The Color-Changing Insects and Resilient Jaguars - 47th Issue

Stoneflies, native to New Zealand, have changed their color because of human-driven environmental changes. This stems from a University of Otago study of animal evolution in response to environmental transformation caused by human activities.

For insects inhabiting natural forested regions, camouflaging has been a go-to tactic for their survival. According to Professor Jon Waters, native species evolved ‘alarming’ colors to mimic poisonous forest species to deceive predators.

However, deforestation in pursuit of timber and the expansion of cultivation and settlement lands has almost annihilated poisonous species. With the deficiency of poisonous species to mimic, stoneflies have abandoned their disguise strategy and instead, evolved into a different color.

Pepper moths also adopted the same phenomena in the 1800s due to industrial pollution. Dr Graham McCulloch laments that humans have disrupted the ecological interactions between native species. However, there is a silver lining as some natives are resilient enough to overcome the challenges and adapt to environmental changes.

Did you know that fast-growing fires account for 90% of fire-related damages in the US? Although relatively rare, a study by the University of Colorado Boulder shows that ‘fast fires’ thrusting embers ahead of their hasty flames, ignite more homes before emergency response teams intervene.

These fires are getting quicker in the Western US, escalating the risk to the area population. After an assessment of the Marshall fire in 2021, it was unveiled that although it covered less ground, the fire grew quickly because of high winds and dry conditions. 

Jennifer Balch expressed her urgency and disappointment with the significant gap in hazard preparedness across the country. According to her, while the National-level fire risk assessments give data on the magnitude of wildfires, defining the fire’s speed will help keep people safe by orchestrating efficient evacuations and safeguarding infrastructure.

Greece is one of the world’s largest producers of chestnuts but farmers, such as Anestis Altinis are still looking for nuts suitable for harvest. Although approaching the end of the harvest season, the searing heat and drought have plagued the area for months and the output is expected to drop by 90%.

According to George Nanos, Greece might experience a 15,000-tonne drop in the 2024 harvest due to extreme weather. This decline in production is affected by the warmest ever-recorded winters and summers because of climatic changes. Some chestnut producers in Thessaly haven’t experienced rainfall for 13 months after the September 2023 floods.

Dead or extremely damaged plants are the aftermath of this drought, which has stretched to apple, cherry, and walnut harvests. Chestnuts account for a fifth of total exports and these bad tidings affect both farmers and the economy. Nonetheless, Altinis has a well-thought solution, and if the authorities can help with risk desertification and irrigation, they can mitigate the crisis.

Jaguars are peculiar cats, very rarely captured on camera, and with a taste for other predators whenever an opportunity presents itself. Despite the fires that have engulfed the Pantanal, jaguars have found a way to survive in the tropical wetlands of Brazil.

With caimans and capybaras being their top prey, these big cats have moved closer to the river banks leaving the depth of the forests. Animals remain trapped and others succumb to burns during wildfires, but the jaguar’s strategy to seek refuge along river banks has guaranteed their survival.

16% of the Pantanal has burnt this year, burning down and drying up the biome. However, while it's transitioning to a cemetery of birds, monkeys, tapirs, and snakes, the jaguar’s population is steadily increasing because of their coping mechanism.