Wildlife Disease News Digest

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Deer-killing disease spreads farther in Alberta; reaches Calgary

Within five years could be found at Edmonton’s outskirts and in Calgary

Chronic wasting disease in deer has spread farther west into the province and within five years will likely be found at Edmonton’s outskirts and in Calgary, says a University of Alberta biologist.

Dave Coltman came to that conclusion after looking at the latest testing results and map posted by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development last week.

Altogether, 17 new cases were found in the nearly 4,200 deer tested since September 2010. That brings the total number of wild deer cases found in Alberta since 2005 to 91.

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The Vancouver Sun - wwwvancouversun.com (source: ProMed Mail)
23 Feb 2011
H Brooymans

Solving the mystery of the bizarre deformed frogs

For the last two decades, strange things have been happening to frogs. Some frog populations have high rates of limb deformities, while others have high incidences of what is known as "intersex" — traits associated with both males and females, such as male frogs whose testes contain eggs.

David K. Skelly, professor of ecology at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, set out to discover what was causing these deformities, which some researchers were attributing to the use of an agricultural pesticide called atrazine. Skelly launched an experiment in ponds throughout Connecticut, studying frogs in four landscapes: forests, agricultural areas, suburbs, and cities. And what he found was surprising — the highest rates of deformities were not occurring in and around farmlands, but in cities and suburbs.

The Guardian - www.guardian.co.uk
22 Feb 2011
C Zimmer

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