Wildlife Disease News Digest

TOP STORIES
Disease threatens most endangered feline species Iberian lynx

The threat comes from a disease affecting animals born in breeding centres in Spain, the Lynx Conservation Program said today.

Three of the 72 animals in captivity have died since December from Chronic Kidney Disease. More than one third of the animals in the two breeding centres have also shown symptoms of CKD, which only affects those in captivity.

Veterinarians from the program "are working and consulting with experts to try to find the possible origin of the CKD, as well as trying to put in place measures that could prevent the emergence of new cases.

Herald Sun - www.heraldsun.com.au [Source: AFP]
09 March 2010
Location: Spain - Map It

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The Heat is On: Desert Tortoises and Survival

Though the Mojave Desert tortoise has thrived in the southwestern United States for thousands of years, its population has severely declined over the last four decades.

A new USGS documentary, titled The Heat is On: Desert Tortoises and Survival, explains why this important indicator of desert ecosystem health is declining and what scientists are doing to save them.

Mojave tortoises were first listed as a threatened species in 1990. Widespread and rapid declines in tortoise numbers have made them a top priority for federal research and are driving efforts to recover the species.

USGS Newsroom - www.usgs.gov/newsroom
08 March 2010
Photo credit: K Nussear/USGS

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>>> Hatching of a desert tortoise

Bats face many obstacles

Dr. Howard Whidden said spelunkers from Europe visited the area near Albany, N.Y., where a fungus associated with white-nose syndrome was discovered in February 2006.

White-nose snydrome has the potential to devastate bats, which also are dying from impacts with wind turbines, Whidden said Feb. 25 during a lecture at Penn State Hazleton.

. . . "We don't know what the effects will be," Whidden said.

Citizens Voice - citizensvoice.com
07 March 2010
K Jackson
Photo courtesy of West Virginia Division of Natural Resources

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ESA and TWS publish final report on the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) and The Wildlife Society (TWS) recently published a final report describing the planning process that shaped the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) and outlining recommendations for its structure and function.

The NCCWSC, which was established in 2008 by Congress, is intended to help resource managers across the U.S. anticipate the impacts of climate change on plant and animal communities and to help them devise strategies for mitigating and adapting to those impacts. The NCCWSC was created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the science agency of the Department of Interior.

The USGS‐sponsored report also details the purpose of the NCCWSC as a conduit between climate science and fish and wildlife management.

The Wildlife Society - joomla.wildlife.org
22 February 2010

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Final Report
>>> USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center Final Report on Outreach & Recommendations [pdf]

World Veterinary Day to center on 'One World, One Health'

World Veterinary Day 2010, April 24, will raise awareness of the links between animal and public health through the theme "One World, One Health: more cooperation between veterinarians and physicians."

The World Veterinary Association established World Veterinary Day in 2000 as an annual celebration of the veterinary profession, falling on the last Saturday of April.

The WVA partnered with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) two years ago to create the World Veterinary Day Award for the most successful celebration by a national veterinary association working alone or in cooperation with other veterinary groups.

JAVMA News - www.avma.org/onlnews/javma
05 March 2010
Image courtesy of JAVMA News

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OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of Mansfield News Journal