the cameras.

The optics were fun, but the message was serious – that there are animals on almost every catwalk, it’s just that they are usually dead. The half-moon shoulder bag carried jauntily by a brown cow here was made from a vegan alternative to leather, while other bags were created from second-life plastic.

The director of King of New York, Bad Lieutenant and The Funeral recommends film and TV for a coronavirus age, in the hope that ‘the light becomes more evident in the darkness’

• Read the rest of our Lockdown watch series
• The best arts and entertainment during self-isolation

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Need help tracking down and completing all 120 shrines in the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? Look no further. Here's everything you need to know, from the complete list of shrines to a map with every shrine location.

Fed up with invasive species and sterile landscapes, Douglas Tallamy urges Americans to go native and go natural