The Minke Connection: A 100m-year bond threatened by climate change

Sunday 29 May 2016

A 100m-year bond threatened by climate change

A flatworm on the Great Barrier Reef. Photo / Spirit of Freedom

The bond between spiny mountain crayfish and their tiny, flatworm friends was forged some 100 million years ago on the thickly forested super-continent of Gondwana.

It endured the dominance of the dinosaurs and the catastrophe that killed them. It survived isolation on Australia as the continent broke away from its neighbours and sailed northward. The climate warmed, the air dried out, the earth was pushed upward into mountains and eroded by streams.

All the while, this ancient association thrived, with the worms living out their lives on the backs of hospitable crayfish. The creatures diversified and spread, adapting to every available ecological niche so that researchers today might find a unique species of flatworm living on just one kind of crayfish in only a certain stream in all of Australia.

"They've been evolving and interacting while all these massive changes have been occurring," said evolutionary biologist Jennifer Hoyal Cuthill.

"... That's now at increasing risk due to climate change."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11645230

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Overview

Why are the Japanese killing protected sperm whales???

From the high seas off New Zealand to the intricate demands in the city of Tokyo, The Minke Connection is a spellbinding saga. Matching business versus environmentalism, big organizations versus small and expectation versus experience.

Greenpeace discover that the Japanese research whaling fleet are killing more than the Minke whale. They send American born Canadian John Daroux, lecturer and adventurer, and Carrie Ardley, whale researcher, to investigate. Boarding the factory ship in mid ocean, John finds irrefutable evidence, almost loses his life and becomes Carrie’s lover. Together, John and Carrie go to Tokyo where they evade being poisoned, survive being frozen alive and endure being followed by the dreaded yakusa. The arrival of Greenpeace chief, Mark Stafford, and his beautiful associate, Petra van de Roer, initiates a counter attack that requires John and Carrie to act as bait. Desperate measures are called for as they endeavor to outwit Takeshi Fujiwara, leader of the cult, League of Blood. John and Carrie are captured and tortured. Time is critical. John Daroux must use all his wits and knowledge to save the Sperm whales and himself. Can they succeed?

John Daroux……New Age intellectual, martial arts exponent and Reki master, he takes on the project unprepared for the tests he will experience. While he can handle the threats and challenges from the Japanese, can he handle the passion aroused by Carrie Ardley?

Carrie Ardley……young, attractive Greenpeace technician, committed to saving whales, takes on this task as an adventure. Fiercely attracted to John Daroux, she suffers torture and finds that he puts the project above her well being. Can she ever forgive him?

Mark Stafford……competent, urbane chief of Greenpeace, he takes on his biggest challenge when he confronts the League of Blood and tries to unravel the reason why the giant trading company, Mosaka Corporation, is killing the protected Sperm whales. Can he overcome the threats?

Takeshi Fujiwara……one of Japan’s most powerful businessmen, and chairman of Mosaka Corporation, he controls the lives of many. He holds a secret that dates back many centuries and the time for action is now. Can he succeed or will the persistent efforts of the foreign controlled environmental “do-gooder” Greenpeace upset his carefully prepared plans?

The Minke Connection

Sunday 29 May 2016

A 100m-year bond threatened by climate change

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