Wildlife Disease News Digest

Pacific Ocean Plastic Mistaken for Plankton Threatens Wildlife
Bloomberg.com - www.bloomberg.com
10 Apr 2008
A Satariano
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg News

Marine researchers Charles Moore and Marcus Eriksen surveyed the dark water of the Pacific Ocean aboard a catamaran about 700 miles (1,126 kilometers) north of Hawaii in January and found trash everywhere. They were in the eye of the North Pacific subtropical gyre, where opposing ocean currents form a vortex bigger than Australia, trapping tons of floating debris in its circular flow. Trash that wound up there used to decompose. Now, with 403 billion pounds of plastic produced annually, according to the Houston-based consulting group Chemical Markets Associates Inc., areas of the gyre have turned into a soup of indigestible shards that can break down to the size of plankton and be mistaken for food, endangering millions of fish and birds.

``No matter where we go, we find plastic,'' said Moore, 60. ``The ocean is now this plastic soup, and we just don't know what that's doing.'' Marine debris worldwide kills more than 1 million sea birds and 100,000 mammals each year, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. The chemical-laden materials have been found in the stomachs of dead fish and birds. ``We know that these plastics can carry high levels of toxins that they collect as they float,'' said Eriksen, 40, an oceanographer with Moore at the nonprofit Algalita Marine Research Foundation in Long Beach, California. ``The next step is to see if it bio-accumulates up the food chain onto your dinner plate.''

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South Africa: Warning Issued On Shellfish in Cape West Coast
allAfica.com (Source: BuaNews Online)
09 Apr 2008
Area: Cape Town South Africa

Members of the public have been advised not to collect or eat any shellfish, oysters and abalone on the West Coast (north of Cape Point) until further notice from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. This comes after fisheries control inspectors found dead perlemoen caught up in shallow waters at Melkbosstrand, north of Cape Town, on Saturday. The department has received the results of tests carried out on samples that were taken over the weekend and low levels of toxins of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning were detected in the abalone. The department is continuously monitoring the situation.

"We continue to recommend that the public do not collect and/or eat any shellfish, especially mussels, oysters and abalone, on the West Coast (north of Cape Point) until further advised," says the department. Marine and Coastal Management spokesperson Maryke Brand told BuaNews that so far no incidences of people falling ill because of shellfish have been reported. She warned that consumption of the affected shellfish can be fatal especially when a doctor is not consulted on time. "At the moment, we advised people to stop collecting shellfish until we are certain that it is safe to do so," she said.

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Are pesticides killing Rhode Island lobsters?
The Jamestown Press - www.jamestownpress.com
10 Apr 2008
S Bari
Photo courtesy of Robb Roach
Area: Rhode Island United States

Rhode Island lobstermen are worried that a pesticide used to control the development of mosquito larvae is killing young lobsters in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound. The product, sold under the trade name Altosid, is deposited in storm drains to control the mosquito population. Many of the storm drains in Rhode Island's seaside communities empty directly into the bay. Altosid is made of methoprene, a larvicide, that when applied, reduces the number of adult mosquitoes and thus reduces human risk from mosquito borne diseases such as EEE and West Nile virus.

Rhode Island lobstermen and many environmentalists oppose the use of methoprene because the chemical also kills lobster larvae. The lobstermen argue that Maine is the only East Coast fishery where the lobster population is at acceptable, sustainable levels because, unlike other East Coast fisheries, Maine bans the use of methoprene and larvicides in its waters. Maine is also the only fishery where the lobster population does not suffer from shell disease. In all the other fisheries, Rhode Island included, lobster birth rates are noticeably below normal.

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Anger at proposed badger cull
Independent Television News - itn.co.uk
09 Apr 2008
Area: Wales United Kingdom

Badgers are set to be killed in an attempt to stamp out tuberculosis in cattle. They are a protected species in the UK but have a bad reputation with some farmers. Farmers are blaming the spread of the disease on badgers and in response the Welsh Assembly has made a controversial decision to test how widespread the problem is by setting up a pilot cull zone. While many farmers have welcomed the decision, the RSPCA described it as going against sound scientific judgement.

Officials say bovine TB is out of control in Wales, but conservation groups insist a badger cull will not stop it spreading. The method and a site with suitable natural or man-made boundaries have not be chosen. Other areas could be considered after the pilot is reviewed. In a statement Wales's Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones said: "This is a difficult decision to take and it has not been taken lightly. I am very aware of the strong views on this issue." She made clear that badgers would remain a protected species and said she had given "due consideration to the divergence of scientific and political opinion", adding "illegal action will not be tolerated."

>>>FULL ARTICLE [includes video]

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Patrolling the squirrel frontline
BBC News - news.bbc.co.uk
10 Apr 2008
G Rinaldi
Area: Scotland United Kingdom

A small group of control officers has carried out about 650 humane killings along the border between Scotland and England in the past 18 months. It relies heavily on the local populace to help its bid to block the "main routes of incursion" from the south. Red Alert South West Scotland is at the frontline of stopping grey squirrels getting into a red squirrel stronghold. And in the woodlands throughout its area it has now established a total of 13 safe havens.

The south of Scotland is one of a small number of areas in the UK where the reds still thrive. They are under constant threat, however, from their grey counterparts which compete with them for food. The grey squirrels also carry the squirrel pox virus which has no effect on them but is fatal for the reds. Red Alert has been a busy organisation since it was set up some seven years ago.

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