Available online
Description
Saving Species on BBC Radio 4 explores biodiversity, conservation and natural history, both in the UK and across the globe. We have an update from Kelvin on the big oil spill off the Mississippi De...lta. In recent days there have been significant amounts of oil washed up on beaches and the first image of an oiled sea turtle has been beamed around the world. We'll have the latest from the perspective of the wildlife and how resilient the soft sediment coastal habitats are to this pollution. We head south to Central America and the rainforests of Costa Rica to meet Oregon State University biologists working on Humming Birds in the forests. Howard discovers that the Humming Birds are crucial plant pollinators for the forest, but those birds near the forest edge will head into the banana plantations before the forest, lured there because banana flowers are loaded with nectar, the humming birds food. What then are the implications for rainforest regeneration without their humming bird pollinators? Howard asks the questions. We'll also be on the Australian Great Barrier Reef to encounter Sea Snakes. And the Spoonbill Sandpiper - a small wading bird that winters in Myanmar and breeds in East Asian Russia, is the subject of emergency research by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). The BTO tell us this bird species is declining by 25% a year. Why such a steep population decline and what can be done about it. We hear both from the Wash Estuary in England and from the work in Asia to save it.
Saving Species on BBC Radio 4 explores biodiversity, conservation and natural history, both in the UK and across the globe. We have an update from Kelvin on the big oil spill off the Mississippi De...lta. In recent days there have been significant amounts of oil washed up on beaches and the first image of an oiled sea turtle has been beamed around the world. We'll have the latest from the perspective of the wildlife and how resilient the soft sediment coastal habitats are to this pollution. We head south to Central America and the rainforests of Costa Rica to meet Oregon State University biologists working on Humming Birds in the forests. Howard discovers that the Humming Birds are crucial plant pollinators for the forest, but those birds near the forest edge will head into the banana plantations before the forest, lured there because banana flowers are loaded with nectar, the humming birds food. What then are the implications for rainforest regeneration without their humming bird pollinators? Howard asks the questions. We'll also be on the Australian Great Barrier Reef to encounter Sea Snakes. And the Spoonbill Sandpiper - a small wading bird that winters in Myanmar and breeds in East Asian Russia, is the subject of emergency research by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). The BTO tell us this bird species is declining by 25% a year. Why such a steep population decline and what can be done about it. We hear both from the Wash Estuary in England and from the work in Asia to save it.
| Series: | Saving species; Series 1 |
|---|---|
| Episode | 9 |
| First transmission date: | 2010-06-01 |
| Original broadcast channel: | BBC Radio 4 |
| Published: | 2010 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OU Digital Archive web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:30:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Sheena Duncan |
| Presenter: | Brett Westwood |
| Contributors: | Kelvin Boot; James Brickell; Nigel Clark; Richard Fitzpatrick; Adam Hadley; Howard Stableford; Brett Westwood |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Production number: | PBS02210WZ0009 |
| Available to public: | no |
