TOP STORIES

Chronic wasting disease is here

. . . North Dakota is no longer CWD free. Last fall a deer hunter in unit 3F2 (west side of Missouri River, bordering South Dakota) killed a mule deer buck that appeared to be sick.

He reported it and test samples were taken of the deer and tested along with the state’s regular testing protocol that included 3,000 samples taken this year.

Last week, after testing only two thirds of those samples, the test result from that sick mule deer came up positive for CWD.

The rest of the samples will be tested over the next month.

Daily News - www.wahpetondailynews.com
22 March 2010
C Wells
Location: Sioux County, North Dakota, USA - Map It

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Related News
>>> Chronic wasting disease found in North Dakota
>>> Alta. finds CWD cases roaming south, west [Location: Alberta, Canada - Map It ]
>>> Chronic Wasting Disease Test Results Negative in White-tailed Deer on Property in Linn County [Missouri, USA]

City pollution harms sea turtles

University of Queensland researchers have discovered that one of the effects of inceased human population is stress being placed on the environment leading to sick turtles.

Staff from the Veterinary Marine Animal Research, Teaching and Investigation (Vet-MARTI) unit within the School of Veterinary Science have been conducting an in-depth investigation to determine the diseases and causes of death in green and loggerhead turtles in Southern Queensland.

Director of Vet-MARTI, Dr Mark Flint, has found that these turtles are dying due to the environment they live in, rather than from the ingestion of foreign items.

Science Alert - www.sciencealert.com.au
24 March 2010
Photo credit: iStockphoto

>>> FULL ARTICLE

How Will Climate Change Affect Arctic Migrations?

. . . The teeming waters are among the richest in the world yet the least studied because of difficulties overcoming months of dark days and impassable frozen seas.

Arctic scientists say they've just begun to document the polar cap's biological diversity. They don't know how the animals are responding to global warming, where they're feeding, how their icy habitat has been affected or how the ecosystem's food web has changed.

The researchers want to fill crucial data gaps so that they can advise how best to safeguard the wild Arctic. Protection is crucial, they say, as the Northwest Passage begins to open year round and increasing access offers new chances for development. Nations, including the United States, are clamoring to exploit oil and gas resources, rich fish supplies and tourist and commercial vessel trade.

Scientific American - www.scientificamerican.com
23 March 2010
J Kay and The Daily Climate
Photo credit: J Blumenfeld/EPA

>>> FULL ARTICLE

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: T Williams

• Fin whale's carcass washes ashore at Fenwick Island [Location: Fenwick Island, Delaware, USA - Map It ]
• Scientists Find New Form of Prion Disease that Damages Brain Arteries [cited journal article here]
• Zoo officials respond to pelican deaths [Location: Santa Barbara, California, USA - Map It ]
• More rabies cases in east Orange County [Location: Orange County, Florida, USA - Map It ]
• Supreme Court Kicks Quickly Spreading Asian Carp Off Its Menu
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invests $8.9 million in Texas
• EPA to Restrict Cancer-Causing Chemicals In Water
  
• UN adds iguanas, tree frogs and other terrestrial species to endangered list
• Rare Hawaiian Monk Seal Brought to Marine Lab for Study and Treatment

Huh, That's Interesting!

• Museum of Nature & Science Announces Oldest Definitive Bird Fossils in North America Found in North Texas
• Could smell play a role in the origin of new bird species?
• Aquatic invasion: Scientists find first amphibious insect species

WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Browse complete Digest publication library here.

Journal of Wildlife Management - April 2010
Volume 74, Issue 3

The Wildlife Professional - Spring 2010
Volume 4, Number 1

Evidence for multiple recent host species shifts among the Ranaviruses (family Iridoviridae)
J Virol. 2010 Mar;84(6):2636-47. Epub 2009 Dec 30.
JK Jancovich et al.

Diversity, decoys and the dilution effect: how ecological communities affect disease risk
J Exp Biol. 2010 Mar;213(Pt 6):961-70.
PT Johnson and DW Thieltges

Avian Influenza A Virus Monitoring in Wild Birds in Bavaria: Occurrence and Heterogeneity of H5 and N1 Encoding Genes
Zoonoses Public Health. 2010 Mar 8. [Epub ahead of print]
V Lang et al.

Field detection of avian influenza virus in wild birds: Evaluation of a portable rRT-PCR system and freeze-dried reagents
J Virol Methods. 2010 Mar 4. [Epub ahead of print]
JY Takekawa et al