Wildlife Disease News Digest

TOP STORIES

20 Pink Dolphins Die of Poisoning in Peruvian Amazon

Some 20 pink dolphins were apparently poisoned and killed by poachers in Bazagan Lagoon in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, the Lima press said Saturday.

According to the daily La Republica, these pink dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) are believed to have been poisoned by fishermen to keep them from damaging their fishing nets.

Latin American Herald Tribune - laht.com
01 May 2010
Photo courtesy of the Latin American Herald Tribune
Location: Requena province, Peru - Map It

>>> FULL ARTICLE

Local bird deaths blamed on bad weather, not oil spill

As residents watched oil-tainted waters inch toward the Emerald Coast this week, the sight of several dead birds along beaches in Okaloosa and Walton counties caused some people to draw alarming conclusions.

But Patrick Gault, assistant director for the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge, said it’s very unlikely that the songbirds he has seen were affected by the oil spill. Rather, Gault suspects the deaths resulted from rough weather.

Just as the songbirds were reaching the area after migrating from South America, strong winds ripped through Destin. After flying thousands of miles and depleting their fat stores, some of the birds didn’t have the energy to continue.

Northwest Florida Daily News - www.nwfdailynews.com
01 May 2010
T Sketo
Location: Florida, USA; Okaloosa County - Map It

and Walton County - Map It

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Epidemic this year? Check the lake's shape

Of all the things that might control the onset of disease epidemics in Michigan lakes, the shape of the lakes' bottoms might seem unlikely. But that is precisely the case, and a new BioScience report by scientists from Indiana University Bloomington and four other institutions explains why.

"In the paper, we go through several explanations for what is going on," said IU Bloomington biologist Spencer Hall, the report's lead author.

"We are looking at the zooplankton that is infected, the fish and other creatures, the ecology, the limnology, and even the physics. Of all those explanations, the shape of the lake basins was the most powerful factor."

Indiana University News Room - newsinfo.iu.edu
05 May 2010
Photo credit: MA Duffy

>>> FULL PRESS RELEASE

Journal Article Cited

Why are Daphnia in Some Lakes Sicker? Disease Ecology, Habitat Structure, and the Plankton. BioScience, 2010; 60(5): 363.

Related News

>>> Diatoms Reveal Freshwater Pollution [cited journal article here]

Reported Wildlife Mortality Events to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Updated

USGS and a network of partners across the country work on documenting wildlife mortality events in order to provide timely and accurate information on locations, species and causes of death. This information was updated on May 4, 2010 on the USGS National Wildlife Health Center web page, New and Ongoing Wildlife Mortality Events Nationwide. Quarterly Mortality Reports are also available from this page. These reports go back to 1995.

USGS National Wildlife Health Center
04 May 2010
Area: United States

>>> Updated Wildlife Mortality Event Table

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto