TOP STORIES 
Kenyan lions being poisoned by pesticides'
The Independent - www.independent.co.uk
03 Apr 2009
D Howden
Photo courtesy of The Independent
Conservationists in Kenya are calling for a deadly pesticide to be banned after it was linked to the poisoning of a "staggering" number of lions and other wildlife. . .
The lion researcher Laurence Frank, from the University of California, said lions were dying at a "staggering rate" with as many as 75 poisoned in the past five years. Combined with other threats including loss of habitat, this could eventually see the lion become extinct, Dr Frank told CBS's 60 Minutes.
Smokies closing caves to protect bats from killer fungus
Knoxnews.com - www.knoxnews.com
03 Apr 2009
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closing all of its caves to protect their residents — bats. A disease has swept through the Northeast, killing an estimated 400,000 bats, according to a park statement this morning.
The malady, white-nose syndrome, is believed to be transmitted from bat to bat, but humans may also spread the fungus inadvertently.
As a result, the park is immediately closing its 17 caves and two mine complexes that require permits to enter.
>>> FULL ARTICLE
More Bat News
White-Nose Syndrome Confirmed in VA Bats [Breathing Cave, VA - Map It
; Clover Hollow Cave, VA - Map It ]
>>>White-Nose Syndrome Killing Bats Is Spreading Fast [includes video]
More Bat News
White-Nose Syndrome Confirmed in VA Bats [Breathing Cave, VA - Map It
; Clover Hollow Cave, VA - Map It ]>>>White-Nose Syndrome Killing Bats Is Spreading Fast [includes video]
Test may protect Tasmanian devil from extinctionTimes Online - www.timesonline.co.uk
03 Apr 2009
S Tedmanson
Photo courtesy of Times Online
Australian scientists have made a significant breakthrough in the fight to save the Tasmanian devil from the cancerous facial tumour disease that is threatening to wipe out the endangered marsupial.
Scientists at the University of Tasmania have developed the first preliminary diagnostic test that could determine whether a devil is suffering from the devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), which is rapidly causing the extinction of the Australian mammal.
More Tasmanian Devil News
New guidelines intended to guard amphibians against deadly fungusJAVMA News - www.avma.org
15 Apr 2009 - News Issue
Photo courtesy of San Diego Zoo
Efforts are under way to protect captive amphibians from a deadly fungus threatening numerous endangered species.
. . . In February, 25 of the world's leading amphibian veterinarians, disease researchers, and husbandry specialists gathered at San Diego Zoo for a three-day conference to write a comprehensive manual for controlling and combating diseases in amphibian survival assurance colonies. Survival assurance colonies have been formed in zoos throughout the world to preserve amphibian species that are rapidly facing extinction.
More Amphibian News
New Parasite Found In Black Green Lizards In Spain, PortugalScience Daily - www.sciencedaily.com
03 Apr 2009
Location: Spain - Map It
and Portugal - Map ItAn international team of scientists has discovered a new acarine species (Ophionyssus schreibericolus) that lives off black green lizards from the Iberian Peninsula. This involves the first recording of the Ophionyssus genus that feeds off and lives on animals endemic to the peninsula. The researchers now think that these parasites could be found in other reptiles in the region.
Bone Deformities Linked to Inbreeding in Wolves of Isle Royle
News Wise - www.newswise.com (source:Michigan Technological University)
02 Apr 2009
Location: Isle Royale, Michigan, USA - Map It
The wolves on Isle Royale are suffering from genetically deformed bones. Scientists from Michigan Technological University blame the extreme inbreeding of the small, isolated wolf population at the island National Park in northern Lake Superior.
Researchers have collected the first scientific evidence that inbreeding has caused genetic deterioration of the bones of the wolves of Isle Royale. Rolf Peterson and John Vucetich of Michigan Tech and their colleagues, Jannikke Raikkonen of the Swedish Museum of Natural History and Michael P. Nelson at Michigan State University, report on the congenital bone deformities in the latest issue of the journal Biological Conservation. The work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation.
The scientists found that 58 percent of the wolves on Isle Royale exhibit a congenital malformation in the lumbosacral region or lower back, and 33 percent display a specific deformity—lumbosacral transitional vertebrae—which can cause full or partial paralysis of the rear legs and tail, as well as back pain. It is a condition also seen in domestic dogs. Other malformations were found in the wolves as well.
>>> FULL ARTICLE [includes photos]
More Genetic Diversity News
LAST WEEK'S TOP READ LINKS
- Four seal species in danger of slipping away [podcast]
- Pharmed Fish[podcast]
- New perspectives on managing wildlife diseases[journal article]
- ProMed-Undiagnosed die-off, penguins - Chile
- Moose on the decline in Jackson Hole area
- PlagueBusters: Nathan Wolfe looks for pandemics before they start
- Are cavers spreading lethal bat disease?
- 6,000 Rare, Large River Dolphins Found in Bangladesh
- How to Prevent the Next Pandemic
- Drug Used To Treat Skin Conditions Is A Marine Pollutant
OTHER WILDLIFE HEATH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of Denver Post
Wildlife versus the wall- Wildlife Surveillance: Early Warning System for Ebola, Avian Flu and other Disease Outbreaks [75 min video]
- Target TB: Welsh livestock and wildlife 'must co-exist in disease-free environment'
- Bridges. Bypasses. Brucellosis?
- Panthera Enlists Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute for Jaguar Conservation Project in Brazilian Pantanal Region
- Report shows calamitous collapse of many U.S. birds species
- Redefining what it means to be a prion
- New Tufts vet lab to study insect-borne diseases
- Bird Can 'Read' Human Gaze [interesting tidbit]
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