#Tiger, pangolin farming in Myanmar risks ‘boosting demand’

“#Tiger, pangolin farming in Myanmar risks ‘boosting demand’” Tigers—thought to number just 22 in Myanmar—can now be bred for their meat and skin Conservationists have warned a sudden change in Myanmar’s law allowing the commercial farming of tigers, pangolins and other endangered species risks further fuelling demand in China for rare wildlife products. The Southeast…

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#Overharvesting threatens ‘Himalayan Viagra’ fungus: IUCN

“#Overharvesting threatens ‘Himalayan Viagra’ fungus: IUCN” Whole communities depend on the income they get from harvesting the fungus A parasitic fungus that grows inside the ghost moth caterpillar and then kills its host by bursting through its head is itself threatened with extinction, the IUCN said Thursday, as demand surges for Chinese medicine’s “Himalayan Viagra”….

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#To protect threatened beetle, entomologists hope new colony takes hold

“#To protect threatened beetle, entomologists hope new colony takes hold” Beach Tiger Beetle. Credit: Rodger Gwiazdowski As thousands of hopeful coronavirus shut-ins look forward to heading to Atlantic beaches for the July 4 holiday, University of Massachusetts Amherst entomologist Rodger Gwiazdowski and colleagues are also heading to the beach—but they’ll visit the last quiet natural…

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#High-throughput sequencing tracks historical spread of grapevine viruses

“#High-throughput sequencing tracks historical spread of grapevine viruses” Credit: CC0 Public Domain Grapevine is infected by more than 90 viruses, with new viral species discovered yearly as a result of the newer technology introduced by High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS). Within the last decade, HTS is used for virome identification (the assemblage of viral genomes), which in…

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#Bores’ lasting effect on landscape

“#Bores’ lasting effect on landscape” Faure Island in Shark Bay, Western Australia. Credit: Graham Fulton Artificial watering points in rangelands are posing an increasing threat to surrounding biodiversity long after the removal of livestock, according to University of Queensland research. UQ researcher Graham Fulton studied the behaviour and impact of 20 bird species on Faure…

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