Notices by Sandy Lawrence (swlawrence@aus.social)

AAAS: "Odd, fingerlike appendage helps this orchid reproduce." Understanding plant reproductive strategies is vital for conserving endangered species.The intricate pollination strategies within Orchidaceae have fascinated naturalists for over a century (Darwin, 1862). Life can get lonely for orchids in the genus Stigmatodactylus, as they grow in dark + secluded places where it's easy to be missed by pollinators. Stigmatodactylus is a set of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae, with thirteen currently recognized species, native to China, Taiwan, Japan, the Himalayas, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. "But one group has evolved a poppy seed–size “finger” that makes sure pollination continues, even if bugs don’t show up, a researcher reports today in Plants, People, Planet." The name combines Greek for finger and stigma, a reference to the fact that the plants in this group have a tiny, white, fingerlike projection hanging down from their stigma, the female part of the flower [marked by the red arrow]. "The reproductive biology of S. sikokianus was investigated through pollination observations, artificial pollination experiments, and detailed studies of column morphology." The trick discovered is that after 3 days without insect visits, the flowers of S. sikokianus wilt slightly, enabling the finger to hinge upward to reach pollen sacs above the stigma, thus allowing the plant to fertilize itself. Clearly any wallflower would get tired of waiting to be asked to dance after being patient for 3 whole days.

InsideClimateNews: "How to buy a piece of a lawsuit and impoverish a country." A secretive system, called Investor-State Dispute Settlement or ISDS, disrupts climate action + forces big payouts to fossil fuel companies. "When a foreign mining company sued Greenland in 2022, the government’s lead lawyer thought he was prepared." But Paw Fruerlund found his 3-person team confronting 12 corporate lawyers from two firms representing an Australian company called Greenland Minerals. "Within months, the company’s lawyers were contesting even basic issues, like which languages emails could be written in, dragging out the case’s timeline." Turns out that while Greenland Minerals could afford to pay its own legal bills, it preferred seeking out a deep-pocketed partner. "The company struck an agreement with Burford Capital, a litigation financier, to pay those fees."  'In an arbitration case like Greenland Minerals’, these “third-party funders” generally agree to take a 20 to 50% cut of any award or settlement in exchange for assuming legal costs.' Companies like Burford have been betting on cases like Greenland Minerals’, where foreign investors sue governments before ad-hoc panels of arbitrators, since the 2000s. "The arbitrators hearing the cases are generally corporate lawyers, and the system typically operates without precedent or appeals." Greenland Minerals 'has said it could seek up to $11.5 billion if Greenland refuses to allow its operation to proceed, a figure roughly six times greater than the government’s spending last year.' The 2008 financial crisis proved to be a 'watershed moment, when hedge funds, pension funds and other institutional investors searching for alternatives to volatile financial markets began plowing billions into litigation-funding companies.' James Hollier, a portfolio manager at Silver Beech Capital Management—an asset manager invested in Burford—said, “That is a higher return combined with a longer track record  [15 yrs ending in Sep2024] than almost any other private investment I can think of,” Clearly, an injustice foisted on the 60,000 people of Greenland + their government's viability.

Climate Central: "Year of the Glacier." I like the bar chart because it starts in my birth year, but lament it for not incorporating 2024 data, almost certainly because of the lag time in accruing all the data. "2025 marks the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, a United Nations-led initiative to raise awareness about the critical role of glaciers and the urgent need for their protection." Seven of the 10 yrs with the most glacial attrition or mass loss have occurred since 2010. Sometimes referred to as “water towers of the world,” glaciers 'provide freshwater for billions of people, support diverse ecosystems, contribute to clean energy production, and serve as invaluable archives of past and present climate conditions.' But loss of glacial mass creates risks for many, 'including disrupting tourism economies, eroding cultural heritage and increasing vulnerability to hazards such as landslides, avalanches, tsunamis and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).' All of which can be deadly. Glaciers exist on every continent except Australia, the smallest of the traditional 7 continents [includes Tasmania + some islands]. "In North America, regions such as the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and British Columbia, Canada, face elevated risk from glacial hazards, including GLOFs." Glaciers + ice sheets such as on Greenland cover nearly 10% of Earth's terrestrial surface, store 70% of all freshwater, + are 'home to a third of all terrestrial species diversity.' As for the graphic, note the pink areas represent glaciers alone, not ice sheets. Either way, I love big ice, whether hiking over glaciers or kayaking next to brilliant blue-white behemoths.

AAAS: "Long-distance traveler deemed extinct." The Western Palaearctic is a vast area spanning from North Africa to polar regions in the Eastern Hemisphere. Since the 1500s only 2 avian species from this region were considered to have been lost. Now a third casualty has been identified: "The last slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris, pictured) likely died out around 1995, they report this week in Ibis." Intuitively it makes sense that 'most known bird extinctions have happened on islands, where populations are small and ill prepared for new threats, such as hunting, introduced predators, and diseases.' The slender-billed curlew once traveled a vast range, migrating across Central Asia and the northwestern African coast, with the last recorded sighting in western Morocco back in 1994. The research team combined historical sightings, survey efforts, and known threats, including climate change and habitat destruction—informing a statistical model that generated a 96% probability of extinction. "It follows two other extinct Western Palaearctic birds: the great auk (Pinguinus impennis), last found in 1844, and the Canarian oystercatcher (Haematopus meadewaldoi), caught for the final time in 1913." Unless you believe that clapping to keep fairies alive actually works, realize it's time for all hands on deck to halt habitat destruction + climate weirding.

Your Local Epidemiologist: "U.S. continues to move backward on routine vaccinations." Back when I was teaching, I had an hour-long lecture on vaccine-preventable disease. If I were to reboot, I would need 2 such lectures, as there are more vaccines, new categories such as RNA-based therapies, + more controversy than when I first gave the lccture over 40 yrs ago. Katelyn Jetalina is the originator of YLE, this valuable open-source posting on health issues. She currently states that there is terrible news in the public health space, namely that routine vaccination coverage among kids continues to slip. "Data from last school year shows more than 280,000 kindergartners are unvaccinated against MMR (measles/mumps/rubella; up from 250,000 the year before)." In America, 38 states are below the herd immunity threshold [95%] for measles, with Idaho at the absolute bottom at 79%. "In similar news, vaccine exemptions continue to increase, driven by non-medical exemptions (like those for philosophical reasons)." Come on folks, as providers of medical care—even retired ones—we need to communicate openly + transparently about the criticality of these wonderful immunobiologics.

@me Thanks for the connection. Will of course follow right back.