For Some Birds, It’s Not Always the Same Old Song And Volcanic ash poses little health threat so far

Date 4-20-10
1. This is talking about how Songbirds are not born with songs in their heads, but learn them from others. And as in a game of telephone, it would seem natural that, over generations, the songs might change. Also how many species, some more dramatically than others. The songs of indigo buntings change so much, for example, that songs that are five years apart are almost completely different. Also The songbird in question is not just any old bird, but a member of a famous group of finches that Charles Darwin studied in the Galápagos Islands. Using recordings of Geospiza fortis, the medium ground finch, made 38 years apart, Jeffrey Podos of the University of Massachusetts and Eben Goodale, who is now at the University of California, San Diego found that some songs have persisted over four decades. The researchers conducted a statistical analysis of songs, using elements like number of notes, note duration and trill rate. As they report in Biology Letters, in each year’s recordings there is a lot of variability in the songs. But from one period to another, there are some songs that match quite closely. “Seemingly random songs are maintained over time,” Dr. Goodale noted. “There must be some force maintaining these songs.” As to what that might be, there is no clear answer as yet. But he said one potential clue is that, unlike many songbirds, Darwin’s finches learn their songs not from a neighbor but from their fathers. I think that this is a great article and it talks about how some song birds change and how they sing to other birds to get their attention and how they won't change for anything. I don't think that their is anything wrong with this article.

2.This is talking about how ash particles from Iceland's still-erupting volcano remain high in the atmosphere and do not pose a health risk so far to people in Europe, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.Also Toning down its guidance from Friday, when it said the ash cloud that has grounded flights could be "very dangerous" for those with asthma and respiratory problems, the WHO said there was no cause for public health alarm so far.
"There are no effects on health at the moment, except in the vicinity of the volcano in Iceland," Carlos Dora of the public health and environment division told a news briefing.
Icelanders living near the volcano should stay indoors or wear face masks and goggles to protect themselves against coarse particles that can irritate the lungs and eyes, Dora said.
The most dangerous ash particles are the smallest ones which can be breathed in deep into the lungs, and which have moved further from the volcano in the plume billowing over Europe.
But those fine particles are still "very high up" and weather conditions could very well cause the ash cloud to disperse without causing health problems in Europe, Dora said.
The World Meteorological Organization, based in Geneva, like the WHO is based in Geneva, said the ash particles were made up of small jagged pieces of rock, mineral and volcanic glass the size of sand, salt or silt.Such fine particles are normally dispersed by thunderstorms which are not expected in the region in the coming days.A low pressure weather system is expected to develop over Iceland later this week, potentially pushing the cloud toward the Arctic and prompting rain to "wash out" the ash, the WMO said in a statement.A WMO expert said that the health risks of the cloud were currently negligible across Europe."If you sit in Geneva in a bar and somebody smokes next to you, you probably have 10 to the power of three times more fine particles entering your lungs," Herbert Puempel, head of the WMO's aeronautical meteorology division, told a briefing.The WHO's Dora said if the ash cloud persisted and descend to ground level, the health risks would be greatest for asthmatics and people with respiratory and heart conditions."All of those diseases are made worse by high concentrations of particles," he told journalists. I think this is a good article cantaining good infromation. I think that this can use more information on how a volcano is started.