October 25, 2010

TOP STORIES

Worst Coral Death Strikes at SE Asia

International marine scientists say that a huge coral death which has struck Southeast Asian and Indian Ocean reefs over recent months has highlighted the urgency of controlling global carbon emissions.

Many reefs are dead or dying across the Indian Ocean and into the Coral Triangle following a bleaching event that extends from the Seychelles in the west to Sulawesi and the Philippines in the east and include reefs in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and many sites in western and eastern Indonesia.

"It is certainly the worst coral die-off we have seen since 1998. It may prove to be the worst such event known to science," says Dr Andrew Baird of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook Universities.

ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies - www.coralcoe.org.au
19 Oct 2010
Photo credit: R Graham, N Fadli, Y Herdiana


More Coral News


Native fish dying out in lakes

[Western Australia's] freshwater fish are dying. An unprecedented investigation of the State's lakes reveals nearly 60 per cent contain no native species.

The year-long survey by the Department of Fisheries and National Resource Management covered from Geraldton to Busselton and east to Northam, looking at the fish bio- diversity of 114 lakes. Only 50 lakes contained any native fish.

. . . "These are the species that control Ross River virus and, in the future, dengue fever, and they are also the basis of the food chain," Dr Lawrence said.

The West Australian - thewest.com.au [submitted by the Australian Wildlife Health Network]
M Bennett
18 Oct 2010



Elk near Glendo tests positive for CWD

A cow elk sampled Sept. 12 east of Glendo in hunt area 3 has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a brain disease known to affect some deer, elk and moose.

The elk was located 13 miles east of Glendo and four miles northeast of Camp Guernsey.

. . . According to Edwards, a positive for elk in this area is no surprise as elk area 3 overlaps deer hunt areas 15, 16 and 55 which have been endemic for 10 years.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department - gf.state.wy.us
18 Oct 2010
Location: Platte County, Wyoming, USA - Map It



Oil spill hits birds hardest, but no fish kills

Six months after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the event has not killed any fish but over 2,000 dead, visibly oiled birds that have been collected in the Gulf of Mexico, according to government reports.

Dead, visibly oiled animal wildlife discovered since the spill includes birds, sea turtles and mammals such as dolphins.

No fish kills have been attributed to the spill. Several fish kills in the Gulf, including at least one mass death involving hundreds of thousands in Plaquemines parish, Louisiana, have been attributed to seasonal low oxygen levels unrelated to the spill, according to state officials.

International Business Times - www.ibtimes.com
G Helguero
22 Oct 2010
Photo credit: S Gardner/Reuters


More Gulf Oil Spill News


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 October 19, 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
20 Oct 2010
Area: United States



OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: catersnews.clipservers.com
Biodiversity
Huh, That's Interesting!

at Monday, October 25, 2010