Wildlife Disease News Digest

Report into mystery woylie decline
Media-Newswire – media-newswire.com
15 Feb 2008
Area: Australia
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia - Woylie

A report into the dramatic decline of woylies throughout south-western Australia has found a mysterious disease may be decimating the species.

Speaking today at Murdoch University, Environment Minister David Templeman said although the exact disease remained a mystery, researchers had identified some key suspects, including the parasite "Toxoplasma' and a new species of parasite "Trypanosoma sp. nov'.

“It is likely this disease is either killing the woylies or weakening them and making them more vulnerable to predators,” Mr Templeman said.

The Minister said the dramatic decline in woylie numbers since 2001 meant the small kangaroo-like mammal was again in need of special protection.

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Aging naval vessels are threat to wildlife: Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet continues to deteriorate, damage ecosystem
The Mercury News – www.mercurynews.com
15 Feb 2008
S Stroud
Area: San Mateo, California, USA

Fishermen, environmentalists, former shipbuilders and area lawmakers gathered last week to discuss what should be done with 74 aged and deteriorating naval ships at rest in Suisun Bay.
State Sen. Patricia Wiggins led the meeting about the vessels collectively known as the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, or mothball fleet -- which are reportedly sloughing toxic materials into the bay's delicate ecosystem.

"The hulls are stuck in a bureaucratic mess and pose an increasing threat to the entire San Francisco Bay and Delta," Wiggins said. "They're a melting toxic mess that could affect the bay's health for generations to come."

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Why Are Thousands of Bats Dying in NY?
Associated Press (Posted by Google News – ap.google.com)
13 Feb 2008
M Hill
Area: New York and Vermont, USA

Bats in New York and Vermont are mysteriously dying off by the thousands, often with a white ring of fungus around their noses, and scientists in hazmat suits are crawling into dank caves to find out why.

. . . A significant loss of bats is chilling in itself to wildlife experts. But — like the mysterious mass die-offs around the country of bees that pollinate all sorts of vital fruits and vegetables — the bat deaths could have economic implications. Bats feed on insects that can damage dozens of crops, including wheat and apples.

Nor are there any known links between what is wiping out the bees and what is killing the bats. The cause of the bee deaths is still a mystery, though scientists are looking at pesticides, parasites and a virus not previously seen in the U.S.

Researchers said there is no evidence the mysterious killer is any threat to humans. Scientists venturing into the caves wear hazardous-materials suits and breathing masks primarily to protect the bats, not themselves.

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Dead birds rain on Randolph Co. yard
IndyStar.com – www.indystar.com
15 Feb 2008
S Slabaugh
Area: Randolph county, Indiana, USA

Dead and dying starlings began raining down on Allen Hutchison's yard beneath two large evergreen trees toward sundown Wednesday. His two dogs scooped up several of the birds in their mouths and fought over them.

Hutchison pitchforked five dozen of the dead birds into a trash container. The retired welder, who resides on a 50-acre farm at 3164 S. Randolph County Road 300-W, spent the day Thursday calling around to find out what caused the bird kill and whether his dogs, cats and horses were at risk.

. . .The wildlife service of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has been using starlicide -- a legal pesticide -- recently in Randolph County to control starlings at dairy feedlots, said Judy Loven, a USDA wildlife biologist.

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Large fish in Lake Loveland to be tested for mercury
LovelandConnection.com – www.coloradoan.com
14 Feb 2008
D Crowl
Area: Lake Loveland, Larimer, Colorado, USA

. . . Carter and Boyd becoming two of the 18 known Colorado lakes with mercury problems in big fish last May brought Lake Loveland and Horseshoe Lake up in priority to test, Kehmeir said.

So far, water bodies in a system chosen for testing have a high number of predator fish living there and a high number of people fishing there, Kehmeir said.

. . . Not a lot is known about mercury in water and fish, said Mark McMillan, manager of the mercury program at the Colorado Department of Health and Environment.

"I think that the science continues to evolve," he said. “But it's no question that mercury coming from air is a big issue."

Emissions from coal-fired power plants often are targeted as the culprit, though many emission sources can produce mercury.

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North America's Losing Its Bumblebees
Current Results – www.currentresults.com
Retrieved: 15 Feb 2008
L Osborn

One bumblebee species that was once common throughout its range from Georgia State to Ontario, Canada has all but disappeared. A recent survey at places where Bombus affinis has been collected previously turned up empty handed in all but one location. Just a single bee was found on a woodland sunflower in southern Ontario's Pinery Provincial Park.

. . . This research provides the first quantitative evidence from North America indicating the severity of recent losses among native pollinators. In Europe where bumblebees are more closely monitored, findings show that half the continent's species are declining. Three species of bumblebees have gone extinct in United Kingdom alone.

The reasons for a bee population's decline likely vary among species and habitats. Two agricultural activities could be extensively harming bumblebees, although the ramifications have yet to be adequately investigated in North America. Imported bees used for pollinating plants grown commercially in greenhouses are known to introduce diseases to their wild relatives. As well, a group of insecticides called neonicotinoids, that are highly toxic to bees, have been applied to North American crops since the early 1990s.

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