Wildlife Disease News Digest

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Carbon, nitrogen link may provide new ways to mitigate pollution problems

A new study exploring the growing worldwide problem of nitrogen pollution from soils to the sea shows that global ratios of nitrogen and carbon in the environment are inexorably linked, a finding that may lead to new strategies to help mitigate regional problems ranging from contaminated waterways to human health.

. . . While the vast majority of nitrogen gas is abundant in the atmosphere, it is nonreactive and unavailable to most life, said Townsend. But in 1909 a process was developed to transform the nonreactive gas into ammonia, the active ingredient of synthetic fertilizer.

Humans now manufacture more than 400 billion pounds of fertilizer each year -- much of which migrates from croplands into the atmosphere, waterways and oceans -- creating a suite of environmental problems ranging from coastal "dead zones" and toxic algal blooms to ozone pollution and human health issues.

University of Colorado at Boulder - www.colorado.edu/news
21 April 2010
Photo Credit: C Cass/University of Colorado

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Cited Journal Article
Stoichiometric control of organic carbon–nitrate relationships from soils to the sea. Nature. 464(7292): 1179-1181.

Bat die-off could have disastrous effect on ecology

Some of the most common bat species in the Northeast are on the verge of extinction.

That's the grim assessment from wildlife biologist Jenny Dickson as White-Nose Syndrome continues into its fourth year of spreading its deadly reach further into hibernating bat populations. No sign of letup or antidote is in sight.

The speed with which the disease is decimating bat populations that once numbered in the millions is without comparison to any other wildlife decline in recent memory, Dickson said, and is likely to cause ecological changes that could affect agriculture, forestry and other wildlife.

The Day - www.theday.com
21 April 2010
J Benson
Photo credit: C Kocer/DEP wildlife division

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More Bat News
>>> Gating Caves For Bat Safety [video]

Sea lion dies after rescue effort at Golden Gardens

A sea lion found washed up on the beach at Golden Gardens park in Ballard Sunday died Monday night, despite efforts to rescue the animal.

"It's very sad, after all the heroic efforts. There was such hope," said Brenda Peterson of the volunteer group Seal Sitters, which first found the animal and alerted fish and wildlife experts.

The male California sea lion, believed to be underweight, was brought to a state fish and wildlife facility in Lakewood, Pierce County, Monday night awaiting transfer to Tacoma's Point Defiance Zoo. But the sea lion died overnight Monday.

Seattle Times - seattletimes.nwsource.com
20 April 2010
L Mapes
Photo credit: TS Warren/AP
Location: Golden Gardens Park, Seattle, Washington, USA - Map It