Scanning Fish on the McKenzie River: Implants to Show Health and Habits of Trout Population
The (Eugene) Register-Guard (Posted by The Oylmpian Online)
18 June 2006
Mother Nature has yet to evolve a strain of bar-coded trout. Yet some McKenzie River fishing guides will soon be "scanning" trout, just like cashiers at a checkout stand.
Unlike cashier scanners however, which read bar codes and prices, the hand-held scanning devices used by the guides are designed to detect and read tiny "transponders" surgically implanted in some wild fish. The tags are inert, glass-encased devices with internal circuits that become activated when exposed to the radio frequency emitted by the scanners.
It's all part of an ambitious research project undertaken by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, with financing provided by the McKenzie River Guides Association and some of their clients, and by the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation.
It's all part of an ambitious research project undertaken by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, with financing provided by the McKenzie River Guides Association and some of their clients, and by the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation.
Pelican Deaths Come at Crucial Time
The Tribune SanLuisObispo.com (Author David Sneed)
17 June 2006
A recent spate of brown pelican deaths that has reached the local coastline comes at a crucial time for the species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering removing the large birds from its endangered species list. The agency recently embarked on a yearlong review of the species to determine if the removal from the list is warranted.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Fish and Game and UC Santa Cruz are continuing an investigation into the cause of the deaths. Park rangers and wildlife officials in San Luis Obispo County are collecting pelican carcasses and sending them to the state's veterinary laboratory in Santa Cruz for examination.
"Early sampling has not turned up positive information," said Dave Jessup, a state wildlife veterinarian at the lab. "We don't have anything conclusive." About a month and a half ago, people began observing large numbers of starving, mostly juvenile, brown pelicans in Ventura County. The die-off has reached Estero Bay in recent weeks.
Booming Bushmeat Trade Threatens African Wildlife
Pretoria News
17 June 06
Elephant trunks and smoked gorilla limbs hang from Emile Ndong's stall, "ripening" in the tropical heat.
"A good ceremony, a marriage or an initiation is worthless unless you serve game at the table," said Ndong, a hawker at the Oloumi market in Gabon's capital of Libreville.
Ndong is one of many profiting from Africa's booming trade in bushmeat - a blood-soaked business that has serious consequences for the continent's wildlife.
Ways to curtail this industry will be discussed at an international conference in Madagascar from June 20-24. The conference will also look for ways to harness Africa's ecological treasures for development, while protecting them.
"Bushmeat is probably the biggest threat to biodiversity in central Africa," said Juan Carlos Bonilla, head of the Central Africa programme for Conservation International.
Island Goose had Avian Flu
The Guardian - Top Island Story (Co-published with The Canadian Press)
17 June 2006
West Prince bird that died sent to federal agency to see if H5 avian flu was the cause of death.
A domestic goose that died in western Prince Edward Island earlier this week tested positive for an H5 avian flu virus, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed Friday.
Samples are being sent to CFIA’s National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases in Winnipeg so that confirmatory tests can be run and the neuraminidase (the N in a flu virus’s name) can be determined.
The goose was part of a small, free-range flock of chickens, geese and ducks. Four of 11 geese in the flock were discovered dead on Monday. None of the other birds fell ill at the time but all have since been destroyed as a precautionary measure.
Dr. Jim Clark, CFIA’s director of animal health, said at this point there is no indication this virus is the virulent Asian H5N1 that has killed hundreds of millions of poultry — and more than 100 people — around the world.
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