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Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Science
International
International
Bali News
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
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Kiwi DNA link spurs rethink GIPI: Bali to gain more tourists of flightless birds Turmoil in Thailand
Antara
DENPASAR - The Indonesian Association of Tourism Industries (GIPI) of Bali said the country’s tourist island would gain from the unfavorable political condition after the military take over of power in Thailand.
Associated Press Writer
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Research linking New Zealand’s diminutive kiwi with a giant extinct bird from Africa is prompting scientists to rethink how flightless birds evolved. A report published Friday in the journal Science says DNA testing indicates the chicken-size kiwi’s closest relative is the elephant bird from Madagascar, which grew up to 3 meters (10 feet) high and weighed up to 250 kilograms (550 pounds) before becoming extinct about 1,000 years ago. The authors say the results contradict earlier theories that the kiwi and other flightless birds, including the ostrich and emu, evolved as the world’s continents drifted apart about 130 million years ago. Instead, they say, it’s more likely their chicken-size, flight-capable ancestors enjoyed a window of evolutionary ascendancy about 60 million years ago, after dinosaurs died out and before mammals grew big. Those birds, the authors say, likely flew between the continents, with some staying and becoming the large, flightless species we know today. Alan Cooper, a professor at the University of Adelaide in Australia and a co-author of the paper, said the DNA results came as a huge surprise given the differences in size and location between the kiwi and elephant bird. “This has been an evolutionary mystery for 150 years. Most things have been suggested but never this,” he said. “The birds are about as different as you can get in terms of geography, morphology and ecology.” Cooper, a New Zealander by birth, is hoping the paper will also bring him a measure of redemption. That’s because two decades ago, Cooper and other scientists discovered genetic links between the kiwi and two Australian flightless birds, the cassowary and the emu. That led to New Zealanders believing their iconic bird might have come from Australia, a traditional rival. “There was a huge outpouring of angst,” Cooper said. “New Zealanders weren’t too impressed.”
Most of the foreign tourists would change their destination from Thailand to Bali, GIPI chairman Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya said. Bali would certainly receive more tourists originally planning to visit Thailand,” Ngurah Wijaya said. Thailand has been the main rival of Bali in attracting foreign tourists especially those coming to enjoy the beauty of beaches, he said. In addition, Thailand now has low season, he said. He said Chinese tourists, who favor visits to Thailand and Vietnam, where anti-China protest is growing lately are expected to change their destination to Bali. A surge was already recorded in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Bali, he pointed out. At least 45 countries have issued warning to their citizens against visits to Thailand. Foreign tourists are sensitive to security problem, he said. AP Photo/Brian Choo
This undated artist impression, shows an elephant bird, or Aepyornis maximus, with its head towering 3 meters in the air, wanders through the spiny forest of ancient Madagascar.
More whales being hit by ships along US East Coast Associated Press Writer
AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File
In this April 16, 2014 file photo, a deceased 55-foot long finback whale sits on a dry dock in Jersey City, N.Y., after it was pulled out of the water.
A cruise ship heading for New York this month struck and killed a whale and dragged it into the Hudson River, part of a higher-than-usual rate of strikes along the Eastern Seaboard for this time of year, a federal agency said. There were three recent whale strikes recently, including one in which a cruise ship hit a sei whale and did not discover it until it reached port, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. In a similar case, a sei whale was found dead and attached to a container ship that was docking near Philadelphia, NOAA said. The whales may be following food sources closer to shore, NOAA said. An increased food supply has recently been cited for a large increase in the number of humpback whales off Massachusetts. The agency issued a reminder to mariners of measures already in place to protect whales, including speed limits and distances. “Nobody wants to hit a whale,” said Marjorie Mooney-Seus, a spokeswoman. “So we want people to have a greater awareness that they’re out there now.” The usual rate of whale strikes by ships is about one every few weeks, she
said, compared with the three in the past few weeks. NOAA said it counted 28 whale strikes in Northeastern waters between 2006 and 2010. Worldwide, a National Marine Fisheries Service survey covering 1975 through 2002 found 292 records of confirmed or possible ship strikes to large whales. Rob DiGiovanni, who heads a marine mammal rescue group on Long Island, said he’s seeing “more evidence of ship strikes and that’s definitely a concern.” In the past, his Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation would go a couple of years without seeing a large whale that had been hit by a ship. “Now we get a couple a year,” he said. The New York cruise ship incident was discovered May 4, the Philadelphia case on May 7, Mooney-Seus said. She did not have details about the third recent strike except that it involved a fin whale; NOAA is investigating. A necropsy on the New York whale found it was killed by blunt force, confirming that it was killed by the ship, MooneySeus said. The other two whales were not retrieved. NOAA said there have been no recent reported strikes of endangered North Atlantic right whales.
IBP/File Photo
Tourists play surfing at Kuta Beach. The Indonesian Association of Tourism Industries (GIPI) of Bali said the country’s tourist island would gain from the unfavorable political condition after the military take over of power in Thailand.
Garden of the Gods
A new undersea tourist object at Pemuteran Bali Post
IBP/Dewa Kusuma
Some divers came down directly to about 22-meter depth to put the statues of the gods that previously had been given initiation rites or consecrated beforehand.
SINGARAJA - To support the undersea tourism of the Panji Sakti region, a total of 41 statues of Dewata Nawa Sanga (gods of nine directions) were placed under waters of Pemuteran village, Gerokgak. The making of such undersea garden or known as the Garden of the Gods was initiated by I Nyoman Chris Brown, a man from Australia, who paid great attention to the marine life preservation in Buleleng, Saturday (May 24). Existence of the garden of the gods took the philosophy of Dewata Nawa Sanga depicted with the statue of the gods in every corners of the compass. All the statues were nicely arranged in such a way to resemble a garden, and became a unique attraction to divers. “Two years ago, I found this interesting idea. Originally a friend of mine dived in the Pemuteran area. At that time, he admired the undersea beauty of marine life at Pemuteran. Armed with such inspiration, I finally had an idea of making the Garden of the Gods, taking the concept of the Dewata Nawa Sanga,” he said. Chris Brown explained the existence of the Dewata Nawa Sanga statues would become the development point of the other marine life. Some organisms such as coral reefs and ornamental fish could grow well around the statue of the gods. Having been lived in the Pemuteran area for 20 years, previously he received the support for the undersea conservation from
Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. “In addition to preserving the marine life, I want Pemuteran to be visited by domestic and foreign travelers without damaging the underwater biota of Pemuteran,” he explained. Some divers came down directly to about 22-meter depth to put the statues of the gods that previously had been given initiation rites or consecrated beforehand. Arrangement of the undersea statues was adjusted to the nine directions to the compass direction, in accordance with the concept of Dewata Nawa Sanga. “Through the establishment of the undersea Garden of the Gods, I personally appreciate and support. Hopefully, this could create job opportunities for residents surrounding the Pemuteran. Besides, it serves as a kind of preservation of nature,” said I Gede Mudita, headman of Pemuteran. The Head of Buleleng Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, I Nyoman Sutrisna, said that his party was providing support to the action of the marine life preservation through the making of the Garden of the Gods. “In building a region, there should be a synergy of various parties. One of them is the role of private sector that has helped the preservation of natural life under the sea by creating the garden of the gods at Pemuteran. We will help the new marine tourism promotion in Buleleng, while developing the innovation in other areas of Buleleng. Thus, the public must also jointly preserve the ocean along with its contents,” said Sutrisna. (kmb34)