An Adventure in Sound - AudioBooks, ReadAlongs and Online Stories.

More Creatures' Secrets - A Moth with Amazing Ears

2013-05-09T14:28:36Z

From New Scientist:

The greater wax moth is flapping gently through the dark, looking for a mate, when it suddenly hears a high-pitched click. The sound is well outside the range of human hearing, but the moth has no problem picking it up. It swerves to the right - and escapes the jaws of a predatory bat by inches.

Greater wax moths have hearing like no other animal we know of. They can hear sounds that are so high-pitched that no known bat can produce them.

In the evolutionary race for survival, this moth has a head start.

Put simply, greater wax moths are a pest. Their larvae often live inside honeybee nests, where they survive on a diet of little more than beeswax. They have a particular taste for the brood combs where the bee larvae live, and can quickly trash the nest.

Adult moths only leave the hive to mate. Males gather on nearby trees and,shortly after sunset, begin making calls to females, at frequencies above the range of human hearing.

Higher-pitched still are the calls of their predators: bats. While the male moth's calls range from 90,000 to 95,000 hertz, bats echolocate using sounds often closer to 110,000 Hz.

Evolution has pushed moths to keep up, so although they can't produce calls in the same range as bats, they can hear them coming. One North American moth can hear sounds up to 150,000 Hz - good, but not good enough to escape all bats, whose calls can reach 212,000 Hz.

I can hear you!

Enter the greater wax moth. Hannah Moir and colleagues at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK tested the hearing of 20 adult moths by playing them a wide range of sounds and measuring both the vibration of their tympanal membrane - the moths' "eardrum" - and whether a signal was transmitted down their auditory nerve.

Each sound was at 90 decibels, which is about as noisy as heavy traffic but not quite as loud as most bat echolocation calls. All the moths' tympanal membranes vibrated strongly to sounds at a frequency of 300,000 Hz, and 15 out of the 20 also showed strong neural signals.

Incredibly, that means the moths can hear a sound that no known animal makes.

Moir says there are two possible explanations. "It could be that the bats are producing higher frequencies than can be recorded," she says. Microphones struggle to record sounds higher than 150,000 Hz, and bat calls can be particularly difficult to capture.

Alternatively, the moths' sensitivity to high-pitched sounds could be an evolutionary accident, Moir says. The moths need to detect bat calls quickly to take evasive action. The physics of sound means that any sensor that can pick up a wide range of frequencies will also have a fast response time. So their sensitivity to a wide range of frequencies could be a fringe benefit of the ability to pick up the bats' calls faster.

Bats may eventually evolve higher-pitched echolocation calls to help them hunt those moths that can listen in on their existing calls. But this won't help them catch the greater wax moth: it is several steps ahead of them.

Despite their outstanding abilities, there doesn't seem to be anything special about the greater wax moth's ears. Moir says its tympanal membranes look pretty much like those of other insects, the only difference being that they are unusually thin - which would make them more sensitive to high-pitched sounds. So, as incredible as it seems, the moths' hearing may not be unique, says Moir.

More Creature's Secrets!

2013-02-03T22:03:23Z

This story, reported by the BBC and many others, highlights a report regarding the Earth's species and, highly relevantly to Rockford's Rock Opera - the ecological musical audio book - it states that many species may become extinct before we even discover them. Poor us....

Here's the story.

The natural world contains about 8.7 million species, according to a new estimate described by scientists as the most accurate ever.

But the vast majority have not been identified - and cataloguing them all could take more than 1,000 years.

The number comes from studying relationships between the branches and leaves of the "family tree of life".

The team warns in the journal PLoS Biology that many species will become extinct before they can be studied.

Although the number of species on the planet might seem an obvious figure to know, a way to calculate it with confidence has been elusive.

In a commentary also carried in PLoS Biology, former Royal Society president Lord (Robert) May observes: "It is a remarkable testament to humanity's narcissism that we know the number of books in the US Library of Congress on 1 February 2011 was 22,194,656, but cannot tell you - to within an order of magnitude - how many distinct species of plants and animals we share our world with."

Now, it appears, we can.

"We've been thinking about this for several years now - we've had a look at a number of different approaches, and didn't have any success," one of the research team, Derek Tittensor, told BBC News.

"So this was basically our last chance, the last thing we tried, and it seems to work."

Dr Tittensor, who is based at the UN Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Unep-WCMC) and Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK, worked on the project alongside peers from Dalhousie University in Canada and the University of Hawaii.

The vast majority of the 8.7 million are animals, with progressively smaller numbers of fungi, plants, protozoa (a group of single-celled organisms) and chromists (algae and other micro-organisms).

The figure excludes bacteria and some other types of micro-organism.

Linnaean steps
About 1.2 million species have been formally described, the vast majority from the land rather than the oceans.

Continue reading the main story
The natural world in numbers

Animals: 7.77 million (12% described)
Fungi: 0.61 million (7% described)
Plants: 0.30 million (70% described)
Protozoa: 0.04 million (22% described)
Chromists: 0.03 million (50% described)
The trick this team used was to look at the relationship between species and the broader groupings to which they belong.

In 1758, Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus developed a comprehensive system of taxonomy, as the field is known, which is still - with modifications - in use today.

Groups of closely related species belong to the same genus, which in turn are clustered into families, then orders, then classes, then phyla, and finally into kingdoms (such as the animal kingdom).

The higher up this hierarchical tree of life you look, the rarer new discoveries become - hardly surprising, as a discovery of a new species will be much more common than the discovery of a totally new phylum or class.

The researchers quantified the relationship between the discovery of new species and the discovery of new higher groups such as phyla and orders, and then used it to predict how many species there are likely to be.

"We discovered that, using numbers from the higher taxonomic groups, we can predict the number of species," said Dalhousie researcher Sina Adl.

"The approach accurately predicted the number of species in several well-studied groups such as mammals, fishes and birds, providing confidence in the method."

And the number came out as 8.7 million - plus or minus about a million.

Muddied waters
If this is correct, then only 14% of the world's species have yet been identified - and only 9% of those in the oceans.

The rate of species discovery has remained about even ever since Haeckel compiled his Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature) a century ago
"The rest are primarily going to be smaller organisms, and a large proportion of them will be dwelling in places that are hard to reach or hard to sample, like the deep oceans," said Dr Tittensor.

"When we think of species we tend to think of mammals or birds, which are pretty well known.

"But when you go to a tropical rainforest, it's easy to find new insects, and when you go to the deep sea and pull up a trawl, 90% of what you get can be undiscovered species."

At current rates of discovery, completing the catalogue would take over 1,000 years - but new techniques such as DNA bar-coding could speed things up.

The scientists say they do not expect their calculations to mark the end of this line of inquiry, and are looking to peers to refine methods and conclusions.

One who has already looked through the paper is Professor Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation programmes at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

"I think it's definitely a creative and innovative approach, but like every other method there are potential biases and I think it's probably a conservative figure," he told BBC News.

"But it's such a high figure that it wouldn't really matter if it's out by one or two million either way.

"It is really picking up this point that we know very little about the species with which we share the planet; and we are converting the Earth's natural landscapes so quickly, with total ignorance of our impact on the life in them."

Rockford's Rock Opera - the best children's audiobook on Android

2012-10-10T14:23:07Z

Yes, it's true, Rockford's Rock Opera audiobook for children Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 are now available from Google Play for Android phones and tablets.

Here they are:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.uk.sweetapple.RROPart1&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvLnVrLnN3ZWV0YXBwbGUuUlJPUGFydDEiXQ..

The Part One App is free with parts 2,3 and 4 all £2.99 each.

We hope you enjoy them and please let us know any feedback - there are so many different Android devices its impossible to test for all of them.

And, while we're here, take a look at this wonderful recent review for WIred of our Apple Apps (the same content as the Google Android Children's Story Apps):

Here it is!

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/08/rockfords/

A Great Review from the USA

2012-04-24T13:07:46Z

Here's a great review we've just reviewed from the USA from the excellent 'MyDevotionalThoughts' blog by Ruth Hill. Thank you!!! So glad you enjoyed the story and found the educational resources useful!

Rockford's Rock Opera Website Review

A couple of months ago, I discovered a fantastic educational website for children. And since I am a music teacher, I knew right away that I wanted to review this website. It sounded exactly what I wished I could have had when I was an elementary music teacher.

The site is Rockford's Rock Opera. It is subtitled "The Creatures Have a Secret." I am enthralled by it! It has an interactive portion of the site where students age 11 and under (and possibly even older--it depends on the child) can play the story, read along, read the songs/lyrics, and so much more. I think what intrigues me even more is that it has an ecological message. "Being Green" is all the rage now, and I am thrilled that the site uses music and so much more to get the idea of responsible living across.

As a music teacher, I thoroughly enjoyed the educational area. There are lesson plans that cover each area of the story and opera. They are perfect for cross-curricular teaching. There are lessons for music, reading, art, science, and so much more. I only wish I had a class right now so I could teach these fantastic lessons!

This site is free to a certain point, and after that, one has to become a member. If I were a full-time teacher, i think I would investigate more of the paid areas. I love pre-made lesson plans and interactive sites like this. Not only does it inspire the students when a teacher brings technology like this into the classroom, but it is ideal for "filler" time. There are always those students who finish early, and this is the ideal thing to keep those students on task and under control. And for making up absences? Fantastically easy!

What I am most happy about is that it uses the term "opera," and makes this genre of music less scary for children. If you ask just about any school-age child (my daughter included) to tell their thoughts about opera, you will hear all sorts of things. Some students confuse "opera" and "Oprah." Others have the concept of opera where "the fat lady" sings a song at the top of her voice. It was my perception as I grew up as well.

I cannot recommend this fantastic website enough. In fact, I would say this would be ideal for homeschool as well as public/private schools. It is appropriate for almost any subject, and I would highly recommend the full area of the site--you will not regret it!

Thanks again to Ruth and the MyDevotionalThoughts blog where this review appears.

New Rockford Song Supports 'Save the Manatee Club' Charity

2012-04-18T15:24:27Z

Sea Cows Go Interstellar In
Rockford's Rock Opera

This article was first published by our friends, Save the Manatee Club, on their website:

In the new Rockford's Rock Opera adventure (coming soonish), the Interstellar Sea Cows wander the universe spreading peace and love with their siren's songs. Click on the image above or on the following link to hear the Interstellar Sea Cow Song. You can also download the song on Amazon (UK residents click here) or at iTunes and support manatee conservation efforts. (Image courtesy Elaine & Matthew Sweetapple.)

Elaine and Matthew Sweetapple live in the UK and are adoptive parents of Elaine the manatee. They are also creators of Rockford's Rock Opera, a musical story that teaches children about ecology and extinction. Rockford's Rock Opera is currently used in 15,000 schools worldwide and is a hit with children and adults alike with well over a million downloads to date. Recently, the Sweetapples created a new character for the story called the "Interstellar Sea Cow" together with a captivating song that's now available on Amazon (UK residents click here) or at iTunes, with all proceeds going to manatee conservation efforts.

Elaine and Matthew Sweetapple, creators ofRockford's Rock Opera, and adoptive parents of Elaine the manatee. (Photo courtesy Elaine & Matthew Sweetapple.)

Rockford's Rock Opera tells the story of a boy named Moog and his dog, Rockford, who arrive on the mystical Island of Infinity, which is home to the last one of every extinct animal species. The rock opera has been featured on the BBC and has received rave reviews, including a description by The Times as "an amazing mix of story, songs and sound effects." Matthew writes, produces and performs all the music for the rock opera, Elaine creates the designs and illustrations, and writer Steve Punt - a well-known comedian in the UK - provides the script and many of the voices.

The Sweetapples are currently hard at work on Rockford's next adventure, due out in 2012, and which features the Interstellar Sea Cow, an animal character based on the Steller's sea cow, a relative of modern day manatees and dugongs that was hunted to extinction in 1768. In Rockford's Rock Opera, the Interstellar Sea Cows are the last of an imagined herd of creatures that wander the universe spreading peace and love with their siren's songs. "We thought that the tale of the Steller's sea cow, and its fate at the hands of man, could be told to make the world aware of the plight of its modern day relatives," said Matthew. "The character was also inspired by the fact that the collective scientific name for all sea cows is 'Sirenia' - which both suggested the idea of music and sirens, and sounded to us very 'alien'!"

Elaine creates the beautiful designs and illustrations for Rockford's Rock Opera. Above, Moog encounters the Anonymous Moth on his search for his dog Rockford. (Image courtesy Elaine & Matthew Sweetapple.)

The Sweetapples believe it is important to use the success ofRockford's Rock Opera to support organizations that are helping to protect endangered species, especially when they have relevance to their animal characters. So as a gift for Matthew's birthday last year, Elaine adopted her namesake, Elaine the manatee, from Save the Manatee Club, and the couple later contacted the Club to offer the proceeds from the Interstellar Sea Cow Song. "Over the past year - although we're in the UK - we were really impressed with the charity and its work, so when we wrote our sea cow song, it was obvious that Save the Manatee Club would be the charity we'd most like to support," said Elaine. "From our point of view, since our Interstellar Sea Cow character was inspired by manatees and sea cows, it's only right that the song should help support these amazing, gentle creatures."

Rockford and the Cocklebur Ick meet Colonel Utensil and the Squid Squad. (Image courtesy Elaine & Matthew Sweetapple.)

Matthew and Elaine have added Save the Manatee Club's web address to their Rockford web site and Facebook pages, so their visitors can learn more about manatees and what they can do to help protect them. The Rockford's Rock Opera web site also contains information about the threats currently faced by plants and animals around the world, along with lesson plans for educators and other resources.

"In creating Rockford's Rock Opera, we've been amazed how the true stories of extinct creatures, mixed with a little imagination, truly inspire children, prompting them to ask questions and to learn more about the natural world," said Matthew. "It also, we're glad to say, inspires them to make a difference and to realise the importance of every life and every species, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant."

"So now, if a catchy, Interstellar Sea Cow dance anthem inspires more people to support the Stellar sea cow's modern day relatives and Save the Manatee Club," said Elaine, "that's a brilliant result!"

Rockford and Ick are welcomed to the Island of Infinity, a place that is home to the last one of every extinct animal species. (Image courtesy Elaine & Matthew Sweetapple.)

Explore More!
Check out the Interstellar Sea Cow Song
and Rockford's Rock Opera

Listen to the Interstellar Sea Cow Song on Facebook.
Download the Interstellar Sea Cow song on iTunes or at Amazon and help support manatee conservation efforts. (Note: UK residents can download the song by clicking on this link for Amazon UK ).
Discover Rockford's Rock Opera! Part One is available free to download or stream from the Rockford web site. It is also available as a podcast or free App on iPhone. Parts 2, 3 and 4 are available as a downloads, Apps or on CD.

Adopt-A-Manatee®

As a gift for Matthew's birthday last year, Elaine Sweetapple adopted Elainethe manatee from Save the Manatee Club. Elaine lives in the wild and winters at Blue Spring State Park, located in Orange City, Florida. She is known as a manatee with a fierce independent streak.

A Lovely Review

2012-03-01T17:27:49Z

We've had lots of really nice reviews recently for our Rockford's Rock Opera website and CDs but also for our very popular series of iPhone Apps.

Here's a recent review from the excellent Mummy Rates It blog:

Review: Rockford's Rock Opera (App)

Our kids love books. They have piles of them in their bedrooms, they suck-up catalogues, brochures and leaflets like a pair of famished anteaters and if it's not being looked at it's being listened to - story CDs are also a big must. However, we had never ventured into story Apps until Louise at Rock and Roll Baby World enticed us to review Rockford's Rock Opera, promising an adventure not to be forgotten.

Rockford: not to be sniffed at

Who is this Rockford? And what is he doing on my iPhone?

I was surprised to discover that Rockford has been doing the rounds for the last few years. He is already a hit on the net, has had a stage show, video game and is even in talks to have his own film. A move into the world of the App (or should that be yApp?) seems only natural for such a popular pooch.

So what, you may ask, makes Rockford so popular?

Well, as you watch the Rock Opera you realise there's more to this story than the superb graphics, animation and songs (more of that later). Rockford's Rock Opera has all the appeal of a Disney classic, yet its messages are far more profound. Branded an ecological musical it examines the evolution and extinction of animals and plants. However, it does not end there. Rockford's Rock Opera also conveys the importance of trust and forgiveness.

Does that all sound a bit dry for a kids' story?

You'd think so but team Sweetapple, the self-produced and financed duo behind Rockford's Rock Opera, have employed clever tactics to appeal to kids. First, you have the loveable Rockford, a pooch who accidently gets a Cocklebur Ick (yes, you read that right) stuck to his bottom. Then there's his owner, a boy called Moog, whose love for Rockford leads to a frantic race with 'The Registrar' to prevent Canine extinction.

Colonel Kitchener Utensil: a leggy Dectopus

Secondly, the story rolls out alongside magnificent graphics and animation. Not being an App expert, I was expecting something pretty 'flat'. However, the App has a cinematic quality which wows the audience. For example, the opening scene with Moog in Battersea Park reminded me of graphics used in The Polar Express.

Lastly, the soundtrack gives 'good sway!' Not at all cheesy, the songs, liberally peppered throughout the 4 parts, reference The Beatles, The Flaming Lips and even The Streets. Instantly likeable, it's easy to imagine them being performed on the big stage. All this and you've got the dulcet tones of Steve Punt narrating and appearing throughout.

Unsurprisingly parents aren't the only ones to see the benefits of hanging with Rockford. Thousands of teachers worldwide are now planning lessons around the Opera's messages. If you would like to have some App-y times with Rockford you can download the first part of the story for free. The other 3 parts can be downloaded from the Apple store and can be viewed on iPhone, iPad and iTouch.

Giant Sponge Returns!!

2011-11-23T11:03:52Z

We're glad to report that a bathtub-sized marine sponge rediscovered after a century of extinction.

Not found alive for over a century the evocatively named Neptune's cup sponge (Cliona patera) has been rediscovered off the shores of Singapore. Researchers with the environmental consulting DHI Group found the species during a routine dive. Although the specimen they found was small, the goblet-shaped sponge can reach nearly 5 feet (1.5 meters) high and the same in diameter.

"When we came across the sponge, we knew immediately that this was something very different," marine biologist Karenne Tun from DHI said in a press release.

First described in 1822, full-grown Neptune cups were used as bathtubs for children. Overharvesting for the magnificent organism, however, led to its near extinction. The sponge was last sighted in 1908 in Indonesian waters and believed to be extinct since then. However, dead Neptune's cups were found in dredge samples from northern Australia in the 1990s, providing hope that the species was still around.

"Basically, little is known about the Neptune's Cup, as it was never found alive," adds Tun. "Now we have the opportunity to study the biology and ecology of this impressive sponge and learn about its life cycle. [...] We've already had the first surprise: The Neptune's cup was thought to be a very slow growing species. However, between our last visits in April and August, respectively, it had grown several centimeters."

Evolving over 150 million years ago, sponges anchor themselves to the marine floor, feeding on plankton and other small marine animals as water passes through their filtering bodies.

This story originally appeared in mongabay.com

The Sharks have a Secret

2011-09-20T15:31:04Z

Noticed a report in the Daily Mail about how an antibiotic found in sharks could be used as drug to treat human viruses and revolutionise medicine.

Anyone who's listened to Rockford's Rock Opera audio book and apps will know that 'Creatures Secrets' are fundamental to our story; how losing creatures to extinction is ridding the world of potentially world changing discoveries. Perhaps now, at last, we'll begin to see sharks not a killers, but life savers?

More about sharks' secrets.

The compound, found in the liver of sharks, could be used as a new type of drug to treat a broad spectrum of diseases from dengue and yellow fever to hepatitis B, C and D.
The antibiotic, squalamine, is already known to be safe for use in humans as an antiviral agent.

Breakthrough: A compound found in sharks could protect humans from a range of diseases
Dr Michael Zasloff, from Georgetown University who led the study, said: 'To realise that squalamine potentially has broad antiviral properties is immensely exciting, especially since we already know so much from ongoing studies about its behaviour in people.'

They found that in both lab and animal experiments squalamine produced antiviral activity against the human pathogens found in the diseases such as some forms of hepatitis which cannot currently be treated.

Along with offering medical advances this discovery may solve the mystery of how sharks with primitive immune systems can so effectively fight viruses that plague all living creatures.
Dr Zasloff said: 'I believe squalamine is one of a family of related compounds that protects sharks and some other "primitive" ocean vertebrates, such as the sea lamprey, from viruses.
'Squalamine appears to protect against viruses that attack the liver and blood tissues, and other similar compounds that we know exist in the shark likely protect against respiratory viral infections, and so on.
'We may be able to harness the shark's novel immune system to turn all of these antiviral compounds into agents that protect humans against a wide variety of viruses.
'That would be revolutionary. While many antibacterial agents exist, doctors have few antiviral drugs to help their patients, and few of those are broadly active.'
Dr Zasloff discovered squalamine in 1993 and it has already been used in clinical trials to treat cancer and several eye disorders.
'I was interested in sharks because of their seemingly primitive but effective immune system. No one could explain why the shark was so hardy,' he said.

Water interesting discovery: The study may solve the mystery of how sharks with primitive immune systems can so effectively fight viruses that plague all living creatures
When he started to 'play' with the compound he found that it inhibited the growth of rapidly growing blood vessels, such as those found in tumour growth and certain retinal diseases.
Since 1995 it has been synthesised in the laboratory rather than taking any natural shark tissue.
Dr Zasloff remained interested in how the natural cholesterol type molecule, which has a net positive electrical charge, acted as an immune agent in sharks.
When it enters cells, and it can only access certain cells including those in blood vessels, capillaries and the liver, squalamine 'kicks off' positively-charged proteins that are bound to the negatively charged surface of the cells inner membrane.
Some of these displaced proteins are used by viruses to replicate and without the protein a virus's life cycle is disrupted, the microbe is rendered inert and the cell containing it is destroyed.
This means that squalamine seems to be designed to fight certain viral infections, Dr Zasloff claimed.
He said: 'To me, the key to squalamine is that once in the body it times its action to match the life cycle of most viruses.
'Most viruses take hours to complete their life cycle, the same time period that squalamine renders tissues and organs viral resistant after administration.
'In addition, it acts fast to stop viral replication, clearing the body of these predators within hours.
'Furthermore, because squalamine acts by making the host's tissues less receptive for infection, rather than by targeting a specific viral protein, the emergence of viral resistance would not be anticipated.'
In tissue culture studies squalamine was shown to inhibit the infection of human blood vessel cells by the dengue virus and human liver cells infected with hepatitis B and D, which can cause liver failure and cancer.
In animal studies, scientists from across the USA discovered that squalamine controlled infections of yellow fever, Eastern equine encephalitis virus, and murine cytomegalovirus, and in some cases cured the animals.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition online.

Original Story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2039323/An-antibiotic-liver-sharks-revolutionise-human-medicine.html#ixzz1YVV2cXMa

The Creatures Have A Secret

2011-08-30T16:09:00Z

This story, reported by the BBC and many others, highlights a recent report regarding the Earth's species and, highly relevantly to Rockford's Rock Opera - the ecological musical audio book - it states that many species may become extinct before we even discover them. Poor us....

Here's the story.

The natural world contains about 8.7 million species, according to a new estimate described by scientists as the most accurate ever.

But the vast majority have not been identified - and cataloguing them all could take more than 1,000 years.

The number comes from studying relationships between the branches and leaves of the "family tree of life".

The team warns in the journal PLoS Biology that many species will become extinct before they can be studied.

Although the number of species on the planet might seem an obvious figure to know, a way to calculate it with confidence has been elusive.

In a commentary also carried in PLoS Biology, former Royal Society president Lord (Robert) May observes: "It is a remarkable testament to humanity's narcissism that we know the number of books in the US Library of Congress on 1 February 2011 was 22,194,656, but cannot tell you - to within an order of magnitude - how many distinct species of plants and animals we share our world with."

Now, it appears, we can.

"We've been thinking about this for several years now - we've had a look at a number of different approaches, and didn't have any success," one of the research team, Derek Tittensor, told BBC News.

"So this was basically our last chance, the last thing we tried, and it seems to work."

Dr Tittensor, who is based at the UN Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Unep-WCMC) and Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK, worked on the project alongside peers from Dalhousie University in Canada and the University of Hawaii.

The vast majority of the 8.7 million are animals, with progressively smaller numbers of fungi, plants, protozoa (a group of single-celled organisms) and chromists (algae and other micro-organisms).

The figure excludes bacteria and some other types of micro-organism.

Linnaean steps
About 1.2 million species have been formally described, the vast majority from the land rather than the oceans.

Continue reading the main story
The natural world in numbers

Animals: 7.77 million (12% described)
Fungi: 0.61 million (7% described)
Plants: 0.30 million (70% described)
Protozoa: 0.04 million (22% described)
Chromists: 0.03 million (50% described)
The trick this team used was to look at the relationship between species and the broader groupings to which they belong.

In 1758, Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus developed a comprehensive system of taxonomy, as the field is known, which is still - with modifications - in use today.

Groups of closely related species belong to the same genus, which in turn are clustered into families, then orders, then classes, then phyla, and finally into kingdoms (such as the animal kingdom).

The higher up this hierarchical tree of life you look, the rarer new discoveries become - hardly surprising, as a discovery of a new species will be much more common than the discovery of a totally new phylum or class.

The researchers quantified the relationship between the discovery of new species and the discovery of new higher groups such as phyla and orders, and then used it to predict how many species there are likely to be.

"We discovered that, using numbers from the higher taxonomic groups, we can predict the number of species," said Dalhousie researcher Sina Adl.

"The approach accurately predicted the number of species in several well-studied groups such as mammals, fishes and birds, providing confidence in the method."

And the number came out as 8.7 million - plus or minus about a million.

Muddied waters
If this is correct, then only 14% of the world's species have yet been identified - and only 9% of those in the oceans.

The rate of species discovery has remained about even ever since Haeckel compiled his Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature) a century ago
"The rest are primarily going to be smaller organisms, and a large proportion of them will be dwelling in places that are hard to reach or hard to sample, like the deep oceans," said Dr Tittensor.

"When we think of species we tend to think of mammals or birds, which are pretty well known.

"But when you go to a tropical rainforest, it's easy to find new insects, and when you go to the deep sea and pull up a trawl, 90% of what you get can be undiscovered species."

At current rates of discovery, completing the catalogue would take over 1,000 years - but new techniques such as DNA bar-coding could speed things up.

The scientists say they do not expect their calculations to mark the end of this line of inquiry, and are looking to peers to refine methods and conclusions.

One who has already looked through the paper is Professor Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation programmes at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

"I think it's definitely a creative and innovative approach, but like every other method there are potential biases and I think it's probably a conservative figure," he told BBC News.

"But it's such a high figure that it wouldn't really matter if it's out by one or two million either way.

"It is really picking up this point that we know very little about the species with which we share the planet; and we are converting the Earth's natural landscapes so quickly, with total ignorance of our impact on the life in them."

Celebrating 500 Facebook Audiobook Fans

2011-08-08T17:22:40Z

If you haven't joined us already, please 'like' Rockford's Rock Opera on Facebook. We've just hit 500 fans. Thanks everyone and please do stop by and say hello.

Here!! :-)

A Great Children's Audio Book Review from a Brilliant Children's Blog

2011-07-12T12:06:20Z

Here's a lovely Review of Rockford's Rock Opera from Inside the Wendy House - a lovely blog for children and parents:

This is what they said :-)

Music is a fundamental part of life Inside the Wendy House. From my own teenaged songstress, to my guitar playing husband to my all singing, all dancing little ones, not a moment goes by where our love of music does not figure in some way.

So when I was offered the chance to review Rockford's Rock Opera I was only too happy to be able to introduce something new into my home for my music loving family to enjoy. I'm so glad I did.

Created by Sweetapple and written by comedian Steve Punt, it is an adventure like no other. An amazing story where sound effects, narration, fantastic characters and wonderful songs combine to create a unique adventure in sound. The central character is Rockford the dog.

The story tells us about the far, away Sea of Tranquility where the Island of Infinity lies. Here is home to the last one of every extinct animal species, the world's lost creatures. And they have a secret for the world!

The Rockford's Rock Opera is a triple CD pack. The complete story of Rockford's Rock Opera is told in three parts. Each enhanced CD features an animated video bringing the story to life and comes with a 24 page illustrated booklet featuring the song lyrics.

The Rockford's Rock Opera is like an audio book which tells a beautiful story with great songs. It is quite dark in parts but is ultimately about hope. At two and a half hours long it is perfect for a long car journey (which is how we first listened to it!) It is an entertaining tale with memorable tunes, fantastical creatures and great music. "The Cocklebur Ick" song has become a family favourite with its catchy chorus!

The most powerful thing about this Rock Opera is the message contained within the songs. The idea that we can learn so much from the world and its vast array of inhabitants, many of which have been around for millions of years. It reminds us of the tragedy of extinction. It teaches us to respect our world, to listen, to look, to learn. The power to save the planet is here...we just have to find it! In these times when children are so clued up on the environment, this comes as a real breath of fresh air and food for thought about the future of our planet (albeit in a fictional, fantastical way!)

For more details, sample music and to buy a copy, check out their website. For just £15.99 you could own this stunning piece of musical storytelling!

A big THANK YOU for such a lovely review! For more like this please subscribe to Inside the Wendy House

Dinosaurs become extinct... again!

2011-05-18T16:36:04Z

Spotted this sorry and thought I should share it with fans of Rockford's Rock Opera!

Certain dinosaurs may soon go extinct from the record books because they are duplicates of animals already on the books.

John Horner, a paleontologist at Montana State University in the USA, and others suspect that at least 50 dinosaurs on the record books now have been incorrectly identified.

Paleontologist Michael J. Benton at the University of Bristol in the UK said that up to 51.7% of all dinosaur species are mis-categorised.

H This means that more than half the species of dinosaurs ever named were in error!

Horner added that at present, "new" dinosaurs are discovered and named at a rate of one every two weeks. Thousands of dinosaurs are now on record, with many of them probably being duplicates of animals already on the books.

Horner, who has two dinosaurs named after him, is proposing that paleontologists follow a rigorous set of procedures known as the Unified Frame of Reference (UFR) when attempting to identify fossils.

The UFR will take into account microscopic analysis of the fossils, which uses technologies not available in the past.

It will also require detailed analysis of where the remains were found, how they appeared when first observed pre-excavation, how they compare to existing species, and more.

"The proposals by Horner are very important as a reminder of a problem paleontologists are aware of, but we still don't know if it will provide a 100% watertight solution that means we will never make mistakes about dinosaur species ever again," said Benton.

The study was reported in Science journal.

Rockford's Rock Opera introduces Audiobook App Part Three

2011-04-12T14:29:03Z

Part 3 of Rockford's Rock Opera - the award winning ecological audio book for all ages - has now been released as a iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad App!

And Android versions will be ready soon!

So there are now THREE Rockford's Rock Opera Apple Apps available:

Part One (over an hour of pictures, music, story and animation) is FREE!!!

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/id345554761?mt=8

Part Two (40 minutes with lots more) £2.99 / $4.99

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/id396897529?mt=8

Part Three (The best yet!) £2.99 / $4.99

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/id429178855?mt=8

And Part Four is on its way soon.

We do hope you enjoy them! Perfect for the holidays!!

It's great to hear from you so, please join us on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/rockfordsrockopera

That's it for the moment.

An Audio Book for Earth Hour

2011-03-17T16:52:01Z

As you may know, at Rockford's Rock Opera, we're supporters of the work of the World Wildlife fund. And one of the WWF's biggest annual events is Earth Hour - a chance to switch off for an hour.

Now, as the globe prepares to switch off for Earth Hour, cities across the world are leading the drive to take Earth Hour 2011 beyond the hour by committing to lasting environmental actions including:

• Sydney, Australia where actions include switching to LED lights in parks and streets
• Medellin, Colombia where long term water protection and tree planting initiatives form part of a commitment that goes "beyond 60 minutes"
• Shenyang, China where 38,000 hectares of land will be reforested
• And a race among Sweden's cities to be named the Earth Hour capital.

Earth Hour is well worth supporting and knowing more about. For more information visit earthhour.org

Rockford's Rock Opera Children's App hits Top 10!

2011-02-17T18:12:01Z

Rockford's Rock Opera, the award winning ecological musical App for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, has hit the Top 10 of the App Book Charts.

At time of writing, Rockford's Rock Opera (Part 2) - £2.99 from the Apple App Store - is No 9 in the App Book Charts, beating other classic children's brands such as Mickey Mouse and The Three Little Pigs! And Rockford's Rock Opera (Part 1), which is free, is now at No 20 in the free charts.

Importantly, these chart positions have been achieved with no promotion on behalf of Rockford's creators. Word of mouth among children and parents has been the key.

With two further Parts now nearing completion, these are exciting times for Rockford's Rock Opera which recently passed another milestone, 1,000,000 story downloads from the www.RockfordsRockOpera.com website.

With a mixture of great music, clear narration, songs, animation and illustrations, together with information about the facts behind the story, Rockford's Rock Opera is the perfect app for all ages.

About Rockford's Rock Opera

Writing in The Times newspaper, children's audiobook reviewer, Christina Hardyment said:

"Rockford's Rock Opera is an amazing mix of story, songs and sound effects. It has a freshness that makes you smile as you listen and could become a cult favourite as beloved as Wallace and Gromit.

Created by Sweetapple and featuring and scripted by respected BBC writer and performer, Steve Punt, this is also a story is a story with an original ecological message - a unique 'take' on the threat of extinction and the effect man is having upon life on earth. The Rockford's Rock Opera website is full of fascinating information about the story and the facts behind the fiction.

To discover Rockford's Rock Opera, take a look at our website or search Rockford's Rock Opera in the Apple App store