Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Pug life
Parks turn into pooch paradise »p3
The blaming of the shrew
Pygmy faces death match by alan caulfield
BLOODY furriners: coming over here, competing with our indigenous rodent species. The River Shannon might be the only thing to tame the march of a recently discovered shrew threatening to make one of its closest relatives extinct. Invasive miniature mammal the greater white-toothed shrew – three times the size of its rival, the pygmy shrew – is on course to be in every part of the island by 2050 if it can cross the natural barrier. Researchers from University College Dublin (UCD) warned that in the seven years since the furry creature was discovered, it has colonised 7,600 sq km in seven counties. Lead author of the study, Dr Allan McDevitt of UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, said ‘there may not be sufficient landscape complexity in Ireland to allow niche partitioning between these two species of shrew’. The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found the greater whitetoothed shrew now has a habitat stretching across Tipperary, Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, Offaly and Laois, and in parts of Cork city and Mullingar. The fight for food and habitat has seen the pygmy shrew become extinct in parts of Tipperary after thousands of years. Its competitor, first found in Ireland in the pellets of barn owls and kestrels in 2007, has spread at more than 5km a year. The researchers have called for authorities north and south to address the issue of invasive species causing severe ecological impacts across the island.
Shrewd operator: Crocidura russula, the greater white-toothed shrew, main, is three times the size of its indigenous rival, the pygmy shrew, inset, which weighs 3g to 6g Pictures: PA
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Ireland: We’re the best... around
It’s official: Everything is awesome IRELAND has been crowned the best country in the world in a new survey, which ranks nations according to their contribution to humanity and the planet. War-torn Iraq, Libya and Vietnam came joint bottom of the inaugural The Good Country Index, created by policy adviser Simon Anholt, which combines 35 separate indicators from the United Nations, the World Bank and other global institutions. The list was not meant to name and shame countries. Mr Anholt said: ‘It’s time countries started thinking much harder about the international consequences of their actions; if they don’t, the global challenges like climate change, poverty, economic crises, terrorism, drugs and pandemics will only get worse.’ While Ireland topped the poll, the Nordic region makes a collective contribution which outstrips any other part of the world. The UK came seventh in the poll, while the US trailed at 21, dragged down by poor scores on international peace and security.