Bird Deaths Puzzle Unalaska
Anchorage Daily News
01 Sep 2006
Alex DeMarban and Craig Medred
SHEARWATERS: Captain said hail of creatures hit his boat for up to 30 minutes.
More than 1,600 sea bird carcasses have washed onto Unalaska shores over the last two days in a mysterious die-off that scientists are scrambling to understand. Some say they may have died of hunger. Others say they're smashing into boats. Maybe it's both, some scientists said.
Several hundred black, gull-like shearwaters died after flying into a crabbing boat that steamed through the early morning darkness in Unalaska Bay on Wednesday morning, said Forrest Bowers, a fisheries biologist for the state Department of Fish and Game in Unalaska.
The captain of the boat walked into Bowers' office that day to report that a hail of shearwaters struck his boat for up to 30 minutes, Bowers said. The crew pitched the dead and dying birds overboard, the captain said, according to Bowers.
Bowers would not release the captain's name, saying he requested anonymity. The captain reported that other boats were in the area and may also have been bombarded by the sea birds, Bowers said. It's happened before in Unalaska, but usually not in such big numbers, Bowers said.
Clues Emerge in South Branch Intersex Fish Study
13 WOWK
01 Sep 2006
Pam Kasey
Samples taken from fish kills in the South Branch of the Potomac River are providing new clues into why fish in the area are suffering from unusual health problems.
Samples taken from fish kills on the South Branch of the Potomac River in May are providing new clues in the several-year-old mystery of poor fish health in some Potomac tributaries. Redhorse suckers and hogsuckers began turning up dead in the lower reaches of the South Branch, below Moorefield, in mid-May, according to Bret Preston, assistant chief of the state Division of Natural Resources wildlife resources section.
The fish kill resembled one on the South Branch in 2002, he said. That event led to the discovery that some male smallmouth bass were producing eggs, a condition called intersex, and triggered an ongoing research collaboration between the DNR, the state Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Many fish in this year's kill had sores, Preston said, as in 2002. Also, "Preceding reports of dead fish both in 2002 and in 2006, there was a fairly high-flow event -- not a flood event but some pretty high flows. Also there were peaks in pH," he said. "The timing, in terms of time of the year, was similar -- end of May, first part of June time period."
U.S. Migratory Bird Testing Reveals No High ThreatUSINFO.STATE.GOV
30 Aug 2006
Study of historical flu pandemic shows transfusions could be therapeutic
More than 13,000 wild migratory birds have been tested in the United States without detection of the highly pathogenic avian influenza strain that has caused the deaths of more than 200 million birds worldwide. The U.S. departments of Agriculture (USDA) and the Interior (USDOI) announced the progress of the expanded bird-testing program August 29, achieved through cooperation between federal, state and nongovernmental nature organizations.
In mid-August, the secretaries of the two agencies visited sites in Alaska, where most of the sampling has been conducted because of the northernmost state’s position on the bird migration flyways from Asia to the Western Hemisphere, according to a USDA news release.
“Guided by the national and wild bird surveillance and early detection plan,” said Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, “our collaborative efforts have comprehensively sampled and tested high-priority species throughout Alaska.”
The surveillance and detection plan was released in March as part of U.S. efforts to prepare for a potential flu pandemic. The threat of a pandemic seemed high in the early months of the year, as the dangerous H5N1 virus started appearing in increasing numbers of countries in Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
New law: Don't feed the deer
The Roanoke Times
01 Sep 2006
Mark Taylor
A new regulation banning the feeding of deer during the fall takes effect today. The ban runs through Jan. 6, 2007. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries adopted the regulation earlier this year, citing several key reasons, including concerns over law enforcement and disease transmission.
Law enforcement issues were a priority, said Matt Knox, the wildlife biologist who manages the deer program for the state agency. Hunting deer over bait is illegal in Virginia. As long as feeding was allowed, there was a gray area that presented challenges both for hunters who were trying to follow the rules, and for game wardens charged with enforcing the regulations.
For example, Knox said, a hunter could technically be accused of hunting over bait if he was unwittingly hunting near a bait pile set out by his neighbor. "How far away do you need to be?" Knox asked, rhetorically. Feeding can also give hunters an unfair advantage over neighbors. Landowners who can afford massive feeding programs can draw deer off neighboring properties. Those deer may not disperse quickly even after the feeding is discontinued.
Toledoan Found to have West Nile: 2nd Patient also May be Infected
toledoblade.com
31 Aug 2006
Jenni Laidman
One person in Toledo has been diagnosed with West Nile virus and a second is thought to have the infection, the Ohio Department of Health reported yesterday. The two cases bring to five the number of suspected and confirmed human West Nile virus cases in Ohio. "Lab results will have to confirm the symptoms," said Eric Zgodzinski, a health services supervisor with the Toledo-Lucas County health department.
Both patients, a 56-year-old man and a woman in her 40s, reported to local hospitals with symptoms that resemble West Nile virus. But because West Nile looks a lot like other infectious diseases - causing headaches, body aches, and fever - diagnosis can be confusing.
New cases of West Nile at this time of year are not surprising. The disease has been endemic to the area since the first outbreak in wildlife here in 2001. "We've kind of expected this,'' Mr. Zgodzinski said. "I'm surprised it waited this long.'' Last year, the state reported 61 West Nile virus cases. In 2004, there were 12 cases. In 2002, there were more than 400 cases.
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